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54

THE

UNitVERSAL ROLE

OF

EQUITY'. [SERr4.

kxXIII.

spirit of

all

social

duties, and summed them up

in this

short

sentence

:

Let not

the disciples

of Christ forget

this rule

;

nor

let

-the

most

eminent and exalted christians

think

it

beneath their study and their practice. The

love of God

and

Christ

is

not

the whole

of

our

duty,

nor

can

we

be

christians indeed,

if

we

neglect

to love

our

neighbour. How

vain

are

all

our pretences

to

faith

in

Christ, and piety toward God,

if

we

grow

careless

in

our conduct

toward men?

All

our fancied

attainments

in the school

of

Christ,

how

they

are

disgraced and de-

stroyed,

if

we

abandon

this

rule

of

moral virtue,

and

treat

our neighbours contrary

to

this divine

principle of

equity

and love

?

What

shall

we

answer

in

the great

judgment

-day

to

an

enquiring God,

when in flaming

fire

he

shalt

put

us

in

mind

;

" I

gave

you

a

plain

and

easy

rule

of

righteous-

ness

in my

word,

I

wrote

it

in

your hearts

also,

in

very

legible characters

:

If

you had

but

looked carefully

into

your

consciences,

you

might have

read it there

;

But

you

resolved

to sacrifice all to

your

lusts

:

you have

wronged

and defrauded your brethren, and exposed yourselves to

my

righteous

sentence, for

your

wilful

practice

of

unrigh-

teousness against

so

plain a

law

?"

It

is

a

just

remark

which has been often

made

on

this

occasion

:

"

The heathen emperor

Severus shall rise up

in

the

judgment

with such a

generation

of

christians,

and

condemn them

:

For

he, by

the light

of

nature,

was

taught

highly to

reverence

this

precept,"

when he

had

learned

it from the professors

of

christianity.

You

might read it

upon

the walls

of

his

palace

;

it

was

en-

graven there

to

govern

his

court

in the times

of

peace

;

and

it

is

said, he

carried it

to

war with

him

in

the

ban-

ners of

his

army,

that

it

might

regulate

his

conduct, upon

all

military occurrences.

What

a pity

it

is

that

Severus

was

a

heathen

!

Or

ra-

ther, what

a

shame

and sorrow

it

is,

that

there

should

be

so few

of

this

character

in the courts,

in

the armies,

in

the

markets, the

shops,

and

the

families

of

christians

!

When

will

that

blessed day come,

that

shall

bring

this

departed

glory back again to

the

.church, of Christ?

When

shall

the

spirit of

faith and charity

be

poured

down

from

on high,

and righteousness

come from heaven

to

dwell

among

us

?

,_.4