And when a group of women haters, or old slandering bachelors, brought a poor woman taken in adultery, for Jesus to accuse her before him, he took the poor girl's part, instead of joining her dull, dry, joyless maligners, making it the only condition of their throwing a single pebble at her, that they should be what it is impossible for any unmerciful backbiter to be, that is to say, without sin. John viii. 7. And we may further add that he said nothing severe to her, nor any word against her, until the slanderers turned their backs upon

mercy and truth met together," in the person of the Messiah. Psalm lxxxv. 10; as they would do, were we to follow herein, his example. For be it enacted, that wherever mercy and truth are seperated, neither mercy or truth can exist; charity or mercy being the truth, and therefore rejoices in the truth, when it promotes the interest or happiness of even an enemy. 1 Cor. xiii. 6.

"The Church is called the pillar of truth. 1 Tim. iii. 15. It holds forth the mind of Christ, as a pillar does an edict or proclamation, that all may take notice of it; so that the truths of God are published, (not the nods, winks, sarcasms, and lies of backbiters) supported, and kept from sinking by it; in which sense, teachers, prophets, and apostles are likewise called pillars." Prov: ix. 1. Jer. i. 18. Gal. ii. 9.—A. Cruden.

"Truth is put for the true doctrine of the Gospel." Gal. iii. 1. O! foolish Gallatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? And we may add, O! foolish back biters and talebearers, after what we have produced to prove that , slanderers are incable to tell the truth, be no longer bewitched by the malignant, who seduce you from the truth of mercy and truth met together, but im

itate him who is the truth, in covering and forgiv. ing sins; imitate the Church as the pillar of the truth, holding forth the mind of Christ, as pillars do edicts and proclamations, that all may see, read, and obey, so that the truths of God may be published, not Lucifer's obloquys..

What, then, are those charitable truths of God, the holding forth of which, is the duty of Christians, and of the promulgation whereof backbiters are incapable, while they continue traducers?

And first-"O lord, (saith David) thy commandments are the truth. Psalm cxix. 151.

They are negative, as follows:

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer amongst thy people. Levit. xix. 16. If you ask the talebearer where the emphatic word in this sentence is, he or she will reply, shalt, as if God commanded him imperiously to be a talebearer ; whereas it is a negative command, and therefore has the imperative prohibitory injunction upon the word not " Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer," plainly proving that the backbiter is the devil's pedler, or trader, (as the Hebrew word talebearer means, as saith A. Clarke,) when he says, naming a man or woman, he got drunk, or she brawled, railed, or fought in the kitchen; instead, then, of being pillars of the truth, holding forth the mind of Christ as pillars do proclamations, they are pillars of lies and malicious colourings, turning motes into beams, giving publicity to the edicts. and proclamations of the father of lies, who was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth. "Lord (saith David) who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." Psalm xv. 3.

Take notice, he don't say he that backbiteth-this is not the emphatic word, but he that backbiteth not. Neither doth he ask, Who shall get, or who has gotten into the Church? But who shall abide there? And immediately makes it a test of their abidance therein, that they backbite not, take not up the backbiter's reproach, not receive or endure it, as saith the margin: shewing, by these nots, the incapacities of backbiters to tell the truth, and their aptitude to lies.

Having shewn who truth is, and that his examples are as opposite to backbiting as heaven is to hell, or truth to falsehood; as also, that the Church is compared to a pillar holding forth the word of truth, as pillars, in some countries, do edicts and proclamations, that all may see, read, and obey the laws; as also, that God's commands are called the truth; that upon the subject in hand in the Christian merchant's account brought forward, they are negative and positive, in which St. Paul joins when he saith, "speak evil of no man." Titus iii. 2. And St. James, speak not evil one of another, brethren: he that speaketh evil of his brother, speaketh evil of the law. James iv. 11. They accuse that very law which prohibits their slanders, for saying, "speak evil of no man," and they set up an uncharitable system of backbiting against it. Having, we repeat, brought forward the slanderers truth, and proved it to be a lie by the negative command thou shalt not, we, in the next place, pledge ourselves to prove it to be a double rectified lie in the AFFIRMATIVE, by the positive command, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Thus saith the Lord-" Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy

self. Levit. xix. Until, then, the devil's pedlers, and love letter writers in obloquy, can prove that the command enjoins it upon us to avenge, and would thus read, "Thou shalt," instead of "thou shalt not" avenge. Thou shalt not love thy neighbour as thyself, (because misers, shavers, slaveholders, and slanderers find this equitable precept too honest, just, and merciful, and the lazy, the robber, and the flinthearted say the way is too narrow ;) we say, until these points are proved, we consequently set down religious backbiters as liars, though they speak what they call nothing but the truth; it being evident that every thing is a lie, which is opposite to the written word of truth.

"I rejoiced greatly, (saith John) that I found thy children walking in the truth." What truth, John? Why, that ye have backbit, and carried tales because they were true, because ye have told upon every one who got drunk, like hoarse or squeaking marsh frogs, and upon every couple who disagreed in their families, upon swearers by name, upon liars; but more especially because ye have slandered the poor, the slave, the fatherless, the widow, the stranger, and those who were in your debt, like cowards and assassins. No, no, saith John, but the "truth, as we have received commandment from the father. And now I beseech thee, lady, (you see how he writes to the ladies) not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, that as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it." 2 epis. John. iv. 5, 6. Ás certain, then, as love is truth, and the commandment love, yea, the old commandment from the beginning, so

certain it is, that when we depart from love, to tell what we call truth, that is to say, a slanderous truth, not speaking the truth in love, we are liars; we are shamed, blamed, and shall be damned, if we continue to think, teach, and practice those slanderous, malicious truths, which being opposite to God, produced by the devil, evidenced by backbitings, and declared, by the eternal Logos, his word or spirit, to have been lies from the beginning; for he that loveth not, knoweth not God, as God is love." 1 John iv. 8. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour," therefore true; hatred and telling backbiting truths, is continually working all kinds of ill to our neighbour; therefore, a lie.

"Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Therefore, backbiting, which signifies to speak against a person, either by truth or lies, is the violation of the law of God, of the land, of decency, honesty, truth, and love; of course it is hellish anarchy; 'tis Satan's fore courts of injustice and misrepresentation; 'tis indefinite injustice, irreparable ruin! Before it is Eden, behind it a desolate wilderness! "All, therefore, whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them; for this, (not telling upon your brother,) is the law and the prophets." Matt. vii. 12; certainly, then, as ye would not wish for mankind to "make themselves merry with your faults," nor to tell them at all to your injury, by turning your wife, husband, son, daughter, benefactor, brother, sister, neighbour, debtor, creditor, lawyer, preacher, leader, master, mistress, sweetheart, or enemy of your faults; or if you were a stranger, to be slighted, or otherwise to do any thing contrary to what you would think just by a change of situation; in a word, "whatsoever ye would," ought to govern.