Chap. 27. dtr Expofit:ox upo s the.. Bo,l of ] o a. Verf. 4, 41 becter to keep in the impurityand vanity of the hearr,than tovent it at the tongue. As tocolour over foul and filthy thoughts with fayre words, fo to draw out foule thoughts into filthy words, is doubled iniquity. An evil thought kept in, is extreamly evil, and to bedeeply repented of ; yet when this evil thought goes forth and fpreads at themouth, it is far worfe. It is belt when our hearts medicatenowickednefs, and thenext bell is, when,though theheart meditate, yet the mouth is flopt and will not utter it to the difhonour of God, and the fcandai of others. Keep thy tenguefrom evil, and thy lipsfrom !peakingguile, is David: coun- fel co that man, whofoever he is, chat,de¡îroch life,and iambmany dayet, that be mayfeegood (Pfa1.34. 1 z, t 3.) and in the next (or 4.) verle, he Teems to imply, that he who keeps his tongue from being ill imployed, is in a ready way tohave his hands well employed, or to the doing of good, and that both to himfelf and others. And indeed our words do give fogreat a light ro and concerning our own aetions, that though no mans perron be at all juflified mericorioufly, either by his words or works, yet the perfons of all juflified men (hall be juf'ifyed declaratively,that is, they (hall be declared to be juaand good men by their words ( eA2atb.a 2470 By thywords thou fhalt bejuftifled, and by thy Words thou (haltbe condemned. And as good words declare good.. nefs in our felves, fo they area excellent means of doing good to others, yea, of making others good, yea of miniaring grace to the hearers (Epb. 4. 29.) Thua upon the occafion of7o6s protefl againfl evil (peaking in his own cafe, I have a little infitled upon the care we ought to haveof ourfpeech inall cafes. And as 14 hach alreadyprotefled that hewould not (-peak any thing which might have a tendency to coademnehimfelf wrongfully, fohe proceeds in a like prose(', that he will not (peak any thing for the juflifying of his friends,, who had fo rashlyand wrongfully condemned him. Jos,
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