parents, to Joseph the carpenter, and to Mary his mother, that he might
instruct us how to pay obedience to our superior relations. See how the
King of kings pays tribute to Cæsar, when he was so poor, that he was
forced to send Peter a fishing, to procure the tribute-money by a
miracle. And though the beasts of the field were his, and he could have
commanded the cattle upon a thousand hills, to make provision for his
followers; yet he would not dispossess the owners of them, but created
food on purpose to feed four or five thousand in the wilderness.
III. If we consider Christ as a glorious benefactor, who has taken care
to provide for us the necessaries of this life, and hath purchased for
us, at the hands of God, the eternal treasures of heaven and glory. Has
not this blessed consideration force enough to guard us against all
temptations to injustice? Shall a christian break the rules of equity,
and steal, or cheat, or plunder his neighbour to gain money or
merchandise, who has the promises of God for his support in a way of
diligence and humble faith? Shall we sully our consciences, and defile
our souls with knavery and injustice for a little of the pelf of this
world, when we have the unsearchable riches of Christ made over to us in
the gospel, and the inheritance of heaven in reversion?
IV. Let us consider the very nature and design of the gospel of Christ,
it is to make sinners holy, to make the unjust righteous: The new man of
christianity must be created in righteousness and true holiness.
Therefore are we _purchased with the blood of Christ, that we might be a
peculiar peeple, zealous of good works_; Tit. ii. 14.
It is a shame and scandal to the christian name, when one who wears it
is unrighteous or dishonest. An unjust christian, what a contradiction
is it in itself, and how it disgraces the profession of the gospel! Hear
how the great apostle treats his Corinthian disciples when such sort of
sins were found amongst them; 1 Cor. vi. 1-8. _Dare any of you, having a
matter against another, go to law before the unjust man and the infidel?
Dare any of you injure your neighbour, your fellow-christian? I speak
this to your shame. Brother goes to law with brother, and ye injure one
another. Why do not you rather suffer wrong? nay, you do wrong, and
defraud, and that your own brethren._ But what is the consequence? Such
wretches as these are, _shall never inherit the kingdom of God_.
_The grace of God that bringeth salvation_; Tit. ii. 9, 10. _teacheth us
to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly and
righteously_, and religiously, _in this present evil world_. It teacheth
us righteousness towards men, as well as sobriety among ourselves, and
godliness towards the King of heaven. But how hath this divine religion
been scandalized for want of justice in the professors of it!
Scandalized among heathen kingdoms, among Turks and unbelievers! and
christianity in our own land, how hath it been dishonoured by the
practices of those that pretend to that holy name! How hath the
conversion of wild heathens in the Indian nations been hindered by the
injustice and fraud of christian merchants and traders there, or by
merchants who call themselves christians. I have heard it said by
persons whom I could fully credit, that a Turk when he is suspected of
fraud and cheating, will reply, “What, do you think I am a christian?” O
how hath the gospel of the lovely Jesus been rendered odious by the
abominable practices of those that pretend to honour him! What
falsehood, what lying, what perjury, and cheating, and deceit, and
violence have been practised by our traders in foreign lands! Thus there
has been an ill savour of our holy christianity carried beyond the seas,
by those, perhaps, who have pretended to convert the infidels. And many
in our own nation, who have begun to set their faces towards heaven,
have been sorely disgusted at the knavish practices of professors, and
been tempted to think that all religion is a jest, and to abandon the
ordinances of the gospel. But when souls stumble, and fall, and perish
by such discouragements, woe to him that gave the offence, and laid this
stumbling-block of iniquity in their way. How heavy must the blood of
souls lay upon such sinners!
Surely there has been enough said on this head to discourage oppression,
deceit, and injustice in the professors of christianity, if argument,
and shame, and terror can have power and prevalence over sin and
temptation. O may almighty grace attend this discourse of justice, and
work the sacred love of it in the hearts of men!
Now if ye are made willing to walk by the rules of equity and justice,
instead of proposing particular directions for this end, I shall
proceed,
In the fifth and last place, to point out the various springs of
injustice, that ye may avoid them.
