CHA P. X. The neceffity of divine Grace, obligeth all Chriftians to a conftant purity and holinefs of converfation; wherein is fhewn the great danger, and great impiety, of reading vain and impertinent books. I HAVE fhewn in the foregoing chapter, that the neceffity of divine Grace is a mighty argument for an univerfal care and exactness of life and converfation. I come now to speak to one remarkable branch of it: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minifter grace to the bearers, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are fealed to the day of redemption. Now if we are to let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth, that we may not grieve the Holy Spirit, and feparate him from us; then it follows, that we are alfo to deny our felves the entertainment of all corrupt, impertinent, and unedifying books. For if vain and idle words are not to proceed out of our mouths, we must be under the fame neceffity of not letting them enter into our hearts.. If we would know what books are to be avoided as corrupt and grievous to the Holy Spirit, we must look back to the rule of our communication; for as that communication is there faid to be corrupt, that does not edify and minifter grace to the hearers; fo muft we look upon all those books as corrupt, which do not improve and confirm our hearts in virtue, or, in the apostle's words, fuch as do not edify and minifter grace to the readers. Now this book-entertainment is as certainly forbidden by the apostle, as cheating is forbidden by the eighth commandment: for if I am not $ 3 ΤΟ to fay foolish and impertinent things my felf, because fuch a communication grieves and removes the Holy Spirit of God; .I am as certainly forbid the reading the corrupt and impertinent fayings of other people. The books which moftly corrupt our hearts, and fill us with a fpirit of folly, are fuch as almost all the world allow themfelves to read; I mean, books of wit and humour, romances, plays, and other productions of the poets. Thus a grave orthodox old gentleman, if he hears that his niece is very good, and delights in reading, will fill her closet with volumes of plays, and poems on feveral occafions, on purpose to encourage her to spend her time well. There is not perhaps a more furprifing infatuation in the conduct of Chriftians, than with regard to these books. A FATHER Would be very much troubled to fee his daughter, in converfation, pleas'd with the lewd remarks of a rake; he would be afraid that she had loft the virtue of her mind, if she could relifh fuch a turn of converfation: yet this fame father shall help his daughter to a volume of occafional poems for her closet-entertainment, full of fuch grofs immodefties, as hardly any rake would venture to exprefs in any converfation. It is perhaps a collection of the poet's finest, ftrongest, and most finish'd thoughts in lewdnefs and immodefty. Every wantonnefs of imagination, every tranfport of paffion, every extravagance of thought, which ever feiz'd him in his life, is there preserv'd for the meditation of the Chriftian reader ; as if profanenefs, blafphemy, the groffeft defcriptions of luft, and the wildest fallies of impure paffions, were made good and useful for a Chriftian, by being put into rhime and meafure. And what fhews this infatuation in a yet higher degree, is this, that it is ftill a prevailing opinion in the world, that the reading virtuous books is a great means of improving in virtue; whereas one would fuppofe, that the books I have mention'd could only be allow'd upon a belief, that there was neither good nor harm to be got by reading. But BUT however, let us remember that tho' the way of the world, which is thus inconfiftent, may allow this polite kind of entertainment; yet this is no rule or fecurity for our conduct, fince we are no more to make the spirit of the world our guide, than we are to make the riches of the world our happiness. The doctrines of the fcriptures are the only rule by which we are now to live, and the rule by which we shall hereafter be judged. Now if we will allow our felves in the reading profane, impure and impertinent books, which have every thing in them that can pervert our underftandings, and corrupt our hearts; tho' the fcripture forbids all unedifying difcourfe, as a thing that grieves the Holy Spirit, it must be faid that we act as contrary to fcripture, as if we indulged and pleased our selves in malice and revenge. You read a play; I tell you that you read ribaldry and prophaneness, that you fill your mind with extravagant thoughts, lewd intrigues, vain fictions, wanton ideas, and impure defcriptions. If you afk me where is the fin of this, you may as well ask me where is the fin of fwearing and lying: for it is a fin not only againft this or that particular text, but it is a fin against the whole nature and fpirit of our religion; it is a contradiction to all