than truthes when hee judgeth them evill And againe certainly it is a thing intolerable to tell lyes Another telleth us that he is equally his enemy as the gates of Hell who conceaveth one thing in his minde and speaketh another thing with his mouth And that Iupiter the great father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Homer Iliad lib. 4. Phocyllides who helpeth all yet will not be helpfull unto lyars Another perswadeth thus tell saith hee no lyes but speake all truthes And againe doe not hide one thing in thy heart and utter another with thy tongue Another affirmeth that every prudent Cleobulus and wise man hateth a lye And the Philosopher 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as before was shewed deriveth the Greeke word signifying a lye from another which signifieth a thing dishonest and worthy reprehension because every lye is of this nature Finally Plato in many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in Theat lib. 2. de Repub. places condemneth lies and pleadeth for the truth To thinke the truth saith he is honest but a filthy and dishonest thing to lye And againe a lye is odious not onely to the gods but also to men And therefore if the Heathens could discover the fowlnesse and deformities of this vice by the dimme light of nature what a shame is it for us to bee so blinde in our understandings and ignorant as not to discerne the uglinesse of it when as we have the cleare sun-shine of the Gospell and the illumination of Gods Holy Spirit to guide and direct us But let us come more particularly to shew the §. 3. That Lying is opposite to Gods nature haynousnesse of this vice which will better bee cleared if we prove that it hath in it all relations of sinne as it is committed either against God our neighbours or our selves and is not onely a sinne in it selfe but also the cause and the effect of many other evills both of sinne and punishment as it will appeare if wee examine some particulars For first lying is in this respect a great sinne because it is contrary to God the chiefe goodnesse whether we consider his Nature or his Persons In his Nature and Essence he is in and of himselfe and the fountaine of Being and in this sense it is most true that being Truth and Goodnesse are convertible and all one He is not only True but Truth it selfe and all other things are true in and for him And thus he describeth himselfe Mercifull Gracious Exod. 34. 6. Long-suffering and aboundant in Goodnesse and Truth So Moses in his song He is a God of Truth and without Deut. 32. 4. iniquitie just and right is he So Esay Hee that sweareth in the Earth shall sweare by the God of Truth Esay 65. 16. yea hee is so essentially True as that there is none true besides him according to that of the Apostle Let GOD be True but every man a lyar and though Rom. 3. 4. it be at mans choyce to speake the truth or to lye yet truth being of Gods Essence and the Truth of God nothing but the True God hence it followeth that God can no more deny the Truth than deny Himselfe And therefore it is said that God is not a man that he should lye yea though he can doe Numb 23. 19. all things yet He cannot lye yea that it is impossible Tit. 1. 2. Heb. 6. 18. for God to lye which doth not argue any impotency in him but perfection of Being seeing if hee could lye hee could also deny himselfe and so not be seeing Truth in him and Being are all one And as the former places are affirmed of the whole Divine nature and so primarily of God the Father the Fountaine of Truth and Being so other places testifie the like of the Sonne namely that Hee is full of a John 1. 14. Grace and Trueth and that all b vers 17. Grace and Trueth come by him yea that hee is the c John 14. 6. Way the Truth and Life it selfe And so also of the Holy Ghost who is called the d John 14. 17. Spirit of Truth yea e 1 John 5. 6. Truth it selfe who proceedeth f John 15. 26. from the Father and the Sonne And those whom by regeneration hee maketh his Children g John 16. 13. He leadeth into all Truth and worketh in them all sanctifying and saving Graces and Truth amongst the rest which is therefore by the Apostle numbred among the h Eph. 5. 9. fruits of the Spirit In all which respects as it must needs follow that Truth is a Vertue most acceptable unto God as being according to his owne Likenesse so also that those best please him who resemble him in Truth by loving imbracing and speaking it approving themselves hereby to bee his Children because they are like him according to that of the Prophet Esay Surely they are my people Children Esa 63. 