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THE
UNIVERSAL RULE OF
EQUITY.
[SERM
XXX1191;
is
the summary
of
all the
rules
of
duty, which
are
written
in the
law
of
Moses, concerning our carriage
to
your,
neighbour,
and
of
all
the
laws which
are
explained
by
the
succeeding.
prophets and
sacred writers
under
the
Old,Testament.
They
are
all
comprehended
in
this
short
line
:
" Do
to others
as
you would have
others
'do
to
you."
It
is
very nearly the same
thing,
in
other
words
with the
law
of
Moses,
"
Love thy neighbour as
thyself,"
.Lev.
xix.
18.
but it
is
much
plainer
and more
intelligi-
ble
:
And indeed
this
rule of
Moses
is
to
be
understood
and interpreted, and applied
in
practice according
to
this
plainer
rule
of
Christ, thus, "
Let
thy love to thy
neigh
-
bour
be as
great
as
thou
canst reasonably expect
or de-
sire thy
neighbours
love should
be
to
thyself."
When our
blessed
Lord
gives
an abridgment or
ab-
stract of
the ten commandments,
he.doth
-it
in these
words; Mat.
xxii. 37,
3S,
39.."
Love the
Lord
thy
God
with
all
thy"heart and soul,
that
is,
love
God
above
all
things;
this
is
the
first
and great
commandment.:
And
the
second
is
like
unto
it;
love
thy
neighbour
as
thy-
self;" that
is,
consider
him as a piece
of
human nature,
as a
second
self,
and
imitate thy
love
to
thyself
in thy
conduct
toward
him
:
Or,
according
to
my
text,
it
may
e
explained
thus;
enquire of
thy own
heart
how
thou
wouldst
have him love thee,
and
let
this
be
the rule and
measure
of
thy love to him.
All
oúr duties
to
God or
man, all the commands
of
the
first
and the second table,
all the dictates
of
the
law
and prophets depend
on these
two commandments,
Then
we
answer
the
design
of
the
law,
then
we obey
the prophets,
.then
we
fulfil
the commands
of
Moses,
And
of Christ,
when
we give
to
God
our supreme
love,
and
when
we
put
ourselves in the room
of
our
neighbour,
and then carry it
toward
hirn,
according
to
the
love
we
expect
he
should
bear
to
us.
This
is
loving
our
neigh-
bours
as ourselves,
and
this
love
is
the
fulfilling
of
the
.law,
Rom.
xiii. 10.
When our
Saviour delivers the words
of
my
text,
it
is
its
if
he
had said to
us,
"
If
ve
would
practise
all
the du-
ties
that
you.
owe
to
your
fellow-
creatures, and
fulfil
all
the
laws
of the
second table,
in
the most compendious
and
perfect
manner,
remember and
practise
this one
ge-
neral
direction,
deal
with:
the zest:
of
in
nkind
as your