unworthily doth fmite and rack him; he is ever in dan- SERM. ger, and thence in fear to be difcovered, and requited XVIII. for it. Of these paffions the manner of his behaviour is a manifeft indication: for men do seldom vent their flanderous reports openly and loudly, to the face, or in the ear of those who are concerned in them; but do utter them in a low voice, in dark corners, out of fight and hearing, where they conceit themselves at present fafe from being called to an account. Swords, faith the Pfal. lix. 7. Pfalmift of such persons, are in their lips; Who, fay they, doth hear? And, Whofo privily flandereth his neighbour, Pfal. ci. 5. him will I cut off, faith David again, intimating the com-> mon manner of this practice. Calumny is like the plague, Pfal. xci. 6. that walketh in darkness. Hence appofitely are the practifers thereof termed whisperers and backbiters: their heart suffers them not openly to avow, their conscience tells them they cannot fairly defend their practice. Again,

Seventhly, The confequent of this practice is commonly fhameful difgrace, with an obligation to retract, and render fatisfaction: for feldom doth calumny pafs long without being detected and confuted f. He that Prov. x. 9. walketh uprightly walketh furely but he that perverteth his ways fhall be known: and, The lip of truth fhall be eftablished for ever; but a lying lip is but for a moment, faith the great obferver of things 8. And when the flander is difclofed, the flanderer is obliged to excufe, (that is, to palliate one lie with another, if he can do it,) or forced to recant, with much difgrace and extreme difpleasure to himself: he is also many times constrained, with his lofs and pain, to repair the mischief he hath done.

τὸ ῥῆμα μέγαν ἐπαγάγῃ τὸν κίνδυνον, καὶ περιστὴν ἔχθραν καὶ ἀνόνητον ἐργάσηται τοῖς ειρηκόσι, &c. Chryf. Ανδρ. γ'.

f Pfal. lxiii. 11. The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Prov. xii. 19. (Prov. xxvi. 26.)

- Refrain your tongue from backbiting; for there is no word fo fecret that shall go for nought: and the mouth that flandereth, flayeth the foul. Wifd. i. 11.

Et delator habet quod dedit exitium. Vide Tac. An. i. p. 45.

SERM.

Eighthly, To this in likelihood the concernments of XVIII. men, and the powers which guard justice, will forcibly bring him and certainly his confcience will bind him thereto; God will indispensably exact it from him. He can never have any found quiet in his mind, he can never expect pardon from Heaven, without acknowledging his fault, repairing the wrong he hath done, restoring that good name of which he dispoffeffed his neighbour: for in this no less than in other cafes conscience cannot be fatisfied, remiffion will not be granted, except due restitution be performed and of all reftitutions this furely is the most difficult, most laborious, and most troublesome. It is nowife fo hard to reftore goods ftolen or extorted, as to recover a good opinion loft, to wipe off afperfions cast on a man's name, to cure a wounded reputation: the most earnest and diligent endeavour can hardly ever effect this, or fpread the plafter fo far as the fore hath reached. The flanderer therefore doth engage himself into great straits, incurring an obligation to repair an almoft irreparable mischief.

Ninthly, This practice doth also certainly revenge itself, impofing on its actor a perfect retaliation; a tooth for a tooth; an irrecoverable infamy to himself, for the infamy he causeth to others. Who will regard his fame, who will be concerned to excufe his faults, who fo outrageously abuseth the reputation of others? He suffereth justly, he is paid in his own coin, will any man think, who doth hear him reproached h.

Tenthly, In fine, the flanderer (if he doth not by serious and fore repentance retract his practice) doth banish himself from heaven and happiness, doth expose himself

h He that diligently feeketh good, procureth favour: but he that feeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Prov. xi. 27. xxvi. 27.

It was the punishment of flanderers in the Law. Then fhall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother. Deut. xix, 19.

A false witness shall not be unpunished; and he that telleth lies shall not efcape. Prov. xix. 5.

