SERMON XXXIII. ass fellow-creatures. Thus by his divine prudence, he constrains even this selfish and rebellious principle to assist our consciences and our rational powers, in directing us how to practise thesocial duties of life. It was Christ the Son of God who gave laws to Moses Tor Israel before his incarnation, and it is he who iscome in the flesh, as a preacher of righteousness to men, in these latter days ; and in both these seasons of legislature, he has manifested this sacred wisdom : Ye know the heart of a stranger, saith theLord, in his dictates to Moses; Ex. x iii. 2. for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; therefore thou shalt. not oppress a stranger. And he gives us still the same general rule for our conduct ; " Look into your own hearts, consider what human nature is, you know youare menof like frailty with others, enquire what treatment you would reasonably expect from your fellows, and be sure you practise hi the same manner toward them." III. Since the wisdom of Christ thought fit to teach us rules of equity and righteousness amongst men, and leas, as it were, extracted the very soul and spirit of all socialduties, and sum- med 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 the neglect to love our neighbour. How vain are all our pretences to faith in Christ, and piety to- ward God, if ire grow careless in our conduct toward men ? All our fancied attainments in the school of Christ, how are they disgraced and destroyed, if weabandon this rule of moral virtue, and treat our neighbours contrary to this divine principleof equity and love. What shall we answer in the great judgment -day to an en- .quiring God, when in flaming fire he shall put us in mind : " I gave you a plain and easy rule of righteousness 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 unrighteousness against so plain a law." It is a just remark which has often been made on this occa- sion : " The heathen emperor Severus shall rise up in the judg- ment 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 engraven there to govern his court in the times of peace;
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=