way, expecting only honeft returns, this juftice muft at least be done them, to own that they are fair traders, and deal in a good commodity. The Apostle to the Hebrews exhorts us to provoke one another to love and to good works; and the best way to provoke others to love, is to fhew love towards them.

But the fureft way to know whether we are influenced as we ought to be by a principle of charity, is to confider not this or that particular action, for very bad men may fometimes do very good things; nor yet to confider our behaviour with refpect to particular persons, for the worft of men are capable of ftrong paffions of love for particular relations and acquaintance; but to reflect upon our carriage towards all in general, and in all inftances: for, if the principle of charity be in us, it will discover itself in an uniformity of all our actions; as the principle of felf-preservation makes men feek their own good, not at one time more than another, or in one instance more than another, but at all times and in all inftances equally.

If therefore we find that our fentiments of tenderness and humanity are confined to certain perfons, to our relations or particular friends, to the men of our own fect or party; we may be fure that fuch fentiments are the product of fome partial and narrow views, and not the genuine offspring of true charity, which is in its nature extenfive and univerfal, and reaches as far, nay much beyond the power we have of doing good: or, if we find that in fome inftances we are apt enough to deal juftly and mercifully with our neighbours, but that in others we are

regardless of mercy and juftice, and value not the credit, or reputation, or contentment of our brethren, but are ready to facrifice them all to our own paffions and corrupt inclinations; our being vile in fome inftances is a certain indication that our being good in others is not owing to a principle of charity, but to fomething elfe, which we may call by any other name rather than virtue. If you love not the world, and the good things of it, so much as to injure your neighbour for the fake of making a gain to yourself, it is well. If you can part with your own for the relief of the neceffities of fuch as are indigent, it is better. If, befides this, you have a friendly temper and difpofition, and love to fee all about you eafy and happy, it is a great step towards being perfect. But ftill if luft prevails, and leads you to violate the wife or the daughter of your friend, how dwells the love of God or of your neighbour in you? For charity is the fulfilling of the law: for this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not feal, Thou shalt not bear falfe witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The rule which I am endeavouring to establish, in order to enable men to judge of the principle upon which they act towards others, is the very same which the Apostle to the Corinthians has in effect described in the thirteenth chapter of the firft Epiftle; where, fpeaking of spiritual gifts, and fhewing that without charity they are of no use to the poffeffors thereof, his fubject led him to give the certain marks and characters of that charity, which he

fo highly exalted. What then is it? Is it almsgiving ? No, fays the Apoftle; Though I before all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity is not a particular virtue, nor is it confined to any kind of good works, but it is a general spirit of life influencing all the actions of a man; it is the very foul of virtue, and fhews itfelf in the functions of it: Charity fuffereth long, and is kind,-envieth not,-vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unfeemly, feeketh not her own, is not eafily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Thus, you fee, the Scripture rule of judging ourfelves in this great point of charity, is to compare our conduct with the precept, and to confider whe- ther our actions are uniformly fuited to the principle we pretend to act by. We are not directed to confider only particular actions, or the immediate motives which induced us to do this or that particular good office; from whence we can argue but with little certainty, and little comfort to ourselves: for a general principle is discoverable only by a general and uniform influence over all our actions. Men may be good by starts; may be tender and compaffionate more' at one time than another, according as their minds are foftened by accidental misfortunes happening to themselves: but charity moves in an higher fphere, and views all the creatures of God with a conftant benevolence : it is, as the text calls

it, ayúæn ixrsvàs, an uninterrupted love, and which exerts itfelf uniformly in all our actions,

When we find this conftant benevolence in our minds, and that we act conformably to it within the rules of reafon, why fhould we doubt of our own fincerity, or fcrupulously examine into the special motives which attended on every act of charity? for, where we are confcious of no ill defigns, no private felf-intereft, and yet find that what we do is agreeable to truth and equity, why thould we doubt that we do amifs? It is therefore an unreafonable burden to put men upon this fort of self-examination; and more unreasonable to fuggeft to them, that the good they do is of no value unless in every inftance it be extorted from them by an anxious confideration of the special motives of religion. You may as well tell a man, that he means not his own nourishment in what he eats and drinks, unless he has before his mind an aphorifm of Hippocrates to justify every bit he puts into his mouth: for, as the principle of felf-prefervation directs us without much reflection, and often without any, to feek our own good; fo a general principle of charity will make it, as it were, natural to us to feek the good of others, without the trouble of choice and deliberation.

To conclude: you see the extenfive nature of charity; and you see a plain and a natural way of judging, whether this excellent gift works in you or no. If you allow yourself in any inftance to injure or oppress your neighbour, how can you be faid to love him? fince all ways of injustice and oppreffion are

equally inconfiftent with charity. Whatever therefore is the darling paffion, which makes you transgress against your brother, that, that is the thing which deftroys in you this moft excellent grace of the Gospel. What have you then to do, but to root out this evil from your heart; to expel this weed, which overruns the ground, and choaks the good feed? Here therefore let us point all our examination to discover wherein we offend; let us truft the good we do to shift for itself, without being anxious to pry into the causes and motives leading to it but let us double our care to feek out our failings, and to correct them; that our love may be without ftain, and deferve the name of that charity, which shall cover the multitude of fins.

VOL. 11.