might give unnecessary offence to others; you will behave yourself in a modest manner, according to your station; and it will work both with regard to superiors and inferiors; teaching you duly to honor the one and not to overbear or oppress the other. And in religion itself, it will restrain all immoderate sallies and harsh censures; and will command down that wrath of man, which, instead of working, so often opposes the righteousness of God, and shames and wounds that good cause in which it is boisterously and furiously engaged. 20. With this is naturally connected " a peaceful disposition." If you are a christian indeed, you will have such a value and esteem for peace, as to endeav or to obtain and preserve it as much as lieth in you, as much as you fairly and honorably can. This will have such an influence upon your conduct, as to make you not only cautious of giving offence, and slow in taking it, but earnestly desirous to regain peace as soon as may be, when it is in any measure broken; that the wound may be healed while it is green, and before it begins to rankle and fester And more especially this disposition will engage you to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, with ail that in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; whom, if you truly love, you will also love all those whom you have reason to believe to be his disciples and servants. 21. If you be yourselves indeed of that number, you will also put on bowels of mercy. The mercies of God, and those of the blessed Redeemer, will work on your heart, to mould it to sentiments of compassion and generosity so that you will feel the wants and sorrows of others; you will desire to relieve their necessities, and, as you have opportunity, you will do good both to their bodies and their souls; expressing your kind affections by suitable actions, which may both evidence their sincerity, and render them effectual. 22. As a christian, you will also maintain truth inviolable, not only in your solemn testimonies, when confirmed by an oath, but likewise in common conversation. You will remember, too, that your promises bring an obligation upon you, which you are by no means at liberty to break through. On die whole, M you will be careful to keep a strict correspondence between your words and your actions, in such a manneṛ as becomes a servant of the God of truth. 23. Once more, as amidst the strictest care to observe all the divine precepts, you will still discover many imperfections, on account of which you will be obliged to pray that God would not enter into strict judgment with you, as well knowing that in his sight you cannot be justified: You will be careful not to judge others in such a manner as should awaken the severity of his judgment against yourself. You will not, therefore, judge them pragmatically, that is, when you have to do with their actions; nor rashly, without enquiring into circumstances; or partially, without weighing them attentively and fairly; nor uncharitably, putting the worst construction upon things in their own nature dubious, deciding upon intentions as evil, farther than they certainly appear to be so, pronouncing on the state of men, or on the whole of their character, from any particular action, and involving the innocent with the guilty. There is a moderation contrary to all these extremes, which the gospel recommends ; and if you receive the gospel in good earnest into your heart, it will lay the axe to the root of such evils as these. 24. Having thus briefly illustrated the principal branches of the christian temper and character, I shall conclude the representation with reminding you of some general qualifications, which must be mingled with all, and give a tincture to each of them; such as sincerity, constancy, tenderness, zeal, and prudence. 25. Always remember, "that sincerity is the very soul of true religion." A single intention to please God, and to approve ourselves to him, must animate and govern all that we do in it. Under the influence of this principle you will impartially inquire into every intimation of duty, and apply to the practice of it so far as it is known to you. Your heart will be engaged in all you do. Your conduct in private and in secret will be agreeable to your most public behavior. A sense of the divine authority will teach you to esteem all God's precepts concerning all things to be right, and to hate every false way. 26. Thus are you in simplicity and godly sincerity té have your conversation in the world. And you are also to charge it upon your soul to be stedfast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. There must not only be some sudden fits and starts of devotion, or of something which looks like it, but religion must be an habitual and permanent thing. There must be a purpose to adhere to it at all times. It must be made the stated and ordinary business of life. Deliberate aud presumptuous sins must be carefully avoid. ed; a guard must be maintained against the common infirmities of life; and falls of one kind or of another must be matter of proportionable humiliation before God, and must occasion renewed resolution for his service. And thus you are to go on to the end of your life, not discouraged by the length and difficulty of the way, nor allured on the one hand or terrified on the other, by all the various temptations which may surround and assault you. Your soul must be fixed on this basis, and you are still to behave yourself as one who knows he serves an unchangeable God, and who expects from him a kingdom which cannot be moved. 