2. And as our Unity is part of our necessary fitness for duties of holy worship, so is it also for duties of the second table, that is; of Justice and Charity to men: And this is evident in the nature of the thing. No man will be exact in Justice till he do as he would be done by: And who can do that who Loveth not his neighbour as himself? What is our unity but our Love to others as our selves? And how can we do the works of Love without Love? It is divided SELF that is the cause of all the unmercifulness and injustice in the world. Unity maketh my neighbour to be to me as my self, and his Interest and welfare to be to me as my own, and his loss and hurt to be as mine: And were he indeed my self, and his welfare and his hurt mine own, you may judge without many words how I should use him; whether I should show him mercy in his wants and misery? whether I should rejoice with him in his joy, and mourn with him in his sorrows? whether I should speak well or ill of him behind his back? and whether I should persecute him, and undo him? whether I should defame him and write books to render him odious, and to persuade the rulers that he is unworthy to have the liberty of a Christian or of a man; to preach, to ⟨p. 36⟩pray, to be conversed with, or to live! Would not uniting Love make a wonderful change in some mens judgements, speeches and behaviour, and make those men good Christians, or good Moralists at least, who now when they have cried up Morality, and Charity and good works, would persuade men by the Commentary of their practice, that they mean Malignity, cruelty, and the propagating of hatred and all iniquity? Where there is not a dominion of LOVE and UNITY, there is a dominion of SELFISHNESS and ENMITY; and how well these will keep the Commandments which are all fulfilled in LOVE, how well they will do good to all men, 1especially to them of the household of faith, 2and provoke one another to Love and to good works, it is easy for any man to judge. Once alienate mens hearts from one another, and the Life will show the alienation.
2. And as our Vnity is part of our necessary fitness for duties of holy worship, so is it also for duties of the second table, that is; of Justice and Charity to men: And this is evident in the nature of the thing. No man will be exact in Justice till he do as he would be done by: And who can do that who Loveth not his neighbour as himself? What is our unity but our Love to others as our selves? And how can we do the works of Love without Love? It is divided SELF that is the cause of all the unmercifulness and injustice in the world. Unity maketh my neighbour to be to me as my self, and his Interest and welfare to be to me as my own, and his loss and hurt to be as mine: And were he indeed my self, and his welfare and his hurt mine own, you may judge without many words how I should use him; whether I should shew him mercy in his wants and misery? whether I should rejoice with him in his joy, and mourn with him in his sorrows? whether I should speak well or ill of him behind his back? and whether I should persecute him, and undo him? whether I should defame him and write books to render him odious, and to perswade the rulers that he is unworthy to have the liberty of a Christian or of a man; to preach, to ⟨p. 36⟩pray, to be conversed with, or to live! Would not uniting Love make a wonderful change in some mens judgements, speeches and behaviour, and make those men good Christians, or good Moralists at least, who now when they have cryed up Morality, and Charity and good works, would perswade men by the Commentary of their practice, that they mean Malignity, cruelty, and the propagating of hatred and all iniquity? Where there is not a dominion of LOVE and UNITY, there is a dominion of SELFISHNESS and ENMITY; and how well these will keep the Commandments which are all fulfilled in LOVE, how well they will do good to all men, 1especially to them of the houshold of faith, 2and provoke one another to Love and to good works, it is easie for any man to judge. Once alienate mens hearts from one another, and the Life will shew the alienation.
- 1Rom. 13. 12, 13.
- 2Gal. 6. 6, 7, 8.
