to the quick, either in our eftate or reputation, we are not at liberty to be filent: to be upon our defence in fuch cases is a debt we owe to ourselves, our pofterity, our relations, and friends, who have all an interest in us. When the cause of true religion fuffers from the tongues or pens of libertines and unbelievers; when any open attempts are by ill men made on the conftitution of that church or state, whereof we are members: when an absent friend is traduced by lying lips, or the name of any fincerely good and virtuous man is vilified; it is our duty in fuch cafes to ftand up, and rebuke this fpirit of treachery, malice, or profanenefs.. The honour of God, or the intereft of virtue, would, at fuch a time, be blemifhed by our filence and forbearance. He, that doth not openly and heartily efpoufe thecause of truth, will be reckoned to have been on the other fide. And then peace with men can never be eligible, when it implies enmity with God. The precept here given of living peaceably, I need not use many words to tell you what it is; it is eafily and univerfally underftood; to live peaceably is fo to demean ourselves in all the offices and stations of life, as to promote a friendly understanding and correspondence among thofe we converse with; fo as to prevent, as much as we can, all outward contention and strife, nay all inward mistakes and jealoufies from arifing, and to quench and allay them, as foon as we can, whenever they are rifen; fo as to difagree openly with no man in things of an indifferent nature, and of no moment; and, where the point is of importance enough to deserve to be infifted on, there to do it, with fo much candor, and modeity, and sweetness, as not to offend even those we do not agree with. In a word, it is fo to conduct our actions, difcourses, and dealings, as to make ourselves and others as eafy as is poffible. Various are the inftances of this duty. They live peaceably with refpect to the publick, who pay a due regard to the laws of their country, and exprefs a due reverence towards their fuperiors; honouring them fincerely, obeying them fubmiffively; not rafhly cenfuring their actions, but putting the best and most candid conftruction upon them; not being over-bufy in matters that are too high for them, and do not concern them. They live peaceably in religious

ligious matters, who, on the one fide, are contented to enjoy their own opinions, without arraigning their fuperiors in church and state for being otherwise minded; and without disturbing the publick peace, in order to propagate their tenets, and make profelytes: and who, on the other fide, do not by unjustifiable methods of feverity force men into the profeffion of what they disbelieve; whofe zeal for their faith never makes them forget their temper, nor out-run the bounds of christian goodness and prudence; who make great allowances for the weakness of men's reafon and the strength of their prejudices, and condemn not all as infincere, who are not fo inlightened as they are, but leave them to ftand or fall to their own master; praying for them, in the mean time, that they may come to the knowledge of the truth, and endeavouring by all gentle perfuafive methods to reclaim them. Finally they live peaceably in matters of common life and daily practice, who take care to make their carriage inoffenfive and obliging; who are not ready to entertain ill reports of men, much less to disperse them; who whisper about nothing to fet friends and neighbours at variance; who mind their own business, without intermeddling much in the concerns of others; who can take a flight affront or injury in converfation without refenting it, and even a great one without returning it.

Men are apt to go to law for every trifle; and because they have law on their fide, they cannot be perfuaded of going to law. that they are to blame for fo doing. Yet it should be confidered, that although all lawful fuits are not finful, for a Christian may go to law to keep his rightful poffeffion, or to recover what is wrongfully taken or detained from him; yet where there is no fin in the fuit itself, there is often in the management of it: fo that it is a temptation and a Inare, and every man fhould be cautious how he embarks upon fo dangerous a bottom, where juftice and charity are in danger of being ftranded or thrown overboard.

at least must be affured that he claims or defends his right; otherwife the law-fuit is vexatious, or worse. What we propofe to get or keep fhould be of a confiderable value; or else it favours of a contentious fpirit, to hazard our own

and

and our neighbour's peace for a trifle. Victory should not be the motive, but right. Revenge fhould never mingle with our refentment; for Chrift declares against this rigour of the Jewish law. And one of the great springs of law-fuits and contentions, fuch as verbal trefpaffes and injuries, will very rarely bear the weight of an action, and acquit the confcience of him who appeals to the laws; becaufe all our works are to be done in charity.

