III. Declare the Instances wherein it is to be exercised in the Tradesman's Calling IV. Make some Application of it I. Concerning the Nature of Truth I willingly let pass many Notions and Distinctions of the School-men And shall only take notice 1. That there is a Truth of Things whereby they are agreeable to that Idea according to which they were fram'd 2. A Truth of Apprechensions whereby we think know or believe of things according to their true Nature 3. A Truth of Expressions whereby we speak of things according to what we think know or believe Now when our Apprehensions of things are not right that 's Error or Mistake which is a Fault and Sin in us if it be about things which we ought to know or pretend to know As for Example when you conceive that such a Commodity which by your Calling you should have Knowledg in is good when indeed it is not But then when our Expressions agree not with our Apprehensions That 's a Lie and is a far greater fault because it 's voluntary So that every Mistake is not a Lie every concealing the Truth is not a Lie every doubtful Speech is not a Lie every Parable or Fable such as That Judg. 9. is not a Lie every rehearsing of a Lie is not a Lie though a Man may so rehearse it as to make it his own But a Lie is the voluntary falsifying of the Truth and it is aggravated when it is joyned with an intent to deceive Truth is like the Sun a Lie is the eclipse of it it puts out the Eye of Truth But of this afterward At the present this is sufficient That every Man in his Calling should judge of things as they are and should when he is called to it speak of them according to such his Judgment and this is called Veracity whereby a Man speaketh the Truth in his Heart as it is Psal 15. 2. neither adds nor diminishes neither depreciates a Commodity or puts Colours upon it will neither affirm a thing or deny it when he knows the contrary and this he doth out of Conscience to God and out of Love to Truth And this is sufficient for the Description of it II. Every Mans Obligations to this result 1. From the Light of Nature by which it is evident that the Tongue and Faculty of Speech is given to Man whereby to express and signify his Mind to others so that he that is dumb in Speech is better than he that deceives with it As the design of a Clock or Watch is to be a true measure of Time and to keep its just pace with the Sun but being false in this were better to be laid aside that to deceive you better to lie in your Desk than tell you a Lie in your Pocket The design and honour of the Tongue is to speak truly so that it is reported of the very Indians that in case they be convinced of a Lie they will in revenge draw Blood of their own Tongues Hence it is that even natural Conscience doth so strongly support a Man when he speaks Truth no Frowns can daunt him and on the contrary he that falsifies the Truth if Conscience be not utterly sear'd is pinch'd within even natural Conscience stings him tho no body can accuse him and then if he be detected intolerable is that Shame that covers him 2. By the Light of Scripture Which doth constantly command Sincerity and Truth and forbid the contrary Zech. 8. 16. These are the things that ye shall do Speak ye every Man Truth to his Neighbour It describes a good Man by his Veracity Prov. 13. 5. A righteous Man hateth Lying Urgeth it with most pregnant Reasons Ephes 4. 25. Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man no Man no not the Tradesman excepted Truth with his Neighbour for we are Members one of another Where the Apostle ushers in his Exhortation with one strong Reason couch'd in the Illative Wherefore which shews that this is an Inference from the foregoing Verses q. d. You have put off the old Man with his Deeds All of you professedly all true Christians really It is ridiculous and shameful for him that is invested with new Robes to retain any one foul Rag upon him And ye have put on the new Man after the Image of Christ who is Truth and so it is fit that all his Members be in the same Livery And then he backs his Exhortation with another Reason We are Members one of another Now every Man will be true to himself will never go about willingly to deceive himself It were a monstrous thing for one Member of the Body to go about to impose upon another Now we are all of us Members of one another 1. As Men. Adam was the Root we all are the Branches 2. As Christians and so we are all one in Christ Jesus our Religion doth knit us closer together than all other Ligaments in the World 1 Cor. 12. 25 27. The Members should have the same care one for another Now ye are the Body of Christ and Members in particular So that in deceiving any of the Members you affront the Head In short unless ye be true Men ye can be no true Christians a salse Man and a true Saint is a Contradiction Thus you see that the Scripture is direct for speaking Truth it doth indeed relate divers Untruths spoken by others both good men and bad but it never justifies them The Narration of such Faults of pious Men is a strong Argument of the Sincerity of the Scripture and that it no way excuses them of its Sanctity In which case Augustine charitably concludes that God accepted in Rahab and the Midwives c. Fidem mentis and pardon'd to them fallaciam mentientis In a word we own and worship a true God we profess a true Religion we pursue a true Happiness by all which we