all thinges unknowen thinges which concerne us not things above our reach are in silence to be buried The persons before whome silence must be used are these I. Malitious enemies of religion Give not that which is holy unto dogges neither cast your pearles before swine This was among the rest one cause of the silence of Christ before Caiaphas and Pilate II. Secondly before Magistrates in their open courtes where such as come before them are not to speake till they bee bidden Then Paul after that the governour had beckened unto him that he should speake answered III. In the presence of our elders and betters who must have leave and libertie to speake first and must of others be heard with silence The practise of this was in Elihu to Elithaz and Bildad A companie of men as some say is like to the Alphabet in which are vowels halfe vowels and mutes vowels are olde men learned wise expert halfe vowels are young men and women who are then onely to speake when they are asked mutes are the same parties who beeing not occasioned are in silence to heare their betters And here all servants and children must remember when they are justly reprooued to be silent and not to answere any thing againe IIII. Fooles and pratlers are not to be answered unlesse it be to let them see their follie CAP. XII An exhortation to keepe the tongue THVS have I in parte set downe howe the tongue is to be governed and I heartily desire that 〈◊〉 Christians woulde put these rules in practise Reasons I. If any man seeme to bee religious and restraine not his tongue he deceiveth himselfe and his religion is in vaine II. The man of an euill tongue is a beast in the forme of a man for his tongue is the tongue of a serpent under which lyeth nothing but venime and poison nay hee is worse then a serpent for it can not hurt unlesse it be present to see a man or to bite him or to strike him with his taile but he which hath not the rule of his tongue hurteth men as well absent as present neither sea nor land nor any thing can hinder him And againe his throate is like a graue that hath a vent in some parte and therefore sendeth foorth nothing but stinke and corruption III. As the holy men of God when they preached had their tongues as it were touched with a cole from the altar of God and as godly men when they speake gratiously haue their tongues inflamed with the fire of Gods spirite so contrariwise when thou speakest euill thy tongue is kindled by the fire of hell and Sathan comes from thence with a cole to touch thy lippes and to set them on fire to all manner of mischiefe Chrysostome saith that when men speake good things their tongue is the tongue of Christ but all manner of ungodly and cursed speaking is the deuils language IIII. The moderating of the tongue is a matter of great difficultie S. Iames saith The whole nature of beasts and of birdes and of creeping things c. but the tongue can no man tame it is an unruly evill Pambus one without learning came to a certaine man to be taught a Psalme who when hee had hearde the first verse of the 38. Psalme I said that I will keepe my wayes that I offend not in my tongue would not suffer the next verse to be read saying this verse is ynough if I coulde practise it And when his teacher blamed him because he sawe him not of sixe moneths 〈◊〉 he answered that hee had not yet done the verse And one that knewe him many yeres after asked him whether he had yet learned the verse I am fourtie yeeres olde sayeth hee and have not yet learned to fulfill it Now then the harder it is to rule the tongue the more care is to be had therein V. The straunge judgements of God for the abuse of the tongue especially in blasphemies and perjuries are many and fearefull Three men conspired together against Narcissus Bishoppe of Hierusalem a man that ledde a godly and blamelesse life and they charged him with a most heynous crime all three confirme their accusation by othe the first wisheth if it were not so that he were burnt The second that hee might die of the jaundise the third that he might loose his eyes Afterward in processe of time the first had his house set on fire in the night and hee with all his family was burnt The second had the jaundise from the head to the sole of the foote and died thereof The third seeing what was befallen these twaine repented and confessed the conspiracie against Narcissus and yet for all that hee lost his eyes Againe In the dayes of Q. Mary as Iames Abbes was ledde by the sheriffe to execution diuers poore people stoode in the way and asked their almes he then having no money to give them did pull off all his apparell saue his shirte and gave it unto them to some one thing to some another in the giving whereof hee exhorted them to be strong in the Lorde and to stande steadfaste to the trueth of the Gospell While he was thus instructing the people a seruant of the sheriffes going by cryed out alowde and blasphemously saide Beleeue him not good people he is an heretique and a mad man out of his witte beleeue him not for it is heresie that hee saieth And as the other continued in his godly admonitions so did this wicked wretch blowe foorth his blasphemous exclamations untill they came unto the stake where he shoulde suffer