Serm. CLX. The Evil ofCorruptCommunication. 397 Sathat ourJudge hath exprefly warned us of this fault, and declared to us the . , danger of it. And therefore whofoever believes this Declaration of our Saviour, and dreads the judgment ofthe greatDay, ought to take heed that heoffend not with his Tongue, in this or any other kind. Men make butlittleaccount of fuch words now, but they fhall all be aridly accounted for another day ; and what we utter now fo freely and without blufhing, will then ftrike us dumb, and be matter of greateft shame and confufion to us, in the prefence of God and his holyAngels. And fo St. Paul likewife, not only here in theText, does forbid and reprove this pra&ice, when he fays, Let no corrupt Communication proceedout ofyour month : but that which is good to the ufe of edifying, that it may mini/ler grace to the hear- ers : but in feveral other places of his EpiftIes, he molt feverely condemns it, as utterlymifbecoming Chriftians, and molt direaly contrary to our moll holy Pro= fe lion. Ephef. 5. 3, 4. But fornication, and all uncleannefs, or covetoufnefs, let it not once be named among you, as becometlh faints ; neither filtbinefs, nor fboliJh talk- ing, nor je/ling, which are not convenient. Here he forbids all lewd and filthy talk, as utterly mifbecoming the Converfation of Chriftians, who fhould give no occauon to have theVices of this Nature fo much as once mentioned, much lefs pra&ifed amongfl Chriftians; Let not theft things, fays he, be once named among you, as becometh Saints : but rather giving of thanks. Here he, direfts us to that which is the proper employment of the Tongue, and one of the chief ends of fpeech ; which is to praife and glorifie God, and not to difhonour him by lewd and filthy talk. And this he urgeth again, as the properfruit of our lips, v. 20. Giving thanks always for all things. unto God and the Father, in the Name of our Lord 'efus Chrijl. And then at the 5. v. of this Chapter he appeals to Chriftians, whether they had not been conflantly taught and inftru&ed, that all lewdnefs and filthinefs, not only in all but in word, will certainly (hut Men out of the Kingdom of Hea- ven. For this, fays he, ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean perfon, (refer- ring to thofe fevers! forts of uncleannefs he had mentioned before; among which, is filthy andfoolifb. talk,) :path.any inheritance in the Kingdom of Chr, and of God. TheApoflle here fpeaks to the Gentile Chriftians, who were newly con- verted from Heathenifm, and ,had been accuftomed to make flight of theft kinds of fin, which were fo common among the idolatrous Heathen, and part of the Wor- fhip of their obfceneDeities : but hetells them, thatthe Chriftian Religion, which they had embraced, required another fort of Converfation, and did aridly enjoyn all manner of purity, both of heart and life, in all our words and aftions; and that as he that has called us is holy, fo we fhould be holy in all manner of Converfation. And whatever falfe Teachers might infinuate, as if the Chriftian Religion did al- low a greater liberty in thefe things, and made that a cloak for licentioufnefs, here- by turning the grace of God, that is the Doftrine of the Gofpel, into lafc'iviouf- nefs, as St. Jude fpeaks, ver. 4. yet they would certainly find things quite other- wife in the iffue, and that God, who punifhed the Heathen for theft Vices, and fent fuch terrible Judgments upon them, would much lefs let Chriftians go un- punifhed, that fhould be found guilty of them, Ephef. 5.6. Let. no man deceiveyou withvain words: for becaufe of thefe thingscometh the wrath of God upon the chil- dren ofdifobedience, that is the Heathen world, who continued Rill in their infi- delity, and liv'd in the pra&ice of thofe fins; and would fall much more heavily upon Chriftians, if they had embraced this holy Religion, they Ihouldallow them- felves in any of thofe vile and impure pra&ices, which they had been guilty of before, and which they had fo folemnly proinifed to renounce and put off in their Baptifm. And fo likewife, Co/off 3. 5, 6, 7. Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth ; fornication, uncleannefs, inordinate afetlion, evil concupi cence, and covetoufnefs, which is idolatry: for which things fake the wrath of God cometh on the children ofdifobedience, or unbelief; in the whichye alfo walkedfometime, when ye lived in them, that is, whilst ye were Heathens, and converfed among them, ye ,pradifed thefe Vices : but now, that is, now that you are become Chriftians, put
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