SERM.dom of Heaven is Greater than he. In a word, let VI. every one pursue Knowledge, as he pleases, but let it not cause him to forget Religion. The Defire of Knowing is a natural Appetite, and like the reft of 'em, not to be extinguished, but only regulated and conducted by Reason. Wisdom is the principal thing, fays Solomon; Therefore get Wisdom, and with all thy Getting, get Understanding: But let us remember the Advice of a greater than Solomon, let us hunger and thirst after Righteousness too. This is not only the trueft Wisdom itself, but likewife the fureft Method to gain all the other Wisdom we desire. If we will indulge this Thirft of Knowledge, then will be our Time to gratify it, when we have the Enjoyment of God's Prefence in Heaven: When all the Difficulties that perplex us now, will be removed: When our Faculties will be more vigorous and active, and intead of that short Span of Existence which we call Life on Earth, we shall have a whole Eternity before us, to go on from Strength to Strength, and entertain ourfelves with new Discoveries for ever.

Now to God, &c.

All Words to be accounted for at
the Day of Judgment.

A

SERM M ON

On MAT. xii. 36, 37.

But I fay unto you, that every idle Word, that Men fhall Speak, they shall give account thereof at the Day of Judgment. For by thy Words thou shalt be justified, and by thy Words thou shalt be condemned.

T

VII.

HE Occafion of thefe Words, was an SERM. uncharitable Cenfure, which was past upon our Saviour by the Pharifees, concerning the Power by which he wrought his Miracles. Even the Healing of one poffeft with a Devil, which we are told he had done (ver. 22.) they were fo unwilling to afcribe to the Finger of God, as in all Reafon and Justice they should have done, that they chofe rather to impute it, by a moft blafphemous Suggeftion, to the Hand of an infernal Agent. This Fellow, fay they, doth not caft out Devils, but by Beelzebub the Prince of Devils. To this groundless and maliVOL. I.

E*

cious

SERM.cious Calumny, our Saviour makes a fharp Reply,
VII. fhewing, First, the manifeft Abfurdity of the Objec-

tion, and Secondly, the unpardonable Guilt of it:
after which he proceeds to expoftulate with his Ac-
cufers, concerning the Wickedness and Uncharita-
bleness of their Hearts, the corrupt Fountain from
which their Cenfure flowed, concluding with these
Words which I have chofen for my Text, But I say
unto you,
that every idle Word, &c.

To mollify the feeming Rigour and Severity of which Words, the Word in the Original, which is rendered idle, has been explained by fome in a very different Senfe, as fignifying falfe or wicked; as if our Saviour had meant, that not of every idle, but of every falfe or wicked Word that Men shall speak, they fhall give Account at the Day of Judgment. But as this, it must be owned, is a very forced Interpretation, fo in this Place there is no need to have Recourfe to it: the Words containing nothing but what is ftrictly true, in their plainest and most easy Sense. For whatever is meant by idle Words, it is not faid, that they are either damnable or criminal; but only that we shall give Account of them; and fo we shall of every Action of our Lives, which nevertheless, by God's Grace, may be fo far from condemning us, that they may qualify us in fome meafure for a Reward in Heaven. It is faid indeed in the next Verse, that by our Words we fhall be condemned: But it is faid alfo, that by our Words we fhall be juftified. From one of which Affertions it can no more be inferred, that by idle Words is meant any thing that is wicked, than from the other it may be inferred, that by the fame Expreffion is meant fomething that is good or virtuous. The Truth is, that by the Epithet of idle, is meant meither Good nor Harm; all that our Saviour defigned

to

to fhew by it, being indeed no more than this; that SERM. however rafhly and inconfiderately our Words may VII. fly from us, how little foever we may attend to their Guilt or Innocence, they will all be accounted for at the Day of Judgment. Unless therefore, to give an Account of any thing, does neceffarily imply, that we shall be punished for it, there is nothing furely in this Interpretation, that can reasonably give the leaft Offence. But this is fo far from being true, that on the contrary, to call any one to account fuppofes that, till that Account is given, it is uncertain whether he be innocent or guilty. Accordingly, of all the Servants in the Parable, that were intrusted with fo many Talents by their Mafter, though they were all required to account for the Use of them, yet there was but one that was found faulty in his Conduct.

It is true, that the Occafion of our Saviour's Words did lead him to take notice, not of idle or inadvertent, but of wicked and uncharitable Difcourfe. But he had done with that before: He had faid enough concerning the Blafphemy of the Pharifees, by telling them before that it should never be forgiven them, neither in this World, nor in that which is to come. And as nothing was more common with him, in other Cafes, than to take Occafion from any Incident, that had fallen in his way, to lay down a Doctrine of a more extenfive Nature than the Occafion itself re quired, fo nothing could be more natural in the Cafe before us, when he had spoken to the Point which more particularly concerned him, than to take Occafion from thence to continue his Difcourfe in more general and comprehenfive Terms, telling them, that not only every wilful and deliberate, but every idle Word that Men should speak, they fhall give account thereof at the Day of the Judgment. The E 2 Reason

SERM. Reason of which he affigns in the next Verse, viz. VII. that Words are Things of a moral Nature; Things that may render us either innocent or guilty, and confequently may tend to juftify or condemn us. For by thy Words thou shalt be justified, and by thy Words thou fhalt be condemned.

In my

I fhall

further Difcourfe on the Words before us,

I. Shew the Truth of our Saviour's Doctrine, in the Senfe wherein I take it to have been meant.

II. I fhall fhew the Reasonablenefs, the Equity and Mildness of God's dealing with us in this Refpect.

III. I fhall point out the particular Kind of Words, which we have Reafon to think will be most regarded, and tend moft either to justify or condemn us.

Firft, I am to fhew the Truth of our Saviour's Doctrine, in the Sense wherein I take it to have been

meant,

By idle Words we are then to understand, all Words fpoken carelefly and inconfiderately, without a due Regard to their immediate Import, or to their natural Confequences and Effects. And whereas it is faid, that fuch Words as these fhall be accounted for at the Day of Judgment, by this we are to understand, that these, as well as others, i. e. in truth, all our Words in general, fhall be laid up against the Time of that folemn Procefs; that then they shall be produced, and the Nature of them examined, and if there appears to be either Virtue or Vice in them, that Virtue or Vice fhall be placed to our Account, and help either to juftify or condemn us.

That this will be the Cafe, may appear from this Reafon; That it is indeed impoffible for any Word

we