Chapter XXI: Part 21

In many parts of the sacred writings, there appears a very close connexion of the subjects which are handled; a natural order is observed, and a beautiful transition made from one to the other: But this is not to be expected in every text, nor is it at all necessary that it should be so. When St. Paul enumerates several virtues or vices, he sometimes heaps them together, and doth not design any regularity or natural order in placing them. Our commentators therefore in such cases, when they are once resolved to find these beauties and connections where the holy writer did not intend them, they oftentimes torture and strain both their own invention, and the words of scripture. Thus, I fear, I should do, if I would attempt to give a reason why the apostle in this collection of virtues, named gravity or decency before justice, which is of so much greater importance in the christian life.

I take them therefore in the order in which they lie; and having treated of truth and gravity, I proceed now to consider the third piece of morality which he mentions, that is, justice, _Whatsoever things are just_,—think on these things; let these be the objects of your meditation and of your practice.

And here if I should entertain you in two discourses with this single subject of justice, I hope I shall not exceed the limits of your patience: For it is what the apostle frequently insists upon as a glory to christianity, that those that profess it be just or righteous. You who have fixed your hope on the grace of God, and have a design to honour the gospel, to you I would recommend this great duty of the law, and that in this method:

I. I shall endeavour to shew what is the general nature of this justice, and lay down the universal rule of it.—II. Discover in various special instances what those things are, which are just, or wherein our justice or righteousness must appear.—III. I shall give some proof of this great duty of justice or righteousness by the light of nature, and according to the law of reason.—IV. Shew what forcible influence the gospel of Christ has to recommend justice to your meditation and practice.—V. Propose a few directions how to guard yourselves against temptations to injustice, or rather point out some of the chief springs of injustice, that you may avoid them.

And while I proceed in this work, you will rejoice inwardly if you find your own consciences sincerely answering to the characters of this virtue in any good measure: And if there be any shall find himself a guilty sinner, and very deficient in this practice, let him be reproved, ashamed, and amend.

First then, Let us consider the nature of this justice, and what is the most universal rule of it.

In general, justice consists in giving to every one their due. According to the stations in which God has placed us, and according to the several relations in which providence has joined us to our fellow-creatures, every person we converse with hath something due to him; and this we are bound to pay as men, and much more as christians. But since cases and circumstances are infinite, and it is impossible for any book to contain, or any man to receive and remember so many special rules for justice, as there may be occurring circumstances in the world, which require the practice of it; our Lord Jesus Christ has therefore given us one short rule whereby to judge what is due to every man, and fitted it to every purpose: Mat. vii. 12. _All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them; For this is the law and the prophets._

I confess there may happen in human affairs some cases of such exceeding intricacy and difficulty, that very few persons have skill enough to determine precisely what is due, or what would be strictly just and righteous: Nor will this rule infallibly lead us into the perfect knowledge of it; but even in such cases, a sincere honest man consulting his own conscience, and asking, what he thought reasonable that his neighbour, in the like case, should do to him, would seldom wander far from strict justice; and by practising agreeably to this general law, would approve his conduct both in the sight of God and men.

Thus our blessed Saviour hath set up a court of equity in the breast of every man. This rule is easy to be understood, and ready to be applied upon every occasion. The meanest of them may learn and practise it, and the highest are bound to obey it. This is that divine and comprehensive rule of justice or righteousness, by which you must regulate all your actions, and give every one their due: “Do to others, as you would have them do to you:” Not as an unreasonable self-love would wish to receive from others, but as your own conscience would think it reasonable others should do to you, as I have explained it at large in a sermon on that text.[29]

The second thing proposed, was to discover in various instances what those things are which are just, or wherein our righteousness must appear.

Here it is necessary to distinguish justice into that which belongs to magistrates, and that which belongs to private persons.

That which belongs to magistrates is called distributive justice, because it divides and distributes such rewards and punishments as are due to every one, according to the merit or demerit of the person; and this is done either by the law and light of nature, or by the laws of the land in which we dwell. Now in this sort of justice the general rule of our Saviour, of which we have been speaking, is of excellent and constant use. Let a prince or a magistrate place himself in the room of a subject or inferior, and ask what is equitable and just that his governor should practise toward him, and let that be the measure of his own conduct toward his subjects or inferiors: Let him exercise his authority according to this sacred rule of righteousness.

But in our separate assemblies we have very little need to speak of the duty of magistrates, or of distributive justice, since there are very few of that rank and order of men among our hearers. We have reason to give hearty thanks to our present governors, who distribute so much justice to us, as to give us the liberty of worshipping God in a manner that differs from theirs.

