their fouls. Fear hell, hope for heaven: and let this stir you up to duty but do not reft there, go forward and make the love of God your main motive; and that of itself would be fufficient to ftir you up to all the duties of a holy life.

SECONDLY, Thou shalt not kill thine own body. This is fimply and abfolutely forbidden. We may take away the life of others in fome cafes juftly; but in no cafe our own, unless there be a particular divine warrant, which I suppose in Samfon's cafe, which is not to be expected by us; for therein he was a type of Chrift. There are two things for

bidden here.

1. The taking away of our own life, by laying violent hands on ourselves. This is the horrid fin of direct felfmurder; of which Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas were guilty; and many fad instances have been of it of late. The law of God utterly condemns it, and nature itself abhors it. It is the effect of a defperate envenomed fpirit, rifing from pride and impatience, a horrible leaping into eternity ere the call come from God. It is highly difhonourable to God, charging him with cruelty, and refufing to wait his leifure. It is the thing the grand murderer is feeking. Civil laws strike against it with us felf-murderers are denied Chriftian bu rial, their goods are escheated, that respect to their families may deter people from it: in other places they have hung them up on gibbets. And though we will not take on us to determine the cafe of all fuch to be hopeless for eternity, that is fufficient to scare us, 1 John iii. 5. "Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

2. Doing any thing that tendeth thereunto. Men may be guilty of killing themselves indirectly many ways, all which are here forbidden. Here are forbidden, as tending to the murder of the body.

1st, All entertaining of any thoughts against our own life, that is heart-killing; wearying of our own life, and fretful wishing to be gone, as was Jonah's cafe, chap. iv. 3.; all tampering with temptations of that fort, and not rejecting them with abhorrence, Job vii. 15. Our life is a mercy, and not to be wearied of fretfully; for it is God's goodness that we are out of hell. And it is horrid ingratitude to account God's gift a burden.

2dly, Discontent, fretfulness, and impatience. It is a dangerous thing, Pfal. xxxvii. 8. It was that which prevailed

with Ahithophel to make away with himself. It is like ink caft into a fountain, which makes all the water blackish. It unfits for foceity with men, and for communion with God; it destroys the foul and body too; for the fretful man is his own tormentor. We should study to be content with our lot, and easy whatever our circumstances be, Heb. xiii. 5.; and that will fet all our wrongs right, Prov. xv. 15.; for then our spirit is brought to our lot; and the vulture preys no more on our liver.

3dly, Immoderate grief and forrow. When we go into the waters of godly forrow for fin, we are out again ere we are well in; but in carnal forrow we will go over the head and ears, 2 Cor. vii. 10. How many have conceived that forrow upon fome cross which they have met with! fomething within their fancy has been balked, that has ruined their bodies as well as their fouls. We fhould enure ourfelves to a patient bearing of the Lord's hand; and not fmother that fire within our breasts, but lay it out before the Lord, and leave it there, 1 Sam. i. 18. ? and labour to please God and confult our own welfare by a holy and moderate cheerfulness, Prov. xvii. 22.

4thly, Anxiety, distracting carking cares about the things of this life. As men fearing that they fhall not fleep, do thereby mar their own reft; fo the body is often ruined by too much anxiety for it, Matth. vi. 31. "Take no thought what ye fhall eat, &c." Gr. " Rack not your mind." When the mind is on the tenter-hooks, the body must smart for it. As the ape kills its fondling by hugging it, so do men kill themselves by indulging anxious cares. Let us labour then for a holy careleffness in thefe matters; let us use lawful means, and leave the fuccefs quietly on the Lord. Though anxiety will not add a cubit to our ftature, it may through time take a cubit from it, Phil. iv. 6.

5thly, Neglecting of our bodies, Col. ii. 23. when we do not make a convenient use of the means of life and health; as when people deny themselves the neceffary measure of food, fleep, exercife, recreations, phyfic, clothes, and houfing. People may be guilty againft their own lives this way, (1.) By a careless negligent difpofition, Eccl. x. 18. (2.) From the plague of a covetous pinching humour, that they cannot find in their heart to ufe the gift of God to them, Eccl. vi. 2. (3.) By means of inordinate paffions, 1 Kings

xxi. 4. (4) Sometimes Satan has driven people under conviction to this, fuggefting to them that they have no right to these things. But as long as men live, though they have not a covenant-right, they have a common providential right to the means of life; and the command binds, Thou shalt not kill. It is a duty of this command, then, to take care of our bodies and provide them neceffaries fo far as we can: they are not ours, but God's.

6thly, Intemperance, when people keep no measure in fatisfying of the flesh, Luke xxi. 34. They pamper the flesh, till the beast turns furious, and ruins itself. When God made man, he impreffed an image of his fovereignty on him, made him lord over the beafts; but now, without the beasts, and within the affections, are turned rebels. This is a monster with three heads.

