The works of the Rev. Isaac Watts, D. D. in nine volumes (volume 1 of 9)

When we are ever so well informed in the nature of our duty, we still want arguments to make our consciences feel the obligation. Flesh and blood are frail and sinful; grace is feeble and imperfect in the present state; temptations surround us in this lower world, and are ever ready to allure or affright us from the paths of holiness: we have need therefore of powerful motives to enforce every duty upon our practice.

In the first discourse on this subject, we have heard the nature and extent of that truth or sincerity which the gospel requires. In the second we have considered what obligations are discovered by the light of nature to be faithful, upright and constant in our words and our ways; and what additional motives the religion of Christ has furnished us with, to practise the same virtues; and may the good spirit of God make our souls feel the power of them! But nature is dark, as well as feeble. We are unskilful in the matters of holiness, and know not how to secure our virtue, and to guard ourselves from temptation to the contrary vice, unless we are informed by particular directions. I begun this work at the end of the last discourse. And as truth was divided into three parts, viz. veracity, faithfulness, and constancy; so I proposed to give special rules for the preservation of each of them.

The directions to preserve our veracity, were these:

1. Be well persuaded in your minds, that a known and wilful lie is utterly unlawful: Let your heart be established in this doctrine; for a slight conviction may be easily overcome by some advantageous circumstances, and the temptation will soon prevail.—2. Be sober, modest, and cautious in the manner of your speech, and do not allow yourself in those ways of expression which border upon lying; for if you often accustom your tongue to venture near a lie, you will be in danger sometimes of falling into it.—3. Take care to do nothing that you need to be ashamed of, that so you may not be under the temptation of a lie to cover or excuse it.—4. Watch against the violence of any passion; for this will sorely endanger the veracity of your lips. Passion will carry your judgment beyond the truth of things, and then it will soon awaken your tongue to an extravagance of language, even beyond the present irregular judgment of the mind.

I persuaded you there to beware of blind and fiery zeal, and more especially in matters of small importance, lest you should be tempted to tell lies for a pretended defence of the truth. The pious frauds, as they are called, or the religious cheats that have been practised in christendom in all ages, have brought much dishonour to the gospel of Christ.

The second part of truth is faithfulness, to our vows, promises, and solemn resolutions. This is a conformity of our deeds to our words, as the former was a conformity of our words to our thoughts. And I come now to lay down some rules how we may secure our faithfulness, and maintain our conscience and conversation free from guilt or blame in this respect also.

I. Be very cautious in all the promises, vows and obligations, under which you lay yourself. Use a pious prudence in this matter, and it will be more easy to you to perform them. Do not multiply needless bonds upon your souls. The more care you take before you utter any thing with your lips, you will be more secure of fulfilling what your lips pronounce. In the case of vows, there is no inconvenience of solemn engagements to God to do what his law hath made your duty before. And this was the custom of the primitive christians, as Pliny, a heathen, acquaints us, that they made vows, and swore in their secret meetings, not to commit murder, or theft, or adultery, or indulge vicious courses. It is good to remind ourselves of what God requires, and establish all our obligations to the general practice of holiness.

But you had need be well advised before you make vows in matters that are indifferent; for many times this has exposed persons to greater snares and difficulties. They have hoped to restrain the violence of natural appetites by means of their own devising; and thus they have been tempted to be unfaithful to God himself. The word of God gives us this advice; Ec. v. 5, 6. Better it is that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, neither say thou before the angel, it was an error. Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the works of thine own hands? That is, “Do not hastily engage thyself in vows, such as the weakness of flesh and blood will not suffer thee to perform: Nor think of being absolved from thy own obligations in the presence of God, and his holy angels, by foolish excuses, and saying, It was a mistake; lest God, being angry and offended at thy broken vows, should bring a curse upon thee and thy affairs.” There is most abundant experience of the folly and danger of needless vows in the church of Rome.

