THEY are the Words of King Solomon, and his celebrated Wisdom should give them the greater weight with us.

'Tis observable, that among all the Sins and Lusts of the flesh, the Royal Preacher takes the most notice of Whore­dom and Drunkenness. He begins with the Whore in my Context, and describes her by a deep ditch, and a narrow pit, that lyeth in wait, as for a prey, and increaseth the Transgressors among Men. To this, he subjoins the words of my Text.— Look not thou upon the wine, when it is red, when it giveth his [Page 2]colour in the cup, when it moveth it self aright.—Why not? Hath God made any thing in vain? Is not Wine ordained to cheer the heart of Man? to help his Stomach, and his often Infirmities? yes: every Creature of God is good, sanctified by Prayer, and receiv'd with Thanksgiving; but it may not be abu­sed, to feast our Luxury, and to quench our Drunken and Excessive thirst. The abuse is here forbidden, the Wine wherein is Excess; where Reason is de­thron'd, and Passion become absolute; where Men have lost the command of their Appetites, and drink at irregular hours, and to an excessive degree.—Then they must not look upon it, when it is red &c. But guard against it, and keep their distance.—Because, at the last, it biteth like a Serpent, and stingeth like an Adder. (i. e.) 'Tis of pernicious consequence to the Drunkard.

In the Prosecution therefore of the Subject, I shall Consider.

• I. The Character and Consequences of Wine, or a­ny other Liqour, drank to Excess.
• II. The Reasons, why we should abstain, and keep our distance from it.

I. The Character and Consequences of Wine, or a­ny other Liquor, drank to Excess.

1. 'Tis of pernicious Consequence to the Purse.

Be not amongst Wine-bibbers, amongst riotous Eaters of Flesh; for the Drunkard, and the Glutton shall come to Poverty. What is said of the Whore, is applicable enough to the Cup, that by Means thereof, a Man is brought to a piece of Bread. How often has this Observa­tion been verified in our Eyes? How usual a Thing is it for Persons addicted to Liquor, to set out in the World, with a good, improveable Interest, and to be reduced, by excessive Drinking, to Penury and Want; to see them naked and hungry, living on their Neighbours Charity, or spending their Days in Goals and Prisons: Of this we have, not one or two, but many Instances. [Page 3]Men that have brought themselves, and (which is more affecting) their innocent Families, to shameful Beggary:—Nor can it morally speaking, be otherwise.

• (1.) When the Liquor they swallow is so Expensive. When their Expences run up to Hundreds, if not Thousands in the year. Men need plentiful Estates, a large Fund, and great Incomes, to Ballance the Expence of superfluous Liquors, abstract from the Necessaries of Life.
• (2.) As their Liquor is Expensive, so their Time is Consumed. When they should be at Home, then they are abroad at a Tavern, and drinking, when they should attend their Business and Callings; and 'tis well, if their Cups have not the larger half of their Time: 'Tis notoriously so in too many Instan­ces; who Work one day, and, perhaps, Drink out two.
• (3.) They not only consume their Time, but lose their disposition for Business.

  The Drunkard daily contracts slothful Habits, and a growing Aversion to his Work and Calling. He is unfit for Labour, and in his soberest Hours, cannot so well project his Schemes, or dispose his Affairs.

• (4.) I might add, under the Head of Penury, how exposed he stands to the Impositions of Knaves & Cheats.

How often do they take the advantage of his Cups, and sleeping Reason? to entice him into Contracts and Bargains that are injurious to his Interest; and sometimes to subscribe Papers to his ruine & destruct­ion? I am perswaded, I need not help your Me­mories here, nor Recollect for you. These several ways, among others, does the Drunkard come to Poverty. An Argument, I have the longer insisted upon, because it draws its force, from the inconsist­ency of the Sin, with the Riches and Profits of this World, which is most apt to affect the Minds of such, as look not at the Things, which are unseen and E­ternal. Nor is Poverty the only pernicious conse­quence of the Cup. For,

[Page 4] 2. It strikes the Reputation and Character.

