1

2. "That they have families of their own, and "that charity begins at home." The extent of this plea will be confidered, when we come to explain the duty of parents.

3. "That charity does not confift in giving money, but in benevolence, philanthropy, love to mankind, goodness of heart, &c." Hear St. James. "If a brother or fifter be naked, and deftitute of daily food, and one of you fay unto them, depart in peace, be you warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not thofe things which "are needful to the body, what doth it profit?" (James ii. 15, 16.)

4." That giving to the poor is not mentioned in "St. Paul's defeription of charity, in the thirteenth "chapter of his firft Epiftle to the Corinthians." This is not a defcription of charity, but of goodnature; and it is not neceffary that every duty be mentioned in every place.

5. "That they pay the poor rates." They might as well allege that they pay their debts; for the poor have the fame right to that portion of a man's property, which the laws affign them, that the man himself has to the remainder.

6." That they employ many poor perfons:"for their own fake, not the poor's-otherwife it is a good plea.

26

7. "That the poor do not fuffer so much as we imagine; that education and habit have recon"ciled them to the evils of their condition, and "make them eafy under it." Habit can never re

concile human nature to the extremities of cold, hunger and thirft, any more than it can reconcile the hand to the touch of a red-hot iron: befides, the queftion is not, how unhappy any one is, but how much more happy we can make him.

for

8. That thefe people, give them what you "will, will never thank you, or think of "it." In the first place, this is not true:

you

in the fecond

fecond place, it was not for the fake of their thanks that you relieved them,

9.

"That we are liable to be impofed upon." If a due enquiry be made, our merit is the fame: befide that, the diftrefs is generally real, whatever has been the cause of it.

10." That they should apply to their parishes." This is not always practicable: to which we may add, that there are many requifites to a comfortable fubfiftence, which parish relief does not always fupply; and that there are fome, who would fuffer almoft as much from receiving parish relief, as by the want of it; and laftly, that there are many modes of charity, to which this anfwer does not relate at all.

11. "That giving money encourages idleness "and vagrancy." This is true only of injudicious and indifcriminate generofity.

12. "That we have too many objects of charity "at home, to bestow any thing upon ftrangers; "or that there are other charities, which are more "ufeful, or ftand in greater need." The value of this excufe depends entirely upon the fact, whether we actually relieve thofe neighbouring objects, and contribute to those other charities.

Befide all these excufes, pride, or prudery, or delicacy, or love of ease, keep one half of the world out of the way of obferving what the other half fuffer.

CHAP

ESENTMENT may be diftinguished into anger and revenge.

By anger, I mean the pain we fuffer upon the receipt of an injury or affront, with the ufual effects of that pain upon ourselves.

By revenge, the inflicting of pain upon the perfon who has injured or offended us, farther than the juft ends of punishment or reparation require.

Anger prompts to revenge; but it is poffible to fufpend the effect, when we cannot altogether quell the principle. We are bound alfo to endeavour to qualify and correct the principle itself. So that our duty requires two different applications of the mind: and for that reafon anger and revenge may be confidered feparately.

CHAP

CHA P. VII.

ANGE R.

BE ye angry and fin not; therefore ali

anger is not finful: 1 fuppofe, because fome degree of it, and upon fome occafions, is inevitable.

It becomes finful, or contradicts however the rule of scripture, when it is conceived upon flight and inadequate provocations, and when it continues long.

1. When it is conceived upon flight provocations; for "charity fuffereth long, is not cafily provoked." "Let every man be flow to anger." Peace, long fuffering, gentlenefs, meeknefs, are enumerated among the fruits of the Spirit, Gal. v. 22, and compose the true Chriftian temper, as to this article of duty.

2. When it continues long; for "let not the "fun go down upon your wrath.

Thefe precepts, and all reafoning indeed upon the fubject, fuppofe the paffion of anger to be within our power: and this power confifts not fo much in any faculty we poffefs of appeafing our wrath at the time (for we are paffive under the fmart which an injury or affront occafions, and all we can then do is to prevent its breaking out into action), as in fo mollifying our minds by habits of just reflection, as to be lefs irritated by impreffions of injury, and to be fooner pacified.

Reflections proper for this purpose, and which may be called the fedatives of anger, are the following: the poffibility of mistaking the motives: from which the conduct that offends us proceeded;

how

how often our offences have been the effect of inadvertency, when they were conftrued into indications of malice; the inducement which prompted our adverfary to act as he did, and how powerfully the fame inducement has, at one time or other, operated upon ourfelves; that he is fuffering perhaps under a contrition, which he is afhamed, or wants opportunity to confefs; and how ungenerous it is to triumph by coldnefs or infult over a spirit already humbled in fecret; that the returns of kindness are fweet, and that there is neither honour, nor virtue, nor use in refifting them-for fome perfons think themselves bound to cherish and keep alive their indignation, when they find it dying away of itself. We may remember that others have their paffions, their prejudices, their favourite aims, their fears, their cautions, their interefts, their fudden impulfes, their varieties of apprehenfion, as well as we: we may recollect what hath fometimes paffed in our minds, when we have got on the wrong fide of a quarrel, and imagine the fame to be paffing in our adverfary's mind now; when we became fenfible of our misbehaviour, what palliations we perceived in it, and expected others to perceive; how we were affected by the kindnefs, and felt the fuperiority of a generous reception and ready forgivenefs; how perfecution revived our fpirits with our enmity, and feemed to juftify the conduct in ourselves, which, we before blamed. Add to this, the indecency 'of extravagant anger; how it renders us, whilft it lafts, the fcorn and fport of all about us, of which it leaves us, when it ceafes, fenfible and afhamed; the inconveniencies, and irretrievable mifconduct into which our irafcibility has fometimes betrayed us; the friendships it has loft us; the diftreffes and embarrassments in which we have been involved by it; and the fore repentance which on one account or other it always cofts us.

But the reflection calculated above all others to allay that haughtinefs of temper which is ever finding