SERMON XXV. 1353 pierced themselves through with many sorrows. For they that will berich,fall into temptation, anda snare, andinto many foolisk , and hur'fill lusts, which drawmen indestruction and perdition ; 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. Solomon is of the same mind ; Prev. xxviii. 20, 22. He that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be inno- sent, for he bath an evil eye upon the possessions of his neighbour. It is from thiscursed root ofcovetousness that a multitude of bitter fruits proceed. It is by this vicious principle working within us, that we are temptedto take what is not our due, either by craft or by violence, Hence it is that men cheat each other in their dailycommerce, they defraud and over-reach their neigh- bour, if they can, in every bargain they make, and try all the arts of subtle knavery, in order to enrichthemselves. Theydivest their souls of truth and virtue, and put offconscienceand shame to load themselves with thick clay. It is covetousness that teaches the sons of men to practise upon their dealers with a false balance and a deceitful beam. They shorten their measures, and lessen their weightsby which they sell their goods : But when the case alters, and they buy any thing for themselves, they will, if possible, take another sort of weight, or use a different measure ; all which are an abomina- tion to the Lord. It is the same evil and unrighteous principle that persuades the seller to put off corrupt and damaged wares for good and sound, and to cozen his neighbour with merchandize that is by no means such as he reasonably expects. It is this principle that persuades the buyer also to cheat hisneighbour with corrupt and false money, which he knows to be unlawful coin. For corrupt merchandize and corrupt money, false balances, light weights, and scanty measure, seem all to stand in the same rank of deceit : These are all weapons of craft and knavery to give a secret wound to their neighbour's estate, they all belong to the armory of fraud, and the magazine of unrighte- ousness. It is this covetous humour that tempts the tongues of men to speak flattering falsehoods in their daily dealings, and someof them make an hourly sacrifice of truth to the gain of a penny. It is from this principle that they break their pro- mises of payment they withhold the money that is due totheir neighbour, beyond all reasonable time, and that for no other reason but to gain by the loan of it : They delay the payment of their poor creditors for many months, or perhaps for years, and put the advantage which they snake of this delay into their own purse. This is a frequent, but an unrighteouspractice in na2
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