alongst with others in their fin, ruins not only ourselves, but them too.

4thly, By provoking others to fin, 1 Kings xxi. 25. Thus people are many ways guilty, by a provoking carriage, by provoking words; and not a few fo devilish that they take a pleasure to provoke others, that they may get fomething to laugh at. Thefe are like them who ftir up the fire to burn another's houfe, that they may warm themselves at it.

5thly, By foliciting and downright tempting to fin. Such agents the devil has in the world, who make it their business to draw others to fin, by an enfnaring carriage or plain words; so that it is evident they are gone out on the devil's errant, Prov. vii. 18.

6thly, By teaching of fin. When men call truth a lie, and lies truth, when they give out a finful practice to be duty, and a duty to be a finful practice, they contribute directly to the fin of others, and bring that woe on themfelves, If. v. 20. "Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for fweet, and fweet for bitter."

By all these, two fall at once; for the fin of him that commands, counfels, &c. does not excuse the other.

(1.) By confenting to the fin of others, countenancing them in it, and encouraging them in their fin, Acts ix. 1. We may countenance finners in their duty, but by no means in their fin. These two are very different, but they are often confounded; and the confounding of them is the cause of much disorder in our church at this day.

3. By neglecting what we owe to our neighbour for the welfare of his foul. In not doing what we ought to preferve or recover his foul, we are guilty of destroying it, and fo indirectly operate to his fin. As,

1ft, By neglecting the means for preventing of fin in others, Ezek. iii. 18. When people do not teach, warn, and admonish, those whom they fee to be in hazard, or generally neglec to restrain fin by all lawful means competent to them. Thus Eli finned, 1 Sam. iii. 13. " His fons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not." Thus much guilt is contracted by ministers, magiftrates, husbands and wives, parents, mafters, &c.

2dly, By neglecting the means to recover those that have fallen into fin; fuffering fin to lie on them, and not reprovVOL. II. No. 23,

I

ing it, Lev. xix. 17. compare 1 John iii. 15.; or reproving of them fo imprudently, paffionately, or weakly, as that it can do them no good. So did Eli.

3dly, By not compaffionating the finner, and mourning over his fin before the Lord, but hardening our hearts against him, and being careless what come of his foul, Ezek. ix. 4. O what guilt is contracted this way in fhutting up our bowels of compaffion! How many will exclaim against the fins of others, whofe confciences witness that they never had a fore heart for the dishonour done to God, and the ill to the finner's foul by it.

4thly, By being pleafed with their fin. This is in effect to be pleased with their ruin, Rom. i. ult. Thus men are guilty,

(1.) By approving the fin of others, Pfal. xlix. 13. This is to set our stamp on an evil way, that it may pass current. (2.) By rejoicing at it, and making a jeft of it. It is devilith mirth that rifeth from our neighbour's ruining himself. Yet much of this guilt is in the world, Prov. xiv. 9.

SECONDLY, Thou fhalt not kill thy neighbour's body unjustly. There are three cafes wherein the life of our neighbour may be taken away juftly. (1.) In the cafe of public justice, Gen. ix. 6. (2.) Of lawful war, Judg. v. 23. (3.) Of neceffary felf-defence, Exod. xxii. 2, 3. The reafon is, because in these cases a man does not take, but God, the Lord of life and death, puts the fword in his hand; fo that judgment in these cases is the Lord's. Unless in these cases, it is murder, an unjust taking away another's life. Now, there are two things here forbidden with respect to this.

First, The taking away of our neighbour's life unjustly. This is actual and direct murder. This was the fin of Cain. This is a horrible and atrocious crime, for which men's laws condemn the guilty to the gallows, and God's laws condemn them to hell, 1 John iii. 15. A fin fo flat against nature, that even a natural confcience uses to kindle a hell in the bofom of the murderer; and a crime it is which Providence specially watches to bring to light. This is to be extended not only to what is commonly reckoned murder, but to these three cafes.

1. The taking away of men's lives, under colour of law, and forms of juftice, when the law is unjuft, and there is no real crime; as in the cafe of Naboth, 1 Kings xxi. 12, 13,

19. And therefore all the laws of the world will not free perfecutors from the guilt of murder, in their taking away the lives of the martyrs.

2. The taking away of men's lives in an unjust war, Hab. ii. 12. For in fuch a cafe an army is but a company of robbers and murderers, before the Lord; seeing God puts not the fword in men's hands in an unjust cause.

3. The taking away of a man's life in a fet duel or combat, which, whether it fall in the hand of him that gives the challenge, or his that accepts it, is downright murder. There is not the leaft fort of approbation thereof in the fcriptures. And therefore the laws of duelling, like the laws of drinking, are not given by God, but by the devil. David's combating Goliah was by public authority, in a public caufe, and befides, from an extraordinary impulfe of the Spirit. Duelling is from the devil, as being the effect of pride and rage; a taking into men's heads the difpofing of that life which God only is Lord of; it is an ufurping of the magiftrate's fword, and invading God's right of vengeance, Rom. xii. 19. And the pretence of honour, the ufual plea for duels, is as far different from God's laws of honour, as hell is from heaven, Prov. xvi. 32. Matth. v. 44.