Men act below their Honour, and expose them­selves in their Wine, sometimes by foolish, imperti­nent Questions and Answers, inconsistent with their sober tho'ts and discretion; and sometimes, by unbe­coming, if not immodest Actions; as Noah drank of the Wine, and was uncovered in his Tent. When Micah saw David dance before the Ark, tho' out of a religi­ous respect and gladness, she despised him in her Heart, and said scoffing, How glorious did the King of Israel look to day, in the Eyes of his Servants & Maidens! —Methinks, the Irony may more naturally, and with a more visible Justice, be applied to the Drunkards. How glorious do they look in the Eyes of sober Men! staggering over the Plains; wandring out of their Way; their Mouths full of Bitterness and Cursing, and beastly Communication; their Eyes dim and drowsy; their Reason drowned, and the Man a Brute, in a different Shape. If this be an honourable Stroke in a Man's Character, the Drunkard may be sure of Honour enough. And next to a Man's Life and Health, and before his Interest, is his Character. A good Name is as precious Ointment, but the Drunkard, is a dead Fly, which makes it stink in the Nostrils of Fame.

3. Drunkenness is a leading Iniquity, a capital Crime, and draws a Complication of Sins after it.

• (1.) It's direct Tendency is to all Uncleanness.

  The wise Man therefore connects them, and assigns impure Desires, as the effect of the Cup. Thine Eyes shall behold strange Women. Reason is then depo­sed, and Passion, absolute enough before, receives an Incentive from Liquor, and burns up to an impure Fire: Witness Lot's Incest with his two Daughters, after he had drank of the Wine. These two Adepts in Wickedness, knew of no other Method, to reach their cursed Ends, but to make their Father drink Wine. I will not offend [Page 5]a modest Audience, in descending too much into Par­ticulars; I will only say, that Men (and why should I leave out Women?) run to such extravagant lengths of Uncleanness, in their Cups, as would make them blush, at the very mention, when their sober Tho'ts and Reason return.

• (2.) It directly leads to open Prophaneness.

  It corrupts the Language, and debauches the Tongue, which is then a Fire, set on Fire of Hell and Liquor, in union. What prophane Speeches, enough to make a sober Ear tremble, drop from the Drunk­ards Mouth: Language, perhaps, he was never ac­customed to. How are all the Bonds of Profession, and the Power of the strictest Education, forgot in a Tavern. Those that pass for Saints, and Men of Re­ligion, if captivated by the Cup, when it giveth his Colour, are as loose and prophane, as the greatest Practitioners.

• (3.) It often runs into Murder it self.

  A thousand unhappy Proofs we have of this, and some very modern. Liquor inflames the Passions; then arises Contention, Heat and Blood; then Duelling, or private Attempts, and sometimes the open Act of Murder. This is often the Issue with Men: And how often have we known the other Sex, first in their Cups, then prompted to Uncleanness, then to stifle their Conception, or to imbrew their Hands in the Blood of their Infants? The same Persons the Instru­ments of their Being and Death. These three Sins, Drunkenness leads us to, by a natural and direct Ten­dency; and in a remoter Sense, it is the Occasion of all Sin. Our Saviour exhorts us, to watch and pray, lest we enter into Temptation; but a Man in Drink, is unfit for both. Therefore, when the Apostle Peter would commend Vigilance, he first exhorts to Sobriety. Be Sober, be Vigilant, for your Adversary the Devil, as a roring Lyon, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. All our Vigilance and Strength, are lit­tle [Page 6]enough to guard us against him. What must be­come of us then, when Wine has thrown us upon our Backs, and lull'd us into a spiritual Lethargy! There is no Sin so unnatural, but a Drunkard may commit it; tho' it be to murder his Father, and to defile his Mother.

4. The Sin of Drunkenness wounds the Conscience.

What bitter Reflections follow the Cup! At the last it biteth like a Serpent, and stingeth like an Adder. Nothing remains but Remorse of Conscience, and like John's prophetick Book, the Wine that was sweet in the Mouth, becomes bitter in the Belly. Or, if the Drun­kard be without this consequent Remorse, when his Rea­son returns, his Case is yet worse, and more to be pitied; 'tis an awful sign his Conscience is seared, and instead of warning, shall only awake to tear him in Hell, where the Worm dieth not.

5. Drunkenness unfits us for all publick Services.

How may Persons, distinguish'd by Nature, and otherwise qualified for Posts of Honour, and the highest Stations in the civil Government, render themselves incapable of such important Trusts, only by indulging a brutish Appetite after the Cup. I say, incapable. For Men of Rule, and Justice, must be Men of Temperance, and Sobriety: 'Tis not for Kings to drink Wine, nor for Princes strong Drink; lest they drink and forget the Law, and pervert the Judgment of the afflicted. And the same holds good in sacred Government. The Priest, and the Prophet have erred thro' strong Drink; they are swallowed up of Wine, they are out of the Way, thro' strong Drink; they err in Vision, they stumble in Judgment. When Persons at the Helm of any Government reel themselves, how can we expect that Government should be steady, or the Administrations of it Re­gular? So that the Sot, is at best, but an insignifi­cant Cypher in human Society, and of all Men, is the most unfit, to serve his Generation.

