Treatise Word To A Drunkard
| Author | John Wesley |
|---|---|
| Type | treatise |
| Year | None |
| Passage ID | jw-treatise-word-to-a-drunkard-000 |
| Words | 395 |
A Word to a Drunkard
Source: The Works of John Wesley, Volume 11 (Zondervan)
Author: John Wesley
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1. ARE you a man! God made you a man; but you
make yourself a beast. Wherein does a man differ from a
beast? Is it not chiefly in reason and understanding? But
you throw away what reason you have. You strip yourself
of your understanding. You do all you can to make yourself
a mere beast; not a fool, not a madman only, but a swine, a
poor filthy swine. Go and wallow with them in the mire ! Go, drink on, till thy nakedness be uncovered, and shameful
spewing be on thy glory ! 2. O how honourable is a beast of God’s making, compared
to one who makes himself a beast ! But that is not all. You
make yourself a devil. You stir up all the devilish tempers
that are in you, and gain others, which perhaps were not in
you; at least you heighten and increase them. You cause
the fire of anger, or malice, or lust, to burn seven times hotter
than before. At the same time you grieve the Spirit of God,
till you drive him quite away from you; and whatever spark of
good remained in your soul you drown and quench at once. 3. So you are now just fit for every work of the devil,
having cast off all that is good or virtuous, and filled your
heart with everything that is bad, that is earthly, sensual,
devilish. You have forced the Spirit of God to depart from
you; for you would take none of his reproof; and you have
given yourself up into the hands of the devil, to be led
blindfold by him at his will. 4. Now, what should hinder the same thing from befalling
you, which befel him who was asked, which was the greatest
sin, adultery, drunkenness, or murder; and which of the
three he had rather commit. He said drunkenness was the
least. Soon after, he got drunk; he then met with another
man's wife, and ravished her. The husband coming to help
her, he murdered him. So drunkenness, adultery, and
murder went together. 5. I have heard a story of a poor wild Indian, far wiser than
either him or you. The English gave him a cask of strong
liquor.