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upon duty, gratitude, and voluntary service. Small irritations in the bodily frame fester and grow, by frequent attrition or neglect, into mortal distempers. So it is in the order and economy of domestic and social life. We must watch the beginnings, and not despise the trifles, of human life and intercourse. It will not suffice to say, that, because these are small duties, they may be safely neglected by a Christian. A Christian is to fulfil the "law of Christ" by the performance of all duties, small as well as great. And no duty, however small, can be considered without its importance, which materially contributes to the happiness of individuals and families, and to the peace and harmony of society.

6. An eminently patient, calm, peaceable, conciliating, forbearing, unassuming temper and conduct form an essential part of the great duty of Christian charity. St. Paul says, "Charity is not easily provoked, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up; but beareth all things, endureth all things." To live amidst the conflicts of opinion, interest, and principle which prevail around us, and preserve a temper at all times calm and unclouded, is a task as difficult, as it is necessary to adorn the doctrine of that Saviour, whose perfections are the object of our admiration, as his example is of our imitation. Provocations will sometimes inevitably arise in our intercourse with others, by which our patience, moderation, and forbearance will be put to a severe proof. They are, perhaps, inseparable from our present imperfect state, and may be believed to be designed by a wise Providence, to make trial of the spirit that reigns within us, and as a part of that system of discipline by which we are to be made wise unto salvation.

No one of our passions is more impatient of restraint, more violent in its impulses, more unhappy in its consequences, and, therefore, more destructive of that charity which is the crowning glory of the Christian profession, than anger. When retained and willingly cherished in our breasts, it becomes resentment; and, if still continued and harboured as a guest, it gradually comes to assume the still more dreadful forms of settled hatred, malice, and revenge. Well may we habitually pray for deliverance "from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness." Unhappy, indeed, will our case be, if we cherish these formidable inmates in our breasts. In compassion to our infirmities, God has not

required of us never to be angry, but he has required of us not to be angry from slight causes; and he has unequivocally forbidden the indulgence of all wilfully cherished, and especially all long-continued anger. "Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”* We are required to forgive an offence until seventy times seven," if the offender manifests regret, and a disposition not to repeat the offence.

In view of the destructive effects which spring from anger, our Saviour has made him, who offers the first provocation, principally responsible for the consequences which may result. He declares, that whoever shall use harsh and irritating language, "shall be in danger of the council, and even of hell-fire." And the reason for throwing the chief responsibility for whatever may ensue, on him who first offers provocation, is very plain. Every one, by a small effort of forbearance, can abstain from offering provocation to another; but, such is "the infirmity with which we are clothed," and such is the constitutional temperament with which men are formed, that many cannot be expected to remain unmoved and undisturbed, when assailed by strong provocation. The distinction is made by him who "knew perfectly what was in man," and who has suited his instructions, in all respects, to the nature, the wants, the circumstances, and even the infirmities of mankind.

II. I proceed to review the chief cases in which Christian charity is violated.

1. This duty is violated, when we permit ourselves to indulge in unjust, unreasonable, and injurious suspicions of the feelings, motives, wishes, and designs of others respecting us.

To give way to unfounded jealousies and suspicions of others, is alike unjust and injurious to them, and ruinous to our own peace and tranquillity of mind. Few passions are more debasing in their influence, than jealousy and suspicion. Like all other passions, too, they grow strong and craving by indulgence, until at length, ever-wakeful and ever-watchful, every look, expression, gesture, and action of others, is seen in the false and gloomy light, which these baleful passions throw around every object.

* Ephesians iv. 26.

+ Matt. v. 22.

‡ John ii. 25.

In such a state of mind, every expression, and every action of others, is supposed to have a covert meaning, and this meaning is supposed to refer specially to ourselves. As the imagination, the most active, the most restless, and the most fruitful of all our faculties, furnishes the materials on which these passions subsist, they can never be unsupplied with their appropriate sustenance, and this sustenance, as plentiful as its source is inexhaustible, can never be consumed. If this state of the feelings is permitted to become habitual, the best affections of the heart are gradually extinguished, the most degrading selfishness is harboured, the sensibilities become paralyzed, the sympathies are narrowed, the temper becomes gloomy, stern, and perhaps vindictive; the entire aspect of the man is settled gloom and disappointment; the understanding, laboring under the pressure of these accumulated and uncongenial burthens, loses its wonted strength and energy, and the entire character is changed, infected, and, in regard to all the useful purposes of life, is fallen into ruins.

