Lying
LYING.
and in all other sin, that nothing can move them ; except, peradventure, there were a law made that every swearer and blasphemer should hold his hand a quarter of an hour in boiling lead.
This, or some such Hke severe law, might peradventure curb them a httle, and make them bite in their oaths.
But otherwise, they will never fear any •thing till they be in hell-fire, when it will be too late to repent.
Phil. What may be the cause of this so often and great swearing? for surely it is no inherent and inbred sin in our nature, as some of the other sins be.
Theol. No, verily.
But these three I judge to be the cause of it: custom, want of admonition, want of punishment.
Phil. What then are the remedies for it?
Theol. The remedies are these : disuse, prayer, friendly admonition, some sharp law.
LYING.
Phil. Well, sir, we have heard enough of swearing, I pray you proceed to the next sign of damnar tion, which is lying.
Theol. Swearing and lying be of very near kindred; for he that is a common swearer is for the most part a common liar ako.
For he that maketh no conscience of swearing, will make no conscience of lying.
And as the Lord hateth the one, so also he hateth the other.
And as he punisheth the one, so he will punish the other.
Therefore Solomon saith, " Lying lips are an
LYING. abomination unto the Lord," Prov. xii. 22.
St.
John saith, "Without shall he dogs, enchanters, whoremongers, murderers, and whosoever loveth or maketh lies," Rev. xxii. 15.
Again, the same holy man of God saith, "That liars shall have their part and portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death," Rev. xxi. 8.
Phil. These scriptures, which you allege, do manifestly declare that Grod abhorreth liars, and hath reserved great torments for them.
Therefor, the princely prophet David saith that he would banish all liars out of his house. "He that telleth lies (saith he) shall not remain in my sight," Psalm ci. 7.
A lying tongue is one of the six things which God doth hate and his soul abhor, Prov. vi. 17.
Yet for all this we see the lamentable experience, how many have even taught their tongues to lie, (as the prophet saith,
Jer. ix.) and there is no truth in their lips.
This vice is almost as common as swearing.
For it is hard to find a man that will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from his heart, in simplicity and plainness, at all times, in all places, and amongst all persons, without all glossing or dissembling, either for fear, gain, flattery, men-pleasing, hiding of faults, or any sinister respect whatsoever.
Where, I say, is this man to be found?
I would fain see him.
I would fain look upon such a man.
It would do my heart good to behold him.
I would rejoice to set mine eyes upon such a man.
Theol. Such a man as you speak of is hardly to be found among the sons of men.
They be black swans in the earth; they be white crows; they be rare birds.
For there be very few that
LTIWG.
will speak the truth from their heart: yet some such I hope there he.
But, for the most part, and amongst the greater sort, lying, dissembling, and fraud, do bear all the sway.
There is no truth, no honesty, no conscience, no simplicity, no plain dealing, amongst men in these most corrupt times.
Faith and trtith are parted clean away.
And as the kingly prophet saith, "The faithful are failed from among the children of men.
They speak deceitfully every one with his neighbour; flattering with their lips, and speak with a double heart," Psalm xii.
Men now-a-days study the art of lying, flattering, fawning, glossing, and dissembling: they have a heart and a heart.* They have honey in their mouth, and gaU in their heart.
Their tongues are as soft as butter and oil; but their hearts are full of bitterness, poison, and wormwood.
They are full of outward courtesy and civility, full of court holy water, when there is no truth nor plainness in their inward afiection.
They will speak you fair when they would cut your throats.
They wiU shew you a good countenance, when they would eat your heart with g^rhc.
In outward show, they will carry themselves plausibly, when their hearts are full of venom and malice.
This viperous brood do but watch their times and opportimities till they can get a man upon the hip; and then they will sting him, and work their malice upon him.
These fawning curs will not bark till they bite.
They will lurk and lie close till they spy their vantage, and then they will shew themselves in their kind: then they will hoist a man, and turn
* A. Hebrew speech for a deceitM heart.
See the margin of oar Kbles.
LYING. him over the perk* if they can.
These men are like the waters, which are most deep, when they are most calm; like a dangerous rock, hid undera calm sea; or, as the heathen say, "like the Syren's song, which is the sailor's wreck;" like the fowler's whistle, which is the hird's death; like the hid bait, which is the fishes' bane; like the harpies,t which have virgin's faces, and vulture's talons; or like the hyena, which speaketh like a friend, and devoureth like a foe; or, as the scripture saith, like Joab, (2 Sam. xx.
10,) the captain of the host, which spake kindly to Amasa, another captain, and kissed him, when presently he stabbed him; or like unto the Herodians, and Pharisees' servants, which came to our Lord Jesus with many fawning insinuations, calling him good master, and telling him that he was the plain truth, that he taught the way of God truh', he regarded no man's person, and many " good morrows," and all this gear, when as, in very deed, their purpose was to entangle him in his words, and to entrap him, that they might catch advantage against him, and so cut his throat, and give him pap with a hatchet.]; This itr is which the wise man saith, Prov. xxix. 5, " A man that flattereth his neighbour, spreadeth a net for his feet."
