The heinous sin of drunkenness. A sermon / preached by George Whitefield, A.B. of Pembroke College, Oxford.

EPHESIANS 5. 6.

Be not drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

THE Persons to whom these Words were writ|ten, were the People of Ephesus; who being, as we are told in the Acts, Worshippers of the great Goddess Diana, in all Probability worshipped the God Bacchus also: at the Celebration of whose Fe|stivals, it was always customary, nay, Part of their Religion, to get drunk; as though there was no o|ther Way to please their God, but by turning them|selves into Brutes.

The Apostle therefore, in this Chapter, amongst many other precepts more especially applicable to them, lays down that in the Text; and exhorts them, as they had now, by the free Grace of God, been turned from heathenish Darkness to the Light of the Gospel, to walk as Children of Light, and no longer make it Part of their Religion or Practice to be drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess; but, on the contrary, strive to be filled with the Spirit of that Saviour, after whose Name they were now cal|led, and whose Religion taught them to abstain from such a filthy Sin, and to live soberly as they ought to live.

By the World being now Christian, and the Doc|trines of the Gospel every where received, one would imagine, there should be no Reason for re|peating the Precepts now before us. But alas, Christians! I mean Christians falsly so called, are so ••ed captive by all Sin in General, and by this of

Drunkenness in particular, that was St. Paul to rise again from the dead, he might be tempted to think most of us were turned back to the Worship of dumb Idols; that we had set up Temples in Honour of Bacchus, and ma••••; it Part of our Religion, as the Ephesians did of theirs, to be drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess.

Our civil Magistrates have not been wanting to use the Power given them from above for the Punish|ment and Restraint of such evil Doings; and I wish it could be said this Plague of Drinking, by what they have done, had been stayed amongst us. But alas! though their Labour, we trust, has not been altogether in vain in the Lord, yet thousands, and I could almost say, ten thousands fall daily at our Right Hand, by this Sin of Drunkenness, in our Streets; nay, Men seem to have made a Covenant with Hell, and though the Power of the civil Magistrate is ex|erted against them; nay, and though they cannot but daily see the Companions of their Riot hourly by this, brought to the Grave, yet they will rise up early to follow strong Drink, and cry, To Morrow shall be as to Day, and so much the more abundantly; when we awake, we will seek it yet again.

It is high Time therefore, for thy Ministers to life up their Voices like a Trumpet, and since human Threats cannot prevail, to set before them the Ter|rors of the Lord, and try if these will not persuade them to cease from the Evil of their Doings.

But alas! how shall I address my self to them? I fear Excess of Drinking has made them such meer Nabals, that there is no speaking to them. And ma|ny of God's Servants have toiled all their Lifetimes in dissuading them from this Sin of Drunkenness, yet they will not forbear. However, at his Com|mand,

I will speak also, though they be a rebellious House. Magnify thy Strength, O Lord, in my Weakness, and grant that I may speak with such Demonstration of the Spirit, and with Power, that from henceforward they may cease to act so unwisely, and this Sin of Drunkenness may not be their Ruin.

Believe me, ye unhappy Men of Belial (for such, alas! this Sin has made you) it is not without the strongest Reasons, as well as utmost Concern for your precious and immortal Souls, that I now conjure you, in the Apostles Words, Not to be drunk with Wine, or any other Liquor, wherein is Excess.

For, First, Drunkenness is a Sin which must be highly displeasing to God; because it is an Abuse of his good Creatures.

When God first made Man, and had breathed into him the breath of Life, he gave him Dominion over the Works of his Hands, and every Herb bearing Seed, and every Tree, in which was the Fruit of a Tree yielding Seed, to him it was given for Meat; but when Adam had tasted the forbidden Fruit, which was the only Restraint laid upon him, he forfeited this Priviledge, and had no Right, since he had disobeyed his Creator, to the Use of any one of the Creatures.

But, blessed be God, this Charter, as well as all other Priviledges, is restored to us by the Death of the second Adam, our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Of every Beast of the Field, every Fish of the Sea, and whatsoever flieth in the Air, or moveth on the Face of the Earth, that is fit for Food, we may free|ly eat, i. e. without Scruple take, and eat; but then, with this Limitation, that we use them moderately. For God, by the Death of Jesus, has given no Man

License to be intemperate; but, on the contrary, has laid us under the strongest Obligations to live soberly, as well as godly, in this present World.

But the Drunkard, despising the Goodness and Bounty of God, in restoring to us what we had so justly forfeited, turns his Grace into Wantonness; and as though the Creature was not of itself enough subject to Vanity, by being Cursed for our Sakes, he abuses it still more, by making it administer to his Lusts; and turns that Wine which was intended to make glad his Heart, into a deadly Poison.

