that he ever laughed. But if you will well attend to it, there is no great Force in this. Doth it therefore follow, that becaufe no Mention is made of our Saviour's laughing, that therefore he never laughed? We may, by the fame Logick, conclude, that he never went to Bed, because we find no Mention of it in the holy Scriptures. But in truth, from the Character that is given of our Saviour in Scripture, one would rather believe the contrary to this was true, and that he was not fo fullen and morofe a Perfon, as this Objection would represent him; but rather that he was a Man of great Benignity, and Pleafantnefs, and Sociablenefs in his Converfation, witness his frequent vouchfafing his Prefence at Feafts and Entertainments; infomuch, as he himself tells us, that whereas John the Baptift was accufed to have a Devil (that is, to be a difturbed Hypochondriack) upon Account of his Refervednefs, he, our Saviour, went under the ChaMatt. 11. racter of a Glutton or a Wine-bibber, upon 18, 19. Account of the Freedom of his Conversation.

Having premised these two Things, I now come to confider the Texts themselves; and I fhall give an Account of them one by one.

First, And I begin with that of our Saviour's in Matt. xii. 36. I say unto you, that every idle Word that Men fhall Speak, they

fball

We

fhall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. The Difficulty here is to know what our Lord means by idle Words. commonly think, as I faid,every unprofitable Word, that doth not tend to fome serious Purpose, is an idle Word. But I believe, upon Examination, it will be found, that the go pua, the idle Word here fpoken of, hath a quite different Senfe. The true Way to know our Saviour's Meaning, is to look back to what goes before, to attend to the Occafion upon which he spoke these Words, and the Scope and Design he had in fpeaking of them. Now it is plain, that our Saviour is here treating about that which we commonly call the Sin against the Holy Ghoft. The Pharifees had faid, This Fellow doth not caft out Devils but v. 24. by Beelzebub the Prince of Devils. Our Saviour takes notice of this Saying of theirs, and first of all, by clear Arguments and Demonftrations, fhews, that this was a mere Calumny, a mere Slander of theirs. And that it was impoffible, all Things confider'd, that he should caft out Devils, and do his other Miracles by any other Power than the Spirit of God. And this is the Effect of all his Difcourfe in the next fix Verfes, viz. from the 24th to the 31st. He then comes, in the fecond Place, to declare against the Greatnefs and Danger of the Sin they were guilty of, in thus maliciously traducing his Miracles, and faying that he

Y 3

did

And

did them by the Power of the Devil. V. 31. this he doth in the two next Verfes, I fay unto you, that all manner of Sin and Blafphemy (vis. all manner of Calumny and Slander) fhall be forgiven unto Men, but the Blafphemy (the Calumny and Slander) against the Holy Ghost fhall not be forgiven y. 32. unto Men. Further, Whofoever, says he, Speaketh a Word against the Son of Man (that is, againft Jefus Chrift, as to his perfonal Qualifications, as for Inftance, calling him a Glutton or a Wine-bibber) it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever (peaketh against the Holy Ghoft (viz. whofoever blafphemes the Miracles that I do by the Power of the Holy Spirit of God, and attributes them to the Devil, this Blafphemy and Calumny is of fo high a Nature, that) it shall never be forgiven him, neither in this World, nor in the other. After this he goes on in the three next Verfes, further to vindicate his Miracles from thofe Afperfions, and to declare against their horrible Hypocrify in thus flandering them. And then in the next Verfe come in these Words I am now fpeaking of, But I fay unto you, that every idle Word that Men fhall fpeak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. Thus come in the Words, upon this Occafion, and in Purfuance of the former Difcourfe. I will now appeal to any one, who knows any thing of the Laws of Difcourfe, whether it be not plain, that our

Saviour

Saviour in this Expreffion of his, of giving Account at the Day of Judgment for idle Words, hath not Reference to fuch kind of Words, as he had all this while been talking of; viz. fuch Words as the Pharifees fpoke, when they faid that he cast out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of De-.

vils. Certainly this is as evident from the Connexion of one Part of our Saviour's Difcourfe with the reft, as any thing can be. And if we will not make our Saviour to speak inconfiftently, and to talk against the Rules of Talking, we must acknowledge, that the Words which he here calls idle Words, muft be fuch falfe, malicious, flanderous Words, as he hath all this time been reproving the Pharifees for.

Well; but it will be faid, that this Account of the Text doth indeed fuit very well with the Occafion, and with the Context; but yet it feems not to fuit with the Terms here ufed. Our Saviour doth not fay, that for every Slander or Calumny that Men shall speak, they fhall give Account, but for every idle Word they fhall Speak. To this I answer, that if the Sense of idle Words, in the Language that our Saviour spoke, muft neceffarily have been the fame with the Senfe of idle Words in our Language, this would be a confiderable Objection. But it is plain it is not fo. Idle Words in the Jewish Language, do often import a great deal more than useless Y 4 and

7.

and unprofitable Words, viz. falfe and lying Words. To give a few Inftances of this:

We are forbid in the third Commandment, Exod. 20. to take the Name of God idly, or in vain. (for it is indifferent which of these Ways we render the Hebrew Word) But now the Senfe of that (as our Saviour himself expounds it) is, thou shalt not take God's Mat. 5.33. Name into thy Mouth falfely, thou shalt not forfwear thyself. And thus in the Book of Proverbs, idle Words are made to be the fame thing with lying Words. And thus c. 5. v. 6. likewife in the Epiftle to the Ephefians, Let no Man deceive you with vain or idle Words. The plain Senfe is, Let no Man deceive you with falfe or lying Words. And thus in the Old Testament, where the Gods of the Heathens are called vain or idle Gods, the Senfe is, that they are falfe Gods. So that in the very Nature of the Expreffion, a great deal more may be imported in the Term of idle Words, than barely useless, unprofitable, unedifying Words.

And

where the Scope and Defign of the Dif courfe carries it to more (as it doth plainly here) more undoubtedly is to be underftood by that Term. The Sum of this Point is this, the idle Words which we fhall give account for, are falfe and flanderous Words; or, if you will, any fort of Words which favour of a corrupt Communication, any Words that violate the Laws of Mo

rality

But by no means fuch Words as

are