The Art of Preserving the Fruits of the Lips,
The Art of Preserving The drunkard torteits man, and doth divest Altworldly right, fave whathehas by beast.
Shall I, to please another's wine sprung mind, Lose all my own ? Godhasgiven me a measure
Short of his can, and body; must I find A pain in that wherein he finds a pleasure ?
Stay at the third glass; if thou lose thy hold, Then thou art modest, but the wine grows bold.
Ifreasonmovenot gallants, quittheroom, (All ina shipwreck shift their sev'ral way.)
Let not a common ruin thee in tomb :
Be not a beast in courtesies; but stay, Stay at the third glass, or forego the place :
Wine, above all things, doth God's flampdeface.
CAUTION II.
THE fecondevil I small deal with, is the evil of the tongue, which, as St James faith, is full of deadly poison, caths, curses, blafphemies ; and this poison it scatters up and down the world in all places ; an untamed member thatnonecan rule,
Jam. iii. 7, 8.
The fiercest of beasts havebeentamed by man, as the apostle there observes, which is a relicof his old superiority and dominion over them : but this is an unruly member that none cantamebut he that made it; no beast so fierce and crabbed as this is.
It may be, I may be bitten by it for my lab our and endeavours to put a restraint upon it ; but I shall adventure it. My design is not todishonour or exafperate you ; but if my faithfulness to God and you should accidentally do fo, I cannot help that.
Friends, Providence oftentimes confines many of you toge ther within the narrow limits ofa ship, where you have time enough, and, if your hearts were sanctified, many choice ad vantages of edifying one another. O what transcendent subjects doth Providence daily present you with, to take up your discourses !
How many experiences of extraordinary mercies and preservations have you to relate to one another, and bless the Lord for ! Also, how many works of wonder do you daily behold, who godown into the deeps ? O what heavenly employment is here for your tongues! howshouldthey be talking of all his wonders ? How should you call upon each other, as Daviddid, Psal. lxvi. 16.
Come hither, and I will tell you "what God hath done for my soul," at such a time, in such an extremity?
How should youcallupon che another to pay
the Fruit of the Lips.
" the vows your lips have uttered in your distress ?"
Thus should one provoke another in this angelical work, as one lively bird sets the whole flock a chirping.
But tell me, Sirs, should am an come aboard you at sea, and ask of you, as Christ did of thosetwodifciples going toEmmaus, Luke xxiv. 17. " What manner of communication is this thatye have by the way ?" O what a fad accountwouldhe have from most of you !
It may be he should find onejefting, and another swearing, a third revihng godliness, and the profefforsof it; so that it would be a little hell for a serious Christian to be confined to your society.
This is not, I am confident, the manner of all.
We have a company of more sober seamen, and blessed be God for them; but surely thus stands the cate with most of you. Owhat stuff is here from persons professing Christianity, and bordering close upon the confines of eternity, as you do ?
It is not my purpose to write of all the diseases of the tongue; that would fill a volume, and is inconsistent with my intended brevity. Who can recount the evils of the tongue ? The apo ftlefaith, " It is a world of iniquity," Jam. iii.6. And if there be a world of fin in one member, who can number the fins of all the members ?
Laurent i us reckons as many fins of the tongue, as there are letters in the alphabet. And it is an observable note that one hath uponRom. iii. 13, 14 That when
Paul anatomizeth the natural man there, he infifteth longer upontheorgans of speech, than all the other members : "Their
" throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used " deceit ; the poison of afps is under their lips, their mouth is
** full of cursing and bitterness."
But, to be short, we find the SpiritofGod in scripture comparing the tongue to a tree,Prov. xv. 4. " A wholesome tongue
" is a tree of life."
And words are the fruit of the tree, Ifa.
Ivii. 12. " I create the fruit of the lips."
Some of these nees bear precious fruits, and it is a lovely fight to behold them laden with them in their seasons, Prov. XXV . 11. " A word fits ly spoken, is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Such a tongue is a tree of life.
Others of these trees bear evil fruit, grapes of Sodom, and clusters of Gomorrah. I shall only in fiftupontwo forts of these fruits, viz. (1.) Withered, faplefs fruit; I mean idle and unprofitable words.
