perties as himself. He thinks the power of the people can never be too great, nor that of the prince too little; and yet this very notion he publifheth, as his beft argument to prove him a moft loyal subject. Every opinion in government that differeth in the leat from his, tends directly to Popery, flavery, and rebellion. Whoever

lieth under the frown of power, can in his judgment neither have common fenfe, common honefly, nor religion. Lastly, his devotion confifteth in drinking gibbets, confufion, and damnation; in profanely idolizing the memory of one dead prince, and ungratefully trampling upon the ashes of another.

By these marks you will easily distinguish a truly moderate man from those who are commonly, but very falfely, fo called: and while perfons thus qualified are fo numerous and fo noify, fo full of zeal and industry to gain profelytes, and fpread their opinions among the people, it cannot be wondered that there fhould be fo little brotherly love left among us.

Lafly, Ir would probably contribute to restore fome degree of brotherly love, if we would but confider, that the matter of thofe difputes which inflame us to this degree, doth not in its own nature at all concern the generality of mankind. Indeed, as to those who have been great gainers or lofers by the changes of the world, the cafe is different; and to preach moderation to the first, and patience to the laft, would perhaps be to little purpose. But what is that to the bulk of the people, who are not properly concerned in the quarrel, altho' evil inftruments have drawn them into it? For if the reasonable men on both fides were to confer opinions, they would find neither religion, loyalty, nor intereft, are at all affected in this difpute. Not religion, because the members of the church on both fides profefs to agree in every article: not loyalty to our prince; which is pretended to by one party as much as the other, and therefore can be no fubject for debate: not intereft, for trade and industry lie open to all; and, what is further, concerneth only those who have expectations from the public. So that the body of the people, if they knew their own good, might yet live amicably together, and leave their betters to quarrel a

mong

mong themselves, who might also probably foon come to a better temper, if they were lefs feconded and fupported by the poor deluded multitude.

I have now done with my text; which I confefs to have treated in a manner more fuited to the prefent times, than to the nature of the subject in general. That I have not been more particular in explaining the several parts and properties of this great duty of brotherly love, the Apostle to the Theffalonians will plead my excufe. Touching brotherly love, (faith he,) ye need not that I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. So that nothing remains to add, but our prayers to God, that he would please to restore and continue this great duty of brotherly love or charity among us, the very bond of peace and of all virtues.

Nov. 29. 1717.

SERMON

V.

The Difficulty of knowing ONE'S SELF *.

2 KINGS viii. 13. part of it.

And Hazael faid, But what, is thy fervant a dog, that he fhould do this great thing?

WE

WE have a very fignal inftance of the deceitfulness of the heart reprefented to us in the perfon of Hazael; who was fent to the Prophet Elifha, to inquire Dd 2

of

* The manuscript title-page of the following fermon being lost, and no memorandums writ upon it, as there were upon the others, when and where it was preached, made the editor doubtful whether he should print it as the Dean's or not. But its being found amongst the fame papers; and the hand, altho' writ fomewhat better, having a great fimilitude to the Dean's, made him willing to lay it before the public, that they might judge whether the ftyle and manner alfo do not render it ftill more probable to be. his. Dublin edition.-I fhall take no notice of this fermon, as it is evidently not composed by the Dean. Orrery.

of the Lord, concerning his mafter the King of Syria's recovery. For the man of God having told him that the King might recover from the disorder he was then labouring under, began to fet and faften his countenance upon him of a sudden, and to break out into the most violent expreffions of forrow, and a deep concern for it: whereupon, when Hazael, full of fhame and confusion, afked, Why weepeth my Lord? he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Ifrael: their firong holds wilt thou fet on fire, and their young men wilt thou flay with the fword, and wilt dafh their children, and rip up their women with child. Thus much did the man of God fay and know of him, by a light darted into his mind from heaven. But Hazael, not knowing himself fo well as the other did, was startled and amazed at the relation, and would not believe it poffible, that a man of his temper could ever run out into fuch enormous inftances of cruelty and inhumanity: What, fays he, is thy fervant a dog, that he should do this great thing?

AND yet, for all this, it is highly probable, that he was then that very man he could not imagine himself to be: for we find him, on the very next day after his return, in a very treacherous and difloyal manner, murdering his own mafter, and ufurping his kingdom; which was but a prologue to the fad tragedy which he afterwards acted upon the people of Ifrael.