are obliged to all manner of Truth in Heart in Lip in Life 3. This Veracity is demonstrable by the Light of sound Reason that even those that care not for the Scripture may be convinced of the necessity of it unles they will not only renounce Divinity but Humanity also For 1. There is Equity in it Every Man would be truly dealt with No Man would be content that his Wife Children or Servants should deny the Truth or feed him with Lies Which of you chuses to have any thing to do with those whom you cannot believe Now is it not very equal that you should alway speak the Truth that do desire always to hear others speak it Is it reasonable that other Folks should live by one Rule and you by another That Truth should be eligible by all others and not by you This Veracity and Justice are so conjunct that he cannot be just in his Dealings that is false in his Words For the same Law that commands us to do by others as we would be done unto equally obliges us to speak in our Commerce to
them as we would be spoken to 2. There is Commodity in it This Veracity is so commodious yea so necessary among Men that all Civil Society is dissolv'd without it For all Transactions and Commerce between Man and Man do lean upon this Fundamental Point That one Man may believe another now if Men do not constantly speak the Truth how can they be believ'd thus all human Conversation is shaken Now Reason it self must needs enter an Action against any Course that overthrows the good of Mankind and it were endless to transcribe the pithy Expressions of divers of the Heathens in the praise of Truth and Veracity and in defiance of the contrary 3. There in Ingenuity in it There is a certain bravery of Spirit and true Courage in speaking the Truth and a real cowardize in blanching and denying it It is only some worldly Hopes or sordid Fear that doth biass the Tongue from its true Office which is to be an Interpreter of the Mind Let no Man that trades in Lies pretend to Generosity Hence all noble Spirits are so sensible of the Imputation that they will presently answer the Lie given them with their Sword which tho neither true Fortitude nor Piety can ever justify yet such their Sensibleness proves how ingenuous a thing it is to speak the Truth and how base a thing to pervert it 4. There is Policy in speaking the Truth honost Policy for every Man should by all good means maintain and promote his Credit This is the only way to make a Man credible Who will believe one who he knows is accustomed to derogate from the Truth Such a Person shall not be believed when he speaks never so truly He that is punctual in his Words shall bebelieved in doubtful things when the other will be suspected in certain things Among the very Turks the word of a Mahometan spoken on the Faith of a Mussulman weighs against all Contradiction And therefore setting aside the Scripture there 's great reason for this Veracity unless ye are content to be esteem'd profligate Wretches who neither value the esteem of God or Man Such Persons will find in the issue when they have affrighted all that know them from dealing with them that Honesty is the best Policy and that the Reputation of fair dealing within is better than the fairest Sign they can hang out Three Objections are usually made against all this Object That the Examples of others doth incourage us sometimes to spare the Truth We read of many in the Scripture that have trip'd in this kind Abraham himself and Isaac Rahab David and such like And we daily see it done by thousands and surely then we may venture upon it as well as they Answ That some holy Persons have been guilty this way cannot be denied but it is observable that it was generally for Fear never for Gain So Abraham David Rahab c. Again It is God's Word and not good Men's Examples which we are to be guided and judged by You can produce the instances of their Sins but you know not the bitterness of their Repentance Again when you are mustering up Scripture-Examples omit not that Lie of Ananias and Saphira Acts 5. 8. which cost them both their Lives Tell me saith Peter whether ye sold the Land for so much and she said Yea for so much and never spake another word And then for the commonness of this Sin by others it is an Objection to be answered with Tears it is too frequent which is an Aggravation of the Fault and so far enough from excusing it We are taught other Doctrine out of the Scripture of Truth Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil But if you will needs do as the most do you must resolve to go where most do go and where all Liars are tormented for ever Object 2. The smallness of the Sin excuses us Lying is not Swearing nor Killing or Stealing there can be no great hurt in it for we do no great hurt by it Answ 1. Let the Sin be never so little the Image and Superscription of the Devil is upon it For he is a Liar and the Father of it Joh. 8. 44. 2. If it were so small a Sin as you pretend pray how many little Rents can you be content to be made in your Garments how many little Motes will any of you rest with in your Eye how many little Wounds will you brook in your Flesh and should we be more tender of every thing than of the precious Soul Besides let me tell you 3. That a little Sin allow'd justified and pleaded for is more intolerable than a greater Sin that 's disallow'd and disown'd But lastly this Sin is not so small as you make it For as it renders a Man most unlike to God whose grand Attribute is Truth So it is rank'd among those Sins which he is said particularly to hate Prov. 6. 