The great and general spring of injustice to our neighbour is a criminal
and excessive love to ourselves. For since the comprehensive notion of
justice lies in this, to give to every one that which is due, it
follows, that the general notion of injustice consists in taking to
ourselves more than is due, or in giving less than is due to our
neighbour.
There are a thousand instances of this unrighteousness among men, in
reference to their bodies, their souls, their good name, or their
possessions in the world. This general term of injustice is so
extensive, that it includes a great part of the sins forbidden in the
second table. Disobedience to parents and governors, rebellion, treason,
murder, adultery, theft, violence and plunder, cheating, and deceit, and
slander, with all sinful desires to possess what belongs to our
neighbour, may be justly ranked under the head of unrighteousness: And
they spring from this one fountain, namely, an excessive regard to self.
It is to this natural and exalted idol that we sacrifice the peace and
the property, the good name, and even the life of our fellow-creatures.
Nor will any method be effectual to secure us from the practice of
injustice, till we learn to degrade self a little in our own esteem, and
to judge of our neighbour, and of the things that are his due, by the
same rule and measure by which we take an estimate, of ourselves, and of
what is due to us. Let us put our neighbour in the place of self, and
judge how he ought to be treated.
But that we may more effectually guard ourselves from the temptations of
injustice, let us descend to particulars, and we shall find that almost
all the unrighteous practices of men spring from some of these six
principles; _viz._ covetousness, pride, luxury, sloth, malice against
men, or distrust of God.
I. Covetousness is a great spring of injustice. This consists in an
immoderate desire of possessing: And we are told by the apostle, that
the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted
after, they have not only erred from the faith, but they have ventured
upon many sins, as well as pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
For _they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts, which draw men in destruction and
perdition_; 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. Solomon is of the same mind; Prov. xxviii.
20, 22. He that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be innocent, for he
hath an evil eye upon the possessions of his neighbour.
It is from this cursed root of covetousness that a multitude of bitter
fruits proceed. It is by this vicious principle working within us, that
we are tempted to take what is not our due, either by craft or by
violence. Hence it is that men cheat each other in their daily commerce,
they defraud and over-reach their neighbour, if they can, in every
bargain they make, and try all the arts of subtle knavery, in order to
enrich themselves. They divest their souls of truth and virtue, and put
off conscience and shame to load themselves with thick clay.
It is covetousness that teaches the sons of men to practise upon their
dealers with a false balance and a deceitful beam. They shorten their
measures, and lessen their weights by which they sell their goods: But
when the case alters, and they buy any thing for themselves, they will,
if possible, take another sort of weight, or use a different measure;
all which are an abomination to the Lord.
It is the same evil and unrighteous principle that persuades the seller
to put off corrupt and damaged wares for good and sound, and to cozen
his neighbour with merchandize that is by no means such as he reasonably
expects. It is this principle that persuades the buyer also to cheat his
neighbour with corrupt and false money, which he knows to be unlawful
coin. For corrupt merchandize and corrupt money, false balances, light
weights, and scanty measure, seem all to stand in the same rank of
deceit: These are all weapons of craft and knavery to give a secret
wound to their neighbour’s estate, they all belong to the armory of
fraud, and the magazine of unrighteousness.
It is this covetous humour that tempts the tongues of men to speak
flattering falsehoods in their daily dealings, and some of them make an
hourly sacrifice of truth to the gain of a penny. It is from this
principle that they break their promises of payment; they withhold the
money that is due to their neighbour, beyond all reasonable time, and
that for no other reason but to gain by the loan of it: They delay the
payment of their poor creditors for many months, or perhaps for years,
and put the advantage which they make of this delay into their own
purse. This is a frequent, but an unrighteous practice in our day: For
the profit that accrues by the detaining of money that is due to another
beyond the customary or contracted time of payment, should doubtless be
given to the person to whom the principal money was due; or at least he
should have such a valuable share of it as may compensate the damage or
loss he sustains by the delay.
