life, and would see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil; and his lips that they speak no guile*. And as to our eternal state in the next, If any man seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, that man's religion is vain ↑.

* Psalm xxxiv. 12, 13.

+ James i. 26.

LECTURE XXVIII.

TENTH COMMANDMENT.

We are now come to the tenth and last commandment; which is by the church of Rome absurdly divided into two, to keep up the number, after joining the first and second into one, contrary to ancient authority, Jewish and Christian. How the mistake was originally made, is hard to say: but undoubtedly they retain and defend it the more earnestly, in order to pass over the second commandment, as only part of the first, without any distinct meaning of its own. And accordingly many of their devotional books omit it intirely. But that these two ought not to be thus joined and confounded, I have shewn you already. And that this, now before us, ought not to be divided, is extremely evident for it is one single prohibition of all unjust desires. And if reckoning up the several prohibited objects of desire makes it more than one commandment; for the same reason it will be more than two. For there are six things forbidden in it particularly, besides all the rest, that are forbidden in general. And moreover, if this be two commandments, which is the first of them? For in Exodus it begins, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house: but in Deuteronomy, Thou

shalt not covet thy neigbour's wife. And accordingly some of their books of devotion make the former, some the latter of these, the ninth *. Surely the order of the words would never have been changed thus in Scripture, had there been two commandments in them but being one, it is no way material, which part is named first. I say no more therefore on so clear a point but proceed to explain this precept, of not coveting what is our neighbour's.

The good things of this life being the gifts of God, for which all are to be thankful to him; desiring, with due moderation and submission, a comfortable share of them, is very natural and right. Wishing, that our share were better, is, in the case of many persons, so far from a sin, that endeavouring diligently to make it better is part of their duty. Wishing it were equal to that of such another is not wishing ill to him, but only well to ourselves. And seeking to obtain what belongs to another may, in proper circumstances, be perfectly innocent. We may really have occasion for it; he may be well able to bestow it; or he may have occasion for something of

* Their manual of prayers in English, 1725, puts, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, for the ninth. But in the office of the Virgin, both Latin and English, called the Primer, 1717, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, is the ninth.

+ Indeed the Vatican copy of the Septuagint in Exodus places, Thou shalt not commit adultery, before Thou shalt do no murder. And so do Mark x. 19. Luke xviii. 20. Rom. xiii. 9. and Philo, and part of the Fathers. But the Hebrew and Samaritan, and all translations except the Septuagint, and even that in Deuteronomy, and I believe most copies of it in Exodus, and Matth. xix. 18. And Josephus, and another part of the Fathers, keep the now common order. And the Evangelists did not intend to observe the original order; for they put, Honour thy father, &c. last. And St. Paul doth not say, that he intended to observe it. This therefore is not a parallel case to that of the tenth commandment.

ours in return. And on these mutual wants of men all commerce and trade is founded: which God, without question, designed should be carried on; because he hath made all countries abound in some things, and left them deficient in others.

Not every sort of desires therefore, but unfit and immoderate desires only, are forbidden by the words, Thou shalt not covet. And these are such as follow. First, if our neighbour cannot lawfully part with his property, nor we lawfully receive it, and yet we want to have it. One instance of this kind is expressed, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife. Another is, if we want a person who possesses any thing in trust, or under certain limitations, to give or sell it in breach of that trust or those limitations. Or if he can part with it, but is not willing: and we entertain thoughts of acquiring it by force or fraud, or of being revenged on him for his refusal: this is also highly blameable: for why should he not be left quietly free master of his own? Indeed barely pressing and importuning persons, contrary to their interest, or even their inclinations only, is in some degree wrong for it is one way of extorting things from them; or however, of giving them trouble, where we have no right to give it.

But though we keep our desires ever so much to ourselves, they may notwithstanding be very sinful. And such they are particularly, if they induce us to envy others; that is, to be uneasy at their imagined superior happiness, to wish them ill, or take pleasure in any harm which befals them. For this turn of mind will prompt us to do them ill, if we can: as indeed a great part of the mischief that is done in the world, and some of the worst of it, arises from hence. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous: but who is

able to stand against envy*? Accordingly we find it joined in the New Testament with strife, railing, variance, sedition, murder, confusion, and every evil workt. But were it to produce no mischief to our neighbour, yet it is the directly opposite disposition to that love of him, which is the second great precept of Christ's religion. Nay, indeed it de serves in some respects, to be reckoned the worst of ill-natured sins. The revengeful man pleads for himself some injury attempted against him: but the envious person bears unprovoked malice to those, who have done him neither wrong nor harm, solely because he fancies them to be, in this or that instance, very happy. And why should they not, if they can; as he certainly would, if he could? For the prosperity of bad people, it must be confessed, we have reason to be so far sorry, as they are likely to do hurt by it. But to desire their fall, rather than their amendment; to desire what may be grievous to any persons, not from good-will to mankind, but from ill-will to them: to wish any misfortune even to our competitors and rivals, merely because they are such; or because they have succeeded, and enjoy what we aimed at; is extremely uncharitable and inhuman. It is a temper that will give us perpetual disquiet in this world (for there will always be somebody to envy), and bring a heavy sentence upon us in the next, unless we repent of it, and subdue it first. '

But though our selfish desires were to raise in us no malignity against our fellow-creatures; yet if they tempt us to murmur against our Creator; and either to speak or think ill of that distribution of things, which his providence hath made; this is great im# Prov. xxvii. 4. + Rom. i. 29. xiii. 13. 1 Cor. iii. 7. 2 Cor. xii. 20. Gal. v. 20, 21. 1 Tim. vi. 4. James iii. 14. 16..