Ninthly, If thou wouldst exercise thy self to godliness, Avoid the occasions of sin; he that would avoid the commission of sin, must avoid the occasions of sin. If we would not fall down the Hill, we must beware of coming near the brow of it. Keep thee far from an evil matter; Children which in frost venture upon the Ice, may possibly be safe, but ⟨p. 788⟩yet many times they break their limbs, and sometimes lose their lives. Its possible for a Saint to come off safe from occasions of sin, but is very seldom seen. A fair booty makes many a man a Thief, who otherwise might have lived honest. It was counted therefore a great part of wisdom in Alexander, when he had taken the beautiful daughters of Darius Prisoners, not to see the fair Ladies, lest their beauty should have enticed him to folly; The same word in Hebrew, signifieth both an eye and a fountain, to show that from the eye, as from a fountain, sin doth too often flow; Jobs practice was such, that he would not look on a Maid, lest he should lust after her; And Davids prayer was, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. We take the wind of those that are infected with contagious diseases. The wise man gives notable counsel to men, if they would avoid drunkenness; Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it casteth its colour in the glass, Prov. 23. 31. When it laughs in thy face, then shut thine eyes, lest it steal into thy heart; We are ready to think, what hurt, what danger is there in beholding, the wine in the glass, sparkling and brisky? But Solomon knew that from looking on it, men come to like it, from liking to tasting, from tasting to a draught, from one draught to another, till the man is metamorphised into a beast. Gen. 39. 10, Psa. 119. 37. The wise Socrates could advise men to beware of those meats which would entice men without hunger to eat, and those drinks which would entice a man without thirst to drink, knowing that if men come within those traps and baits, ⟨p. 789⟩they are easily taken. A guest may easily be kept out of the house at first, but if once entertained, its hard to turn him out of doors. When a Governor of a Fort once comes to parley with the enemy that besiegeth him, there is great fear that the place will be surrendered.
Ninthly, If thou wouldst exercise thy self to godliness, Avoid the occasions of sin; he that would avoid the commission of sin, must avoid the occasions of sin. If we would not fall down the Hill, we must beware of coming near the brow of it. Keep thee far from an evil matter; Children which in frost venture upon the Ice, may possibly be safe, but ⟨p. 788⟩yet many times they break their limbs, and sometimes lose their lives. Its possible for a Saint to come off safe from occasions of sin, but is very seldom seen. A fair booty makes many a man a Theif, who otherwise might have lived honest. It was counted therefore a great part of wisdom in Alexander, when he had taken the beautiful daughters of Darius Prisoners, not to see the fair Ladies, lest their beauty should have enticed him to folly; The same word in Hebrew, signifieth both an eye and a fountain, to shew that from the eye, as from a fountain, sin doth too often flow; Iobs practice was such, that he would not look on a Maid, lest he should lust after her; And Davids prayer was, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. We take the wind of those that are infected with contagious diseases. The wise man gives notable counsel to men, if they would avoid drunkenness; Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it casteth its colour in the glass, Prov. 23. 31. When it laughs in thy face, then shut thine eyes, lest it steal into thy heart; We are ready to think, what hurt, what danger is there in beholding, the wine in the glass, sparkling and brisky? But Solomon knew that from looking on it, men come to like it, from liking to tasting, from tasting to a draught, from one draught to another, till the man is metamorphised into a beast. Gen. 39. 10, Psa. 119. 37. The wise Socrates could advise men to beware of those meats which would entice men without hunger to eat, and those drinks which would entice a man without thirst to drink, knowing that if men come within those traps and baits, ⟨p. 789⟩they are easily taken. A guest may easily be kept out of the house at first, but if once entertained, its hard to turn him out of doors. When a Governour of a Fort once comes to parley with the enemy that besiegeth him, there is great fear that the place will be surrendred.
