enrich a Sunday 9. Yet befides this, there want not other; XII. among which, one there is of fuch a Nature, as may prevail with the arranteft Worldling; It is not and that is, That this Course doth not really the way to tend to the enriching of him; there is a fecret Man. Curfe goes along with it, which, like a Canker, eats out all the Benefit was expected from it. This no Man can doubt, that believes the Scripture, where there are Multitudes of Texts to this purpose: Thus Prov. xxii. 16. He that oppreffeth the Poor, to increase his Riches, Shall furely come to want. So Habak. ii. 6. 7. Wo to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and he that ladeth him with thick Clay. Shall they not rise up fuddenly that shall bite thee? and awake that fall vex thee? and thou shalt be for Booties to them. This is commonly the Fortune of those that spoil and deceive others, they at laft meet with fome that do the like to them. But that Place in Zachary is moft full to this purpofe, chap. v. where, under the Sign of a flying Roll, is fignified the Curfe that goes forth against this Sin, ver. 4. I will bring it forth, faith the Lord of Hofts, and it fhall enter into the House of the Thief, and into the Houfe of him that fweareth falfly by my Name: and shall confume it, with the Timber thereof, and the Stones thereof. Where, you fee, Theft and Perjury are the two Sins against which this Curfe is aimed, (and they too often go together in. the Matter of Defrauding;) and the Nature of this Curfe, is, to to confume the House, to make an utter De-Sunday XII. ftruction of all that belongs to him, that is guilty of either of these Sins. Thus whilft thou art ravening after thy Neighbour's Goods or House, thou art but gathering Fuel to burn thine own. And the Effect of thefe Threat nings of God, we do daily fee in the ftrange Improfperoufnefs of ill-gotten Eftates, which every Man is apt enough to obferve in other Mens Cafes; he that fees his Neighbour decline in his Estate, can prefently call to mind, this was gotten by Oppreffion or Deceit; yet fo fottish are we, fo bewitch'd with the love of Gain, that he that makes this Obfervation, can feldom turn it to his own ufe, is never the lefs greedy or unjust himself, for that Vengeance he difcerns upon others. 10. But, alas! if thou couldst be fure that ruins thy unjuft Poffeffions should not be torn from the Soul thee, yet when thou remembreft how dear eternally. thou must pay for them in another World, thou haft little reafon to brag of thy Prize: Thou thinkeft thou hast been very cunning when thou haft over-reach'd thy Brother; but, God knows, all this while there is another over-reaching thee, and cheating thee of what is infinitely more precious, even thy Soul: The Devil herein deals with thee, as Fishers ufe to do; those that will catch a great Fish, will bait the Hook with a lefs, and fo the great one coming with greedinefs to devour that, is himself taken. So thou that art Sunday gaping to fwallow up thy poor Brother, art XII. thyfelf made a Prey to that great Devourer. Biturion, And, alas! what will it ease thee in Hell, that thou haft left Wealth behind thee upon the Earth, when thou shalt there want that which the meanest Beggar here enjoys, even a drop of Water to cool thy Tongue? Confider this, and from henceforth refolve to imploy all that Pains and Diligence thou haft ufed to deceive others, in refcuing thy felf from the Frauds of the grand Deceiver. The Necef- 11. To this purpose, it is abfolutely neceffity of Re-fary, that thou make Reftitution to all whom thou haft wronged; for as long as thou keepeft any Thing of the unjuft Gain, 'tis, as it were, an Earneft Penny from the Devil, which gives him full right to thy Soul. But perhaps it may be faid, It will not in all Cafes be poffible to make Reftitution to the wronged Party; peradventure he may be dead: In that cafe, then, make it to his Heirs, to whom his Right defcends. But it may further be objected, That he that hath long gone on in a Courfe of Fraud, may have injured many that he cannot now remember, and many that he hath no means of finding out: In this Cafe, all I can advise is this; firft, To be as diligent as is poffible, both in recalling to mind who they were, and endeavouring to find them out; and when, after all thy care, that proves impoffible, let thy Reftitutions be made to the Poor; and that they may not be be made by halves, be as careful as thou canft to reckon every the leaft mite of unjust Gain: but when that cannot exactly be done, as 'tis fure it cannot by those who have multiplied the Acts of Fraud, yet even there let them make fome general Meafures, whereby to proportion their Reftitution; as for example, A Tradefman that cannot remember how much he hath cheated in every fingle Parcel, yet may poffibly guefs in the grofs whether he have ufually over-reach'd to the Value of a Third, or a Fourth Part of the Wares; and then, what proportion foever he thinks he has fo defrauded, the fame proportion let him now give out of that Eftate he hath raised by his Trade: but herein it concerns every Man to deal uprightly as in the Prefence of God, and not to make advantage of his own Forgetfulness, to the cutting fhort of the Reftitution, but rather go on the other Hand, and be fure rather to give too much than too little. If he do happen to give fomewhat over, he need not grudge the charge of fuch a Sin-offering; and 'tis fure he will not, if he do heartily defire an Atonement. Many other Difficulties there may be in this Business of Reftitution, which will not be foreseen, and fo cannot now be particularly fpoke to; but the more of these there are, the greater Horror ought Men to have of running into the Sin of Injuftice, which it will be fo difficult, if not impoffible, for them to repair; and the S 2 more unday XII. Sunday more careful ought they to be to mortifie XIII. that which is the Root of all Injustice; to wit, Covetoufness. His Credit. SUNDAY XIII. Of Falfe Reports, False Witness, Slanders, Sect. 1. "T HE Fourth Branch of Negative Juftice, concerns the Credit of our Neighbours, which we are not to leffen or impair by any means, particularly not by falfe Reports. Of falfe Reports, there may be two Sorts; the one is, when a Man fays fomething of his Neighbour, which he directly knows to be False; the other, when poffibly he has fome flight Surmife or Jealoufy of the thing; but that upon fuch weak Grounds, that 'tis as likely to be Falfe as True. In either of these Cafes, there is a great Guilt lies upon the Reporter. That there doth fo in the firft of them, no body will doubt, every one acknowledging, that it is the greatest Bafeness. to invent a Lye of another: but there is as little reafon to queftion the other; for he that reports a thing as a Truth, which is but un certain, |