8. that will not lye To which purpose an Heathen Philosopher speaketh excellently who being asked Pythagoras in what thing men were most like unto God answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. if they speake the Truth And in this respect their magi or magitians affirmed that their greatest god whom they called Oromagden Serm. 11. was in his body like unto the light and in his mind or soule like unto truth as Stobaeus recordeth it And excellent to this use is the etymologie of the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which they signifie Truth which Iamblichus bringeth ut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deducta sit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because as the Greeke word signifying the Truth so Truth it selfe is derived from the gods although others give another Etymology deriving 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the privative participle because the Truth cannot lye hid Whereby it appeareth that as Truth is deare unto God so a lye which opposeth it is a great sinne and most odious unto him seeing it opposeth himselfe and his owne nature who is a God of Truth for hee who lyeth denieth the Truth and he who denieth it denieth God himselfe Again Truth which hath its existence in the minde against which the lyar speaketh is of the Spirit of God who is the Author of all Truth and therefore what is it to lye but to make the tongue speake against the Truth ingraven in the minde by the Spirit and consequently to speake against the Holy Spirit himselfe who is the Lev. 6. 2. Author of it Secondly by lying we sin immediately against §. 4. That Lying is a breach of Gods Commandement God in that we breake and violate his Word and holy Commandements which injoine us to speake the Truth and not to lye in any thing nor at any time For in the ninth Commandement under the name of bearing false witnesse against our neighbour as in the affirmative part hee requireth all Truth so in
Lyes because they looke onely to the present and not to eternity and chuse rather thereby to hazard their soules and bodies to everlasting destruction than to suffer temporary evils or to endanger themselves to present punishments And therefore if we would avoid Lying let us mortifie this carnall feare and consider for this end how much more fearefull it is to fall into the hands of the everliving God who is a consuming Fire than into the hands of mortall men who when they have done their worst can but punish or kill the body whereas he Matth. 10. 28. is able to cast body and soule into hell as our Saviour speaketh Secondly wee must if wee would avoid Lying mortifie our carnall love of the world and earthly things whereby wee are ordinarily tempted to the committing of this sin For who doth not see that they who set their hearts immoderately on riches are ready upon all occasions to lye and deceive that they may get and encrease their wealth and that they who dotingly affect honours make no scruple to supplant others by their Lyes and machievellian policies and deceits that they may raise themselves by their ruine The fourth meanes is that we bee more carefull §. 8. The fourth meanes is that we be more carefull to flie sinne than the punishment due unto it to flie sinne than the punishment due unto it and to avoid Lying than the evils of smart and shame that doe accompany it For what is the reason which moveth men so often to fall into this sin of Lying but because they make no conscience of sinne and when they have committed it and expect disgrace or punishment if it should come to light they use all their lying Arts to hide it facing and out-facing the Trueth that their faults may not be discovered nor they punished according to their demerits Whereas if men should labour in all things to keepe a good conscience they would not feare to have what they doe knowne unto any and if they walked in the wayes of innocency they would not feare to goe in the wayes of Trueth And therefore if we would not lye wee must carefully avoid the doing of any thing which being done if we be examined we are not willing to confesse or if through frailty and infirmity we have failed in our duty let us rather acknowledge our fault than hide and excuse it by a lye and chuse rather to undergoe the penalty and punishment than to free our selves from it by committing sinne To which end let us consider that sinne is the greatest evill as being an offence against an infinite Justice and Majestie provoking an infinite wrath and so deserving as the due merit of it an infinite and everlasting punishment And therefore what is all the shame and punishment of this world unto which wee shall indanger our selves by acknowledging our faults and confessing the Truth in comparison of Gods wrath which is a consuming fire and which by lying wee kindle against us and those everlasting Torments in the flames of Hell The fifth meanes is to use all our lawfull indeavour §. 9. The fifth meanes that we with all lawfull indeavour shun poverty for the preventing of poverty and to get such a sufficiency and competency of estate as that we may have wherewith to provide necessaries for our selves and those that belong unto us and to supply craving and pressing wants when they importune us For as the immoderate love and desire of riches and aboundance is a strong tentation to draw men to this sinne of lying as I have shewed so the feare of want and the sense and smart of penury is no lesse potent and powerfull to make them leave truth and to tell lyes when they seeme helpefull for the bettering of their estate And this wee finde by dayly experience for who seeth not that lyes above all sorts of men are most frequently used among them that are of poorest condition being necessitated hereunto by their pinching wants and penury And this the wise Agur well knew who having intreated God to remove Prov. 30. 