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giving others is made the very condition of our being forgiven ourselves: For" if we forgive men their trefpaffes, (faid our Bleffed Lord) your heavenly Father will alfo forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trefpaffes.": We are too commanded by St. Paul to " lift up holy hands without wrath :" And certainly diffenfion and animosity with men, is no fit temper to prepare us to hold communion with God. Wherefore though our gift be ready to be laid upon the Altar, yet it a reasonable duty to remember ourselves, to look inwards, and fee whether all be quiet and calm there ; that there be no grudge, no anger against our brother. Should we find any, it is then abfolutely requifite, either that we go firft and reconcile ourselves unto him; or, if opportunity will not fuffice for that, at least that we purge out all leaven of malice, by reconciling ourselves unto him

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Nor

him in our own heart. For under the law no offering of the Lord was to be mingled with leaven; and now under the gofpel God will accept of no oblations that are offered up unto him with the ferment of wrath and malice. can it be supposed that the Holy Spirit, whose temples we are fo long as we keep our corrupt nature in fubjection to the laws of Chrift, will refide within a breast agitated with anger and defperate machinations. Moreover to avenge ourfelves by malicious contrivances is to break in upon the prerogative of the Almighty And therefore the Apostle exhorts rather to give place unto wrath, because it is written, "vengeance is mine, I will repay, faith the Lord." It is true the Magiftrate, as the Minifter of God, attends continually on the very business of redreffing grievances and wrongs, and to him, if the circumstances of our cause require it, may we lawfully appeal; but

by

by avenging ourselves, according to the dictates of our own hafty fpirits, we intrude upon a facred office, which in ne wife belongs to us, and for the execuion of which we are then leaft qualified when under the influence of passion.

In a word-Seeing the very best perfons are fubject to anger, the way to fecure a paffion, which we cannot prevent, from being criminal, is carefully to reftrain it within the limits of justice and charity. If we fuffer it to arife without any juft provocation, or to grow immoderate where there is one, we turn the man into a brute, and are guilty in the fight of God of the worst confequences that may poffibly attend it.-Again, if we permit it to continue with us, and nourish it in our bofom, we so long forfeit the mercy of God, and the guidance of his Holy Spirit, and instead of resisting, become voluntary Slaves to, the Devil.

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Devil.-Whereas too evil difpofitions aré commonly the fecret fprings of vicious anger, it will be neceffary to watch these with all the strictness of fufpicion. A proud heart is apt to be impatient of the most trivial affront, and a falfe notion of honour is to anger as fuel to the fire, We must therefore learn firft to think foberly of ourselves, in order to deal foberly with others. But efpecially fhould the forbearance and long-fuffering of God towards us miferable finners, who are continually provoking his divine Majefty, be an effectual leffon against uncharitable wrath, and teach us to be merciful, as our Father in Heaven is merciful.

SERMON

SERMON XXI.

JOHN, vi. 27.

Labour not for the Meat which perisheth, but for that Meat which endureth unto everlasting Life; which the Son of Man fall give unto You.

AMONGST the many Miracles

which our Saviour wrought, for a teftimony to the Jews that He was the true Meffiah; and at the fame time for the benefit of Mankind, whose nature He had affumed; there are two upon record, which rendered him of great eftimation with the multitude: And those were,

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