27. Again, so far as the gospel prevails on your heart," your spirit will be tender, and the stone will be transformed into flesh." You will desire that your apprehension of divine things may be quick, your affec tions ready to take proper impressions, your conscience always easily touched, and, on the whole, your resolu. tions pliant to the divine authority, and cordially willing to be, and to do, whatever God shall appoint. You will have a tender regard to the word of God, a tender caution against sin, a tender guard against the snares of prosperity, a tender submission to God's afflicting hand; in a word, you will be tender wherever the divine honor is concerned; and careful neither to do any thing yourself, nor to allow any thing in another, so far as you have influence, by which God should be of fended, or religion reproached. 28. Nay, more than all this, you will so far as true christianity governs in your mind, exert an holy zeal in the service of your Redeemer and your Father. You will be zealously affected in every good thing, in propor tion to its apprehended goodness and importance. You will be zealous especially to correct what is irregular in yourselves, and to act to the uttermost of your ability for the cause of God. Nor will you be able to look with ap indifferent eye on the conduct of others in this view; but so far as charity, meekness, and prudence will admit, you will testify your disapprobation of every thing in it, which is dishonorable to God and injurious to men. And you will labor not only to reclaim men from such courses, but to engage them to religion, and to quicken them in it. it 29. And, once more, you will desire to use the prudence which God hath given you," in judging what is, in present circumstances, your duty to God, your neighbor, and yourself; what will be, on the whole, the most acceptable manner of discharging it, and how far may be most advantageously pursued: As remembering, that he is indeed the wisest and happiest man, who, by constant attention of thought, discovers the greatest opportunities of doing good, and with ardent and animated resolution breaks through every opposition that he may improve these opportunities. 30. This is such a view of the christian temper as could conveniently be thrown within such narrow limits; and, I hope, it may assist many in the great and important work of self-examination. Let your. • own conscience answer how far you have already attained it, and how far you desire it; and let the principal topics here touched upon be fixed in your memory and your heart, that you may be mentioning them before God in your daily addresses to the throne of grace, in order to receive from him all necessary assistance for bringing them into practice. A PRAYER, chiefly in Scripture Language, in which the several branches of the Christian Temper are more briefly enumerated, in the order laid down above. BLESSED God, I humbly adore thee, as the great Father of lights, and the giver of every good and every perfect gift. From thee, therefore, I seek every blessing, and especially those which may lead me to thyself, and prepare me for the eternal enjoyment of thee. I adore thee as the God who searches the heart, and tries the reigns of the children of men. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; see if there be any wicked in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. May I know what manner of spirit I am of, and be preserved from mistaking where the error might be infinitely fatal! way May I, O Lord, be renewed in the spirit of my mind! A new heart do thou give me, and a new spirit do thou put within me! Make me partaker of a divine nature; and, as he who hath called me is holy, may I be holy in all manner of conversation. May the same mind be in me that was also in Christ Jesus; may I so walk even as he walked! Deliver me from being carnally minded, which is death; and make me spiritually minded, since that is life and peace! And may I, while I pass through this world of sense, walk by faith and not by sight; and be strong in faith, giving glory to God! May thy grace, O Lord, which hath appeared unto all men, and appeared to me with such glorious evidence and lustre, effectually teach me to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly. Work in my heart that godliness which is profitable unto all things; and teach me, by the influences of thy blessed spirit, to love thee, the Lord my God, with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and with all my strength May I yield myself unto thee as alive from the dead; and present my body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in thy sight, which is my most reasonable service. May Lentertain the most faithful and affection. ate regard to the blessed Jesus, thine incarnate son, the brightness of thy glory, and the express image of thy person! Though I have not seen him, may I love him; and in him, though now I see him not, yet believing, may rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: And may the life which I live in the flesh, be daily, by the faith of the Son of God! May I be filled with the spirit; and may I be led by it and so may it be evident to others, and especially to my own soul, that I am a child of God, and an heir of glory. May I not receive the spirit of bondage I |