then Now if you would bring this down into practice, go this way to work. If a man will observe the rule of equity, he muft take the cafe into confideration, and cloath it with all circumstances that belong to it, and give all allowance to the perfon concerned, for fudden furprifals, for invincible ignorance, for contracted neceffity, for unavoidable accident, for fomething which might befal him that he could not foresee and if you would extend your goodness to the utmost, give fomething to the frailty of human nature; where there is no other confideration, caft fomething in for the frailty of human nature. Now that this notion I have been upon, is very frequent and ordinary in fcripture, I will produce you fome texts, where benignity, clemency and compaffion, pass under the notion of justice and righteoufness, Matth. i. 19. It is faid of Jofeph, he was a just man, therefore he would deal fairly with Mary, and would not expose her to fhame. Zach. ix. 9. See what you have there in conjunction; juft, having falvation, and lowly, &c. It is spoken prophetically of our Saviour, Col. iv. 1. Mafters, give to your fervants that which is just and that which is equal, that holds a proportion to their work and to their defert, Job xxix. 14. I put on righteousness, and it cloathed me; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. Now, what is Job's righteoufnefs: fee what he means, verse 13. The bleffing of him that was ready to perish, came upon me, and I caufed the widow's heart to fing for joy. verfe 15. I was eyes to the blind, feet was I to the lame; This was his righteoufnefs. verfe 17. I broke the jaws of the wicked, and pluckt the spoil out of their teeth: VOL. IV. B that that is, he contested with those that were obftinate in wickedness and violence, and he did relieve those that stood in need: and this is the explication of Job's righteousness. Pfal. xxiv. 5. He shall receive the bleffing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his falvation. Pfal. xxxiii. 5. He loveth righteoufnefs and judgment; and what is the explication? See the latter phrafe, which in fcripture commonly explicates the former for the earth is full of the goodnefs of the Lord. Prov. x. 3. The Lord will not fuffer the foul of the righteous to famish: the righteous, that is the bountiful and generous man. Prov. xi. 31. Behold, the righteous fhall be recompenced in the earth, that is, the man of equity, moderation and fairness. Dan. iv. 27. Break off thy fins by righteousness: and the explication follows; and thine iniquities by fhewing mercy to the poor. Dan. ix. 16. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away, &c. It was just, that they who had been fo obnoxious, fhould be both carried into captivity and there continued but by righteousness, he means his mercy and his forgiveness, and his turning away his an▪ I might add many more places of scripture, to fhew that when justice and righteousness are attributed to God, they ordinarily hold forth this notion of mercifulness, graciousness, compaffion and good-will. ger. But now I will fhew it you out of authors among the heathens. Ariftotle faith, that equity is the truest justice; and there is no justice if not equal confideration, fair-dealing, candid conftruction; this is the trueft juftice, and this he speaks, being the refult of natural light. And it is the faying of Seneca ; " It "is not worthy of condemnation for a man to con"fine himself in his kindness to the letter of the "law" to be only as the law will make one, is ve ry forry upon the account of equity. But I will conclude this difcourfe with a caution; because I would not abuse the good nature of the world, nor give advantage either to folly or bafeness. By way of caution then, two things do greatly abate the confideration of equity and giving allowance, (to wit) 1. Wilfulness and folly. And 2. Falfhood and difbonefly. 1. Wilfulness and folly. And moft commonly the weakest are the moft wilful; and they that have the leaft of reafon, have the most of selfwill. Now where a man plays the fool, it is not reasonable he should gain a privilege by his folly ; especially where it doth redound to another's wrong: for we must take a course to secure one, as well as another I commend him as a perfon of moderation that will allow for other mens mistakes; but I cannot fay an obligation, that if one man be wilful and a fool, another man should suffer wrong and fall fhort of his right. But then 2dly, Much more in the other cafe, where a man plays the knave; convince a man of that, and he hath no plea in equity; for he that plays the knave, is difhoneft and a great finner; and therefore is under an obligation to repentance, and if he do repent he will make fatisfaction and reparation where he hath done wrong; and till a man doth repent, his cafe is not compaffionable; therefore where men play the knave, they can have no pretence to this fair and equal confideration. Therefore I except thefe two forts of men where men are wilful and play the fool, or where men are dishonest in their way; these men have no colour of pretence, or demand to equal confideration: but where men fall into unavoidable accidents, and are mistaken, there good men will confider them; but they are not to be either wilful or falfe. DISCOURSE LXXII. PHIL. iv. 8. Whatfoever things are juft. Have made a declaration in general concerning juf you wherein they a→ gree, and wherein they differ; and wherein the one exceeded the other and now I am come to make fome particular application. By the former difcourse you may understand the principles and ingredients that go to the complexion and conftitution of a truly honest man: you have justice and equity, and candor, and ingenuity, and moderation, and reason, fair ufage, gentle carriage, benign beliaviour, fair treating of men, good conftruction and candid interpretation of all things and fayings; and all these are beyond strict right, and equity comprehends all thefe; and tho' our English language divides just and equal, and makes them two things, yet the Greek word I Have made a declaration in com comprehends them both. Now if these things be neceffary to render and conftitute an honeft man, how much more are they requifite as the becoming ornaments of a chriftian? for it is expected that if men be chriftians, they be more than ordinary a chriftian comprehends in it all the principles of morality, and a further advantage from the noblenefs and ingenuity of a gospel-fpirit. For if a man come to be a fenfible partaker of the grace and goodness of God: as God doth exprefs himself in the covenant of grace, declaring himself for the pardonof fin, and acceptance of finners to terms of grace and love in and through Chrift, upon the finner's repentance, fubmiffion and acknowledgment; if he fail and fall fhort in this inftance of moral perfection, how will he then approve himself to be qualified according to the perfection, of a gofpel-fpirit? One that is fo beholden to the grace and goodness of God, if he falls short in this point of morality, he difcredits himself and difparageth his profeffion; he quits himself very poorly, and doth not feem in any measure to be duly fenfible of the high communication of God in a gofpel-way, nor in any way of worthiness exprefs the participation of the divine nature to which he is called by God in Christ. For confider how unnatiral it is, and disproportionate for one who profefleth this faith, that God was in Chrifi reconciling the wor d to himself; and that God fo loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him fhould not perish, but have everlasting life; and that in this was the love of God manifefted toward us, becaue that God fent his only begotten fon into the world, that |