I apply myself therefore immediately to consider that justice which belongs chiefly to private persons, and which is their duty to practise. This is called commutative justice. This is that equity of dealing, that mutual exchange of benefits, and rendering to every one their due, which is necessary between man and man, in order to the common welfare of each other. This is that justice that is due from every person toward his neighbour, whether he be superior, inferior, or equal: And I think the following instances which I shall mention, will comprehend most of the cases wherein the practice of justice is required:

I. It is just that we honour, reverence and respect those who are our superiors in any kind; whether parents, masters, magistrates, ministers, or teachers, or whatsoever other character of superiority there be in the natural, the civil, or the religious life; otherwise we do not pay them their due.

Honour and obedience are due to parents. It is the first command of the second table. _Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land. Children obey your parents, for this is right in the Lord._ Manifest your affectionate duty toward them. Pay all due submission to their commands, and all honourable regard to their advice.

_Honour the king as supreme_, and other ministers of justice as subordinate to him, and submit to them in all the just executions of their authority: This is due from subjects to princes. _Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, in singleness of heart as unto Christ, with good-will, doing service as to the Lord, and not to men._ Your faithful, diligent, and cheerful service is their due. _Let those that labour in the word and doctrine be counted worthy of double honour_, that is, of respect and maintenance: It is due to them in the church where they are set as elders, if they rule well. I mention these hints but very briefly, and for the most part in the language of scripture, as instances wherein these characters of superiority demand honour and duty from inferiors.

I grant there may be other obligations to respect and honour our superiors in some of these cases, besides the mere law of justice: but this law of commutative justice that I am now treating of, obliges us to it. The light of nature and scripture both suppose and oblige parents to take care of their children, to advise and instruct, nourish and provide for them; therefore obedience and honour becomes their due. The command of submission given to subjects, supposes and obliges princes and rulers to protect and defend them from all injury. The precept of chearful and willing obedience given to servants, supposes and obliges _masters to do the same things unto them_; that is, to treat them with good-will, and chearfully give them their food and clothing, or their wages and hire; Eph. vi. 9. Nature and scripture suppose ministers and teachers to be capable and willing to give good advice, counsel, and instruction to those who are younger, or who accept of their preaching; therefore let respect and honour be paid where it is due.

It is the foundation and rule of commutative justice in all these instances, that whilst inferiors are obliged to pay due regards to those that are above them, the superiors are equally obliged to confer those benefits on persons of a lower character, which the law of God, and the light of nature require; but some of the cases I have mentioned, will fall in naturally under the following particulars.

II. Another instance of commutative justice, is the particular kindness that is due to near relations. This is a very beautiful and a pleasant part of life, where it is well managed, this affectionate and delightful exchange of good turns one for another.

Now that it is due to near relatives, according to the appointment of God, will be made evident in this manner:

God, the great Creator of all things, could have produced all men immediately by his own power, and have made them arise up in several successions of time, without such a propagation or dependance one upon another, if he had pleased; and then there would have been none of these tender and engaging relations of father, son, and brother. But the wise Creator hath ordained otherwise; he hath appointed such methods for the building of families, and continuing mankind in the world, as bind every soul of us by the ties of nature to one another; Acts xvii. 26. _Of one blood hath God made all the nations of the earth._ And those that are nearer a-kin to one another, especially in the same family, as brethren and sisters, ought to look upon themselves under more peculiar and mutual obligations to do kindnesses for each other in the first place, according to their capacity. The obligation lies on each party, because it lies upon the other. My brother is bound to love and help me, therefore it is my duty to help and love my brother: For _a brother is born for adversity_; Prov. xvii. 17. It is the sovereign will of Heaven, that there should be such near relations, who should be bound by the law of creation and duty to protect, to support, and assist one another in a time of adversity: This is the design of God the Creator, in the course of his providence, in his subdivision and propagation of all the families of the earth.

And as it is a piece of justice to confer this mutual help which is due to near relations, so there is something of justice too in our distinguishing acts of kindness and assistance according to difference of necessity, and according to difference of merit. I cannot believe I am bound to love or serve every brother, or every sister, with equal degree of affection and kindness, whatsoever their character be, whether virtuous or vicious: Nor to bestow equal benefits upon them, where there is not equal necessity: this can never be of a divine appointment. And though there is some duty, some kindness, some assistance always due to those that are our near relatives, yet this very rule of justice obliges us to give more respect or love to those that are in themselves more honourable and worthy, and those who merit more at our hands, may reasonably expect it. This will farther appear from the next particular.

III. Another instance of justice is, love to those that love us, and gratitude to those that have done us good. Those that have been serviceable to us in the concerns of our souls, or our bodies, demand kindness from us, and returns of service, according to their benefits, and our capacity.