:

́ (1.) Gluttony, intemperance in eating. Man fhould eat to live; but fome, like the beafts live to eat. The law of God will not allow people to cram their bellies, and facrifice to a greedy appetite, Phil. iii. 19. It is a degree of felfmurder; for it cuts fhort people's days, which fobriety would prolong. There is a curfe entailed upon it, which is often feen to take effect, Prov. xxiii. 20. 21. "Be not amongst wine-bibers; amongst riotous eaters of flesh. For the drunkard and the glutton fhall come to poverty: and drowfinefs fhall clothe a man with rags." The glutton and the drunkard, in fcripture-language, is equivalent to a ne'er-dowell in ours, Deut. xxi. 20. 21. It is a beaftly fin. A heathen calls the glutton's belly a fwine's trough. A fcavenger, whofe occupation is to empty, is to be preferred to the glut ton, who lives to fill a privy.

(2.) Drunkenness, intemperance in drinking, Luke xxi. 34.

A fin that makes quick work for the grave, and has carried many thither ere they have lived half their days. Reafon differences men from beafts, but the beastly fin of ` drunkenness takes away that, robbing men of reason. It is the devil's rack, on which while he has men, they will babble out every thing; for quod in corde fobrii, in ore ebrii. It is an inlet to other fins: for what will a man not do in his drunkenness, if he have a temptation to it? It destroys a man's health, wealth and foul; murders foul and body at once. The Lacedæmonians ufed to fill their flaves drunk, that their children, feeing the picture of drunkennefs might loath it.

We have the picture of it, Prov. xxiii. 29. &c. (1.) It embroils men in quarrels "Who hath wo? who hath forrow? who hath contentions?" Many have wo and forrow that cannot help it; but drunkards wilfully create them to themfelves. When drink is in, wit is out. Thence proceed drunken fcuffles; babling in fcurrilous language; and from words they go to blows, wounds without cause. (2.) It ruins their bodies; redness of eyes, a fign of inward inflammation, through drink and watching, not through weeping and praying. (3.) It exposes them to uncleannefs, ver 33. "Thine eyes fhall behold ftrange women." (4.) It makes their tongues ramble, speak contrary to religion, reason, common civility, yea, nonsense. (5.) It befots them; it makes their heads giddy, and they are fearless of danger, ver. 34. "Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a maft." (6.) Lastly, It is a bewitching fin. The man fees the ill of it, but his heart is hardened, he has no power to leave it, ver. 35. "They have ftricken me, fhalt thou fay, and I was not fick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when fhall I awake? I will feek it yet again.". The curfe of God is entailed on it, If. xxviii. 1, 2, 3. "Wo to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whofe glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying ftorm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, fhall caft down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim fhall be trodden under feet."

(3.) Intemperance in any other fenfual pleafure, Luke viii. 14. The pleasures of the fenfes are often chains to the foul, and fcourges to the body; and intemperance in them will make them fo. Too much pleafing the body may make mourning at last, Prov. v. 11. A man may fin against God and his own body in the intemperate ufe of any fenfual pleafure whatsoever, though in itself lawful; and no doubt much guilt is contracted in the intemperate use of tobacco, and fuch like things, 1 Cor. vi. 12.

7thly, Immoderate labour and painfulness, Eccl. ii. 22, 23. Labour and exercise in moderation is like a fober wind that purifies the air, and is good for the body and foul too: but

immoderate labour and exercife is like a violent wind that throws down the house, and plucks up the tree by the roots.

Lastly, Expofing of ourselves to unneceffary hazards, Matth. iv. 7. To put ourselves in hazard where we have no call, is to fin against God and ourselves. And in this cafe, God defires mercy, and not facrifice.

SECONDLY, We will confider this command as relating to our neighbour's life.

FIRST, Thou fhalt not kill thy neighbour's foul. It is fin that is the killing thing both to our own and our neighbour's foul. And there are feveral ways how men fall into this guilt of murdering the fouls of others. As,

1. By giving them an example of fin. God forbade to lay a ftumbling-block before the blind; but the world is filled with these, and fo ruined, Matth. xviii. 7. Men do ill things, and think that if they do ill, it is but to themselves. No; but thereby thou doft what lies in thee to ruin others.

Yea, example is not only ruining to others in evil things, but alfo, (1.) In doing what has the appearance of evil: therefore we should take heed to that, because others may take the appearance for reality, and fo be ruined by us. (2.) By an uncharitable use of our Christian liberty in things indifferent. Thus the ftrong may ruin the weak, Rom. xiv. 15.

2. By co-operating directly to the fin of our neighbour, which is indeed the lending our destroying hand to ruin his foul, whereby his blood comes to be charged on us. It is the putting a cup of poison in his hand to dispatch himself, and a reaching of the sword to the madman, which whofo do are acceffory to his death. Thus men are guilty,

1ft, By commanding others to fin, as Jeroboam made Ifrael to fin. So magiftrates by finful laws, and all fuperiors whatsoever, when they use their authority to oblige another to an ill thing; or whofoever commands another to do what is finful.

2dly, By counselling others, to it, or advising them in it. The world is full of these murderers. So that, where a perfon is under temptation, there is often at hand one like Jonadab to give counsel to fome ill courfe, 2 Sam. xiii. 5. Such counfel often has the force of a command. So drunkards murder one another's fouls, Hab. ii. 15.

3dly, By joining with others in fin, Pfal. 1. 18. Going