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In the mean Time, it would much better become us foberly to balance with ourselves the Gains we may expect, and the Hazards we too probably run, by indulging this profane Liberty of Speech.

We cannot pretend to give Pleasure to our Hearers, for our Hearers are generally of a different Opinion: They are convinced of the Exiftence of a God, and therefore think themselves affronted; look upon it as an injurious Reflection upon their Judgment and Choice, and refent the Indignity with Deteftation, when they hear their beft Friend, and only Benefactor, the Author of their Beings, and the Founder of their Hopes, traduced and vilified. We cannot pretend to advantage the Publick, because the Publick is fully fatif fied, that the Belief of a God, and a future State, is the best Security of civil Society, and, confequently, cannot but fuppofe, that whoever goes about to difpoffefs the World of this Perfuafion, deferves to be reputed an Enemy to Mankind, and an injurious Disturber of their Tranquillity.

And now, what a defperate Madness is this, merely for the Sake of daring to do, what every fober Man would tremble to attempt, to make Shipwreck of our immortal Souls; to expose ourfelves to endless Wailings and Woe, only to raise a Fit of present Laughter, and, in order to be reckoned Wits, to prove ourselves ftark wild. For, of fuch Laughter, we may very well fay, with the wife Man, that it is Madnefs, and of fuch Mirth, what does it do? What does it do indeed, but only provoke God, in his Turn, to laugh at our Galamity, and to mock when our Fear cometh; when our Fear cometh as Defolation, and our Destruction cometh as a Whirlwind?

Another Thing, oppofite to religious and holy Converfation, is making his Word the Subject of our profane Mirth and Drollery: For it is no

uncommon

uncommon Thing to hear Perfons, almoft in all Company, ufing the Scripture, as they do Ends of Plays, to furnishing out their Jefts; cloathing all their little Conceits in its Language, and debafing it by the Mixture of fuch miferable Trifles, as themselves would be afhamed of, were they not heightened and infpirited by that Profaneness. But, to difcern how God will refent fuch Usage of his moft facred Word, let but any of us put the Cafe in our own Perfons. Suppofe we had written to a Friend, to advertise him of Things of the greatest Importance to himfelf; had given him ample and exact Inftructions, backed with the most earnest Exhortations, and enforced with the moft moving Expreffions of Kindness and Tenderness to him; and the next News, we should hear of that Letter, were to have it put in doggrel Rhime, to be made Sport for the Rabble, or, at the best, to have the most eminent Phrases of it picked out to be made a common By-word; I would fain know how any of us would refent fuch a Mixture of Ingratitude and Contumely. There needs no minute Application, I think. The whole Defign of the Bible does fufficiently anfwer, nay, infinitely furpass the former Part of the Parallel; and God knows our vile Ufage of it does too much, I fear too literally, adopt the latter. And, if we think the Affront too bafe for one of us, can we believe God will take it in good Part? The Words of the Apostle (and terrible Words they are) denote the very contrary: If the Word Spoken by Angels, fays he, was ftedfaft, and every Tranfgreffion and Difobedience received a juft Recompence; how shall we escape, if we neglect, if we burlefque, and make a mere Jeft of, fo great Salvation, which at the first began to be fpoken to us by the Lord?

II. With Regard to our Neighbour, the Duty of governing our Tongue will confift in the Sincerity and

Inoffenfiveness

Inoffenfiveness of our Words and Expreffions. St Paul, after the ufual Introduction to most of his Epiftles, begins That to the Philippians with a folemn Prayer to God, that they might approve Things, that were excellent, and be fincere, and without Offence, till the Day of Chrift; and, in That to the Ephefians, he gives them ftrict Charge, that, putting away Lying, they should speak every Man Truth with his Neighbour; which he enforces with this Reafon, for we are Members one of another, i. e. as we are Members of one common Society, we are feverally, in our different Capacities, obliged to promote the common Good and Happiness of it: But now, Speech being the proper Inftrument of our confulting and providing for these great Ends, all Infincerity and equivocal Abufe of Words at once tend to deftroy the natural Order, and fundamental Rights of Society, and are directly contrary to the true Ufe of Speech in its original Inftitution.

