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DISCOURSE XXXII.

THE GOOD STEWARD.

ACTS, xx. 35.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

THE words are cited by St. Paul, as those of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. They occur not in any of the Gospels, but descended, as we may suppose, by tradition, from the persons to whom they were originally addressed. The truth contained in them was deemed too important to be forgotten, and the apostle was therefore commissioned by Providence to gather up this precious fragment of the bread of life, that it might not be lost.

The virtue which we are now assembled to contemplate, in order to practise it, is often by our Lord and his disciples enjoined as our duty. In the passage now read over, it is recommended, as our interest; our present, no less than our future interest.

It hath been justly observed concerning those passages in the Gospel, which dictate abstinence and self-denial, that their import is only this,

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" Do

thyself no harm." With equal truth and propriety may it be affirmed of the precepts relative to the subject before us, that they all terminate in the follow

ing most wholesome piece of advice, "Do thyself "good:" do good to thyself, by doing good to others. Felicity is the daughter of beneficence; and he who makes his neighbour happy, is always, himself, the happier man of the two. There is a more heartfelt satisfaction, a more solid comfort, a more lively and lasting joy in bestowing, than there can be in accepting relief. "It is more blessed to give than to re"ceive." A nobler maxim, surely, was never propounded, to influence the conduct of the human race. Were the experiment universally made, it would universally succeed; the unequal distribution of Heaven's favours would no longer be complained of, the days of Eden would return upon earth, and the next life begin in this.

It is impossible to place our subject in a more advantageous light; a light, in which, perhaps, it hath been less frequently viewed. Permit me, therefore, to prosecute so engaging and promising a speculation; since, if duty and pleasure can be brought to coincide, all difficulties are solved, and the controversy is for ever at an end.

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Happiness is man's aim, from his birth to his death. But, amongst the men of the world, the question still remains to be answered, "Where shall it be "found, or where is the place thereof?" The earth and the sea have been ransacked for it; but they say, it is not in them. The high-born sons of ambition, the low-minded children of avarice, and the giddy votaries of dissipation, return from the chase, jaded and disappointed. A phantom appeared to delude them, as they will all tell us, in their more serious

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moments, which fled as they pursued, and vanished when they approached to embrace it. Let us point out to them a more excellent way; let us bring them in sight of something real and substantial; let us prevail upon them to seek happiness by doing good. They have in vain attempted to become blessed by receiving if they would become indeed so, it must be by giving.

Strange as this position may, at first sight, appear, it is evidently intimated to us, by the operation of that principle implanted in our nature, which we commonly style instinct. Consider the toil and the solicitude undergone, the anxious days and the wakeful nights passed by the tender parent, in the care of her infant offspring. Yet even here, though so painfully employed, will she not tell you she experienceth a joy, for which the whole world, if offered in exchange, would be instantly rejected with disdain? Her charge, feeble and helpless as it is, can make her no returns. Only she procures ease and comfort for her child, and its happiness constitutes her own. Such are the objects relieved and supported by us. They are, in some sort, our work, our production, our adopted children, the creatures we have, as it were, formed, and to whom, under God, we have restored life; life, which must otherwise have been dragged on, or lost, in misery and sorrow.

Thus, again, with regard to every connexion friendship induces us to form in society; we seek not the satisfaction alone of being esteemed or beloved, but that of exciting in another the sentiments which delight ourselves. The end of the affection is, to

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render its object happy, and so to be happy in reflection.

Whence that general wish in every civilized per son, to make himself agreeable to those around him, and recommend himself to their good opinion? It is a tacit acknowledgement that we must please others, if we would be pleased ourselves.

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To what end serves that passion in the human breast, which causes us to sympathize with sorrow, and moves our bowels within us to yearn over dis stress? It affords us, in our own feelings, a demonstration of the proposition contained in the text. forces us to seek for blessedness in liberality. It inflicts misery upon us, till we have alleviated that of our brother.

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The inequality of mankind, ordained by Provi dence for this end, among others, offers to us continually the opportunities of thus becoming happy. We are unhappy, because we neglect to seize and improve them; since it is an uncontrovertible truth, that as no man was ever happy, while employed in making others miserable; so none was ever miserable while employed in making others happy: and he was a wise as well as a good prince, who declared the day to be lost that was not marked in the calendar of beneficence. To his character the imperial diadem could add no dignity.

With the advantages possessed by different persons it should be as with the commodities produced by different countries; the abundance of one should supply the necessities of another. God formed the human heart to be the dispenser of blessings, which

are sure to return to it again, in the course of circulation. He made man for society, and designed not that he should be happy alone.

own well-being, Take a man out

We may be convinced, by a little reflection, that the gifts of Heaven, poured in ever such profusion around him, cannot make him so. Self is an idol, that can contribute no more to its than the idols worshipped of old. of the world, place him in solitude, and you will see, that all the supposed sources of felicity fail at once. Invest him with power: there are none on whom it can be exercised. Fill his treasury with gold and silver: they have lost all their value. Let him possess the highest reputation: there is no one to regard it. Bestow upon him the abilities of an angel: they will prey upon themselves, for want of other materials. Adorn him with every accomplishment: every accomplishment will be useless. Nay, of piety itself, practised only in solitude, it has been remarked by an elegant writer, that, "like the flower "blooming in the desert, it may give its fragrance "to the winds of heaven, and delight those unbodied "spirits that survey the works of God and the actions "of men; but it bestows no assistance upon earthly beings, and however free from the taints of impurity, yet wants the sacred splendour of benefi"cence." The gifts of God, unless diffused to others, become unprofitable to the owner. To be enjoyed, they must be communicated, and taken upon the rebound.

Let us now, therefore, conduct our candidate for happiness back into society, with his possessions and

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