(2.) Rotten and corrupt fruit; I mean, prophane oaths, andprophanations of the sacred name of God. No fruit in the world fo apt to cor. rupt andtaint, as the fruit of the lips. When it is so, the scripture calls itσατρος λόγος, corrupt or rotten communication,
The Art of Preserving Eph. iv. 29. To prevent this the SpiritofGod prescribes an excellent way to season our words, and keep them sweet and found, that they may neither wither, nor become idle and fapless, or putrity and become rotten, as prophane words are,
Col. iv. 6. " Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned " with salt, that you may know how to answer every man."
Oh! if the salt of grace were once cast into the fountain, the heart streams must needs become more savoury and pleasant, as the waters of Marah when they were healed. My present work is to attempt the cure of this double evil of idle words, and prophaneaaths, whereof thousands among you are deeply guilty.
I shall begin with the first, viz.
I. IDLE WORDS. That is, useless chat, unprofitable talk, that is not referred anyway to the glory of God.
This is a common evil, and little regarded by most men ; but yet a fin of severer aggravations than the most imagine : light words weigh heavy in God's balance.
Arg. 1. For, first, The evil of them is exceedingly aggravated by this: they abuse and pervert the tongue, that noble member, from that employment and use which God by the law of creation designed it to, God gave not to man the organs and power of speech (which is his excellency above the beasts) to serve a passion, or vainhumour, to vent the froth and vanity of his spirit ; but to extol the Creator, and render him thepraite of all his admirable and glorious works.
For though the creation be a curious well tuned instrument, yet man is the musician that must touch it, and make the melody.
This was the endofGod in forming those instruments and organs : but now hereby they are subject to Satan and lust, and employed to the difonour of God that made them. God is pleased to suspend the power of speech (as we fee in children) until reason begins to bud in them : they have not the liberty of one, until they have the use of the other ; which plainly shews, that God is not willing to have our words run waste.
Arg. 2. It is a sinful wasting of our precious time; and that puts a further aggravation upon it.
Confider, firs, the time of life is but a little spot betwixt two eternities. The longfuffering God wheels about those glorious celestial bodies over your heads in a constant revolution, tobegettime for you ; and the preciousness of every minute thereof results from its use and end : it is intended and afforded as a space to you to repent in, Rev. ii. 21.
And therefore great things depend upon it: noless than your eternal happiness ormiseryhangs upon those precious opportunities. Every minute of it hath an influence
the Fruit of the Lips.
into eternity. How would the damned value one hour of it, if they might enjoy it! The business you have to do in it, is of unspeakable weight and concernment: this great work, this foul work, and eternity-work, lies upon your hands ; you are cast into straits of time about it : and, if so, Owhat an evil is it in you, to waste itawaythus to no purpose!
Arg.3. It isa fin that few are sensible of, as they are of other sins, and therefore the more dangerous.
It is commonly committed, and that without checks of conscience. Other fins, As murder and adultery,thoughtheybe horrid sins, yet are but feldomcommitted, and when they are, conscience is startled at the horridness of them; few, except they be prodigious wretches indeed, dare make light of them.
But now for idle and vain words, there are innumerable swarms of these every day, and few regard them.
The intercourse betwixt the heart and tongue is quick; they are quickly committed, and as easily forgotten.
Arg. 4. And then, 4thly, They have mischievous effects upon others. Howlongdoth an idle word, or foolish jest, stick inmens minds, and become an occasion of much sin to them ?
The froth and vanity of thy spirit, which thy tongue so freely vents among thy vain companions, may be working in their minds, when thou art in the dust, and so be transmitted from one to another ; for unto that no more is requisite than an tjective existence of those vain words in their memories. And thus mayest thou be sinning in the persons of thy companions, when thou art turned into dust. And this is one reason that Suarez gives for a general judgment, after men have passed their particular judgment immediately after their death, • Because
(faith he) after this, multitudes of fins by their means will • be committed in the world, for which they must yet be judg- ⚫ed to a fuller measure of wrath. So that look as many of the precious servants of God, now in glory,have left many weighty and holy sayings behind them, by which many thousands of fouls have been benefited, andGodglorified on earth, after they had left it: so thou leavest that vanity upon the mind of others behind thee, by which he may be dishonoured to many generations.
