SLIìh1. XXXIII. THE UNIVERSAL RULE OF EQUITY. THE RECOLLECTION. Blessed Saviour, how great is thy goodness, to give us so complete, so plain, so easy, and so divine a rule, to square all our actions in the social life ! How happily hast thou comprized Moses and the prophets in two short lines, that is, the commandof a supreme love to the Lord our God, and a love to our neighbour like: that which we bear to ourselves ? Remember, O my soul, this short and comprehensive lesson ; and amongst all thy duties and zeal toward thy God, forget not this rule .of;conduct toward thy fellow- creatures. I can never complain, it is too high and hard for my understanding to apprehend, or too tiresome and painful for my memory to retain, or too burthensome to carry it about always with me. I am convinced, fully convinced, of the justice of it It strikes upon my con- science with-strong light and evidence, and sometimes I feel the force of it, like an inward motive, awakening me to the practice ofall that it enjoins. O that I might ever live under 'its .pnevailing influences, and then I might humbly appeal to God, that I have transacted my affairs with men; by the principles of sinceregodliness, truth,, and justice. Forgive, Omy gracious God, all the wretched instances of mydeparture from this sacred lawof equity. This sa-. cred law. will awaken the soul to repentance, as well as direct it to duty; and whatever station of life I am en;. gaged in, whatever rank, character, office, or relation I bear in the world, or in the church of Christ; let me form all my future conduct by this command of my Sa- viour, let me bring all my past actions to this holy test, and let my conscience repent or rejoice. O how bright a lustre would be cast on the religion of Jesus, and on all the professors of it, if this rule were al- ways in use ! But, alas ! it lies silent in our bibles, and we hear it not;, qr it sleeps in our bosom, and we awake it not, when we have most need of its assistance. We read and we forget even' this short rule of righteousness, and thus we practise iniquity daily, and injure our neighbours without remorse. O wretched creatures that we are ! How great is our negligence, and our guilt, that we do not so much as ask our. consciences honestly, how we should E4
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