The sacrifice of thankefulnesse A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse, the third of December, being the first Aduentuall Sunday, anno 1615. By Tho. Adams. Whereunto are annexed fiue other of his sermons preached in London, and else-where; neuer before printed. ...

1. It is an vnruly euill.

The difficulty of taming the tongue, one would thinke were sufficiently expressed in the euill of it: but the A∣postle seconds it with an other obstacle, signifying the wilde nature of it, vnruly. It is not onely an euill, but an vnruly euill. I will set the Champion and his Second together in this fight; and then shew the hardnesse of the combat.

Bernard sayth: Lingua facile volat, & ideo facile vio∣lat. The tongue runnes quickly, therefore wrongs quickly. Speedy is the pace it goes, and therefore speedy is the mischiefe it does. When all other mem∣bers are dull with age, the tongue alone is quicke and nimble. It is an vnruly euill to our selues, to our neigh∣bours, to the whole world.

1. To our selues. Ver. 6. It is so placed among the members, that it defileth all. Though it were euill, as the

plague; and vnruly, as the possessed Gergeseus, Math. 8 yet if set off with distance, the evill rests within it selfe. A Leaper shut vp in a Pesthouse, ranckleth to him∣selfe, infects not others. A wild Caniball in a prison, may onely exercise his savage cruelty vpon the stone wals, or yron grates. But the tongue is so placed, that being euill and vnruly, it hurts all the members.

2. To our Neighbours. There are some sinnes that hurt not the doer onely, but many sufferers. These are districtly the sinnes of the tongue and the hand. There are other sinnes private and domesticall: the sting and smart whereof dyes in the o••ne soule; and without fur∣ther extent, plagues onely the person of the commit∣ter. So the Lavish is sayde, no mans foe but h••s own: the proud is guilty of his owne vanity: the slothfull beares his owne reproch: and the malicious wasteth the marrow of his owne bones, whiles his envied obiect shines in happinesse. Though perhaps these sinnes in∣sensibly wrong the common-wealth, yet the principall and immediate blow lights on themselues. But some iniquities are swords to the Countrey; as oppression, rapine, circumvention: some incendiaries to the whole land; as evill and vnrnly tongues.

3 To the whole world. If the vastate ruines of an∣cient monuments, if the depopulation of Countries, if the consuming fires of contention, if the land manured with bloud; had a tongue to speake, they wold all accuse the Tongue for the originall cause of their woe. Slaugh∣ter is a lampe, and bloud the oyle; and this is set on fire by the tongue.

You see the latitude and extention of this vnruly evill; nor evnraly then the hand. Slaughters, massacres, op∣pressions are done by the hand: the tongue doth more. Parcit manus absenti, lingua n••mini. The hand spares to hurt the absent, the tongue hurts all. One may avoid

the sword by runni••g from it; not the tongue, though he runne to the Indies. The hand reacheth but a small compasse, the tongue goes through the world. If a man wore coate of armour, or maile of brasse; yet, Penetra∣bunt spicula linguae; The darts of the tongue will pierce it.

It is evill, and doth much harme; it is vnruly, and doth sudden harme. You will say, many wicked men haue often very silent tongues. True, they know their times and places, when and where to seeme mute. But Ieremy compounds the wisedome and folly of the Iewes: That they were wise to do evill, but to do good they had no vn∣derstanding. So I may say of these, they haue tongue e∣nough to speake euill, but are dumbe when they should speake well.

Our Sauiour in the dayes of his flesh on earth, was of∣ten troubled with dumbe Deuils: but now he is as much troubled with roaring Deuils. With the fawning Sy∣cophant, a pratling Deuill. With the malicious slaun∣derer, a brawling Deuill. With the vnquiet peace-ha∣ter, a scolding Deuill. With the auarous and ill-con∣scious Lawyer, a wrangling Deuill. With the factious Schismaticke, a gaping Deuill. With the swaggering ruffian, a roaring Deuill. All whom Christ by his mi∣nisters doth coniure, as he once did that crying Deuill; Hold thy peace, and come out. These are silent enough to praise God, but lowd as the Cataracts of Nilus to ap∣plaud vanitie. Dauid sayth of himselfe, Psalme 32. that when he held his peace, yet he rored all the day long. Strange! be silent, and yet roare too, at once? Gregory answeres; h••e that daily commits new sinnes, and doth not peni∣tently confesse his olde, roares much, yet holdes his tongue. The Father pricked the pleurisie-vaine of our times. For wee haue many roarers, but dumbe roarers: though they can make a hellish noyse in a Ta∣uerne, and sweare downe the Deuill himselfe; yet to

praise God, they are as mute as fishes.

Saint Iames heere calles it fire. Now you know fire is an ill maister: but this is vnruly fire. Nay, hee calles it the fire of hell; blowne with the bellows of malice, kind∣led with the breath of the deuill. Nay, Stella hath a con∣ceit, that it is worse then the fire of hell: for that tor∣ments onely the wicked, this all, both good and bad. For it is Flabellum, invids, and Flagellum, iusti. Swea∣rers, railers, scoldes haue hell-fire in their tongues.

This would seeme incredible, but that God sayth it is true. Such are hellish people, that spet abroad the flames of the deuill It is a cursed mouth that spets fire: how should wee auoyde those, as men of hell! many are afraid of hell fire, yet nourish it in their owne tongues. By this kinde of Language, a man may know who is of hell. There are three sorts of languages obserued. Ce∣lestiall, terrestriall, and infernall. The heauenly lan∣guage is spoken by the Saints, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Their discourse is habituated, like their course or co••uersation; which Paul saith is heauenly. The earthly tongue is spoken of worldlings, He that is of the earth, is earthly: and speaketh of the earth. Worldly talke is for worldly men. The in∣fernall language is spoken by men of hell; such as haue beene taught by the deuill: they speake like men of Be∣lial. Now, as the Countrey man is knowne by his lan∣guage: and as the Damosell tolde Peter; Sure thou art of Galile, for thy speech bewrayeth thee: so by this rule, you may know heauenly men by their gracious confe∣rence: earthly men by their worldly talke: and hellish, by the language of the lowe Countries, swearing, cur∣sing, blasphemy.

Well the efore did the Apostle call this Tongue a fire; and such a fire, as sets the whole world in combustion. Let these vnruly tongues take heede lest by their roarings

they shake the battlements of heauen; and so waken an incensed God to iudgement. There is a curse that go∣eth foorth, and it shall enter into the house of the swearer, and not onely cut him off, but consume his house with the tim∣ber, and the stones of it. It was the Prophet Ieremies com∣plaint; that for oathes the Land mourned. No maruaile, if God curse vs for our cursings; and if the plague light vpon our bodies, that haue so hotely trolled it in our tongues: no wonder if wee haue bl••sterd carcases, that haue so blisterd consciences; and the stench of conta∣gion punish vs for our stinking breaths. Our tongues must walke, till the hand of God walke against vs.

Notes

• Erasm.
• Iere. 4. 22
• Luke 11. 14
• Psal. 32. 3
• Psal. 84. 4
• Philip. 3. 20.
• Iohn 3. 31
• Zechar. 5. 4
• Iere. 23. 10