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nected most intimately with us; fuch as our families, relations and friends: For, it would be a prepofterous difpofition, and not christian mercy, to pity and help ftrangers, while our own household, kindred and friends were difregarded by us, in their mifery.Above all,

13. Our christian brethren claim a peculiar part in our bowels of mercies. If one member fuffers, all the members should fuffer with it. "We are to bear one ano"ther's burdens, and fo fulfil the law of "Chrift."

14. Our beathen slaves are proper ob jects and excellent tefts of a merciful difpofition. Their case and state is allowed to be very pitiable and miserable upon almoft all accounts. They often provoke us, and needs muft. They are, in a manner, entirely at our mercy, and their very lives in our hands. They are our fellow creatures,and might and should be our christian brethren. They are God's creatures, and our neighbors, whom we fhould love as ourselves. And furely, if a merciful man, will be merciful even to his beaft, much more ought he to be fo to his human slave !-It may therefore be depended on, that those who have no pity for their flaves, but are of an unfeeling, cruel, merciless temper towards them, are ftrangers to this grace.

15. This is one of the most amiable and God-like of all the chriftian virtues, being that temper by which we do, in a most emiment manner, resemble and bear the image of the bleffed Gon, and his Son Jesus CHRIST; who forgive us ten thousand talents, and are merciful to the evil and unthankful.

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16. It is declared, that they "fhall have judgment without mercy, who fhew no "mercy ;" and, "that if we forgive not "men their trefpaffes, neither will GOD འ་ forgive us ours. With the the merciful, (fays David) GOD will fhew himself mer"ciful; and bleffed are the merciful, for they fhall obtain the mercy of GOD."

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17. It needs not be added, that a merciful difpofition, is one of the moft amiable and endearing accomplishments in a man, and ftands the faireft chance of rendering him univerfally beloved by his fellow creatures.

18. Let us then, as the elect of GOD, holy and beloved, put on bowels of mercies.

ESSAY XLIL

JUSTICE between MAN and MAN.

1. JUSTICE is a very extenfive virtue, and implies a right and fit temper and † Psal. xviii. a5. Matth. v. 7

James ii. 13.

deportment towards all beings to whom we ftand any ways related, with whom we are any way connected, and with whom we have any concern. In fhort, "It is to ren"der unto every one his due." And, in this general view, it may be called integrity, uprightness or righteousness,

2. If we act justly towards GOD, we fhall love, reverence, and esteem him fupremely, and above all things; we fhall believe, obey and trust him without reserve, and we shall worship and praife him, accor ding to his glorious perfections.

3. If we are just to the holy angels, we fhall love them as our fellow creatures; as the fubjects and fervants of our Redeemer; as pure, holy, and benevolent beings; and, more particularly, as miniftring spirits fent forth to minifter to them who are heirs of falvation, and as deeply and affectionately interesting themselves in our good, and in our Redeemer's glory.

4. If we are just to our fellow men, we shall love them as ourselves; we shall fympathize with, and help them in their wants and afflictions; we fhall confcientiously abftain from injuring them in their perfons, families, reputation, or interefts; we shall deal fairly, truly, candidly and equitably with them in all dealings and tranfactions of life; we fhall perform to each of them the honors, duties, or fervices, which of right

belong to them, according to the various relations in which they stand to us, and we shall do what we can and ought to promote both their temporal and eternal welfare.

5. If we are just to ourselves, we fhall prefer our fouls to our bodies; eternity to time; and the favor of GOD and eternal happinefs, to all the alluring, deceitful of fers of fin. We fhall be humble, patient, meek, modeft, juft, charitable, felf-denied, and every thing elfe which we ought to be.

6. But as juftice between man and man, is that branch of equity or righteoufnefs, which we are here to confider, it may be moft beneficial to take a view of that excellent rule and measure of it laid down by our Saviour, Matth. vii. 12. "Therefore, "all things, whatfoever ye would that men "fhould do unto you, do ye even fo unto

" them."

7. The measure of our acting towards others, here propofed, is not what they actually do to us, but what we would they should do to us. Yet this is the measure by which moft men act towards their neighbors They render evil for evil; railing for railing, &c. Nor will they do good to thofe who will not do good to them. Nay, many think themselves juftified in cheating others, because they first cheated them. But this is retaliation and private revenge, not equity. The gospel

has taught us a quite different rule of acting, and denies to chriftians the right of private revenge, farther than self-defence requires.†

8. It is not, in all cases, lawful to do unto others, what we would they should do unto us, were we in their circumstances, and they in ours, without prefuppofing the lawfulness or fitness of the action. A criminal might be glad that his judge would acquit him; but could not reasonably expect it. A drunkard would be glad that his neighbor would intoxicate him, yet he ought not for that reafon to make his neighbor drunk, because it would be unlawful. A poor man might be glad if his rich neighbor would give his whole eftate to him; yet how could he reasonably expect it ?

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9. The spirit of the precept is plainly this: In all our tranfactions with our neighbor, we ought, laying afide prejudice ' and partiality, to fuppofe ourselves in our neighbor's place and circumftances, and he in ours; and then we fhould attentively confider what we might reasonably and lawfully expect from him, if he were in our place, and we in his; and accordingly, " we fhould be the fame to him in our thoughts, words and actions, as we would • have him to be unto us, if the tables were • turned.'

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† Luke vi. 31,-35. Rom. xii. 19,-21.

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