In the case of promises made to others, and public solemn resolutions, be not too frequent in making of them. See that the reason of things, the providence of God, and the circumstances of life, seem to call you to it before you engage, that so you may better maintain your faithfulness, and turn your words into deeds. Why should you make chains to bind yourself, without necessity or reason? Why should you promise to do this, or to go thither in a thoughtless or trifling way, and let your tongue put needless bonds and fetters on your hands and feet for time to come? My son, if thou art surety for a stranger, or if thou make a bargain without discretion, or multiply promises without prudence, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth.

There are some persons who are very free of their promises upon all occasions; and often indulge this manner of speaking, “I am resolved to do such a thing to-day, or I will certainly go to such a place to-morrow,” &c. Whereas sometimes they find the thing impracticable, sometimes it is inconsistent with their other duties of life, sometimes it lays them under great difficulties and inconveniences to fulfil such appointments, and often they forget them too, and so disappoint their friends.

Before you tie yourselves by your solemn resolves and engagements, ask your hearts, Is it possible to be done, Is it lawful? Is it convenient? Is it proper? Is it consistent with other promises? Is the thing which I would promise due to my neighbour upon principles of honour, virtue, gratitude, religion? Is it necessary at all, and is it necessary at this time? Methinks I would have no promise made, but what should be kept; and therefore I would set all these guards around my lips. Experience of human affairs will teach us the use of these prudential rules, if we cannot learn them without it. A watchful caution in all such sort of language, as lays us under any engagements to future practices, is of necessary use to secure our faithfulness, and to maintain our truth with honour.

Besides, I might add also, that we should bring in something of God and piety into the common engagements of life; and this would preserve a greater guard upon our tongues, Go to now, ye that say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow;—for that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that; James iv. 13, &c.

If therefore we would secure our faithfulness as well as our veracity, it is necessary to learn a modest and cautious way of speaking and accustom our tongues to practise it. When we are relating any thing past or present, the words, I think, I suppose, it is my opinion, are very proper where the case has any thing doubtful in it: So when we engage ourselves to do any thing for time to come, I intend, I design, I hope, I will endeavour, are more cautious methods of speech, and very proper upon most occasions of life, except where the circumstances require a more express promise, whereby we bind all our faithfulness to the performance.

II. I would add another rule in the case of vows and promises, which cannot but have some force toward the preservation of truth. Think solemnly with yourself, how miserable and abandoned a creature you must be, if neither God nor man should fulfil any of their promises or engagements to you, and thereby you should awaken your soul and all your powers to perform your obligations to them. What if your governors should break their engagements to defend and protect you? What if your parents and your friends should refuse to help and assist, to feed, or clothe, or comfort you? What if your debtors should refuse to pay what they owe you? and your servants deny you their obedience and help in a most necessary hour? What if your neighbours should disappoint you in all the agreements and promises they make? What if the great and blessed God should seize all your forfeited mercies, because of your unfaithfulness to him, and perform none of the promises of his word which regard this life, or the life to come? What a load of calamities would at once come upon you, and overwhelm you in soul and body! You would fall under universal distress and wretchedness in this world, and have no hope for eternity; and yet if you are careless to fulfil your covenants, or wilfully break your engagements, why should you expect that God should fulfil any on his side? Or why should his kind providence incline any creature to fulfil any on their side?

