pointed ever to be ufed, but when the fick have made, by their own choice, a special confeffion of fome weighty matter, troubling their confciences, humbly and heartily defiring, that it may be used for their confolation. And as this is but feldom requested, and confequently the abfolution feldom pronounced over any one; so whenever it is, it may and ought to be accompanied with fuch explanations, as will prevent any wrong constructions.

But there ftill remains to be mentioned, on this occafion, another act of piety, receiving the holy communion: which, though not particularly appointed in fcripture for the fick, hath from the earliest times been recommended to them, and practised by them; as a very fit expreffion of their thankful faith in the merits of Chrift's death; their hope of a future refurrection, as members of his body; and their being in charity with ever other member of it, and all mankind: by the exercise of which graces in this manner, they obtain a title to fuch affiftance from above for going happily through their present time of trial, as must needs be highly valuable to every serious mind.

But then, to enjoy the true benefit of the ordinances of Christ, and the prayers and exhortations of his ministers, you fhould defire them whilst you are capable of duly attending to them, and acting upon the impreffions made by them; not defer them to the laft, when they can hardly contribute any thing either to afeful direction, or well-grounded comfort; and perhaps may only encourage an imagination, most pernicious to the fouls of men, that a few formalities, in the conclufion of life, will atone for fpending it ill. If we take refuge in religion with a bad heart unwillingly, it will be of no fervice to us and if we really delight in its offices, we shall have recourse to them early; indeed we shall live in the obfervance of them always; only repeating them more frequently, and if poffible, with more intenfe application of mind, as our need becomes more urgent. For thus our ftrength will increafe with our burthen: and when our flesh and our heart faileth, God shall be the strength of our heart, and our portion for ever.

SER

† Pfal. lxxiii, 26.

SERMON XXV.

ON LYING.

PROVERBS xii. 22.

Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they, that deal truly, are his delight.

NOTWITHSTANDING the advantages of reason, the condition

of mankind would be very low, and indeed very unhappy, if we did not alfo excell the reft of the creatures, which inhabit this earth, in a greater power of communicating our thoughts one to another. They have much fewer wants: and are taught by nature, almost immediately, how to fupply them. But we are purposely formed to need and to give help in every thing, through the whole of our days: and therefore some ready and extenfive method of fignifying mutually whatever paffes within our minds was peculiarly neceffary for us. Without this, no perfon would have more knowledge of any thing than he could attain of himfelf; or more affiftance in diftrefs from his neighbour, than mere conjecture would direct him to think needful, and unrequested goodness incline him to bestow. The pleafure alfo, as well as the benefits of fociety, would be reduced to a narrow compafs and life hang upon our hands joylefs and uncomfortable. But our gracious Maker hath furnished us with feveral ways of doing what we find fo requifite. Our actions and gestures declare our meanings, in many cafes, both clearly and strongly and our looks have fignificancy, inexpreffible any other way. The moft intelligent of other animals come not near us in either of these refpects. But yet articulate fpeech, our more diftinguishing property, hath, on the whole, much greater pre-eminences belonging to it: and, VOL. I. together

together with the improvement built upon it, of marking down words with ease in lafting characters, hath raised us to a much higher rank in the scale of beings, than we could otherwife have obtained.

:

Still unhappily, as every bleffing in the world may be fatally misused, so there is hardly any one bad purpose, which language, though granted for the most excellent good`purposes, may not be, and hath not been, perverted to ferve. But it ferves the moft fuch, and the moft effectually, by being turned from its original defign of giving right information to those, with whom we converfe, to the oppofite one of leading them wrong a practice fo immoral and mifchievous, yet so common; and fo often feeming to be not only ferviceable to the deceivers themfelves, but defenfible, or however not very blameable, in refpect of fuch as they deceive, that few things are of more importance, than forming juft notions concerning our obligations to veracity. And in doing this, though the principal point is to reftrain men from taking over-great liberties, yet they must be guarded also against over-great fcrupuloufnefs both because every precept ought to be represented fairly; and because, if this be not, fome will be fufferers by obferving, and others feel remorfe for tranfgreffing, imaginary duties; while much larger numbers, perceiving the rules given them to be in part too ftrict, will take occafion from thence to flight them all.

:

In order then to ftate this whole fubject, I fhall,

I. Shew, what things are to be reputed lies, and what

not.

