391 figned, as were the lies of thofe that bare witness against Chrift, and of Ziba against Mephibofbeth. 2. There is officiofum mendaciun, or an officious lie, when it is for a good end, fuch was the midwives lie, Exod. 1.9. Thus the denying of a thing to be, even when the granting of it would infer hurt and damage to another, is contrary to truth, and we ought not to do evil that good may come of it; and it overturneth the end for which speaking was appointed, when we declare a thing otherwife than we know or think it to be: and, as no man can lie for himself for his own fafety, fo can he not for another's. Thus to lie even for God is a fault, and accounted to be talking deceitfully and wickedly for him, when, to keep off what we account difhonourable to him, we will affert that he may, or may not, do fuch a thing; when yet the contrary is true, Job 13.4, 7. 3. There is jocofum mendacium, when it is for fport, to make others laugh and be merry; which, being finful in itself, can be no matter of lawful fport to make others laugh. 4. We may add one more, and that is mendacium temerarium, when men lie and have no end before them, but, thro' inadvertency and cuftomary loofness, fpeak otherwise than the thing is: this is called the way of lying, Pfal. 119. 29. and is certainly finful; as when they told David, when Amnon was killed, that all the king's fons were killed, being too hafty in concluding before they had tried. 3. Confider lies or untruths either in things doctrinal, or in matters of fact. In things doctrinal; fo falfe teachers and their followers are guilty, who teach and believe lies; so such teachers are faid, 1. Tim. 4. 2. to speak lies; and fo, when they foretel vain events, this is a high degree of lewd lying on the Lord, to fay, he meaneth or faith another thing than ever he thought, or than ever came into his heart; and to pretend a commiffion from him, when he giveth no fuch commiffion. In matters of fact, men are guilty when things are faid to be done when they are not done, or otherwife done than they are done indeed. 4. We may confider this fin in mens practice, either in reference to God; fo hypocrify and unanswerableness to our profeffion is lying, Pfal. 78. 36. and Ifa. 29. 13. Or we may confider it as betwixt man and man, which is more properly the scope here. Again, we may confider the wronging of a man three ways; (1) By false reports, fpeaking what is indeed untruth. (2.) By vain reports, which tend to his fhame; Bb 4 fo Com. 9: fo, Deut. 5. 20. this command is repeated in these words, Thou shalt not take up any witness (as it is in the original) against thy neighbour. (3.) When the reports are malicious, whether they be true or falfe; and intended for that end, that our neighbour may lose his good name. Further, con fider it in reference to the perfon guilty; either as he is, I The raifer or carrier of a tale, true or falfe, yet tending to the prejudice of his neighbour; thus he is the maker of a lie. Or, 2. As he is a hearer or receiver of tales, Prov. 17.4 thus he is to lying as a refetter is to theft; and, would not men hear tales, few would carry them; whereas, when men will hearken to lies, especially great men, all their fervants ordinarily become wicked tale-bearers and whifperers. Or, 3. As he is the fufferer (albeit he be not the venter) of a lying tale to pass on his neighbour (fo he loveth a lie, as it is Rev. 22. 8.) or but faintly purgeth him of it, but letteth it either ly on him, or poffibly taketh it up and repeateth it again, which is condemned, Pfal. 15. 3. where a man that taketh up an evil report of his neighbour, even when others poffibly have laid it down, is looked upon as a person who hall never dwell with God. Thus one inventeth a lie, another venteth and outeth it, and a third refetteth it, like coiners, fpreaders and refetters of falfe money; for, that one faid fuch a thing, will not warrant our repeating of it again. 5. We may confider wrongs done to our neighbour by words, as unjust and without all ground; and fo a lie is a calumny, as was that of Ziba, made of his master Mephibofbeth; this is in Latine calumnia: Or, when there is ground, yet, when they are spoken to his prejudice, this is convitium, it e. fpecially in this they fuffer for the truth's fake: Or if, after repentance, former faults be caft up to a perfon, as if one ould have called Paul a blafphemer still, even after his converfion and repentance; of this was Shimei guilty, by railing on David. 6. Both these forts of lies are either spoken or received, and not afterward rejected; as David too haftily received that falfe report made of Mephibofbeth by his fervant Ziba, and thinking it not unlikely, because the reporter made it feem to be fo, did therefore conclude it was truth, and did not reject it afterwards: or when at firft received, yet after, upon bet ter information, it is rejected. 7. Again, This wronging of our neighour by words is ci ther 393 ther of him when abfent, and this is backbiting; which often is done under pretence of much refpect (that the report may ftick the fafter) in fuch like words as thefe; He is one I wish well, and should be loth to have him evil reported of; but this is too evident, this is the truth; &c. this is fufurrare, to whisper: Or it is of him when prefent; fo it is a reproach and indignity, or upbraiding. 8. Again, This backbiting and reproaching is either direct, fo that men may eafily know we hate fuch perfons; or it is indirect, granting fomewhat to his commendation, and ufing fuch prefaces as in fhew bear out much love, but are purpose ly defigned to make the wound given by the tongue the deeper: fuch perfons are as butter in their words, but as farp fwords in their hearts; this is that dissembling love which David complaineth of. 9. Sometimes this reproaching and flandering of our neighbour is out of fplene against him, and is malicious; sometimes out of envy, to raise and exalt one's felf on the ruins of another (this is grassari in famam proximi) fometimes it is out of defign, thereby to infinuate upon them whom we speak unto, as to fignify our freedom unto them, to please them, or praise them, by crying down another; that is to ferve the itching humour of fuch who love the praise of others, when it may be we know mo faults of those we fpeak to, yet never open our mouth to them of one of thefe, nor are we free with them anent them, if the things be true. Chrift's 10. We may break this command by fpeaking truth, (1.) For an evil end, as Doeg did, Pfal. 52. (2.) By telling fomething that is truth out of revenge. (3.) When it is done without difcretion, fo it fhameth more than edifieth. word is, Mat. 18. 