Let us first take notice of the gratitude that is due for spiritual benefits. The christian Galatians, who were converted from idolatry and heathenism, and reconciled to God by the preaching of St. Paul, had such a powerful and penetrating sense of their obligations to him, that if it were possible, saith the apostle, _I bear you record, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and given them to me_; Gal. iv. 15. And when the same apostle writes to Philemon, who was converted to the faith by his ministry, he gently insinuates the obligations he was under; though I do not think proper to tell thee, saith he, _how thou owest unto me even thine own self_; ver. 19. St. Paul speaks upon this principle in many places of his epistle; 1 Cor. ix. 11. _If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we should reap your carnal things?_ And when he gives an account of the contribution which the christians of Macedonia and Achaia made for the poor saints at Jerusalem, he expresses himself thus: _It hath pleased them verily to make this contribution, and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things_; because it was from the Jews that the gospel first came forth, and was preached among the Gentiles; Rom. xv. 27.

There is some sort of gratitude due also to those who by their writings, or more especially by their conversation or instructions, have improved our understandings, and added to our knowledge in things natural or moral, as well as divine. There are some persons in the world, who have advanced their intellectuals in a very sensible manner, by the company of their friends, but they have so much of pride and self reigning in them, that they refuse to acknowledge it: They would fain have the world believe that it is the rich soil of their own understanding has produced this harvest of itself: They are ambitious and fond to have it thought that their notions are all their own. Though they plumed themselves with borrowed feathers, they are unwilling to confess whence they received them, and pretend they are owing to nature only. But pride is a secret vice, and a cursed spring of injustice in more instances than one, as I shall shew hereafter.

After the benefits bestowed on our souls, we ought to consider what is due to those that have served our bodies, or our natural life. Those that have healed our diseases, that have saved us from imminent dangers and calamities, or present death; those that have fed or clothed us, or supported life when we were poor and destitute: All these deserve particular kinds of remembrance, and due returns of service. Those that have either vindicated our honour, or increased our reputation, and spread our good name in the world, stand entitled also to some agreeable returns of benefit.

Do not let us imagine then, that gratitude is a mere heroic virtue, that we may pay or not pay at our pleasure; for nature dictates it to us, as a piece of strict commutative justice, and equity of dealing between man and man. We may be very properly said to treat our neighbour unjustly, if we refuse to serve him again, who hath first served us, when his distressed circumstances shall require our assistance.

There are some cases indeed wherein the person who is obliged by his neighbour’s kindness, cannot possibly make a return equal to the benefit received, without ruining himself and his family, or exposing himself much more than his neighbour did to serve him. There are cases wherein the person who hath obliged us, may over-rate his kindness, and undervalue all our acknowledgments: He may require most unreasonable returns, and think he is never sufficiently recompensed. There are cases also wherein the benefactor may repent of his past services, may endeavour to take away the benefit bestowed, may without reason commence a resolute enmity, and do what in him lies to cancel all former obligations: In such circumstances as these, the obligation of gratitude may be diminished, and perhaps may cease altogether. And though sometimes, in these very cases, there may be high and heavy charges of ingratitude brought by the first benefactor against a person of a very grateful mind; yet these accusations may be utterly unjust in the sight of God, who knoweth and weigheth all circumstances in a righteous balance. But where no such bars are laid in the way, it is evident that the practice of gratitude, and a mutual return of benefits, is but a piece of natural justice. The very _publicans and sinners do good to those, that do good to them_: Mat. v. 46. Luke viii. 32.

IV. Another piece of justice is, the payment of the full due to those whom we bargain or deal with, whether the contract be made formally in words, or implied in the nature of things, according to the customs of mankind. And under this head, not only those who buy and sell, who lend and borrow; but all ranks and degrees of mankind, who have any commerce with each other, are included, from the prince upon the throne, to the day-labourer in the high-ways and hedges.

The very notion of commutative justice implies the giving one good thing in barter of exchange for another. And all commerce amongst men was originally carried on this way, _viz._ the husbandman gave corn, the grazier cattle; the draper gave cloth; the artificers and labourers their skill and work; the prince and rich man gave food and protection; the poor and the subject gave their attendance and service: And thus mankind lived by an exchange of benefits. But when they found many inconveniences arise from this manner of dealing, they contrived another way of exchanges, and that is by money, which by universal agreement is made the common measure of all things in contract: And since that time, skill and labour, attendance and services are exchanged for money, as well as goods and merchandizes. Now herein consists the practice of justice, that every one render to his neighbour that which is due upon the account of any of these benefits or conveniencies of life he receives from him.

