&c. he over-looks all these, and in competition makes them nothing. But this is that which is good and acceptable to God, to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Where he fums up religion in three particulars, and gives the two first places to this virtue that we are now upon, that is, justice and equity and fairness, &c. For you may remember I have taken mercy into the comprehenfion, of equity.

But I am now to finish the argument. I therefore will betake my felf to those reasons that I am to give you against unrighteousness and unjust dealing; and I will give you three or four of thefe.

1. Unrighteousness is the iniquity that usually meet-› eth with prefent punishment, and a more sudden controul from God, than any other fin; and it is that fin the apostle speaks of, 1 Tim. v. 24. Some fins are open, before, going before-hand to judgment. For this fin is a trespass against the work of the day; for God's prefent business is to uphold righteoufnefs; and this is the iffue of his government in the world, that truth and righteousness may have a thorough empire on the earth. Therefore perfons that are injurious and oppreffive, they oppofe and contradict that which is God's prefent work. Wherefore they provoke God to remove them, or disable them; because they controul him in the work of his present bufinefs, the ordering of his family; for this world is his family. This I will fhew you fome fcriptures for, Deut. xxv. 13. Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small, &c. where juft weights and true measures are enjoined and inforced by this argument,

C 3

verfe

verfe 15. that thy days may be lengthned in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Intimating that God is concerned to cut men off, that are falfe and perfidious and stand in the way of righteousness. Mi→ cah vi. 10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the boufe of the wicked, and the fcant measure which is abominable? Shall I account them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights, &c ? For this caufe will I make thee fick in fmiting thee, in making thee defolate, because of thy fin. And the wife man Solomon hath three or four proverbs to it, that falfe weights are abominable to God. But to make you apprehenfive hereof, I will produce you fundry places. of fcripture, by which I will make it appear that nations have been wiped out fuddenly, because they have been unrighteous, oppreffive, unmerciful, cruel. Joel iii, 19. Egypt fhall be a defolation, and Edom fhall be a defolate wilderness. Why? for their violence against the children of Judah, because they have fhed innocent blood in their land. Pfal. cxxxvii. 7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; why? who faid, rafe it, rafe it even to the foundation thereof; ver. 8, 9. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be deftroyed: happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou haft ferved us: happy shall he be that taketh and dafbeth thy little ones against the ftones and this is upon the account of their injurious dealing with the children of Ifrael. 1 Sam. xv. 2. Thus faid the Lord of hofts, I remember that which Amalek did to Ifrael, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Wherefore, now go fmite Amalek and utterly deftroy all that they have, and spare them not, &c.

ver. 3. And you know what it coft Saul, to whom this commiffion was given; for not executing it to the full, for sparing fome, and the best too, under pretence of facrifice; God rejects him from being king. Thus far in general. Now I will give you three or four inftances of particular perfons. Judg. į. 7. And Adonibezek said, threescore and ten kings ha ving their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table; as I have done, jo God hath requited me, &c. He was made to acknowledge, that feventy kings he had served on that fashion, and now he was brought to the fame condition himself. Judg. viii. 19. Zeba and Zalmunna having the brethren of Gideon in their power, cut them off; and when Gideon had taken them, he tells them; as the Lord liveth, if he had faved them alive, I would not flay you; but now he would deal with them as they had dealt with his brethren. 1 Sam. xv. 33. Agag, as thy fword hath made women thy mother be childless among women. ed Agag in pieces before the Lord in inftance alfo in Haman's gallows prepared for Mor decai, and he himself executed upon it: I dare fay, if you read over facred story, or any one history that is now extant in the world, you fhall find there is no fin, no fort of fin, fo accounted for and punished in this world, as this fin of unjustice and unrighteoufnefs. Not that it doth more reflect upon God; for idolatry and atheifm may as well rife up in defiance against God; but because unjuftice and unrighteoufnefs doth rife up against God in his work, and hinder the work of the day; to wit, the promoting of truth.

Samuel faid to child efs, so shall And Samuel hewGilgal. I might

and

and reafon and juftice in God's family.

And to make you the more apprehenfive of this, I will add more inftances; for if men would be more prevailed with to overlook particular felf-intereft, and to use fair dealing and righteousness and juftice towards others, it would mightily prepare men to performi their duty to God, if they would do their duty to man; and it is St. John's argument: but I proceed. Two chapters in the prophet Amos are spent almoft to this purpose. Amos i. 3. Thus faith the Lord; for three tranfgreffions of Damafcus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; and what is the account thereof? Oppreffion, violence and hard measure; because they have threshed Gilead with threfning inftruments of iron, &c. verfe 6. Thus faith the Lord, for three tranfgreffions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof: and what is the reafon? Because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom, &c. And there is no fin inftanced in, but this of unrighteoufnefs and. unmercifulness. ver. 9. Thus faith the Lord, for three tranfgreffions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof and these three and four all refolve themselves into this one fin of tyranny, oppreffion, injuftice, &c. well, what is the reafon ? Because they delivered up the whole captivity of Edom, and remembred not the brotherly covenant, &c. ver. 11. Thus faith the Lord; for three tranfgreffions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof: why? Because he did pursue his brother with the fword, and did caft off all pity, and his anger did tear. perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever, &c. ver, 13.

Thus

Thus faith the Lord; for three tranfgreffions of the chil dren of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; what is the reason? Because they have ript up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border, &c. And it is very obfervable; before we had punishment executed for hard measure upon Edom; and here, you have Edom itself. charged and threatned for the like fin impartial is

God in his juftice: then defcend to the second chapter, ver. 1. Thus faith the Lord; for three tranfgreffions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof and what is the account? Because he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime, &c. ver. 6. Thus faith the Lord; for three tranfgreffions of Ifrael, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they fold the righteous for filver, and the poor for a pair of shoes, &c. And this is the iniquity the prophet inftances in; when he talks of feven tranfgreffions, they all refolve into this, unmercifulness, cruelty, injuftice, unrighteoufnefs, tyranny, &c. But to fhew you that God is univerfally refolved in this cafe. Pfal. ciii. 6. The Lord executeth righteoufnefs and judgment, for all that are oppreffed. This God owns as the work of the day, and thinks himself mainly concerned in this, to execute righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. Col. iii. 25. Every one that doth wrong, shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; for God is no respecter of perfons: God is of no body's party, nor can be induced to confent to iniquity, or to like any thing out of refpect to any one's perfon, but what is fuitable to his own most holy nature, and according to his rightcous