3. None have such cause of delightful praise and thanksgiving as a christian. He hath greater matters to talk of than those things that are the subject of fools' boasting. Besides what is common to him with others, all the works of God to admire, and his excellencies shining forth in creation and providence, he hath the mystery of redemption, the grace of the new covenant, the glory of heaven, his own hopes. Our whole religion is an iv^aptcrTLa ; for Christianity is a partaking of the benefit, 1 Tim. vi, 2; besides many personal favours which should ever be before our eyes,
4. There is not any case incident to a christian but still there will be found ground of thanksgiving and rejoicing: Phil. iv. 4, ' Eejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Eejoice,' We have cause to be thankful for particular grace, for mercies in hand or hope. Well, then, carnal mirth may be cured by such a remedy at hand.
SERMON V.
For tills ye Icnow, that no luhoremonger, nor unclean jierson, nor cove- tous man, tvho is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. — Eph, v. 5.
The apostle had argued ah incony^-uo, from what is indecent and mis- becoming saints ; now a periculo, from the danger of such practices : and fitly, because temptations do not usually enter by the fore-door of reason, but the back-door of sensual appetite and carnal desires ; which therefore must be counterbalanced by dangers and fears, that, seeing the hook, we may be afraid to swallow the bait. The danger
VOL. XIX. o
210 SERMONS UPON EPEESIANS V. [SeR, V.
of such practices is double — there is pcena damni et sensus. Poena damni, exchisioii from the kingdom of God, as in the text read to j'ou. Pcena sensus, they run the hazard of his wrath and eternal displeasure ; as ver. 6, ' For these things cometh the wrath of God upon the chil- dren of disobedience.' In the text there is —
1. A sentence passed on all unclean persons : they have no ' inherit- ance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.'
2. The certainty and evidence of it : * For this ye know.'
First, In the sentence we have — (1.) The subject, or persons spoken of ; (2.) The predicate, what is said of them.
1. The subject : ' No whoremonger, nor unclean person, norcovetous, who is an idolater.' Where mark, he mentioneth not the lesser sins, filthiness of talk, foolish speaking, jesting, but the more grievous trangressions spoken of ver. 3, on ird'i 7r6pvo<;, i) aKaOapTo^;, rj irXeov- e/cT?79 ; not but that they in themselves deserve damnation, but they are but appendages and degrees to the other sins.
Again observe, in the enumeration there is a special brand put upon the third sort, 'Nor the covetous person, who is an idolater.' ITXe- ove^ta here signifieth excessive and unnatural lusts ; because it is put among the tiefanda, and because the word is clearly so used Eph. iv. 19, and in other places is joined with words that signify unnatural and unlawful lusts not fit to be named : 1 Cor. v. 10, ' With the fornica- tors of this world, or with the covetous ; ' and Col. iii. 5, ' Mortify your members which are upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.' Certainly there is some reason why this should always bear company with these unclean sins ; and what is it but that it hath affinity, and is of the same nature with them ? 1 Thes. iv. 6, 7, ' That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matters, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned and testified ; for God hath not called U3 to uncleanness, but unto holiness,' /aj) vTrep/Saiveiv Koi. irXeoveKTUv, &c. We render it, ' That none go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because God is the avenger of such.' But the reason rendered, ver, 7, ' For God hath not called us to unclean- ness, but to holiness,' will enforce another sense, not to yield to unnatural and unlawful lusts, to commit filthiness with his fellow-christians, in such a manner as is not to be plainly mentioned, or in that way of villany for which God punished Sodom, and hath exercised severe vengeance on the verv heathens. This seemeth everywhere the meaning of a irkeove^la, ' inordinate lusts,' which we translate ' covet- ousness.' Now what TrXeove^la is in the abstract, that TrXeoveKTiri is in the concrete ; a man given to inordinate lusts, or filthiness not to be named. But this man, be he 'covetous,' or be he an 'inordinate luster,' is said to be an ' idolater,' as covetousness and inordinate lusting in the Epistle to the Colossians is said to be ' idolatry.' I confess this staggered me at first, and made me suspect my former interpretation, because covetousness is known idolatry ; as ' Charge the rich men in this world, that they trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God,' 1 Tim. i. 17 ; and Job xxxi. 21, ' If I have made gold ray hope, or said to the fine gold, Thou art ray confidence.' This I confess