15. Another sin of the tongue is the reviling or dishonouring of superiors: when children speak unreverently and dishonourably to or of their parents; or subjects of their governors; or servants of their masters, either to their faces, or behind their backs". 'They are not afraid to speak evil of dignities"." 66 16. Another is the imperious contempt of inferiors, insulting over them, provoking and discouraging them. "Fathers provoke not your children to wrath." 17. Another sin of the tongue is idle talk and multitude of useless words; a babbling loquacity, or unprofitableness of speech; when it is speech that tendeth to no edification, any good use for mind, or body, or affairs. 18. Another sin is foolish talk, or jesting in levity and folly, which tendeth to possess the minds of the hearers with a disposition of levity and folly, like the speakers. "Foolish talking and jesting are things not convenient "." Honest mirth is lawful; and that is the best which is most sanctified, as being from a holy principle, and about a holy matter, or to a holy end: "as rejoicing in the Lord always.' "If any be merry let him sing psalms *." But such a light and frothy jesting, as is but the vent of habitual levity by idle words, is not allowable. But especially those persons do most odiously abuse their tongues and reason, who counterfeit idiots or fools, and use their wit to cover their jests with a seeming folly, to make them the more ridiculous, and make it their very profession to be the jesters of great men. They make a trade of heinous sin. 19. Another sin is " filthy speaking';" obscene and ribald talk; which the apostle calls "corrupt or rotten communication";" when wanton, filthy minds do make themselves merry with wanton, filthy speeches. This is the devil's preparative to whoredom and all abominable uncleanness for when the tongue is first taught to make a sport of such filthy sins, and the ear to be delighted in it, or be indifferent to it, there remaineth but a small step to actual filthiness. 20. Another sin of the tongue is cursing; when men wish some mischief causelessly or unwarrantably to others. If you speak but in passion or jest, and desire not to them in your hearts the hurt which you name, it is nevertheless a sin of the tongue, as it is to speak blasphemy or treason in a passion or in jest: the tongue must be ruled as well as the heart. But if really you desire the hurt which you wish them, it is so much the worse. But it is worst of all, when passionate, factious men will turn their very prayers into cursings, calling for fire from heaven, and praying for other men's destruction or hurt; and pretending Scripture examples for it; as if they might do it unwarrantably, which others have done in other cases in a warrantable manner. 21. Slandering is another sin of the tongue: when out of malice and ill will, men speak evil falsely of others to make them odious or do them hurt: or else through uncharitable credulity, do easily believe a false report, and so report it again to others; or through rashness and unruliness of tongue, divulge it, before they try it, or receive either just proof, or any warrantable call to mention it. 22. Another sin is backbiting and venting ill reports behind men's backs, without any warrant. Be the matter true or false, as long as you either know it not to be true, or if you do, yet vent it to make the person less respected, or at least without a sufficient cause, it is a sin against God, and a wrong to men. 23. Another sin is rash censuring, when you speak that evil of another, which you have but an uncharitable surmise of; and take that to be probable which is but possible, or that to be certain which is but probable against another". 24. Another sin is railing, reviling, or passionate, provoking words, which tend to the diminution of charity, and the breach of peace, and the stirring up of discord, and of a return of railing words from others, contrary to the love, and patience, and meekness, and gentleness which become saints. 25. Another sin is cheating, deceiving, over-reaching words: when men use their tongues to defraud their neighbours, in bargaining for their own gain. 26. Another sin of the tongue is false witness-bearing, "Existimant loquacitatem esse facundiam, et maledicere omnibus, bone conscientiæ signum arbritantur. Hieron: Cont. Helvid. 'and false accusing; a sin which cries to God for vengeance, who is the justifier of the innocent. 27. Another sin of the tongue is the passing an unrighteous sentence in judgment: when rulers absolve the guilty or condemn the just, and call evil good, and good evil, and say to the righteous," Thou art wicked"." 28. Another sin of the tongue is flattery; which is the more heinous by how much more hurtful. And it is most hurtful, 1. When it tendeth to delude men in the greatest things, even the state of their souls. The flattery of a preacher that deceiveth men as in the name of Christ, is of all other flattery the most pernicious: to make the unregenerate believe that they are regenerate, and the ungodly to believe that they are godly, and the unjustified to believe that they are justified, and the children of satan to believe that without conversion they may be saved; to make a worldling, a swearer, a glutton, a drunkard, a fornicator, a formal hypocrite, or a hater of holiness, believe that such as he may come to heaven without the sanctifying, renewing work of the Holy Ghost; this is the most eminent service of the devil that the tongue of any man can do him, except it be the very open opposers of religion. As the devil useth more to flatter men to hell, than to frighten them thither, so do his ministers and instruments. And all doctrines of libertinism and looseness, which warrant men to do evil and to neglect a holy life, are of the two a more dangerous way of flattery, than that which consisteth but in misapplication. Thus also carnal friends do use to flatter a sinner into presumption and false hopes, when they see him convinced of his sin and misery, and say, 'Trouble not yourself; God is merciful, and you have lived well, and been a good neighbour, and done nobody harm, and if such as you be not saved, God help a great many.' Thus when a convinced sinner is striving to get out of the devil's snares, the servants of satan rock him asleep again, by false and flattering speeches and deceit. 