And feeing judges are fet to judge for the Lord, this must be reckoned a lying to the Lord.

4. By the witneffes, and that when they either conceal the truth, not difcovering freely and fully what they know, or when they tell any thing that is not truth, Lev, v. 1. Prov, xix. 9. And thus people may prejudice truth, when they keep up what might make the truth appear, and the caufe go right in judgement.

5. Lastly, By the pleaders, while they appear for an unjuft caufe to bear down truth and juftice, Acts xxiv. 2. c.

Secondly, Extrajudicially, in common converfa. tion and otherwife. Wherefoever we go, we should carry truth along with us; but out of judgement truth is often prejudiced; and that these three ways.

1. By unfaithfulness in converfation, when peo ple flip the bond of their word, and make nothing of breaking lawful promifes, Rom. i. 31. A man ought to value his word highly, as a man, and much more as a Chriftian. That is a fad complaint, There is no truth in the land, Hof. iv. 1. when men do with their promifes as an ape with its collar, flipping it on and off as it fees meet.

2. By undue filence. Strange is the diforder that fin has brought into the world; as in the tongue, which is often going when it should be quiet, and often quiet when it fhould fpeak. Our tongues are our glory; but they are often found wrapt up in a dark cloud of filence, when they fhould be fhining forth. Truth is prejudiced by filence, when the honour of God or the good of our neighbour, either in the way of juice or charity, calls for the difcovery of it. fin against God, the truth, and their when they hold their peace, (1.) quity calls for a reproof from them. it calls for a complaint to or giving informatisa

VOL, III,

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Thus men neighbour, When ini(2.) When

mato others, Lev. v. 1. Deut. xiii. 8. God avea mea a tongue as a banner to be difplayTo run away then with flying colours, uch a cafe, is very difhonourable to God, and sengerous to ourselves, Mark viii. 38. It is most arious to our neighbour, whom we think fo to gatity, being a fnare to his foul, Lev. xix. 17. and to ourfelves, by involving us in their guilt, Eph. v. 7. 11.

3. By undue fpeaking. The world is a world of iniquity, and feveral ways fpeaks to the prejudice of truth. Truth may be prejudiced thus,

(1.) By fpeaking it unfeafonably. Truth hath fuffered much prejudice by the unfeasonable venting of it: therefore people must take heed not only what, but when they fpeak; for there is a time to keep filence, and a time to speak, Eccl. iii. 7. A fool uttereth all his mind; but a wife man keepeth it in till afterwards, Prov. xxix. 11.

(2.) By fpeaking truth maliciously, as Doeg did. It was both unfeafonable, while Saul was in a rage againft David, 1 Sam. xxii. 8. 9. and malicious, Pfal. lii. 2. 3. This is the way how the devil speaks truth; as he flirred up the damfel poffeffed with a fpirit of divination, to cry concerning Paul and Silas, Thefe men are the fervants of the most high God, which fhew unto us the way of salvation, Acts xvi. 16. 17. and this very maliciously, as the context fhews.

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(3.) By perverting of truth to a wrong meaning, as the falle witneffes did against Chrift, Matth. xxvi. 60. 61. What he spoke of his body, they turned it to the temple of Jerufalem. So it is not enough that we speak truth, but it must be feasonable and charitable too.

4. By equivocal expreffions to the prejudice of truth or juftice; in which the fenfe goes doubtfully, either true or falfe. Of the fame nature are mental refervations. Thus Ifaac finned, in denying

his wife, and calling her his fifter, Gen. xxvi. 7.9. They are indeed lies, an untruth, fpoken with an intention to deceive. For words must be taken according to the common ufe of them, and answers are understood as given according to the queftion. The devil, who is the father of lies, brought this manner of speaking into the world, Gen. iii. 5. and that way he was wont to deliver his oracles; for he never speaks truth, but either malicioufly or equivocally, as he moved the false prophets to fpeak in the affair of Ahab's going up to Ramoth-Gilead, 1 Kings xxii. 6. 12.

5. Lastly, By lies, Eph. iv. 25. Lying is prejudicial to truth as darkness to light, and is from the devil. But obferve fome fpeeches that are like tỏ lies, but are not so.

