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APPENDIX
TO
SERMONS
XX,
XXI,
AND
XNII.
S77
cancels this divine rule, and substitutes
another
in
the
room
of
it, viz.
Whatsoever
men do
unto
you,
do
ye
also
that
unto
them;
which
is
as
widely
different from
the sacred rule
of
Christ,
as
light
is
from darkness,
or
4heaven
from hell.
By
this
new
rule
we
are
no
longer
bound
to
practise
that
truth,
that
justice,
that
goodness,
to
others,, .which we
think reasonable
they should
prac-
tise
towards
us
;
but
we
have leave to
practise
that
false-
hood
and knavery,
that
fraud, and
injustice,
and mischief
to
others, which they do
actually practise towards
us,
or
which
we
suspect
they design to practise.
Hone
half
of
a
city or
a nation
were
fallen
into knavish
practices, through the great degeneracy
of
the
age,
or
were
become
thievish pilferers, the
other
half
would,
by
this
rule, practise knavery
with
licence toward
them,
and
deal
out
falsehoods
to
them
by
divine permission.
And
then
the charge iyould quickly
be
just
and
universal,
There
is
no
truth
in
the land,
as
Hos.
iv. 1,
There,
is
indeed scarce
any censure,
of a degenerate and
corrupt
age
under
the Old Testament,
but
fraud
and de-
ceit,
lies
and
falsehood make
a
considerable
part
of the
accusation
or
complaint;
and
surely
God
would
never
allow any
principles
or practices
that
have so
pernicious
a
tendency.
Hear
how
the prophets
Isaiah
and
Jere-
miah
lament
their
multiplied transgressions
in
conceiv-
ing
and .uttering
from the
heart
words
of
falsehood:
Truth
is
fallen
in the
.
street, yea
truth
faileth,
and
equity cannot
enter,,
Is.
lix.
This
is
a nation
that
obey
-
eth not
the
voice
of
the
Lord.
Truth
is
perished,
and
is
cut
off from
their
mouth. They deceive
every pne
his
neighbour, and
will
not
speak the
truth
;
they bend
their
tongues like
their
bow
for
lies,
Jer
vii.
and
ix.
Now
if
this
licentious principle
were allowed,
neither God nor
his
prophets
would
ever want
matter of
complaint.
By
this,
means
also
it
will
come
to pass,
that if
a
man
happen once
to get the
name and
character of a thief
or
a
cheat, all
his
neigbours
will
think
themselves
autho-
rised to have no
regard to
truth
or honesty
in,
all
their
dealings
and
discourse
with him
;
for.
this rule
affirms
that
he has
no
right
to
truth.
And
when
any person
fancies
that
he
has seen
reason to suspect or disbelieve
his neighbour's honesty,
he will
think himself absolved
from
all
obligations
to
speak
truth
to
him.
But
what
a