The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. Containing, besides his Sermons, and Essays on miscellaneous subjects, several additional pieces, Selected from his Manuscripts by the Rev. Dr. Jennings, and the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, in 1753: to which are prefixed, memoirs of the life of the author, compiled by the Rev. George Burder. In six volumes |
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XXXV.—AGAINST LEWDNESS. |
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 | The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. |  |
XXXV.—AGAINST LEWDNESS.
I
Why should you let your wand'ring eyesEntice your souls to shameful sin?
Scandal and ruin are the prize,
You take such fatal pains to win.
II
This brutal vice makes reason blind,And blots the name with hateful stains:
It wastes the flesh, pollutes the mind,
And tears the heart with racking pains.
III
Let David speak, with deepest groans,How it estrang'd his soul from God,
Made him complain of broken bones,
And fill'd his house with wars and blood.
IV
Let Solomon and Samson tellTheir melancholy stories here,
How bright they shone, how low they fell,
When sin's vile pleasures cost them dear.
V
In vain you choose the darkest time,Nor let the sun behold the sight:
In vain you hope to hide your crime
Behind the curtains of the night:
VI
The wakeful stars and midnight moonWatch your foul deeds and know your shame;
And God's own eye, like beams of noon,
Strikes thro' the shade, and marks your name.
VII
What will you do when heav'n enquiresInto those scenes of secret sin?
And lust, with all its guilty fires,
Shall make your conscience rage within?
VIII
How will you curse your wanton eyes,Curse the lewd partners of your shame,
When death, with horrible surprise,
Shows you the pit of quenchless flame?
IX
Flee, sinners, flee th'unlawful bed,Lest vengeance send you down to dwell
In the dark regions of the dead,
To feed the fiercest fires of hell.
| The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. | |