ing bound to it by their honour, is an agreement in form to commit, for the fake of an abfurd notion, or rather an unmeaning word, the moft capital offence against each other, and their Maker; of which, if their intention fucceed, they cannot have time to repent. As to the manner in which murder is committed; whether a perfon do it directly himself, or employ another; whether he do it by force, or fraud, or colour of juftice; accufing falfely, or taking any unfair advantage: these things make little further difference in the guilt, than that the most artful and ftudied way is generally the worst. And though a defign of murder should not take effect; yet whoever hath done all that he could towards it, is plainly as much a finner, as if it had. Nay, doing any thing towards it, or fo much as once intending it, or affifting or encouraging any other who intends it, is the fame fort of wickedness. And if a perfon doth not directly defign the death of another; yet if he defignedly doth what he knows or suspects may probably occafion it; he is, in proportion to his knowledge, or sufpicion, guilty. Nay, if he is only negligent in matters, which may affect human life; or meddles with them, when he hath caufe to think he understands them not; he is far from innoAnd there are feveral profeffions and employments, in which these truths ought to be confidered with a peculiar degree of seriousness. cent. Further yet: If it be criminal to contribute in any manner towards taking away a perfon's life immediately; it must be criminal alfo to contribute any thing towards shortening it, which is taking it away after a time: whether by bringing any bodily disease upon him, or caufing him any grief or anxiety of mind, or by what indeed will produce both, diftreffing him in his circumftances: concerning which the son of Sirach faith: He that taketh away his neighbour's living flayeth him; and ke that defraudeth the labourer of his hire, is a blood-fhedder*. Indeed, if we caufe or procure any fort of hurt to another, tho' it hath no tendency to deprive him of life, yet if it makes any part of his life, more or lefs, uneafy or uncomfortable, we deprive him fo far of what makes it valuable to him: which 15 Ecclus. xxxiv. 22. is equivalent to taking fo much of it away from him, or poffibly worse. Nay, if we do a person no harm; yet if we wish him harm, St John hath determined the cafe: Whofoever hateth his brother is a murderer. For indeed, hatred not only leads to murder; and too often, when indulged, produces it unexpectedly; but it is always, though perhaps for the most part in a lower degree, the very spirit of murder in the heart; and it is by our hearts that God will judge us. Nay, fhould our dislike of another not rise to fixed hatred and malice; yet if it rise to unjust anger, we know our Saviour's declaration. It was faid by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill: and whosoever shall kill, fhall be in danger of the judgment. But I fay unto you, whosoever is angry with his brother without a caufe, fhall be in danger of the judgment. That is, whofoever is angry, either with perfons that he ought not, or more vehemently, or fooner, or longer than he ought, is guilty, in fome measure, of that uncharitableness of which murder is the highest act; and liable to the punishment of it in the fame proportion. Nor even yet have I carried the explanation of this com mandment to the extent of our duty. Whoever doth not, as far as can be reasonably expected from him, endeavour to guard his neighbour from harm, to make peace, to relieve distress and want, fails of what love to human kind certainly requires. Now, love is the fulfilling of the law‡: and he that loveth not his brother, abideth in death §: We are also carefully to obferve, that however heinous it is, to fin against the temporal life of any one; injuring him in respect of his eternal interests, is yet unspeakably worse. If it be unlawful to kill or hurt the body, or overlook mens worldly neceffities; much more is it to deftroy the foul of our brother, for whom Chrift died ||; or any way endanger it; or even fuffer it to continue in danger, if we have in our power the proper and likely means of delivering it. And on the other hand, all that mercy and humanity, which, in the civil concerns of our neighbours, is fo excellent a duty, muft proportionably be still more excellent in their religious ones, and of higher value in the fight of God. Hitherto Rom. xiii. 10, + Mat. v. 21, 22. Rom. xiv. 15. I John iii. 15. 1 Hitherto I have confidered the prohibition, Thou shalt do no murder, as refpecting others: but it forbids alfo felf-murder. As we are not to commit violence againft the image of God in the perfon of any of our brethren; fo,neither in our own. As we are not to rob the fociety to which we belong, or any part of it, of the fervice, which any other of its members might do it; we are not to rob either of what we might do. As we are not to fend any one elfe out of the world prematurely; we are not to fend ourselves; but wait with patience all the days of our appointed time, till our change come*. If the fins which perfons have committed prompt them to despair; they of all others, instead of rushing into the presence of God by adding this dreadful one to them, fhould earnestly defire Space to repent; which, by his grace, the worst of finners may do, and be forgiven. If their misfortunes or fufferings