It is a covetous desire of gain that tempts men to practise extortion,
and to prey upon the necessities of those they deal with. When the buyer
wants any conveniency of life, they force him to give much more than it
is worth, because he stands in the utmost need of it; or they constrain
the seller perhaps to part with some of his most valuable possessions
for a trifle, because he is under special necessity and present
distress. This was the extortion which Jacob practised upon his brother
Esau, when he made him sell his birth-right for a mess of pottage, while
he was faint with hunting. And it is the same iniquity when we impose
upon the ignorance or known unskilfulness of the persons we deal with;
and especially when we make our advantage of children or servants, or of
persons who confess their own ignorance, and leave the choice of the
goods, or the determination of the price, to the conscience of him that
sells.
We may indeed set a just value upon our own goods; but we must not set a
price upon any man’s pressing necessity, nor raise a tax upon his
ignorance. It can never be certainly determined how much it is lawful
for a trader to get by his merchandize: Doubtless he may sometimes make
a greater gain of the same things than at another: And this is often
necessary, in order to compensate the losses, the risks or dangers that
he passes through. He may lawfully make those advantages which the
change of things, and the divine providence often puts into his hands:
Nor is it unlawful for him to take more of some persons than he does of
others for the same merchandize; for he may treat some of his customers
favourably, though he must deal righteously and justly with them all.
But let him see to it that he use ingenuity towards the poor, the
necessitous, and the unskilful, as well as moderation toward all men.
The circumstances of things are so various, that much of the practice of
justice must be left to the court of equity in every man’s breast, under
the sacred influence of this rule, _Do that to others which you think
reasonable that others should do to you_. It is best in all doubtful and
difficult cases to practise what is fair and honourable in the sight of
men, and what is safe and innocent in the sight of God: for a good
conscience is better than the largest gain: But where the sacred
principles of virtue are over-borne by corrupt inclinations, the moral
powers of the soul are stretched at first to the lengths of moderate
iniquity, and conscience is strained to the indulgence of some smaller
unrighteousness: but virtue will die by degrees, and conscience will
learn in time to allow bolder injustice. And then, though it may be
stupified and senseless for a season, yet let the sinner know, that it
will have its feeling return again, and the guilt of knavery and
falsehood will torture the soul with unknown agonies here or hereafter.
But the wretched influence of this vice of covetousness is not confined
only to traffic and merchandize: It spreads its unrighteousness much
farther and wider: It tempts the sons and daughters of men to withhold
due honour and necessary supplies from their aged parents, and exposes
to great hardships in the latter end of life, those to whom we owe our
life itself, and the comforts of it in our younger years. It withholds
wages from the servant, and salary from him that has earned it. It
forbids those who have received benefits to make a grateful return to
their benefactors. It will teach a man to stop his ears at the cry of
his neighbour in distress, lest it should cost some money for his
relief. It refuses an alms to the starving poor, and finds an excuse for
the churl, lest he stretch out his hand of bounty to a perishing family.
It is so wrapped up in self, that it never considers what is due to
another; and ventures to break all the rules of righteousness rather
than diminish its own estate, or part with any thing it can call mine.
It would suffer a church or a kingdom to sink and perish, and let the
public peace be broken, and the nation dissolved, if it might but secure
itself and its own possessions in the midst of those ruins. An accursed
vice. An iniquity big with misery and desolation! yet it hides itself
too often from conviction and reproof; it runs like a river under
ground, and attempts to conceal itself under the specious disguises of
frugality and virtue, while it practises all the mischiefs we have been
describing.
II. Pride is another spring of injustice. But having broken up the
fountain of covetousness as of a great deep, and traced it in its
various streams, the labour of drying them up has employed so much time,
that the pursuit of the other springs of unrighteousness must be delayed
till a further season.
HYMN FOR SERMON XXV.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Justice and Truth_.
Great God, thy holy law requires,
To curb our covetous desires,
Forbids to plunder, steal, or cheat,
To practise falsehood or deceit.