But thinkest thou, O Drunkard, whosoever thou art, thou shalt escape the righteous Judgment of God? No, the Time will shortly come that thou must be no longer Steward, and then the sovereign Lord of all the Earth will reckon with thee for thus wasting his Goods. Alas! wilt thou then wrest Scripture any longer to thy own Damnation? And because Jesus Christ turned Water into Wine at the Marriage Feast, to supply the Wants of his indigent Host, say, that it is therefore meet to make merry, and be drunken. No, thou shalt be silent before him; and know, that tho' thou hast encouraged thy|self in Drunkenness by such like Arguments, yet for all these Things God will bring thee into Judgment.

But, Secondly, What makes Drunkenness more ex|ceeding sinful, is, that a Man, by falling into it, sin|neth against his own Body!

When the Apostle would dissuade the Corinthians from Fornication, he urges this as an Argument, Flee Fornication, says he, Brethren; for he that com|mitteth Fornication, sinneth against his own Body. And may not I as justly cry out, Flee Drunkenness, my Brethren, since he that committeth that Crime,

sinneth against his own Body? For, from whence come so many Diseases and Distempers in you Bo|dies: Come they not from hence, even from your Intemperance in drinking? Who hath Pains in the Head? Who hath Rottenness in the Bones? Who hath Redness of Eyes? He that tarries long at the Wine, he that rises early to seek new Wine. How many walking Skeletons have you seen, whose Bodies were once exceeding fair to look upon, fat, and well favoured; but, by this Sin of drinking, how has their Beauty departed from them, and how have they been permitted to walk to and fro upon the Earth, as though God intended to set them up, as he did Lot's Wife, for Monuments of his Justice, that others might learn not to get drunk? Nay I appeal to yourselves. Are not many, for this Cause, even now sickly among you? And have not many of your Companions whom you once saw flourishing, like green Bay Trees, been brought by it, with Sorrow, to their Graves?

We might perhaps, think ourselves hardly dealt with by God, was he to send to us, as he did to the royal Psalmist, to choose one Plague out of three, whereby we should be destroyed. But had the Almighty decreed to cut off Man from the Face of the Earth, and to shorten his Days, he could not well send a more effectual Plague than to per|mit Men, as they pleased, to overcharge themselves with Drunkenness; for though it be a slow, vet it is a certain Poison. And if the Sword has slain its thousands, Drunkenness has slain its ten thousands.

And will not this alarm you, O ye Transgressors? Will not this persuade you to spare yourselves, and to do your Bodies no Harm? What, have you lost the first Principles of human Nature, the fundamen|tal

Law of Self-preservation? You seem to have a great Fondness for your Bodies, why otherwise to gratify their inordinate Appetites, do you drink to Excess? But surely, if you truly loved them, you would not thus destroy them; and was there no other Argument to be urged against Drunkenness, the Con|sideration that it will destroy those Lives you are so fond of, one would imagine, should be sufficient.

I know, indeed, that it is a common Answer that Dru••kards make to those, who, out of Love, would pull them as Firebrands out of the Fire "We are no Body's Enemy but our own." But this, in|stead of being an excuse for, is but an Aggravation of their Guilt: For (not to mention that the Drun|kenness of one Man has c••••athed many a Family with Rags, and that it is sc••ace po••••••ble for a Person to be drunk, without t••••pting his Neighbour also) I say, not to mention these, and many other ill Con|sequences, which would prove such an Excuse to be entirely false; yet what is dearer to a Man than him|self? And if he himself be lost, what would all the whole World avail him? But how wilt thou stand. O Man, before the Judgment-Seat of Christ, and make such an Excuse, when thou shalt be arraigned before him as a Self-Murderer? Will it then be suf|ficient, thinkest thou, to say, I was no Man's Enemy but my own? No; God will then tell thee, that thou wast not thy own; that thou wast bought with the Price of his dear Son's Blood, and thou oughtest therefore to have glorified him with thy Spirit, and with thy Body, which were his. And since thou hast, by Intemperance, destroyed thy Body, he will destroy both thy Body and Soul in Hell.

But, Thirdly, What renders Drunkenness more inexcusible, is, that it robs a Man of his Reason.

Reason is the Glory of a Man; the chief Thing whereby God has made us to differ from the Brute Creation. And our modern Unbelievers have exalt|ed it to such a high Degree, as even to set it in Op|position to Revelation, and deny the Lord that bought them. But though in doing this, they great|ly err, and whilst they profess themselves wise, be|come real Fools; ••et we must acknowledge, that Reason is the Can••••e of the Lord, and whosoever puts it out, shall bear his Punishment, whosoever he be.