16. A proud Look alying Tongue and there is so much Atheisin and Hypocrisy included in a Lie that all Liars are rank'd with Murderers Sorcerers and Idolaters and lodged with them in the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone for ever Rev. 21. 8. Object 3. Necessity compells us to it We can neither buy nor sell without somewhat of it neither will People believe us when we speak never so truly and so we are forc'd to lie there is no trading or at least no gaining a sufficient Livelihood without it Answ 1. There is no lawful Calling but may be followed with Truth and with a good Conscience they that plead the contrary do tacitly make the holy God to be the Author of Sin an Inference to be abhor'd as much as he abhors the thing it self Nothing can make Sin needful Peter's Lie to save his Life did not justify it he wept bitterly for it And if it were a Crime to lie to save his Life can the pretence of a Livelihood excuse you in it Cursed is that Trade that cannot be followed without Sin But your case is otherwise How many consciencious Persons are there in your very Trades that had rather die than lie If People will not believe you when you tell the Truth much less will they when you tell Lies Besure whatsoever is gotten by your lying is cursed Gain Prov. 21. 6. The getting of Treasures by a lying Tongue is a Vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek Death They that seek Death and Destruction in this course are sure to find it III. I come now in the Third Place to declare how this Veracity should be exercised by the Tradesman And that we may not strain this Duty too far you may know that he is not obliged hereby imprudently to declare always all the Truth he knows and consequently to discover either the just Price that his Commodity cost him nor any other Circumstance which would make to his Disadvantage For though you are bound never to speak a Falshood yet you are not bound
and another to Elisha and got the Prize but he got the Curse of Leprosy with it let him be a Pillar of Salt to you If you value your External Credit if you value your Internal Comfort if you value your Eternal Happiness buy the Truth and sell it not and banish away those lying Lips You dare not swear you think and that truly that swearing is an heinous Sin but lying it 's a Peccadillo a venial matter but deceive not your selves For Rev. 22. 15. without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie Behold the Company that Liars are found in and the Place whither they are cast And tho among Sins there is no best yet there is a bad and a worse and Lying is justly reckon'd among the very worst of Sins he must have a great measure of Atheism and very little Life in his Conscience that can indulge himself in this Trade yea it is worse than Swearing in some respects Therein you offend God and hurt your selves but herein you offend God hurt your own Souls and injure your Neighbour also If all this cannot stop your lying Tongues behold shortly that shall come to pass which is written Psal 63. 11. The Mouth of them that speak Lies shall be stopped 3. I exhort you in God's Name and Behalf to speak Truth every Man with his Neighbour seeing you are Members one of another Let your Words be a true Copy of your Meaning Do not row one way and look another speak one thing and think another The People whom God will save are Children that will not lie Isa 63. 8. What Man is he that desireth Life keep thy Tongue from evil and thy Lips from speaking Guile Psal 34. 12 13. Study and practise it your selves recommend it to your Children charge it upon your Apprencices If you permit them to lie to your Advantage they will not scruple to lie to your Prejudice No let Justice and Truth have both of them a place behind your Counters let them rule in the Shop let them accompany you to the Exchange so shall you find Favour and good Understanding in the sight of God and Man When Agur had but two things to ask of God this was one of them Prov. 30. 7 8. Remove far from me Vanity and Lies and then will God give you the other thing which he requested that is he will find you with Food convenient for you To this end 1. Labour for the true Faith and Fear of God So you will set the Lord always before you and then sure you dare not utter an Untruth This will make you say with holy Paul 2 Cor. 11. 31. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which is blessed for evermore knoweth that I lie not Few that will dare to speak an Untruth if they know that a stander-by is able to disprove them If you had but one dram of Faith or Fear actually stirring in your Hearts you durst not you could not speak a false thing He always sees tho he be oft unseen He is not far from every one of us How can you lift up your Faces to him in Prayer at Night when you have so affronted his Truth and Omniscience in the Day Assure your selves that the God of Truth will never bless either a Lie or a Liar Learn that Lesson Prov. 23. 