Let us give the first place to kings and rulers in this discourse, as justice requires. Though the distribution of special rewards and punishments may have something in it of a distinct nature, yet the common protection which they owe all their subjects, and the obedience and tribute which their subjects owe them upon that account, are properly a part of commutative justice. By their oath of magistracy, and by our engagements of allegiance expressed or implied, we bargain with them for protection, and we ought to pay them tribute. They accept of a high and heavy charge, and agree to execute the laws of the land for the good of the people: Therefore not only the purses, but the consciences of the people are under obligations to pay taxes to the magistrate for the support of his governing power, and the maintenance of his honour and authority, that he may the better fulfil the glorious and useful work. This is what the apostle insists upon, and argues in that known place, the xiii. chapter to the Romans; _Rulers are ordained of God, not for a terror to good works, but to the evil_. The ruler is the _minister of God to thee for good, and he beareth not the sword in vain; he is an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil_. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, that is, for fear of his anger: but for conscience sake, as a matter of justice and duty: And for this cause also pay tribute. And it is to be noted, the apostle puts our duty in this respect upon the foot of justice; ver. 7. _Render therefore to all their dues_; that is, whatsoever things are just, perform to them; render _tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour_.

As the payment of tribute and taxes to those who undertake our protection, defence, and safety, is a necessary duty; so the payment of a salary to a teacher, of wages to a servant, of money or merchandize to a trader, of hire to the workman, are other parts of justice. Let not the labourer that hath reaped down your fields, or wrought in your service, go without his hire, which was a practice the apostle reproached in his days; James v. 4. The law of Moses is very strict in this matter; Deut. xxiv. 14, 15. _Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or a stranger._ To express it in modern language; whether he be a christian or not, a good man or an evil man, let him have his hire. If he is so poor that he cannot tell how to provide for himself to answer the necessities of the evening, then see that thou pay him the hire of the day, nor let the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and sets his heart, or depends upon it. Trespass not upon his poverty by thy withholding his due so long as may turn to his prejudice; let not his hire, which is detained by fraud, cry against thee, for the Lord of hosts, the God of Justice will hear the cry of the oppressed.

And not only in the case of a poor labourer, but in every other instance make conscience of paying that which you have borrowed, or what you owe to your neighbour, and that not only in full measure, but at the appointed time of payment: The time is part of the contract as well as the money. Do not say, “I intend to be honest, but I will not pay this week, or this month.” Do not withhold what is due, and say to thy neighbour, _Go, and come again, when thou hast it by thee; Withhold not good from him to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it_. This is forbid by the inspired preacher Solomon; Prov. iii. 27, 28. Nor is this agreeable to the golden rule of our Saviour, _Do to others as ye would that others should do unto you_.

V. Help to our fellow-creatures in cases of great necessity, seems to be another piece of human justice, even though they have never done any thing actually for us. We are bound to defend our neighbour from apparent injury, so far as is consistent with our own safety, and sometimes farther too. It is our duty to direct him in the right way, when he is wandering or uncertain. It is a piece of justice to warn him of approaching danger, and to give him some assistance in case of sudden calamity or distress attending him. When we see his soul, or his body, or his estate in imminent hazard, we ought to give him notice of it; we should put forth some efforts of kindness for his security, and pluck him as a brand out of the fire. Our own conscience dictates this to us, since we should think it a very reasonable thing to expect the same kindness from our neighbour, when we are found in the like circumstances.

Can we suppose that the law of God should appoint us to lift the ox or the ass of our neighbour out of a pit, or to restore his sheep to him when going astray; Deut. xxii. 1. and yet that we are not bound to fulfil the same duty of love toward our neighbour himself? Nay, the command of Moses reaches still farther; Ex. xxiii. 4. _If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again._ How much more should this be practised toward the soul or the body of a fellow-christian?

If the law of justice require us to secure the cattle or possessions of our neighbour; surely then we are obliged to deal as kindly with his reputation and good name, which in some cases is the best part of a man’s estate, and is almost as dear to many as their health or life. When we happen therefore into such company as give their tongues a loose to scandal, and we hear our neighbour vilified and reproached, we ought to ward off the calumny, and to refute the scandal, where we know that our neighbour does not deserve it.

This piece of justice or duty, to assist a suffering neighbour, arises from the social nature of man, who by the law of nature is so far born for a social life, as to come into the world with this claim, and under this sort of obligations; for a naked exposed infant may claim the patronage and protection of every eye that beholds him. And where other circumstances are equal, those who are most capable of affording help, seem to be most obliged. Now if it be a work of human justice to preserve such a helpless piece of human nature from death, surely every infant grown up to any degrees of capacity and manhood, ought in like manner to esteem himself obliged to afford some assistance to his fellow-creatures, according to their distress, and his capacity well considered and adjusted.

