THE

Great Wickedness,

And Mischievous Effects of

SLANDERING

Represented.

Pfalm. 101. 5.

Whofo privily Slandereth his Neigh bour, him will I Cut off.

I

Shall not detein you with any thing of
Preface, but fall immediately upon the
Business I defigned in the choice of these
Words, for my Present Subject.

The Juft and Pious KING, who was the Pen-Man, fpends this fhort Pfalm in declaring to his People, how he was refolved to mannage himself, in reference to the encouragement of Piety and Virtue among them; and the difcon-

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difcouragement of Vice and Wickedness. And among other particular Vices which he tells them fhould by no means escape Punishment, that of Slandering their Neighbours comes in, in the Words of my Text. Nor is here any one Vice which he expreffeth fo great an abhorrence of, or fo feverely Threatens, as this of Slandering. For, whereas he faith, A fro ward Heart fhall DEPART FROM ME: I will not KNOW a Wicked Perfon: And him that hath a High Look, and a Proud Heart will not I SUFFER: And he that worketh Deceit shall not DWELL WITHIN MY HOUSE: And he that telleth Lies shall not TARRY IN MY SIGHT; He makes Slandering their Neighbours, a Capital Crime, and declareth That Whofo Slandereth his Neigh bour, him would He CUT OFF.

Fift, I will endeavour to fhew, what is here Meant by Slandering ones Neigh

bour.

Secondly, Upon What accounts we may prefume this Good King did thus Threaten those that should be Guilty of this Practice.

I. What

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I. What is here Meant by Slandering ones Neighbour. Thus to do, is either to Devife a Tale of another and then Tell it; That is, Such a Tale, as tends to the bringing of a Blot upon the Perfon of whom 'tis invented and told: Or to tell a falfe Story from other hands as true, and with a defign to have it Believed without fufficient Evidence of the truth of it. Now although this Latter way of Slandering be a very Great Sin, as proceeding from great want of Charity, and being perfectly oppofite to that Golden Ruse of our Saviour, What you would that Men fhould do to you, do you even the fame to them, (than which no Maxim in Morals is more plainly taught by the Law of Nature, i. e. Right Reason unaffisted by Divine Revelation, and which à Pagan Prince gives us in Negative Terms, viz. Quod tibi fieri non vis, alteri ne feceris. Whatsoever thou wouldst not have done to thy felf, do not offer to do to another: I fay, as this Latter way of Slandering is for thefe reafons a very Great Sin, and confequently will meet with, where it is not timely repented of, very Sore Punishment from Gods hands) yet the Former way, viz. Slandering by Inventing of Stories to

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the Blemishing of any ones Good-Name, is a Greater Sin, (as is evident at first hearing) and therefore deserves Greater Punishment. And the more the Tale Blackens his Reputation of whom it is told, and the greater, or more useful the Person is in the World who is defamed, as alfo the greater the Injury is that is defigned him in telling it of him, the greater ftill is this exceedingly great Sin. Now the Slanderers that King David muft needs mean here in the Text, and whom he threatneth with being Cut off, are fuch as fhall Devife and Invent Lies to the Injuring of their Neighbours, i. e. of any Perfons, be their Rank and Quality what it will; which the word Neighbour doth import. And they are only fuch Slanderers as thefe which must be here thus threatned, because the other Sort (viz. Such as do not Invent, but only Rafhly give Credit to and Report Lies of their Neighbours) though They are great Sinners too, yet we cannot think that the King would doom them to fo great a Punishment. For in all Places, there are too many of thefe Offenders to be made Obnoxious to fo fevere a Sentence. And besides, it is not so easy a matter for the Magiftrate to find Evidence fuf

ficient

ficient in fuch a cafe as this, to found fuch a Sentence as that of Death upon it.

II. I come to fhew upon what Accounts this Good King did thus threaten fuch as Privily Slandered their Neighbours. There is very great reason for his being thus Incensed against them.

First, Because Inventers of Slanders are in the number of the most Injurious and Mischievous People in the World.

1. They are most Mischievous to those Perfons who are the Objects of their Slanders; None are more fo, except those Inftruments of Satan, who by drawing others to Sin deftroy their Souls. After the Divine Graces and Virtues, which are neceffary to Qualify for the Heavenly Happiness, a Man's Good-Name is the most highly Valuable. It is not only Better than precious Oyntment, and rather to be chofen than Silver and Gold (as the Wife Man faith) but 'tis to be prefer'd before all Temporal Enjoyments whatsoever, not excepting Life it felf. For who can take any Comfort in his Life, (unless he be devefted of all Humanity, and ftrangely funk into the Brutish Nature) that is fenfible of having Outliv'd his Good-Name? And as for those that are