An Expofition upon the of Nature, and much more the Law of Charity, binds thee fo ro deal wirh others thatrheymayhave n.oCanfetocomplainoftbee to God, and in the BitternefS of their Spirits to imprecate his Wrath and Vengeance upon thee. Tbirdly, Another kind of Theft is detaining from another wbat is his Due eirher by Equity or Compa£1: And how many arc tbetc whore profu{e Riot and Luxury aremaintained upon the intrurted Goods of others, whilft the Poor Creditor in the mean time bath no otber Satisfailioo but good Words, and fcarce any Thing to li\'C upon but his own Tears and Sighs. And bow many withhold the Hire of the Labourer, who when he bath wearied out himfelf in their Service, is denied that !inall Reward which ~e r:quires for his ~eceffary Refrefhment? ~ea, not on_ly denying ir, but even defernng H beyond the nmc that thay can convememly be wnhout it, is a kind of Thcfc and OppreUion, Deut. 24. 14. Thou /halt lfOt opprifs an hirtd Scr· vant tbat is Poor and Nudy; at bis Day thou fbalt give bim his Hire, ncirlur jha/1 tbc _Sun go down upon it: t'orhe_is Po~r, andfeuetb his flc_art upon it; lefl be cry agamfltbee unto tbc Lord, and 11 bt Szn unto thee. Yea, m all our Bargains and Agrcemcnu, though they be never fo much to thine own Prejudice, thou arr bound to fl and ro them, unle fs the other will voluntarily releafe thee from the Obliga rion. Forrhis is One' of the Cha13tlers given of a Godly Pcrfon, 1'/al. 15. 4· lie tbat fwearetb, and covenantetb to his own burr, and cbangetb not, but upon Demand is ready and willing to fulfil his Agreement: How much more heinous and abominable is it, when they have already rce<:ived the full Value of their Coll'lpa£1, unju{lly to withhold what they have agreed to give; which is no better than to rake rheit Labour or their Goods from them by Violence and Robbery ; yea, and ia one Re· fpetl worfe, in as much as it adds Fal!hood to Stealth. Fourthly! Another k.ind of Theft is .in Buying and Selling, and this is a very large and vvlummous Decett : For the Subulty ot Men bath found out fo many Artifices to defraud and over-reach one another, that to recount them is almoR: as hard as ro efcape them. Here come' in the falfe Weights, and the falfe Meafures, which are an Abomination to the Lord~ Prov. I 1. 1. Falfe and Counterfeiced Wares, overcommending or undervaluing of Goods for Advantage, and many other unjuft Contrivances, which Mtns Confcienccs can better fuggeft to them than any Difcourfe. The Apofi:le hath fufficiently cautioned and threatned fuch Men, 1 Tbef. 4· 6. Let no Man go beyond or defraud bis Brother in any Alatter, bccauje that the Lord-is the Avenger of fucb. Believe it, th~re is a Day coming when the falfe Weighrs !hall be themfelvcs weighed, and the fcanty Meafures t!)ea!ured by a Stand· ard· that is infallibly true . Poffibly thou may'll deal fo cunningly that thofe whom thou over-reacheft can have DO Advantage againft thee, nor right themfeh•es by Law: But remember that the great Judge will avenge them upon thee at the Lart Day. Then 311 Accounts Gull be ballanced, and fo much found refiing due) which thou fhall cettainly; though no[ ~o _thofe whon: th«>u haft wronged, yet w the Juftice of God, who is the Great and Ua1verfal Crednor. There are likewife many other Kinds of 'Fboft, as Prodigality in walling what lbould farisfie the joft Demands of others, taking of Wages and Keward for what we do not endeavour confciencioufly to perform, fellin~ that which we have no right to difpofe of, or Thing. which ought not t? be fol~, raking Bribes for Juftice, or Rewards for Inju!lice. But I fhaU not parucularly mfift upon thefe, and many others that might be mentioned. And thcs we bave feen what the Negative Part of this Precept is. But becanre every Negative implies in it a Pofitive, let us fee what is the Duty required from us ; and that is Twofold. • Fir }I That every one of us !hould have feme Calhng. Seco~dly, That all of us fhould be contented in that E!late and Condition of Life wherein the Divine Providence bath fer us. Firfl T!Jou fhalt not }lea/.- Therefore every Man ought to have a Calling where; on he' may comfortably fubfift, and by his Labour and lndu!lry may provide at !ea!t Nece!faries for himfelf and Family : For be tbat pru"ideth not for his Family bath denied the Faitb, (f3.ith the Apofile,) and is worfc tbtm an Infidel: Some there are who live without any Calling at all; fuch are like idle Drones, that con fume the Labours of others, lazy Vagabonds, to whom the gteare!t Charity would be Cone· a ion ; who only fetve to devour mifplaced Arms, and defraud the truly Poor of their Relief: Yea, if! fhould rank with thefea Company of fuperfluous, debauch'd, Gentlemen,
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