aracter. All qualities of the nd which conduce to inking and speaking ell of others. IX. Every desire, association, or inducement which may lead to the being dishonest, or may make others so. Levity, talkativeness; and carelessness of our own reputation. Judicial false-witness, detraction, falsehood, insincerity, vanity, and indulgence of evil reports. All attempts to deprepreciate our neighbour, and all feelings which give rise to them. Contentment. Charity, benevolence, and the repression of all sordid and irregular desires. Avoiding all tempta. tions to covetousness and envy. Discontentment with our own lot or station. Desire of other men's goods, uncharitableness, parsimony, covetousness. The allowance or encouragement of all wishes which cannot be gratified but at the expence of our neighbour. Hestroyed, and with it also these laws, which were Deculiarly instituted for its support. But the Moral Law, or Decalogue, except in those parts of it which nave a ceremonial character, is the eternal and immucable rule of wisdom and justice, even in God himself, obliging all rational creatures either to obey it, or to submit to the penalties of disobedience. §4. The term Decalogue, of Greek derivation, sigmifies Ten Words, or sentences, and is particularly assigned to the Ten Commandments given by divine authority, as the standard and rule of our duty towards God, and towards our neighbour-that is, all mankind. The Decalogue comprizes the fundamental articles of religious faith, as well as the principles of virtuous conduct; it is the compendium and epitome of the Moral Law, founded upon the belief and worship of the one true God, -the author of its terms, and the enforcer of its sanctions. It may, however, also be considered as partly of a mixt nature, not being entirely moral, but containing some matters ceremonial, and relating solely or chiefly to the Jews. Of this description are portions of the Second and Fifth Commandn.ents. It is consequently the pure part alone, which has no especial relation to the circumstances of the Jews, that is equally applicable to Jews and Christians. §5. With regard to Christians, the Decalogue not only possesses its full force, but it has acquired additional authority from its having been constantly declared by our blessed Lord the rule of those good works which are necessary to the attainment of salvation,-from шоге hensiv Moses Christi dom fr and Ju exactio from i into th tiesnate of sin of fait either $6. brief rit, an tion, i pretat vealed which to ad and t assent genera its be duce pract Th pretat limite to be hensive sense to His disciples, than it ever had been by Moses and the Prophets to the children of Israel. Christian liberty, therefore, consists in entire free. dom from the obligations of the Mosaic Ceremonial and Judicial Laws;-in qualified liberation from the exactions of the Moral Law: that is not liberation from its obligations, for the Decalogue is adopted into the Gospel ;-not total liberation from its penalties for punishment is yet denounced against obstinate disobedience: but in freedom from the exaction of sinless obedience ; and in freedom-on the condition of faith and repentance-from the fear of death, as either annihilation or eternal misery. § 6. The nature of the Decalogue being that of a brief and comprehensive summary, of which the spi. rit, and not the letter only, is the measure of obligation, it is necessary, in order to ensure such an interpretation as is consistent with the tenour of the revealed will of God, and with the light of reason which he has shed upon the conscience of mankind, to adhere to certain rules of acknowledged necessity and truth. These being previously laid down and assented to, will form a standard to which every general precept may be brought, in order to ascertain its bearing upon any particular question; and to deduce from such comparison the strongest motives for practical obedience. The principal and most important rules of interpretation are the following :-Precepts which are not limited in their application by God himself, are not to be limited by us; but must be received in their ctions, or external compliance, but equally of invard motives, of the mind, of the affections and versions of the heart :-Where any particular virtue s enjoined, there the vice immediately opposed to it s prohibited; and where a vice is prohibited, the opDosite virtue is enjoined :-Precepts which verbally enforce a certain defined virtue, comprehend also, n spirit, all similar virtues, and all means of pronoting them; and prohibitions which require a cerain vice to be avoided, include all similar vices, and Il occasions of them :-Although the masculine genler is alone adopted in the phraseology of the Decaogue, females as well as males, being equally of the uman race, which is, without exception, the subject of the divine laws, are equally amenable to the preepts and prohibitions of the Decalogue; its terms nly being altered to suit their several obligations :The Commandments being of two kinds, positive and negative, there is some difference between them in The extent of their application, though there be none n their authority and force; for the negative precepts, those which forbid, are obligatory at all times and in all cases; whereas the positive precepts, those which enjoin certain duties, do not require that these luties shall be constantly fulfilled, or actually perFormed at any but the proper seasons-they are not applicable to all persons, at all times :-Those things which are commanded or prohibited to each indiidual in the singular number, in which all the Commandments are addressed, each one is bound to promote or to discountenance to the utmost of his power n others:-As the Law is perfect in itself, so it canLot be performed by partial obedience, the breach |