ting all bitterness, and wrath, and clamour, and evil-fpeaking, be put away from us,—of being kind to one another,―tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Chrift's fake forgave us. Amen.

SER

1

JOSEPH's History Confidered.

Forgiveness of INJURIES.

GENESIS L. 15.

And when Jofeph's brethren faw that their father was dead, they said, Jofeph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

TH

HERE are few inftances of the exercise of particular virtues which seem harder to attain to, or which appear more amiable and engaging in themfelves, than thofe of moderation and the forgiveness of injuries; and when the temptations against them, happen to be heightened by the bitterness of a provocation on one hand, and the fairness of an opportunity to retaliate on the other, the inftances then are truly great and heroic. The words of the text, which are the confultation of the fons

of Jacob amongst themselves upon their father Ifrael's death, when because it was in Jofeph's power to revenge the deadly injury they had formerly done him, they concluded in course, that it was in his intention, will lead us to a beautiful example of this kind in the character and behaviour of Jofeph confequent thereupon; and as it seems a perfect and very engaging pattern of forbearance, it may not be improper to make it ferve for the ground-work of a difcourfe upon that fubje&-The whole transaction from the first occafion given by Jofeph in his youth, to this latt act of remiffion, at the conclufion of his life, may be faid to be a mafterpiece of history. There is not only in the manner throughout fuch a happy though uncommon mixture of fimplicity and grandeur, which is a double character fo hard to be united, that it is feldom to be met with in compofitions merely human;--but it is likewife related with the greatest variety of tender and affecting circumftances, which would afford matter for reflections useful for the conduct of almost every part

4

&

and

But as the

and stage of a man's life.. words of the text, as well as the intention and compass of this discourse, particularly confine me to fpeak only to one point, namely, the forgiveness of injuries, it will be proper only to confider fuch circumstances of the story, as will place this inftance of it in its just light; and then proceed to make a more general ufe of the great example of moderation and forbearance, which it fets before usi

It feems ftrange at first fight, that after the fons of Jacob had fallen into Jofeph's power, when they were forced by the foreness of the famine to gol down into Egypt to buy corn, and had found him too good a man even. expoftulate with them for an injury, which he feemed then to have digefted, and piously to have refolved into the over-ruling providence of God, for the preservation of much people, how they could ever after queftion the uprightness of his intentions, or entertain the leaft fufpicion that his reconciliation was dif fembled. Would not one have ima.. gined,

E 2