Few Perfons, indeed, have the Effrontery to affirm what is directly false, what they know to be fo, and may easily be detected in: The worst of Men defire to preserve fome Kind of Reputation in the World, and they obferve, that there is no Character more infamous, than That of a Lyar. They are cautious therefore how they affert Things, which have no real or probable Foundation, not out of Regard to Truth, confidered as a moral Virtue, but as an Ornament of civil Life: Yet there are fo many Ways of mifreprefenting Facts really true in themselves, of amplifying or fuppreffing the Circumstances wherewith they are attended, and of fuppofing This and That, in order to fet them off in different Colours; that Men of a fertile Invention may eafily find Means, on certain Occafions, of impofing upon the Credulity of others, without any fcandalous Confequences in Prejudice T

of

of their Reputation; and all this may be thought neceffary to fuch as propofe to live in the World, especially if they would raife themselves to any publick or eminent Station. It fhews, however, that the Maxims, whereby Men govern themselves, who refolve to make a Fortune at any Rate, are fometimes oppofite to thofe of Religion; and, for that very Reafon, Perfons, that make Profeffion of Religion, cannot, without evidently oppofing it, pretend to juftify fuch Maxims, or to act upon

them.

The like may be faid of Profeffions of Kindnefs, that are not real, as well as Commendations. and Praises, that are not due: Though both thefe may, in fome Measure, be apologised for; the one, as neceffary to keep up the Dependencies of great Men, and to give them an higher Air of Dignity and Power; the other, to preferve the Favour of the Proud, and to make us as well thought on, where we are dependent; yet they are far from being an Imitation of the true Difciples of Christ, who made it their great Joy and Triumph, not how artfully they had conducted themselves; not what exquifite Masters of Difguife and Diffimulation they had been; but that with Simplicity and godly Sincerity, not with fleshly Wisdom, but by the Grace of God, they had their Converfation in the World. This, however, is not fo to be understood, as if a Courtefy to our Benefactors, or all Referve to fuch as are our Enemies, were to be fuperfeded: There is a wide Difference between Civility and Flattery, between Caution and Diffimulation; and our bleffed Saviour, by qualifying the Simplicity of the Dove with the Wisdom of the Serpent, has plainly inftructed us, that Candour is not only very reconcileable with Prudence, but ought indeed never to be feparated from it.

With Regard to our Neighbour, another Duty, in the Government of the Tongue, is to have our Converfation innocent and inoffenfive, free from that Calumny and Defamation, whereby we injure his good Name, (which is an Argument we have spoken to before) as well as that Cenforiousness and Contumely, which we now come to confider.

Wonderful is the Care, which the Chriftian Religion has taken, to correct the Vice of cenfuring and judging others, as knowing it to be one of the most mifchievous, and withal the moft predominent Vices in the World. Sometimes we find it reprefented, as a bold and unjuft Ufurpation of an Authority, that by no Means belongs to us: Speak not evil one of another, fays St James; be that speaketh evil of his Brother, and judgeth his Brother, Speaketh evil of the Law, and judgeth the Law: There is one Lawgiver, who is able to fave, and to defroy; who art thou that judgest another? Sometimes we find it reprefented, as an infufferable Incroachment upon the independent Freedom of our Brethren: For why is my Liberty judged, fays St Paul, fpeaking of Things of an indifferent Nature, of another Man's Confcience? Every one of us shall give an Account of himself to God; let us not therefore judge another any more. Sometimes again we find it reprefented, as a Practice of very mischievous Confequence; as it disturbs the Quiet and Comfort of Society, and commits irreparable Outrages upon the Reputation of innocent Perfons: Hence we are told, that the Whisperer Separateth chief Friends; that the Mouth that flandereth, flayeth the Soul; that the Words of fuch Men are Wounds; and that be, who fcatters them, and fays, I am in Sport, is as a Mad man, that cafteth about Firebrands, and Arrows, and Death.

But if the Reverence due to Almighty God will not restrain us from affuming his Right to JudicaT 2

ture;

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