“O blessed and holy God, how false have we been to thee! How fickle! How unfaithful! How often have we broken the solemn engagements under which we have laid ourselves to thy majesty! Our comforts are all forfeited into thy hands, and yet we have food and clothing given us; the mercies of the night and the day are continued to us; thy compassions are renewed every morning, and in the evening thy faithfulness is glorified. We are ready to charge our fellow-creatures with unfaithfulness, and reproach their breach of promise, when we ourselves perhaps have been the unfaithful dealers, and have broken all those engagements and bonds of kindness or duty which are the foundation of their promises. We seldom or never think of our own unfaithfulness to them or to thee, but delight ourselves in accusations, while thou delightest in forgiveness. O how often hast thou pardoned our broken vows, and hast been slow to anger! But we though we are wretchedly unfaithful ourselves, yet are slow and backward to forgive. We have been guilty of many failures in thy covenant, and our everlasting hopes had been utterly lost, if thy covenant had not stood firmer on thy side than it has on ours. Blessed be the name of Jesus, our glorious Surety, our Advocate at thy right-hand, to whom thy promises were first given! He has fulfilled all his sacred engagements: Thy faithfulness to him can never fail: in him are all our hopes established; by his grace we are kept from an utter renouncing of thy covenant, though we have so often wretchedly failed in the performance of it. Glory, honour, and praise be given to a faithful God, to a kind and faithful Mediator.”

I come now to propose a rule or two for the preservation of our constancy, which is the third part of truth or integrity; and to give some directions how we may keep the whole course of our life consistent with itself, and agreeable to our profession.

I. Fix your great and general end, your chief and everlasting design, and keep it ever in your eye: then you will certainly be more regular and uniform in all your particular practices. Set your face towards heaven betimes. Let it be the most solemn and unalterable business of your lives to please God on earth, in order to enjoy him in heaven, and then you will not be easily tempted aside by the flatteries or the terrors of this world, to go astray and wander in the paths that lead to hell. Give yourselves up to Christ both in secret and in public. Devote yourselves to him, to his fear, and love, and service, in your private retirements, and solemnize your obligations to him among the churches of his saints. See that you are an inward christian, and declare to the world, that you are a follower of Christ. Mix with the sheep of his flock, and you will find many advantages thereby to secure your truth and constancy. When a temptation comes to make you act like the sinners of this world, tell the world, and tell your own heart, that you are a christian, and you must pursue heaven.

II. Get above the fear of the world, and the shame of professing strict godliness. It is sinful shame, or sinful fear, that has a thousand times tempted the professors of the name of Christ, to be false to their profession, to act unbecoming their character, and inconsistent with christianity. It is from a certain feebleness and cowardice of soul that they desire, at any cost, to keep well with all men, and are afraid, sorely afraid, to be out of the fashion, or unconformable to this world: therefore they venture upon some practice in company, that their hearts would abhor, if they were alone: Therefore they indulge many sinful compliances; sometimes they countenance the lewd and the profane, they join in a jest upon things sacred, they make the ministers of Christ their objects of ridicule; and sometimes they fall into sensuality, luxury, and excess, because they must do as their company does, and have not courage enough to refuse.

If we would be true to Christ, we must live above the world, and be dead to all its threatenings and reproaches. If we are afraid of being thought truly religious, we shall not be able to maintain religion in the truth of it. There needs a sacred courage to be constant in the faith. We must learn to endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ, if we would be true to the Captain of our salvation. All that belong to his army are chosen and faithful; Rev. xvii. 14. It is a coward that changes his side as oft as the enemy makes a flourish, and he lists himself under every banner: But the constant christian is a soldier faithful to the death, and he shall receive the crown of life; Rev. ii. 10.

III. Never venture into the world without having solemnly committed yourself to the grace of Christ. Trust your soul afresh in the hands of Jesus every morning, that he may keep you true to himself all the day. All the divine motives you have learned, and all the solemn engagements under which you lay your own souls, will prove but a weak defence to virtue without faith and prayer. Commit yourselves to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless. Your hearts, your lips, and your lives must be in his keeping, if you would have them true to God or man. Your adversary the devil is watchful and busy with all his wiles to tempt you to falsehood and inconstancy; none but he who has conquered the devil can be your sufficient guardian. And when and wheresoever we find frailty and folly in ourselves, O may the strength of Christ appear in our weakness, and be glorified in our preservation!

Thus I have finished all that I proposed concerning the first duty recommended in my text, Whatsoever things are true—think on these things.

