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brawl, and when fiery and profane noise ends in blows and blood, it may be said, “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth."

But there is no end to telling the mischief that a sinful tongue may spread around it, and I pass on to tell you something of the cure of a sinful tongue.

1. Arrest the tongue. You will never cure it unless you stop it. The very moment that it begins to move, stop it courageously and without delay.

2. Cleanse the heart. Unless you take pains to keep the fountain pure, you need not expect to cure the stream.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak Keep then your heart with all diligence. Be watchful to discover, and courageous to check every evil passion. "He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city."

Let your heart be pure-let love and kindness and the fear of God be there, and the tongue will be a wholesome tongue and a tree of life, and your words fitly spoken will be tike apples of gold in pictures of silver.

But you cannot keep your heart alone. God offers to help you by his Holy Spirit.

Pray daily to him. In his strength you will not want strength. The evil of the tongue will be prevented, and the evil of the heart subdued. Ever pray with David:* "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their 'dainties."

Psalms cxli. 3.

SERMON VI.

SELF-EXCUSERS.

PROVERBS xxviii. 13.

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesscth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.

THIS sermon has been written and printed on purpose for SELF-EXCUSERS. Let me first tell you what sort of people they are.

Whenever they are blamed for a fault they always attempt to show that they ought not to be blamed at all. Sometimes I am afraid that they come very near to telling downright lies. Even when they have so much conscience about truth-telling that they would not deny an outward fact, they do allow themselves to deny the feeling and motive. Thus

it may be said to them that they are greedy, or peevish, or fretful, or selfish, or unreasonable, or angry; and though it may be true, they may deny it, and attempt to cover the sins of their heart, and say I was not greedy at all; or, I was not peevish at all; or, I was not angry at all; or, I was not selfish or unreasonable at all. I do not know but they really think, while they are saying so, that the very words are true, for as they excuse themselves they throw dust in their own eyes, so that they do not see clearly and know rightly what they do feel; while those around them see clearly in their faces and in their actions the very faults which they cannot see at all. If a self-excuser cannot deny the fact, he will still deny the fault-i. e. deny that there is any wrong in it. A real thorough selfexcuser has learned the unhappy art of contending that all wrong things are right, and can show on all occasions that there are good and sufficient reasons for carelessness, neglect, unfaithfulness, ill temper, and quarrelsome behaviour and irreligion. When all other reasons fail, this yet remains, "I do as well as I can: I cannot help it," which excuses every

sin in heart, word, and deed. No matter how sure the fact, how plain the wrong, how deep the guilt; the self-excuser can prove that he has done no wrong. No matter how many warning voices are raised against him, he has a voice for each; in his own defence he is hundred-tongued, and can give you reasons without number to prove that he never mistakes or sins. Though faulty daily, in a hundred ways, he commits no fault. He holds a different voice concerning others. A child of many faults will clear himself of all, and blame, without reason and without mercy, his brothers and his sisters, and even his parents, for the very faults of which he is truly guilty.

Last of all, self-excusers never own themselves to be so. If you tell them that they habitually excuse themselves, they are quite ignorant of it, and will tell you that they did not know that they ever excused themselves at all.

Strange characters! guilty but not guilty; in fault, yet not to be blamed; ever excusing faults, yet no self-excusers. How can they be self-excusers who have no faults? Rather, how can they think themselves self-excusers

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