17. Let not thy Heart envy or imitate so it may be rendred Sinners they 'l go their own way but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long Place thy self always before him and believe every place to be filled with God 2. Get and keep a truly tender Conscience This is God's Substitute and being in our Bosoms is at hand to smite when the Tongue trips even natural Conscience would go far in this matter The wise God hath placed Conscience and Shame in us for the bridling of Sin and of this Sin in particular Conscience that stands in awe of God and Shame that stands in fear of Man and when these Bridles are broken by the strength and custom of Sin Man grows the most profligate and abominable Creature in the World But unsanctified Consciences are very often either void of Sense or full of Rage they are either slumbring with Security or roaring with Horror A renewed Conscience is the great Preservative which having smarted for Sin is tender at the approach of it again and so dare not come nigh any of the Avenues of Sin In the Body the Hand can endure a Blow the Eye cannot endure a Mote the tenderness of the part cannot bear it Conscience is the Eye of the Soul it is Index Judex Vindex And therefore beware of baffling or of bribing your own Consciences If they may not speak they will write and write bitter things And some Care must be used tothis end you must with that holy Apostle Act. 24. 16. Exercise your selves herein to have always a Conscience void of Offence toward God and toward Men. 3. And lastly You must Love your Neighbour as your selves Delicatares est amor we are impatient of any Injury done to those whom we love It is base Self-love that begins and ends at home No he that rightly loves himself truly loves his Neighbour And every Man is our Neighbour O the Excellency of our Religion It teaches us to be sober righteous and godly here as well as how to be happy hereafter It teaches us to be wise and yet upright Nature teaches us to love our selves but Grace teaches us to love our Neighbour as our selves and what Man ever told a known Falshood to himself But whither is this lovely Grace fled and gone Of old the Christians Occultis se notis nôrunt amant mutuò penè antequam noverint as Min. Faelix observes but now it is not so Let every Man revive this noble Grace in his own Heart Let all Tradesmen walk according to this Rule you are supported by others be willing that others be supported by you you that expect plain dealing use it And if you have any true Love to God or to your Neighbour or to your own Souls putting away Lying speak every Man Truth with his Neighbour for we are Members one of another SECT 5. Of Contentedness in a Trade A Fifth Requisite to the right managing of your Trades is Contentedness This the Apostle aims at in that Exhortation 1 Cor. 7. 20. Let every Man abide in the same Calling wherein he was called For it seems that some raw Christians had a conceit that the Christian Religion dissolv'd all precedent Obligations that the believing Wife was ipso facto released from her Infidel Husband that it was unlawful and unreasonable for a Christian Servant to continue in his outward Servitude And the Servants by the Jewish and Roman Laws were in such Slavery that Flesh and Blood was glad of such an occasion for Liberty Now to rectify this Mistake says the Apostle Let
always to blurt out all the Truth except when you are by the Magistrate lawfully called thereunto No Man is obliged to reveal the Mysteries of his Calling nor to tell where or how he is furnish'd with such a Commodity nor where his Customer may be sped at a cheape rate Yet herein you must be govern'd by that Royal Law Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self and you are to answer others in all such cases as you should desire to be answered your self And prefer a greater and common Good before a lesser private Advantage as the Law of Nature taught that Heathen to judg that the Mariner who having got the start of other Ships which were carrying Corn to a distressed Island should scorn to make Advantage of the poor Peoples Ignorance and Indigence but plainly tell them of the Supplies that were coming towards them In other Cases tho a Tradesman may not lie upon the Catch to defraud his Brother yet he may stand upon his Guard and not betray or prejudice himself 1. The Tradesman's Veracity then consists In not concealing from your Customer that Truth which by the Law of Equity or Charity you ought to tell him If you know any secret considerable Fault in your Commodity it is not sufficient that you make what Abatement you think fit for it but you ought to discover it to him for he may and perhaps upon good Reasons set a greater value upon that defect than you do and be far more prejudic'd by it than your Abatement comes to Or if you know any other cause whereby you may be reasonably assured that the Bargain will turn considerably to his Prejudice and the forbearing of it will not be an equal Prejudice to you the Law of Justice and Charity obliges you to give him warning of it By the same Rule you ought not to pay to any Man that Coyn which is not currant especially to him that confides in your Sincerity but fairly tell him your Suspicion of it for otherwise you do not indeed pay him the Sum for which you did agree In all such cases you would take it well and reckon it for great Integrity to be advertis'd your selves and then it must needs be highly commendable in you to advertise your Neighbour Say not that you only do herein as you were done by you were deceived in the Coyn or Commodity by others and therefore may now do the like For you must not