Secondly, Whatfoever tendeth to the taking away of our neighbour's life unjustly. This is virtual, interpretative, indirect murder. It is of feveral forts, all here forbidden.

1. There is heart-murder; and of that there are several forts.

1ft, Carnal anger and wrath, which is rafh, causeless, and exceffive, Matth. v. 22. Some people's anger is like a fire in ftraw, foon blown up and foon out; others like a fire in iron, once kindled, which it is hard to get laid. But of whatever fort it is, it is a fhort madness; and the longer it is kept, it is fo much the worse, Eph. iv. 26, 27. “It resteth in the bofom of fools." All murder begins here. It is a fire that kindles the anger of God, and of our neighbour, against us, and fo cafts all into confufion. Let us study meeknefs; which is what will make us like to Christ, Col. iii. 12.

2dly, Envy, whereby people grieve and grudge at the good of others. It is the devil's two-edged fword drawn to flay two at once; the envious himself, Prov. xiv. 30.; for he is like a ferpent gnawing its own tail, Job v. 2.; and the

party envied, Prov. xxvii. 4. While other fins are entertained for pleasure or profit, this is like a barren field, bringing forth only briers and thorns; there is not a dram of any fort of pleasure in it. But this was it that put Joseph's brethren on a murdering defign. A charitable frame of fpirit is our duty, Rom. xii. 15.

3dly, Hatred and malice against our neighbour. This made Cain imbrue his hands in his brother's blood. And fuch as live in malice and hatred go in his way, 1 John iii. 15. It is the fad character of perfons eftranged from God, that they are "hateful, and hating one another," Tit. iii. 3. But of all hatred, that is the worst which hates good men for their goodness. However, we may hate every man's faults, but no man's perfon. "Love thy neighbour as thyfelf," is the exprefs command of Heaven.

4thly, Revengeful thoughts and defires; which are fo much the worfe as they are the longer entertained, Rom. xii. 19. That heart is a bloody heart that longs for a heartfight, as they call it, on thofe that have wronged them. God fees the moft fecret wifh of ill to our neighbour, and will call us to an account. Let us learn long-fuffering and patience, to forgive, a disposition and readiness to be reconciled; otherwife our addreffes to Heaven for pardon will be vain, Matth. iv. 15.

5thly, Rejoicing at the mischief that befals others, Prov. xxiv. 17, 18. Nothing makes men liker the devil than that murdering difpofition to make the ruin of others our mirth, and their forrow our joy; for man's fin and mifery is what affords pleasure to the devil. We fhould fympathife and weep with them that weep, as well as rejoice with thofe that do rejoice.

Lastly, Cruelty, an horrid unrelenting difpofition, that is not affected with the mifery of others, but carries it on, and adds to it with delight. A difpofition moft inconfiftent with the spirit of the gospel, that teaches tender-heartedness even to the very beafts, Prov. xii. 10. But those that delight in cruel treating of these, want but an opportunity to exercise it on men.

2. There is tongue-murder. Solomon obferves, that the tongue, however little a member it is, is the lord of life and death, Prov. xviii. 21. and xxi. 23. If it be not well managed, then, no wonder it be fometimes found guilty of

murder. The natural shape of the tongue resembles a flame of fire, and therefore in Hebrew one word fignifies a flame and the tongue; yea, and it is what it feems to be, "a fire, a world of iniquity," Jam. iii. 6. It resembles also a fword, and fo it is oft-times, lvii. 4. and Pfal. lix. 7. The mouth and tongue resemble bow and arrow, and so they are, Pfal. Ixiv. 3. The rage of an ill tongue must needs be dangerous, then, feeing fuch an one lays about him with his bow and arrow, and advances with fire and fword, which must needs bring him in blood-guilty. Now, this sword deyours several

ways.

ift, By quarrelling, provoking, and contentious fpeeches, Prov. xxiii. 29. Such words have oft-times begun a plea that has ended in blood. And therefore the apostle compares fuch to beafts, that begin to fnarl and bite one another, till it end in the ruin of either or both, Gal. v. 15. us make conscience, then, of peaceable, mild, and gentle fpeeches.

Let

2dly, By bitter words. These are the impoifoned arrows that tongue-murderers shoot at their neighbour, Pfal. Ixiv. 3. 4. Their tongue are dipt in gall, and they pierce to the heart, and give a home-thrust like a fword, Prov. xii. 28. They become not the disciples of the meek Jefus. Lay aside these, as ye would not be reckoned murderers in the fight of God, Eph. iv. 31.

3dly, By railing and fcolding. This was Shimei's murdering deed, 2 Sam. xvi. 5, 6, 7, for which he died as a murderer in Solomon's days. Thus men and women manage their tongue-battles with eagerness, making their doors or the town-gate the field of battle, where words pierce like fwords to the heart. These are the plagues and the pests of fociety, whose bloody mouths proclaim their hearts fearless of God. Hear ye what the Lord fays, 1 Pet. iii. 9. "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwife, blefling; knowing that ye are thereunto called; that ye fhould inherit a bleffing."

4thly, By reviling, reproachful, and difdainful speeches. Men think little of thefe; they are but words, and words are but wind. But they are a wind that will blow people to hell, Matth. v. 22. They are the devil's bellows to blow up the fire of anger; which may make fearful havock ere it be quenched, Prov. xv. 1.