Therefore, my assistance or relief of an injured or perishing creature, is a sort of duty to mankind, though the person himself be an utter stranger to me: The history of the good Samaritan in the gospel tells me, that in such a case every man is my neighbour, though he be of a different nation, sect, or party. But when men are fellow-subjects, or fellow-citizens, or combined in any natural, civil, or religious society, this rule of justice appears with more force and evidence; it strikes a brighter light upon the conscience, and ought to have more power upon the heart and practice; for combination into society is an implicit contract or promise of mutual help under necessity.

I confess, several of the instances which I have mentioned under this fifth head may be referred also to charity and mercy, of which I shall speak hereafter: but for as much as the light of nature and the law of God require these beneficial actions of men toward each other, I have here placed them under the head of justice.

VI. The last piece of justice which I shall mention, is reparation to those whom we have wilfully injured, as far as possible: And this is a certain duty, whether we have done them injury in their souls, in their bodies, in their estates, or in their reputation.

If we have led them into errors or heresy by our conversation; if we tempted them to sin by our allurement or example; if we have solicited their assistance in any base or guilty practices of our own; we ought seriously to employ our best powers and prayers toward their recovery from the snare of the devil: If we have wilfully injured their health; if we have blasted their credit; if we have thrown a blot upon their good name; if we have defrauded them of any part of their due, or wasted their substance, let us know and consider that the law of justice requires us to make what restitution we are capable of: But still it must be done in such a manner as must consist with our duty to the rest of our fellow-creatures round about us. It is a vain thing to pretend to be sorry and repent that we have done our neighbour a wilful injury or to flatter him with idle compliments of asking his pardon, while it lays in our power to repair the damage he sustains in a way of consistence with our duties, and yet we obstinately refuse it: Such a repentance as this cannot be sincere in the sight of God, nor have we any reason to hope that his justice or mercy will condescend to accept it.

We have heard these various instances of justice, this large and particular account what is due to our neighbour, in the manifold relations and businesses of life. I grant there are several difficulties that may attend some of these instances in the particular practise of them, by reason of the infinite variety of circumstances which may surround our actions, and the unforeseen occurrences of human life. The strictest rules of equity or justice, in some cases, require a mitigation; and it is impossible to say before-hand what shall be precisely and exactly due to our neighbour in every new accident or occurrence. But a sincere love of justice wrought deep into the heart, and a sacred regard to the golden rule of equity which Christ hath given us, will lead us through most of these perplexities into the paths of righteousness and truth.

It is time now to have the question put close to conscience; Has this been the manner of our life? Has this been our conduct toward our fellow-creatures? Are we children, and have we paid all due honour and obedience to our parents? Has the father no cause to complain that we have disobeyed his authority? Has the mother no reason to say, that we have scorned her advice, or abused her tenderness and compassion? Are we servants, have we never wasted the goods of our master, nor spent that time in idle company, in folly, or in sin, which should have been employed in his service? Have we dealt with our relatives in the same family as becomes a brother, a sister, or a near kinsman, and fulfilled the duties to which we were born? Do we never neglect to make due acknowledgments for favours received? Have we loved those that love us, and practised the law of justice and gratitude to those who have rescued our souls and bodies from distress and danger, or laid obligations upon us by peculiar benefits.?

Am I a trader, and do I practise strict justice and truth, in all that I buy, and in all that I sell? Have I been carefully solicitous to wrong no man, to defraud no man, to cheat and cozen no man? Do I hate the arts of falsehood and knavery? Have I paid the full due to all that I deal with, and do I keep the proper time of payment, which contract or custom have appointed? Have I defended my neighbour from injury, and assisted him in the day of his distress, as I myself should reasonably hope for his defence and assistance? Have I sought to rescue his good name from reproach and slander when it has been attacked? Or have I rather fallen in with slanderers, and joined in with the wilful scandal? Have I honestly sought to make restitution to another where I have been guilty of wilful injury, and done what in me lays to repair the damage that my injustice has brought upon him? Have I attempted to repair his losses, so far as is consistent with the duties of my other relations in life?

Where is the person that can lay his hand upon his heart, and say, I am guiltless before God in all this? Who can wash his hands in innocency, and pronounce himself righteous? Surely such a discourse as this is, should awaken conscience to sensible acts of repentance and mourning; we should be willing and ready to yield to the conviction, where the word of God fastens the charge upon us, and lay ourselves low before the throne of a righteous God. _Blessed Lord God, if thou art strict to mark iniquities, who can stand before thee? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared._ We have failed in many instances of duty toward our fellow-creatures, as well as toward thee our Creator: We have neither given to God nor to our neighbour the full due of love which thy righteous law requires: We lie down in the dust before thee, and betake ourselves to the refuge that is set before us: Jesus the righteous is our hope, he not only paid to God and man all their due, in the course of his holy life, but he also restored that honour to thy justice by his death, which we had taken away by our unrighteousness. O may every soul of us be forgiven for his sake, and created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works? _Amen._

HYMN FOR SERMON XXIV.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Justice and Equity_.