But immediatly after this martyr was bounde to the stake and fire put to him such was the fearefull stroke of Gods justice upon this blasphemous railer that hee was there presently in the sight of all the people stricken with a frensie wherewith hee had before railingly charged that good martyr of God who in this furious rage and madnesse casting off his shoes and the rest of his clothes cryed out unto the people and saide thus did Iames Abbes the true servant of God who is saved but I am damned And thus ranne hee rounde about the towne of Burie still crying that Iames Abbes was a good man and saved but I am damned Againe Children sitting in companie together fell into communication of God and to reason what God was And some saide one thing some another among the rest one saide He is a good olde father to which another named Dennis Benfielde replyed with a most outragious blasphemie What he said shee is an old doting foole But shortly after this young gyrle was so stricken that all the one side of her was blacke and shee became speechlesse and died Againe One Leavâ—â— a ploughman railing said that he saw the 〈◊〉 favoured knaue Latimer when he was burned and also in despite saide that hee had teeth like an horse At which
A DIRECTION FOR THE GOVERNment of the Tongue according to Gods word PRINTED BY IOHN LEGATE Printer to the Vniversitie of Cambridge And are to be solde by Abraham Kitson at the signe of the Sunne in Pauls Church-yard in London 1593 TO THE READER CHristian Reader lamentable and fearefull is the abuse of the tongue among all sorts and degrees of men every where Hence daily arise manifold sinnes against God and innumerable scandals and grievances to our breethren It woulde make a mans heart to bleede to heare and consider how Swearing blaspheming Cursed speaking Railing Backbiting Slandering Chiding Quarrelling Contending Iesting Mocking Flattering Lying dissembling Vaine and Idle talking overflowe in all places so as men which feare God had better be any where then in the companie of most men Well then art thou a man which hast made little conscience of thy speech and talke repent seriously of this sinne and amende thy life least for the abusing of thy tongue thou crie with Dives in Hell Send Lazarus that he may dippe the tippe of his finger in water and coole my tongue And if thou be one which hast had care to order thy selfe in speech and silence according to Gods word oh doe it more For what ashame is it that men with the same tongue wherwith they confesse the faith and religion of Christ should by vaine and ungodly speech utterly denie the power thereof And for thy better helpe herein I have penned these fewe lines following concerning the Government of the tongue Vse them for thy benefite and finding profite thereby give glorie to God M.D.XCII Decemb. 12. W. Perkins OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGVE CAP. I. Of the generall meanes of ruling the tongue THE government of the tongue is a vertue pertaining to the holy usage of the tongue according to Gods worde And for the well ordering of it two things are requisite a pure heart and skill in the language of Canaan The pure heart is most necessarie because it is the fountaine of speech and if the fountaine be defiled the streames that issue thence can not be cleane And because the heart of man by nature is a bottomlesse gulfe of iniquitie two things are to be knowen first howe it must be made pure and then howe it is alwayes afterwarde to be kept pure The way to get a pure heart is this First thou must seriously examine thy life and thy conscience for all thy sinnes past then with a heavie and bleeding heart confesse them to God utterly condemning thy selfe Thirdly with deepe sighes and grones of spirite crye unto heauen to God the Father in the name of Christ for pardon I say for pardon of the same sinnes as it were for life and death and that day and night till the Lord send downe from heauen a sweete certificate into the perplexed conscience by his holy spirite that all thy sinnes are done away Nowe at the same instant in which pardon shall be graunted God likewise will once againe stretch forth that mightie hand of his whereby he made thee when thou wast not to make thee a newe creature to create a newe heart in thee to renewe a right spirite in thee and to stablish thee by his free spirite For whome he justifieth them also at the same time he sanctifieth The purified heart appeareth by these signes I. If thou feele thy selfe to be displeased at thine owne infirmities and corruptions and to droupe under them as men doe under bodily sicknesse II. If thou beginne to hate and to flie thine owne personall sinnes III. If thou feele a griefe and sorow after that thou hast offended God IIII. If thou heartily desire to abstaine from all manner of sinne V. If thou be carefull to auoid all occasions and intisements to euill VI. If thou trauell and doe thine indeauour in euery good thing VII If thou desire and pray to God to wash and rinse thine heart in the blood of Christ. When the heart is pure to keep it so is the speciall worke of faith which purifieth the heart Faith purifieth the heart by a particular applying of Christ crucified with all his merites