the other. It is easily inferred from the Scriptural narrative, that God gave Adam his vocabulary, as well as that fine intellectual apparatus which might excogitate things worthy of being embodied in its magnificent expressions. I think of our first parent as standing amid the glories of Paradise, his eye wandering delightedly over the beauties with which the earth was richly strewed, and gathering in the ardent and oracular jewellery of the heavens. Lofty emotions swell within him, as he turns from one part to another of the splendid panorama. The rising tide must have vent; the soul is as though it would break loose from the body, to acknowledge the greatness and goodness of the invisible Creator. But the Creator has given to his creature a power of exhibiting the feelings called up by the gorgeous manifestations of Himself. The beast of the field had been formed; but as yet there was no praise. The fowl of the air winged their way along the firmament, but no hymn floated through the mighty expanse. The fish of the sea sported in the great deep, but the name of God had not been uttered in the unfathomable waters. Then man arose, in the image of his Maker, the High Priest of the terrestrial temple. He had loftier faculties for appreciating the wonderfulness, the beauty, and the benevolence, which were traced on the encompassing scene; but he had also a faculty of expressing what he felt; and, as he gazed, the silence was broken, and creation thrilled at the melody of speech.

Amazing faculty! That I can now stand in the midst of a thronging assembly, and use the air which we breathe to convey to every one the thoughts which crowd the hidden chambers of my soul! That I can knock therewith at every man's conscience and heart; transposing myself, as it were, into those inapproachable solitudes, filling them with the images which are passing to and fro in my own spirit, or causing kindred forms to rise and stir in hundreds that are round me! Yea, speech is wonderful, but not wonderful enough to describe itself. When God would send his own Son into the world, He sent Him under the name of "the Word," as though to show the dignity, the excellence, of speech. And when we may be tempted to think little of an "idle word," or to wonder that a sin of the tongue should be represented as provoking the wrath of the Lord, we ought to betake ourselves to considering the faculty of speech, that we may observe how eminent is the power which is brought into exercise, before we marvel at the criminality attached to its abuse. Every one condemns the prostitution of reason, because every one regards reason as a high and palmy attribute; and therefore, when the intellect is unworthily employed, degraded to the ministering at the altars of scepticism or sensuality, there is an almost universal sentence of indignant reprobation. But what is language but reason walking abroad among the myriads of humankind? it is the soul, not in the secret laboratory, and not in its aerial impalpable

mysteriousness; but the soul amid the crowded scenes of life, formed and clothed, submitting itself to the inspection, and influencing the sentiments, of a multitude. And if this be language, I know not why any one should be surprised that great heinousness is attached to sins of the tongue. It is grievous, for example, to think of God irreverently: the soul should be his sanctuary; and to profane Him there, is to aggravate the contempt by offering it at the shrine which He reared for Himself. But it is yet more grievous to speak of Him irreverently. This is worse than dishonouring Him at the secret shrine: this is taking the material of His costliest templefor is it not said, that he "inhabiteth the praises of Israel?" as though words were the columns, the walls, the domes, which combine for the noblest dwelling-place of Deity-I say then, that to speak irreverently of God, is to take the material of his costliest temple, and fashion it into a structure where he may be openly contemned. The richness of the material enhances the dishonour. Give me the stars with which to build, give me the treasures of immensity with which to adorn, and the temple which I rear to an idol shall be so much the more an insult to the one living God. And it is thus with speech. Words are as the stars of heaven, fitted to illumine the yet dark places of creation. Burning with truth, they may guide the wandering, and be as messengers from the depths of eternity: An Apostle asserts of the tongue, that it "setteth on fire the course of

nature," as though it could irradiate the universe, or compel it, in all its magnitude, and all its magnificence, to be but as fuel for one splendid conflagration. Can it then be a light thing to use the tongue against God, whether in profaneness, or in impurity, or in levity, or in falsehood? Nay, it is dishonouring Him through that whence he looked for his chief glory. If there might be a small sin, committed through other instrumentality, we should still argue that there could not, if committed with the tongue. Language is so curious, so costly a gift, so impregnate with Deity, so vast in empire, that to misuse it, though in the least particular, may be likened to sacrilege, the profanation of an august and infinite mystery. Then there is heinousness in any sin of the tongue, because speaking, as the Psalmist expresses it, is the "awaking up of our glory," and therefore to offend with the tongue is to turn his best gift against God. Hence it is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which is pronounced to be unpardonable— blasphemy, a sin of the tongue. Hence one commandment out of ten is appropriated to the prohibiting the taking of God's name in vain-a sin of the tongue. Hence the liar, a sinner with the tongue, is assigned a portion in the lake of fire with the abominable and the sorcerer. And hence, as though it were to be a chief thing in the final assize, is it solemnly declared in our text, that for every idle word which men speak shall they be called at last to strict account; and that words shall be reckoned

so transcendently important, that by our words we shall be justified, and by our words we shall be condemned.

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And if these remarks have gone chiefly to the showing that the "idle word" is so criminal, that, of itself, it might justly procure the condemnation of the speaker, they will also help to demonstrate the proposition, that our conversation may evidence whether or no we have justifying faith. You will remember that St. James makes power over the tongue equivalent to power over the whole man, as though nothing would be too hard for him who had mastery of his words. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body." This may almost be said to follow from the high character which we have attributed to speech— he who is master of his chief faculty is little likely to be the slave of an inferior. Indeed it is true that no sin is more easily committed than one of the tongue; and if guiltiness be judged by the facility, the almost unconsciousness, with which the wrong thing may be done, an idle word might be accounted scarce criminal at all. But let it be observed, that this very facility of commission makes the non-commission a point of high Christian attainment. It is just because the thing may be so easily done, that the not doing it marks singular power and vigilance. It is easy to utter idle words; but, on that very account, it is hard to restrain them. There is no effort required in order to their being spoken; but