8. farre from him vanity and lyes prayeth in the next place that he would give unto him neither poverty nor riches but feede him with foode convenient for him because as they who desire abundance commonly use lying that they may get and increase their wealth so they that live in want and misery doe as usually fall into this sinne of lying that they may supply their necessities and free themselves from the smart of penury In which respect those that will avoide this sinne of lying must doe their best to preserve themselves from extreame poverty and to this end use all good providence in getting and keeping a sufficient competency of estate and all industry diligence and painefulnesse in the duties of their particular callings craving Gods blessing upon their labours who onely giveth power to get riches and except he build the house they labour in Prov. 10. 22. Deut. 8. 18. Psal 127. 1. vaine that build it For as the Apostle speaketh of stealing so I may say the same of lying let him that lyed lye no more but rather let him labour working Eph. 4. 28. with his hands the thing that is good that hee may have to give to him that needeth seeing it is no lesse possible to avoide lying than stealing if through negligence in our callings wee fall into want and penury The last and chiefe meanes is fervent and effectuall §. 10. The sixth meanes is effectuall Prayer prayer unto God that he will fill our hearts with Grace and Trueth and with his Holy Spirit leade and guide us in it that hee will worke an high esteeme and love of Truth in us and an utter detestation of lying which is so dishonourable unto him and pernicious unto us and that hee will set a watch before our mouthes and keepe the doore of our Psal 141. 3. lippes that no lyes may issue out of them wherein we have David for our example who prayeth earnestly that God would remove from him the way of lying in which hee was apt to walke if he should Psal 119. 29. be left unto his naturall corruption as hee had divers times found by woefull experience and also the wise Agur who prayeth fervently that God would remove farre from him vanity and lyes the which it seemeth hee so much detested that hee could not indure the very neighbor-hood of them Neither is it inough that we use the former means unlesse God by his blessing give such vertue and power unto them that they may preserve us from this sinne nor with David that we resolve to looke to our wayes and keepe our mouthes with a bridle that wee offend not with our tongues for as the Apostle Iames telleth us The tongue is a fire and a world of iniquity Jam. 3. 6 8. and an unruly evill which no man can tame unlesse the Lord joyne with
the man for which though they put him to many tortures yet hee remained constant in his resolution Who afterwards being brought to the Emperor seemed unto him so admirable in his faith and constancy that without any difficulty hee obtayned pardon for him whom he had hidden The other part of the question concerneth our § 6. Whether we may lawfully lye to save our owne lives selves namely whether wee ought for the preservation of our owne lives tell a lye when as all other meanes are wanting and this onely promiseth security Unto which a short answere may suffice if we consider what hath beene already said in the former cases for it is a sin to lye but no sinne to dye and our life is not so much worth that wee should spinne out the thread thereof to a further length with wicked hands nor buy it at so deare a rate as the price of sin which is an offence against Gods infinite Majesty and therefore of infinite guilt from the condemnation whereof wee could not be redeemed at any lower price than the precious death and blood shed of the Eternall Sonne of God Againe by voluntary sinning we expose our soules to death everlasting and at the most by not sinning and lying we indanger but our bodies to a temporall death which either sooner may bee brought by some unexpected sicknesse or by nature it selfe a little later so that in effect long life is but the addition and untimely death but the substraction of a few dayes or yeeres And therefore as much as the soule is to be preferred before the body and life Eternall before this life of mortality with so much more care and circumspection wee must shun lying more than dying seeing by that the losse of our chiefest jewell is indangered and by this wee have no great losse Excellently Saint Augustine to this purpose who saith hee Quis observat vanitatem qui timendo mori mentitur timendo enim morimentitur moritur antequam moriatur qui idcò mentiebatur ut vivcret c. In Psal 30. observeth vanity Hee that lyeth fearing to dye For fearing to dye hee lyeth and so dyeth before he should dye who therefore lyeth that he might live Thou wilt lye lest thou shouldest dye and so lyest and dyest And when thou shunnest one death which thou canst onely put off but not escape thou fallest into two first dying in thy soule and afterwards in body c. Finally it is so farre of from being lawfull to lye §. 7. That wee may not lawfully lye to advance Gods glory officiously in the behalfe of men that it is unlawfull to doe it for the advancement of Gods glory for though he requireth that we should propound it as the maine end of all our actions according to that of the Apostle Whether you eate drinke or 1 Cor. 10. 