And then, II. For PROPHANE OATHS, the corrupt fruit of a graceless heart; oh ! how common are these among you ?
Yea, the habit of swearing is so strengthened in fame, that they have loft all sense and conscience of the fin. Now, oh ! that I might prevail with you to repent of this wickedness, and break the force of this customary evil among you ! will you but give me
The Art of Preserving the reading of a few pages more, and weigh with the reason of men, what you read ? If you will nothearkentocounsel, it isa fatal sign, 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16. and you shall mourn for this obstinacy hereafter, Prov. v. 12, 13.
Desperate is that evil that scorns the remedy. And if you have patience to read it, the Lord give you an heart to confider what you read, and obey the counsels of God; or else it were better thine eyes had never seen these lines.
Well, then, I beseech you confider,.
Arg. 1. That prophane oaths are an high abuse of the dreadful and sacred name of God, which should neither be spoken or thought of without the deepest awe and reverence. It is the taking of that facredname in vain, Exod. xx. 7. Now God is exceeding tender and jealous over his name; it is dear to him; his name is dreadful and glorious; Mal. i. 14. " I am a great
"king, and my name is dreadful among the heathen ."
The heathens would not ordinarily mention the names of such as they reverenced.
Suetonius faith, that Augustus prohibited the common use of his name he thought it an indignity to have his name tossed up and down in every one's mouth .
Yea, fays Dr Willet on Exod. xx. itwasause among them to keep secret such names as theywouldhave in reverence. Theydurft not mention the name of Demogorgon, whom they held to be the first God: they thought when he was named, the earth would tremble.
Also the name of Mercurius Tresinegillus, was very fparingly used, because of that reverence the people had for him.
Now confider, shall poor worms be so tender of preserving the reverence of their names !
Shall not heathens dare to use the names of their idols; and hall the sacred and dreadful name of the true God be thus bandied up and down by tongues of his own creatures ?
Will not God be avenged for these abuses of his name ?
Be confident, it shall one day be sanctified upon you in judgment, becauseyedidnotfanctify it according to your duty.
Arg. 2. Swearing is a part of the worship of God; and therefore profane swearing can be no less than the profanation
-of his worship, and robbing him of all the glory he has there by ; Deut vi . 13.
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and " serve him, and shalt swear by his name."
So Jer. iv. 2.
" Thou shalt swear the Lord liveth in truth, in judgment, " and in righteousness."
If a man swear by God after this manner, God is exceedingly glorified thereby. Now, that you
may fee what revenue of glory God hath from this part of his worthip, and how it becomes a part of divine worship you must know then, an oath is nothing else, but the asking or
the Fruits of the Lips.
defiringa divine testimony, for the confirmation of the truth of our testimony : Heb. vi. 16. " For men verily swear by the " greater; and an oath for [confirmation] is to them an end
" of all strife." The corruption ofhumannature by the fall, has mademansuch a false and fickle creature, that his single testimony cannot be sufficient security for another, especially in weighty cases, to rest upon; and therefore in swearing, he callethGod for a witness of the truth of that he affirms, or promiseth: I say, callethGod to be a witness of the truth of what he faith, because he is truth itself, and cannot lie, Heb. vi. 18. Now this calling for, or asking of a testimony from God, makes an oath become a part of God's worship, and gives him agreatdeal of glory and honour; forherebyhethat sweareth, acknowledgeth his omnifciency, and infallible truth and righteousness. His omnifciency is acknowledged: forby this appeal to him, we imply and acknowledge him to be the fearcher of the heart and reins; that he knows the secret intents and meaning of our spirits. His supreme and infallible truth is also acknowledged; for this is manifestlycarriedin an oath, that though I am a false and deceitful creature, and my affirmation cannotobtainuniversal and full credence,yet he that is greater than I,by whose name I swear, cannot deceive. And, lastly, his righteousness is acknowledged in an oath: for he that fwearethdoth, either exprefsty or implicitly, put himself under the curseandwrathofGod, if he swear falsely. Every oath hath an execration or imprecation in it, Neh. x. 29. "They entered
"into a curse, and an oath, to walk in God's law." And so2Cor. i. 23. " I call God for a record upon my foul." And the usual form in the Old Testament was, "The Lord do soto me, and ** more also." Now hereby God hath the glory of his righteousness and justice given him by the creature, and therefore it is a choice part of the divine worship, or of that homage which a creature oweth to his Cod. And if this be so, then how eafilymay the fin of rash and profane oaths be hence argued and aggravated ? The more excellent any thing is by an inftie tution of God, by fo much more horrid and abominable is the abuse thereof. O how often is the dreadful majesty of heaven and earth called to witness to frivolous things ! and oft to be a witness of our rage and fury ! as 1 Sam. xiv. 39. Is ita light thing to rob him of his peculiar glory, and subject poor souls to his curse and wrath, who has said, " He will be a swift
"witness against you?" Mal. iii. 5. Your tongues are nimble VOL. VI.
