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Let us firft confider a little the matter of fact, as it appears in experience, and then a few of its principal canfes.

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As to the firft of thefe, fhall I be afraid to affirm, that extreme poverty often inclines perfons to difhonefly and fraud? Will it be thought harth and fevere to those already fufficiently depreffed! As I would not feem to ftand in this place, and flatter the pride of the greatest and most eminent of my fellow-finners, fo neither will I diffemble the truth from a falfe compaflion for the poor. would indeed be doing them the greateft poffible injury; it would be treating them, from mistaken tenderness, as the rich are often treated from the fear or partiality of thofe who are about them; foftering their felf-deceit, and not fuffering them to hear the most falutary truths, becaufe they are not pleafing to the flesh.

It is undoubtedly matter of experience, that great poverty makes many take unjuft and unwarrantable methods of procuring relief. Not only fo, but they seem often disposed to justify and defend them, as if they had a title to rectify the mistakes of Providence, in the diftribution. of worldly poffeflions. This, in the event, receives great encouragement from fome who feem to have imbibed a general false principle, and act upon it, both in their own conduct, and in their judgment of others. In the divifion of controversy, or dividing difputed property, when one party is, or is fuppofed to be rich, and in eafy circumftances, and the other poor, and in a mean condition, they think that instead of acting according to strict juftice, the advantage fhould always be made to fall to the poorer fide. This conduct is confidered by fome, not only as lawful, but as laudable. It is however a falfe principle, and is condemned in fcripture, which fays, "Neither “fhalt thou countenance a poor man in his caufe." It may be thought, perhaps, that the other is the more common and dangerous partiality, and probably it is fo; yet this also is blame-worthy, and when followed out, as I am afraid it too often is, muft involve numbers unawares in the guilt of fealing; for when they have once laid down this rule, that the poor have fome claim upon the rich,

they are ready to apply it to their own cafe, and extend it very far. But in all matters of property, or right and wrong, whether a perfon is rich or poor, ought to be utterly out of the queftion; the only thing to be confidered is, what is juft and lawful. The rich are indeed, in point of confcience, bound to affift the poor; but this must be their own act; no perfon can take the smallest part of their property without their confent, but he is guilty of an act of injuftice, and violation of the law of God. No perfon has a right to make them generous and charitable againft their wills, or to exercise their own generofity and charity at their expence. This must be left to the Supreme Judge at the laft day, who will fay to them, "I was a stranger "and ye took me not in, naked and ye clothed me not, "fick and in prifon and ye vifited me not." But what will give us the most diftinct view of the influence of poverty, as a temptation, is the too frequent conduct of thofe who are reduced from what was once their ftate, to poverty or debt, by misfortunes or extravagance, or mifmanagement of their affairs. The temptation of poverty is not by far fo great to those in the meaneft ranks of life, whofe income, though fmall, is not very difproportionate to what hath always been their condition; as to those who are reduced from a higher to a lower ftate-The few, who in fuch a fituation preferve their integrity inviolated, and their fincerity of speech unfufpected, deferve the highest honor. Nay, I am perfuaded that, bad as the world is, every perfon in reduced circumftances, would meet with compaffion and affiftance, if all about him were fenfible that he had neither loft his fubftance by neglect, nor wasted it by riot, nor concealed it by fraud. But though we cannot help afcribing some measure of what is laid to the charge of perfons in this unhappy ftate, to the rage and refentment of those who have fuffered by them; yet alas, there is too great reafon to affirm, that they are too often guilty of prevarication and fraud, the fins mentioned in the text.

I will dwell no longer upon the fact, but will confider a little the reasons of it, which will directly ferve to promote the defign of this discourse, by exciting men to conVol. II.

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cern and folicitude, as well as pointing out the proper means of avoiding the temptation. The general reafon of this, to be fure, is obvious to every body, that perfons in poverty, being ftrongly folicited by the appetites common to all men, and not having of their own wherewith to gratify their defires, are tempted to lay hold of the property of others. They grudge to fee that others have the enjoyments from which they are debarred; and fince they cannot have them in a lawful, make bold to feize them in an unlawful way. But this I do not infift on, that I may mention one or two particular reasons, which will fuggeft fuitable exhortations to duty.