But yet, this the Drunkard does. Nebuchadnez|zar's Curse he makes his Choice, his Reason depar|teth from him; and then what is he better than a Brute?

The very Heathen Kings were so sensible of this, that, in order to deter their young Princes from drinking, they used to make their Slaves get drunk, and be exposed before them. And didst thou but see thine own Picture, O Drunkard, when, after having drowned thy Reason, thou staggerest to and fro, like one of the Fools in Israel, and seest thy very Companions making Songs upon thee, surely thou wouldst not return to thy Vomit again, but ab|hor thyself in Dust and Ashes?

When David, in a holy Extacy, was dancing be|fore the Ark, Mich••••, Saul's Daughter, despiseth him in her Heart; and when he came home, she said, How glorious was the King of Israel to Day, who uncovered himself to Day in the Eyes of the Handmaids of his Servants, as one of the vain Fel|lows shamelesly uncovereth himself. And may not every one that meets a Drunkard, more justly say,

How glorious does he, that was made a little lower than the Angels, look to Day, when unmindful of his Dignity, he has, by drinking, robbed himself of his Reason, and reduced himself to a Level with the Beasts that perish.

But what if God, in the midst of one of these drunken Fits, should arrest thee by Death, and say unto thee Thou Fool, this Moment shall thy Soul be required of thee. Oh! How wouldst thou appear in those filthy Garments before that God, in whose Sight the Heavens are not clean. And how know|est thou, O Man, but this may be thy Lot? Hast thou not known many, in thy Life-time, summoned at such an unguarded Hour; and what Assurance hast thou given thee, that thou shalt not be the next? Because God has forborn thee so long, think|est thou he will forbear always? No, this is rather a Sign that he will come at an Hour thou lookest not for him; and since his Goodness and Long-Suffering has not led thee to Repentance, he will cut thee down, and not permit thee to cumber the Ground any longer. Consider this then, all ye that count it a Pleasure to turn yourselves 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Brutes, lest God pluck you away by a sudden Death and there be none to deliver you.

But, Fourthly, There is a farther Aggravation of this Crime, that it is an Inlet to, and Forerun|ner of many other Sins; for it seldom comes alone.

We may say of Drunkenness, as Solomon does of S••ri••e, that it is like the letting out of Water; for we know not what will be the End thereof. Its Name is Legion; For behold a Troop of Sins cometh after it. And for my own Part, when I see a Drun|kard, I can scarce, with the holy Prophet, when he

looked in Hazael's Face, forbear weeping, to con|sider how many Vices he may fall into, ere he comes to himself again.

What horrid Incest did righteous Let commit with his own Daughters when they had made him drunk? And, I doubt not, but there are many amongst you, who have committed such Crimes when you have deprived yourselves of your Reason by drinking; that were you to hear of them, your Heart, like Nabal's, after he was told how he had abused David when he was drunk, would die within you. And had any one told you, when you were sober, hat you would have been guilty of such Crimes, you would have cried out, with Hazael before mention|ed, Are thy Servants so many Dogs, that they should do thus?

But no marvel that Drunkards commit such Crimes: For Drunkenness drives the Holy Spirit from them; they become meer Machines for the Devil to work up to what he pleases; he enters into them, as he entered into the Herd of Swine; and no Wonder if they then commit all Uncleanness, and any other Crime, with Greediness. But this leads me to a

Fifth Consideration, which highly aggravates the Sin of Drunkenness, viz. That it seperates the holy Spirit from us.

It is to be hoped, that no one here present need be informed, that before we can be Christians indeed, we must receive the Holy Ghost, must be born again from above, and have the Spirit of God witnessing with our Spirits, that we are the Sons of God. This, this alone is true Christianity; and without the Cohabitation of this Blessed Spirit in our Hearts,

our Righteousness does not exceed the Righteousness of the Scri••es and Pharisees, and we shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God.

But now, Drunkards do, in Effect, bid this Bles|sed Spirit depart from them: For what has he to do with such filthy Swine? No, they 〈◊〉〈◊〉 no Lot or Share in the Spirit of the Son of David. They have chased him our of their Hearts, by defiling his Temple; I mean their Bodies. And he can no more hold Communion with them, than Light can have Communion with Darkness, or Christ have Concord with Belial.