The Art of Preserving incommiting this fin, and God will be swift in punishing of it.
Arg.3. ItisafinwhichGodhath severely threatened to punish, and that with temporal and corporal plagues : "Forby
" reason ofoaths,the land mourns," Hos. iv. 2, 3. That is, it brings theheavyjudgment of God uponwholenations,under which they shall mourn. And in Zech. v. 2, 3, 4. You have there a roll of curses, (i. e.) a catalogue of judgments andwoes, the length thereof twenty cubits, (i. e. ten yards), to set out the multitude of woes contained in it: it is along catalogue, and a flying roll, to denote theswiftness of it : it flies towards the house of the swearer ; it makes haste.
The judgments that are writteninithnger not, but are even in pain to be delivered. And this flying roll, full ofdreadfulwoes, flies and enters into the house oftheswearer; and itfballtherein remain, faith the Lord; it shall cleave to his family ; none shall claw off these woes from him : and it shall confumethe simberthereof, and the stones thereof, (i. e.)bring utter subversion, ruin, and defolationto his house. Odreadful fin! what a defolationdoth it make ! your mouths are fullofoaths, and your houses shall be full of curses. Woe to that wretched family, into which this flying roll shall enter ! Woe, I say, to the wretched inhabitants thereof ! " The curse of the Lord,
" (faith Solomon) is in the house of the wicked ; butheblef- " seth the [habitation] of the just," Prov. iii. 33. Tuguriolum
(i. e.) faith Mercer, his poor little tenement or cottage.
There is ableffing, the promises,like clouds of blessing,dwell over it, and drop mercies on it; but a curse in the house of the wicked.
Ah! how many stately mansions are there, in which-little other language but oaths and curses are heard ! and these areas fo much gun-powder laid under the foundationofthem, which,when justice shall set fire to, Owhatworkwill it make! woe to the inhabitants thereof! well then, break off this fin by repentance, unless you intend to ruin your families, and bring all the curses of God into your houses: If you have no pity for yourselves, yet pity your posterity ; have mercy for your wives and children; do not ruin all for the indulgence of a lust.
Arg. 4.But that is not all; it brings foul-judgments and spiritual plagues upon you : it brings hell along with it. And if thou be not afraid to fin, yet, methinks, thou shouldst be afraid to burn : if the love ofGodcanwork nothing upon thy brawny heart, yet, methinks, the terrors of the Lord should startle and affright it. To this purpose, I beseech you weigh
the Fruits of the Lips.
these scriptures ; and, methinks, unless God hath lost all his authority with you, and hell all its terrors, it should startle you.
The first is that dre dreadful scripture, James v. 12. " But above " all things, my brethren,swear not ; neither by heaven, nei- " therby the earth, neither by anyotheroath ; but let your
" yea, be yea ; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into [condem- " nation."] O view this text seriously ! methinks it should be like the fingers that came forth and wrote upon the wall that dreadfulfentence that changed the countenance of a king, and that in the height of a frolichumour, and made his knees
T smite together.
Mark, [above all things], a form ofvehemencyandearnestness, like that, Eph. vi. 16. " But above all, tak- "ing the shield of faith." As faith hath a prelation therebeforeall the graces, so swearing here before all other vices.
[Swear not], (i. e.) vainly, rashly, profanely : for otherwise it isalawfulthing, andapartofGod's worship, as I have shewed: but swear not vain oaths, by the creatures, heaven, or earth, c. Which is to advance the creature into the room of God: a fin to which the Jews were much addicted.
