2o Chap.7. Of Sufpition, Coin g, ofit, yet heknows himfelf to beguilty ; here he is not bound retegere' pecca- tnm, touncover his fin,nilfine peccate tegere non potetl, except without tin,he can- Pfalm5t 4. not keep it clofe ; yet he muff confefs it to God,and fay with David,Ti6ifallpet- cavi, againfi theehave Ifinned, anddone this evil in thy fight, thou knoweft .of it though I cannot be convictedofit before men. Now in this cafe,either a man bath given fome occafion, by carrying himfelf fo, as may give force fufpition of fuch a fin, though henever a&ed it,and then, becausehe bath offended in not avoiding all appearance of evil, he mutt know God bathby this means dealt lovingly withhim, to snake him more wary to a- void all appearance of evil for the future, and to keep him from wandting and pleating imaginations of the fin in his heart, for it is fure, fin cannot be long in theheart, before it will come into action. 3. Sometimes a man is charged with that, which he ever detelled in his heart, yet in this cafehe may make nie ofan unju(t reproach ; for by this means ,hemay be furred up to prayer,to be (till kept from that lin,which he may fall into after- wards,thoughas yet hebe free from it,for manyhave fallen fo ; there he Ihonld take this as a warning from God, to takeheed that he fall not into the jufFre- Prov.29.14, proach, as Solomon advifes, Vereri operafna, beafraid and jealous of himfelf; for, Weil is the man that fearethalwayes. And in this cafe,it is the advife of the Fathers and Do&ors, that when. a man falleth into un juft reproach, by lyes and handers; he fhould examine himfelf, whether hehave not lyed unto God,and fo deferved this lying report frommen, whether he have not made many promifes of amendment to God, in the dayof his of hi&ion, which afterwards hebath forgotten; like the Ifraelites in difirefs, Júdges¡cos. who prayed the Lord, that hewodel but deliver them thatday,.and then he fhould, Hofea q. r3. do as it Mould pleafe him or as thofe in Hofea, that criednot with their hearts, Pfalm 78.36: when they howledupon their beds, but were like them in the Pfalm, that lyed with their mou:hs,anddijJ'cmbledwithhim in their hearts. This lying to God, when men make fair promifesin their ficknefs, or other difirefs, which they have no care to per- form, may juffly caufe God togive them over to the lying tongues of men : and for this caufe it is, as with them in Hofea, that vinea mentitur nits, the floor and thé wine.prefs fails ou we (hall have fair and forward fprings, but God fends Ouch Micah 1. 54. weather as (hall deceive ourhopes. And as it is faid, that the houfe of AchAib, Auldbea lye to the Icings of Ifrael; fo thofe that truft in men,for whofe favour they are contented to lie and do evil,,hoping thofe men (hall be pillars to fupport them, they (hallfind thatthofe they trufted in, (hall prove a lye to them, they (hall deceive them, andfind there is no help in them. And thus much for the means and rules for obferving this Commandement. Thefixtb rule The !aft rule, according to our former method,requires,that we procure the forprocuring of it by others, and herein we' have Davids example, whofe eyes were ib<oñfiruatien upon veracesterra, thefaithful in the land; fo would he work, that no bymbere, P f f Y Pfal. tot.6,7, deceitful perfon,nor any that tellech lies ( hoedtarry in his fight.The oneihould be his Companions, but the other fhouldnot come veer him. And thus much for this Ninth Commandement. T H E
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