greater? Can you find in your heart to stand jesting and prating with a poor unregenerate man that is within a step of hell? Have you not more need to call to him to look about him in time, and to remember eternity, and to turn and live? If you see but the nakedness of the poor, or the sores of a cripple, it should move you to compassion: and will not men's ignorance and ungodliness move you? Their miseries cry aloud to you for pity, though themselves are silent, O help to save us from sin and hell, as you have the hearts of men,' and yet will you stop your ears, and fall a prating and jesting with them? you rob them of the means that God hath commanded you to use for their recovery. God hath commanded, that "the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another" (Col. iii. 16.); yea, that you" daily exhort one another while it is called to day, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin;" Heb. iii. 13.

Nay, you have the great mysteries of the Gospel to discourse of with the godly; the glorious things of everlasting life to make mention of to one another; yea, you have the high praises of God to advance in the world, and all his blessed attributes to magnify, and all his glorious works to praise, and all the experience of your own souls to lay open, and his many and great mercies towards you to admire and thankfully confess. And yet have you leisure for idle talk? For number of objects, you have God and all his works in heaven and earth (that are revealed) to talk of; you have all his providences, all his judgments, all his mercies, and all his word: and is this not field large enough for your tongue to walk in, but you must seek out more work in vanity itself? For greatness, you have the greatest things in all the world to mind and talk of: for necessity, you have the matters of your own and other men's salvation to discourse of: for excellency, you have God and his image, and works, and ways, and heaven itself to talk of: for delightfulness, you have the sweetest objects in the world, even goodness itself, salvation, and the way to it, to be the matter of your discourse. And lest one thing should weary you, you have a world of variety to employ your speeches on; even God, and all his works, and word, and ways before-mentioned. And is it not a shame to talk of vanity, yea, to go seek for recreation in vanity, while all these stand by, and offer

themselves to be the subjects of your wise, and fruitful, and delightfullest discourse. Consider whether this be wise or equal dealing.

4. Moreover a course of idle talk, is a thief that robs us of our precious time. And he that knows what God is, or what duty is, or what his soul is, or what everlasting joy or torment is, will know that time is a commodity of greater worth than so contemptuously to be cast away for nothing. O remember when thou art next in idle talk, did God make thee for this? doth he continue thee among the living, and keep thee out of bell, and yet prolongeth thy days, that thou shouldst waste thy time in idleness and vanity? Hast thou so many sins to mortify, and so many other works to do, which heaven or hell lieth on, and so short and uncertain a time to do them in, and yet hast thou leisure for idle talk?

5. Moreover, this sin is so much the greater, because it is not a rare or seldom sin, but frequently committed and continued in. It is not like the sin of David or Noah, that though greater, yet was but once committed: but this is made great by the number and continuance. How many thousand idle words have you been guilty of in your time!

6. And it is a sin that tendeth to greater sins. For idle words are the ordinary passage to backbiting, railing, lying, and contentious words, " In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise;" Prov. x. 10. Thus "a fool's lips enter into contention; his mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul;" Prov. xviii. 6, 7." In the multitude of dreams, and many words, are divers vanities: but fear thou God;" Eccles. v. 7. "The lips of a fool will swallow himself; the beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is madness;" Eccles. x. 12, 13. Idleness is the beginning, but worse than idleness is the end.

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7. It is a sin that habituateth the speakers and hearers both to vanity: use makes us disposed to that which we use. It will grow strange to you to speak of better things you are used to vanity. And the use of hearing you, is an exceeding wrong to the souls of the hearers. And a small matter confirmeth such bad hearts as the most have, in the vanity that they are in. You cast water on their graces and your own, if there were any. If any of them had better thoughts, your idle talk doth drown and divert them.

8. And it is a sin that hindereth abundance of edification that holy conference might bring. It is a precious striving course for Christians to be communicating experiences, and declaring the exercises and lovingkindness cf God, and exciting one another: and this you lay by, and turn to vanity. Nay, perhaps some other that is in the company may be purposed to set upon such profitable discourse, and your idle talk doth hinder them, and suppress the exercise of God's graces for your good. At least there may be much precious matter in them, that wants but vent, and if you would but begin, it may be poured forth as precious ointment. Many wise and able men are too backward in beginning edifying discourse, that yet are exceeding fruitful when you have once set them a-work. And idle talk is the hinderer of this.

9. And it is a very fruitless sin. You offend God for nothing. What get you by an hour's idle talk? or what have you to tempt you to it?

10. And it is a wilful sin, and usually accompanied with much impenitency, which makes it much the greater. Men use not to lament it, and call themselves to account for it, and say, ' What have I done?' but go on in it as if it were no sin.