deal with others as you are but as ye would be dealt with and you will find it an unsound Conclusion at last to deceive an honest Man because you have been deceived by a Knave 2. This Truth and Veracity is shewed in shunning all unjust Commendations of your Commodities If you do this ignorantly thinking them to equalize your Praises when indeed they do not you offend in a culpable Mistake because you ought to know the real Goodness of your own Commodity or to hesitate about it if it be dubious to you But if you extol that which you know is not praise-worthy or above that which you know it deserves it is then a notorious Offence against Justice Charity and Truth Thus to affirm that a Commodity is new or of the newest Fashion when it is old that it is the best in Town when you know there is better To cry up this Book meerly because you printed it or this Edition because you would gladly sell it when you know the intrinsick Goodness of the thing doth not answer it are all Trespasses against that Veracity and Truth which should be currant between Man and Man 3. This Veracity will teach the Tradesman To avoid all unjust Disparagements of a Commodity Thus we read Prov. 20. 14. The Buyer saith it is naught it is naught but whon he goeth away he boasteth But the Gain you reap by such Artifices will not ballance the Guilt you contract by such double dealing Forge not therefore any causless Exceptions for your own Conscience must needs if you have any left give the Lie to your Tongue Things which are manifestly good allow them their due Commendations otherwise you will more disparage your own Judgment or your Sincerity than the thingâ— themselves Things that are evidently faulty you may plainly but withal modestly mention their Defects But be not too confident of whaâ— is doubtful but make use of due Caution in respect of your selves and the like due Charity iâ— respect of your Neighbour Ruin not his Credit because he hath sometimes a Commodity which will not pass the muster nor aggravate a Defect above Demerit of it for that savours of Spite and Uncharitableness You may think that your Tongues are your own and being voluble by them you can enhanse or depress what you please but all this is but a sort of Cheating which the less it falls under the Cognizance of Man's Law the more it is obnoxious to the Justice of God 4. This Veracity of the Tradasman consists In abhorring to affirm or say what is Untruth either about the Kind or Price of his Commodity This is so plain a case that one would think none so base and wicked as to offend herein But daily Experience proves that this is too usual To pretend a Commodity is of one Kind or Country and it is of another that it is faultless when you strive only to cover them to affirm that the Beast is sound when he is lame that the Manufacture is of such an excellent Artist's Work when it is not that is cost you two Shillings when it never did that you cannot afford it under such a Price when your own Conscience doth or may tell you that you can that you have refused so much for it when it was never offered you that you never sold it at such a low rate when you know that you have These and all such like Affirmations are directly against Truth and Veracity and you have strongly stupified and imposed upon your own Conscience that dare trade with these Falsities Does not the God of Truth stand by you and hear every Word and may not he justly how soon you know not cram these Lies down your Throats and choak you with them Well his Forbearance is no Acquittance If for every Lie your Tongue were boar'd through with an hot Iron would you be so brisk with them Alas without a sound Repentance a far greater Torment is prepared for you Resolve therefore if Truth will not maintain you Falshood never shall An Estate gotten by Deceit will deceive him that gets it And the Wise Man hath determined That a poor Man is better than a Liar Prov. 19. 22. 5. This Veracity is to be shewed by the Tradesman In forbearing all Equivocations and disguises in his Transactions For as you have heard the end of Speech is to notify your Minds to others when therefore it is clouded with Ambiguities purposely to deceive another the end is frustrate and your Neighbour unjustly imposed upon 'T is
true a Man as above is not bound always to impart all he knows Prov. 29. 11. A Fool uttereth all his Mind but a wise Man keepeth it in till afterwards But he is never permitted to deal in mental Reservations and Equivocations whereby to deceive his Neighbour which are nothing else but painted Lies Your ambiguous Words are in one Sense true it may be but in another false and you present them to him in one Sense and keep them to your selves in other or perhaps you will speak out so much as may deceive another and reserve so much in you own Mind as were it added to the rest would contradict what you have said Now these as they are equally injurious with downright Lies to them with whom you deal so they are equally abhorred and avoided by the upright Tradesman For as a Thief disguis'd is fully as dangerous as bare-fac'd so all such sophistical trafficking is as destructive to Justice and Honesty as plainer Falshoods The upright Tradesman tho he should be a wise Man yet he is a plain Man he will speak as he thinks and do as he speaks It savours strong of Knavery when a Man's Speech is like Apollo's Oracles which may be understood either in a fair or in a fatal Sense Would any of you be so trapan'd or be pleased with such double-dealings why then renounce such dealing your selves Be Israelites indeed in whom there is no gule 6. The Veracity in the Tradesman extends to the Restraining the multiplicity of Words The Scripture doth every where condemn a multitude of Words and saith Prov. 10. 