only for thee, converfe with thee alone; ftill less, that he should wound his confcience for thy fervice, or facrifice to thee the welfare of those who look up to him for protection and fupport. No, the firmeft tie of friendship is mutual exactitude and integrity in the discharge of our duties, as well as mutual forbearance and patience. Wouldst thou thirdly render the enjoyment of this happiness lasting as well as complete; deal circumfpectly with thy friend. The flower of friend Give him Put him ship must be reared and tended with a gentle hand; it has need of nurture and refreshment, to preserve it from fading and withering away. Bear then with the harmless weakneffes of thy friend, though probably distasteful to thee. Impofe on him no burden that he may find it difficult to bear. as freely at least as thou receivest of him. not to trials which may imply distrust or awake suspicion. Extort no fervices or attentions; and force not from him the fecret with which he is not willing to entrust thee. Beware of imputing to him each look, each word, each trifling action, which might not probably have been fufficiently amicable, as a breach of friendship, when thou art once become fure of his heart. Let not the power thou hast over him degenerate into rigour and feverity; or the freedom and familiarity that fubfifts between you, into a total neglect of propriety and good man ners, Would t Wouldst thou laftly enjoy the happiness of friendfhip, and learn to know its full value from experi ence; be punctual and exact in anfwering to the obligations thou oweft thy friend. Pay a fedulous attention to his wants, his views, his connections; let nothing of what concerns him be indifferent to thee, but confider his interests as infeparable from thy own. Be before-hand with him, as often as thou canft, in what he may expect or require from thy friendship; and let cheerfulness and pleasure accompany and actuate thee in whatever thou doft in his behalf. Thank him for the civilities and ferviCCS he accepts from thee, as much as for those thou receiveft from him. Above all things be fcrupuloufly exact and faithful in the most important and generous demonftrations of virtuous friendship. Exhort, incite, encourage, ftimulate him to all that is beautiful and good; and be not deterred from it by the fear of forfeiting his efteem and affection. The friendship that will not stand this trial, that will not be the firmer for it, is not deferving of that honourable appellation, deferves not to be cherished with all poffible care, as the chiefeft felicity of life. Indeed thou fhouldft not be difcouraged by the first unfuccefsful attempt. Thou fhouldft endeavour indeed to procure admiffion and audience to thy admonitions, thy warnings, thy rebukes, by all that is perfuafive and prevailing in friendship. Indeed thou fhouldft repeatedly bear with the difplcafure of thy once more equitable friend, and bear it with undiminifhed minished affection. But if he will by no means allow himself to be admonished, to be cautioned, to be reproved by thee, if he will only endure to be flattered; then let the bond of attachment between you be cancelled for ever. It was not dictated by wisdom and virtue, and might eafily have led thee into a fnare. If however thou art juftified in requiring this of thy friend, then likewife on the other hand take the admonitions, the fuggeftions, the remonftrances, even the corrections of thy friend in good part, and with a grateful refentment. Refpect and love him the more, that he may have less frequent occafions of giving thee fuch teftimonies of his esteem and affection; and thus run with him towards the mark of human perfection, to which every virtue, every fpecies of happiness, and therefore friendship tends to conduct us. SERMON XXXV. The Value of civil and religious Liberty. GOD, creator and father of men, far haft thou elevated us above the beafts of the field! Of greater perfection and happiness haft thou rendered us capable! Thou haft imparted to us reafon and liberty. And how great the bleffings thou haft granted us by them! What means of becoming ever better, ever wifer, ever happier! Yes, thou haft formed us after thy own image, and imprinted on us, thy children, evident marks of our origin from thee. By reafon and liberty we can have communion with thee, and be continually making nearer approaches to thee, ever gaining a clofer affimilation with thee, the firft, the most perfect being. God, with what privileges haft thou thus endowed us, the inhabitants of the earth! How happy are we, in being that which thy love commanded us to be! Oh might we but be continually impreffed with a deeper sense of our dignity and that of our bre thren, and be ever thinking and acting more con fiftently fiftently with it! We are all thy children, all of divine descent, all endowed by thee with the fame privileges, all appointed by thee to perfection and happiness. And as fuch we fhould all efteem and love each other, all live together as brethren and fifters, and none mislead another from his destined path, or degrade him from his dignity, but all be aiding each other to the attainment and maintenance of it. This is thy will, gracious parent of us all; and to do thy will is our honour and our felicity. Oh teach us then with perpetually increasing fidelity to accomplish thy will, and to enjoy felicity in completer acceffions. Worthily to use our own liberty, and to respect and promote the liberty of our brethren, be that the boaft, the most zealous endeavour of us all! Do thou, merciful father, put a stop to the oppression and tyranny of every kind under the burden whereof fo many of thy children on earth continue to figh; break the bonds that deform and degrade the work of thy hands; revive and raise the nearly extinguished fenfe of their dignity in fuch numbers of mankind; let the fpirit of liberty be ever farther diffufed, and its triumphs over thraldom be more confpicuous and glorious from day to day. Blefs in that view the medita tions on thy word which we are now about to be gin. Teach us all duly to eftimate the value of li berty, and let the fentiment of it infpire us with all generous difpofitions, with difpofitions worthy of the man and the christian. Difpel by thy holy spirit |