15. Tell him his fault betwixt thee and bim alone; and we on the contrary make it an upcaft to him; this certainly is not right. (4.) When it is minced, and all not told, which, if told, might alleviate; or conftrued and wrefted to a wrong end, as did the witneffes who deponed against Christ. II. We may break this command, and fail in the extremity of fpeaking too much good of, or to, our neighbour, as well as by fpeaking evil of him, if the good be not true: And here cometh in, (1.) Exceffive and rafh praifing and commen ding of one, 1. Beyond what is due. 2. Beyond what we do to others of as much worth; this is refpect of perfons. 3. Be yond Com. 9. yond what difcretion alloweth; as when it may be hurtful to awaken envy in others, or pride in them who are thus praifed. (2.) Praising inordinately, that is, before a man's felf, or to gain his affection, and that poffibly more than when he is abfent and heareth not: Much more is it to be blamed when fpoken groundlefly; this is flattery, a moft base evil, which is exceedingly hurtful and prejudicial to human focieties, yet exceeding delightful to the flattered. (3) We fail in this extremity, when our neighbour is juftified or defended, or excused by us in more or lefs, when it should not be. 12. Under this fin, forbidden in the command, cometh in all beguiling Speeches, whether it be by equivocation, when the thing is doubtfully and ambiguoufly expreffed; or by mental refervation, a trick whereby the groffeft lies may be juftified, and which is plainly everfive of all truth in fpeaking, when the fentence is but half-expreffed. As, fuppofe one fhould ask a Romifb prieft, Art thou a prieft? and he fhould answer, I am no prieft; referving this in his mind, I am no prieft of Baal. For, by giving or expreffing the answer fo, an untruth and cheat is left upon the asker; and the anfwer, fo conceived, doth not quadrate with the queftion, as it ought to do, if a man would evite lying. 13. This falfhood may be confidered with reference to things we speak of, as, in buying or felling, when we call a thing better or worse than it is indeed, or than we think it to be: Ah, how much lying is there every day this way with many! 14. Under this fin forbidden in this command are compre hended, 1. Railing; 2. Whispering; 3. Tale-bearing (Spoken of before) 4. The tatling of bufy bodies, that know not how to infinuate themselves with others, or pass time with them, but by telling fome ill tale of another; 5. Prevarication; which is the fin of perfons who are unconftant, whose words go not all alike, faying and unfaying; faying now this way, and then another way, of the fame thing; their words clashing together, and they not confifting with themselves. 15. Confider falfhood, or falfe-witness-bearing, as it inferreth breach of promife, which is forbidden, Pfal. 15. 4. when one performeth not what he promiseth, or promifeth that which he intendeth not to perform, which is deceit and falfhood. 16. As we may fin in speaking against others, fo we may in re 395 refpect of ourselves many ways: (1.) When we give occafion to others to speak evil of us, 1 Cor. 6. 3. 2 Cor. 6. (2.) When we are not careful to entertain and maintain a good name, and by fuitable ways to wipe away what may mar the fame. It is generally obferved, that, while men have a good name, they are defirous and careful to keep it; and, when they have loft it, they grow careless of it. We ought not be prodigal of our names more than of our lives or eftates; for the lofs of them incapacitateth us much to edify others. (3.) When we vainly boaft of ourselves, and set forth our own praise, that is as if a man fhould eat too much hony, Prov. 25. 27. (4.) When we will not confefs a fault, but either deny, excufe, or extenuate it; this Foua exhorteth Achan to efchew. (5.) When we say that things are worfe with us than indeed they are, and deny, it may be even in reference to our fpiritual condition, fomewhat of God's goodness to us, and fo lie against the Holy Ghoft. (6.) When we are too ready to entertain good reports of ourselves, and to be flattered. There is (if to any thing) an open door to this in us: and, as the heathen Seneca faid, Blanditia cum excluduntur pacent; fo may it be ordinarily feen, that men will feemingly reject what they delight thould be infifted in. There is in us so much felf-love, that we think fomeway, that men in commending us do what is their duty, therefore we often think them good folk because they do fo; and men that do not commend us, we refpect them not, or but little, or at leaft lefs than we do others, because we think they are behind in a duty by not doing fo: And which is very fad, and much to be lamented, few things do lead us to love or hate, commend or difcommend (and that as we think not without ground) more than this, that men do love and commend, or not love and commend us. 17. We also may by withholding a teftimony to the truth, and by not clearing of another, when it is in our power to do it, be guilty of this fin. But efpecially is forbidden here publick lying, and wronging of another judicially, either in his perfon, name, or eftate; and that, (1.) by the judge, when he paffeth fentence, either rafhly, before he heareth the matter, and fearcheth it out, which Job difclaimeth, afferting the contrary of himself, Job 29. 16. or ignorantly, or perverfly for corrupt ends, as being bribed to it, or otherwise. (2.) By the recorder, writing grievous things, fa. 10. 1. or mal |