And again, "As silver dross, overlaid upon an earthen pot: so are fawning lips, and an evil heart."
And in another place he saith, "He that beareth hatred, will counterfeit with his lips: but he layeth up deceit in his heart.
When he speaks fair, trust him not.
For there are seven abominations in his heart.
He will cover hatred * Probably off the perch, a treacherous and dangerous fall.
+ Fabulous beasts.
J Pretend to feed him tenderly, and knock him on the head.
LTIKG.
by deceit: but his malice shall be discovered in the congregation,"
Prov. xxvi. 23-26.
In another place he pronounceth a curse on all these hollow-hearted hypocrites, and meally-mouthed flatterers; for saith he, "unto him that blesseth his friend, with a loud voice, betimes in the morning, rising up early, a curse shall be imputed,"
Prov. xxvii. 14.
Phil. You have veiy well described the conditions of the men of this age, which have faces, countenances, and tongues, but no hearts; which profess lying and dissembling: which say, he cannot live that cannot dissemble; which have fair faces, and false hearts ; which have forgotten that plain honesty is the best policy.
Theol. The Holy Ghost, often in the Proverl» rif Solomon, calleth all unregenerate men fools; ir, as it is in the Hebrew, men without hearts; lecause they have no heart to God, no heart to ' lis word, no heart to his children, no heart to godliness, no heart to any thing that is good.
They are without an honest heart, an upright heart, a plain heart.
They are all in words; nothing in deeds.
They promise mountains, and perform mole-hills.
They \vill speak well of religion, and practise nothing.
They will give fair words to their friends, and do just nothing for them.
Phil. The world is full of these masked counterfeits; and lying and dissembling did never more abound.
Theol.
It is too true that lying and dissembling are most rife, and over-common vices amongst all sorts of men; but, especially , it doth overflow and superabound in shopkeepers and servants.
For both these make a trade and occupation of it; they
LYING. can do no other but lie.
It cleaveth unto them as the nail to the door.
Phil.
I do certainly know some shopkeepers which (to utter their bad wares, and to blind the eyes of the simple) do trade in lying, all the day long, from sun to sun; from the opening of the shop and windows, to the shutting of the same.
And what is their life, if customers come in apace, but swearing, lying, dissembling, and deceiving?
They will lie as fast as a dog will trot, as we say.
It is a wonder, that their shops and all their wares do not fire over their heads, for their so common, so lewd, and so abominable lying ; and that against their own knowledge, against their conscience, against God, against their neighbour, against heaven and earth, men and angels.
Theol. True it is, we may marvel at the longsuffering of God in this behalf.
But this is to be noted, that God doth not immediately punish all notorious sinners in this life; but reserveth thousands to the judgment of the great day.
In this life he only culleth out some few, whom he smiteth for the example of others, that they might fear and tremble, and learn by other men's harms to beware.
Therefore, even in this life, we see before our eyes, some liars, some drunkards, some whoremongers, some swearers, some misers of the world, some ruffians, and cut-throats, striken down by the revenging hand of God.
But whereas God smiteth one of these, in this life he letteth an hundred escape.
For if he should punish all offenders in this life, to what purpose should the judgment to come serve?
If he should punish none, then we should think there were no God, or that he were shut up idle in heaven, and would do neither good nor evil, nor once meddle in the
LTixa,
matters of the earth, as some epicures have dreamed.
Therefore, to avoid both these extremities, God in his heavenly wisdom hath thought good to mete with some even in this world.
Phil.
I am of this mind, that the goods which men get by swearing, lying and deceit, will never prosper long.
Theol. You are not therein deceived; for God will blow upon all such kind of evil-gotten goods, and they shall put it in a bottomless purse, as the prophet saith, Hag. i. 6.
The Holy Ghost, in the Book of Proverbs, hath many excellent sayings to this effect: as chap. xiii.
11, "The riches of vanity shall be diminished, but he which laboureth with the hand shall increase them."
Again, "He that dealeth with a deceitful hand shall become poor: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich."
Prov. x. 4.
In another place he saith, "The deceitful man roasteth not that which he hath caught in huntmg," Prov. xii. 27.
That is, he shall not long enjoy or taste the prey which he hath gotten by fraud ; for either one trouble or other will come upon him, that he shall not be able to possess, or take delight in the spoil.
Therefore it is said, '"The bread of deceit is sweet to a man ; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel," Prov. xx. 17.
That is, in the end the crafty person shall meet with many troubles; for either his conscience will upbraid him and check him, or vengeance will plague him for his deceit.
