362 CHRISTIAN MORALITY. The fourth occasion of injustice is sloth and idleness. For the slot/fill man is a brother to him that is a great waster; Prov. xvüi. 9. Whosoever wants the necessaries, or the conveniencies of life, is bound to obtain them by labour and diligence, if he is not possessed of themby anyother methodsof favourable providence. in the sweat of thy brows. shalt thou eat thy bread, was the com- mand given to Adam, when he was turned out of paradise, and forfeited his property in the fruits of Eden. But 'when once a person gets au aversion to business, when he finds a pleasure in sauntering and trifles, and indulges idleness and a'lazylife ; then he is tempted to seek the supports and comforts of nature by some practiées of unrighteousness. The slothful man will be clothed with rags, unless he procure better clothing by fraud or violence ; Prov. xxiii. 21. Ilene it is that persons learn the artof stealing, and possess themselves of The goods or the money of their neighbour by thievery. They mark out the houses in the day, and break thení up at midnight for plunder. They remove the ancientland-marks; to enlarge their own borders; theyviolently take away flocks, and feed upon them. They go forth to their unrighteous work in the morning, and rise betimes for a prey. Theyreap dawn the corn in their neighbour's field, and the wicked gather the vintage: They cause the naked to lodge without cloathing, and take away the sheaf fromthe hungry.. Theseare they that rebel against the light; then/ abide not in thepaths thereof. Though God does not lay folly to them, nor punish their crimes by his immediate judg- ments, yet his eyes are upon their ways ; Job xxiv. 2 -23, And many times his providence brings their crimes to light, and they are punished for their iniquity by the sentence of the judge. O what a shameand scandal is it, that in a nation professing chzistianity, there should be such multitudes trained up to the pil- feringtrade, andeducated for infamy, for transportation, and the gibbet! There -are others, whose hands refuse to labour, and whose temper of mind delights in idleness, but they venture not upon these holder crimes; they learn other unrighteous artsof cheating and falsehood, and fall into the same evil practices, which I have just before described under the head of luxury. But when lux- ury, pride, and sloth join their forces together, the temptation to injustice becomes exceeding strong, and there are few who have power to resist it. Such was the unjust steward, whomourbles- sed Saviour represents in a parable, procuring himself a way of livingby cheating hisLord : Luke xvi. 1,2, 3, 4. IIe had wasted Lis master's_goods, and he was to be cashiered from his service. What shall I do, said he, I have not been used to work, I cannot
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