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there let morning and evening prayers and praises be prefented, till you are called to worship him in his temple above, where your prayers fhall be fwallowed up in everlasting praife. Amen.

SERMON

XXX..

THE RULE OF EQUITY.

MATTHEW Vii. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

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NHRISTIANITY is not a fragment, but a complete system of religion; and it is intended and adapted to make us good entirely and throughout; it teaches us a proper conduct and temper towards every being with whom we have any connection, particularly towards God and our fellow-men. A christian is a complete, uniform, finished character; a character in which there is the most amiable fymmetry and proportion; it is all of a piece, without chafms and inconfiftencies. A chriftian is a penitent, a believer, a lover of God, confcientious in devotion, and diligent in attendance upon every ordinance of religious worship; he begins his religion with a fupreme regard to God, the Supreme of beings, fenfible that unless he begins here, he inverts the order of things, and that all his religion and virtue must be prepofterous and vain. To love the Lord his God with all his heart, and to serve him from that exalted principle, is the firft and great commandment with him; and he obferves it as fuch. Religion, virtue, morality, and every thing that bears a fpecious name VOL. II.

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among

among mankind, is a poor maimed thing, monftroufly defective, if a proper regard to God be left out of the fyftem. It is fhocking and unnatural for the creatures of God to be punctual in obferving the duties they owe to one another, and yet entirely negligent of thofe radical fundamental duties they owe to him their common Parent, the highest excellence and the original of all authority and obligation.

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But though chriftianity begins with, and chiefly confifts in our duty to God, yet it extends farther; it alfo includes a proper conduct and temper towards men. A good christian is not only devout, but moral and virtuous - he is not only a dutiful fervant of God in matters purely religious, but he is an useful member of every fociety to which he belongs, and makes confcience of juftice, charity, and all the good offices due to his fellow-creatures. He is a good ruler, or a good fubject, a good neighbour, a good father or child, a good mafter or fervant; in fhort, he endeavours to have a confcience void of offence towards God and towards men. I have made it the great object of my ministry among you to bring you to pay a proper regard to God, as he has revealed himself in the gofpel of his Son; and for this purpose have inculcated the important doctrines of Faith, Repentance, Love, and those other graces which are effential to every good man. But I muft not forget another part of my office, which is, to teach you the fecond great command, or fummary of the divine law, namely, That you should love your neighbour as yourselves, and inculcate upon you thofe important duties which you owe to mankind; and it is very extravagant for perfons to disgust these, through a pretended relish for the gofpel and the doctrines of grace, fince these are no inconfiderable parts of the gospel, and the leffons of morality run through the whole New Tefta

ment.

When I would difcourfe upon the duties of social life, I cannot choose a text more pertinent or copious

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than that I have read to you, which is a fundamental and most comprehenfive rule of morality; all things whatfoever ye would that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo to them; for this is the law and the prophets. In the illuftration and improvement of this fubject, I fhall,

I. Offer a few things for the right understanding of this divine rule of focial duty.

II. Confider the reafon of it.

III. Open its excellency.

IV. Mention fome important inftances of particular cafes to which it fhould be applied. And,

Laftly, Shew the neceffity and advantage of obferving it.

I. I am to offer a few things for the right underftanding of this divine rule.

It is proper then to obferve, that as there is a great diverfity in the ftations and characters of men, there is a proportionable diversity in the duties which they owe one to another; and felf-love may make a man very extravagant in his expectations and defires about . the conduct of another towards him. On these accounts it is neceffary that we should understand this precept with thefe two cautions or limitations.

1. That we fhould do that to others which we would expect and wish from them upon a change of condition, or if they were in our circumftances and we in theirs. Every man fhould be treated according to his character and ftation; and therefore that conduct which may be proper towards me in my station, may not be proper towards another in a different station: but let me fuppofe myself in his place, and he in mine, and then that behaviour which I would expect from him, the fame I should obferve towards him. Thus, for example, a magiftrate is bound to protect his fubjects, and to behave towards them as he would defire a ruler to behave towards him if he were a fubject; but he is not bound to yield that fubmiffion to his fubjects while a ruler,

which he may juftly demand of them. The rule in such cases is, let every man act in character; let him perform to others thofe duties which he would defire from others if they were in his circumftances, and he in theirs; and where there is a fameness of circumstances, there, and there only, his duty to others must be the fame that he expects from them.

2. We should make only our reasonable and lawful expectations from others the rule of our conduct towards them. A man may expect and wish very extravagant and finful things from others: he may defire another should give him all his eftate, or gratify his wicked lufts and paffions by fome criminal compliance: fuch defires are by no means to be the rule of conduct; for we cannot indulge them, nor others comply with them, without acting wickedly and unreasonably. But thofe things which we may defire and expect from others, confiftently with right reafon, religion, and the laws of fociety, thofe things we ought to perform to them; thofe things which our confciences juftify, and not thofe to which inordinate felf-love or fome extravagant paffion may prompt us.

If we understand this precept with fuch limitations as these, we may fafely follow it as a general rule of conduct; and then it will not be liable to fuch objections as may be otherwise made against it. For example, a criminal may plead, "If I were in the place of my judge, and he in mine, I would acquit him, and grant him his life.' Or a judge might think, if I were in the place of that poor criminal, I fhould be glad my judge would forgive me; and therefore, if I would do as I would be done by, I must forgive him.' Such thoughts as thefe, arifing from wrong principles, are not to be the rule and measure of our actions or expectations; for our own confciences cannot approve of them in our fedate and impartial moments. I proceed,

II. To confider the reafon of this precept.
Now the reafon or foundation of it is evidently

this, namely, the natural equality of mankind. For notwithstanding the great difference in the capacities, improvements, characters, and stations of men, yet, confidered as men, they fhare in the fame common nature, and are fo far equal; and therefore, in the fame circumstances, they have a right to the fame treatment. A fuperior, for example, fhould treat his inferior juft in the manner in which he would reafonably expect to be treated himself if he was in a low condition and his inferior advanced to his ftation. If there be any reason why another fhould behave in fuch a manner to me, there is the very fame reason that I fhould behave in the fame manner towards him; because he is to himself what I am to myself, as near, as dear, as important. Is it reafonable my neighbour fhould make no encroachments upon my property? It is equally reasonable that I fhould not encroach upon his; for his property is as much his as my property is mine. Do I expect my neighbour fhould obferve the rules of juftice in his dealings with me? then certainly I fhould obferve them in my dealings with him; for he has as good a right to be treated according to these rules by me, as I have to be fo treated by him. If it is reasonable that he should be tender of my good name, it is equally reasonable that I fhould be tender of his. If he should relieve me in my calamities, certainly I am equally bound to relieve him when in the fame circumftances. And the reason is plain; he is to himself what I am to myself, and he is to me what I am to him, and therefore I am obliged to treat him as I would juftly expect he would treat me; we are equal, and confequently our obligations are equal, and our duties mutual or reciprocal. Hence you fee that this precept is the most reasonable thing in the world. My next bufinefs is,

III. To open the excellency of it.

And this appears (1.) from its comprehensiveness; it includes all the focial duties of life; it is a fhort

fummary

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