men; or by fome infirmity, or diftemper in our nature; or by fome outward accident; whenfoever, and howsoever, any things happen to us, which are grievous and afflictive, we should endure them; fo as becomes men trained up under a suffering Saviour, with temper, and fortitude, and patient continuance in well doing.

Now any one that duly confiders, the various injuries which are done, by men of unquiet and stormy tempers, may easily difcern, how perfective of charity this virtue is.

Impatient people are not fo much as friends to themselves. Tho' one would think they were fecure of their own affections, and their unquietness seems to argue, that they have very little affection for any one else; yet in reality, they are their own most hurtful enemies. Every cross accident puts them upon a fret; and the more active and bufy their thoughts are, the greater ftill is the fermentation. Either pride, or envy, or covetoufness, or intemperance, nay many times bare imagination, helps to raise the diftemper of the mind to a very high degree. And what comfort

can there be, in fuch a one's life, where there is fo much uproar?

But if fuch perfons were only injurious to themfelves, the matter would not be fo bad. That wrong they are bound to bear, if they will bear any thing. But the mifchief of this vice is, that it loves to be vexatious and hurtful to all about it. It is ready at hand, to avenge the quarrel of every other vice, and to be an executioner

its caufe. Hence come malicious defigns, uncharitable conftructions, opprobrious fpeeches, revengeful arts, studied oppreffions, and most of those wicked and mean things, which are a difgrace to human nature, as well as to religion, and a nufance to all focieties.

The patient man doth not lay and throw about him, after a spiteful manner, or to bafe ends, or with vile and evil purposes; because there is a principle of true generofity, and a spirit of fortitude and conftancy upon which he acteth. This makes his mind great, and fets him much above those odious and low methods, which are plain arguments of a mind that is fordid and degenerate. It is infinitely greater, to bear a wrong,

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a wrong, than to do it. The poorest and moft contemptible creature can annoy; but it is the man only, and the chriftian, that paffeth it by, difdaining thereby to be moved out of himself.

In patience poffefs ye your fouls, faith our Saviour. It is a certain way, to be easy in our felves, and to all about us: And this is one great branch of christian charity.

I SHALL conclude all, in those words of St. Paul: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. Be ye kind to one another, and tender hearted. Put on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, goodness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-fuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another; if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Chrift forgave you, fo alfo do ye.' And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which alfa ye are called in one body.

SERMON XXI.

Preparation for Death.

[From Bishop TAYLOR'S, Life of Chrift, and his Rules and Exercifes of holy Dying.]

MATT. XXV. 13.

Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh.

THE holy fpirit of God hath in Scrip

ture revealed to us but one way of preparing for death, and that is, by an holy life. This doctrine we are taught in the parable of the ten virgins. Those who were wife, ftood waiting for the coming of the bridegroom, their lamps burning; only when the Lord was at hand, at the notice of his coming published, they trimmed their lamps, and went forth to meet him, and entered with him into his interior and eternal joys. They whofe lamps did not ftand ready, expecting the uncertain hour, were fhut forth, and bound in darkness. Watch

Watch therefore (fo our Lord applies and expounds the parable), for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the fon of man cometh.

And indeed, fince all our life we are dying, or as the apostle expreffeth it we die daily; it is but reasonable that we should always be doing the offices of preparation. If to day we were not dying, and paffing on to our grave; then we might with more fafety defer our work till the morrow: But as fewel in a furnace, in every degree of its heat and reception of the flame, is converting into fire and ashes, and the disposal of it to its laft extinction is the fame work with its final diffolution; fo is the age of every day a beginning of death, and the night compofing us to fleep bids us go to our leffer reft; and whereas we have now died fo many days, the laft day of our life is but the dying fo many more; and when that laft day of dying will come, we know not. There is nothing then added, but the circumftance of ficknefs; which also happens many times before. Only men are pleased to call that death, which is the end of dying, when we cease to die any

more.