[Page 7] 6. It incapacitates Men for Church-Communion, and the Enjoyment of Special Ordinances.

We cannot drink the Cup of the Lord, and the Cup of Devils. What fellowship hath Christ with Drunkards ? How dare we drink the Consecrated Wine, and be filled with that wherein is Excess ! To admit such to the Table of the Lord, is to give that which is Holy unto Dogs; which we dare not do, at our utmost Perils: And, if there be any Drunk­ards of our Communion, I solemnly Charge them, either to Repent or Absent.

7. Drunkenness is an Enemy to the Life of Men.

How frequently is it attended with Surfeits? And how does it impair the Constitution, and often be­come the Original of Mortal Distempers? And who hath Wo? who hath Sorrow? who hath Conten­tion? who hath Wounds without cause? who hath redness of Eyes! They that tarry long at the Wine, they that go to seek mixt Wine. Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may fol­low Strong Drink; that continue until night, until Wine inflame them: Wo unto them, that are migh­ty to drink Wine, and Men of strength, to mingle Strong Drink. How many Accidents are they expo­sed to! They sometimes fall from their Horses, in returning from the Tavern, and sometimes stumble on the dark Mountains, and break and bruise their Limbs, when they escape with their Lives. They are Objects of contempt and scorn, to their Compa­ny, and subject to the insults of their Enemies. E­lah was drinking himself Drunk, in the house of Arka, when Zimri smote and killed him. Benhadad also was drinking himself Drunk, in the Pavilion, when Israel came and slew the Syrians. So, when Destruction was determined against Nabal, his heart was merry within him, for he was very Drunken. And, says Solomon, describing the Drunkards securi­ty, in the most imminent Dangers, Thou shalt be as [Page 8]he that lyeth down in the midst of the Sea, or as he that lyeth upon the Top of a Mast; They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not.

8. Drunkenness destroys the Soul.

The Drunkard drinks at infinite Expence; he parts with his Soul, to please his Palate; and will rather cast his whole Body into Hell, then pluck out his right Eye. 'Tis a Sin that drowns Men in Perdition: For be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor Drunkards, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. The works of the Flesh are manifest, viz. Drunkenness, &c. and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they which do such things, shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. A­wake, therefore ye Drunkards, and weep and howl, all ye drinkers of Wine: Take heed to your selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with Drun­kenness, and the Day of the Lord come upon you unawares, and you drink of the wine of the Wrath of God, which is poured forth without mixture, in­to the Cup of His Indignation: for in the Hand of the Lord, is a Cup, and the Wine is red, and the Dregs thereof all the Wicked of the Earth shall drink.

From the Character and Effects of excessive Drink­ing, I pass

II. To observe the Reasons, why we should abstain and keep at the utmost Distance from the Cup. Or in the Words of my Text, not look upon the Wine when it is red. And here,

1. The Consequences of it are to be considered.

'Tis a good Reason, which is subjoined to the Pre­cept. Who would be fond of the Adder's Sting? Or would not avoid the Bite of the Serpent? Drun­kenness is the Serpent and the Adder; the Consequences of it makes it so: They are very Pernicious; Per­nicious [Page 9]as I have described it, to the Purse, reducing Men and their Families to Want and Poverty; Per­nicious to their Reputation and Character; 'tis a lead­ing iniquity, attended with the complicated Crimes of Lust, Prophaneness and Murder, and giving the Ene­my every Advantage over us; a Sin, that wounds the Conscience, fills it with Remorse, or makes it Stupid and Useless; that unfits for publick Service, both in Church and State; and that incapacitates us for Com­munion with Christ, or a Right to his Ordinances; an Enemy to the Health and Life of Man, and in the Issue, destructive to his Soul. What greater Consi­deration can we have, to keep our Distance & Guard? The Argument is fetched from both Worlds; from Body and Soul; Self and Neighbour, and Family; Reputation, Life and Interest. If Men have no Re­gard to these, what can prevail with them !