make them weary of life; he hath fent them these with defign, that they fhould not by unlawful moans evade them, but go thro' them well whether they be inflicted for the punishment of their faults, or the trial of their virtues. In either cafe, we are to fubmit quietly to the difcipline of our heavenly Father: which he will not fuffer to be heavier than we can bear, whatever we may imagine; but will fupport us under it, improve us by it, and in due time releafe us from it. But in any cafe for perfons to make away with themfelves, is to arraign the conftitution of things which he hath appointed; and to refuse living where he hath put them to live: å very provoking inftance of undutifulnefs, and made peculiarly fatal by this circumflance, that leaving ufually no room for repentance, leaves none for pardon: always excepting, where it proceeds from a mind fo difordered by a bodily difeafe, as to be incapable of judging or acting reafonably, For God knows with certainty when this is the caufe, and when not: and will accordingly either make due allowances, or make none. it And if deftroying ourselves be a fin, doing any thing wilfully or heedlessly, that tends to our deftruction, muft in proportion be a fin. Where indeed neceffity requires great hazards to be run by fome perfons for the good of others: as in war, in extinguishing dangerous fires, in feveral cafes which might be named; or where employments and profeffions which fomebody 1 fomebody or other muft undertake, or fuch diligence in any employment as men are by accidents really called to use, impair health and shorten life; there, far from being thrown away, it is laudibly spent in the fervice of God and man. But for any perfon to bring on himself an untimely end, by adventurous rafhnefs, by ungoverned paffion, by immoderate anxiety, or by an obftinate or careless neglect of his own prefervation, is unquestionably finful. And, above all, doing it by debauchery or immoral excefs, is a most effectual way of ruining foul and body at once. Let us therefore be confcientiously watchful against every thing which may provoke or entice us to be injurious, either to others or ourselves. And God grant, that we may so regard the lives of our fellow-creatures, and fo employ our own, that we may ever please the Giver and Lord of life and ha ving faithfully lived to him here, may eternally live with him hereafter, through Jefus Chrift our only Saviour. Amen. IN N fpeaking to this commandment, it is proper to begin with obferving, that as in the fixth, where murder is forbidden, every thing which tends to it, or proceeds from the fame bad principle with it, is forbidden too: fo here, in the feventh, where adultery is prohibited, the prohibition must be extended to whatever else is criminal in the fame kind. And therefore in explaining it, I fhall treat, firft of the fidelity which it requires from married perfons, and then of the chastity and modefty which it requires from all perfons. Firft of the fidelity owing to each other from married perfons. VOL. IV. 3 F Not Not only the fcripture account of the creation of mankind is a proof to as many as believe in fcripture, that the union of one man with one woman was the original defign and will of Heaven; but the remarkable equality of males and females born into the world is an evidence of it to all men. Yet notwithstanding, it must be owned, the cohabitation of one man with feveral wives at the fame time was practised very anciently in the darker ages, even by fome of the patriarchs, who were otherwife good perfons; but, having no explicit revealed rule concerning this matter, failed of difcerning the a'bove-mentioned purpofe of God. And both this error and that of divorce on flight occafions, were tolerated by the law of Mofes. But that was only as the laws of other countries often connive at what the Lawgiver is far from approving. Accordingly God expreffed, particularly by the Prophet Malachi*, his dislike of these things. And our Saviour both tells the Jews, that Mofes permitted divorces at pleasure, merely "becaufe of the hardness of their hearts," and peremptorily declares, that "whofoever fhall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and hall marry another, committeth adultery." Now certainly it cannot be lefs adulterous to marry a fecond without putting away the first. Nor is polygamy (that is, the having more wives than one at once) prohibited in holy writ alone, but condemned by many of the heathens themfelves, who alledge against it very plain and forcible reafons. It is inconfiftent with a due degree of mutual affection in the parties, and due care in the education of their children. It introduces into families perpetual fubjects of the bittereft enmity and jealoufy; keeps a multitude of females in moft unnatural bondage, frequently under guardians fitted for the office by unnatural cruelty; and tempts a multitude of males, thus left unprovided for, to unnatural lufts. In civilized and well-regulated countries therefore, fingle marriages have either been established at firft, or prevailed afterwards on experience of their preferablenefs: and a mutual promife of inviolable faithfulnefs to the marriage-bed hath been understood to be an effential part of the contract: which promife is with us moft folemnly expreffed in the office of matrimony, by as clear and comprehenfive words as can be devi fed. Mal. ii. 14, 16. † Mat. xix 8, 9: |