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
Esa 52. 14. man and his forme more than the sonnes of men and seeing in him no forme comelinesse nor beauty that they should desire him Hee was despised and rejected of men as a man of sorrowes and acquainted with griefes and they hid as it were their faces from him hee was Esa 53. 2 3. despised and they esteemed him not as the Prophet Esay prophecied of him and in this regard he saith that hee was a worme and not a man as if hee should have said I am so vilified of my enemies by reason of my sufferings and so despised and contemned because they see no forme or beautie in mee being defaced and marred with afflictions and persecutions that they number mee not among men but esteeme me no better than a contemptible worme which is good for nothing but to be trodden under foote And that he speaketh this of his enemies false opinion and not as himselfe thought or would have others to conceive the words following doe sufficiently shew I am a worme saith he and no man areproach of men and despised of the people All they that see mee laugh me to scorne they shoote out the lippe and shake the head c. CHAP. XII Of the meanes to disswade us from Lying and first because it is an hainous sinne HAving spoken of the divers sorts of lyes §. 1. That Lying is an hainous sin proved by the Scriptures and proved that they are all sinnefull and unlawfull It now followeth according to the order which I first propounded that I set downe the meanes whereby we may be preserved from this sinne The which are of two sorts the first is to shew the dangerousnesse and desperatenesse of this disease of lying that so wee may with more earnestnesse desire to be cured and then the remedies which may further the cure For so much doe men sleight this sickenesse of the soule as though there were no danger in it yea so farre are the most in love with it so loath to leave it and so willing to live and die in this disease which in their carnall reason they finde so pleasant and profitable that in this if in any other the question of our Saviour may be well propounded to our sicke and impotent Patients wilt thou bee made whole For as those that John 5. 6. are sicke of a Lethargy delight in sleeping though it will bring assured death and being rouzed out of it by their friends are much displeased with them because they are disturbed and disquieted so is it with the most men in this case apprehending no danger and sensually feeling delight in this sickenesse they love their disease and loath the remedies That men therefore may not securely sleepe in this sinne of Lying as apprehending no danger I will first shew the greatnesse and hainousnesse of it in the sight of God and all good men that so all may be brought into a hatred and detestation of it and then prescribe some means which may strengthen us against it Concerning the former though lying were but a small sin in it selfe yet it were not small unto us if wee allow and approve it love and delight in it seeing it is joyned with presumption and impenitency neither as one saith is there any sinne so veniall which is not Augustine made criminall whilst it pleaseth and delighteth But it is not so in Gods sight how lightly soever men esteeme of it as will easily appeare by the following discourse For the Apostle Paul setting downe a Catalogue of most hainous sinners as prophane persons parricides murtherers adulterers 1 Tim. 1. 10. Sodomites men-stealers and perjur'd persons doth ranke lyars in the reare of them and the Apostle Iohn numbereth them with dogs sorcerers Apoc. 22. 15. whore-mongers and idolaters all which shall bee excluded out of the gates of the Heavenly Jerusalem And the Holy Ghost in the Hebrew tongue calleth a lye Aven which also signifieth iniquity implying that all lyes are iniquity and that all iniquity is after a sort included in a lye seeing every sinne is in this respect a lye as it is committed against the Truth of God which forbiddeth it And A lyer worse than a theefe howsoever men measuring the guilt of sinnes by their profit and disprofit doe hang up theeves and oftentimes laugh at lyars yea even reward them if they be skilfull in their Art yet is lying in it owne nature worse than theeving and a common lyar than a common theefe according to that of the sonne of Syrach A theefe is better than a man which Eccli 20. 25. is accustomed to lye and they both shall have destruction to heritage For theft is committed immediately against men but a lye against God the God of Truth and is therefore aggravated as being committed against a much more excellent Object Theft spoyleth us of our worldly goods and hurteth our estates but lying exceedeth theft in theft robbing us of a much more excellent jewell even spirituall truth which is the riches and ornament of the mind Yea it depriveth both the liar and him that hearkneth unto lies of eternall salvatiō seeing in this respect the theefe only hurteth himselfe but cannot hinder him from the fruition of blessednes whom he robbeth though he taketh from him his earthly riches Againe the Law of God appointed that the theefe should make satisfaction to him whom hee had wronged by restoring unto him sowre or five fold and so by recompence made the fault in respect of men curable but no satisfaction is appointed to bee made unto those who are wronged by lying there being for it no valuable recompence seeing they are robbed of a Jewell Prov. 23. 23. above all price Finally lying is worse than stealing as being the cause of it and the chiefe incouragement which setteth the theefe on worke to commit his sinne for if men were resolved to speake nothing but truth they would never steale seeing when they are examined they must confesse their offence and receive deserved punishment but because they hope to escape by hiding their sinne with lyes therefore they are imboldned to the committing of it And yet I have said nothing of the malignity of this sinne and sickenesse of the soule more than is in theft whereby it becommeth more contagious infecting others with its poyson for whereas in stealing the theefe himselfe onely sinneth and not he that is robbed by him in lying not onely they sinne who tell the lyes but all they likewise who delight to heare them and are too credulous in beleeving of them Yea not onely the Scriptures but even the Heathen writers Poets and Philosophers by the light §. 2. Lying condemned as a great sinne even by the Heathens of nature have in all ages condemned lying as an hainous and hatefull vice Many of whose sayings Stobaeus recordeth to this purpose One saith that he is unhappy who rather uses lies though seemingly Euripides good