2. Because Temptations to Drunkenness, will never excuse the Sin.

When we are surpriz'd by Temptation, the Sin is so far extenuated, and of less Aggravation in the Cir­cumstance, but not wholly excuseable; the Authority of God prohibiting, being infinitely Superiour to the Power of the Creature, tempting. But when we run into Temptation, I cannot see how the Power of it will, either excuse, or extenuate a Fault. It will be no Plea for the Drunkard in the Day of Judgment, that he was tempted by the Cup. God may then ask him, What was the Rule of your Practice? Your own Appetite, or my Precept? Which ought to have had the first Influence upon you? The Authority of my Law, or the Perswasions of the Creature? Was I to be contemn'd? Was my Law to be undervalu'd? My Threatnings despised? And my Grace slighted? And my Son rejected? for a contemptible Cup, and a brui­tish Gratification? Or, if the Temptations of Liquor were so powerful, and the Charms of the Cup so irre­sistable, why did you Venture upon it? When your [Page 10]Experience told you, once and again, your own Weak­ness and Insufficiency, why did you not take the Warning? Why would you run again, among sottish Companions to Taverns and Houses of Perdition? If you could not forbear, nor moderate your Draught, you should not have gone, nor have look'd upon the Wine when it was red, when it gave his Colour in the Cup. Such Questions as these will strike the Drunkard Speechless.

3. We should keep our Distance from the Cup, be­cause we are so often conquer'd by it.

Simply considered, it can be no Crime, to look upon the Wine when it is red, nor to drink it in Moderation. This Timothy himself might do; but the Consequences of it make it Dangerous and Cri­minal. The Line of Division between Vertue and Vice, Good and Evil, is very narrow, and soon stept over; and to venture, in some Cases, to the Extremity of what is Lawful, is almost venturing upon what is otherwise. A Man that would not fall, must not go too near the Precipice. A Man that will run in­to a publick House, is in Danger of looking upon the Wine; and he that looks upon the Wine, is in dan­ger of Drinking, and he that Drinks in danger of drinking to Excess. I appeal to the Experience of some Drunkards, whether they have not flatter'd themselves, at first, with the Tho'ts of Moderation, and been sufficiently guarded, in their own Conceit, against all Excesses, and yet been insensibly tempted, and drank away their Reason and Senses: If we ex­pect to be delivered from Evil, we must not be led into Temptation. This stands first in the Lord's Prayer.

Thus have I shewn the pernicious Consequences of Drunkenness; and the Reasons, why we should avoid the most distant Temptations to it? I will not deny, but both the Propositions are directly, and designedly, levell'd against Taverns; not against Taverns in their [Page 11] original Design, when first set up to accommodate Strangers, and to provide against their Intrusion into private Families: But against Taverns degenerated from their first Design, and debauch'd and fill'd with sottish Neighbours. To such Houses we owe all the foremention'd Effects of Drunkenness. Here 'tis, that the Wine looks red, and moveth it self aright; Here 'tis that Nature and Art unite, and tempt the Palate, with agreeable Mixtures: These are the Houses, that make Men Beggars, that destroy the Funds of Cha­rity, and rob Families of their just and proper Live­lihoods. These are the Houses, that wound our Cha­racter and Reputation; that lead into Acts of Un­cleanness, Hostility, Murder and Prophaneness; that waste and stupify our Consciences; make us unfit for publick Service and Church Privileges: These are the Houses, that strike at Men's Lives, Health and Con­stitution; that make Merchandise of their Souls; and in a Word, destroy us for both Worlds. What a hea­vy Charge is this upon those that keep them! Thou­sands may curse them in this World, and the Blood of Thousands will cry against them in the next. If we are come to Hell, say they, You, you we may thank, in a great measure for it. Our Ministers faith­fully warn'd us against the Sin of Drunkenness, and plainly told us the Consequences of it; but you have tempted us into it; you first tempted us to your Houses, and when you saw us drink to Excess, you never put the Knife to our Throat, nor deny'd us Liquor, nor confin'd us to proper Hours; the longer we staid, and the more we drank, the greater was your Profit from us, and you valued your Purse more than our Souls. Now, we curse the Day, when we knew you; we curse the Time, when we stepp'd o­ver your Threshold, and the unhappy Hours we con­sum'd in Drinking at your Houses. I know Tavern-keepers think little of this; and plead, Not Guilty, to the whole Charge. We never, say they, forced [Page 12]any Man; every one had his Liberty to go or stay. But what Mockery is this! If they never forced, it was because they could not: To tempt was all they could do, and this they did with all imaginable Art; and the Devil himself is excused, by the same Argu­ment, for he can only tempt, and has Power to force no Man: But if those who keep such Houses regard not what I say, yet I expect some Regard from you, that hear me, and now solemnly warn you against Taverns.

