Sunday moulded, it will certainly be his Lot, and XI. therefore it adds much to the Injury. Again,

The most

This may indeed be a Robbery, in the ufual Senfe of the Word; for, perhaps, it may be the thrufting in the Child of the Adulterer into his Family, to fhare both in the Maintenance and Portions of his own Children: And this is an errant Theft; firft, in respect of the Man, who furely intends not the providing for another Man's Child; and then in respect of the Children, who are by that means defrauded of fo much as that goes away with. And therefore, whofoever hath this Circumftance of the Sin to repent of, cannot do it effectually, without reftoring to the Family as much as he hath by this means robb'd it of.

"

5. All this put together, will fure make this reparable the greatest and most provoking Injury that can be done to a Man, and (which heightens it yet more) it is that, for which a Man can never make Reparations; for, unless it be in the Circumftance before-mentioned, there is no part of this Sin wherein that can be done; to this purpose, 'tis obfervable in the Jewish Law, that the Thief was appointed to reftore four-fold, and that freed him; but the Adulterer having no poffibility of making any Reftitution, any Satisfaction, he must pay his Life for his Offence, Lev.xx. 10. And tho' now-a-days Adulterers fpeed bettér, live many Days to renew their Guilt, and, perhaps, to laugh at thofe whom they have

A

thus

thus injured, yet let them be affured, there Sunday muft one Day be a fad Reckoning, and that XI. whether they repent or not: If by God's Grace they do come to Repentance, they will then find this to be no cheap Sin, many Angui thes of Soul, Terrors and Perplexities of Confcience, Groans and Tears it must cost them : And indeed, were a Man's whole Life fpent in thefe Penitential Exercises, 'twere little enough to wipe off the Guilt of any one fingle Act of this kind: What overwhelming Sorrows then are requifite for fuch a Trade of this Sin, as too many drive? Certainly it is fo great a Task, that it is highly neceffary for all that are fo concerned, to fet to it immediately, left they want Time to go through with it; for, let no Man flatter himfelf, that the Guilt of a Courfe and Habit of fuch a Sin can be wash'd away with a fingle Act of Repentance; no, he muft proportion the Repentance to the Fault, and as one hath been a Habit and Course, so must the other alfo. And then how ftrange a madness is it for Men to run into this Sin, (and that with fuch painful Purfuits as many do) which he knows muft at the beft hand, (that is, fuppofing he do repent of it) coft him thus dear? But then, if he do not repent, infinitely dearer; it lofes him all his Title to Heaven, that Place of Purity, and gives him his Portion in the Lake of Fire, where the Burnings of his Luft fhall end in thofe everlafting Burnings. For how clofely foever he

hath

Sunday hath acted this Sin, be it so that he may have XI. faid with the Adulterer, in Job xxv. 15. No

Eye feeth me; yet 'tis fure he could not, in the greateft Obfcurity, fhelter himself from God's fight, with whom the Darkness is no Darkness, Pfalm cxxxix. 12. And he it is, who hath exprefly threatned to judge this fort of Offenders, Heb.xiii. 4. Adulterers God will judge. God grant, that all that live in this foul Guilt, may fo feasonably and fo throughly judge themselves, that they may prevent that fevere and dreadful Judgment of his.

Bis Goods 6. The fecond Thing to which this Negative Juftice to our Neighbour's Poffeffions reacheth, is his Goods; under which general Word is contained all thofe feveral forts of Things, as Houfe, Land, Cattle, Money, and the like, in which he hath a Right and Property; thefe we are, by the Rule of this Juftice, to fuffer him to enjoy, without feeking, either to work him damage in any of them, or to get any of them, to ourfelves: I make a Difference between these two, because there may be two feveral Grounds or Motives of this Injuftice; the one Malice, the other Covetoufness.

Malicious

7. The malicious Man defires to work his Injustice. Neighbour's Mifchief, though he get nothing by it himself: 'Tis frequently feen, that Men will make havock and spoil of the Goods of one to whom they have a grudge, though they never defign to get any thing to them

XI.

felves by it, but only the pleasure of doing a Sunday fpite to the other. This is a moft hellish Humour, directly answerable to that of the Devil, who bestows all his pains and industry not to bring in any good to himself, but only to ruin and undo others: and how contrary it is to all Rules of Juftice, you may fee by the Precept given by God to the Jews concerning the Goods of an Enemy; where they were fo far from being allowed a liberty of Spoil and Deftruction, that they are exprefly bound to prevent it, Exod. xxiii. 4, 5. If thou meet thine Enemy's Ox or his Afs going aftray, thou shalt furely bring it back to him again: If thou fee the Afs of him that hateth thee lying under his Burden, and wouldst forbear to help him, thou shalt furely help with him: Where, you fee, it is a Debt we owe to our very Enemies, to prevent that lofs and damage, which by any Accident he is in danger of, and that even with fome labour and pains to ourfelves. How horrible an Injuftice is it then, purposely to bring that lofs and damage on him? Whoever is guilty of this, let him never excuse himself, by faying, He hath not enrich'd himself by the fpoil of his Neighbour, that he hath nothing of it cleaves to his Finger; for fure this malicious Injuftice is no lefs a Fault than the covetous one: nay, I fuppofe, in refpect of the Principle and Cause from which it flows, it may be greater; this Hatred of another, being worse than the immoderate

Sunday Love of Ourselves; whoever hath thus mifXI. chief'd his Neighbour, he is as much bound to repair the Injury, to make Satisfaction for the Lofs, as if he had enrich'd himself by it.

Covetous

8. But, on the other fide, let not the coveInjustice tous Defrauder therefore judge his Sin light, because there is another that in fome one refpect outweighs it: for, perhaps, in others, his may caft the Scales; certainly it does in this one, that he that is unjuft for Greediness of Gain, is like to multiply more Acts of this Sin, than he that is fo out of Malice; for 'tis impoffible any Man fhould have fo many Objects of his Malice, as he may have of his Covetoufnefs: There is no Man at fo general a Defiance with all Mankind, that he hates every body; but the covetous Man hath as many Objects of his Vice, as there be Things in the World he counts valuable. But I shall not longer ftand upon this Comparison, 'tis fure they are both great and crying Sins, and that is ground enough of abhorring each: Let us defcend now to the feveral Branches of this fort of Covetous Injuftice; 'tis true, they may all bear the Name of Robbery, or Theft, for, in effect, they are all fo; yet, for Method's fake, it will not be amiss to diftinguish them into thefe Three; Oppreffion, Theft, and Deceit.

Oppreflion.

By Oppreffion, I mean, that open and bare-fac'd Robbery of feizing upon the Poffeffions of others, and owning and avowing

the