of human affairs which he had feen himself, and which had convinced him we were all in one another's power by turns, and stand in need of one another's pity and compaffion;and that to restrain the cruelties and ftop the infolence of men's refentments, God has fo ordered it in the course of his providence, that very often in this world,-our revenges return upon our own heads, and men's violent dealings upon their own pates.

And, befides thefe confiderations,-that, in generoufly forgiving an enemy, he was the trueft friend to his own character, and fhould gain more to it by fuch an inftance of fubduing his fpirit, than if he had taken a city.The brave only know how to forgive!-it is the most refined and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at.- *Cowards have done good and kind actions ;-cowards have even fought,-nay, fometimes even conquered; but a coward never forgave !—It is not in his nature;-the power of doing it flows only from a ftrength and greatnefs of foul, confcious of its own force and fecurity, and above the little temptations of resenting every fruitless attempt to interrupt its happinefs. Moreover, fetting afide all confiderations of his character in paffing by an injury, he was the trueft friend likewife to his own happiness and peace of mind; he never felt that fretful ftorm of paffions which hurry men on to acts of revenge, or fuffered thofe

Chriftian Hero.

pangs

pangs of horror which purfue it. Thus he might poffibly argue, and no farther;-for want of a better foundation and better helps, he could raise the building no higher;-to carry it upwards to its perfection, we muft call in to our aid that more fpiritual and refined doctrine introduced upon it by Chrift; namely, To forgive a brother not only to feven times, but to feventy times feven;that is, without limitation.

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In this the excellency of the gofpel is faid, by fome one, to appear with a remarkable advantage; That a Chriftian is as much difpofed to love and ferve you when your enemy, as the mere moral man can be, when he is your friend.' This, no doubt, is the tendency of his religion; but how often, or in what degrees it fucceeds,-how nearly the practice keeps pace with the theory, the allwife Searcher into the hearts of men, alone is able to determine. But it is to be feared, that fuch great effects are not fo fenfibly felt as a fpeculative man would expect from fuch powerful motives; and their is many a chriftian fociety which would be glad to compound amongst themselves for fome leffer degrees of perfection on one hand, were they fure to be exempted on the other, from the bad effects of those fretful paffions which are ever taking, as well as ever giving the occafions of firife; the beginnings of which Solomon aptly compares to the letting out of waters,-the opening a breach which no one can be fure to ftop till it has proceeded to the most fatal With

events.

M 4

8

With juftice, therefore, might the son of Sirach conclude, concerning Pride,—that secret ftream which adminifters to the overflowings of refentments, that it was not made for man; nor furious anger for him that is born of a woman. That the one did not become his ftation;-and that the other was deftructive to all the happiness he was intended to receive from it. How miferably then must thofe men turn tyrants againft themselves, as well as others, who grow fplenetic and revengeful, not only upon the little unavoidable oppofitions and offences they must meet with in the commerce of the world, but upon thofe which only reach them by report, and accordingly torment their little fouls with meditating how to return the injury, before they are certain they have reeeived one!-Whether this eager fenfibility of wrongs and refentment arifes from that general caufe to which the fon of Sirach feems to reduce all fierce anger and paffion? or whether to a certain fournefs of temper, which ftands in every body's way, and therefore fubject to be often hurt?-from whichever caufe the diforder fprings, the advice of the author of the Book of Ecclefiafticus proper:- -Admonifh a friend,' fays he, "it may be he hath not done it; and if he have, that he do it not again. Admonifh thy friend, it may be he hath not faid it; and it he have, that he fpeak it not again. There is that flippeth in his fpeech, but not from his heart and who is he who hath not "offended with his tongue?'

is

I cannot

I cannot help taking notice here of a certain fpecies of forgivenefs, which is feldom enforced or thought of, and yet is no way below our regard: I mean the forgiveness of thofe, if we may be allowed the expreffion, whom we have injured ourselves. One would think that the difficulty of forgiving could only reft on the fide of him who has received the wrong; but the truth of the fact is often otherwife. The confcioufnefs of having provoked another's refentment often excites the aggreffor to keep beforehand with the man he has hurt, and not only to hate him for the evil he expects in return, but even to purfue him down, and put it out of his power to make reprifals.

The bafenefs of this is fuch, that it is fufficient to make the fame obfervation which was made upon the crime of parricide among the Grecians: It was fo black, - their legiflators did not fuppofe it could be committed; and, therefore, made no law to punish it.

SERMON

XIII.

DUTY OF SETTING BOUNDS TO OUR

DESIRES.

2 KINGS IV. 13.

And he said urto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou haft been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?wouldst thou be fpoken for to the king, or the captain of the hoft?-And fhe anfwered, I dwell among mine own people.

22

THE firft part of the text is the words which the prophet Elifha puts into the mouth of his fervant Gehazi, as a meffage of thanks to the woman of Shunem for her great kindness and hofpitality; of which, after the acknowledgment of his juft fenfe, which Gehazi is bid to deliver in the words,-" Behold, thou "haft been careful for us with all this care,' -he directs him to enquire in what manner he may best make a return in discharge of the obligation," What fhall be done for thee? "Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king, or "the captain of the hoft?"The last part of the text is the Shunamite's anfwer, which implies a refufal of the honour or advantage which the prophet intended to bring upon her by fuch an application, which the indirectly expreffes in her contentment and fatisfaction with what fhe enjoyed in her present station," I dwell among mine own people." This inftance of felf-denial in

the