Christian Directions, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Of watchfulness over our Words.
AS thou must be watchful over thy Thoughts, so likewise over thy Words, according to the counsel of the Prophet David Keep thy tongue from evil, Psal. 34. 13and thy lips from speaking gu…e.
For the profitable handling of this part of Christian watchfulness, I shall give you,
1 Some Helps and directions thereunto.
2 Some Motives to quicken you up to a conscionable use of those helps and directions, The helps and directions are these.
I Avoyd all corrupt and rotten communication; Ephes. 4 29which direction the Apostle Paul giveth, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.
The corrupt speeches we ought carefully to avoyd are of several sorts, which may be reduced to these Heads.
1 Such as tend to the dishonour of God.
2 Such as tend to mans disgrace and hurt.
Those which tend to Gods dishonour are especially these.
I, Unlawful Swearing, which is in three respects especially.
1 When men swear falsly, or as wee speak, forswear themselves.
2 When they swear impiously. 3 When they swear rashly.
1 They who swear falsly, whom we call perjured persons, are such as confirm any thing by Oath against their knowledge, or swear to doe a thing which they intend not; or intending at first to doe it, yet afterwards are careless and negligent in the performance of it.
These false Swearers doe not only sin themselves, but as much as in them is, bring God in compass of their sin, and make him partaker thereof; he is made a witness, and an approver of a Lye, and therein made like unto the Devil, who is the Father of Lies, which is a most abominable dishonour done to the holy name of God.
2 To swear impiously, is an unlawful Oath, either in regard of the matter, or of the form.
An impious oath in respect of the matter, is by oath to bind a mans self to doe some wicked thing, as those Iews who bound themselves with an oath to kill Paul; Acts 23. 14and Iezabel, who took an oath to slay Elijah. 1 King. 19. 2This kind of Oath maketh God a Patron, and approver of wickedness.
An impious oath in respect of the form of it, is, when we swear by other things besides Gods holy name, as by any Creature, as Ioseph by the life of Pharaoh.
3 To swear ra…hly is to swear lightly, and frequently, in our familiar talk and discourse; this, though it be a common and ordinary sin, indeed too too common and ordinary, yet it is a most grievous Sin, and a sin that crieth loud in the ears of God for vengeance. The hainousness of this sin appeareth,
1 In that Gods name is thereby taken in vain, which is a direct breach of the third Commandement, for that forbiddeth us to take the name of God in vain. Exod. 20. 7Now then is Gods name taken in vain, when needlesly, without any just cause, it is used by any, against which there is a judgement threatned in the next words, The Lord will not hold him guiltless; i. e. hee shall not goe unpunished.
2 Swearing in our ordinary discourse is the very Livery of the Devil, and badge of prophaneness, which the Wise man hinteth unto us, Eccles. 9. 2. where, as he maketh it a sure sign of a godly man, to fear an oath, so of a wicked and prophane person, not to fear an oath, but to make no conscience of it. And truly, ordinary swearing may well be a badge and note of a prophane person, for such an one will make little or no conscience of any sin, who maketh no conscience of this sin of swearing, which is so vain and unprofitable a sin: for the excuse whereof the swearer cannot plead any outward good, neither profit, as the covetous worldling; nor honour and preferment, as the ambitious person; nor pleasure, as the voluptuous; and therefore wee may well conclude, that he who makes no conscience of swearing, will make little conscience of any other sin; for hee that will sin for nothing, as the swearer doth, certainly will sin for something. Nay, what sin will not he commit for profit, pleasure, or preferment, who sticks not to prophane the holy name of God for nothing?Mat. 5. 37 foreign. Our blessed Saviour speaking of this sin, saith expresly, it cometh of evil, meaning the Devil, Let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil; i. e. that evil one the Devil, who is the author of all vain oathes. Which me thinks should be a powerful argument to prevail with men, to avoyd in their ordinary communication all vain oathes, yea and needless protestations, considering they come from the Devil, who is the School-master that teacheth men to use them, and therefore by a frequent use of them, they shew themselves to be the Scholars, if not the children, of the Devil.
II. Another kind of corrupt speech is, when Gods holy titles are upon every light occasion used, and so plainly abused; as when any thing suddenly happens out, then we presently say, O Lord, O God, O Iesus. Again, when we would have any thing, then we are apt to say, for Gods sake doe this, for Christs sake doe that, and yet with no reverence doe wee think of God, or of Jesus, if we think of them at all; for commonly it is but a phrase of course. to say the least of this, it is a direct taking of Gods name in vain, and so maketh us liable to that curse, God will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his name in vain.
These are some of those corrupt words and speeches which tend to the dishonour of God.
Come we now to such as tend to mans disgrace, or hurt; and they are such as are against our selves directly, or against others. The corrupt speeches that are against our selves are Imprecations. It is usual with many, by imprecating some mischief against themselves, to confirm their speeches; methinks such should be afraid lest God in judgement should hear them, and justly cause the vengeance they call for, to fall upon themselves; let such remember the Iewes, who cried out, His bloud be upon us, and our children, and from that day to this hath it lain heavily upon them.
Of corrupt speeches against others, there are many kinds; as,
1 Imprecations, for it is usual, if not much more usual, to make fearful imprecations against others, as well as against our selves, which as they are corrupt speeches, so are they ill-beseeming Christians.
2 Unclean and unchaste… speeches are another kind of corrupt communication. Some mens mouthes are always full of them; which plainly sheweth the pollution of their hearts, and how their minds are wholly set on lust.