1. The first I fhall mention, is ignorance. This is peculiarly applicable to thofe in the loweft ranks of life. Through poverty they are not fo well inftructed as they ought to be, in the principles of religion, and the great rules of duty. An ignorant state is almost always a state of fecurity. Their confciences are less tender, and they are lefs fenfible of the great evil of prevarication and fraud. I am obliged, in fidelity, to fay, that in the private infpection of my charge, though I have found fome inftances both of poverty and sickness borne with the most pious refignation, there are alfo fome whofe condition might move the hardest heart, living in the moft fordid poverty, grossly ignorant, and, at the fame time, fo difpirited, fo flothful, or fo proud, that they will do little to obtain knowledge for themfelves, or communicate it to their chil dren. Many will not attend upon the public means of inftruction, because they cannot appear in fuch a decent. garb as they could with; and for the fame reason they keep their children from them, till they contract fuch habits of idleness and vice, that they come out into the world without principle, obftinate and intractible. Is not the duty here very plain? All fuch fhould exert themselves to obtain the knowledge of the things which belong to their peace. They fhould neither be unwilling nor afhamed to make application for fupply; and even the coarsest raiment fhould not hinder them from appearing in the house of God. Thus they will find acceptance with him, if they worship him in the beauty of holinefs, preferable to those

who are clothed in purple and fine linen, and their hearts are after their covetoufnefs.

2. Another great reason why poverty becomes a temptation to fraud is, that they are introduced to it infenfibly, and led on by degrees. The fin fteals upon them by little and little. People involved in their circumstances, to get rid of importunity and folicitation, make promises, more of what they hope or wifh, than of what they are able to do. Neceffity ferves as an excufe for their failing to their own minds, and thus they are gradually brought into a breach of fincerity, and proceed from lower to higher degrees of falfhood. Little arts of evafion are first made use of, and doubtful practices are entered upon. One fin feems neceffary to strengthen or conceal another, till at laft the groffeft fraud, and fometimes perjury itself, clofes the unhappy scene. I have read an excellent obfervation, that there is hardly fuch a thing as a single fin; they are always to be found in clusters. I am fure, this holds in a particular manner as to fins of injuftice. They are fo interwoven and connected together, that you cannot receive any one without being obliged to admit the reft. This is one great branch of the deceitfulness of fin in general; with a view to which the apoftle fays, "But ex"hort one another daily while it is called to-day, left any "of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of fin."

3. I only mention one other reason of poverty being a temptation to fraud, viz. that in time it deftroys the fenfe of fhame. I am not ignorant, that a fenfe of fhame, which is nothing else but a fear of the cenfure of others, neither is, nor ought to be the main principle of a good man's ac. tions. But as there is no other principle at all in many, fo it is a good affiftant, and corroborative when justly directed; but now, through the corrupt maxims of the world, poverty is so much the object of contempt, and those who are in this state, meet every day with fo many marks of neglect from all, that before their condition is known, they will do almost any thing to conceal it, and after it is known, they become in time fo deftitute of fhame, that they are under no further reftraint.

From this particular branch of the fubject, let me put you in mind,

1. What reafon many have to be thankful to the God of life, who hath given them their daily provifion, if not in all the abundance of immenfe riches, yet in fulness and fufficiency. An humble, thankful difpofition is not only your duty, in return for the divine bounty, but is itfelf the richest and sweeteft ingredient in all temporal mercies. -It is that, indeed, which makes them mercies.-Envious perfons do not tafte what they have, their evil eye being fixed on what they cannot obtain. Things in this refpect are just what they feem to be. Our comforts are as we are enabled to relifh them. The fame poffeffions which are defpifed by the impatient or ambitious, are a treasure and abundance to the humble and grateful.

2. If poverty is a temptation, it ought to be an argument to all to avoid it, or feek deliverance from it by lawful means, Apply yourselves with fteadiness and perse verance to the duties of your calling, that you may provide things honeft in the fight of all men. It is a duty of the law, and of the gofpel; and it hath this promife, in general, annexed to it, that "the hand of the diligent "maketh rich." Read, I befeech you, that vaft treasure of useful inftruction, the book of Proverbs; where you will meet with many excellent counfels and wife obferva tions upon this fubject. Of these I fhall mention at prefent, but two paffages, felected both for the foundne's of the inftruction, and the beauty of the illustration.

"Go

to the ant, thou fluggard, confider her ways and be wife; "which having no guide, overfeer, or rùler, provideth "her meat in the fummer, and gathereth her food in the

harveft. How long wilt thou fleep, O fluggard? When "wilt thou arife out of thy fleep? So fhall thy poverty. "come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed "man." And again; "I went by the field of the flothful, "and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; "and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles "had covered the face thereof, and the stone-wall thereof "was broken down."

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