4. This renewed man must be biassed with a love to God and Christ and heaven before he can edify others with serious counsel, exhortation, or reproof. This referreth to vivification. To restrain the tongue from evil is not enough, but we must do good. Now, how wretchedly and coldly do they speak of God, Christ, and heaven whose hearts are not set on God, Christ, and heaven ! How can they make others sensible of that which they believe not themselves? To heart- warming discourse, faith is necessary : 2 Cor. iv. 13, 'We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore
1 spoke ; we also believe, and therefore speak.' Love is necessary ; they that speak from love, their affection will leave a tincture upon their discourse, for they have some experience of the things they speak of:
2 Cor. i. 4, •' Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort where- with we ourselves are comforted of God.' How sweetly do all their speeches relish of the spirit from whence they do proceed ! They speak feelingly cf God, and Christ, and the life to come ; whereas otherwise a report of a report is a cold thing, and beareth no value, hath no eflScacy on the hearts of those that hear it. Well, then, from the whole you may observe, that there is a difference, an observable difference, between the discourse of the people of God and others; their lips drop as the honeycomb, because they are renewed, that is, enlightened as to their minds, converted and mortified as to their hearts, and vivified. Men usually discourse as their hearts are ; a man of a frothy spirit will bring forth nothing but froth and folly; as their hearts are filled with such things, so are their mouths ; but a gracious man will utter gracious things, and that with savour. Take one place more: Ps. xxxvii. 30, 31, '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.' As men's hearts are busied and affected, so will discourses flow from them. He that maketh it his business to suit his actions to the word of God will also suit his words thereunto; for grace discovereth itself uniformly in thoughts, words, and actions.
II. I prove it from the attribute, or commendation here given to his discourse ; it is ' as choice silver.'
1. For internal purity, choice silver is that which is refined from all dross. There is a great deal of evil bewrayed by the tongue. It is hard to enumerate all the kinds. The apostle imputeth to it ' a world of iniquity,' James iii. 6 ; but these are the most usual —
[1.] Lying, which destroyeth all commerce with man, for truth is the ground of commerce ; and is most contrary to the new nature : Col. iii. 9, ' Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds.' It is not only contrary to the natural order which God hath appointed between the mind and the tongue, but that simplicity and true holiness which is the fruit of regeneration. Therefore God saith, Isa Jviii 8, 'Surely they are my people, children that will not lie.'
390 SERMONS UPON PROVERBS X. 20.
God presumeth that his people will not deal falsely, and deceive and circumvent others by any untruth, as a thing very unseemly and incon- sistent with grace.
[2.] Bailing, under which I comprehend all censorious and calum- nious discourse of other men ; when we cannot meet together, but instead of edifying ourselves, we must be speaking of others, blemishing their graces, carping at their weaknesses, aggravating their failings, divulging their secret miscarriages, without any just reason from the glory of God and the profit of others. This the scripture brandeth as a very bad sign, as an ill temper of spirit : James i. 26, ' If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.' Censuring is a pleasing sin, very suitable to corrupt nature, which destroyeth both the love of God and our neighbour ; but it is a very bad sign. It is made to be the hypo- crites' sin, who, being acquainted with the guile of their own hearts, are apt to suspect others, and disgrace their best actions, and upon the ruin of other men's credit would raise their own reputation. And as they show an ill spirit in ourselves, so do they hurt to others, and they are contrary to that justice and charity which we owe to them : Prov. xxvi. 22, ' The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.' They wound men's reputation insensibly, and strike them with a blow that smarteth not, but destroyeth their service ; and by these privy defamations and whis- perings men's hearts are alienated from many choice useful servants of Christ.
[3.] There is ribaldry : Eph. iv. 29, ' Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.' Christians are accountable for their words as well as their actions, and scurrilous, obscene discourse ill becometh them that are, or should be, of a clean heart. So Col. iii. 8, ' But now you also put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy com- munication out of your mouths.' Such evil communications show a corrupt heart from whence they do proceed ; and they convey the taint to others ; for ' evil communication corrupts good manners ; ' the heart of man being as tinder or powder, easily catching at every spark that sets the flesh on fire.