3 Idle and vain discourses wh…ch tend to no good, are another kind of corrupt speeches; as old Wives fables, talking of matters not belonging to us, pratling of any thing that comes into ones head.Mat. 12. 36 Our Saviour saith, That every idle word that men shall speak, …hey shall give acco…nt thereof …in the day of Iudgement. Here our Saviour sheweth that at the Day of Judgement we must give an account, not only for filthy, unclean, and unchast speeches, but likewise for idle words, yea for every idle word; and therefore how doth it concern us to bee watchful over our selves, as against all filthy and unclean speeches, so likewise against all idle words?
These are the kinds of corrupt Speeches, and communication, which we ought the more carefully to avoyd, in regard of the hainousness thereof.
II. Accustome your selves to holy con…rences, and good communication; It is not sufficient to abstain from corrupt communication, except you accustome your selves to good communication; for it is good and gracious speech which commendeth a good and a sound heart, even as its good fruit which commends a good tree.
III. In all your conferences, foreign.forbear to speak evil of others; This direction the Apostle Iames giveth, Speak not, saith he, ev…l one of another; the word in the original properly signifieth, a speaking one against another, and forbids all manner of words tending to the disgrace and disparagemen: of your Neighbour, whether that you speak be for the matter of it true or false; for a man may bee said to speak evil of his Neighbour two ways, viz.
1 By raising false reports.
2 By a divulging of their secret evils.
This God did expresly forbid his own people the Jewes,Levit. 19. 16 Thou shalt not goe up and down as a Tale-bearer among the people; like unto a Pedler, which carrieth his Pack from house to house, venting here a little, and there a little, until at length he hath uttered all his Wares. Thus there are too too many who goe up and down, from house to house,foreign. uttering slanders and reproaches as Wares, which indeed is the Devils proper sin, who is stiled, the accuser of his brethren. Oh consider, that God will surely recompence this into your bosomes;Rev. 12. 10 Mat 7▪ 1 for as our Saviour speaketh, Iudge not, that yee bee not judged, for with what judgement yee judge yee shall be judged; and with what measure yee mete, it shall be measured to you again. So that thou shalt be sure to find others that will be as ready to judge thee, and to speak evil of thee, as thou hast of thy brother, who will have as little care of thy credit as thou hast had of thy brothers; so farre shouldst thou be from wronging thy neighbour, by being the author and spreader of evil reports, that thou shouldst not lend thine ear to them that spread them, for thine ears may be as guilty as thy tongue; therefore such evil speaking should not be heard without some expression of dislike: which would bee a special means for the suppressing of them.
IV. Be not lavish in your words,Quicquid in buc…am veneri… profundunt, hinc studium mentiendi …um vera desun…. but sparing in your speech; utter not all that you hear, or know. Which rule the Apostle Iames giveth, in Chap. 1. 19. Let every man, saith he, be swift to hear, but slow to speak.
V. Be well advised before you speak; for oftentimes many mens tongues doe over-run,Ludov. Viv. de Christia. Foem. l. 1. and out-strip their wits. But doe you forethink, whether that you are about to speak be suitable, and seasonable, and let not thy tongue run before thy mind.foreign, ne lingua praecurrat menti.
VI. Let your ordinary speech be plain, without oathes and imprecations, yea without all vain asseverations and protestations. This direction our Saviour giveth, Let your communication bee yea, yea, nay, nay; i. e. let your ordinary speech be plain, and naked, without any oathes, imprecations, asseverations and protestations. For,Matth. 5. 37 foreign whatsoever is more than these, i. e. whatsoever exceedeth a simple affirmation, or negation, cometh of evil; i. e. of the evil one the Devil.
VII. In all your Conferences speak nothing but the truth; This direction the Apostle giveth,Ephes. 4. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour. Though lying be a sin common amongst all sorts of people, not only children, but also grown men and women▪ as in their ordinary discourse, so especially in their trading, wherein what more ordinary than lying and dissembling, yet is it a most hainous sin, as will appear by due consideration of these particulars.
1 It is a Sin against knowledge and conscience; it cannot be ignorantly committed,Mentiri est contra mentem ire. for ignorance is against the nature of a lye; the word in Latine to lye, is as much as to speak against ones mind and knowledge.
2 It is most agreeable to the Devils nature; so that a lying spirit is a Diabolical spirit, and a Lyar carrieth the very image and picture of the Devil,Joh. 8. 44 who is the father of lyes.
3 It pulleth down Gods fearful Iudgement and Vengeance, and that both temporal in this world and eternal in the world to come; for proof whereof, observe in general what David saith, Psal. 5. 6. God will destroy all that speak lyes. More particularly for Temporal Judgements in this world,Hos. 4. 2 the Prophet Hosea reckons up this Sin amongst those gross sins which caused God to send Famine, Plague, Sword, Captivity, and other like Judgements on the Israelites. For eternal Judgements, we find them lik…wise threatned against this Sin, as in Revel. 21. 27. we find Lying reckoned amongst those sins which bar us out of heaven; and Revel. 21. 8. we find it reckoned amongst those sins which thrust us into Hell; But the fearful, and unbeleeving, and Murtherers, and Whoremongers, and Sorcerers, and Idolaters, and Lyars, shall have their part in the Lake wh…ch burneth with fire and brimstone; here lying is reckoned amongst those sins which thrust us into Hell. And wee may further observe amongst what hainous and capital Sins Lyars are reckoned, even amongst Murther…rs, Whoremongers, &c. which further shews the hainousness of this sin.
VIII. Pray unto God to sanctifie your speech, and so to direct it by his holy Spirit, that it may tend, as to the glory of his name, so to the good both of the speaker and hearer. All our endeavours are nothing without God, and therefore we had need goe unto him by prayer, so to sanctifie our words and speeches, that they may tend to the good of others, and minister grace to the hearers.