man lay his hand upon his heart and fay, how often, in inftances where anger and revenge had feized him, has this doctrine come in to his aid. In the bitterness of an affront, how often has it calmed his paffions, and checked the fury of his resentment? True and univerfally believed as the doctrine is amongst us, it feldom does this fervice, though fo well fuited for it, and like fome wife ftatute, never executed or thought of, though in full force, lies as unheeded as if it was not in being.

'Tis plain 'twas otherwife in the prefent inftance, where Jofeph feems to acknowledge the influence it had upon him, in his declaration,-" That it was not they, but God who fent him." And does not this virtue fhine the brightest in fuch a pious application of the perfuafion to fo benevolent a purpose?

Without derogating from the merit of his forbearance, he might be fupposed to have caft an eye upon the change and uncertainty of human affairs which he had feen himself, and which had convinced

convinced him we were all in another's power by turns, and ftand in need of one another's pity and compaffion :and that to reftrain the cruelties, and stop the infolences of mens refentments, God has fo ordered it in the course of his providence, that very often in this world our revenges return upon our own heads, and mens violent dealings on theirs.

That befides thefe confiderations, that in generously forgiving an enemy; he was the trueft friend to his own character, and fhould gain more to it by fuch an inftance of fubduing his fpirit, than if he had taken a city. The brave know only how to forgive;→→→→ it is the most refined and generous pitch of virtue, human nature can arrive at.a Cowards have done good and kind actions, cowards have even fought-nay fometimes even conquered ;

2

but a

coward never forgave.It is not in his nature;- the power of doing it flows only from a strength and greatness of foul, confcious of its own force and fecurity, and above the little temptations of refenting

a Steel's Chriftian hero,

réfenting every fruitless attempt to interrupt its happiness. Moreover, setting afide all confiderations of his character, in paffing by an injury, he was the trueft friend likewise to his own happiness and peace of mind; he neither felt that fretful storm of paffions, which hurry men on to acts of revenge, or fuffered thofe pangs of horror which purfue it.Thus he might poffibly argue, and no further;for want of a better foundation and better helps, he could raise the building no higher; to carry it upwards to its perfection we must call into our aid that more spiritual and refined doctrine introduced upon it by Chrift; namely, to forgive a brother, not only to feven times, but to seventy times-that is, without limitation.

In this, the excellency of the gospel is faid by fome one, to appear with a remarkable advantage; "That a chriftian is as much difpofed to love and ferve you, when your enemy, as the mere moral man can be, when he is your friend."This no doubt is the

tendency of his religion-but how often, or in what degrees it fucceeds, how nearly the practice keeps pace with the theory, the all-wife fearcher into the hearts of men, alone is able to determine. But it is to be feared, that fuch great effects are not fo fenfibly felt, as a fpeculative man would expect from fuch powerful motives; and there is many a christian fociety, which would be glad to compound amongst themfelves for fome leffer degrees of perfection on one hand, were they fure to be exempted on the other, from the bad effects of those fretful paffions which are ever taking; as well as ever giving the occafions of ftrife; the beginnings of which, Solomon aptly compares to the letting out of waters, the opening a breach which no one can be fure to stop, till it has proceeded to the moft fatal events.

With juftice therefore might the fon of Syrach conclude, concerning pride, that fecret ftream, which administers to the overflowings of refentments, that it was not made for man, nor furious anger for him that is born of a woman.

That the

the one did not become his station, and that the other was deftructive to all the happiness he was intended to receive from it. How miferably then muit those men turn tyrants against themselves, as well as others, who grow fplenetic and revengeful, not only upon the little unavoidable oppofitions and offences they must meet with, in the commerce of the world; but upon those which only reach them by report, and accordingly torment their little fouls with meditating how to return the injury, before they are certain they have received one? Whether this eager fenfibility of wrongs and refentment arifes from that general cause, to which the fon of Syrach feems to reduce all to fierce anger and paffion; or whether to a certain foreness of temper, which stands in every body's way, and therefore fubject to be often hurt, from which ever cause the diforder fprings, the advice of the author of the book of Ecclefiafticus is proper: "Admonish a friend, fays he, it may be he hath not done it; and if he have, that he do it not again. Admonish thy friend, it may be he hath not faid it; and if he