2. Flattering is pernicious when it tendeth to the hurt of many as when rulers are deceived and perverted by it to the destruction of the people and themselves P. "A • Prov. xxiv. 24. P Indignum hominem divitiarum gratiâ laudare noli, Bias in Diog. Laert. lib. i. sect. 88. p. 54. lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it, and a flattering mouth worketh ruin "." 29. Another sin is a jeering, mocking, deriding, or scorning at others, either for their infirmities of body or mind, or for their virtues, or through envy and malice, or pride, or a custom of deriding, scornful speech. "Scorners delight in scorning" especially when sinners scorn at the reproofs and counsels of the godly, and cast them all back into their faces with contempt: for he that" reproveth a scorner getteth himself a blot"." A scorner loveth not one that re proveth." 66 " 30. Another tongue-sin is idolatry or false worship: the praise of idols, or praying to them, or making songs, or speeches, or disputes for them: as also the false worship of the true God. These among others are the sins of the tongue to be avoided. No wonder if there be yet more, for the "tongue iso kogμos Tns adiias,' a world of iniquity". Direct. IV. When you have thus understood the duties and sins of the tongue, and the greatness of them, the next thing which you must be most careful and diligent about is, that you keep all that upon the heart which should be upon the tongue, and keep the heart clean from that which the tongue must be kept clean from. The principal work must be about the heart. For "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." 1. The tongue will be no other way effectually governed: if the heart be upon the world, the tongue will most commonly be upon the world; you may force it a little against your hearts, but it will be to a very inconstant obedience: when you ever so little loose the reins it is gone. If the heart be proud, the tongue will speak proudly if the heart be lustful, or vain, or malicious, the words will ordinarily be so too. 2. Or if you can force 4 Prov. xxvi. 28. See 1 Thes. ii. 5. Ezek. xii. 24. t Prov. xv. 12. * Loqui quæ sentus, et sentire quæ loqueris, ut Seneca. Nam fidum nihil lingua loqui valet, Dum cordi duplex altè insedit sensus. Psal. xii. 2, 3. " James iii. 6. Sent. Pittaci in Diog. Laertio. lib. i. sect. 78. p. 49. Bias percontanti homini impio, Quid esset pietas, nihil respondet; cumque ille silentii causam sciscitaretur : Taceo inquit, de rebus nihil ad te pertinentibus quæris. Diog. Laert. lib. i. sect. 86. p. 54. the tongue to go against the heart, it is but an hypocritical reformation. A vain, a proud, a worldly, a wanton, a malicious or ungodly heart will condemn you, though the tongue was forced to speak humbly, chastely, patiently, or piously. Therefore if you would overcome the vanity or worldliness or wantonness, or any other corruption of your speech, first set yourselves to overcome the same corruption in your hearts, and to revive and actuate the contrary graces. And if you would use your tongues to the honour of God, and the edification of men, wind up the spring of those holy affections which must be as water to the mill. It is the use of the tongue to express the mind: and it is the use of holy speech to be the expression of a holy mind. And do you think to express that which you have not? Will you make a duty of a lie? If you would speak of Christ, or heaven with seriousness, see that your hearts are seriously set upon Christ and heaven. When you go into any company where you should speak for God, and for the hearers' good, endeavour beforehand to get a deep impression on your hearts, of those attributes or truths of God which you would express; and to revive the sense of that upon yourselves which you would make others sensible of. Stir up within you the love of God, and the love of holiness and truth, and a love of the souls of them you speak to; and then you will be as a conduit which runs as soon as the cock is turned, because it is always full of water. Direct. v. Labour for understanding in the matters on which you should discourse.' Ignorance denieth provision for discourse, or furnisheth you only with chaff and vanity, and maketh you so speak as that it were better to say nothing. Knowledge and wisdom are continual storehouses of good and profitable talk: such as the "scribe instructed to the kingdom of heaven, that bringeth out of his treasure things new and old." When a man understandeth the matter which he is to speak of, he is furnished to speak understandingly of it to others, and to defend it against gainsayers. "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment: the law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide"." "The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue y Matt. xiii. 52. 2 Psal. xxxvii. 30, 31. |