Nor is this all. The man of a suspicious temper soon comes into the habit of seeing nothing just, amiable, or attractive, in the conduct and characters of those around him. Feeling himself unsocial and suspicious towards all other men, and prompted by a distorted imagination, ever more and more fruitful in evil surmises, he perceives nothing in the conduct of those about him, but proofs of motives, feelings, wishes, and intentions, unfriendly to him, his family, his reputation, and his interests.

Nor is even this all, strong as may be the picture which has been drawn. It has been remarked by close and careful observers of mankind, that habitual jealousy and suspicion of others, joined with an impression, however unfounded and imaginary, that others are unfriendly to us, have a direct and almost inevitable tendency to render them such, if they were not such before. There is unquestionably much foundation for this remark, and it is not difficult to explain why it is thus. In our intercourse with others, however much we may be accustomed to practise disguise, it is impossible entirely to conceal our feelings from them; and when our minds are habitually infected with ungenerous suspicions, unfounded jealousies, and the host of dark passions which are always their offspring, it is inevitable that these

passions should be seen through any disguise which it may be in our power to assume, and that, being thus seen, they should produce coldness, alienation, and disgust, in those with whom we may meet occasionally, or with whom we may be accustomed familiarly to associate. In this way, many men, in every community, have gradually found themselves, without expecting, much less intending, such a result, at variance with every neighbour, and, perhaps every relative, solitary in the midst of a virtuous and cultivated society, consumed and destroyed by jealousy and suspicion, which (instead of banishing when they felt its first risings) they have unhappily, unwisely, nay, criminally permitted themselves to entertain, foster, and cherish. “Jealousy,” says the wisest of men, "is cruel as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire." * These burning coals of jealousy and suspicion will consume the breast of every one, who does not smother them at their first kindling. And when we consider the animosities, bitterness, and strife, which frequently infest neighbourhoods, and sometimes divide and distract even members of the same family, and when we further reflect, that these open enmities usually have their beginning in jealousy and suspicion, we may understand the importance of the rule of Christian charity, which forbids us to indulge in jealousies and suspicions of the motives and designs of our relatives, associates, and neighbours.

It is our duty towards others, and it is the only line of conduct consistent with our own happiness, to presume, that the feelings and designs of others respecting us are such as we could wish them to be, until the contrary unequivocally appears. In truth, if we assume this as the rule of our conduct, we shall not often find ourselves disappointed in the result. Men will not often be wanting in regard for us, if we have not, in some way, been first wanting to ourselves. It is probable, that there is no one cause of a suspicious temper so frequent, as a secret conviction, that every thing is not with us, as we are conscious it should be. And, if we find ourselves very much given to jealousy and suspicion, it may be well for us to examine our

* Cant. viii. 6.

conduct strictly, and see if some part of it has not been such, as justly to raise in us some misgivings, that our suspicious temper may have its origin in a consciousness of misconduct. At all events, it is better, a thousand times, to be occasionally and even frequently mistaken in respect to others, and even deceived by them, than to permit our breasts to be made the seat of such painful, corroding, and debasing passions.

2. Again, this duty is violated, when we attribute to improper motives and designs, actions and expressions, for which, with equal ease and entire consistency, good motives and good designs may be assigned. Much of the conduct and many of the expressions, in use among men, are capable of more than one construction, according as they are set in different lights, and presented in different points of view. There is scarcely any transaction, however fair, which may not be misunderstood and misrepresented; and scarcely any form of expression, the meaning of which may not be distorted and perverted by the alltransforming power of prejudice.

Hence, occasions are perpetually occurring suited to test our candor, equity, and charity. Even in private life, but more especially on the great stage of public life, we habitually see the same line of conduct approved or condemned by those around us, according to the opinions they have formed, the predilections they entertain, the views they wish to promote, or the individuals they desire to advance. Parties spring up in literature, in science, in religion, in government, and on every other impor tant subject. In such cases, we are accustomed to see men equal in respect to knowledge, and whose uprightness has been tested by a long life of virtue, and perhaps of piety, not only differing, but, indeed, embracing directly opposite views of truth and duty. To what can such differences, thus amounting sometimes to contrast, be ascribed, but to the influence of prejudice, interest, and passion over the minds even of those men, whose aims are sincere, and whose intentions are upright? When such men fall into injurious errors and mistakes, misled by the force of prejudice and passion, well may we acknowledge the claims of the rule and adhere to it on all occasions, which re

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