Come let us search our ways, and try,
Have they been just and right?
Is the great rule of equity
Our practise and delight?

What we would have our neighbour do,
Have we still done the same?
And ne’er delay’d to pay his due,
Nor injur’d his good name?

Do we relieve the poor distress’d,
Nor give our tongues a loose
To make their names our scorn and jest,
Nor treat them with abuse?

Have we not found our envy grow,
To hear another’s praise?
Nor robb’d him of his honour due,
By sly malicious ways?

In all we sell and all we buy,
Is justice our design?
Do we remember God is nigh,
And fear the wrath divine?

In vain we talk of Jesu’s blood,
And boast his name in vain,
If we can slight the laws of God,
And prove unjust to men.

Footnote 29:

See Sermon XXXIII.

SERMON XXV.
_Christian Morality_, _viz._ _Justice_, &c.
PHILIP. iv. 8.—Whatsoever things are just, &c.——think on these things.

If a bare proposal of the rule of duty, and the mention of the various instances of it, were sufficient to persuade mankind to the practice; then I need not prolong my discourse on this subject of honesty and justice: For I have already proposed the sacred rule which our Saviour has given us, Do to others as ye would that others should do to you; and I have described the several instances wherein this rule must direct our conduct, that we may be just and righteous in all our dealings amongst men.

But alas! our natures are so corrupt, our consciences are so unwilling to receive the laws of duty, and our perverse wills and passions have so much reluctance to the practice, that we have need of arguments to enforce it upon conscience, we have need of powerful motives to awaken our souls to righteousness, and it is necessary therefore that I proceed to the third head of discourse which I proposed, and that is to shew how far the light of nature dictates to us the duty of common justice, and what arguments may be drawn from thence to influence men to be honest.

I. If we consider the natural right that every man hath to keep that which belongs to him, it will appear that this is the gift of God as the God of nature. God, the common author of all our beings, requires that this right be held sacred and inviolable.

I shall not run back to ancient ages, to trace the original grounds of property, or how men became entitled to any of their possessions: It is sufficient for me, that every man is born into this world with a right to his life, to his limbs, to his liberty and safety, and to the good things of this world which he possesses according to the laws of nature, and of the nation where he is born. He has a right also that these should be secure from the hands of injustice and violence, unless he himself be some way concerned in the practice of injury to his fellow-creatures. That man therefore who offers injustice or violence to his neighbour in his body, or his soul, or estate, he robs him of his natural right which God hath given him, and which the law of nature secures to him: He sins against the God of nature, the common Father of mankind; and his conscience hath reason to expect that the God of nature, who is just and righteous, will avenge the mischief done to his injured creatures.

Let it be always observed and excepted here, that the great God himself, considered merely as the God of nature, and where he has not bound himself by promise, reserves a right to resume what he has given, and especially when his creatures have made a forfeiture of their blessings by sinning against their Maker: But this does not authorize men to deprive one another of their possessions, unless he has appointed them from heaven the executioners of his vengeance by a most evident and infallible commission particularly given by God himself; as in the case of the Israelites spoiling the Egyptians of their borrowed jewels, and depriving the Canaanites of their lands, and their lives: But I know not any instance of that kind ever since.

II. If we consider the need that every man stands in of the help of his fellow-creatures, justice and honesty will appear to be a natural duty of the social life: And God, as he is the Governor of the world, will take vengeance of any neglect or violation of this duty, either in this world, or in the other.

Commutative justice, as it is described in the former discourse, is built upon this foundation, that one man has need of another’s assistance: Nor is there any the meanest figure amongst mankind so very worthless, useless, and contemptible, but he may be capable of doing us some service either now or hereafter. It is possible we may be in such circumstances, as to stand in need of the help of the meanest, as well as of the mighty; and therefore the duty of social life obliges us to practice the rules of justice toward all. The rich stand in need of the poor to perform the meaner offices for their convenience, as much as the poor stand in need of the rich to supply them with food or money. The master has need of the servant to assist and obey him, as well as the servant stands in need of maintenance or wages from the hands of his master. One man can never procure for himself all the necessaries, and all the conveniences of life! it is indeed impossible. The same man cannot sow his own corn reap his own harvest, keep his own sheep, make his own bread, form all his own garments, build his own house, fashion his own furniture, and secure his own possessions; no man can provide for himself in all respects, without the assistance of his fellow-creatures. Now those from whom he expects to receive help in any of these instances, it is necessary he should give them help in other instances wherein they stand in need of his. This is one foundation of justice between man and man; that so every man may have the necessaries and conveniences of life by his neighbour’s assistance. Thus _the king himself_, as Solomon says, _is served by the field_; Eccl. v. 9. The prince stands in need of the plowman: The plowman gives food to the prince, and the prince gives to the plowman protection and safety.

