A Golden Chain, To the reader 6 – Chapter 1
To the reader.
CHristian Reader,
lamentable and fe…efull is the abuse of the tongue among all sortes & degrees of men euer… where. Hence daily arise manifold sinnes against God and …nnu…erable scandals and grieuances to our brethren. It would make a mans heart to bleede, to heare and consider howe Swearing, Blaspheming, Cursed speaking, Ra…ling, Backbiting, Slandering, Chiding, Quarrelling, Cōtending, Iesting, Mocking, Flattering, Lying, Dissembling, Vaine and idle talking ouerflow in all place…, so as men which feare God had better bee any where then in the companie of most men. Well thou; art thou a man which hast made little conscience of thy speech and talke? repent seriously of this sinne, and amend thy life, least for the abusing of thy tongue thou crie with Diues in hell. Send Lazarus that he may dippe the tip of his finger in water and coole my tongue. Luk. 16. 14.And if thou be one which hast care to order thy selfe in speech & silence according to gods word, oh, doe it more. For what a shame is it, that men with the same tongue wherewith they confesse the faith and religion of Christ, should by vaine and vngodly speech vtterly denie the power thereof? And for thy better helpe herein, I hauehave penned these few lines following, concerning the Gouernment of the tongue. Vse them for thy benefit, and finding profit thereby, giuegive glorie to God.
M. D. XCII, Decemb. 12. W. Perkins.
OF THE GOVERNEMENT OF THE TONGVE.
CHAP. I. Of the generall meanes of ruling the Tongue.
THE gouernement of the tongue is a vertue pertaining to the holy vsage of the tongue according to GODS word.
And for the well-ordering of it, two things are requisite: a pure heart, and skill in the language of Canaan.
The pure heart is most necessary, because it is the fountaine of speech, and if the fountaine be defiled,Mat. 15.19. the streames that issue thence can not be cleane.
And because the heart of man by nature is a bottomlesse gulfe of iniquitie, two things are to be knowne: first, how it must be made pure: & then how it is alwaies afterward to be kept pure.
The way to get a pure heart is this. First, thou must seriously examine thy life and thy conscience, for all thy sinnes past: then with a heauie and bleeding heart confesse them to God, vtterly condemning thy selfe. Thirdly, with deepe sighes and groanes of spirit crie vntounto heauen to God the father, in the name of Christ for pardon, I say, for pardon of the same sinnes, as it were for life and death, and that, day and night, till the Lord send downe from heauen a sweete certificate into thy perplexed conscience by his holy spirit, that all thy sinnes are done away. Now at the same instant in which pardon shall be graunted, God likewise will once againe stretch forth that mightie hand of his, whereby he made thee when thou wast not, to make thee a new creature, to create a new heart in thee, to renue a right spirit in thee, and to stablish thee by his free spirit. For whome he iustifieth, them also at the same time he sanctifieth.
The purified heart appeareth by these signes. I. If thou feele thy selfe to be displeased at thine owne infirmities and corruptions, and to droope vnderunder them as men doe vnderunder bodily sicknesse. II. If thou begin to hate and to flie thine owne personall sinnes. III. If thou feele a griefe and sorrow after thou hast offended God. IV. If thou heartily desire to abstaine from all manner of sinne. V. If thou be carefull to auoide all occasions and entisements to euill. VI. If thou trauell and doe thine endeauour in eueryevery good thing. VII. If thou desire and pray to God to wash and rinse thine heart in the blood of Christ.
When the heart is pure, to keepe it so is the speciall worke of faith,Act. 19. 15. which purifieth the heart.
Faith purifieth the heart by a particular applying of Christ crucified with all his merits. Elisha when he went vp and lay vponupon the dead child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes vponupon his eyes, and his hands vponupon his hands, 2. king. 4.24.and stretched himselfe vponupon him, the flesh of the child waxed warme. Afterward Elisha rose and spread himselfe vponupon him the second time: vers. 35.then the child neezed seuen times and opened his eies. So must a man by faith euen spread himselfe vponupon the crosse of Christ, applying handes and feete to his pierced handes and feete, & his wretched heart to Christs bleeding heart, and then he shall feele himselfe warmed by the heat of Gods spirit, and sinne from day to day crucified with Christ, & his dead heart quickened & reuiued. And this applying which faith maketh, is done by a kind of reasoning, which faith maketh thus. Hath god of his merciemercy giuen his own sonne to be my Sauiour, to shed his blood for me? and hath he of his merciemercy graunted vntounto me the pardon of all my sinnes? I will therfore endeauour to keepe my heart and my life vnblameable that I doe not offend him hereafter in word or deede, as I hauehave done heretofore.
Isa. 19.18. Rom. 15.6.The language of Canaan is, whereby a man endued with the spirit of adoption, vnfainedly calleth vponupon the name of God in Christ, and so consequently doth as it were, familiarly talke and speake with God. This language must needes be learned, that the tongue may be well gouerned. For man must first be able to talke with God, before he can be able wisely to talke with man. For this cause when men are to hauehave communication one with another, they are first of all to bee carefull that they often make their praiers to God that hee would guide and blesse them in their speeches, as Dauid did, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keepe the doore of my lippes. And againe, O Lord open thou my lippes, and my mouth shall shewe forth thy praise. Psal. 141.3. Psal. 51. 17.Where we may see, that the mouth is, as it were locked vp from speaking any good thing, vntill the Lord open it. And Paul hauing the gift of ordering his tongue in wonderful measure,Eph. 6.19. Prou. 16. 1. yet desireth the Ephesians to pray for him, that vtterance might be giuē him, and good reason, because God ruleth the tongue.