SERMON XLIX. $$ commandingunto perform those duties he prescribes, and to abw stain from those things which he forbids. Sometimes again this moral law is represented by distin- guishing it into those duties which we owe to God, to our neigh- bours, and to ourselves. The duties which we owe to God, are fear and love, trust and hope, worship and obedience, prayer and praise, doing every thing to his glory, and patience under his providences in life and death: The duties which we owe to our neighbours are submission to our superiors, compassion toour inferiors, truth and fidelity, justice and honesty, benevolence and goodness toward all men. The duties whichwe ow% to ourselves are sobriety and temperance.; and in general the moral law re- quires a restraint of our natural appetites and passions withinjust hounds, so that they neither break out to the dishonour ofGod, to theinjuryof our neighbour, or to hinder- us in the pursuit of our own best interests. There is yet another general representation of the moral law, which is used in scripture both' in the Old and New Testa- ment. It is mentiond by Moses ; Deut. vi. 5. Lev. xix. 18. and repeated and confirmed by our blessed Saviour ; Mat. xxii. 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart andsoul, and thy neighbour as thyself; on these two commandments hang all the law and prophets: And therefore St. Paul, Rpm. xiii. 10. tells us, love is the fulfilling. of the law. For he that loves God and his neighbour as he ought, will perform all necessary duties toward them, as well as govern himself aright in obedience to Godhis Maker. Having explained what I mean by the moral law, we come to enquire where it is to be found ? I answer, it is found in the ten commands given to the Jews at Sinai ; it isfound hi the holy scriptures, scattered up and down through all the writings of the Old and New Testament, and it maybe found out in the plainest andmost necessary parts of it, by the sincere and diligent exer- cise of our own reasoning powers. Itwas writtenby the finger of God in tables of stone ; it is written by the inspiration of God in the holy bible and it is written in the heartsand consciences of mankind by the God of nature. The voice of God from heaven proclaimed this law, the voice of the prophets and apostles con- firm it, and the voice of conscience, which is the vicegerent of God in the heart of man, speaks the same thing*. See Rom. ii. * That which is in the heart of man is called the natural law, because it arises from our natural principles of reason ; that which was given at Sinai is snore frequently termed the wutten law: Both are called themoral law, yet with these few differences. 1. The written law is more clear and express in ten part:_ colar commends; the natural is more scoret and leas evident, especially among y3
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