But, " Let your " yea, be yea ; and your nay, nay;" (i. e.) accustom yourselves to short and plain affirmations andnegations, toa simple and candid expression of your minds. And the thundering argument that backs it, is this, [leftye fall into condemnation];
(i. e.) left for these things the Judge of heaven and earth pass a sentence of condemnation to hell upon you. O, firs! dare you touch with this hot iron ? dare you from henceforward commit that fin, that you know will bring you under the condemnation and judgment of God ? Do you know what it is for afoul to be cast at God's bar? did you never fee a poor malefactor tried at the affizes, and observe how his face gathers paleness, how his legs tremble, anddeathdisplays its colours in his cheeks, when sentence is given upon him ? But what is that to God's condemnation? What is a gallows to hell? Another text I would commend to your consideration is that,
Exod. xx. 7. "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that " taketh his name in vain;" where vain oaths are especially included. Now,whatdothGodmean,when he faith, he will not hold him guiltless ? The meaning is plain, his fins shall be reckoned and imputedto him ; they shall lie upon his foul ; he shall be bound over to answer to God for them.
O terrible sentence ! what foul can bear it, or stand before it ! " Blef- " fed is the man (faith David) to whom the Lord imputeth
" not iniquity:" Surely then, cursed is thatmantowhomGod Xx 2 :
The Art of Preserving will imputethem and to the swearer they shall all be imputed, if he break not offhisfinbyrepentance, and get a Christ the sooner. O ! how darest thou think of going before the Lord with the guiltofallthy fins upon thee? When Christ would administer the very spirit ofjoyinto one sentence toa poor sinner,Matth. ix. 2. Hefaid," Son,be of good cheer, thy
" fins be forgiven." AndwhenGodwouldcontract the sum of all misery intooneword,he faith, " His fins shall lie down
" with him in the dust," Jobxx. 11. Ah, foul! one of these days thou shalt be laidonthydeath-bed, orfeethewaves, that shall entomb thee, leaping and roaring upon every side; and then thou wilt surely have other thoughts of the happiness that lies in remission off in than thou haftnow.
Observe the most incorrigible finnerthen; hark,how he sighs, and groans, and cries,Ah,Lord! and must I die ? And then see how the tears trickle down his cheeks, and his heart ready to burst within him. Why, what is the matter ? Oh! the Lordwillnotpar don him, he holds him guilty ! If he were sure his fins were forgiven, then he could die: but, oh! to appear before the Lord in them, appals him, daunts him, kills the very heart of him! he would faincry for mercy,but conscience stops his mouth . O, faith conscience, how canst thou move that tongue toGodinprayer for mercy, that hath so often rent and torn his glorious name, by oaths and curses ? Sirs, I pray you do not make light of these things ; they will look wishly upon you one of these days, except ye prevent it by foundconver fion.
Arg. 5.And then, lastly, to name no more, I pray you con fider, that a custom of vain words, and profane oaths, is as plain an indication and discovery of an unregenerate foul, as anyintheworld: this is afure sign thou art none of Christ's, nor haft any thing to do with the promises and privileges of his people; forby this the Scripture diftinguishedthe state of faints and sinners, Eccl. ix. 2. " There isone event to the " righteous, and to the wicked;to the clean and to the unclean;
" to him that sacrificeth, and to him that facrificeth not : as " is the good, so is the sinner ; and he that sweareth, as " he that feareth an oath ."
Mark, he that sweareth, and he that feareth an oath,do as manifestly distinguish the children of
God from wicked men, as clean and unclean,righteous and wicked, sacrificing and not sacrificing.
This fruit of the tongue plainly shews what the tree is that bears it ; Ifa. ii.
6. "The vile person will speak ofvillany; and out of the a If bundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Loquere, ut vi
the Fruits of the Lips.
deam, said one ; Speak, that I may fee what you are.
Look what is in the heast,that isventedbythe tongue; where the treafuresofgrace areintheheart,words ministringgracewillbe in the lips ; Psalm xxxvii. 30. " The mouth of the righteous
" speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment; " for the law of the Lord is in his heart."