We must not only therefore fay that we forgive our enemies, but fhew the reality of our intentions, by The charity taking all opportunities to do them all the good of our actions muft in our power. It is, I think, our duty to prefer reach unto compaffion to an enemy, before a matter of mere our enemies. generofity to a friend, when we cannot exercise both together. The extreme neceffity of even our enemies, much more of other perfons, is to take place of the mere conveniency of friends and relations; and we ought rather to relieve the diftreffed, than to promote the happiness of the eafy; however the practice of it be disregarded by the world. Otherwise it may justly be feared, that malice still lurketh in the heart. But he that fulfils the command of doing good to them that hate him, not only does his duty, and follows the example of our Saviour, but heaps coals of fire on their heads, to melt them into love and compaffion, and confequently to a thorough reconciliation. So that Self-love the great hindrance of the practice of this duty to an hinour neighbour is that felf-love, which, being an this chaimmoderate love of our own worldly interefts, is rity. the foundation of all contention and injuftice; because we thereby feek only to please ourselves, whereas we ought alfo to please our neighbour, for his good to edification: for even Chrift pleafed not himself. But,

drance to

And prayer

To obtain perfect charity, we must not think it the whole of our duty when this obftacle is removed; because, as every grace is the gift of God, is a means we muft pray to him earnestly to work it in us, to procureit. and fend his spirit to frame our hearts in a meek and peaceable temper.

Y

THE

THE THIRD PART

OF THE NEW

Whole Duty of Man:

CONTAINING

Our Duty to OURSELVES.

SUNDAY XIII.

I. Of SOBRIETY, confifting in a right government of our thoughts. II. Of humility, and of its neceffity and ufefulness. III. Cf pride, its danger and folly, as it refpects the gifts of nature, fortune, and grace. IV. Of vain-glory, its danger, folly, and the means to avoid and overcome it. V. Of meeknefs, its advantages, and the means of obtaining it. And, VI. Of confideration, its benefits, and of the danger of inconfideration.

Of our duty WE come now to thofe duties, which in a particular manner regard OURSELVES, and are fummed up by the apoftle in the word SOBERLY; for the word foberly in its native fenfe fignifies a foundness and firmnefs of mind, governing and directing of fobriety. inferior appetites and paffions, and fearching and regulating the whole frame of foul and body in our perfonal and private capacities. So that in respect to ment of our the foul fobriety is a right governing our paffions thoughts. and affections or appetites; which never can be done without a previous regulation of our THOUGHTS; for, as the wife man fays, We must keep our hearts with all diligence; because out of them are the iffues of life: Or the goodness or badnefs of our lives doth altogether depend upon the attending or not attending to the thoughts and motions and inclinations of our minds. And therefore it is a very pro

The govern

per

bave o

Very little

over the firft

per question, Howa man hath power over his own What thoughts? There is not indeed any fingle answer power we to be given to this question that will fit all men. er our Some men by the very principles of their make thoughts. and constitution are much better able to govern their thoughts than others. Some, that are naturally weaker, have by long use and many trials obtained a greater power over their thoughts than others. Again, the fame perfons that at fome times have a greater power over the motions of their minds, may at other times have a lefs command over them and this according as their health, or their business, ora hundred contingencies of outward things, do affect them. And, In all cafes the firft motions of our minds are produced fo quick, that there is not time enough given for reason to interpose. Again, when a man's mind is vigorously affected and poffeffed, either with motions. the outward objects of fenfe, or with inward paffions of any kind, in that cafe he has little or no command of his thoughts. His mind at that time will be in a manner wholly taken up with what it is then full of. Nor will he be able, till thofe impreffions are worn off, to think freely of what he pleaseth. There are fome cafes likewise, where a man's thoughts are in a manner forced upon him, from the prefent temper and indifpofition of his body. So that, so long as that habit of body lasts, he cannot avoid those kind of thoughts. This is the cafe of fome deeply hypochondriac perfons, many of whom will be haunted with a fet of thoughts and fancies, that they can by no means get rid of, though they defire it never fo earnestly. We may properly enough call these fancies of theirs waking dreams; as their dreams are their fleeping fancies. But,

our thoughts

Though we cannot in many cafes think always of what we would; nay, though we cannot hinder abun- In what the dance of thoughts from coming into our minds liberty and morality of against our will: yet it is always in our power to affent to our thoughts, or to deny our confent to confifis. them if we do not confent to them, but endeavour to stop, and ftifle, and refift them, as foon as we are aware of them, there is yet no harm done. Should we be haunted with blafY 2

phemous