There may be perhaps some other instances wherein this divine character of truth, uprightness, or integrity, ought to appear in the conduct of christians which do not so directly and immediately fall under the general heads which I have before named: But they may be easily reduced to one or another of them. There are various other methods of deceit and falsehood practised in the world, which break in upon this sacred character of truth, which I have not expressly mentioned before; such as subscribing with the hand to testify our assent to opinions, which we do not believe; counterfeiting the names or writings of other persons without their knowledge, consent, or approbation; adding or blotting out any thing from divine writings; or doing the same to the writings or men in civil affairs or contracts, whereby one party or another may receive damage; practising fraud or deceit, or any criminal concealment in matters of traffic, or in matters of trust; and, in general, forgery and knavery of all kinds whatsoever: some of these may, by natural and easy consequences, be reduced to the heads I have spoken of, and are effectually precluded by the large description of moral truth, which I have given: Others of them fall as naturally under the general head of justice and injustice, which will be the subject of one of the following discourses.

Question I. If I have a good and valuable end in speaking, and my design is to serve the glory of God, or the good of my neighbour, may I not then use the art of lying, or speak a known falsehood, without sin? Did not Rahab the harlot practise this; Josh. ii. 4, 5. when she hid the spies of Israel, and told the messengers of the king of Jericho, that she knew not whence they came, nor whither they went? And yet she is commended by the apostle Paul; Heb. xi. 31. That by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with unbelievers, when she received the spies in peace.

Answer I. When any action, considered in itself, is utterly unlawful, it is not possible that the goodness of the end or design, can so change the law of God, or alter the nature of things, as to make that action lawful. The apostle Paul brings the same objection; Rom. iii. 7. If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory, why am I judged as a sinner? But in the next verse, he speaks of it with indignation, as a heinous slander cast upon him, that he should maintain this pernicious doctrine, Let us do evil that good may come: And he adds concerning these slanderers, or concerning those who hold this doctrine of doing evil with a good design, that their damnation is just; ver. 8.

Answer II. The case of Rahab is easily adjusted in this manner, without allowing a lie to be lawful: Rahab, though she was a woman of evil fame in Jericho, yet had heard of the promise of God to Israel, to establish them in the land of Canaan; she believed this promise, and under the influence of this faith she entertained the spies, and thereby assisted the Israelites in the conquest of that city; so far her action is approved of God, and mentioned with honour: But she used a very sinful method in compassing this design, when she told a plain lie to the messengers of the king. The timorousness of her temper was a sore temptation to her; and though she fell into a criminal action, yet God so far excused the ill conduct, as to forgive the falsehood, and thereby put a more signal honour upon the eminence of her faith. Her name stands therefore recorded with honour in scripture among believers. But the lie, though it was pardoned, remains still a blemish to her character.

There may be also a reason given why the scripture does not particularly make any sharp remark upon this falsehood of Rahab: for the great degree of her ignorance does much lessen her fault, though not cancel it. A woman of her character, living in a heathen country, may well be supposed to have had little knowledge of the sinfulness of so beneficial a lie as that was, and no scruple about it.

But it is by no means a sufficient justification of her conduct, that the scripture does not directly censure her for lying; for there are many actions recorded in scripture, both of saints and sinners, which are utterly unlawful in the sight of God, which yet have not an express censure passed upon them. Rahab’s being an harlot is not censured in any part of her history; nor Judah’s defiling Tamar his daughter-in-law; nor Jacob and Rebecca’s complication of lies to gain the blessing; nor the most express and wicked lie of the old prophet in Bethel, though it was the cause of the death of another prophet; 1 Kings xiii. yet surely these were crimes of heinous guilt. The plain commands or prohibitions of scripture are the rules to govern our practice: Nor can we fetch the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any matter of fact from the mere silence of the historical part of scripture about it.