To this sense we must understand that Scripture, Matth. xii. 37. " By thy "words thou shaltbejustified, and by thy words thou shalt
"be condemned."
Certainly, justification and condemnation,inthedayofjudgment, shall not pass upon us merely for the good or bad words we have spoken; but according to the state oftheperfon, and frame of the heart. But the meaning is,that our words thalljustifyor condemn us in that day,as evidence of the state and frame of the soul. We use to fay, fuchwitnesses hanged a man ; the meaning is, the evidence theygavecast and condemned him. Othink seriously of this ; if words evidence the state of the soul, what a woeful state mustthyfoul needs be in,whose mouth overflows with caths and curses ! How many witnesses will be brought in, to cast thee in the great day ? " Your own tongue shall then fall up- " on you," as the expression is, Psal. lxiv. 8. And out of your ownmouthGod will fetch abundant evidence to condemn you. And thus I have opened untoyouthe evil ofvainwords, and profane caths ; and presented to your view their several aggravations.
If by these things there be arelentingpang upon thine heart, and a serious resolution of reformation, then I shall commend these few helps or means to thy perusal, and conclude this head. And the first help is this.
Help 1. Seriously fix in thy thoughts that Scripture, Matth. xii. 36. " But I say unto you, that every idle word that men
" shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of " judgment." Olet it foundinthine ears dayandnight! O ponder them in thy heart ! [Ifay unto you] I that have always been in the Father's bosom, and do fully know his mind, that I am conftitutedthe Judge of quick and dead, and dofullyunderstand the rule of judgment, and the whole process thereof,
I say, and do assure you, that [every idle word that men shall Speak], (i. e.) every word that hath not a tendency and reference to the glory of God, though there be no other obliquity of evil in them than this, that they want a good end : how much more then, scurrilous words, bloody oaths, and blafphemies ? [Menfhallgive an account thereof;] that is, shall be cast and condemned to suffer the wrath of God for them ; as ap-
The Art of Preserving. pears by that parallel Scripture, 1 Pet. iv. 4, 5. For as the learned observe, there is plainly ametalepsis in these words: the antecedent, to give an account, is put for the confequent,punishment, and condemnationtohell-fire ; the certainty whereofadmitsbutofthisone exception,viz. intervenientrepentance, or pardon obtained through the blood of Christ here, before youbepresentedatthatjudgment-feat. O then,whatabridle should this text be to thy extravagant tongue ! I remember
Hierom was wont to say, Whether I eat or drink, or what ◄ever I do, methinks I still hear the found of these words in •mine ear,Arise,yedead,and cometojudgment.' O that the foundofthese words maybe always in your ears !
Help 2. Confiderbeforeyou speak, and be not rash to utter words without knowledge. He that speaks what he thinks not,speaks hypocritically ; and he that thinks not what to speak, speaks inconfiderately.
You have cause to weigh your words before you deliver thembyyourtongue; for whether you do, or do not, the Lord pondereththein: records are keptofthem, elseyoucouldnot be called to an account for them, as I shewedyou, you must.
"Set Help 3. Resign up your tongue to God everyday, and beg him to guide and keep it. So did David, Psal, cxli. 3 .
" a watch, O Lord,before my mouth, andkeepthou the door " of my lips." Beg him to keep you from provocations and temptations ; or, if you fall into them, intreat him for strength to rule your spirits in them, that you may notbeconqueredby temptations.
Help4. But above all, labourtogetyoursoulscleansedand purified by faith, possessed with saving andgraciousprinciples : allothermeans will be ineffectual without this. Osee the vileness of thy nature, and the necessity of a change to pass upon it! First make the tree good, and then his fruit good : a new nature will produce new words and actions.
To bind your souls with vows and resolutions, while you are strangers to are generate work, is to bind Sampsonwithgreen withs, whillt his locksremainuponhis head. I will shut up this with the advice of that divine poet, Mr.George Herbert; it may be, it may affect thee,and run in thy thoughts when thou art alone.
Take not his name,who made thy mouth, in vain ; Itgetsthee nothing, and hath no excuse.
Luftand wine plead a pleasure ; avarice gain :
But the cheap swearer, through his open sluice,