SERMON XXVI. 3ßßi ourneighbour, than:to injure his estate. It is wrathand hatred that boils up the blood into fury and revenge, and moves us to smite our neighbour with the fist of wickedness ; nor is the guilty passion allayed tillit has practised mischief to hisbody, or his re- putation, or his family, or to something that belongs to him: Hence proceed murders and death, and all the train of evils and injuries of the cruel and bloody kind. It was from this principle that Cain slewAbel his brother, that the sons of Jacob soldJoseph into slavery : It was from this principle that Sanbal- lat and Tobiah joined their rage and their counsels against the Jews, that they might hinder the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and endeavour to destroy the builders, and throw down the work ; Neh. ií.10. I hope there areno examples of this flagrant injustice to be found among us who profess piety. But are there none of us guilty of some lesser injuries rising from the same principle ? Are there none of us that indulgeour tongues to backbite and slander, to make our neighbours look odious, or to make ourselves easy or merry ? This is to play the madman, who casts abroad fire-brands, arrows, and death,and saith, Am .I not in sport? Prov. xxvi. 18, 19. Are there none of us that delight to tease, andvex, and torture ourneighbour by disagreeable speechesand sly reproach ? Do wenever envyand provoke one another, con- trary to the apostle's express prohibition ? Gal. v. 26.' Do we not take pleasure to repeat the things that make. each other un- easy, inorder to vent the gall within us, and scatter the venom upon our neighbour's good name;? This is malice and unright- eousness together ; a complicated crime, which one would think should be abhorred by every christian, if one did not frequently see and feel the practice of it among the professors of the name of Christ. 1 might well compare such creatures to a wasp or hornet, who first tease and disquiet us with their endless hum- ming, and ere we can get ridof them, they fax their painful sting . in our flesh; though neither the pain nor the teasing vexation they give us, canprocure anyconveniencyto those peevish insects, those noisy animals of a little angry soul. If we arepoor, this evil humour tempts us to envy the riches of our neighbour, and we magnify and exalt them beyond the truth, that we may give some colour to our spleneticand uneasy carriage. If we are afflicted, or in pain, we envy the welfare and the ease of others, we enlarge our paraphrases upon their Messings, and blacken their character, that they may appear un- worthyof suchfavours, and worthy of our indignation and envy. " When shall the timecome, O Lord Jesus, thou king of right -. eousness, and king of peace, when shall that day appear, that Ephraim shall noI envy Judah, nor Judah molest .Ephraim?
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