Thy Son hath set a pattern too,
He paid to God and men their due:
A dreadful debt he paid to God,
And bought our pardon with his blood.
Amazing justice! boundless love!
Do we not feel our passions move?
Do we not grieve that we have been
Faithless to God, or false to men?
Have we no righteous debt denied,
Through wanton luxury or pride?
Nor vex’d the poor with long delay,
And made them groan for want of pay?
Have we ne’er thrown a needless shame,
Or scandal on our neighbour’s name?
O happy men, whose age and youth
Have ever dealt in love and truth;
But if our justice once be gone,
And leave our faith and hope alone;
If honesty be banish’d hence
Religion is a vain pretence.
SERMON XXVI.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Justice, &c._
PHILIP. iv. 8.—Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
think on these things.
Οσα δικαια, οσα αγνα.
Justice and truth are two of the chief bands that preserve human
society. If truth and justice perish from the earth, the sons of men
would become like the savages of the wilderness, where the strong or the
crafty animals prey upon _the weak, the simple, and the innocent_. The
Lord God, the author of nature, is a God of justice, and he has written
something of this law in the consciences of men. But the God of grace
has given us much plainer rules for the practice of it, hath allured us
to righteousness by sweeter motives, and hath guarded it by more awful
and solemn terrors. These things have been the subject of the former
discourse; and that we may, as far as possible, assist towards the
rooting out injustice from the hearts and lives of christians, I have
begun to point out some of the chief principles, or springs of it.
The first which I mentioned is covetousness, a vicious weed that grows
in corrupt nature, and is fruitful of a thousand unrighteous actions.
I proceed now to the second, that is pride. When a person sets too high
a value upon himself, and aggrandizes himself in his own esteem, he is
ready to imagine that all things are due to him, and there is very
little left to become due to his neighbour. The proud, as well as the
covetous man, is full of self, and he forgets the command of love to his
neighbour: He treats him as if he was not made of the same clay, and
lives as though he were obliged to no duty to his fellow-creatures. This
is evident in a variety of instances.
It is pride that forbids us to give due respect to those that are above
us in the family, in the church, or in the civil state: And instead of
paying the honours that are due to superiors, we are tempted to treat
them with insolence and scorn. Many a father in our degenerate age, has
found this unhappy effect of raising his children too soon and too high:
And the mother has seen her sin, and felt it in her punishment, when she
has cockered up her young offspring in pride, and thereby taught them to
break the rules of justice, to slight all her authority, and make a
scoff of that pre-eminence which God and nature have given her. The
proud man is ready to say in his heart, “All that are around me ought to
pay me respect, and do me justice,” while he is regardless of the
respect due to others. “Let them carry it towards me as they ought, and
I will carry it toward them as I please.”
It is pride that inclines us to throw a blot here and there upon the
good name of our neighbour, and to blemish his reputation, lest he
should outshine us. When some honourable mention is made of another
person in our company, especially if it be one of our own sex, our own
rank or degree in the world, do we not feel something rising within to
lessen their honour, and to stain their character? It is through this
vanity and ambition of mind, that we are tempted to defame and reproach
our neighbour, and to rob him of his just honour among men, and we
endeavour to build our own fame and credit upon the ruin of his. But it
is a sandy, or rather an impious foundation; and the fame that is built
upon such ground will never stand. Pride inclines us to assume more
respect than is due to ourselves, and to take it away from our
neighbour, even as covetousness tempts us to take more money to
ourselves than is due, and to deprive our neighbour of it. Thus both of
them are opposite to the sacred rule of justice; one to that justice
which we owe to our neighbour’s estate, and the other to his good name.
