Matt. xii. S6, 37. / say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment : for hy thy tvords thou shalt he justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condem7ied.
THERE is not any plainer or more acknowledged truth, in relation to natural things, than that " a tree is known by its fruit." In morals, the same would be equally obvious, if we were equally unbiassed in our judgment respecting it. But, if we speak of morals, we must not confine our attention to actions only : we must take also the words of men into the account; since by them the heart betrays itself, no less than by overt acts. The communications which proceed from the heart will, of necessity, correspond with the treasures which abound in it ; even as a stream will manifest the quality of the fountain from whence it flows. Our blessed Lord has determined this point ; and grounded on it a most solemn declaration, that is of the utmost importance to every child of man : " A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth good things : and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment : for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
To impress this declaration upon your minds, I will, I. Explain it —
In explaining the Holy Scriptures, and especially such awful declarations as that before us, the utmost possible care must be taken to avoid too strict an in- terpretation on the one hand, or too lax an interpre- tation on the other. Respecting the precise import of the passage before us, a variety of opinions have been entertained ; some hmiti'ng it to the expressions which had been made use of by the Pharisees in the preceding context, whilst others extend it to the most