as to moral duties, who make no confcience of telling a lye or breaking his word, what badge foever he may wear, what title foever he may call himself by, it is as impoffible that fuch a man should be a true Chriftian, as it is to reconcile the God of truth and the father of lyes. Yet, as all untruths cannot be How a lye properly reduced under this fin, let it be obferved, may be re- that it is no lye to repeat a known falfhood in the peated. way of a narrative, if a man mentions it not as his own fenfe, but declares it to be falfe at the fame time. And if a fick perfon would refuse a medicine, likely to be of fervice to him, if he was acquainted what it was, a phyfician, a parent, or a friend, may lawfully endeavour to deceive him by any method confiftent with truth. Or, if amatter be intrust-ed with me as a fecret, and another would fain discover it, who has no right to know it; if by filence, or by a partial but trueaccount, I can divert his inquiry, it will be no falfhood. But it is not lawful to lye for God, or for the greatest advantage to our neighbours or ourselves; for lying in any kind is a violation of truth, which the best end cannot justify; because Of jocofe we must not do evil that good may come. Therebyes. fore, tho' facetious lyes may not be a direct breach upon charity, yet they are upon truth, and weaken men's regard for it: and tho' fuch inventions may produce fome mirth and entertainment for the company, yet they can give none in the reflection applied to ourselves; and upon reflection they only gain us the reputation of impertinent lyars. Is it not strange then, that a man is fcarce to be found that fpeaketh truth from his heart; as if neither God nor The great commonnefs man were able to find him out? But as it is a comand folly of mon obfervation, there are few lyars but at fome this fin. times discover theirown folly, and thereby become the contempt and reproach of all fober and well-meaning men; and as no arts or craftinefs can hide it from God, who feeth the heart, and knoweth our thoughts long before; and, as he is the God of truth, will certainly punish it, as he has promifed, with fire and brimftone; fo if any one would live comfortably and creditably here, and avoid God's vengeance hereafter, he muft put away lying upon any account whatever. And Not Courteous Not only truth, but courtesy, or good behaviour, is due to all men, from the highest to the lowest ftation of life: because a crabbed morofe temper is more the behaviour resemblance of a brute than an indication of a ra- due to all. tional creature. Yet mcn. man. The proud and ambitious man, who looks down with a pharifaical difdain upon his fellow-creatures, and Net paid by refufes common civility to other men, fhould re- the proud member that the Lord maketh us all, both high and low, rich and poor, and can humble him that exalteth himself. And I fcarce know, in any one inftance, where men fo generally concur to execute God's providence, as in pulling down thofe mighty men, who had used them contemptuously, when God begins to vifit them with adversity. We must also treat our neighbour with meekness. Be patient, fays the apoftle, towards all men; never reMeeknefs warding evil for evil, or railing for railing; no not due to all in our zeal for the cause of religion; because meek- men. nefs of heart is a condition, without which we cannot be admitted into the prefence of God. And Without this virtue there can be neither peace, good neighbourhood, love nor affection, in any king- Brawling dom, state, or family; because an angry brawling very infufman can neither be a good friend nor companion: ferable. wherefore Solomon advises us not to make friendship with an angry man, and not to go with a furious man; and declares, It is better to dwell in a wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman. And whoever rightly confiders what It leads to our Saviour fays, that fuch aone is in danger of hell- curfingfire, cannot easily give way to this fin, which is too often attended with horrid oaths, curfings, execrations, and blafphemies: and as this is the language of hell, they that use it cannot be fit for heaven. Therefore take advice of the apostle: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. VI. Excellency in any thing or perfon is the gift of God, and demands its proper praife and honour: fo he, who excells another, hath a right to be preferred before him in the esteem 1 esteem and value of the world; to have his light reflected with more splendor, and his excellencies refoundRefpect due to men of ex- ed with higher applauses. So that he, who, out traodinary of a conceited opinion of his own excellencies, degifts. tains from a worthy person those acknowledgments that are due to his virtues, robs virtue itself of one of her faireft jewels, ftrips off her garments of praise, and buries her alive: and therefore, fince to rob a virtuous perfon of his honour and reputation is fo great an outrage to virtue itself, it alfo must needs be highly unjust and difhoneft. Again, the great iniquity of detraction, and of leffening or debafing men's deferved praise and commendations through envy, is injurious to God, who may do what he will with his own, and is a higher injuftice to man than to pick his pocket: for he that clipsa man's honour, robs him of the beft and dearest property; and, while he fucks the veins of another's reputation to put colour into the cheeks of his own, he lives upon the