Elisha when hee went up and lay upon the dead childe and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes upon his eies and his hands vpon his hands and stretched him selfe upon him the flesh of the childe waxed warme Afterward Elisha rose and spread him selfe upon him the second time then the child neesed seaven times and opened his eies So must a man by faith even spread himselfe upon the crosse of Christ applying hands and feete to his pearced hands and his feet and his wretched heart to Christes bleeding heart and then hee shall feele him selfe warmed by the heat of Gods spirite and sinne from daie to daie crucified with Christ and his dead heart quickened and reviued And this applying which faith maketh is done by a kinde of reasoning which faith maketh thus Hath God of his mercie given his owne Sonne to be my saviour to shed his blood for mee and hath hee of his mercie graunted unto mee the pardon of all my sinnes I will therefore endeavoure to keepe my heart and my life unblameable that I doe not offende him hereafter in worde or deede as I have done heretofore The language of Canaan is whereby a man endewed with the spirite of adoption unfainedly calleth upon the Name of God in Christ and so consequently doth as it were familiarly talke and speake with God This language must needes be learned that the tongue may be well governed For man must first be able to talke with God before he can be able wisely to talke with man For this cause when men are to have communication one with another they are first of all to be carefull that they often make their prayers to God that he would guide and blesse them in their speeches as David did Set a watch O Lorde before my mouth and keepe the dore of my lippes And againe O Lord open thou my lippes and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise where we may see that the mouth is as it were locked up frō speaking any good thing untill the Lord open it And Paul having the gift of ordering his tongue in wonderful measure yet desireth the Ephesians to pray for him that utterance might be given him and good reason because God ruleth the tongue CAP. II. Of the matter of our speech THe gouernment of the tongue containeth two parts Holy speech and holy silence In holy speech must be considered the matter of our speech and the manner The matter is commonly one of these three either God our neighbour or our selues As concerning God this caueat must be remembred that the honourable titles of his glorious Majestie be neuer taken into our mouthes unlesse it be upon a weightie and just occasion so as we may plainly see that glorie will redound to him thereby and for this cause
and the mydwives of Egypt in saving the spies and in preserving the Israelites infantes used lying and are commended for their factes Answ. They are commended for their faith not for any lying As trueth is required in speech so also reuerence to God and man Reuerence to God is when we so speak of God and use his titles that wee shew reuerence our selues and mooue reuerence in others If thou wilt not keepe saith the Lorde and doe all the wordes of this Lawe that are written in this booke and feare the glorious and fearfull Name THE LORD THY GOD then the Lorde will make thy plagues wonderfull Here take heede of all maner of blaspheming which is when men use such speeches of God as doe either detract any thing from his Majestie or ascribe any thing to him not beseeming him A sinne of all to be detested Reasons I. A blasphemer is viler then the rest of the creatures for they praise God in their kinde and shew foorth his power goodnesse and wisdome but he dishonoureth God in his wretched speech II. Hee is as the madde dogge that flyeth in his masters face who keepeth him and giueth him bread III. Custome in blasphemies sheweth a man to be the child of the deuill and no child of God as yet A father lying on his death bed called the three children to him which hee kept and tolde them that onely one of them was his owne sonne and that the rest were onely brought up by him therfore unto him hee gaue all his goods but which of these three was his naturall sonne he would not in any wise declare When hee was deade euery one of the three children pleaded that hee was the sonne and therefore that the goods were his The matter being brought before a Iudge could not be ended but the Iudge was constrained to take this course hee caused the dead corpes of the father to be set up against a tree and commaunded the three sonnes to take bowes and arrowes and to shoote against their father and to see who could come neerest the heart The first and seconde did shoote at their father and hitte him the thirde was angrie with both the other and refused to shoot This done the Iudge gaue sentence that the two first were no sonnes but the third onely and that he should haue the goods The like triall may be used to know who be Gods children Such persons with whome blaspheming is rife are very deuils incarnate and the children of the deuill who rend God in pieces and shoote him through with their dartes as it is said of the Egyptian when hee blasphemed that hee smote or pierced through Gods Name Againe here wee must be warned to take heede of that customable