31. whatsoever you doe doe all to the glory of God yet hee will not have us onely to seeke his Glory in respect of the end but also in regard of all lawfull meanes which conduce to the furthering of this end and being the God of Truth hee esteemeth himselfe more dishonoured than glorified by our lye though our chiefe end and aime therein be to advance his Glory For as one saith well It is no lesse evill Pet. Mart. in 2 Sam. 9. 8. to speake false things to Gods prayse than not to beleeve of him those that are true And therefore Iob reprooveth his friendes for those untruthes which they spoke against him though their maine end was to Justifie God and to Glorifie him in his Justice Will you saith hee speake wickedly Job 13. 7. 8 10. for God and talke deceitfully for Him Will yee accept his Person Will yee contend for God Hee will surely reprove you if yee doe secretly accept persons So Saint Paul though for the glory of Christ and 1 Cor. 15. 15. God his Father he had testified that he had raised him up from the dead yet hee acknowledgeth that hee should deservedly bee esteemed no better than a false witnesse of God if Christ indeede were not yet risen So that we must not lye though our end bee that God thereby may have Glory seeing hee needeth not our lye being able to glorifie himselfe by us when wee use lawfull meanes to lawfull endes In which respect I have much misliked those fained miracles recorded in some Ecclesiasticall Stories wrought upon sleight occasions and to as little end purposely as it seemeth devised by the Authors to glorifie Christ and propagate the Gospell and much more the lying miracles and minte of untruthes invented and stamped by the Pope and his Emissaries in their Legends to worke as they pretend an higher esteeme of the Christian Truth in the hearts of the people though they grace them with the title of Piae fraudes Pious deceits seeing they 1 Thes 2. 9. not onely use lying meanes but also aime at wicked ends not to confirme and grace the truth but to seduce the people and leade them into errors CHAP. X. Objections in defence of officious Lyes propounded and answered ANd thus have I fully prooved that §. 1. The objection that officious lyes are not against charity answered no lyes though never so officious to God or men may bee lawfully used the which being clearely understood and well weighed it will bee easie to answere all objections which are usually made by the Authors of them whether they be grounded on seeming reasons or on the examples of the faithfull who have sometimes used them Concerning the former It is first objected that these officious lyes are lawfull because they are not against charity which is the end and summe of the Law but they advance our neighbours good at which we should aime in all our words and actions and doe not offend against humane societies but rather preserve them seeing thereby men are kept safe and freed from dangers So the Apostle saith that the end of the Commandement is Charity 1 Tim. 1. 5. Rom. 13. 8. Matth. 22. 37. and hee that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law I answere If wee take Charity in a generall sense it is the summe of the whole Law as our Saviour maketh it and includeth both all duties towards God required in the first Table and towards our neighbours commanded in the second in both which we are injoyned that our love should bee in truth For first God requireth that wee should John 4. 24. Psal 51. 17. worship him in spirit and in truth and in all his Service Hee requireth Truth in the inward partes without Psal 17. 1. Jer. 3. 10. Esay 29. 13. which all religious duties are odious unto him for hee abhorreth such prayers as are made with fained lippes and if there be a distance betweene our tongues and our hearts when wee draw nigh unto him our prayers will be rejected and reproved So also our love towards our neighbours must bee joyned
17. 10. and deceitfull above all things that none can know them nor search the gulph of corruption and sinke of sin to the bottome and because wee have in us naturally the seeds of all wickednesse and flagitious impieties which are ready to sproute and to bring forth their cursed fruite upon all occasions if they be not checked and nipt with Gods grace and holy Spirit so that wee doe not wrongfully accuse our selves of those grosse acts of sinne as murther adultery drunkennesse and the like of which our consciences in the sight of God doe cleare and acquit us because hereby we give glory unto God magnifying his mercy and bounty who hath forgiven unto us such great debts and because we doe also exercise our repentance and increase our sorrow for sinne and worke our hearts to a true hatred of it according to that of the Prophet Then shall Ezech. 36. 