parably more to our Welfare than fo petty an Affault can do to our Harm? And yet we have much ado to keep our Hearts from boiling into Choler and Disdain against the injurious Man, tho' he hath done us no Mischief that deferves our Confideration.

But if we do overcome our felves upon fuch Accounts, and are in Charity with the Wrong-doer, this is but the very leaft Part of our Duty, and we have Performed nothing anfwerable to our Prayer, wherein we defire to be forgiven as we forgive, because if the Injury had been never fo great, we must not, we could not, fafely use this Prayer, unless we had forgiven that too. But this is what we ufe to say upon fuch Occafions: If it had not been fo Lewd an Affront, fo Undoing a Slander, fo Intolerable a Wrong, I could have pafs'd it by, I had eafily admitted Terms of Reconciliation; but this is beyond all Sufferance, and I cannot bring my felf to be in Charity with fo great an Enemy, or to forbear Revenge. But this is that that I fay, Would we have God thus to deal with us? Do we defire him to forgive us only our Leaft and most Excufable Offences, and to treasure up Wrath against us for the Greatest of all? Or rather do we not intend to beg his Pardon of the Greatest with the Greatest Concern? But then have a care that thou doft not baffle this Intention by thy Revengefulness upon

receiving

receiving great Injuries from others; for if thou forgiveft not thefe, thou defireft God not to forgive thee thy most heinous Sins when thou fayeft, Forgive us our Trefpaffes, as we forgive them that trefpafs against us.

2. We defire to be forgiven speedily. We would not have the Wrath of God to rest upon us for a Day or a Moment, left we fhould be cut off in his juft Displeasure. Now it is well if moft Men can obtain of themselves to forgive after fome Time, when they have had Leisure to cool, and begin to be tir'd with their own Anger and paffionate Refentments. But if we would forgive, as we defire to be forgiven, we must make hafte to be reconciled, we must not let the Sun go down upon our Wrath. Very unfit therefore must we be to say this Prayer when our Hearts fwell with Difdain, and fret with bitter and revengeful Thoughts. And yet fure this is a Prayer which our Lord's Difciples fhould use every Day they live. And does it not therefore follow from hence that they must forgive every Day, tho' every Day they fhould have Occafion fo to do? For if we would be in God's Grace to Day, we must not continue in Ill-will to our Brother till to Morrow."

3. We defire that the Aggravations our Sins may not be confidered against us, that is, as the Pfalmift expreffes it, that God would not enter into Judgment with us,

that

that he would make all Abatements in our behalf that can be made. And this is what we ought to do towards those that have injured us, we fhould admit of any Excufe that is offered, that is, we fhould not forgive Hardly. As for Injuries committed against Many, the Cafe is not the fame, and the more a Crime is against the Publick Good, the more it ought to be Aggravated, which yet may be, and is done often by those that have no Perfonal Averfion to the Wrong-doer. But as for private Wrongs, fuch as touch a Man's felf only, we must not only not be of a revengeful Spirit, but we muft give overAggravating the Offence against that Man whom we have forgiven. For indeed how can I be truly said to have forgiven that Man, whom yet I feek to reprefent under as bad a Character as his Cafe will bear? When our Saviour faid in the beginning of the Chapter following, Fudge not, that ye be not judged; for with what Fudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what Meafure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again, he intimated thereby, that if we would not chufe to stand by the Strict and Rigorous Judgment of God, we must not use Rigour in cenfuring the Act of our Enemy. What Law do we chufe to be judg'd by, the Law of Strict Justice, or of Mercy? When we defire Forgiveness, we do in effect defire the moft merciful and

favourable Conftructions. We appeal to Mercy, but we do in effect deftroy our own Appeal, when we use this Petition, if we grow Rigorous Our felves, and lay all -the Load we can upon the Offence committed against us, either before we will hear of Reconciliation, or afterwards.

4thly, and lastly, When we defire to be forgiven, we do not only defire that the Punishment may be remitted, and God's Anger against us may cease, but we defire alfo that he would be reconciled to us, that he wauld love us, and do us good. Nay, this Petition of Forgiveness includes in it a Prayer for God's greatest Bleffing, Eternal Life it felf. And therefore by defiring that we may be forgiven as we forgive, we profess to God that we do not only banifh Revenge, and put off Indignation and Difpleasure against our Adverfary, but withal that we love him, and that we are ready to return Good for Evil, that we defire his Welfare in this World, and in the World to come, and fhall be forward to promote it Our felves.

Thus have I fhewn you the Direction's how this Duty is to be performed, which are contained in this Petition, and withal the Arguments inducing us hereto, which are likewife contained in it. The Sum whereof is this, that if we do not forgive according to these laft Rules, we do in effect

fect defire God not to forgive us according to them.

And now we fhould do well to make a Stand, and confider well with our felves, how often we have used this Petition while we have nourish'd Malice, Revenge, and Ill-will in our Hearts, and by fo doing have in a manner prayed against, instead of praying for our felves. What have we done by defiring God to forgive us as we forgive others, but made new Matter of a fad Čonfeffion against our felves, and brought our felves under a Neceffity of defiring God now that he would not forgive us, as we defired before, that is, as we have been wont to forgive others, because indeed we did not forgive them? Have we not all of us more or less reafon to fay our former Prayers back again, and to befeech God to forgive us better than we have forgiven others, and not to deal with us according to the Measure that others have found at our Hands?

I fuppofe ever fince we knew what Religion and Prayer meant, we have every Day faid the Lord's Prayer; but how seldom have we confidered whether we have not loft our Petition of Forgivenefs, or rather made it none at all, but a Petition for the Contrary? How feldom have we considered whether we were Qualified to use it to our Advantage, or rather to our Harm? And

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