Beyond the force even of this affecting declaration is the sense you have, O Christian, of your own redemption by the blood shed on the cross. You remember your apostacy from God is such, and such has been your practice, that had God destroyed you both body and soul in hell, it would have been no more than your desert. Instead of this insupportable doom, you, O Christian, know that God commendeth his love towards you, that whilst you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you: an instance of mercy in itself, and its beneficial efficacy, absolutely without a parallel. This is the only foundation of your peace and hope; it is all your salvation, and all your desire. By living in a constant view of this matchless grace, which has reconciled you to God, and made you his heir, the love of Christ will constrain you; with pleasing energy it will engage you in an uniform intercourse of brotherly kindness and charity. A delightful emotion of mind, peculiar to the faithful in Christ Jesus, will lead you, without adverting immediately either to the command or promise of God, to this just conclusion, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another," John iv.

Besides these plain commands, precious promises, and the mercy of God manifested in the death of his Son, which, with mutual operation, concur to make the Christian love mercy, the Holy Ghost is given unto him, and dwells in him. By his influ ence, through the motives and truth contained in the written word, he is delivered from the sway of selfish passions and selfish pursuits. The fruit of that Spirit, which distinguishes at once, and infin itely ennobles every one who belongs to Christ, is love and all goodness.

SUNDAY XXXI.

CHAP. XXXI.

The Tempers of a Christian towards his Fellow-creatures.

THOSE which we have already considered as essential are of the active kind; justice, sincerity and mercy. There are others, no less excellent, of a passive nature. The world we live in abounds with unreasonable and vexatious men; and our unavoidabie connexion with them requires much strength of mind properly to bear their evil tempers. Little seifdenial, in general, is requisite to do justly, to speak the truth, or shew mercy, compared with what is necessary to bear, with patience, meekness, and love, the turbulent and litigious, the violent and unjust. Yet a Christian must be meek. Trivial injuries, a reproachful word, a small indiscretion, or a casual loss, must not inflame your mind, as is commonly the case with men. Such things you will esteem worthy of a very slight notice. Nay, supposing some great provocation is offered, you will be jealous over your selfish spirit, lest you be overcome by ill-usage; lest the sin of others should cause you to grieve the Spirit of God, to bring guilt upon your souls, and dishonour upon your profession. Even when you are so materially injured that you have a right to seek redress, you will do it with meekness; first using every mild method to bring your adversary to reason. You will try arguments before punishment, conference before law, and private persuasions before you seek redress in a court of justice; or if you are compelled to have recourse to this last remedy, you will refrain from passionate

exclamations and bitter reflections against your ene. mies.

Further, you must shew a meek spirit in carefully avoiding any just cause of offence to others. For this excellent temper does not more effectually support under provocations, than enable men to deny their own inclinations, rather than give uneasiness. It will make you cautious, that neither your actions or words are unbecoming. You will be civil and respectful, honouring all men, never loud and overbearing in company. Instead of rage and bitterness against those who are seduced to depart from the apostles' doctrine, you will seek their recovery by calmly producing the abounding evidences for the truth, and by cordially praying they may perceive their force. You will never cover private resentment with the venerable name of zeal for God's glory, and the good of souls. You will not think contempt of your erring brother, or passion, pleasing to God, or in any degree justifiable. Though it be common to vent our rage against infidels and heretics, who are doubtless very hurtful members of society, yet the divine command is, "In meekness instruct those who oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth."

The peculiar motives which excite and support the exercise of this extensive meekness are such as philosophers of old, and their unbelieving successors in our time, know nothing of, though there has been often, in both, a great resemblance of meekness. You will not be meek from love of ease, leading you to submit to the ill-humours of other men, rather than bear the trouble of contention. This often gains the credit of great sweetness of temper. Nor will you be meek from any proud disdain of appearing to be hurt by the perverseness or maliçe

of your enemies, which would (you think) betray the weakness of your own mind; but because the will of God concerning you is, "Be no brawler, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men," Tit. iii. "Put off anger, wrath, hatred, variance, emulation, strife, and put on kindness, meekness and longsuffering." Your Saviour, from whom you have received all your peace and hope, severely checks every sally of passion. His words on this subject are alarming to the last degree: "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause" (through heat of temper), "shall be in danger of the judgment" (shall fall under the displeasure of God): " and whosoever shall say to him, Raca" (thou worthless fellow, suffering the passion in his mind to vent itself by derision of a creature of God), "shall be in danger of the council" (offends in a higher degree); "but whosoever shall say thou fool" (in his wrath, representing him not only as fit to be despised, but abhorred), "he shall be in danger of hell fire." Awful guard of meekness, intended to keep us at a distance from sour angry passions, the bane of domestic comfort, the cause of unspeakable mischief amongst men, and one of the chief enemies to the soul.

Besides the command of God to be meek, such honour is put upon this temper, as must make every Christian ambitious to possess it. "He that is slow

to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." The meek are blessed, and the inheritance of the Lord promised to them; meekness is distinguished as the principal ornament of a Christian, "and of great price in the sight of God."

Added to all these motives, there is one still more powerful with every Christian; the astonishing meekness of the Author of his salvation. The inspired writers, after our Lord's ascension, always

fix our attention upon him in his low estate, in order to make sinful anger appear without excuse. "Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking be put away from you, with all malice and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Christ suffered for us, leav ing us an example, that ye should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guilt found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that he might bring us to God." Behold the grandest inducement imaginable to be meek; reconciliation with God, and justification unto eternal life, by the meek, patient suffering of the Lamb. I must go, therefore, says a Christian, and do likewise; for every one that abideth in him must himself also so walk, even as he walked.

Added to these mighty motives, what has passed in the breast of a real Christian effectually inclines him to be meek. For self-abasement and shame for sin are inseparable from faith in Christ and true repentance. But a self-abased sinner can easily bear with temper those provocations which set the haughty and self-admiring all in a flame. Enormous criminals, when they see themselves as they are, feel not resentment at whatever is said of them, or done to them. It is what we deserve, they cry, sighing at the remembrance of their offence. The same just sentiment, when you have been humbled for your sins before God, will rise in your mind under provocation to wrath. Far worse treatment do I deserve, you will say, and a severer trial of my patience.

This argument, against every violation of meekness, St. Paul urges, founding his exhortation wholly