31. ye remember your owne evill wayes and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your owne sight for your iniquities and abominations But when wee have to deale with men wee must speake the truth as we in our understanding conceive of it as well of our selves as of other men and though we ought for the most part modestly to conceale those things which concerne our owne prayses and may to the full lay open our wants and infirmities when just occasion shall bee offered yet when wee are necessarily put to speake of either we must not out of a sinnefull modesty lye and betray the truth but ingenuously speake what wee truely conceive neither denying or too much extenuating Gods gifts and graces in us nor accusing our selves of those sinnes imperfections and corruptions of which we know that wee are as cleare as other of Gods servants yea if we be unjustly suspected and accused of them we are bound in conscience to excuse and defend our selves and to manifest what we can our owne innocency For first Gods Law requireth that wee should give a true testimony of our selves as well as of others and use all good means to preserve our owne fame and good name as well as our neighbours Secondly by denying Gods gifts and graces in us wee ungratefully dishonour him not acknowledging his bounty and goodnes towards us and refusing to ascribe unto him the Glory of these gifts whereof hee is the Author Thirdly we put out these lights which were given Matth. 5. 16. us to this end that shining before men they might take occasion thereby to glorifie our Heavenly Father Fourthly wee wrong our neighbours by working in their mindes a false opinion and by causing them unjustly to sleight and disesteeme us when as they thinke that our gifts and good parts are much lesser and our faults and sinnes far greater than in truth they are seeing men for the most part speake of themselves rather better than worse than they deserve And secondly whilest wee suppresse deny or extenuate our vertues and aggravate our failings and corruptions wee neglect this Christian duty of edifying one another by our good example and contrariwise make our selves scandalous and offensive And finally wee wrong our owne persons for if it bee an injury to belye another it is no lesse if we belye our selves and if it bee an unjust and uncharitable act to robbe our neighbors of their good name by false extenuatiōs of the good things which are in them or aggravations of their faults and faylings how can it bee lesse sinnefull if wee use the same meanes to spoile our selves of this precious jewell To this purpose though in another case Saint Augustine excellently speaketh for confuting the Pelagians and Coelestianians who affirmed that they were pure and free from sin and yet for humility sake against their conscience and perswasion confessed their sinnes of which they thought themselves pure and cleare hee thus convinceth them of their errour Dost thou saith he lye for humility Thou art just and without sinne but for humilities sake thou Propter humilitatem ergo mentiris c. August de verbis Apostoli Serm. 29. Tom. 10. callest thy selfe a sinner how shall I receive thee as a Christian for a witnesse against another whom I finde to bee a false witnesse against thy selfe Thou art just thou art without sinne and yet thou sayest that thou hast sinne therefore thou art a false witnesse against thy selfe God will not accept of thy lying humility examine thy life and looke into thy conscience c. How shall I take thee for a witnesse in another mans cause who lyest in thine owne Thou makest Saints guilty whilest thou bearest against thy selfe a false testimony what wilt thou doe to another who slanderest thy selfe I demand art thou just or a sinner thou answerest a sinner Thou lyest because thou doest not say that with thy mouth which thou beleevest of thy selfe in thy heart And therefore though thou wilt not be a sinner before now thou beginnest to bee since thou lyest For thou sayest for humilities sake that thou callest thy selfe a sinner c. But can there be humility where there is falsity But against this is objected that we have many §. 2. The Example of Agur in defence of modest lyes objected and answered examples of holy men in the Scriptures that in modesty and humility have abased themselves in the acknowledgement of their wants infirmities and sinnes beyond all boundes of Truth against some whereof wee can take no exceptions seeing they were Pen-men of the Scriptures and immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1. 21. The first is of Agur who being a Prophet of great wisedome and understanding thus abaseth and vilifieth himselfe Surely I am more brutish than any Prov. 30. 2. man and have not the understanding of a man I neither learned wisedome nor have the knowledge of the Holy I answere that we must not understand these wordes simply and absolutely but respectively First in respect of the Person to whom he speaketh and in whose presence hee standeth to wit Ithiel which signifieth the strong God with us and Veal signifying one who having all power in his hand is able to doe whatsoever he will By both which he understandeth our Lord JESUS CHRIST the Wisedome and Power of his FATHER in comparison of whom the wisest in the world are brutish and destitute of knowledge Secondly he maketh this acknowledgement in respect of the subject matter which he was to speake of namely divine and heavenly Wisedome which as much transcended his reach and capacity as reason in man excelleth brutish sense according to that of the Psalmist Such knowledge is too wonderfull for me Psal 139. 6. It is high I cannot attaine unto it And that of the Apostle And who is sufficient for these things 2 Cor. 2. 16. Thirdly hee speaketh not simply but respectively comparing the little which hee knew with the much which hee knew not like that of Socrates hoc unum