Question II. If there are some persons who have not a right to truth, may we not lawfully speak falsehood to them? Now to prove that some have not a right to truth, it is urged, that truth or veracity is a virtue or duty of the social life: But there are many questions may be asked in the social life which the speaker has no right to be informed of, and therefore he has no right to truth when they are answered; may we not then answer them with falsehood? There are also some characters of persons who seem to have no part in the social life, as children who are not capable of judging for themselves, nor acting regularly in society; may we not speak a falsehood to them for their good? There are some who practise no social virtue, such as knaves and cheats, thieves, and pilferers; surely these have no right to truth, who are ever dealing in falsehood; and may we not cozen them who would cozen us? I will first offer two or three general answers to the question, and then descend to consider the particular instances.

Answer I. Truth seems to be a matter of eternal right and unchangeable equity. And there are general and express commands given us in scripture to speak the truth, and there are as express prohibitions of falsehood and lies. Now if there were any such exceptions as these against the general rule, I think God would have given us some plainer evidence of these exceptions in so important a point as truth is, upon which the welfare of mankind so necessarily depends: But I cannot find any such evident exceptions given in the whole word of God.

Answer II. When we say a person has no right to truth, it may signify one of these two things:

1. That he has no right to demand of me a direct answer to his enquiry: And I will readily grant it in this sense, there are thousands who have no right to the truth; and therefore I may wave the question, I may give them an insufficient answer, or I may be silent, and boldly refuse to give them any answer at all. But 2, If his having no right to truth, be intended to signify, that the character of his person, or the nature of his question, is such as releases me from all obligation to truth in answering him, and that therefore I may lawfully tell him a falsehood; then I deny the propositions: For my obligation to speak truth doth not all depend on the nature of his question, nor doth it depend merely on the character of the enquirer, but on the eternal rule of equity, and the command of God. And I think this appears from hence, that though I were alone, it would not be warrantable in me to assert with my lips a known falsehood: and in this case the right or claim of man can have no place nor consideration.

Answer III. If this exception be made to the plain law of God, that we may speak a direct and express falsehood to any persons who in our esteem have no right to the truth in their enquiry; this seems to break all the bands of human society, violate all the faith of men, and render the divine commands of veracity, and the prohibitions of falsehood almost useless. The consciences of men would find a way of escape from the greatest part of the bonds of duty, and yet think they committed no sin.

For let us consider, who it is that must judge whether the person to whom we speak has a right to truth or no. Is it not the speaker himself who will be the judge? Now if the speaker must judge whether his neighbour has a right to truth, there is no case, wherein the speaker’s interest may be any ways endangered by the truth, but his own sinful heart will readily whisper to him, that the hearer has no right to truth in such a question: and conscience will easily be warped aside, and comply to pronounce a known falsehood, under the colour and pretence of this exception: As for instance; if the buyer asks the seller, how much he gave for any merchandize? The seller by this rule may tell him double the price that it cost; for he will say, the buyer has no right to truth in such a question as this is. So if I ask an artificer, how he fashions his work, or what tools he uses in it? He may by this rule give me a very false answer, under pretence that I have no right to truth.

I readily grant in these cases, that the enquirer has no right to demand and claim an answer to such questions; therefore the seller or the artificer may refuse to inform him. But it is surprising to think that any man should persuade himself, that such a question being once asked, gives him a right to tell a lie! That any person should ever believe, that the mere enquiry of a thing improper to be told, absolves the answerer from all the obligations of truth, which his duty to God and man have laid upon him! Surely such a rule of conduct as this, had need have better arguments to establish it. But those who maintain this principle, must rather recur to the character of the person who makes the enquiry: and here indeed they give a little better colour to their cause.

I come therefore now to give particular answers to the instances alledged; 1. Concerning children. 2. Concerning knaves and cheats.

Instance I. Will you say, that children have no right to truth, because they are not capable of civil society?

But I reply, they are capable of knowing what truth and falsehood are, and of being influenced by the one or the other; they are capable of being deceived, and of knowing when they are deceived, they are capable of judging when they are treated with truth and sincerity, and acting according to the things you tell them; or else to what purpose do you speak falsehood to them instead of truth, and try to impose a lie upon them?