God fhall deftroy thee for ever, thou false tongue. Pfal. lii. 4, 5.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight. Prov. xii. 22.

V. 11.

to endless miferies and forrows. For if none that maketh SERM. a lie fhall enter into the heavenly city; if without those XVIII. manfions of joy and blifs every one must eternally abide Rev.xxi.27. that loveth or maketh a lie; if, wãσi toïs Veudéos, to all liars xxii. 15. their portion is affigned in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; then affuredly the capital liar, the flanderer, (who lieth most injuriously and mischievously,) shall be far excluded from felicity, and thrust down into the depth of that miferable place. If, as St. Paul faith, no railer, or evil-speaker, shall inherit the kingdom of God; 1 Cor.vi.10. how far thence fhall they be removed, who without any truth or juftice do speak ill of and reproach their neighbour? If for every apyòv pña, idle, or vain, word we must Matth. xii. render a ftrict account; how much more fhall we be feverely reckoned with for this fort of words, fo empty of truth and void of equity; words that are not only negatively vain, or useless, but pofitively vain, as falfe, and spoken to bad purpose? If flander perhaps here may evade detection, or scape deserved punishment; yet infallibly hereafter, at the dreadful day, it fhall be disclosed, irreversibly condemned, inevitably perfecuted with condigu reward of utter fhame and forrow.

Is not he then, he who, out of malignity, or vanity, to serve any defign, or footh any humour in himself or others, doth by committing this fin involve himself into all these great evils, both here and hereafter, a most desperate and deplorable fool?

Having thus described the nature of this fin, and declared the folly thereof, we need, I suppose, to say no more for diffuading it; especially to perfons of a generous and honeft mind, who cannot but scorn to debase and defile themselves by fo mean and vile a practice; or to those who seriously do profefs Christianity, that is, the religion which peculiarly above all others prescribeth constant truth, strictest justice, and highest charity.

I shall only add, that fince our faculty of speech (wherein we do excel all other creatures) was given us, as in the

i Rev. xxi. 8. It is one of those things which God especially doth abominate. Prov. vi. 19. xii. 22. A falfe witnefs fhall perish. Prov. xxi. 26.

36.

SERM. firft place to praise and glorify our Maker, so in the next XVIII. to benefit and help our neighbour; as an instrument of

mutual fuccour and delectation, of friendly commerce and pleasant converse together; for inftructing and advising, comforting and cheering one another; it is an unnatural perverting, and an irrational abuse thereof, to employ it to the damage, difgrace, vexation, or wrong in any kind of our brother. Better indeed had we been as brutes without its use, than we are, if so worse than brutishly we abuse it.

Finally, All these things being confidered, we may, I think, reasonably conclude it most evidently true, that he which uttereth flander is a fool.

SERMON XIX.

AGAINST DETRACTION.

JAMES iv. II.

Speak not evil one of another, brethren.

καταλα

λων, ἀδελ

ONE half of our religion confifteth in charity toward SERM. our neighbour; and of that charity much the greater XIX. part feemeth exercised in speech; for as fpeaking doth Mà xaraλatake up the greatest part of our life, (our quick and active mind continually venting its thoughts, and discharging its paffions thereby; all our converfation and commerce paffing through it, having a large influence upon all our practice,) so speech commonly having our neighbour and his concernments for its objects, it is necessary, that either most of our charity will be employed therein, or that by it we shall most offend against that great duty, together with its affociates, juftice and peace.

And all offences of this kind (which tranfgrefs charity, violate justice, or infringe peace) may perhaps be forbidden in this apoftolical precept; for the word xaraλAλEÏV) according to its origination, and according to fome use, doth fignify all kind of obloquy, and fo may comprise flander, harsh cenfure, reviling, fcoffing, and the like kinds of speaking against our neighbour; but in ftricter acceptation, and according to peculiar use, it denoteth that particular fort of obloquy, which is called detraction, or backbiting: fo therefore we may be allowed to understand