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and impatient finner. There remains no advantage of them, and the man fuffers under this unhappinefs, that the best part of friendship is through his own ill humour wholly unprofitable to him. "Tis neceffary therefore that we fhould not be proud and perverse, not fretful and inconfiderate, not apt to make unworthy returns, or falfe excufes: but confider the admonition, as fick perfons confider phyfick at the hands of the prefcriber, who for the hope of advantage by it, are content to swallow bitter and ill-tafted medicines.

THE third branch of meekness toward our equals, in the cafe of friendship or neighbourhood, is preference or giving place to them, or preferring them in a way of honour, refpect and reputation above our felves. This to fuperiors is granted by the general voice of all mankind; though in practice, even they are often encroach'd upon, by the pride of forward fpirits: but the giving place to our equals, may perhaps be thought dishonourable and mean, an argument of a weak mind, infenfible of our own rank, and of the esteem we may juftly challenge in the world. Yet the chriftian law o bliges us to this, in point of meeknefs. "Tis plainly enjoin'd by St. Paul; * Be kindly affectioned one to another; with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another. Chriftians ought to give their neighbours the esteem and valuation, which often, perhaps, in ftrict right and juftice, may not belong to them, because we know not all the circumstances that must go to the ftating of their worth and merit exactly, and 'tis good to err upon the favourable hand in fuch a cafe. But our own weakness and defects, our many fins, and great corruptions, we know, (or fhould know) more of, and therefore ought to be most severe upon our felves. In

Rom. xii. 10.

judging

*

judging of our felves, we are to proceed by exact meafures, by the scales of justice, and the weights of innocence; but in our accounts of others, we ought to throw in charitable grains, and fair allowances for those merits and excellencies in them, which we may not be acquainted with: so that fuppofing the cafe to be in reality equal betwixt us, the fuper-added charity muft needs bear down our neighbour's fcale, and therefore preference is to be given him. And that it is fo far from being an injury or difreputation to any man fo to do, as to be rather, on the contrary, a fure ftep to honour and efteem, appears from the difcourfe of our Saviour upon this head, when dining at the houfe of a certain Pharifee, and perceiving the vanity of the other guests in chufing the uppermost places at the board, he fuppofes the cafe of two men invited to an entertainment, the one affuming to himself the higheft place, the other voluntarily seating himself at the lower end of the table; and puts the company in mind that it is more honour to the latter, to have it faid to him, Friend, go up bigber, than to the former, to have it taken notice of, that he was gotten of himself too high already; and concludes with this very obfervable remark, Whosoever exalts himself fhall be abafed, and he that humbleth bimfelf fhall be exalted.

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2. I come now to confider the duty of meekness to fuch as are our enemies. And this may be comprised in three heads alfo, forbearance, patience, and benevolence.

(1.) FORBEARANCE; by which I mean the keeping from giving any juft or probable offence to an adverfary, and the not taking all advantages in law against him, for inconfiderate words and actions, or trifling and petty trefpaffes; nor always flying

*Lu':e xiv. 7, 8, 9, 10, II.

*

CHAP. III. to the refuge of the laws, and the judgment of courts, even where the injury is confiderable. Such is the temper recommended to us by St. Paul, when he befeeches the Ephefians to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. By these we honour the Gofpel of Christ, and adorn our profeffion of it; whereas the going to law contentiously and idly is forbidden us by our Lord himself. He who endures evils, and forbears advantages, does most like a Christian; though nevertheless, where the injury is of great confequence, it is not unlawful to endeavour, by the course of publick justice, to do our felves right.

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(2) THE next inftance of meekness to our cnemies is patience, by which I mean the forbearing private revenge, returning evil for evil in any other method than by authority of law. Patience is the fubjecting of a man's felf to fuffering; and when the fuffering is from men, we are to be as void of discontent and revenge, as when it is inflicted upon us by the immediate hand of God. The ftate of Christianity ought to be a ftate of good agreement with all mankind, and the great obftruction of this is not fo much the ftriking of one stroke by an offender, as the returning it by the sufferer; for this indeed is the full birth of enmity and contradiction. An evil man may do much wrong to his neighbour; but the greater wrong, which is a wrong to Chriftianity, is the revenging of that evil. This point of meekness is more often and carnestly prefs'd upon us, than almost any other part of our religion, and that not only in general precepts, fuch as, If it be poffible, as much as in you lies, live peaceably with all men; wherein the duty now be

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* Eph. iv. I, 2.

Ram. xii. 18.

fore

fore us certainly is

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included; but alfo in particular and express terms. * See that none render evil for evil to any man. Charity is not easily provoked, bears all things -endures all things. Avenge not + your felves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, faith the Lord. If ye forgive not men their trefpaffes, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trefpaffes.

THE like in fubftance with thefe we find in many other texts of Scripture, from which we cannot but conclude, that all revenge (and not only that, but all paffionate, bitter, and reviling language, to or of an enemy,) is utterly forbid to a Chriftian, of whom 'tis expected that he should imitate his Lord and Mafter, . Who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered he threatned not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. But even this is not all; for,

(3.) A third branch of meekness to our enemies, is ftill behind, which is benevolence, returning good for evil, and keeping always a temper ready to be reconciled. The meek Chriftian is to overcome evil with good. If his enemy hunger he is to feed him, if he thirft he is to give him drink: he is to fhew all manner of readiness to do him any good office which lies in his power; to do good to them that hate him, to bless them that curfe him, to pray for them that defpitefully use him and perfecute him; not only † not rendring evil for evil, railing for railing; but contrariwife bleffing. He is to be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving, and to offer all fair 'chriftian terms of accommodation. the fufferer is to do, as well as the

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For even this offender; and

Rom. xii. 19. Rom. xii. 20.

this I fuppofe to be enforced in that of our Saviour, *when ye ftand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any. This therefore the meek Chriftian is to do, if he would acquit himself as fuch to his enemy.

THE third diftinction we made in equals, was of fuch as are ftrangers, or perfons indifferent to us. The meekness we are to exprefs to them is fo much the fame with feveral of the foregoing inftances, that I need not enlarge upon it, the reafon and analogy of things will point them out. I will only add, as to these perfons, that we should abftain from giving them offence, and provoking them wilfully and unworthily; for though we cannot yet call them our friends, we have no reafon to make them our enemies; we ought not to be pofitive or contradicting, imperious or uncivil towards them, or curiously fearching into their infirmities, but be always ready to ferve and oblige them as it falls in our way, always candidly interpreting their words and actions, charitably prefuming the best in all cafes, and converfing meekly with them upon all .occafions.

[3] THE third and laft order of men, towards whom the duty of meeknefs is to fhew it felf, is that of inferiors; and they being the object, their fuperiors must be those who are to exercife this grace towards them; which may be done two ways, by humility and by gentleness.

FIRST, we are to confider the humility which it becomes fuperiors to fhew towards their inferiors. And,

(1.) THAT which is due from fovereigns and fubordinate magiftrates, to their fubjects, or the members of their jurifdiction. Magiftrates (whether fupreme or fubordinate) are appointed by God

* Mark xi. 25.

for

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