[10.] Tenthly, Constant desires, and earnest and constant endea- vours to avoid and shun all knovm appearances of sin, evidences the truth and reality of grace in the soul} Certainly that man is a true Nathanael, that makes it his business, his work, to abstain from all appearances of evil. An hypocrite loves the appearance of good more than goodness itself, and a sincere Christian hates the very appearance of evil, as well as the evil itself. He who hates a person loathes his very picture. A wicked man may abstain fr-om broad-faced evils, but com- monly he is very bold and venturous upon appearing evils. Oh what vain apologies do many make in these days for long hair, gaudy apparel, antique fashions, spotted faces, naked breasts, wanton behaviours, effe- minated alliances, and a thousand other suspicious practices and vanities ! But now a man that is truly gracious, he makes conscience, not only of shunning real, gross, known evils, but also of shunning the very likeness of evil. His heart does not only rise against real sins, but he is very shy of that which looks like sin. When Joseph's mistress took hold of him and said, ' Lie with me, he left his garment in her hand and fled, and gat him out,' Gen. xxxix. 12. Joseph would not be found in the company of his impudent, brazen-faced mistress, that could so barely and basely, so boldly and frequently, solicit him to defile his master's bed, and to damn two souls at once, her own and his, that so he might avoid the very appearance of evil, the very suspicion of sin. By wanton touches and dalliance, mental adultery is often committed ; and therefore Joseph flies, as being unwilling to touch her, or to be touched by her. And so Paul refused the using his liberty in taking a lawful maintenance for his labours, lest a sinister interpretation of covetous and mercenary affection should have been put upon it by his adversaries, 1 Cor. ix. 11-15. And so the same apostle would needs have Titus and two others chosen by the church, to join with him in carrying the benevolence of the church of Macedonia to Jerusalem, because he was very careful to avoid all suspicion of dealing ill in that business. 2 Cor. viii. 20, 21, ' Avoiding this, that no man should blame us, in this abundance that is ministered by us ; providing for honest things, not only before the Lord, but also before men.' So Daniel would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, Dan. i. 3, that is say some, he would not defile his conscience by eating such uncleai. meats as were forbidden under the law, for the Babylonians did eat of divers meats, as of swine, hares, &c., and of sundry sorts of fishes and fowls, which were forbidden by God unto the children of Israel, Levit. xi., Deut. xiv, ; nor with the wine which he drank ; but in the Hebrew the plural number is used, of his drinks, whence some gather that the
' Where do you read in all the Scriptures, of any one hypocrite that ever made con- science of shunning and avoiding the appearances of sin ?
324) A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. II.
king drank divers sorts of wines, which were also set before Daniel and his companions ; therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself Daniel's living at a full table, and his feeding upon kingly dainties, might have been, not only a means to ensnare him, and drown him in the sensualities of the court, but it Avould have carried with it also too great a show of Daniel's conformity to the court's manners and customs, and have been too great an appear- ance of Daniel's forgetfulness of the sore and miserable calamities and matchless miseries of the captive church, who sat sighing and groaning and mourning in her cruel bondage, and had none to comfort her, or speak peace unto her ; and therefore Daniel purposed in his heart, or set it upon his heart, or laid it uj)on his heart, as the Hebrew may be read, that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, &c., that so he might avoid all shows or suspicions of evil. It is very observable, that in the law of the Nazarite, who did for a time special consecrate himself to God, that besides his not coming to the dead, and siiflering his hair to grow, it was ordained of God that he should abstain from these six things : (1.) From wine and strong drink ; (2.) from the vinegar of wine or strong drink ; (3.) from any liquor of grapes, though it were but the water wherein they were steeped ; (4.) from the green or moist grape ; (5.) from the dried grape or raisin ; (6.) from the husk or kernel of them, Num. vi. 3, 4. Had the Nazarite eaten but the skin of the grape or raisin, he had broken the law. Now hereby the Lord would teach us, that those that separate themselves from the world, to be in a special manner serviceable to the Lord, they must avoid not only that which is plain sin, downright sin, or such sins that men may run and read, but also that they must shun and be shy of the very appearances of sin. It was good counsel that Livia gave her hus- band Augustus, ' It behoveth thee,' saith she, ' not only not to do wrong, but not to seem to do so,' &c.^ We must shun and be shy of the very show and shadow of sin, if either we tender our credit abroad, or our comfort at home. Walking in the power of holiness lies much in shunning the very appearance of sin. The primitive Christians would not endure that any Christian should look towards Jerusalem praying, because they would avoid the least show of Judaism. And indeed there are great reasons why every Christian should avoid whatever may have the suspicion of sin; and this will be evident, if you please but seriously to consider of these eight following particulars :
(1.) First, Consider those clear and 'plain comraands of God ivhich makes this duty to he a duty, as that 1 Thes. v. 22, ' Abstain from all appearance of evil/ God requires us not only to abstain from all appa- rent sins, but also from all appearance of sin. We must do nothing which hath a show or shadow of sin. It is duty to abstain from Avhatever i.s of an ill show, or an ill report. And so God conunands us to hate the garment spotted with the flesh, Jude 23. Saints must abhor everything tliat carries with it but a favour or suspicion of uncleanness. The apostle alludes to legal uncleanness, which was contracted by touching the houses, the vessels, or the garments of unclean persons, Levit. xv.*
• Dio. [Laertius] in vita.
=* Hence that saying of the Jews, Remove thyself from filthiness, and from all that which liath a show of it. See Drusius prajterit. iu 1 Thes. v. 22.
Chap. II.] a cabinet of jewels. 325