The Apostle therefore, in the Words of the Text, exorts the Ephesians, not to be drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess, but to be filled with the Spirit; thereby implying▪ that Drunkenness and the Spirit of God could never dwell in the same Heart. And in another Epistle, he bids them avoid unprofitable Conversation, as a Thing which grieved the Holy Spirit; whereby alone they could be sealed to the Day of Redemptions. And if unprofitable Conversation grieves the Holy Spirit, at what an infinite Distance must Drunkenness drive him from the Hearts of Men?

But oh that you were wise! That you would con|sider what a dreadful Thing it is to have the Spirit of the living God depart from you: For, assure yourselves, if you live without him, you live with|out God in the World. You are in the same miser|able forlorn Condition as Saul was, when an evil Spirit of the Lord came upon him; and you are only so many Vessels of Wrath fitted for Distruction. But this brings me to the

Sixth and last Reason I shall urge against the Sin of Drunkenness, that it absolutely unfits a Man for the Enjoyment of God in Heaven, and exposes him to his Eternal Wrath.

To see and enjoy God, and to be like the blessed Angels, always beholding the Face of our Heavenly Father, in the Glories of his Kingdom, is such an unspeakable Happiness, that even wicked Men, though they will not live the Life of the Righteous, cannot but wish their future State to be like his.

But think you, O ye Drunkards, that you shall ever be Partakers of this Inheritance with the Saints in Light? Do you flatter yourselves, that you, who have made them often the Subject of your drunken Songs, shall now be exalted to sing with them the Heavenly Songs of Sion? No, as by Drunkenness you have made your Hearts Cages of unclean Birds, with impure and unclean Spirits must you dwell.

A burning Tophet, kindled by God's Wrath, is prepared for your Reception, where you must suffer the Vengeance of an eternal Fire, and in vain cry out for a Drop of Water to cool your Tongues. In|deed you shall drink, but it shall be a Cup of God's Fury: For in the Hand of the Lord, there will be a Cup of Fury, it will be full mixed; and as for the Dregs thereof, all the Drunkards of the Land shall suck them out.

But perhaps you may not believe this Report. These Words may be looked upon by you as idle Tales, and I may seem to you as Lot did to his Sons-in-Law, when he came to warn them to get up out of Sodom, as one that mocketh. But if you be|lieve not me, believe eternal Truth itself, and he has possitively declared, that no Drunkard shall ever enter into his Kingdom.

And I call Heaven and Earth 〈…〉〈…〉 against you this Day, that as 〈…〉〈…〉 the Lord rained Fire and Brimstone, as soon as Lot went out of S••••••m, so surely will God cast you into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, when he that come to take Vengeance on them that know not God, and have not obeyed the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Behold then I have told you before▪ remember you this Day were informed what the End of Drun|kenness would be. And I summon you, in the Name of that God whom I serve, to meet me at the Judgment-Seat of Christ, that you may acquit both my Master and me; and confess, with your own Mouths, that your Damnation was of your|selves, and that we were freed from the Blood of you all.

But, Lord, has no one believed our Report? Wilt thou suffer so many Words to be spoken in vain, if it be yet in vain? No, methinks I see some prick|ed to the Heart, and ready to cry out in the Lan|guage of David to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this Day to speak unto us. For surely, unless he had sent thee, this Sin of Drunkenness had been our Ruin. But, now, since we find whither it will lead us, we are resolved to drink no Liquor to Excess while the World stands, lest we should be tormented in the Flames of Hell.

But alas! how shall we be delivered from the Power of this Sin? Can the Ethiopian change his Skin, or the Leopard his Spots? So hard, almost, will it be for us who have been accustomed to be in|temperate, to learn to live sober.

But do not despair; for what is impossible with Man, is possible with God. Or whom then should you seek for Succour, but of him your Lord? Who,

though for this Sin of Drunkenness, he might justly turn away his Face from you; yet if you pour out your Hearts before him in daily Prayer, and ask Assistance from above, he will endue you with Power from on high, and make you more than Conquerors through Jesus Christ that loved you. Had you kept up Communion with him in Prayer, you would not so long, by Drunkenness, have had Communion with Devils. And had you besought him instantly, that you might not be led into Temptation, you would always have been delivered from the Evil of it. But 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••he Prodigal, you have desired to be your own 〈◊〉〈◊〉; you have lived without Prayer, depended on your own Strength; and see, alas! on what a broken Reed you have leaned. How soon have you made yourselves like the Beasts that have no Understanding? But turn ye, turn ye from your evil Ways. Come to him, with the repenting Pro|digal, saying, Father we have sinned, we beseech thee, let not this Sin of Drunkenness have any longer Do|minion over us. And lo! it shall happen to you even as you will.

