fihip ; they (saitli he) kissed my hands, but slandered me and souglit my ruin." Ma- ny have dissembling tongues, they can say, your servant, and lay snares, Pro v. xxix. 5., "A man that flattereth his neighbour, epreadeth a net for his Icet." You oft think you have a friend in your bosom, but he proves a viper. To dissemble love is no better than to lie ; for there is a p'retence of that love which is not. Many are like Joab, 2 Sam. xx. 9., " And Joab said to Amasa, art thou in health, my brother? And he took him by the beard to kiss him, and he smote him in the fifth rib that he died." For my part, I must question his truth towards God, that will flatter and lie to his friend. God will bring such an one to shame at last, Prov. xxvi. 26., " Whose ha- tred is covered by deceit, liis wickedness shall be shewed bifore the wliole congregation."
10. The evil tongue is tlie tongue given to boasting, James iii. a., " The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things." There is an holy boasting, Ps. xliv. 8., " In (lod we boast all the dav," when we tri- um])h in his ])ower and mercy : but it is a sinful boasting, when men display their trophies, boast of their own worth and emi- nency, that others may admire and cry them up ; a man's self is his idol, and he loves to have this idol Avorshippcd, Acts v. 36., " There arose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody." Sinful boasting is when men boast of their sins, Ps. Hi. 1., *' Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man ?" Some boast how wicked they have been ; how many they have made drunk ; how manv thev have deflowered : as if a beggar sliould boast of his sores ; or a thief boast of being burnt in the hand ; such as boast of their sinful exploits, will have little cause to rejoice, or hang up their trophies when they come to hell.
11. The evil tongue is the swearing tongue. Mat. v. 34., " Swear not at all." The scripture allows an oath for the ending of a controversy, and to clear the truth, Heb. vi. 16. ; but in ordinary discourse to use an oath, and so to take God's name in vain, is sinful. Swearing may be called " the unfruitful works of darkness," there is neither pleasure nor proiit in it : it is like an hook the fish comes to without a
bait, Jer. xxiii. 10., " Because of swearing the land mourneth." Some think it the grace of their speech ; but, if God will reck- on with men for idle words, what will he do for sinful oaths ?
Ob J. But it is only a petty oath, they swear by their faith ?
Ans. Sure they which have so much faith in their mouth, have none in their heart. " But it is my custom :" Is this an excuse, or an aggravation of the sin ? If a malefactor should be arraigned for rob- bing, and he should say to the judge, spare me, it is my custom to rob on the highway ; the judge would say, thou shalt the rather die. For every oath thou swearest, God puts a drop of wrath into his vial.
Obj. But — viay some think — what though now and then I swear an oath ? Words are hut wind.
Ans. But they are such a wind as will blow thee into hell, without repentance.
12. The railing tongue is an evil tongue : this is a plague-sore breaking out at the tongue, when we give opprobrious language. When the dispute was between the archan- gel and the devil about the body of Moses, Jude, ver. 9., " The archangel durst not bring a railing accusation against him, but said, the Lord rebuke thee." The archangel durst not rail against the devil. Railing oft ends in reviling, and so men bring them- selves into a premunire, and are "in dan- ger of hell fire," Mat. v. 22.
J 3. The seducing tongue is an evil tongue. The tongue that by fine rhetoric decoys men into error, Rom. xvi. 18., "By fair speeches deceive the hearts of tlie simjde.** A fair tongue can put off bad wares ; error is bad ware, which a seducing tongue can put off. The deceit lies in this ; a smooth tongue can make error look so like truth, that you can hardly know them asunder ; as thus, in justification, Christ bears infi- nite love to justified persons; this is a glo- rious truth, but under this notion, the An- tinomian presseth libertinism ,- believers may take more liberty to sin, and God sees no sin in them. Thus, by crying up justi- fication, they destroy sanctification ; hero is tiie seducing tongue ; and error is as dangerous as vice ; one may die by poisou as well as by a pistol.
THE EVIL TONGUE
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