consider this in your dealings with mankind; for " as the nail sticketh between the jointings of the stones, so doth lying between buying and selling i." Christian servants, remember this when tempted to conceal a fault, or to exculpate yourselves from some blame. Let all, of every class, and every degree, remember this. If ye be Christ's indeed, ye will remember him " in whose lips there was no guile found." Let truth be in your inward parts, and let it be ever dear to your souls. Set a watch before the door of your lips; for " of every idle word you shall give account in the day of judgment;" yea, " by your words you shall be justified ; and by your words you shall be condemned ^"]
1 Ecclesiasticus xxvii. 2, ^ Matt. xii. 3G, 37.
Matt. V. 38 — 4L Ye have heard that it hath been said, A71 eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : hut I say unto you. That ye resist not evil : hut whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
IF Christianity be worthy of admiration on account of the sublime mysteries it reveals, it is no less so on account of the pure morality it inculcates. Its pre- cepts are as far above the wisdom of fallen man, as its doctrines. Search all the systems of ethics that ever were written, and where shall we find such directions as these ? In vain shall we look for them in the productions of Greece and Rome : in vain shall we consult the sages and philosophers of any other nation : such precepts as these are found no where but in the inspired volume. The law of re- taliation has in all nations been deemed equitable and right : but in the Christian code it is expressly forbidden.
In considering the subject of retaliation, we shall notice,
I. The errors which obtain in the world respecting it —