They are capable of resenting your conduct, when they find out the falsehood; and of refusing to believe you another time; For the very reason why they believe your falsehood at first, is, because they suppose you speak truth to them, and would not deceive them: And it is only upon this very principle that you yourselves can attempt to impose upon them.

Again, They are capable of learning from you and imitating your conduct, and they will be so much more ready to practise lying, and to deceive you with it, when they have found you practising lies, in order to deceive them. Suppose a mother has now and then persuaded a child to take a wholesome bitter medicine, by saying, it is not bitter, or has allured it to bed or to school by some of the arts of falsehood, and this child should imitate the mother’s example, and grow up to a confirmed liar; what inward and piercing reflections must the mother feel? Alas! I have taught my child this sinful practice, I myself have led it into the ways of the devil: How can I chide and correct by my reproof that vice, which I have taught by my example!

It is sufficiently evident therefore, that though children are not capable of half the duties of the social life, yet they are so far capable of them, as to know what truth and falsehood are, and to resent, and to practise accordingly: And this is sufficient to the present argument, and fully answers the objection. I think therefore it is infinitely better to allure those, whose understandings are weak, and whose wills are obstinate, to the practice of duty, by all the gentle arts of softness and fondness, of persuasion and love, than by venturing to make an inroad upon our own sincerity, and to trifle with so sacred a thing as truth.

But the querist may say, Suppose these softer arts have been tried, and have no effect, and children may be in danger of destroying themselves, if they are not immediately prevented by some plain and express falsehood; is it then unlawful to preserve their lives by a lie? Answer. It is a command of God indeed to preserve life, but it must be done by lawful means. May a man rob on the high-way, to get money to feed and clothe him? Surely we ought to trust the kind care and providence of God with our own lives and others in the way of duty, and not do evil that good may come, as was said under the former question.

Thus much shall suffice for the case of children, on pretence of their being incapable of civil society. But the querist will insist still on the next instance:

Instance II. Cheats, and knaves, and thievish criminals, have no right to truth; for they have broken the bonds of civil society, though not by a public renunciation of them, and therefore we may use all manner of deceit toward them, and treat them with express falsehood and lying, wheresoever it may promote our own interest and safety.

To this I reply, that the rule of Christ is, Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also that unto them; Mat. vii. 12. But this licentious doctrine cancels this divine rule, and substitutes another in the room of it, viz. Whatsoever men do unto you, do ye also that unto them; which is as widely different from the sacred rule of Christ, as light is from darkness, or heaven from hell. By this new rule we are no longer bound to practise that truth, that justice, that goodness to others, which we think reasonable they should practise towards us; but we have leave to practise that falsehood and knavery, that fraud, and injustice, and mischief to others, which they do actually practice towards us, or which we suspect they design to practise.

If one half of a city or a nation were fallen into knavish practices, through the great degeneracy of the age, or were become thievish pilferers, the other half would, by this rule, practise knavery with licence toward them, and deal out falsehoods to them by divine permission. And then the charge would quickly be just and universal, There is no truth in the land, as Hos. iv. 1.

There is indeed scarce any censure of a degenerate and corrupt age under the Old Testament, but fraud and deceit, lies and falsehood, make a considerable part of the accusation or complaint; and surely God would never allow any principles or practices that have so pernicious a tendency. Hear how the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah lament their multiplied transgressions in conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood: Truth is fallen into the street, yea, truth faileth, and equity cannot enter; Is. lix. This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord. Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. They deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth; they bend their tongues like their bow for lies; Jer. vii. and ix. Now if this licentious principle were allowed, neither God nor his prophets would ever want matter of complaint.

By this means also it will come to pass, that if a man happen once to get the name and character of a thief or a cheat, all his neighbours will think themselves authorized to have no regard to truth or honesty in all their dealings and discourse with him; for this rule affirms that he has no right to truth. And when any person fancies that he has seen reason to suspect or disbelieve his neighbour’s honesty, he will think himself absolved from all obligations to speak truth to him. But what a wide and dreadful flood-gate would be opened by this means, to let in an inundation of fraud and falsehood, and to practise all manner of deceit!