And now you see the greatness of the sin, I beseech you make more conscience of it than you have done. And that you may avoid it, observe these brief directions.

Direct. 1. Labour for understanding in the matters of God for that is it that must furnish the tongue, and prevent vanity; Prov. xi. 12. x. 19. A foolish head will have a foolish tongue.

Direct. 2. Get a deep impression and lively sense of the matters of God upon the heart. For a man never talks heartily, that talks not from the heart. He that is full of the love of God, possessed of the Spirit of Christ, taken up with the riches of grace and of glory, will scarce want matter to talk of, nor a holy disposition to set him a-work: for the word of God will be as a fire in his heart; he will be weary with forbearing, till the flames burst out, Psal, cxix. 11. xl. 8. lvii. 7. cxix. 111. xxxix. 3. Jer. xx. 9. The hearty experienced Christian is usually the fruitful Christian in word and deed.

Direct. 3. Preserve a tender conscience, that

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you when you begin to turn to vanity. The fear of God is the soul's preserver; Psal. xix. 9. Prov. xvi. 6. xxiii. 7.

Direct. 4. Walk as before the Lord: live, and think, and speak as in his presence. If the presence of an angel would call you off from idle words, what then should the presence of God himself do! Dare you run on in idle, foolish prating, when you remember that he heareth you?

Direct. 5. Keep out of the company of idle talkers, lest they entangle you in the sin: unless when you have a call to be among them; Prov. xiii. 20. We are apt to let our discourse run with the stream.

Direct. 6. When you are with the ungodly, maintain in you a believing compassion to their souls; and then the sense of their condition will heal your discourse.

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Direct. 7. Provide matter of holy discourse of purpose beforehand. As you will not travel without money in purses to defray your charges; so you should not go into company without a provision of such matter as may be profitable for the company that you may be cast upon. Study and contrive how to suit your speeches to the edification of others, or else to draw good from others, even as ministers study for their sermons.

Direct. 8. Speak not until you have considered what is like to be the effect of it, and weighed the quality of the person, and other circumstances to that end. Do not speak first, and consider after, but first think, and then speak. Direct. 9. Be still sensible of the worth of time and opportunity, and then you will be as loath to cast it away on idle talk, as a good husband will be to cast away his money for nothing.

Direct. 10. Keep up a sense of your own necessity, which may provoke you to be better husbands of your tongues and time and engage those you converse with, to mind you of your idle talk, and take you off it as soon as you begin.

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Direct. 11. See that your heart and tongue, and all be absolutely devoted to God; and then you will question any by-expense of words: and "Whatsoever you do in word or deed, you will do all in the name of Christ, and to the glory and praise of God;" Col. iii. 17. 1 Cor. x. 31.

Direct. 12. Be resolute for God, and be not ashamed to own him and his cause. A sinful bashfulness hinders much good. Observe these directions for this part of self-denial.

CHAPTER XXII.

False Stories, Romances, and other tempting Books.

5. ANOTHER point of sensuality to be denied, is, the reading or hearing of false and tempting books, and those that only tend to please an idle fancy, and not to edify. Such as are romances, and other feigned histories of that nature, with books of tales, and jests, and foolish compliments, with which the world so much aboundeth, that there are few but may have admittance to this library of the devil. Abundance of old feigned stories, and new romances are in the hands, especially of children, and idle gentlemen, and filthy, lustful gallants, or empty persons that savour not greater matters, but have spirits suitable to such gauds as these. But if they were only toys, I should say the less; but having seen by long observation the mischief of them, I desire you to note it in these few particulars.

I. They ensnare us in a world of guilt, by drawing us to the neglect of those many, those great and necessary things that all of us have to mind and study. O! for a man or woman, that is under a load of sin, unassured of pardon and salvation, that is near to death, and unready to die, to be seen with a story or romance in their hand; what a gross incongruity is this! It is fitter the book of God should be in your hand. It is that which you must live by and be judged by. There is much that you are yet ignorant of, which you have more need to be acquainted with than fables. Are you not ignorant of a hundred truths that you should know, that God hath revealed to further your salvation and can you lay them all by to read romances? Are you travelling towards another world with a play-book in your hand? O that you did but know what greater matters you have to mind and to do! Do all that you have to do first, that is of a thousand times more worth, and weight, and need; and then come to me, and I will answer your objections,' What harm is it to read a play-book?' First, quench the fire of sin and wrath that is kindled in your souls; and see that you understand the laws of God, and read over those profitable treatises of divines, that the world aboundeth with, and your souls more need, and then tell me, what mind or time you have for fables.