(1.) Figurative fpeeches, though not literally true, are not lies, as Chrift's calling himself a vine, John xv. 1. Of this fort are allegories and fables, fuch as Jotham's parable, Judg. ix. 8. parables, Luke xvi. hyperbolic fpeeches, John xxii. ult. ironical fpeeches, Gen. iii. 22. 1 Kings xviii. 27. In the former the fenfe and meaning of them is agreeable to truth, and fables and parables are a fort of speech by pictures. In ironies the gefture readily explains the meaning, 1 Kings xxii. 15.

(2.) The telling a part of the truth and concealing another part of it, when there is no obligation on us from the honour of God or our neighbour to difcover it, is not lying, 1 Sam. xvi. 2. for tho' we are never to tell but the truth, yet we are not always obliged to tell all the truth.

F(3) Speeches according to prefent intention, without prejudicing further liberty, as when one at table refufes fuch a thing, yet changes his mind, and takes it, or on importunity yields, as Gen. xix. 2.43620 Cor, i. 17. i

Lafly, Threatenings not executed when the condition underflood is done, and promifes not fulfil

quires the maintaining of truth. We may take up this in these two things.

1. We must speak truth at all times, when we fpeak, Eph. iv. 25. Speak the truth every man with his neighbour. I fay when we fpeak, for we muft not be always fpeaking. Nature having drawn a double bar on our tongues, teaches that our tongues must not be in our mouths as a loose window in wind ever clattering. And if difcretion keep the key of the door of our lips, we will not be of those that cannot reft till all the truth that is in be out, Prov. xiv. 33. But we muft never fpeak any thing

but truth.

What is truth? Pilate afked the queftion at Chrift, but did not stay for an anfwer, John xviii. 38. Truth is a harmony, a double harmony. Anatomifts obferve, that the tongue in man is tied by a double ftring to the heart. To fpeaking of truth is required, (1.) A harmony of the tongue with the heart. (2.) A harmony of the tongue with the thing itself.

(1.) If we think not as we fpeak, we do not fpeak truth; the difcord betwixt the tongue and the heart mars the harmony, Pfal. xv. 2. We must fpeak as we think then; and the tongue must be a faithful interpreter of the mind, otherwise it is a falfe tongue. So truth may be spoken by a man, and yet he be a false speaker, because he thinks not as he speaks.

(2.) But that is not all: If we do not speak alfo as the thing in itself is, we do not speak true. For there must be a harmony betwixt our hearts and the thing as it is in itself. For we must not think that our iniflaken apprehenfions of things can ftamp lies to pafs curient for truths, just because we think them 10, 2 Theff. ii. 11.

The fum of the matter lies here: It is our duty to fpeak truth, that is, fo as our mind agree with the matter, and our mouth with our mind.

We

muft fpeak things as we think them to be, and think them to be what they are. And hence we may fee that modefty is very neceffary to preferve us in the truth, in this our weak aud dark condition. Self-conceited ignorance, and weaknefs joined with confidence, whereby people are fo peremp tory in their own uptakings of things, without any regard to the different light of others, is a great enemy to truth.

2. We must especially fpeak the truth at fome times, that is, in witnefs-bearing. This is twofold, ift, Witnefs-bearing in judgement. This command requires us to bear witnefs, and that faithfully, when called thereto. Now we are to speak the truth judicially, when we are lawfully called thereunto by the authority whether of church or ftate.

2dly, Extrajudicial witness-bearing, wherein a man is called to declare the truth, though there be no human authority obliging him thereto, as often falls out in the cafe of private controverfies betwixt neighbours, where a third perfon is defired to witnefs the truth. Yea, a man may be obliged to this witnefs-bearing where he is not so much as defired to speak, as when we hear our neighbour charged with any thing unjustly, we are obliged to vindicate his innocency, it being known to us.

Now, the rule in both thefe cafes is this: That then is a man or woman called to declare the truth under the pain of God's difpleasure, when God's glory or their neighbour's good may be procured by it; when the difhonour of God and their neighbour's hurt, either of foul, body, name, or goods, may be avoided by it.

Both thefe forts of witnefs-bearing are neceffary for the maintaining and promoting of truth, the honour of God, and our neighbour's real good, tho' it appear perhaps to be for his hurt, in discovering