1. I beseech and charge you this Day, to exercise your Parental Affection, Authority, and Endeavours, to keep your Children from such Houses of Hell and Perdition.

They are young, and passionate, and more easily tempted, than Age and Experience. Remember what hopeful Youths, have been deceived, and ruin'd by Taverns; Ruin'd I say, for Body & Soul, for Time and Eternity: And your Children are but Children of the same common nature and weakness with others, and it must be your Parental Care, and the Exercise of your Authority over them, under God, if they escape the Snare, and fall not into the same Ditch. Had not the Parents in this Place, been too Remiss in this great Duty, so many of our Youth, 'tis probable, had not been so Vicious, as they are. —Let this negli­gence, be never again reprov'd in you. If you have any regard to the interest of your Children in this World; If you value their Repute and Charact­er; if you would preserve a good Conscience in them: If you have any compassion for their Souls or Bodies. If you would have them dedicated to God, and devoted to His Service here, or dwell with Him hereafter; And (I will say) if the interests of this Church, or that Religion, in general, which is pure and undefiled, have any weight with you; Keep them; Keep them from Taverns; Keep them at re­motest distance; Let them not go by the door of such [Page 13]Houses, nor be found in such Company, however civil and obliging, as would lead them there. Keep them, therefore, as much as may be, at Home, under the inspection of your own Eye; for better follow your Children to their Graves, than see them run into Taverns.

2. With the same Solemnity, and Earnestness, I beseech and charge you to absent your selves.

If you are not so easily tempted as your Children, yet the Consequences of your going are great, and you have no just Plea for it. Neither from the Command of your Passions; nor from the necessity of your Business.

1. It is no just plea for a Man to say, I am so well fortifyed by the Grace of God, and have my Passions in so just a subjection to my Reason, that for the sake of agreeable Company, I may innocently enough fre­quent a Tavern. This I say, is not a just Plea. For,

• 1. You stand by the Grace of God, and not by your own natural power. This you confess, and therefore ought to take heed, lest you fall: If God withdraw His Grace, you will as soon lose the com­mand of your Passions, as another, and drink with the Drunken.
• 2. You tempt God, by going to withdraw His Grace. God's Grace never supersedes Man's endeavours; they always act in concurrence; and when Grace is thus abused to wantonness, and pleaded as an argu­ment for Publick Houses, 'tis a Sovereign wonder, if it be not withdrawn.
• 3. Supposing, God should continue His Grace, and you should have the command of your own Pas­sions; yet your example may embolden others, who perhaps, have not your Grace. They think 'tis e­nough to justify them for ever, when they can say, such and such a Man, an eminent Professor, and a re­puted Christian, frequents the Tavern as well as we; and they will prophanely improve your very [Page 14] Sobriety as a further Argument in favour of their Pract­ice. Why say they, do our Preachers thunder out their Anathema's, and pretend such a necessary Con­nection betwixt Taverns and Drunkenness, when we see so many return from them sober as they went? And so you destroy the Soul of your Brother for whom Christ dyed.
• 4. You Countenance the thing it self, and practi­cally plead in vindication of those, who keep such Houses, more than a Score, of the Prophane Chara­cter. They will too naturally think, that Tavern­keeping (in the very sense which I intend) is not a Crime, when Men of Vertue and Profession thus en­courage it.
• 5. You give needless occasion of offence to them that are without.

  If you frequent a Tavern, behave your selves with the utmost Guard and Caution you can; malicious Tongues will make it a cover for their Slanders, and wound the Church of God thro' your sides.

• 6. 'Tis strange and wonderful, how a Tavern should afford agreeable Company to a Christian, un­less Cursing, Swearing, and vain Babbling can be a­greeable to Sobriety, Modesty, and Piety. And the Truth is, when a Man runs to a Tavern for Com­pany, 'tis a sign, he has little of the Saint in him. So that an Argument from this Character, and the command of our Passions, will not bear the Test. Nor

2. Will it answer better, to plead our Business. For, tis hard to conceive, why Taverns should be made the Stage of Business. An improper place 'tis, I'm sure for any Transactions of tho't, and consequence; amidst Clamour, Drinking, Gaming, and all imagi­nable confusions. So that Business is a meer pretence. Thus have I endeavour'd to expose the vile and per­nicious Sin of Drunkenness, and warn'd you faithful­ly against the Taverns. I have deliver'd my own Soul, and if you will not take the Warning, your Blood, and your Childrens Blood be upon your own Head.