opportunity of assigning the reasons of his own conduct. It is the motive which chiefly stamps the quality of an action ; and, till we have ascertained the principle from which any thing proceeded, we never can form a proper estimate respecting it. What injustice was there in the construction which Michal put on the conduct of David when he danced before the ark'^ ! Had she waited till she was informed respecting the reason of his gestures, which appeared to her in such an unfavourable light, she would have seen cause rather to adore God for him, than to load him with such bitter reproaches. On the other hand, the benefit resulting from inquiry may be seen in the termination of the cause between the Reubenites and the other tribes, on the subject of raising an altar on the side of Jordan. Had not inquiry been made into the reasons of that act, thou- sands of lives would have been lost in causeless warfare : whereas, on an explanation of the matter, the act was approved, and every heart was filled with joy^ A similar effect was produced by Peter's explanation of his reasons for going to eat with uncircumcised Gentiles"^. The law of Moses, and even the Roman law, required, that no man should be condemned un- heard": and certainly the same equitable rule is proper to be observed by us also".
It is possible, however, that where we have cause for censure, our judgment may be too severe. The act which we condemn may have been wrong, and the principle may have been wrong also ; but yet there may have been many circumstances to palliate the fault ; and, if we do not take them into consider- ation, we shall load the offender with an unmerited degree of blame. In like manner, if because of a single act we impute to him a habit of any sin ; or if because one or two persons have done any thing amiss, we impute blame to all the body or party to which they belong; this is a most unjustifiable severity, though, alas ! it is but too common. It was in this manner that David's enemies acted, when they made his sin an occa- sion of condemning religion altogether, and of " blaspheming the very name of that God " whom he professed to serve. And the Apostle tells us, that such would be the effect of mis- conduct in religious persons, whether servants or others, that " the way of truth would be evil spoken of," and that " the name of God and his doctrine would be blasphemed p." But the persons who indulge such unhallowed tempers will ulti- mately be the victims of their own severity.]
Such are the hmits of the prohibition before us. Let us now proceed to notice,
k 2 Sara. vi. 16, 20. ' Josh. xxii. 9—34.
m Acts xi. 2, 3, 4, 18. " John vii. 51. Acts xxv. IG.
° John vii. 23, 24. i' 1 Tim. vi. 1. Tit. ii. 5.