swearing and also of perjurie It is a very strange sinne for the perjured person doeth not onely sinne himselfe but withall he endeavoureth to intangle God in the same sinne with himselfe Further take heede least thou doest either make or recite the jestes which are contrived out of the phrases of Scripture which are very many and verie usually rehearsed in companie The oyle wherewith the tabernacle and the arke of the testament and the Priestes were annointed was holy and therefore no man might put it to any other uses as to annoint his owne flesh therewith or to make the like unto it Pilate a poore Painyme when he heard the name of the Sonne of God was afraid and we much more ought to tremble at the word of God not to make our selves merry with it And therefore the scoffing of Iulian the Apostata is very fearefull who was wont to reach Christians boxes on the eare and with all bidde them turne the other and obey their masters commandement Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheeke turne to him the other also And he denied pay and like reward to his souldiers that were Christians because he saide he would make them fitte for the kingdome of heauen considering that Christ had said Blessed are the poore in spirite for theirs is the kingdome of heaven Here also men must learne to take heed of all manner of charmes and inchauntments which commonly are nothing else but words of scripture or such like used for the curing of paines and diseases both in men and beastes As for example the first words of S. Iohns Gospell In the beginning was the Worde and the Worde was with God c. are used to be written in a paper and hung about mens neckes to cure agues But the truth is such kinde of practises are deuilish Patrones of charmes holde that in such wordes as are either diuine or barbarous is much efficacie But whence is this efficacie From God from men or from the deuill If it shall be saide from God we must knowe that the worde used in holy maner is the instrument of God to convey unto us spirituall blessings as faith regeneration repentance but it doeth not serve to bring unto us corporall health Well then belike wordes take vertue from the speaker and are made powerfull by the strength of his imagination Indeed of this opinion are some Phisitians as Avicenna and Paracelsus who thinke that phantasie is like to the sunne which worketh on all things to which his beames doe come and the latter that by imagination miracles may be wrought But this opinion is fonde and the reasons alledged for it are without weight For imaginations are no things but shadowes of things And as an image of a man in a glasse hath no power in it but only serves to resemble represent the bodie of a man so it is with the phantasie and conceit of the minde no otherwise And if imagination haue any force it is only within the spirits and humours of a mans owne bodie but to give force to worke in the bodies of others it can not no more then the shadow of one bodie can ordinarily cure the body of another on which it lighteth Wherefore words used in the way of bodily cure be they in they in them selues never so good are no better then the deuils sacraments and when they are used of blinde people he it is that comming under hand worketh the cure by turning himselfe into an Angell of light deludes them But it were better for a man to die a thousand times then to use such remedies which in curing the body destroy the soule Lastly avoid all imprecations and cursings either against men or other creatures For God in judgement to punish such cursed speaking often brings to passe such imprecations as may appeare in the Iewes who at the arraignment of Christ cryed saying His blood be upon us and upon our children which imprecation is verified upon them till this day At Newburge in Germany a certaine mother cursed her sonne saying Get thee away I would thou mightest never come againe alive the very same day he went into the water and was drowned
the brain before neesing when a man hath neesed the danger is past as learned Phisitians teach therfore there is no cause of the using such words then more then at coughing Our answeres must be soft that anger be neither kindled nor increased A soft answere putteth away wrath but grievous words stirre up anger Nabal by 〈◊〉 language provoked David to wrath but Abigail by the contrarie appeased him Gedeon spake gently to the men of Ephraim when they were angry against him and appeased them For the text saith When he had thus spoken then their spirits abated towards him Therefore Salomon saith well A joy commeth to a man by the answere of his mouth but how good is a word in due season Now if any shall raile on us our duty is not to raile againe Blesse them that persecute you Blesse I say and curse not Be curteous not rendring evill for evill neither rebuke for rebuke but contrariwise blesse knowing that ye be thereunto called that you should be heires of blessing This thing was notably practised by David Psal. 109.4 For my friendship they were mine adversaries but I gave my selfe to prayer And therefore in this case either silence is to be used or at the most onely a just and manifest defence of our innocencie to be made Ezechias commaunded