The Apostle from his former counsel given, that they should not be many masters, that is, as some expound it, and that most probable, Do not affect to produce new opinions, and so to create many Disciples to follow you, as if you only found out this or that Doctrine; (Like that of our Saviour, Matth. 23. 10. And be ye not called Masters, for one is your Master even Christ,) and that they must depend upon your authority only; From this counsel (I say) he doth occasionally declare the evil and general wickedness of the tongue, because where there are contrary masters, and they hold contrary opinions, commonly these are maintained by them with much pride and arrogancy, with bitter censuring and condemning of one another: Therefore the Apostle doth fully inform us, what an instrument of evil the tongue is, that it setteth on fire the course of nature; It is from the tongue that houses, Towns, Cities, yea the whole world is set into combustion, and no wonder, for that is set on fire from Hell, that is, from the Devil, who by the corruption of man doth now reign and rule in him; yea it is so full of deadly poison, and such an unruly evil, that no man can tame it; From which expression Austin did well gather the necessity of Gods grace, for the tongue only is so ready to evil one way or other, that without Gods grace it cannot be tamed, and though nature hath given teeth, and lips, as so many bars to keep in the tongue, yet grace only must over rule it: As then the Physician by looking on the tongue doth discover the heat and disease of the body within, so by thy tongue, thy passionate tongue, thy unruly tongue, thy raging tongue, original sin which is in the whole man, is notoriously manifested; How quickly is the poison in the heart emptied into the tongue? Neither may you object, saying, That drunkenness, adultery, and evil bitter words are actual sins, and what is this to original? Yes, very much, as the fruit to the root, as the streams to the fountain; For were not the body thus originally polluted with the soul, the fruit would be then answerable to a pure and perfect root; And well may we discourse after this manner, seeing we have the Apostle a President herein; for Rom. 3. 9, 10, 11, 12. having asserted both Jew and Gentile to be under sin, so that there is not one good of all mankind by nature;
The Apostle from his former councel given, that they should not be many masters, that is, as some expound it, and that most probable, Do not affect to produce new opinions, and so to create many Disciples to follow you, as if you only found out this or that Doctrine; (Like that of our Saviour, Matth. 23. 10. And be ye not called Masters, for one is your Master even Christ,) and that they must depend upon your authority only; From this councel (I say) he doth occasionally declare the evil and general wickedness of the tongue, because where there are contrary masters, and they hold contrary opinions, commonly these are maintained by them with much pride and arrogancy, with bitter censuring and condemning of one another: Therefore the Apostle doth fully inform us, what an instrument of evil the tongue is, that it setteth on fire the course of nature; It is from the tongue that houses, Towns, Cities, yea the whole world is set into combustion, and no wonder, for that is set on fire from Hell, that is, from the Devil, who by the corruption of man doth now reign and rule in him; yea it is so full of deadly poison, and such an unruly evil, that no man can tame it; From which expression Austin did well gather the necessity of Gods grace, for the tongue only is so ready to evil one way or other, that without Gods grace it cannot be tamed, and though nature hath given teeth, and lips, as so many barres to keep in the tongue, yet grace only must over rule it: As then the Physician by looking on the tongue doth discover the heat and disease of the body within, so by thy tongue, thy passionate tongue, thy unruly tongue, thy raging tongue, original sinne which is in the whole man, is notoriously manifested; How quickly is the poison in the heart emptied into the tongue? Neither may you object, saying, That drunkenness, adultery, and evil bitter words are actual sinnes, and what is this to original? Yes, very much, as the fruit to the root, as the streams to the fountain; For were not the body thus originally polluted with the soul, the fruit would be then answerable to a pure and perfect root; And well may we discourse after this manner, seeing we have the Apostle a President herein; for Rom. 3. 9, 10, 11, 12. having asserted both Jew and Gentile to be under sinne, so that there is not one good of all mankind by nature;