Let it be remarked also, that this doctrine is near a-kin to the popish abomination, “That no faith is to be kept with heretics; for they are a sort of dangerous men, who would ruin the church, and therefore they have no right to truth.” Now what shameful and horrid perjuries, and what execrable mischiefs, have sprung from this one impious principle of the church of Rome? The word of God gives no manner of indulgence to such licentious principles as these. We must wrong no man, defraud no man; we must not render to any man evil for evil, nor falsehood for falsehood, but overcome his evil with our good: and we must provide things honest in the sight of men.

It will be said, perhaps, that the scripture most frequently mentions a neighbour, or a brother, or a fellow-christian, in the prohibitions of lying and falsehood, as in the ninth commandment, Bear no false witness against thy neighbour; 1 Thess. iv. 6. No man defraud his brother. Eph. iv. 25. Speak every man truth to his neighbour. Lev. xix. 11. Lie not one to another.

But let it be replied, that the scripture demands righteousness for the strangers also; Deut. i. 16. and in several other places. And when God, by his prophet Malachi, forbids treacherous dealing with a brother, he gives this reason for it, Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Therefore all mankind are brethren in this sense. Our duty to speak and practise truth, arises from our obligations to the law of God; and since God has not released us by any such exceptions, the lying and deceitful carriage of men does not authorise us to practise deceit and lying. It is indeed a piece of an old latin verse, that is in the mouth of many, “Fallere fallentum non est fraus;” which may be Englished thus, To cheat a knave is no cheating: But I know no verse in scripture that gives us this liberty. And I think we may by the same rule steal from them that would steal from us, or plunder those who would plunder us.

I will readily grant, that when a contract or bargain is made, whereby both parties are obliged mutually to perform something to or for each other, whether this contract be expressed in verbal promises, or implied in the nature of things, and by the known customs of mankind, then if one of the parties fail of performance, the other is thereby released from his promise or engagement: and the reason is most evident, because the promise or engagement was made in a conditional manner; and if the condition on one side be not fulfilled, the agreement or bargain on the other side is void, and utterly ceases; so that a man is innocent in this case, though he does not perform his promise. Now this is so well known to all men by the light of nature, and the easiest reasoning, that there is no need to enlarge upon it.

According to this general and known rule, suppose a merchant order any quantity of goods from his correspondent by the first ship, and promise payment by such a day; if the sending of those goods be neglected, and carelessly delayed, the merchant is not bound to keep his first appointed time for payment. An hundred instances there are of the like nature, which a small degree of reason, and an honest conscience, will easily determine, without intrenching upon truth. Such is the case of all conditional promises and contracts. But if a man be never so great a knave, and I should make him a lawful and an absolute promise of any thing, surely I ought to perform it, and not satisfy my conscience in the practice of deceit and falsehood, under a pretence that he had no right to truth.

There are other cases which may occur in human affairs, and create difficulty in the minds of sincere christians, a solution of which may be found in books written on those subjects: But I think most of them may be easily answered by the general principles before laid down: And, to finish this subject, I add, that I know of no circumstances that can make a plain, and express, and known lie to become lawful: If life itself were in danger, yet the express prohibitions of falsehood and lying in the law of God, make it safer, in point of conscience, to venture the loss of any earthly comfort, and life also, rather than venture upon a plain and solemn lie.

And, in my opinion, that man, who, being assisted by divine grace, maintains the truth boldly, or refuses to speak a known falsehood to a murderer, or a bloody tyrant, and bravely resigns his life upon the spot, he dies a martyr to truth; his name shall be registered with honour among the saints of God on earth, and his soul shall have its place among the martyrs in the upper world.

HYMN FOR SERMON XXII.
Faithfulness.