488 UNIVERSAL RULE OF EQUITY. sonal blessedness, by the pleasure they take in contributing to the blessedness of all their fellows. Thus have I given a short and very imperfect account of the excellencies of this sacred rule of equity and love, and named some of the advantages it has above most other precepts of mo- rality. It remains only that I make two or three reflections on so agreeable a subject. Reflection I. In what a compendious method has our Savi- our provided for the practice of all the moral duties enjoined by Moses and the prophets ! For he has summed them up inn very few words, and reduced them to one short rule ; but the extent and comprehension of it is universal, and almost infinite. Thoughwe should förget twenty particular precepts of love and righteousness, yet if this be fresh in our thoughts, and always ready at hand, we shall practise all those particular precepts effectually; bÿ the mere influence of this one general rule. It is true, it is a real advantage toward our practice of virtue and justice; to have the mind stored with special precepts, suited particularly to every case ; but where the memory is de- fective, or other rules are not learned, this golden one will do very much towards supplying the place of many. Our Saviour himself grants this truth, when he says; Tisis zs the law and tlzé prophets. H. What divine wisdomis manifested in making this golden rule of equity a fundamental law, in the two most famous religions that 'ever God appointed to the children of men; that is, the Jewish and the christian ! Love thy neighbour as thy- self, was a rule appointed to the Jews; Lev. xix. 18. This is repeated by our Saviour ; Mat. xix. 19. And a happy explica- tion or comment on it given in my text, Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them; for this is thé 'law and the prophets. There were none of the heathen philoso- -phers that delivered this ás a general law, in so strong, so uni- versal, and so comprehensive a manner as our Saviour his done, thoughone ór two of them offered some occasional hints of the same kind. But our Saviour appoints it as the grand rule of social virtue, amongst all the subjects of his kingdom ; andhe tells us too, that this is the suns and 'substance of the directions given byMoses and the prophets for the Conduct of men toward their fellow-creatures. Thewisdom of this precept eminently appears`herein : Our blessed Lord well knew that self-lovewould be apowerful temp- tation to men, to turn them aside from the sacred laws of justice, in treating their neighbours ; amid therefore he wisely takes this very principle of self-love, and joins' it in the consultation with Our reason and Conscience, how we should carry it toward our
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