But the evil influence of pride spreads farther also; for it teaches us
to practise unrighteousness in matters of property: It instructs us in
the methods of oppression, and inspires us with a wicked courage to
practise it; Ps. lxxiii. 6, 7, 8. _When pride compasses men as a chain,
and they wear it as a golden ornament, then violence covers them as a
garment; and though their eyes stand out with fatness, and they have
more than heart could wish, yet they are corrupt, and speak wickedly
concerning oppression._ They gripe those that are poor, because they
themselves are mighty. They refuse to pay the just demands of their
neighbours, they speak loftily, and stand it out with them against all
right and justice, because they are great in the world. It is the rule
of justice to change places with our humble neighbour, and ask
ourselves, what we should think due to us, if we were in his place. Or
at least we should set ourselves and our neighbour upon the level, and
consider what is just and right on both sides. But the heart of pride
cannot bear such a rule, it exalts itself far above the level of
mankind, and practises toward those that are around it with a superior
insolence and injustice. Cursed pride, the first-born of hell! It seized
our first parents and tempted them to aim at godhead, to practice injury
to God himself, and assume a right to the fruit of the forbidden tree!
Vile iniquity, that hath tainted all the seed of Adam! It is a haughty
poison that was infused into our veins with the first sin; and where
shall we find the son or daughter of Eve that is not infected with it?
Blessed be the grace of God, wheresoever its dominion is broken, so that
it does not break out into all the works of unrighteousness.
The third spring of injustice among men is profuseness and luxury. When
persons affect to live in a manner above what their circumstances will
afford, they are tempted to intrench upon the property of their
neighbour, either by cheating or by violence.
It is the language of luxury, “I must indulge my appetite, my table must
be furnished with a costly variety, and I must eat and drink with
elegance, as is the modish phrase. I must treat my friends when they
visit me, with fashionable entertainments; I must keep fine company, and
make a figure in the world; I must appear in such an equipage as my
neighbour allows himself, though he be ten times richer than I am. I
must have many changes of raiment, for it is a mean and vulgar thing to
appear too often in the same dress: My house must be furnished after the
mode, and I must shine at home and abroad in silks or in silver; for I
cannot bear the thought that such or such a one should out-shine and
over-top me.” Then the patrimony is sold or mortgaged to raise present
supplies, and the rich food and clothing, and luxurious expences of a
twelve-month, devour and swallow up seven years income, or the gain of
half their lives.
What remains then, when their own substance is not sufficient to supply
their vanity, but that they make an inroad upon the property of their
neighbour? They run deep into debt with the artificer and trader, and
they never concern themselves how to make payment. The workman has built
them palaces, instead of such common dwellings as their character
requires, and the artificers of various kinds have furnished out their
bravery of apparel or equipage: But the unhappy creditors are ready to
starve in tattered raiment, through the oppression and injustice of
their luxurious neighbour. And when they make a modest demand of what is
due to them, they meet with nothing but a frown or a jest, and the
reproachful names of saucy and impertinent. But, _wo to him that covets
an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high;—for
the stone shall cry out of the wall against the oppressor: The beam out
of the timber shall answer it, and shall bear witness against
unrighteousness_; Hab. ii. 9, 11.
This is the crying guilt of many, and very commonly practised in this
city, in greater or in less degrees; but perhaps the profuse wretch
pursues a bolder course of injustice, and betakes himself to robbery and
plunder: He lies at watch on the high-ways, he seizes and assaults the
innocent traveller, and deprives him of his wealth and every thing
valuable, in order to support his own wild and extravagant expences.
Luxury must be fed, though justice be starved; and luxury must be
clothed, though justice go naked.
My hearers perhaps will think themselves unconcerned in all this story,
and take no share of conviction to themselves, nor do I know any of them
to whom half this charge belongs. But let it be considered, that men do
not usually rise to this degree of madness all at once. Unrighteousness
has several steps and stages in its race; if we indulge our appetites,
and spread our tables, or form our apparel or our furniture but a little
beyond our income, if we once begin to admit such a manner of life and
expence as exceeds our estate, in order to please our own sensual or
vain inclinations, or to vie with our neighbours, we expose ourselves to
most evident temptations of injustice, and lead our souls into sinful
snares. “We cannot live frugally as our fathers did: The fashion is
altered, and we must follow it, whether the purse can bear it or no.”