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all to a pitch far above truth; and fo he is a liar. He debafes himself to please others, turning himself into every fhape to humour the party he is to flatter; and betrays him into self-conceit and unacquaintednefs with himself.

I shall shut all with a twofold dehortation.

First, Speak truth, and beware of lying. Lying is a very common fin; repent of that guilt, and beware of it for the future. For motives, confider,

Mot. 1. That God is the God of truth, the author and lover of truth, fo that he cannot lie. And therefore lying is moft contrary to the nature and mind of God; it is therefore fingularly abominable and hateful to him, Pfal. x. 6. Prov. vi. 16. 17. We find that God fuffered Adam's fons to marry their own fifters, and the Ifraelites to fpoil the Egyptians of what they had borrowed of them; but never did the God of truth at any time difpenfe with mens speaking lies. Hate that abominable thing then, which God fo hates.

2. All lies are from the devil in a special manner, John viii. 44. It was he that firft broached lies in the world, and ruined mankind with them; and having fped fo well with that engine of hell at firft, no wonder he fets himself to keep up the trade. He is the father of lies, that begets them on the falfe heart, and they are brought forth by the lying tongue. Whom do liars refemble then, the God of truth or the father of lies?

3. Lying is a part of the old man of fin, which must be put off, if we would not be put out of God's prefence, Eph. iv. 24. 25. It is the way to which our corrupt natures do kindly and quickly incline, Pfal. lviii. 3. The wicked go aftray, as foon as they be born, fpeaking lies. Hence children are not to learn this, they have the art of it from their firft father Adam. But as foon as grace enters the heart, it rectifies it in that point. Hence the Lord's people are called children that will not lie, If. lxiii. 8. VOL. III.

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4. There is a meannefs or bafenefs in lying beyond what is in other common fins, either because it proceeds from fear, or tends to deceive. Hence liars themfelves cannot endure to be called liars; the bafenefs of the fin being fo much acknowledged in the world, that though many bring forth and cherish the vile brat, none can endure to be reputed the father of it. And no wonder it is reputed fuch a bafe thing; for when once a man is known to make no confcience of truth, he has loft his credit, and is looked on as a man that cannot be bound with the common ties of fociety, nor trufted.

Laftly, It will bring God's wrath heavily on the guilty, Prov. xix. 5. 9. A false witness shall not be "unpunished, and he that Speaketh lies fhall not escape. A falfe witnefs fhall not be unpunished; and he that Speaketh lies fhall perish. God's truth is impawned for the liar's deftruction, even eternal destruction. Shall liars have accefs to heaven? No, they are barred out from thence, Rev. xxi.ult. There shall in nowife enter into it any thing that-maketh a lie. Their lodging is appointed to them in another place with the devil the father of lies, in the lake that burns with fire and brimftone, Rev. xxi. 8. & xxii. 15. I fhall give you a few advices.

1. Strike at the root of lying, and fo the fruit will wither and come to nought. The great root of all is the corrupt nature, that needs to be mortified by grace from Jefus Chrift. There are also particular lufts on which lies depend. Labour to be humble, for pride and felf-feeking occafions many lies, as the boafter's lie. Some are founded on covetouinefs, as the lies in bargaining; fome in fear, flavish fear of men, as denying of truth; fome in the vanity and rafhnefs of our natures, whereby lies come to be broached without a formed defign.

2. Accuftom yourselves to few words, for in the multitude of words there wanteth not fin, Prov. X. 19.

It is but juft with God, that idle words be punished by fuffering people to fall into lying words.

3. Remeinber that God will difcover truth; and that his eye is upon you at all times. And though ye may deceive others with your lies, ye cannot deceive the omnifcient God. He is witnefs to the truth, and will call you to account for your contradifting of it. And indeed the trade of lying is hard to keep up without difcovery. Liars had need of good memories. A lying tongue is but for a moment, Prov. xii. 19.

Lastly, Curb lying in young ones, out of pity to their fouls, and care of their credit when they come to years. For fome get fuch a habit of it when they are young, that there is no mending of them when they grow old.