I might run through the various instances wherein justice is to be practised, and shew how the higher and lower orders and characters of men have mutual need of each other: The buyer and the seller, the artificer and the merchant, the teacher and the scholar; and thus I might make it appear, that unless a due exchange of benefits be maintained, and the practice of justice secured, none of us could enjoy the safety, the ease, or the conveniences of life.

Where there is no practice of justice amongst men, no man can live safe by his neighbour: Every one that is mighty and malicious, that is proud or covetous, that is envious or knavish, would rob another of his due, and either assume the possessions of his neighbour to himself, or make havoc of them, and destroy them. There would be everlasting confusion amongst men, slander and theft, cheating and knavery; plunder and slaughter, and bloody violence would reign among all the tribes of mankind; if justice were banished from the earth; for neither life, nor liberty, nor peace, nor any of our possessions, nor our good name, can be secured without it. Therefore the light and law of nature sets a sacred guard upon justice, and has written the necessity of it in the consciences of all men, who have not seared those consciences as with a red-hot iron, and rased out so much of human nature from their souls.

The practice of justice has so extensive an influence into the whole conduct of our lives, and the welfare of mankind, that some of the heathen writers have made it to be comprehensive of all virtues.

But because sinful men are ready to break the bonds of commutative justice and invade the property, the peace, or the life of their neighbours, therefore government is appointed, and magistrates are ordained to maintain peace and equity amongst men, and to punish the breakers of it. This is the greatest reason why there must be such a thing as magistracy and distributive justice amongst mankind; that those who commit outrage upon their neighbours, and practice injustice toward them, may be punished by the laws: For, as the apostle says to Timothy, _the law is not made for the righteous, but for the disobedient, for the ungodly, and for sinners; for murderers, stealers, and liars, &c._ That it may be a strong restraint upon the violent inclinations of men, and bring just vengeance upon them, when they bring injury upon their neighbours. Therefore it is for the welfare of the innocent and the righteous, that the laws have ordained vengeance for the guilty; that those who would not injure their fellow-creatures, may be guarded in the enjoyment of their own property and their peace, and may have them secured from the sons of injustice.

And besides all the punishment that such sinners justly receive from men on earth, God, the great Governor of the world, has often revealed his wrath from heaven against all the unrighteousness of men, as well as their ungodliness. He has hereby proclaimed his public approbation of justice, and his hatred of all iniquity. His terrors have sometimes appeared in signal and severe instances against those who have been notoriously unrighteous, and who have broken all the rules of equity in the treatment of their fellow-creatures. This the heathens themselves have taken notice of. And they thought this to be so necessary for the government of the world, that their priests have invented a sort of goddess called Nemesis, whose office is to avenge the practice of fraud or violence, and to bring down curses on the head of this kind of criminals.

As the ancient records of the heathen world give us some histories of divine vengeance, so the bible abounds with more awful and illustrious instances of this kind; which leads me to,

The fourth head of my discourse; and that is, to consider what forcible arguments and motives the christian religion affords for the practice of justice among men.

If I were to speak of distributive justice, or that which belongs to the practice of the magistrate, never was it more gloriously manifest, than in and by God the Father, when he refused to pass by our iniquities without punishment, and laid the dreadful weight of it upon the head and soul of his own Son. Never could magistracy receive such a glory, as when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, hung and died upon the cross, suffering the penalty that the law of God, the supreme magistrate, had denounced against sinners.

And as punishing justice was glorified in all its terrors, so rewarding justice also appeared most illustrious. Because our Lord Jesus Christ had fulfilled obedience not only to the broken law which we lay under, but to those peculiar laws which God the Father also gave him as a Mediator; therefore it pleased God highly to advance him, according to his own eternal covenant. God rewarded him, as a magistrate, distributing justice to a person who had done the greatest things for the honour of his sovereign: He exalted him at his own right-hand, and gave him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow; for he deserved it at the hands of his Father, and his Father distributed rewards equal to his desert.

Rewarding justice again appears glorious, in that God the Father communicates unto us the rewards of the sufferings of his own Son. God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, because _the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son_, has paid for all our follies and unrighteousness; 1 John i. 9. Faithful and just to his Son, that he may not go without the rewards of his sufferings: Faithful and just to us, because it was in our name and stead that the Son suffered. But not to insist upon this longer, commutative justice is abundantly enforced also by many considerations drawn from the books of the Old Testament, as well as from the gospel of Christ.

If we consult the moral statutes of God, which were given to the Jews, we shall find them full of righteousness. These statutes are of everlasting force, and their divine solemnity should impress our consciences. _That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live and inherit the land: And the judges and officers shall judge the people with righteous judgment, and shall shew no respect to persons, nor take a gift to pervert justice_; Deut. xvi. 18, 19, 20. _Ye shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, nor rob him. The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in weight, or in measure, just balances and just weights shall ye have; I am the Lord your God_; Lev. xix. 12, &c. _A false balance is an abomination to the Lord; but a just weight is his delight_; Prov. xi. 1. _To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice_; Prov. iii. 15. _Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong, who uses his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work_; Jer. xxii. 13. _Remove not the ancient land-marks, nor enter into the field of the fatherless: for their Redeemer is mighty, and he shall plead their cause with thee_; Prov. xxiii. 10, 11.

If we review the records of the Jewish history, we shall find the cruel and the covetous, the tyrant and the oppressor, made terrible examples of the vengeance of God against unrighteousness. Survey the plagues of Egypt, and the dreadful desolations of that fruitful country, with the destruction of the first-born by the midnight pestilence, and the armies of Pharaoh drowned in the Red sea, and you may read there the wrath of God against the unrighteousness of men, written in dreadful characters. They treated the race of Israel with cruelty and sore oppression; they destroyed their male-children, and provoked God to bring swift destruction upon themselves. Behold Adonibezek, king of the Canaanites, with his thumbs and his great toes cut off by Joshua, and confessing the justice of the great God. _Three-score and ten kings_, saith he, _with their great toes and their thumbs cut off, have gathered their meat under my table: As I have done, so God hath requited me_; Judges i. 7. _See the dogs licking up the blood of Ahab in the place where he slew Naboth the Jezreelite_, in order to take unjust possession of his vineyard; 1 Kings xxi. 19. These things which were written of old time, remain upon record for our instruction in the days of christianity.

But let us take more special notice what influences may be derived from the gospel, and from the name of Christ, to enforce the practice of justice among men.

I. If we look to our Lord Jesus Christ as a law-giver, how various and how plain are his solemn and repeated commands, not only in his sermon upon the mount, but upon other occasions too, that justice be practised between man and man. He hath explained to us that glorious rule of equity, on purpose to make the practice of justice easy, plain, and universal, _love your neighbour as yourself_; that is, do to others, as ye would that others do to you.

We cannot but think that the holy soul of our Lord Jesus was concerned to secure the practice of justice and righteousness among his followers, when we read his terrible rebuke to the pharisees for the neglect of it, and a curse pronounced upon them; Mat. xxiii. 23. “Woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites: for ye pay tythe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith.” Judgment in that place may signify commutative and distributive justice: all manner of exercise of righteousness towards their fellow-creatures. Under a pretence of serving God better than your neighbours, and crowding his temple with your presence, and his altar with sacrifices and gifts, ye abandon common justice, ye neglect the righteousness due to your fellow-creatures. There is a woe denounced upon you, and my Father will inflict the curse, for _he hates robbery for burnt-offering_; Is. lxi. 8. Nor will the God of heaven excuse you from paying your dues to men on earth, under pretence of paying honour or sacrifices to him.

There are many other threatenings in the New Testament written against those that neglect justice, and pronounced by the apostles in the name and authority of Christ, their exalted Lord. The covetous and extortioners, those that take away the light of their fellow-creatures, are shut out from the heavenly blessedness; 1 Cor. vi. 10. “Know ye not, says the apostle, that none of these shall inherit the kingdom of God?” As much as to say, it is so very obvious a thing, that an unjust man can never enter into heaven, whatsoever pretence he makes, that I may appeal to the meanest capacity, ye all know it. God will repay vengeance to them that do wrong to their neighbours, whether they be great or mean, for _there is no respect of persons with him_; Col. iii. 25.

II. Consider Christ as a pattern of justice and righteousness. Look to the example of our Lord Jesus; you see him, who was the sovereign Magistrate and Lord of all, who could distribute crowns and kingdoms to men, submitting himself to commutative justice among creatures.

Behold the Son of God, who was the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the delight of his soul before the creation; behold him stooping down to our world, and taking flesh and blood upon him to become our brother, that he might shew us how we ought to love our brethren. It was an unparalleled instance of divine love that Christ has given us, when he came down from heaven to become our neighbour, and to dwell amongst us, that he might teach us to love our neighbours as ourselves.