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SERM. 3. No practice hath more fevere punishments deXVI. nounced to it than this. The railer (and it is indeed a very proper and fit punishment for him, he being exceedingly bad company) is to be banished out of all good fo1 Cor. v. 11.ciety; thereto St. Paul adjudgeth him: I have, faith he, now written unto you, not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with Such an one not to eat. Ye fee what company the railer hath in the text, and with what a crew of people he is coupled but no good company he is allowed otherwhere; every good Christian should avoid him as a blot, and a pest of conversation: and finally he is fure to be excluded from the bleffed fociety above in heaven 1; for 1 Cor.vi.10. neither thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners fhall inherit the kingdom of God: and, Rev. xxii. Without (without the heavenly city) are dogs, faith St. John in his Revelation, that is, thofe chiefly who out of currish spite or malignity do frowardly bark at their neighbours, or cruelly bite them with reproachful language.

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4. If we look upon fuch language in its own nature, what is it but a fymptom of a foul, a weak, a difordered and distempered mind? It is the smoke of inward rage and malice: it is a stream that cannot iffue from a fweet spring it is a ftorm that cannot blufter out of a Prov.xv.26. calm region. The words of the pure are pleasant words, as the Wife Man faith.

5. This practice doth plainly fignify low fpirit, ill breeding, and bad manners; and thence misbecometh any wise, any honest, any honourable person. It agreeth to children, who are unapt and unaccustomed to deal in matters confiderable, to fquabble; to women of meanest rank, (apt by nature, or custom, to be transported with paffion,) to fcold. In our modern languages it is termed

• Hinc intelligere poffumus quam gravis fit et perniciofa maledictio, quando, etiamfi alia bona adfuerint, fola excludit a cœlo. Salv. de Guber. Dei, lib. iii.

villany, as being proper for ruftic boors, or men of SERM. coarfest education and employment; who, having their XVI. minds debased by being conversant in meanest affairs, do vent their forry paffions, and bicker about their petty concernments, in fuch ftrains; who alfo, being not capable of a fair reputation, or fenfible of disgrace to themfelves, do little value the credit of others, or care for afperfing it. But fuch language is unworthy of those perfons, and cannot eafily be drawn from them, who are wont to exercise their thoughts about nobler matters, who are verfed in affairs manageable only by calm deliberation and fair perfuafion, not by impetuous and provocative rudeness; the which do never work otherwise upon masculine fouls, than fo as to procure difdain and resistance. Such perfons, knowing the benefit of a good name, being wont to poffefs a good repute, prizing their own credit as a confiderable good, will never be prone to bereave others of the like by opprobrious speech. A noble enemy will never speak of his enemy in bad

terms s.

We may farther confider, that all wife, all honeft, all ingenuous perfons have an averfation from ill speaking, and cannot entertain it with any acceptance or complacence; that only ill-natured, unworthy, and naughty people are its willing auditors, or do abet it with applaufe. The good man, in the fifteenth Psalm, non accipit Pfal. xv. 3. opprobrium, doth not take up, or accept, a reproach against

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his neighbour but A wicked doer, faith the Wise Man, Prov. xvii. giveth heed to falfe lips, and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. And what reasonable man will do that which is disgustful to the wife and good, is grateful only to the foolish and bafer fort of ment? I pretermit, that ufing this fort of language doth incapacitate a man for to benefit his neighbour, and defeateth his endeavours for his edification, difparaging a good cause, prejudicing the de

• In quo admirari soleo gravitatem et juftitiam et sapientiam Cæsaris, qui nunquam nifi honorificentiffime Pompeium appellat. Cic. Epift. tom. vi. 6.

It is always taken as an argument of ill-will. Maledicus a malefico non diftat, nifi occafione. Quinț, xii. 9.

SERM. fence of truth, obstructing the effects of good inftruction XVI. and wholesome reproof; as we did before remark and declare. Farther,

6. He that useth this kind of speech doth, as harm and trouble others, so create many great inconveniences and mischiefs to himself thereby. Nothing fo inflameth the wrath of men, so provoketh their enmity, so breedeth lafting hatred and spite, as do contumelious words. They are often called fwords and arrows;" and as fuch they pierce deeply, and cause most grievous smart; which men feeling are enraged, and accordingly will ftrive to requite them in the like manner, and in all other obvious ways of revenge. Hence ftrife, clamour and tumult, care, fufpicion and fear, danger and trouble, forrow and regret, do feize on the reviler; and he is fufficiently punished for this dealing. No man can otherwise than live in perpetual fear of reciprocal like ufage from him, whom he is confcious of having fo abused. Whence, if not justice or charity toward others, yet love and pity of ourselves fhould perfuade us to forbear it as difquietful, incommodious, and mischievous to us.

