He that faid, Do not commit Adultery, faid aljo, Do not kill. This is his Principle; and he infers, Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a Tranfgreffor of the Law: No doubt of it; because there is a Law against Murder as well as against Adultery. But what is this towards shewing that the Breach of one Law is the Breach of all? The Inference therefore should have been upon this Foot: Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art guilty ́· of all the Laws by disobeying the Author of all Laws.

But this Paffage of St. James will have another Appearance, when fairly examined. In order to it, we must look back to that which gave occafion to it, and follow the Apoftle's Argument step by step. The whole depends upon the Notion, which is common to the Writers of the New Testament, That Love is the Fulfilling of the Law. St. James confiders the whole Duty of Man to Man as contained in one Law, namely, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself: And then he argues rightly, he who offends in one Point is guilty of the whole Law: For, whether it be Theft, or Murder, or Adultéry, that you commit, it matters not; for any of these Crimes is inconfiftent with the Law, which contains

contains and is the whole, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf. But hear the Apostle's own Words: In the eighth Verfe you read thus, If ye fulfil the Royal Law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf, ye do well: Where, First, you are to observe, that he calls this the Royal Law, not because given by Christ the King, as fome tell us, for all Laws are in that Sense Royal Laws; but because 'tis the first fupreme Law, from which all others proceed, as diftinct Branches, and by which they must all be governed. Secondly, You must take notice what Stress the Apostle lays upon their fulfilling this Royal Law: If ye fulfil the Royal Law,-ye do well: That is, If you attend to it in all Inftances, fo as not to offend against it in any Cafe, ye then will do well. The Apoftle proceeds in the next Verfe, But, if

ye have refpect to Perfons, ye commit Sin, and are convinced of the Law as Tranfgreffors. The Law in this Verse is the fame Law that was mentioned before, that is, the Royal Law: If, fays he, you have any partial Regards, you will not then fulfil the Law of Love, but will be found to be Tranfgreffors of that Law: For, as it follows in the tenth Verfe, whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one Point, he is guilty of all. In

this Verse he confiders the Royal Law, Thou fhalt love thy Neighbour as thyself, as the whole Law; and all particular Commandments as Points of that Law. And what he fays amounts to this: Whatever Regard you may have to the Law of loving your Neighbour, which all profess to walk by, yet affure yourfelves you cannot keep that Law, if you offend against any one Rule of Charity; for every fuch fingle Offence is a Breach of that whole Law, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf. In the eleventh Verse he gives the Reason of his Affertion: For he that faid, Do not commit Adultery, faid alfo, Do not kill. The Words in the Original, here tranflated for he that faid, are of doubtful Interpretation. The Senfe followed by Interpreters and Tranflators has mifled People in the underftanding of this whole Place. Inftead of for be that faid, it should be rendered, for the Law which faid, Do not commit Adultery, faid alfo, Do not kill. The Place thus rendered contains a clear Reafon of what went before: If, fays he, you offend in any Point of Charity or Duty, you become a Tranf greffor of this whole Law, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf: For this Law of loving thy Neighbour, which fays to thee, Do not commit Adultery, fays likewise to thee,

Do not kill. And now, if you go to the latter Part of the Verfe, you will find it exactly fuited to the whole Thread of Difcourse which went before: For thus it follows, Now, if thou commit no Adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a Tranfgreffor of the Law; that is, of that general Law of loving thy Neighbour, which faid as well to thee, Thou shalt not kill, as, Thou shalt not commit Adultery.

How this Royal Law speaks to us in the Language of all particular Laws and Precepts is easily understood, and is distinctly explained by St. Paul in the Place already produced: For this, Thou shalt not commit Adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not Steal, Thou shalt not bear falfe Witness, Thou fhalt not covet: And, if there be any other Commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this Saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself, Rom. xiii.

9.

As to the different Verfion of the eleventh. Verfe in St. James, which I have made choice of, our own Tranflators plainly fawthe Propriety of it, and have given that Verfion in the Margin of the Bible. To them therefore, and their Reasoning, I refer

you.

This Place in St. James being thus understood and explained, there is no Occafion for any Niceties or Diftinctions to support the Reason and Equity of his Doctrine, or to fhew how a Man, by offending against one Law, may become guilty of all; fince this Affertion will no longer be found to be Part of the Apoftle's Doctrine. What he teaches is plainly this: The great and fundamental Law of the Gospel is this, Thou fhalt love thy Neighbour as thyself. The Force of this all fee, and all acknowledge; and, whilst they pretend to be Christians, all must pretend at least to obey. But, fays he, whoever in any Manner offends, injures, or oppreffes his Brother, it matters not in what Way, whether it be by undue and partial Preference of one to another, by Contempt, or Slander, by Theft, Adultery, or Murder: Whoever, I say, in any of thefe Instances fins against his Brother, will be found to be a Tranfgreffor against this great, this vital Principle of Religion, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf. For this Reafon he tells them, the Way to do well was to fulfil the Royal Law, that is, to obferve all the Points of it; becaufe no Point could be tranfgreffed, but the Tranfgreffor must be found guilty of the whole Law,