^ ' 0 animula vague a blandula, quos nunc adibis locos I nee dabis ut solebas jocos,' &c. — Platina
414 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. V. 5.
call ouo<;, the ass-fish, which hath its heart in its belly ; a fit emblem of a sensual epicure. The heart is never more dull and unfit for the severities and masculine heights of religion than when burdened with luxurious excess ; therefore Ciirist useth that expression, Luke xxi. 3G, ' Let not your hearts be overcharged,' <fec. Ah ! do but consider how many reasons we have to be wary in our pleasures. Will the in- conveniences they bring to your estates move you ? Prov. xxiii. 21, 'He that loveth corn, and wine, and oil, shall be poor.' How often hath the belly brought the back to rags ? Or will the mischiefs they bring upon the body move you ? Lust, which is but the last end and con- summation of all pleasures, sucketh the bones, and, like a cannibal, eateth your own flesh, Prov. v. 11. Ah ! but chiefly think of the in- conveniency which your precious souls sustain ; your hearts will be nourished and fattened. Pleasure infatuateth the mind, quencheth the radiancy and vigour of the spirit : wine and women take away the heart, Hosea iv. 11 ; that is, the generous sprightliness of the affections. So the apostle speakcth of per.sons given to pleasures, that they are past feeling, Eph. iv. ; they have lost all the smartness and tenderness of their spirits. Oh ! that men would regard this, and take heed of nourishing their hearts while they nourish their bodies. You should starve lust when you feed nature ; or, as Austin,^ come to your meat as your medicine, and use these outward refreshments as remedies to cure infirmities, not to cause them ; or, as Bernard, '^ refresh the soul when you feed the body, and by Christian meditations on God's bounty, Christ's sweetness, the fatness of God's house, &c., keep the heart from being nourished whenever you repair nature.
As in a day of slaughter^ iv f'jfMepn a<pcir/i)<;. — Some say, as Brixi- anu3, that the meaning is, they did but fatten themselves for the slaughter ; but that is forced. Beza rendereth, as in a day of feast, which Heinsius taxeth with some undue rigour. Certainly there is an allusion to the solemn festivals of the Jews. Their thanksgiving- days were called days of slaughter, wherein many beasts were killed for sacrifice and food ; for, in thank-offerings, a great part was reserved for the use of the worshipper : Lev. ii. 15, they were to carry it home and to eat it with their friends. Thence that expression, Prov. xvii. 1 , ' Better is a dry morsel, than an house full of sacrifices with strife ;' that is, of good cheer, as was usual in the time of peace or thank- offering. So also that other, Prov. vii, 14, ' I have peace-offerings with me this day ;' that is, the flesh of thank-offerings, wherewith to feast and entertain thee. Now the fault wherewith these sensualists are charged, is double : —
1. That they made every day festival.
Ohs. It is a wanton luxury to make every day a day of slaughter : Luke xvi., ' He fared deliciously every day ;' that is an aggravation, that he made it his constant practise. Some men do nothing but knit pleasure to pleasure ; their lives are nothing else but a diversion from
1 ' Domine hoc me docuisti, ut quemadmodum mediciimenta, ita alimenta sumpturus accedam.' — Avg. Confets.
- ' Cum manducan, necjuaquam totus manducee, Bed corpore tuo suam refectionem poBtulantc, mcDB miam noa negligat, memoria auavitatis domini vel scripurarum poscat meditationeB.' — Bernard.
JaS. V. tj.] UrON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 415
one carnal pleasure to another : Eccles. iii., ' There is a time to feast and a time to mourn,' Such men disturb the order of seasons. Nature is relieved with changes, but clogged with continuance ; frequency of pleasures begettetli a habit ; and besides, this putteth men upon novel curiosities, when ordinary pleasures by common use grow stale ; pleasure itself must have pleasure to refresh it, accustomed delighty becoming our clog and burden.
2. That they gave that to their lusts which was due only upon special occasions to religion.
Obs. Usually this is the vanity of men, to bestow the allotments of worship upon their lusts, and by a cursed sacrilege to serve god the belly, Fhil. iii. 19, as zeal serveth the great God of heaven and earth. No music will serve the epicures in the prophet but temple music : Amos vi..5, 'They invent to themselves instruments of music like David.' As choice and excellent as David was in the service of the temple, so would they be in their private feasts. Belshazzar's draughts are not half so sweet in other vessels as in the utensils of the temple : Dan. V. 2, ' He commanded to bring forth the golden and silver vessels, that were taken out of the house of God.' So the Babylonian humour is pleased with nothing so much as with one of the songs of Zion ; not an ordinary song, but ' Sing us one of your songs of Zion,' Ps. cxxxvii. 3. No jest relislieth with a profane spirit so well as when scripture is abused, and made to lackey upon their sportive jollity. Vain man thinketh he can never put honour enough upon his pleasures, and scorn enough u})on God and holy things.