We should indeed certainly enjoy much love, much concord, much quiet, we fhould live in great safety and fecurity, we should be exempted from much care and fear, if we would restrain ourselves from abufing and offending our neighbour in this kind: being conscious of fo juft and innocent demeanour toward him, we should converse with him in a pleasant freedom and confidence, not suspecting any bad language or ill usage from him. 7. Hence with evidently good reafon is he that useth fuch language called a fool: and he that abstaineth from Prov. xviii. it is commended as wife. A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is Prov. x. 19. his deftruction, and his lips are the fnare of his foul. He Prov.xii.18. that refraineth his tongue is wife. In the tongue of the

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"The fcourge of the tongue, Job v. 21. Prov. xii. 18. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword. Pfal. lvii. 4. lix. 7. Ixiv. 3. Pfal. lii. 2. Sharp rafor. Prov. xxx. 14. Knives.

* The froward tongue shall be cut out. Prov. 8. 31.

wife is health. He that keepeth his lips keepeth his life: SERM. but he that openeth wide his mouth (that is, in evil-fpeak- XVI. ing, gaping with clamour and vehemency) shall have de- Prov.xiii. 3. ftruction. The words of a wife man's mouth are gracious: Ecclef. x. but the lips of a fool will fwallow up himself. Death and Prov. xviii. life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it 21. Shall eat the fruit thereof; that is, of the one or the other, anfwerably to the kind of speech they choose.

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In fine, very remarkable is that advice, or refolution of the grand point concerning the best way of living happily, in the Pfalmift: What man is he that defireth life, Pfal. xxxiv. and loveth many days, that he may fee good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from Speaking guile. Abftinence from ill-speaking he seemeth to propose as the first step toward the fruition of a durably-happy life.

8. Laftly, we may confider that it is a grievous perverting the defign of speech, (that excellent faculty, which fo much diftinguifheth us from, fo highly advanceth us above, other creatures,) to use it to the defaming and difquieting our neighbour. It was given us as an inftrument of beneficial commerce, and delectable converfation; that with it we might affift and advise, might cheer and comfort one another: we therefore in employing it to the disgrace, vexation, damage or prejudice in any kind, of our neighbour, do foully abuse it; and fo doing, render ourselves indeed worse than dumb beasts: for better far it were that we could fay nothing, than that we fhould speak ill y.

Now the God of grace and peace make us perfect in Heb. xiii. every good work to do his will, working in us that which is 20, 21. well-pleafing in his fight, through Jefus Chrift; to whom be glory for ever and ever.

Amen.

y Mutos nafci, et egere omni ratione fatius fuiffet, quam providentiæ munera in mutuam pernicien convertere. Quint. xii. 1.

SERMON

SERMON XVII.

THE FOLLY OF SLANDER.

PROV. X. 18.

He that uttereth flander is a fool.

SERM. GENERAL declamations against vice and fin are indeed XVII. excellently useful, as roufing men to confider and look about them: but they do often want effect, because they only raise confused apprehenfions of things, and indeterminate propenfions to action; the which usually, before men throughly perceive or refolve what they should practife, do decay and vanish. As he that cries out fire doth ftir up people, and inspireth them with a kind of hovering tendency every way, yet no man thence to purpose moveth, until he be diftinctly informed where the mischief is; then do they, who apprehend themselves concerned, run haftily to oppose it: fo, till we particularly discern where our offences lie, (till we diftinctly know the heinous nature and the mifchievous confequences of them,) we scarce will effectually apply ourfelves to correct them. Whence it is requifite, that men should be particularly acquainted with their fins, and by proper arguments be diffuaded from them.

In order whereto I have now felected one fin to defcribe, and to diffuade from, being in nature as vile, and in practice as common, as any other whatever that hath prevailed among men. It is flander, a fin which in all

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