holiness, and to all the methods of arriving at it. For if evil unedifying communication be forbidden in fcripture, and for this reafon, because it grieves the Spirit of God; then the entertainment of fuch books is certainly forbidden. For certainly the wild rant, the prophane fpeeches, filthy jests, and impure paffions, which there abound, are an evil com munication in the highest degree, and muft therefore highly grieve and feparate the Holy Spirit from us. Can therefore any practice be forbid upon a more dreadful penalty than this? for without the Spirit of God, we are but figures of Chriftians, and must die in our fins. If therefore we can prove it to be a small matter to grieve the Spirit of God, then we may allow that it is but a small offence to please ourselves in reading reading thofe corrupt books. Our bleffed Saviour faith, Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, and that thefe are the things that defile a man; muft it not therefore be a great defilement to take evil thoughts into our hearts? need we any other motive than this, to watch and guard the purity of our minds? he that, notwithftanding this doctrine of our Saviour's, dares to fet apart times for the reading the evil and impure thoughts that are in thefe books, does as plainly defpife the doctrine of Chrift, as he that murders, defpifes the doctrine of the fixth commandment. You will fay perhaps, that you only read these books now and then for amusement, and only to divert your spirits; and that moft of the time which you devote to reading, is fpent in reading books that may improve your piety. If this be your cafe, you can fay that for yourself which very few can; for the generality of readers make other books their chief and most constant entertainment. But to fpeak now to your excufe; you only read fuch books now and then for your amusement, and to divert your fpirits; that is, you entertain your mind with evil thoughts, you read, relish, and digeft the leadnefs, prophaneness, and impurity of thefe books, not with a ferious defign of making yourself lewd, prophane, and impure, but only as it were in jeft, and to have a little pleafure from them. Now this is the plain meaning of this excufe, which is as abfurd as any thing can well be fuppofed. It is as if a man, who allows himself now and then to get drunk, and fear, and rant, fhould fay in his excufe, that he is for the moft part very fober; and that when he takes these liberties, it is not through any defire or liking of the fin of drunkennefs, but only as it were in jeft, and through the mere gaiety of his fpirits. You will afk, perhaps, if the fin of reading plays be like the fin of drunkenness? I answer, very like it, and perhaps equally grievous to the Spirit of God. For is not evil thoughts, vanity of mind, and impurity of heart, the moft dreadful ftate ftate that we can be in? can you therefore imagine that the feeding and entertaining your mind with evil thoughts, and impure difcourfes, is a lefs fin than drinking too much? what rule of reason or scripture have you to go by in fuch a judgment? you may fancy that there is fomething much more grofs and fhameful in drunkenness, than in this practice; but if you would judge not by fancy, but by the light of religion, you would find, that it is a drunkenness and intemperance of the mind, as grofs and shameful, as abominable in the fight of God, and as contrary to piety, as that ftupid intemperance which confifts in drinking too much. ONE great fhame of drunkenness is this, that it fits us for ribaldry, and all the folly of difcourfe; that it makes us fay filly things ourselves, and be pleased with the most foolish rant and extravagant nonfense of other people. Are not you therefore doing that which is molt fhameful in drunkenness? and is it not a fign of greater impurity, and greater want of piety, for you coolly and foberly to feek and relifh fuch rant and folly of difcourfe, fuch prophane jefts and wantonness of wit, as men are most pleased with, when drink has made them half mad? Now the liking of fuch discourse as this, makes up great part of the guilt of drunkenness, must it not therefore imply a greater guilt in you, who like fuch foolish difcourfe when you are fober? Drunken men like ill discourse, because reafon and religion have then no power over them; if therefore you have as falfe a judgment, and relish a difcourfe that is equally foolish and mad, muft it not be owing to the fame thing, because reafon and religion have then no power over you? Drunken men like any fort of madness; they are not nice in their taste; if a difcourfe be but wild or lewd, they delight in it, but you like only a madness that is put into verfe; you only delight in the impure descriptions and ravings of luft, when they are adorned with beautiful expreffions, and made mufical to the ear. So that the difference betwixt you and a drunken man, does not con |