bring an habite and he who often lyeth for his profit will within a while be so inured unto it that he will bee ready to lye out of meere vanity and love of lying for his pleasure and delight Yea he will be ready to lye when hee never thinketh of it and as the skilfull Musition who hath brought his hand by much practice to an habite will play his lesson when his minde is on some other matter so when by custome men are come to an habite of lying they will lye at unawares and if they bee challenged for it they are ready to lye againe by denying that they lyed In respect of which habite and custome Saint Chrysostome saith that a lyar will continue to lye even after death He that lyeth saith he being not deceived by the seduction of the Divell but willingly and of set purpose will never leave to lye no not after death for death separateth the soule from the body but doth not change the purpose of lying wilt thou know this consider those lyars even after death Lord in thy name we have done this and that Did not they know in themselves that they never loved Christ nor did his Will yes but they thinke that as in this world they have deceived men so also there that they can deceive even God himselfe and therefore hee doth not say depart from me ye that have wrought iniquity but ye that now worke it because wicked men cease not to be wicked no not after death seeing though they cannot now sin yet they retain still their purpose of sining Thirdly the lyar sinneth against his owne soule §. 4. That the Lyar robbeth himselfe of his good name and credit Eccles 7. 1. Prov. 22. 1. in that by his lying hee robbeth himselfe of a most precious jewell even of a good name which is better than a precious oyntment and much to be preferred before great riches for a poore man being true and honest is better than alyar though never so rich Prov. 19. 22. as the wise man telleth us Neither is it possible that a man should hold his reputation when hee hath by lying lost all opinion of his truth but his words are esteemed no better than winde and if there be no clearer evidence for what he saith then his bare word hee is no more beleeved when hee speaketh truth than when he lyeth according to that of the sonne of Syrach Of an uncleane thing what Eccli 34. 4. can be cleansed and from that which is false what truth can come Now what greater mischiefe can befall a man in this life than to live infamous what greater losse than to loose a good name And when it is once lost what can againe bee more hardly recovered If wee loose our riches by labour and industry we may recover them If wee loose our health by physicke and good dyet it may be regained If our bodies be sore wounded they may be cured but if we once loose our fame and have woundes inflicted into our good names and reputation they hardly admit of any cure or if the wound bee healed there will ever after remaine a scarre But there is no more ready way to bring this evill of dishonour upon us than to bee accounted common lyars for as the son of Syrach telleth us The disposition of a lyar is dishonourable and Eccli 20. 26. his shame is ever with him And the wise man teacheth us the same lesson A righteous man saith hee hateth lying but the wicked man that is as the antithesis Prov. 13. 5. inferreth such an one as loveth lyes is loathsome and commeth to shame Neither can there in common repute a greater shame befall a man than to bee esteemed and called a lyar whereof it is that the very name is so much abhorred in all Nations and amongst all conditions of Men yea even those that make no conscience of committing the sinne that by a certaine kinde of propriety or eminency it is called the word of disgrace and no greater injury or affront can be offered unto them than that any upon any cause yea even when they deserve it shall give them the lye Although I thinke that our great gallants doe not take the word so much to heart because their truth is questioned and impeached for then they would hate the vice it selfe as much as the name as because it toucheth them in their valour and courage seeing lying is a base and cowardly vice into which men oftentimes fall out of meere feare and because they dare not speake or stand to the truth Fourthly this vice of lying maketh us odious §. 5. That lyes make men odious unto God and men both to God and men First God abhorreth lyars and hateth lyes because they are contrary to his Nature and to his Law and not onely very sinfull in themselves but also the causes of much wickednesse And therefore Salomon numbreth it amongst those seaven abominations which God abhorreth A proude looke a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent Prov. 6. 17. Prov. 12. 22. blood And againe lying lippes are an abomination to the Lord but they that deale truly are his delight And wisedome even that eternall Word and Wisedome of the Father his onely deare Sonne professeth that his mouth should speake truth and that Prov. 8. 7. wickednesse that is the iniquity of lying as the antithesis sheweth is an abomination to his lippes now how odious ought this vice to be unto us that maketh us odious unto God and how ought we to love and imbrace Truth which God so much loveth according to that of Ieremy O Lord are not Jer. 5. 3. thine eyes upon the Truth namely to approve love and reward it for he loveth Truth and desireth it above all things in the inward parts as the Psalmist Zech. 8. 19. speaketh And who would not love that which God loveth and embrace and delight in that in which God delighteth and will reward Secondly it maketh lyars odious unto men as being a dishonest and dishonourable vice reprehended and condemned of all as unworthy an ingenuous civill man and much more a Christian who professeth himselfe a servant and childe of the God of Truth But especially it is hurtfull to those that feare God and love his truth and maketh those that make and love lyes odious in their eyes according to that of the wise Salomon A righteous man hateth lying but Prov. 13. 5. a wicked man that is a wicked lyar is loathsome and commeth to shame An example whereof wee have in David I have saith hee hated them that regard Psal 31. 5. lying vanities And againe I hate and abhorre lying Psal 119. 163. but thy Law doe I love Yea hee maketh this a note and signe of a blessed man that hee dis-respecteth lyars Blessed is the man saith he that respecteth not Psal 40. 4. the proud nor such as turne aside to lyes