the people to be silent and not to say any thing to the speech of Rabsachai now flattering now threatning When Eli spake hardly of Anna badde her put away her drunkennesse she answered Nay my lorde I am a woman troubled in spirite I have neither drunke wine nor strong drinke but have powred out my soule before the Lorde Thus Ioseph cleareth him-selfe saying I have done nothing wherefore they should put me in the dungeon And Daniel to Nabuchodonosor Vnto thee O King have I done no hurt And our Saviour Christ when the Iewes saide unto him Say wee not true that thou art a Samaritane and hast a devill answered I have not a devill but I honour my father and yee have dishonoured me And Paul beeing to make an apologie for himselfe begins thus Men and brethren I have in all good conscience served God untill this day Now when a man hath thus cleared him selfe though his owne worde in his owne behalfe take no effect yet let him patiently commit his cause to God who in time will manifest the trueth and bring it to light As David did Iudge me O God saith he for I have walked in mine innocencie And againe The wicked watcheth the righteous and seeketh to slay him but the Lorde will not leave him in his hande nor condemne him when he is judged Meekenesse in reproofes is when any shall admonish his brother of any fault for his amendment with the like moderation that Chirurgeons use who beeing to set the arme or legge that is forth of joynt handle it so tenderly that the patient shall scant feele when the bone falles in againe This counsell Paul giveth Breethren if any man be fallen by occasion into any fault ye which are spirituall restore such a one or set him in joynt againe with the spirite of meeknesse This was practised by Abraham towardes Lot when their heardmen were at variance saying Let there be I pray thee no strife betweene thee and me neither betweene mìne heardmen and thine for we are brethren And this is done foure wayes First when wee reproove a man generally as Nathan did David by a parable Secondly when in the roome of a reproofe we put an exhortation In the exhortation insinuating an oblique reproofe as when a man shall sweare in his talke I shall not need alwaies to say Yee doe verie ill to sweare and so to dishonour God But I wâ—ll lappe it up in the forme of an exhortation as pilles are lapt in sugar by saying Yea and nay yea and nay shall serue among us Rebuke not an Elder but exhort him as a father and young men as breethren saieth Paul to Timothie Thirdly when the reproofe is propounded in a mans owne person as though hee were faultie which reprooveth Paul practised this Novv these things breethren saieth hee I have figuratively applyed to mine owne selfe and Apollos for your sakes that yee might learne by us that no man presume above that which is vvritten Fourthly when the fault is directly reprooved but yet partly with prefaces that wee doe it of love that wee wish well to the partie that wee speake as considering our selves that wee also are in daunger of the same fault and partly by framing the reproofe out of the worde of God that the partie may see him-selfe rather to be reprooved by God then by us after this manner the inferiour may admonish his superiour especially when there is no other way of redresse and hee is to listen yeelding himselfe tractable Naaman is advised by his servant who said Father if the Prophet had commaunded thee a great thing wouldest thou not have done it how much rather then when he saieth to thee Wash and be cleane Then went hee downe and washed him-selfe seven times in Iordan When any shall in this manner be admonished of a fault they are to yeeld themselves tractable and thankefull and heartily glad of so good a friend Notable is the speech of the Psalmist Let the righteous smite me it is a benefite let him reproove me it is the chiefe ointment let it not be wanting to my head And Salomon saith A reproofe entreth more into him that hath understanding then an hundreth stripes into a foole And Open rebuke is better then secret love CAP. VII Of Sobrietie Vrbanitie Fidelitie and care of others good name SOBRIETIE in judgement is when a man either suspendeth his opinioÌ„ of his neighbours sayings or doings or else speaketh as charitably as he can by saying as little as may be if the thing be euill or by interpreting all in better parte if the speech or action be doubtfull Therefore doe thus despise not thy neighbour but thinke thy selfe as badde a sinner and that the like defectes may befall thee If thou canst not excuse his doing excuse his intent which may be good or if the deede be euill thinke it was done of ignorance if thou canst not no way excuse him thinke some great temptation befell him and that thou shouldest be worse if the like temptation befell thee and giue God thankes that the like as yet hath not befallen thee Despise not a man being a sinner for though he be euill to day he may turne to morrow Here is condemned all headie and rash judgement whereby men make things either worse then they are or else they take and turne all things to the worse parte Thus the deuill dealt with Iob saying Doeth Iob feare God for naught c. but stretch out thine hand now and touch all that he hath to see