Sunday like, are but feveral ways of acting this one XI. fin of Oppreffion, which becomes yet the God's Ven geance a more heinous, by how much the more helplefs the perfon is that is thus oppreffed : Therefore the oppreffion of the Widow and Fatherlefs is in Scripture mentioned as the height of this fin. Io. It is indeed a most crying guilt, and gainst it. that against which God hath threatned his heavy vengeance, as we read in divers texts of Scripture; thus it is, Ezek. xviii. 12. He that hath oppreffed the poor, and hath Spoiled by violence, he fhall furely die, his blood shall be upon him; and the fame fentence is repeated against him, ver. 18. Indeed God hath fo peculiarly taken upon him the protection of the poor and oppreffed, that he is engaged, as it were, in honour to be their avenger; and accordingly, Pfal. xii. we fee God folemnly declare his refolution of appearing for them, ver. 5. For the oppreffion of the poor, for the fighing of the needy, now will I arife, faith the Lord, I will fet him in fafety from him. The advice therefore of Solomon is excellent, Prov. xxii. 22. Rob not the poor, because he is poor; neither opprefs the afflicted in the gate. For the Lord will plead their cause, and fpoil the foul of those that spoiled them: They are like in the end to have little joy of the booty it brings them in, when it thus engages God against them. II. The Theft. II. The fecond fort of this injuftice is Sunday Theft: And of that alfo there are two kinds; XI. the one, the with-holding what we should pay; and the other, taking from our neighbour what is already in his poffeffion. ing we what 12. Of the first fort is the not paying of Not paydebts, whether fuch as we have borrowed, borrow. or fuch as by our own voluntary promise are become our debts; for they are equally due to him that can lay either of these claims to them; and therefore the with-holding of either of them is a Theft, a keeping from my neighbour that which is his Yet the former of them is rather the more injurious; for by that I take from him that which he once actually had (be it money, or whatever else) and fo make him worse than I found him. This is a very great, and very common injuftice. Men can now a days with as great confidence deny him that asks a debt, as they do him that asks an alms; nay, many times 'tis made matter of quarrel for a man to demand his own: Befides, the many attendances the creditor is put to in pursuit of it, are a yet further injury to him, by wafting his time, and taking him off from other business; and fo he is made a lofer that way too. This is fo great injuftice, that I fee not how a man can look upon any thing he poffeffes as his own right, whilft he thus denies another his. It is the duty of every man in debt, rather to ftrip himself of all, and caft himself again naked R 2 Sunday naked upon God's providence, than thus to XI. feather his neft with the fpoils of his neighbours. And furely it would prove the more thriving courfe, not only in refpect of the bleffing which may be expected upon justice, compared with the curfe that attends the contrary, but even in worldly prudence alfo: For he that defers paying of debts, will at laft be forced to it by law, and that upon much worse terms than he might have done it voluntarily, with a greater charge, and with fuch a lofs of his credit, that afterward, in his greatest neceffities, he will not know where to borrow. But the fure way for a man to fecure himfelf from the guilt of this injuftice is never to borrow more than he knows he hath means to repay, unless it be of one, who knowing his difability, is willing to run the hazard. Otherwife he commits this fin at the very time of borrowing; for he takes that from his neighbour, upon promife of paying, which he knows he is never likely to restore to him, which is a flat robbery. The fame juftice which ties men to pay their own debts, ties also every furety to pay thofe debts of others for which he ftands bound, in cafe the principal either cannot, or will not; for by being bound he hath made it his own debt, and muft in all juftice.anfwer it to the creditor, who, it is prefumed, was drawn to lend on confidence of his fecurity, and therefore is directly cheated and betrayed by him, if he fee him not fatisfied. If it be Sunday XI. thought hard, that a man fhould pay for that which he never received benefit by, I fhall yield it, so far as to be just matter of wariness to every man, how he enter into fuch engagements; but it can never be made an excufe for the breaking them. have pro As for the other fort of debt, that which is what we brought upon a man by his own voluntary mifed. promife, that alfo cannot, without great injuftice, be with-holden; for it is now the man's right, and then 'tis no matter by what means it came to be fo. Therefore we feel David makes it part of the defcription of a juft man, Pfal. xv. 4. that he keeps his promifes; yea, though they were made to his own difadvantage. And furely, he is utterly unfit to afcend to that holy bill there fpoken af, either as that fignifies the Church here, or Heaven hereafter, that does not punctually obferve this part of juftice. To this fort of bebt may be reduced the wages of the fervant, the hire of the labourer: And the withholding of thefe is a great fin; and the complaints of thofe that are thus injured ascend up to God; Behold (faith St. James, ch. v. 4.) the hire of the labourers, which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped, are entred into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. And Deut. xxiv. 14, 15. we find a ftrict command in this matter, Thou shalt R 3 not Sunday not oppress an hired fervant that is poor and XII. needy. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither fhall the fun go down upon it, for he is poor, and fetteth his heart upon it; left he cry against thee to the Lord, and it be fin unto thee. This is one of those loud clamorous fins, which will not cease crying, till it bring down God's vengeance; and therefore, though thou haft no juftice to thy poor brother, yet have at least fo much mercy to thy felf, as not to pull down judgments on thee by thus wronging him. SUNDAY XII. Of Theft Stealing; of Deceit in Truft, in Stealing Sect. 1. the Goods of our Neigh bour. "T HE second part of Theft is the taking from our Neighbour that which is already in his poffeffion: And this may be done either more violently and openly, or elfe more clofely and flily; the firft is the manner of thofe that rob on the way, or plunder houfes, where by force they take the Goods of their Neighbour; the other is the way of the pilfering Thief, that takes away a man's goods unknown to him: I fhall not difpute which of these is the worst, 'tis enough that they are both fuch acts of in juftice, |