It is but juft with God, that idle words be punished by fuffering people to fall into lying words. 3. Remeinber that God will difcover truth; and that his eye is upon you at all times. And though ye may deceive others with your lies, ye cannot deceive the omnifcient God. He is witnefs to the truth, and will call you to account for your contradicting of it. And indeed the trade of lying is hard to keep up without difcovery. Liars had need of good memories. A lying tongue is but for a moment, Prov. xii. 19. Laftly, Curb lying in young ones, out of pity to their fouls, and care of their credit when they come to years. For fome get fuch a habit of it when they are young, that there is no mending of them when they grow old. Secondly, Beware of carrying an evil tongue. The lying tongue is contrary to truth, the evil tongue to charity and love to our neighbour, being employed in flandering, backbiting, reproaching, re-' viling, fcolding, &c. For motives, Mot. 1. Confider the woful perverfeness that is in an evil tongue. God gave man fpeech which he denied to other creatures, that by his tongue he might glorify God, and do good to himfelf and others, Plal, lvii. 9. 10. Shall we thus turn our glory into-fhame, and pervert the ends of fpeech? How juft were it that we were firuck dumb? 2. It is a murdering inftrument, I obferved to you before, that an ill tongue is a parcel of murdering weapons, a bow and harp arrows to pierce, a fword to ftab, and a fire to devour others. Yea, Solomon obferves, that death and life are in the power of the tongue. It is a fire that kindles ftrife and contention in al! focieties, and turns them into confufion; and oft-times returns heavily on the head of thofe who carry it. The tongues from heaven were cloven, to be the more diffufive of good; but thofe fired from hell are forked, to be the more impreffive of mifchief. 3. Confider the wickednefs of it. It is a world of iniquity, Jam. iii. 6. They have much ado that have an ill tongue to guide, a world of iniquity to guide. It is a broad ftream from the fountain of the wickedness of the heart. 4. An unbridled tongue cuts off all pretences to true religion, Jam. i. 26. For where the fear or love of God and our neighbour is in the heart, it will be a bond on the tongue to keep it within the bounds of Chriftian charity. 5. We must give an account of our words at the day of judgement, Matth. xii. 36. 37. Lastly, An ill tongue will ruin the foul. Bridle your tongues; however unruly they be, they fhall be filent in the grave. And if repentance prevent it not, the day will come that they will be tormented in hell-flames, Luke xvi. I fhall conclude with an advice or two. 1. Begin at the heart, if ye would order your tongues aright. Labour to get them cleanfed by the fanctifying Spirit of Chrift. Study love to God and your neighbour, which are the fulfilling of the law. Labour for meeknefs, and patience, and humility, which will be the beft directors of the tongue, 2. Set yourselves, in the faith of promised affiftance, to watch over your hearts and tongues. Unwatchfulness is dangerous in the cafe of fuch an unruly member as the tongue is.. God has guarded it naturally. Do ye alfo watch it *. * Several particulars relating to fpeaking truth, and truth in the heart, and the evil of lying, &c. may be read with pleasure and profit, in the author's book, lately published, entitled, Diftinguish ing characters of true believers, fermons on Pfal. xv. 2. Of the tenth Commandment. EXODUS XX. 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's houfe, thou shalt covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-fervant, nor his maid fervant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. THE HE fcope of this command is to ftrike at the root and first risings of fin in the heart, in the defires going out of their right line of purity and equity. It is a ftrict boundary fet to the unbounded defires of the heart. In it there are, 1. The act. 2. The object. The act, Thou shalt not covet, or luft, as the apoftle terms it, Rom. vii. 7. which implies an inordinatenefs of deure, a feverish motion of the foul towards the creature, irregular and diforderly; and fo a diffa tisfaction with one's prefent condition, as appears from Heb. xiii. 5. Let your converfation be without covetoufnefs, and be content with fuch things as ye have. The object is held forth particularly for example's caufe, thy neighbour's houfe, thy neighbour's wife, his fervants, and goods. Thou shalt not only not take away thy neighbour's houfe from him by oppreffion, nor entice away his fervants, nor fteal his goods, nor entertain a fixed and deliberate defire to do him that injury, as is forbidden in the eighth command; but the inordinate defire of having them fhall not rife in, nor go through thy heart, however lightly, if it were like a flying arrow, faying, O, that his house, his fervant, his ox and afs were mine! Thou fhalt not only not defile his wife, nor deliberately defire to do it, as is forbidden in the feventh commandment; but thou shalt not say in thine heart, O that he were mine! though thou haft no mind, right or wrong, to make her fo. This object is held forth univerfally, nor any fired from hell are forked, to be the more impreffive of mifchief. 3. Confider the wickednefs of it. It is a world of iniquity, Jam. iii. 6. They have much ado that have an ill tongue to guide, a world of iniquity to guide. It is a broad ftream from the fountain of the wickedness of the heart. 4. An unbridled tongue cuts off all pretences to true religion, Jam. i. 26. For where the fear or love of God and our neighbour is in the heart, it will be a bond on the tongue to keep it within the bounds of Chriftian charity. 5. We must give an account of our words at the day of judgement, Matth. xii. 36. 37. Laftly, An ill tongue will ruin the foul. Bridle your tongues; however unruly they be, they fhall be filent in the grave. And if repentance prevent it not, the day will come that they will be tormented in hell-flames, Luke xvi. I fhall conclude with an advice or two. 1. Begin at the heart, if ye would order your tongues aright. Labour to get them cleanfed by the fanctifying Spirit of Chrift. Study love to God and your neighbour, which are the fulfilling of the law. Labour for meeknefs, and patience, and humility,' which will be the beft directors of the tongue, 2. Set yourselves, in the faith of promifed affiftance, to watch over your hearts and tongues. Unwatchfulness is dangerous in the cafe of fuch an unruly member as the tongue is.. God has guarded it naturally. Do ye alfo watch it *. * Several particulars relating to fpeaking truth, and truth in the heart, and the evil of lying, &c. may be read with pleasure and profit, in the author's book, lately published, entitled, Diftinguish ing characters of true believers, fermons on Pfal. xv. the defires going out of ter and equity. It is a tri wan bounded defires of the ear. In it there are, 1. The his fervants, and good. Tru 4 I to do him that injury, a the feventh commandment: Were ca |