love and piety; and if so, notwithstanding very many occasional slips in our speech, through surprise of sudden temptation, this shall suffice to make it appear that we are in a justified state through Christ. For had we not believed in him unto righteousness, and had he not obtained for us the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, we never could have advanced so far as it seems we have done towards self-government in so very wide and difficult an instance. "For the tongue" (St. James tells us) "is an unruly evil," and, "if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body."* On the other hand, our speech may have been such in its general tenour as to prove that we have not had the fear of God habitually before our eyes, and the love of God in our hearts-that we have loved our fellow creatures but little or not at all, and that we have not regarded either the threatenings or the promises of God's word; and if so, this shall suffice to make it manifest that we are, according to the scripture rule, in a state of condemnation, as having no title to anything good through Christ, in whom it appears we do not truly believe, seeing we have not faithfully taken him for our master; so that the end will in fact be this that the man of habitually sound and good speech shall surely stand upright in judgment, and the man of habitually

* James iii. 8, 2.

careless and evil speech shall as surely fall; and, moreover, every individual word and saying of every man's shall contribute in its measure towards the sum or aggregate of evidence, and be, according to its character, and as far as it goes, either for him in eternal judgment, or against him. This is the doctrine of my text, and awful and most important doctrine no doubt it is.

II. We come now to the duty to which the consideration of it ought to lead us, and which the text evidently demands: and of course it can be no other than this,-that we take heed to our speech and I must therefore endeavour to show you what is herein required.

Now, our daily speech is conversant about so many objects, and may be right or wrong in so vast a variety of ways, that it is scarcely possible to enumerate either the sins or the duties of the tongue completely. But I may reduce, perhaps, the chief of what is necessary to be said, to these general topics.

Because every word must be accounted for, we must beware of false speech, of profane speech, of uncharitable speech, and, as the text hath it, of idle or unprofitable speech; and in our speech we must habitually study and aim at the contrary excellences of truth, piety, charity, and usefulness. For this will at least go very far towards the fulfilment of the apostolic admo

nition, which so beautifully sums up the whole matter. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."*

1. First then, I say, speech being a communication or imparting of the mind, or at least professing to be so, the primary qualification of sound speech, which cannot be condemned itself, and will not condemn the speaker, is obviously truth; and the primary vice or sin of speech, which absolutely disqualifies it for the purposes for which it was given, is falsehood. By the one, the tongue is indeed" our glory," as David calls it, and "the best member that we have," the servant of God to good effect, and the helper of our neighbour, as it was meant to be; but, by the other, it is vilely prostituted to serve God's enemy, it becomes the instrument of nothing else but mischief, it is our worst member, and our shame. Beware then, as the first branch of your duty in this particular, of every lie, of kind; every good can never come of it, and evil always will, either to God's cause or to your neighbour's, usually to both, and always to your own souls. Those wilful exaggerations in detailing facts and circumstances in common conversation, by which it is only intended to amuse the hearers, or per* Ephes. iv. 29.

haps to make them think of the speaker's wit or importance somewhat beyond what is due, even they are not the sinless or harmless things which people imagine; they are at variance with christian simplicity and integrity always, and "for men to search their own glory," in any way," is not glory;"* these are not innocent lies, very far from it. Worse still, however, are falsehoods uttered, where our own gain is the object; if anything should be gotten in this way, it is surely stolen; between gain obtained by false representations, and gain obtained by direct robbery, the difference is precisely none at all. Lies of courtesy and civility are also a gross abuse of speech, for "a man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet;"† and lies of malice and false witness are worst of all. This is putting on completely the image of that evil one whose title is the "accuser of the brethren ;" and I need not explain to you what we have all seen and felt so often, how great a matter a little fire" of this sort "kindleth;" how much irreparable injury the tongue of the slanderer brings about, separating chief friends, destroying the peace of families, inflicting the most intolerable of all wounds, robbing people of that good name which is better than great riches, and more cared for by every right-minded man. I will not enlarge,

* Prov. xxv. 27.

Prov. xxix. 5.

however; only hear what God himself says, and in what company he classes offenders of this sort. "These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him,-a proud look,a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,―an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,-feet that be swift in running to mischief, -a false witness that speaketh lies,—and he that soweth discord among brethren."* And again, "all liars shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."† But "who shall dwell in thy tabernacle, O Lord; who shall rest upon thy holy hill? even he that leadeth an uncorrupt life, and speaketh the truth from his heart."

"He

that hath used no deceit with his tongue, and hath not slandered his neighbour, — he that sweareth to his neighbour and disappointeth him not, though it were his own hindrance; whoso doeth these things shall never fall." "By his words he shall be justified." I say next,