19. In the multitude of Words there wanteth not Sin but he that refraineth his Lips is wise And Eccles 5. 3. That a Fools Voice is known by multitude of Words Yea Prov. 29. 20. Seest thou a Man that is hasty in his Words there is more hope of a Fool than of him And on the contrary Prov. 17. 27. He that is wise spareth his Words And yet what a flood of Words are commonly poured out about the smallest Traffick Amongst which there must needs be many vain and unprofitable The Seller commonly asking unreasonably high while the Buyer doth as commonly bid unreasonably low and a long ado ere they can come near one another Yea oftentimes he that sells shall peremptorily affirm he will take no less than he hath spoken and he that is buying as possitively concluding that he will give no more than he hath offered and yet both of them shall recede from their Words ere they have done Now tho I cannot say that every altering of a Man's Price either in the Seller or the Buyer is a Lie for you have heard that a Lie is a falsifying the Truth with an Intention to deceive whereas this when it is justifiable is only to ask too much that the Chapman may give just enough or only to bid too little that the Tradesman may not have too much iniquum petere ut aequum ferat Yet great Caution must herein be used lest you take an unjust Price as well as ask it or at least occasion others to think you do so but as our Saviour saith in a like case Mat. 5. 37. Let your Communication be yea yea nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil So certainly these Methods proceed from that Injustice which Men either have in themselves or suspect to be in others or else why might not any such Traffick be dispatch'd in two Words as well as in two hundreds And this shews how far we are degenerated from the Primitive Simplicity for there in one Verse Gen. 23. 15. Ephron saith The Land is worth four hundred Shekels of Silver and in the next Verse Abraham weighed to Ephron the Silver without more ado The like in the case of Boaz of David and Araunah of Jeremiah and Hanameel And you will find that frequent recedings from your Word will indanger to forfeit your Credibility and it were much better and easier for Men to be at a word in their Bargains unless upon a stricter Observation of the Commodity there is visible cause to alter it Say not there is no trading without this Custom for we see that de facto considerable trading is dispatch'd by divers Persons without either many Prices or many Words which shews that the thing is possible and surely should be endeavoured by all discreet and consciencious Persons IV. And here let us make Application of this Point 1. Let all Tradesmen reflect upon and take due Cognizance of their own Behaviour in this matter Have you in the foresaid Particulars liv'd in all good Conscience to this day Have you always spoken the Truth in your Hearts Have you been cunning Hunters as Esau or plain Men as Jacob have you set a watch before the Door of your Lips and kept your Mouth with a Bridle have you never made Lies your Refuge nor affirm'd any thing which your Consciences have contradicted O judg your selves that ye may not be judged of the Lord Erect a just Tribunal in your own Breasts and call over your Behaviour in your several Callings let matters have a fair Trial and pronounce righteous Judgment And if you find your selves faulty make your Atonement with God and make what possible Amends you can to those that have been deceived by you Make true Confessions of your false Equivocations and rest not till you have obtain'd Pardon through the Blood of Jesus Christ 2. I am authoriz'd from this Point to speak Reproof and Terror to all those Tradesmen that do love or make a Lie There are too many that care not what they say so that they may gain by it affirm any thing deny any thing cloud colour equivocate deny their own Words contradict themselves and their Consciences prostitute their Credits cheat and injure their Brethren and all this to get that Wealth from which they may be rent or it rent from them in a moment Is this Wisdom Is this Religion Is it Morality No none of them This is to burn your Fingers to save yours Snuffers to suffer your Heads to be broken to spare your Helmet It is to over-reach your selves They that observe lying Vanities for sake their own Mercy 'T is ten to one that this course will disappoint you in this World You will at length be detected and shun'd of all Men Prov. 12. 19. The Lip of Truth shall be estabishled for ever but a lying Tongue is but for a moment God may justly pronounce your Fate like Moabs Jer. 48. 30. His Lies shall not so effect it But if he please in Judgment to prosper a lying Tongue and that you grow rich thereby yet a heavy Curse is intail'd upon your Estates They will be means to feed your or your Posterities Sins in this World and to sink your Souls into endless Misery in another Behold Gehazi 2 Kings 5. His Heart was set upon Money no matter how he got it he makes one Lie to Naaman