:

AND now the cafe is but very little better with most men, than it was with Hazael. However, it cometh to pafs, they are wonderfully unacquainted with their own temper and difpofition, and know very little of what paffeth within them for of fo many proud, ambitious, revengeful, envying, and ill-natured perfons that are in the world, where is there one of them, who, altho' he hath all the fymptoms of the vice appearing upon every occafion, can look with fuch an impartial eye upon himself, as to believe that the imputation thrown upon him is not altogether groundless and unfair? who, if he were told, by men of a difcerning spirit and a strong conjecture, of all the evil and abfurd things which that false heart of his would at one time or other betray him into, would not believe as little,

and

and wonder as much, as Hazael did before him? Thus, for inftance, tell an angry perfon, that he is weak and impotent, and of no confiftency of mind; tell him, that such or fuch a little accident, which he may then defpife, and think much below a paffion, fhall hereafter make him fay and do feveral abfurd, indifcreet, and mifbecoming things: he may perhaps own, that he hath a fpirit of refentment within him, that will not let him be impofed on; but he fondly imagines, that he can lay a becoming restraint upon it when he pleafes, altho' it is ever running away with him into fome indecency or other.

THEREFORE, to bring down the words of my text to our prefent occafion, I fhall endeavour, in a further profecution of them, to evince the great neceffity of a nice and curious infpection into the feveral receffes of the heart; that being the fureft and the fhortest method that a wicked man can take to reform himfelf. For let us but ftop the fountain, and the streams will spend and wafte themselves away in a very little time: but if we go about, like children, to raife a bank, and to ftop the current, not taking notice all the while of the fpring which continually feedeth it; when the next flood of a temptation rifeth, and breaketh in upon it, then we shall find, that we have begun at the wrong end of our duty, and that we are very little more the better for it, than if we had sat still, and made no advances at all.

BUT, in order to a clearer explanation of the point, I fhall fpeak to these following particulars.

1. By endeavouring to prove, from particular inftances, that man is generally the most ignorant creature in the world of himself.

2. By inquiring into the grounds and reasons of this ignorance.

3. AND laftly, By propofing feveral advantages that do most affuredly attend a due improvement in the knowledge of ourselves.

I. FIRST then, To prove that man is generally the moft ignorant creature in the world of himself: To pursue the heart of man through all the inftances Dd 3

of

of life, in all its feveral windings and turnings, and under that infinite variety of fhapes and appearances which it putteth on, would be a difficult and almoft impoffible undertaking fo that I fhall confine myself to fuch as have a nearer reference to the prefent occafion, and, upon a closer view, fhew themselves through the whole bufinefs of repentance. For we all know what it is to repent; but whether he repenteth him truly of his fins or not, who can know it?

Now, the great duty of repentance is chiefly made up of thefe two parts; a hearty forrow for the follies and mifcarriages of the time paft, and a full purpose and refolution of amendment for the time to come. And now, to fhew the falfenefs of the heart in both thefe parts of repentance. And,

FIRST, AS to a hearty forrow for the fins and mifcarriages of the time paft: Is there a more ufual thing than for a man to impofe upon himself, by putting on a grave and demure countenance, by cafting a fevere look into his paft conduct, and making fome few pious and devout reflections upon it, and then to believe that he hath repented to an excellent purpofe, without ever letting it ftep forth into practice, and fhew itself in a holy converfation? Nay, fome perfons do carry the deceit a little higher; who, if they can but bring themselves to weep for their fins, are then full of an ill-grounded confidence and fecurity; never confidering, that all this may prove to be no more than the very garb and outward drefs of a contrite heart, which another heart, as hard as the nether milftone, may as well put on. For tears and fighs, however in fome perfons they may be decent and commendable expreffions of a godly forrow, are neither neceflary, nor infallible figns of a true and unfeigned repentance: not neceffary, because sometimes, and in fome perfons, the inward grief and anguish of the mind may be too big to be expreffed by fo little a thing as a tear; and then it turneth its edge inwards upon the mind; and, like thofe wounds of the body which bleed inwardly, it generally proves the moft fatal and dangerous to the whole body of fin: not infallible, becaufe a very fmall portion of forrow may make fome tender difpofitions melt, and break out into

tears;