cult cafes? In fuch circumstances as thefe, fhould we not take it very ill if our friends and acquaintance fhould neglect us, and take no notice of our calamitous condition? Should we not. expect them to fympathize with us in our afflictions, and to do what they could towards the delivering us out of them? Should not we defire to be forgiven our trefpaffes against our neighbour; and wish to find mercy even from those from whom we have deferved feverity? Ought we not therefore to fhew that mercy to others, which we defire they should shew to us? What is reasonable for others to do. in respect of us, is furely reasonable for us to do in refpect of them, fuppofing the cafe to be inverted. This is what we' muft allow, if we would be accounted fair and equal judges of things. But this' being too plain to need enlarging upon, I pafs on to obferve,

3. That mercy is what we all partake of in a very liberal manner from the hand of God: which is an abundant proof of the righteousness of fhewing mercy to each other.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not confumed, because his compaffions fail

S 3

not

not, they are new every morning, great is his faithfulness, Lam. III. 22, 23. It is he who forgiveth all our iniquities; who bealeth all our difeafes, who redeemeth our lives from deftruction; who crowneth us with loving kindness and tender mercies; who fatisfieth our mouths with good things; Pfalm CIII. 3, 4, 5. Our food and raiment, our health and strength, our peace and fafety, and the fuccefs which we meet with in our worldly affairs, are all the effects of the divine mercy. When we confider with how liberal a hand God bestows his favours upon us, furely we cannot grudge to bestow fome upon our fellowcreatures. When we confider how often health hath been reftored to us alter fickness, how many dangers we have been delivered from, how conftantly our bodily wants have been supplied, and how many times our minds have been refreshed with divine comforts; furely we cannot think much of helping our af ficted brother, by imparting to him that refreshment of body or mind which he stands in need of, and it is in our power to communicate. When we confider how many thousand talents God hath forgiven us, furely we cannot think

much

dred pence.

much of forgiving our brother an hun-
No man,
let him have
treated us ever fo injurioufly, can deferve
fo ill at our hands, as we all have defer-
ved at the hands of our maker. There-
fore if he can forgive fo many great.
offences as we are guilty of against him-
self, much more ought we to forgive
our smaller trefpaffes against one an-
other.

If we partake fo largely of the divine
mercy, it is but reafonable that we should
make the best acknowledgment of it that
we can. Indeed to make a requital to
God for his mercies, is beyond our
power: but the least we can do is to dif-
cover that we have a grateful fenfe of
them upon our minds. Now there is no
better way of expreffing this grateful
fenfe, than by fhewing mercy to our fel-
low creatures. This is a way of expreffing
our gratitude which is most acceptable to
God, because it is beneficial to mankind,
and renders us like to himself. As for
the facrifice of praise, it is a way of tefti-
fying our gratitude, the benefit whereof
terminates only in ourselves; and yet God
is well pleafed with that alone, when
it proceeds from a fincere heart: how'
S 4

much

1

much more when it is accompanied with beneficence, acts of mercy, and whereby we become ufeful to others, and refembles the divine being himfelf, who is good to all, and whofe tender mercies are over all his works? Now if the practice of mercy is the moft perfect way of fhewing our gratitude to God, for the favours we receive from him; then certainly he hath most righ tequfly commanded us to love mercy; fince it highly becomes us to do that whereby we may best exprefs our thankfulness to him, to whom we are indebted for all that we enjoy.

I have now done with thofe precepts which regard our conduct towards our fellow creatures and proceed,

3. To fhew the righteousness of those precepts which relate to the govern ment of oùrfelves..

Our creator hath wifely formed us with divers paffions and appetites; that by them we might be ftirred up to: defend ourfelves from things noxious. and hurtful, and to feek after thofe things which are neceffary and useful for us: but at the fame time he hath endued us with a fuperior principle,.

viz.

viz. reafon, whereby we are enabled to check and reftrain them, left by their wildness and extravagance we fhould be betray'd into actions injurious to ourselves and others. Whoever confiders the mischiefs of unbridled paffion and defire, will foon be convinced of the reasonableness of restraining and moderating them. Anger is a very turbulent paffion of the foul: and, when not duly governed, produces dreadful effects. It unfits a man for his duty both to God and his neigh bour: it makes him uneafy to himself and injurious to others: it throws his body into strange convulfions, and raifes violent tempefts in his mind: it fome times tranfports him into fuch actions, as he fees cause to repent of all his life after; and would give all the world, if he had it, to undo, could he by that means recal and make them void.

The like may be faid of an unfatiable defire after the riches, honours, and pleasures of this world. Whereever it prevails, it indifpofes a man for the rest of his duty, creates a multitude of uneafy thoughts within