they think not of this; their Thoughts are wholly taken up with the Hopes of winning. Why let it be fo; and fuppofe they have that Luck and Success they wish and hope for, are they ever the whit the richer for this? Is their Stock in the leaft increased by what they win at play? A great many wife Men will fay, No. For they fay that all Gain which accrues by Play, is unlawful Gain, and ought either to be refunded to the Party it is gained from, or to be given in Charity, or to publick Ufes; but by no means to be put into a Man's Stock, left the unlawful Mixture should corrupt the Mafs of what is lawfully gotten, and make it unprofperous to the Poffeffor, as it is often seen in the Course of the World. And this is not faid altogether without Reafon; for indeed it will be hard for the wittieft of the Gamefters to make out a lawful Title to any confiderable Sum which he wins by Play, tho' he win it never fo fairly. As for little petty Sums which Men stake for their Diverfion, and the one is as willing to lose as the other to win, and where no Damage accrues to the Party by the Lofs, these have a quite different Confideration. But as for great Sums, wherein a Man is, or ought to be, concerned, it is not fo clear

that

that they are lawful Gain, or that a Man can, with a good Confcience, take them, or keep them, let them be never fo fairly won. For in all Dealings between Man and Man, that Gain is only accounted lawful, for which there is a valuable Confideration. A Tradefman ought not to take his Customer's Money, unless-he afford him Commodities to the Worth of it; nor ought any Man to make a Gain of another, unless he either do something, or give something, that bears fome Proportion, or makes fome Compenfation for the Gain he makes of him. This is the standing Rule of Juftice and Equity in all Dealings between Man and Man. In every lawful Gain there is a valuable Confideration. But now, in the Gain which accrues to a Man by Play, there is no fuch Confideration: Nay, fo far from that, that a Man cannot be a Gainer in that way, but the other whom he deals with, or who is concerned with him, muft of Neceffity be as much a Lofer. Now furely, that cannot be a juft or allowable Way of getting, which is perpetually and directly to the Hurt and Lofs of another Man. Nor is this the Senfe only of two or three nice and fevere Cafuifts, but of the wifeft and beft Men of all Ages and all Religions. 'Twas the old Roman Law, that all the Money which Gamesters won, fhould be taken from them, and employ'd upon publick Works, as being unlawfully

gotten

gotten by them. Ariftotle accounts, that the Profit which a Man gets by the Dice, and the Purchases that a Thief makes upon the Highway, are to be ranked equally among the unlawful Gains. And St. Auguftine tells us, Bona aleâ amiffa, tanquam furto ablata, Veteres reftituenda putabant; viz. The Antients were of Opinion, that Money won by Dice, or at Tables, &c. ought to be reftored, like Money that was ftolen.

And whe

I am fenfible it will be a hard Matter to perfuade all Men of the Truth of this. But however, I cannot but lay before them. what the Senfe of wife and good Men has been concerning this Affair. ther all will believe this or no, I hope all fober Perfons, who are either concerned for their Happiness in this World, or Salvation in the next, and who have any Regard either for their Eftates, or Families, or Reputations, will keep out of this ungodly Courfe of Gaming, and will seriously apply themselves to fuch Ways of living, wherein they may be ferviceable to their Families, to their Country, and to the Church of God; adorning their Profeffion by a holy and unblameable Life, that fo their Souls may be faved in the World to

come.

2

DISCOURSE V.

Of Diligence and Watchfulness in our Chriftian Calling. How our Time is to be spent, and our Leifure improved, to ufeful Purposes. And particularly what Wisdom and Prudence Chriftians are to use in evil and dangerous Times.

[Delivered in Two Sermons.]

EPHES. V. 15, 16.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as Fools, but as Wife, redeeming the Time, because the Days are evil.

T

HIS circumfpect Walking which
is here recommended, and re-
deeming the Time which is laid
down as an Inftance of it, may
be interpreted two Ways.

Ift. It may either imply great Diligence and Watchfulness in profecuting the Work

of

143

of our Christianity in general, and in order thereto, that we improve our Time to the beft Advantage, spending as little of it idly as is poffible; or,

2dly. It may imply Prudence, and Caution, and Discretion in the Management of ourfelves and our Affairs with Reference to this World, especially in Times of Difficulty and Danger; that by this Means we may gain Time to ourselves, and avoid the Mischiefs that the evil Days threaten us with.

Each of these Interpretations, as it hath good Authority on its fide, fo doth it likewife afford us ufeful Inftructions; and therefore I fhall reject neither of them, but in treating upon this Text fhall take them both in, beginning with the Interpretation firft mentioned.

St. Paul, in the former Part of this Chapter, is evidently exhorting the Ephefians, that laying afide all Wickedness and Senfuality, they would live a holy and a pure Life ; and he doth it from this ConfideVer. 8. ration, that they had been fometime Dark

д

ness, but now were Light in the Lord; therefore they ought to walk as Children of Light. They were heretofore in a heathen State, but now the Light of the Gofpel did fhine forth to them; and therefore it was an infinite Reproach to them if they did any longer purfue the unfruitful Works of Darkness. Wherefore (as the Apoftle

goes