The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…

The eye and the speech are the minds glasses,¹ for out of the abundance of the heart (saith Christ) the mouth speaketh: as though by the speech we might know what aboundeth in the heart:² and therefore he saith: By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. That is, thou shalt be justified to be wise, or thou shalt be condemned to be foolish: thou shalt be justified to be sober, or thou shalt be condemned to be rash: thou shalt be justified to be humble, or thou shalt be condemned to be proud: thou shalt be justified to be loving, or thou shalt be condemned to be envious. Therefore Solomon saith,³ A fools lips are a snare to his own soul. Snares are made for other, but this snare catcheth a mans self, because it betrayeth his folly, and causeth his trouble, and bringeth him into discredit.⁴ Contrariwise, the heart of the wise (saith Solomon) guideth his mouth wisely, ⁵and the words of his mouth have grace. Now to show that this should be one mark in the choice of thy wife, Solomon describing a right wife,⁶ saith; She openeth her mouth with wisdom, ⁷and the law of grace is in her tongue. A wife that can speak this language, is better then she which hath all the ⟨p. 26⟩tongues. But as the open vessels were counted unclean, so account that the open mouth hath much uncleanness.

The eye and the speech are the mindes glasses,¹ for out of the aboundance of the heart (saith Christ) the mouth speaketh: as though by the speech wee might know what aboundeth in the heart: