Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

LIII.

SERM. may I honestly go about to break this settlement? No, surely. Why, what then was the law made for? Why, purely to prevent frauds. Then, say you, he may be relieved in Chancery. But shall I give a man the trouble and the expense of law, when I believe beforehand that he has a right in conscience? A man must love the world more than the commands of God that will do so.

The very same must be said of unjust prescriptions, which yet the laws allow of. Not that length of time can give any man a right which he knows he had not from the beginning, but because there would be no end of law-suits, if people were to be disturbed for ever. The law, therefore, does what is best for the public in general, and leaves it to private men to act as they will answer to God and a good conscience.

It is too common for people to conceal, and to keep, what they have found. People do not sure consider, that there is an express law of God against such practices; but they will find very particular precepts and directions touching this matter, in the 22nd chapter of Deuteronomy. But do these precepts oblige us? Yes, sure: unless you suppose that God required of the Jews to be strictly honest, and that christians may do what they please.

In short; it would be a difficult matter to reckon up the many deceits that may be practised without being liable to be called to an account.

But the sins of injustice, which are most common and least taken notice of, are such as are committed in the way of trade and bargains. The Wise Man has given us fair warning of Ecclus. 27. this: "As a nail," saith he, "sticketh fast between the joinings of the stones, so doth sin stick close between buying and selling."

2.

[ocr errors]

And therefore a man, who desires to keep a good conscience will be very watchful over himself where he has warning beforehand of the danger he is in; and will be glad to have such rules to walk by as he is sure will not deceive him. Matt. 7. 12. Such is that of our blessed Saviour's: Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. Which, though a very general rule, yet by a well-meaning christian may be applied to all our dealings with one another.

A man, for instance, who sets this rule before his eyes,

will hardly put off damaged or distempered goods for sound; will hardly take advantage of the ignorance of the buyer; will use no deceits to raise the price, or set off the value, of what he desires to sell.

I do not here mention false weights and measures; oppressing the poor; buying or selling of stolen goods; using oaths and lies to deceive those with whom they deal.

Those that do any of these things know that they do ill; and all the rules of the Gospel will be of no use to them, so long as they do not believe them.

But for the sake of such as really desire to make a conscience of their ways, one would endeavour to make their way plain and safe, and their consciences easy upon good grounds.

Now, gain being the end of trade, and every man having a right to a reasonable advantage, of which he himself must very often be the sole judge, he lieth under a great temptation of being favourable to his own interest, and of overlooking that of others; to prevent which, these considerations should always be present with men of business: "that he Prov. 28. that hasteth to be rich can hardly be innocent;" that every man has a right to be dealt with fairly; that all depends upon God's blessing; that the fear of wanting what is necessary ́is the fear of infidels, who know not God; and that a man's life (and happiness) consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

When a man can consider such truths as these seriously, he is then disposed for saving instruction; he will easily hearken to the rules of religion; and a few rules will serve to direct him to keep a good conscience in the way of business.

I shall recommend one very plain rule, which will go a great way towards directing every conscientious man how to act safely with respect to gain; and that is, to take such a gain, advantage, or consideration, as the person with whom I deal would be satisfied with, if he knew my business as well as I do, and the reasons which oblige me to take such a profit.

That this is a safe and good rule in trade, is pretty plain from matter of fact; for whenever two persons deal together, who both understand their business well, a few words serve their turn he that sells asks a reasonable gain, and he that

20.

SERM. buys sees it is fit he should have what he asks, all things con

LIII.

sidered.

Now, if men would but make this their rule, when they deal with such as are ignorant, it would prevent a great deal of guilt, which, the Wise Man saith, is almost inseparable from buying and selling.

There are certainly secrets in dealing, which every body cannot be acquainted with; but, to prevent my being partial to myself, I may suppose the person I deal with knew the reasons why I insist upon such a price, and then, if I am conscious to myself that I need not be ashamed of such gain, I have a good testimony of my honesty, and my conscience will never reproach me of injustice.

But if, instead of doing so, I take what I can get, make a hand of the negligence, ignorance, or simplicity, of those with whom I have to do, I practise what is unjust; I have no regard to the laws of the Gospel; and, if ever I do repent of this sin, I make myself liable to one of the most difficult duties of Christianity, that of restitution and satisfaction; without which my repentance will never deliver me from the sad consequences of such injustice.

But to prevent, as much as may be, any occasion for the exercise of the duty of restitution, I would lay before you, First; the greatness of these sins.

Secondly; the temptations which lead to them, that we may avoid them.

Thirdly; such considerations as are most likely to keep us from running into them.

And first, we are not to judge of the greatness of crimes, by the opinion the world has of them. At this rate, we should not only make a jest of taking advantage of, and cheating one another, as is too common; but even the sin of adultery, and some other crimes, which a christian should not mention without horror, would be accounted failings, rather than sins which will shut us out of heaven. But we are to judge of the greatness of crimes, by the authority that forbids them; by the punishment threatened; and by the mischiefs that attend them.

Now, all sins of this kind are plainly against the great rule [Matt. 7. of justice, given by our Saviour: "Whatsoever ye would that 12.]

men should do to you, do ye even so to them." People are very sensible of any such injury done to themselves; and give very ill names to such as overreach them. This shews, that men do not think these small faults when they themselves are the sufferers.

And then, it is said expressly of these sins, " that the Lord [1 Thess. 4. 6.] is the avenger of all such;" perhaps because men are too apt to overlook them. And in another place St. Paul saith, "that 1 Cor. 6. 9. the unjust shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven."

Lastly; the mischiefs of these sins are very apparent: they harden the conscience; they provoke and encourage others to sin; and, what is worst of all, it is seldom that people think it necessary to repent of them.

Christians are for the most part convinced that great and crying sins, such as are liable to infamous punishments in this world, that these are to be particularly repented of, or no pardon is to be expected; but the sins of fraud are often committed without remorse, and without punishment; are easily forgotten, and therefore seldom truly repented of; which, in the end, makes them as damnable sins as those that people seem to be more afraid of.

Let us, in the second place, consider the temptations to this vice, and what it is that occasions people to take advantage of their neighbour, with so little regret and fear of punishment.

Is it ignorance? That cannot be. There is not the most ignorant person, but knows well enough, when any body wrongs him, that that man does ill.

Is it for want of faith, and that people do not believe that they are to give an account for their injustice? Few people will own such a degree of infidelity.

Is it for want? No, sure; for it is too often, those that have the least need are aptest to wrong and overreach their neighbours.

Is it an immoderate love for their children, and that people will venture at all rather than not leave them all they can? That cannot be the reason, where people have none to provide for; or where they are undutiful, and take ill ways.

What then is it which shall tempt men to run such hazards? Why, an excessive love for the world.

People think they have still too little; that more would

LIII.

SERM. make them more happy. This makes them forget the account they must give, and those rules which are prescribed by God for the peace and good government of the world. This makes them overlook their neighbour, as if he had not a right to be fairly dealt with. This makes them forget that death is not far from them, when they shall part with all they have unfairly gotten, and, if they know their danger, will wish a thousand times they had starved sooner than done the least injustice.

[Heb. 4. 13.]

chap. 21.

19.

Ye see how much this sin is to be feared, and that it is possible for people by increasing their substance to increase their damnation.

Let me, therefore, recommend to you a few considerations to make you abhor so base a vice.

Let us seriously think of it, that all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do; so that what may be an oversight to man cannot be so to God. Nay, a man may be shut out of heaven for that very thing, which no law on earth could take hold of him for: or, if he repents of it, will cost him dear before he can be forgiven.

Believe it, christians! the Lord is nigh them that are wronged, to do them justice, when they call upon Him in the bitterness of their soul; and it will be no advantage to a man to have doubled his talents, when he has doubled his guilt and his punishment.

Even your posterity shall suffer for your fraud; and you are only laying up a treasure of judgments for those very children which you are so passionately fond of. "God will lay up the iniquities of sinners for their children," saith Job. So that it were much better they were left to the wide world, than with any thing that is got by deceit.

Depend upon it, neither your care in settling what you will leave, nor your advice to your heir, nor lands, nor securities, nor bonds, nor locks, can preserve what you shall get by fraud. No, not repentance itself.

That is hard, you will say; will not God pardon me upon my repentance? Why, you think, perhaps, that repentance consists in confessing your fault, and asking God's pardon, without making restitution: as if a thief, who has got enough to live upon, should ask God's pardon, and then think all is

« AnteriorContinuar »