uncharitable. The best men are so attentive to their own failings and imperfections, that they have no inclination or desire to dwell and enlarge on the failings and imperfections of others. Generosity and kindness, as we have already observed, are implied in this divine precept. Whatever is either amiable or great in a noble and generous mind, will be found in one who makes this the rule of his conduct in life. We are here commanded to imitate the goodness of HIM who maketh his sun to shine upon the just and upon the unjust, and who is continually bestowing his benefits upon the evil and the unthankful. Neither will this principle suffer us to be ungrateful. The same temper of mind that disposes a person to be generous, disposes him also to he grateful. The man who is most ready to oblige, will be most ready to acknowledge his obligations; he will be as far from undervaluing the favours he receives, as of over-magnifying those he confers; he will consider gratitude as a sacred duty, and will not fail to regard his benefactors with an affection proportionate to their kindness.

Another part of this duty is the forgiveness of injuries. Our Lord frequently inculcated this doctrine of mutual forbearance and forgiveness, making it an essential part of his religion. When one of his disciples came to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against ine, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven.* That is to say,

* Matt. xviii. 21, 22.

without setting any bounds to thyself, as often as he repents of the injury done, so often shalt thou forgive him. We must forgive others as we hope for forgiveness ourselves from God. To be implacable and unforgiving is therefore inconsistent with the Christian character. All malice, hatred, and revenge, are strictly forbidden by the law of charity; nor can we indulge those evil and malignant passions without losing the favour of God and forfeiting the joys of heaven. If we show not mercy to one another, neither will God show mercy to us.

The last instance of a Christian disposition which I shall now mention, is compassion to the poor and the distressed. It is not enough that we refrain from doing evil, but we must learn to do good, as we have the opportunity, and the means afforded us, by the providence of God. And who is there that hath not the opportunity and the means of doing good in some way or other if he has the will? Benevolence, which means good-will, as it never fails in finding objects, will never fail in finding means (in some degree) to lessen the burden of human misery, and to increase the enjoyment of human happiness. If every one would endeavour to fulfil this duty in the best way he is able, we should see a great diminution of poverty and misery in the land. The moral law is very clear and explicit in teaching us this duty. If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him.* And again: If there be among you a poor

*Levit. xxv. 35.

man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother. But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. This law extends even to the losses which are incidental to property. Thou shalt not see thy neighbour's ox, or his sheep, go astray, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt in any case bring them again to thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh to thee, or if thou know him not, then shalt thou bring it to thine own house; and it shall be with thee till thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.* In like manner shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother's. Thou mayest not hide thyself; that is to say, make ignorance a pretence for not exercising charity and benevolence towards him. Thou shall not see thy brother's ox, nor his ass, fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them; that is to say, take no notice of them.

help him to lift them up again; the

Thou shalt surely

meaning of which is, that in whatever thy brother, or fellow-creature stands in need of, such help as it is in thy power to afford thou shalt not refuse to help him.

Thus we are taught to act in the common occurrences of life, and much more so in the concerns of eternal importance. When a man himself goes astray, and errs from the way of truth and safety, it requires a higher

* Deut. xxii. 1.

degree of compassion and charity to restore such a one to the way of salvation from which he has departed. The conclusion then to be drawn from these Scriptures is evidently this: that a hard-hearted, and cruel, and selfish disposition, is not a Christian disposition; that as Christians, it is our duty to seek occasions of usefulness, and never to overlook those that come in our way, either by our inhumanity or neglect.

I come now as I proposed,

III. To show the great reasonableness and excellency of this rule.

There is the most perfect agreement between reason and religion, with respect both to the duty and the happiness of mankind. Whatever we are commanded to do, either by the Law of Moses, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, tends ultimately to increase our happiness." In like manner, whatever is forbidden in the Law of God, will be found the ultimate cause of misery even in this life. We may therefore conclude with certainty, that the Law of God is holy, just, and good, and that his commandments are not grievous. Our duty in this, as well as in every other instance, will be found to be a reasonable service. The great reasonableness also of this rule appears in this; that it is so universally acknowledged, as to be made the standard of equity and justice, not only in the common transactions of life, but also in the due administration of the laws of our country.

But there is no need of any other argument to prove

the excellence of this rule, than what our blessed Saviour has said to enforce the observance of it, for

This is the substance

or by the Prophets,

this is the Law and the Prophets. of all that is written in the Law, concerning the duty of man to man. The Law commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves; and it is recorded in the Prophets, that God will have mercy and not sacrifice; by which we are taught to understand, that God is better pleased with acts of kindness to one another, than with the most ostentatious services. For he hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.* Here we have the sum and substance of true religion; and if we have any practical regard for the Scriptures, we shall acknowledge our obligation to obey them. I shall only add, that this rule, by its simplicity and plainness, speaks to the understanding and conscience of every one, and that the greatest advantages would arise from the due observance of it in all the relations of life. Seeing, then, the reasonableness and excellence of this divine precept, let us resolve, by the grace of God, to make it the rule of our lives; that whether others do, or do not, observe it in their behaviour towards us, we will not fail in the performance of it towards them, and in no case whatever think ourselves dispensed from it as a sacred duty. Let us not suppose that the Gospel releases us from obedience to the moral law, since our

Micah vi. 8.