fpoils of his neighbour, and is every whit as injurious to him as if he should pull down his houfe to build himself another by the ruins thereof. to envy any Nevertheless, this unrighteous practice is common; not We are not confidering that this envying at God's kindness to others is in effect a murmuring against him; for them. one cannot oppose him more than by hating and doing evil to a man, because God hath loved him and done well to him; nor in respect of the man can there be thing more irrational than to love him the less, merely because he is endued with those qualities, for which in reason and justice I ought to love him the more; and yet this this grovelling ferpent lurks almost in every hedge. In all ordinary cafes thankfulness is plainly our duty for what we have; and nothing can be more unreasonable, than difcontent for what we have not. We know not the deferts of others, in comparifon with ourselves. We know not the various and wife defigns of providence, in the unequal diftributions of all temporary things. We know not how much better, poffibly, our prefent ftate and condition is for us, whatsoever it be, than any other ftate and condition, which we through igno rance rance may be apt moft earnestly to covet, and envy in others. Therefore, We must not strive to leffen those excellencies in the opinion of others; for nothing does more truly difco- Not detract ver our murmuring and envy than to endeavour from them. to ruin the credit of any thing in another's esteem: yet this is the cafe of all thofe, who would deny either the kinds or degrees of his neighbour's extraordinary gifts or graces, by speaking flightly of them, or by endeavouring to cloud them with a malicious report of fome other real or pretended infirmity of his, which, like dead flies, as the preacher writes, may corrupt the favour of the ointment. The folly of this fin of envy appears in the pain and torment it exposes a man to, and in his being depri- The folly of ved by it of thofe advantages which he might reap both thefe from fuch extraordinary gifts of his neighbour, fins. whether they be of wisdom or learning, piety or virtue. And the folly of detraction is no lefs manifeft, because it seldom fails of being discovered: then the confequence is certain; the detractor leffens his own character; and the neighbour he intended to injure obtains more esteem for those excellencies which were the object of the other's envy. And, rank and quality. As for the several degrees of nobility, titles, and places of dignity, by which men are advanced above the Refpe& due vulgar clafs of mankind, they are fo many marks to men of and badges of honour. It is true, by virtue of this titular dignity we are no farther obliged to reverence or esteem men, than their wisdom or virtue deferves; yet we are bound to give them their due titles, and demean ourselves towards them with that outward preference, obfervance, and ceremony, which their degree and quality requires on account of that lawful authority, which has raised them to that state and condition of life. Wherefore, as titular dignities intitle men to an outward respect and obfervance, so alfo doth wealth and large poffeffions; for, when God bestows upon one man a larger fortune and Due to the poffeffion than on another, he doth thereby prefer rich. and advance him into an higher sphere and condition; and when God hath fet him above us, it is juft and fit that we fhould fhould rife and give that place to him which is of God's appointment. Though, it may be, a wife or a virtuous poor man hath more right to our esteem than a fortunate knave or fool; yet, forafmuch as in outward rank or condition God hath preferred the latter, he hath the right of precedency, and of outward refpect and obfervance; and ought to be treated with greater regard and obeifance. This is a duty fo incumbent upon all, that our church hath thought proper to teach it in her first rudiments of christianity; where children are taught to order themselves lowly and reverently to all their betters. want. Again, if our neighbour be in want of knowledge, comDue to these fort, counfel, advice or reproof, or in want of our that are in defence, we are according to our ability, which God has given us for that purpose, not only to demand their respect, but to affift others when they are ignorant, în affliction, drawn into fin, and under the defamation of an evil tongue. Thus alfo, when the neceffities of the poor call upon us, we must relieve their bodily wants with a plentiTo the poor. ful contribution of our purse, as due to them from that treasure, which God has committed in truft to our charge: for in all these cases we are to look upon ourselves only as God's stewards, and fo ought to dread the punishment of the unjuft ftewards, and the lofs of those abilities; By God'sap- which God has a right to take from them, that do pointment. not faithfully employ them to the ends for which they were given them; for the with-holding from the more than is meet tends to poverty. Duties in poor A third qualification, which makes any thing we poffefs due to our neighbour, is that degree of relation, respect of which is between debtor and creditor, whereby relations. we are obliged to pay justly what we owe by bargain, loan, or promife; as I have more largely fhewn before.* VII. He alfo, who doth a good turn, deferves and merits of him that receives it; and he hath a right to what he de ferves * See Sund. 10. Se&.7. |