II. Confider the pleas, which are made to juftify fome forts of lying.

III. Thofe, which are brought to excufe others.

1. The leading queftion therefore is, what things are to be reputed lies, and what not. Now here,

1. Since actions and geftures, as well as words, may be em ployed to exprefs what we think; they may be alfo employed to exprefs what we do not think; which is the effence of a lie. Indeed fome of our actions are naturally fignificative: whereas few of our words have any other import, than arbitrary confent and ufage given them, as appears from the different languages of different nations. But then we have never confented to make our actions in general figns of our intentions, as

we

we have our words.

:

And if perfons interpret an action of ours to mean this or that, which hath no certain meaning affixed to it, we deceive them not, but they deceive themselves. Nor, are we bound, in point of truth, to explain it, in order to prevent this but in point of charity and humanity we are, if we apprehend, that they may fuffer any harm by miftaking, which we can obviate without fuffering proportionable harm in their ftead. Such actions therefore, as have no determinate sense appropriated to them by agreement, explicit or implied, can be no violations of fincerity: but fuch as have, are subject to just the fame rules with words; and we may be guilty of as grofs falfehoods in the former, as in the latter.

2. Words having acquired their fignifications by the mutual acquiescence of mankind, may change them by the fame method. And not only fingle words may in procefs of time vary their fenfe greatly, but combinations of feveral words may come to have meanings, very different from what the terms, of which they are compofed, uninterpreted by practice, would lead one to apprehend. We all know what it is to be humble, and to be a fervant to any one. But a perfon, who, in the common acceptation of the words, taken feparately, cannot fay he is either, may fafely affirm that he is both, when they are joined together into an ufual declaration of mere civility. And in general, whatever form of speech, though falfe in its primitive fenfe, is true in that, which cuftom hath adopted, may be ufed in it without fault, to those who understand it right: for there can be no lie, where we have no purpose of deceiving. But ftill, though we may, and poffibly in fome cafes muft, comply with fuch phrases, when once they are established yet the fewer of them prevail, the better, for feveral reasons.

The high ftrained expreffions of civility, which are fo common, however innocent now, proceeded originally from a mean and fawning and fallacious difpofition in those who began them: and tended to nurfe up vanity and haughtinefs in those, to whom they were addreffed. In proportion as they become fayings of course indeed, and lose their meaning, they may lose their mifchief. But if others of the fame fort are coined from time to time to fucceed them, this renews and perpetuates the mischief; befides the further inconveniences of making a language abfurd, and imprinting a character of flavifhnefs upon it, under a groundless pretence of refining and polishing it. For none of

thefe flights were admitted amongst the befi-bred people of the ancient world, till they had loft their good tafte, as well as their

virtue.

And as for the other phrafes, of which custom hath changed or annihilated the fignification, though, after this is done, they are no longer lies, yet they were lies all the while it was doing and every new ftep, taken in the fame road, will be a new lie, till every body finds it out, and learns the fashionable interpretation of it. And, as thefe innovations cannot be foon received univerfally, they embarrass and intangle timorous minds very grievoufly, and tempt the irrefolute to do what they apprehend is not lawful: while, at the fame time, they give those, who are not so scrupulous as they fhould be, dangerous encouragement to become lefs fo than they were. For fuch, perceiving themselves authorized by general practice, or perhaps being directed by particular orders, to fay in fome cafes things that look extremely like falfehoods, will eafily go on to venture upon the most real falfehoods in any cafe, when they have occafion for them. These liberties therefore fhould be as sparingly used, and, when they must be used, as carefully explained to all who are concerned in them, as poffible and a very serious attention fhewn to prevent what a great and excellent man calls, our language running into a lie *.

3. As to all figures of speech, fables, allegories, feigned histories, and parables, thofe for inftance of our bleffed Saviour, and others in scripture, intended only to convey inftruction more agreeably or efficacioufly, there is evidently no room to condemn thefe, as deceits. And whenever things are either faid or written in fuch a manner, that the intention is vifibly different from what the words would elfe import, this can ne ver be a breach of truth, and may fometimes be a very proper and engaging way of recommending it. But the cafe is widely different, when perfons, with all the marks of seriousnefs, af. firm what they will afterwards defpife and ridicule others for believing. These are plainly defigned falfehoods: and in a greater degree, or a lefs, injurious ones. When they do no worfe, they put mens understandings, and tempers too, on a fevere trial, without the leaft right or need: and, which determines the nature of them very clearly, if the hearer doth not expofe hinfelf, the fpeaker is disappointed. Surely this is

Abp. Tillotson,

foolish