But think not that God must do all, and you no|thing. No; as we can do nothing without him, so he will do nothing without us. And if we pray that we may not be led into Temptation, we must take heed not to throw ourselves into it.

A Second Means therefore I would recommend to you, in order to get the better of Drunkenness, is to avoid evil Company. For it is the evil Commu|nications of wicked Men, that has drawn so many thousands into this Sin, and so corrupted their good Manners.

But you may say, If I leave my Companions, I

must expect Contempt: For they will certainly despise me for being singular, And thinkest thou, O Man, ever to enter in at the strait Gate by a true Con|version, without being had in Derision of them that are round about thee? No; though thou mayst be despised, and not go to Heaven, yet thou canst not go to Heaven, without being despised: For the Friendship of the World is Enmity with God. And they that are born after the Flesh, will persecute those that are born after the Spirit. Let not, there|fore, a servile Fear of being despised by a Man that shall die, hinder thy turning unto 〈…〉〈…〉 God. For what is a little Contempt? It 〈…〉〈…〉 Vapour which vanisheth away, and cometh not again. Bet|ter be derided by a few Companions here, than be made ashamed before Men and Angels hereafter. Better be the Song of a few Drunkards on Earth, than dwell with them where they will be eternally reproaching and cursing each other in Hell. Yet a little while, and they themselves shall praise thy Do|ings, and shall say, We, fools, counted his leaving us to be Folly, and his End to be without Honour: But how is he numbered among the Sons of God, and his Lot among the Saints!

But I hasten to lay down a Third Means for those who would overcome this Sin of Drunkenness,—to enter upon a Life of strict Self-denial and Mortifica|tion: For this Kind of Sin goeth not forth but by Prayer and Fasting. It is true, this may seem a difficult Task; but then, we must thank ourselves for it; For had we begun sooner, our Work would have been the easier. And even now, if you will but strive, the Yoke of Mortification will grow ••ighter and ••ighter every Day.

And here, by way of Conclusion to this Discourse, I cannot but exhort all Persons, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to practice a strict Self-denial in eating and drinking. For though the Kingdom of God consists not in Meats and Drinks, yet an abstemious Use of, and a frequent total Absti|nence from God's good Creatures, are great Promo|ters of the spiritual Life. And perhaps there are more destroyed by living in a regular Sensuality, than even by that very Sin I have now been warn|ing you of.—I know, indeed, that many, who are only almost Christians, and who seek, but do not strive to enter into the Kingdom of God, urge a Text of Scripture to justify their Indulgence, saying, That it is not what entreth into the Man defileth the Man. And so we grant, when taken moderately; but then they should consider, that it is possible, nay, it is proved by daily Experience, that a Person may eat and drink so much as not to hurt his Body, and yet do infinite Prejudice to his Soul. For Self-indul|gence lulls the Soul into a spiritual Slumber, as well as direct Intemperance; and though the latter may expose us to more Contempt among Men, yet the former, if continued in, will as certainly shut us out from the Presence of God. St. Paul knew this full well; and therefore, tho' he was the spiritual Father of thousands, and was near upon finishing his Course, yet he says, it was his daily Practice to keep his Body under, and bring it into Subjection, no doubt, by a strict Abstinence and Fasting; not that he might arrive at higher Degrees of Perfecti|on, but lest after he had preached to others, he him|self should be a Cast-away. But why urge I the Apostle's Example to excite you to a strict Tempe|rance in eating and drinking? Rather let me exhort

you only to put in Practice the latter Part of the Text, to labour to be filled with the Spirit of God, and then you will no longer search the Scriptures to find Arguments for Self-Indulgence; but you will deal sincerely with yourselves, and fast as often as the Church enjoyns, if your Healths will permit; and eat and drink no more at any Time, than what is consistent with the strictest Precepts of the Gospel. Oh do but beg of God, that you may see how you are fallen in Adam, and must be re|newed ere you can be happy, by the Spirit of Jesus Christ! Let us beseech him to enlighten us, to see the Treachery of our corrupt Hearts, and how pure and holy these Bodies ought to be, which are living Temples of the Holy Ghost, and then we shall shew ourselves Men. Abstain from all Appearance of any thing that will quench this holy Spirit, and do any Thing that will invite him into, or cause him to abide in our Hearts. And thus being made Temples of the Holy Ghost, by his dwelling in our Bodies here, though, after Death, Worms may de|stroy them; yet shall they be raised by the same Spirit at the general Resurrection of the last Day, to be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious Body hereafter.

Which God of his infinite Mercy grant, &c.