dangerous extreme to indulge falfe hopes than falfe fears. Yet when we fee pious people making their lives miferable with fears, which feem to have no foundation in religion, we cannot help, in Chriftian charity, endeavouring to adminifter fome comfort to them. Now the text I have juft read, and many other paffages of a fimilar kind, may be offered as cordials to a mind thus diftempered with fuperftitious fears. From fuch paffages we may speak in this language: Confider how you yourself would act as a father. If your fon's filial piety, in the general conduct of his life, led him to be affectionate and obedient to you; though he might, in fome inftances, either not comprehend your meaning, or be fomewhat remifs in his obfervance of it, would not you be inclined to pafs over fuch negligences, if you faw plainly, that in his general conduct he endeavoured to please you, and was always hurt when he found he had difpleafed you? Can you conceive then, that the God of mercy will treat you with lefs kindness than you would treat your fon?-God calls himself our Father. Our bleffed Saviour, in the prayer he has given us for daily ufe, enjoins us to call God our Father: VOL. II. Bb and and fhall not we believe he will act like a Father? are we to fuppofe he is a mere nominal Father, without the affections of one? It is, in a degree, impious to believe it. It is calling God's word in question. If then you are confcious that you live in the habitual practice of no known fin-if you feel that in the general conduct of your life you are defirous to pleafe God, and always hurt when you do any thing that you think will difpleafe him, why may you not truft his mercy with your falvation? The merits of Chrift are of no avail, if they do not atone for those ignorances and negligences, which are inherent in human nature. Like as a father, therefore, pitieth his own children; fo is the Lord merciful to them that fear him. Pity and mercy belong to failings. If we had no failings, we should want neither. XXVI. EPH. iv. 26. BE YE ANGRY, AND SIN NOT: LET NOT THE SUN GO DOWN UPON YOUR WRATH. E divines, I think, have gone rather too SOME far, when, describing our blessed Saviour's character, they will not allow him to have been ever difcompofed. We are told*, he had at the fame time to ftruggle with the prejudices, the mistakes, and mifconftructions of his friends, and the inveterate rancour of his enemies; but yet he never fuffered either the one or the other to disturb the compofure of his mind. If the excellent prelate, from whom this paffage is taken, means only that our bleffed Saviour's mind alone was undisturbed, it is most probable it See Bishop Porteus's Sermons, vol. i. p. 308. always was. But as we can judge only from out ward expreffions, it is certain, that on different occafions he fhewed fuch figns as indicate our difcompofure. In one place, (Mark, iii. 5.) we are told, he looked round him with anger. In other places, we are informed, he treated the Scribes and Pharifees with great afperity of language; and the rebuke he gave St. Peter, was a strong expreffion of indignation. It may be added, that his fhewing a proper difcompofure of temper throws a neceffary light on various circumftances in the lives and writings of his apoftles, who likewife, on different occafions, expressed their displeasure. Though there are inftances, in which fome of them might carry their refentment too far; yet they should not be deprived of their Mafter's example, as far as it might ferve them. It may be added alfo, that as our Saviour intended to give all his followers an example in every thing, he might likewife intend us an example in regulating the paffion of anger. The paffion of anger furely was not implanted in us without reafon; and it is an excellent leffon to us, that our Saviour was never difcompofed II by |