. O! LET the Chriftian bless that glorious day, TO be humble in all our actions, to avoid every appearance of pride and vanity, to be meek and lowly in our words, actions, dress, behaviour, and designs, in imitation of our bleffed Saviour, is worshipping God in a higher manner, than they who have only fet times to fall low on their knees in devotions. He that contents himself with neceffaries, that he may give the remainder to thofe that want it; that dares not to spend any money foolishly, because he confiders it as a talent from God, which must be used according to his will, praises God with something that is more glorious than fongs of praise. PRACTISE humility, and reject every thing in dress, or carriage, or converfation, that has any appearance of pride. HUMILITY is fo amiable a quality, that it forces our esteem wherever we meet with it. There is hardly a poffibility of defpifing the meaneft perfon that has it, or of efteeming the greatest man that wants it. LET every day be a day of humility; condefcend to the weakneffes and infirmities of your fellow-creatures, love their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice in their profperities, compaffionate their dif trefs, receive their friendship, overlook their wickedness, forgive their malice, be a fervant of fervants, and condefcend to do the loweft offices. AS God has created all things for the common good of all men, fo let that part of them which is fallen to your fhare, be employed as he would have all employed, for the common good of all. THE THE greatest finners receive daily instances of God's goodness towards them; he nourishes and preferves them, that they may repent, and return to him. Do you therefore imitate God, and think no one too bad to receive your relief and kindness, when you fee that he wants it. AT thirty, man fufpects himself a fool; ON SYMPATHY. LET ftoics boaft the cold relentless heart, Benevolence, foft gentle pity, knows Her I would ever cherish in my breast, Her laws are Nature's, God's, and therefore beft; LET us all endeavour fo to live now, as we shall with we had done when we come to lie upon our death-beds; or as we fhall then refolve to live, in cafe God fhould continue our lives to us. Let us perufe thofe things now, which we fhall be able to think of and reflect upon with pleasure when we come to die, and forfake all thofe things, the remembrance of which at that time will be bitter to us. Let us now, whilst we are well and in health, cherish the fame thoughts and apprehenfions of things, that we shall have when we are fick and dying: let us now despise this world as much, and think as ill of fin, as feriously of God and eternity, as we fhall then do. For this is the great commendation of the righteous man, that every one defires to die his death, that at last, all men are of his mind and perfuafion, and would choose his condition, "Let me "die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be "like his." SINCERITY fignifies a fimplicity of mind and manners in our converfation and carriage one towards another, fingleness of heart, discovering itself in a conftant plainness, and honeft openness of behaviour, free from all infidious devices, and little tricks, and fetches of craft and cunning, from all falfe appearances, and deceitful disguises of ourfelves in word or action; or yet more plainly, it is to speak as we think, and do what we pretend and profefs, to perform and make good what we promise, and, in a word, really to be, what we would seem and appear to be. AN heart that rightly computes the difference between temporals and eternals, may refolve with the Prophet, Although the fig-tree fhall not bloffom, neither shall fruit "be in the vine, the labour of the olives fhall fail, and "the fields fhall yield no meat; the flocks fhall be cut off " from the fold, and there fhall be no herds in the stall, yet "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my "falvation." FRUGALITY is good, if liberality is joined with it. The firft is leaving off fuperfluous expences; the laft beftowing them to the benefit of others that need. The first without the laft begins covetoufnefs; the laft without the first begins prodigality: both together make an excellent temper. VOL. II. The The HAPPY MAN. HOW bleft the man who free from care and ftrife, Who walks with health, where temp'rance points the way, He, cloth'd in heav'nly arms, fhall still prevail How bleft the mortal, who but falls to rife, AN exalted ftation always brings with it a weight of cares, and he is happier who, in the humble vale of life, purfues his way in the paths of reafon and of virtue, than he who fhares the favours of a Prince, or the applaufes of a giddy multitude. ΤΟ TO afpire after things beyond your reach, is to expect more than you are entitled to, or than reafon can defire. Remember the declaration of the apoftolic writer: "They "who will be rich, fall into temptation and a fnare, and pierce themselves through with many forrows." Obfervation and reflection will eafily point out the impropriety and folly of those who, on their first fetting out in life, launch into dangerous and unwarrantable schemes. HASTEN to reform yourself, that you may labour with fuccefs in the reformation of others. VERY few tempers have wifdom and firmness enough to be proof against flattery; it requires great confideration, and a refolute modesty and humility, to refift the infinuations of this ferpent. IN your ordinary calling, fee that you undertake nothing but what is lawful in its end; and endeavour to accomplish nothing by any but by lawful means, that you may have always the comfort of a confcience void of offence. Nay, you should even do more; you fhould endeavour to act fo fingle and fincere a part, as to be beyond the imputation of a fraud, that all who know you may put the most unbounded confidence in your integrity. There are many other calumnies which we may naturally expect from the malicious, and it ought to trouble us very little to hear them; but it must be extremely diftreffing to a good man to be but fufpected of difhonefty. What "would it profit a man, if by the fecret and dark myiterics "of trade he gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? "Would the heaps of his difhoneft wealth adminifter con"folation in a dying hour? Would these alleviate his "horrors in the views of a certain and fwiftly approaching "diffolution?—No! "Now plung'd in forrow, and befieg'd with pain, "And Death still answers-What is gold to me?" |