Secondly, Beware of carrying an evil tongue. The lying tongue is contrary to truth, the evil tongue to charity and love to our neighbour, being employed in flandering, backbiting, reproaching, re-" viling, fcolding, &c. For motives,

Mot. 1. Confider the woful perverfenefs that is in an evil tongue. God gave man fpeech which he denied to other creatures, that by his tongue he might glorify God, and do good to himfelf and others, Pfal. vii. 9. 10. Shall we thus turn our glory into-fhame, and pervert the ends of fpeech? How juft were it that we were ftruck dumb?

2. It is a murdering inftrument, I obferved to you before, that an ill tongue is a parcel of murdering weapons, a bow and harp arrows to picrce, a fword to ftab, and a fire to devour others. Yea, Solomon obferves, that death and life are in the power of the tongue. It is a fire that kindles ftrife and contention in al! focieties, and turns them into confufion; and oft-times returns heavily on the head of thofe who carry it. The tongues from heaven were cloven, to be the more diffufive of good; but thotę

fired from hell are forked, to be the more impreffive of mifchief.

3. Confider the wickednefs of it. It is a world of iniquity, Jam. iii. 6. They have much ado that have an ill tongue to guide, a world of iniquity to guide. It is a broad ftream from the fountain of the wickedness of the heart.

4. An unbridled tongue cuts off all pretences to true religion, 'Jam. i. 26. For where the fear or love of God and our neighbour is in the heart, it will be a bond on the tongue to keep it within the bounds of Chriftian charity.

5. We must give an account of our words at the day of judgement, Matth. xii. 36. 37.

Lastly, An ill tongue will ruin the foul. Bridle your tongues; however unruly they be, they fhall be filent in the grave. And if repentance prevent it not, the day will come that they will be tormented in hell-flames, Luke xvi.

I fhall conclude with an advice or two.

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1. Begin at the heart, if would order your tongues aright. Labour to get them cleanfed by the fanctifying Spirit of Chrift. Study love to God and your neighbour, which are the fulfilling of the law. Labour for meeknefs, and patience, and humility,' which will be the beft directors of the tongue,

2. Set yourselves, in the faith of promifed affiftance, to watch over your hearts and tongues. Unwatchfulness is dangerous in the cafe of fuch an unruly member as the tongue is.. God has guarded it naturally. Do ye alfo watch it *.

* Several particulars relating to fpeaking truth, and truth in the heart, and the evil of lying, &c. may be read with pleasure and profit, in the author's book, lately published, entitled, Diftinguifk ing characters of true believers, fermons on Pfal. xv. 2.

EXODUS XX. 17.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's houfe, thou shalt covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-fervant, nor his maid fervant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's,

THE

HE fcope of this command is to ftrike at the root and first rifings of fin in the heart, in the defires going out of their right line of purity and equity. It is a ftrict boundary fet to the unbounded defires of the heart.

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In it there are, 1. The act. 2. The object. The act, Thou shalt not covet, or luft, as the apoftle terms it, Rom. vii. 7. which implies an inordinateness of defire, a feverish motion of the foul towards the creature, irregular and diforderly; and fo a diffa tisfaction with one's prefent condition, as appears from Heb. xiii. 5. Let your converfation be without covetoufnefs, and be content with fuch things as ye have.

The object is held forth particularly for example's caufe, thy neighbour's houfe, thy neighbour's wife, his fervants, and goods. Thou shalt not only not take away thy neighbour's houfe from him by oppreffion, nor entice away his fervants, nor fteal his goods, nor entertain a fixed and deliberate defire to do him that injury, as is forbidden in the eighth command; but the inordinate defire of having them fhall not rise in, nor go through thy heart, however lightly, if it were like a flying arrow, faying, O, that his house, his fervant, his ox and afs were mine! Thou fhalt not only not defile his wife, nor deliberately defire to do it, as is forbidden in the feventh commandment; but thou shalt not say in thine heart, O that the were mine! though thou haft no mind, right or wrong, to make her fo.

This object is held forth univerfally, nor any

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