The fears, cares, and sorrows, which he shall have, shall be as it were so many sharp stones, to set his teeth on edge, and to vex him.
Wherefore, instead of meat, he shall feed on gravel; and instead of wheat, on pebblestones.
Small pleasure is taken in the end in
tTING. goods ill-gotten, or livings unlawfully come by.
For the Holy Ghost hath passed sentence upon theni that they shall never prosper.
Phil.
It sometimes falleth out that they prosper for a time; but as we say, the third heir shall never enjoy them.
For God will curse them in our posterity; and our children's children shall feel the smart of our sins.
Therefore, the holy man Job saith, xxviii. 14, " The offspring of the wicked shall not be satisfied with bread." For out of doubt, God will bless that only which is got with a good conscience in the works of our calling; and it shall remain blessed to us and our posterity.
Therefore, the Spirit saith, "The just man that walketh in his uprightness is blessed, and blessed shall his children be after him,"
Prov. XX. 7.
But God will not bless, but curse that which is got with an evil conscience; as swearing, lying, dissembling, deceiving, &c.
TTieol. Some ancient writers have spoken very prudently to this point; for one saith, (Jerom.) "
Injusta lucra breves hahent voluptates : longos autem dolores."
That is, unjust gain hath long sorrow and short joy.
Another saith, (August.) '^Eligas damnum, potiiis quam turpe lucrum illud: enim semel tantum te dolere afficiet; hoc verb semper.''''
That is, choose loss rather than filthy lucre.
For the one will grieve thee but once; the other, for ever.
A third saith, (Bernard.) " Melius est honeste pauperem esse, quam turpiter divitem.
Hoc enim commiserationem, illud verb reprehensionemadfert.'" It is better to be honestly poor, than wickedly rich.
For the one moveth pity, the other reproof.
One of the wise heathen also saith, "We may not wax rich unjustly;" but live of just things; which he calleth hoi}' things.
LTEKG.
Phil. Have we not examples in the scriptures of such as have been punished for lying?
Theol.
Yes.
For we read how the Gibeonites, for their lying and dissembling, were made drudges and slaves to the Israelites. Josh. is. 23.
Gehazi, also, the servant of Elisha the prophet, for his lying and covetousness together, was smitten with a most grievous leprosy, 2 Kings, v.
Ananias and Sapphira his wife, for their lying and dissembhng, were stricken down stark dead, by the immediate hand of God, at the rebuke of Peter, Acts
V. 5, Zophar, one of Job's friends, speaking of these kind of men, saith, "They shaU suck the gall of asps, and the viper's tongue shall slay them.
They shall flee from the iron weapons, and a bow of steel shall strike them through,"
Job XX. 16, 24.
Xow then, by all these examples, we may plainly see how greatly God abhorreth lying and dissembling.
Phil. Oh, therefore, that we could follow the counsel of the apostle, who saith. Col. iii. 9, "Lie not one to another: seeing that ye have put off the old man, with his works."
And again, Eph. iv. 25, "Cast away lying, and speak every one the truth to his neighbour."
The manner of speech which the apostle useth is very forcible, implying this much, that we should in a kind of disdain or detestation, cast it away, and throw it from us, as a filthy, stinking and bewrayed clout, hanging about a man's neck; which he doth suddenly snatch away, and hurleth into the fire, as being ashamed that ever it should be seen or known.
Would to God, therefore, that we were come to such a detestation and loathing of lying, that we would even spattle at it, and cry fie upon it, and all that use it !
Oh that we could hate it as the
ITIKG. devil, which is the father of it; and as hell-fire, which is the reward of it!
Oh that we were come but so far as the heathen man who saith, (Homer, Iliad iii.) "I hate him as the gates of hell who hath one thing in his tongue, and another in his heart!"
Antil. Yet for all this we find in the scriptures that even some of the godly have been taken tardy in lying, and yet have not sinned in so doing; as Abraham, Jacob, Kahab, the midwives of Egypt; and, therefore, why may we not do so too ?
Theol.
I told you before that you may not make the infirmities of God's people rules for you to live by; and further, I answer that all these did offend in their lying.
Some of them, indeed, I grant, are commended for their love to the church, and charitable affections to God's people, but none of them simply for lying; which is a thing condemned even of the heathen; for saith " Lying doth corrupt the life of one of them, many;" and every wise and godly man doth hate lying.
Antil. But may we not live now and then for advantage ?
Theol. No, verily: neither is there any good advantage to be got that way; for when you have made up your accounts, all charges deducted, and all expenses defrayed, your clear gains will be very small.
For by your wilful and customary lying you gain inward grief, and lose true joy; you gain short pleasure, and lose perpetual glory; you gain hell, and lose heaven; you make the devil your friend, and God your enemy.
Now then, reckon your gain.
Phil.
I pray you, let us grow towards a con-