139 will a wife man, for his own peace, deal with the paffions of others, as with his own. Self-Knowledge, as it acquaints a man with his weakness and worst qualities, will be his guard against them: and a happy counterbalance to the faults and exceffes of his natural temper. (3.) It will keep the mind fedate and calm under the furprize of bad news, or afflicting providences. For am I not a creature of GOD? And my life and comforts, are they not wholly at his difpofal, from whom I • received them; by whofe favour I have fo long enjoyed them; and by whose mercy and goodness I have ftill fo many • left ? A Heathen can teach me, under fuch • loffes of friends or eftates, or any comfort, to direct my eyes to the hand of GOD, by whom it was lent me, and is now recalled; that I ought not to say, it is loft, but restored. And tho' I be injurioufly deprived of it, ftill the hand of GOD is to be acknowledged; for what is it to me, by what means, he that ⚫ gave gave me that bleffing, taketh it from me ⚫ again (h).' He that rightly knows himself will live every day dependent on the Divine Author of his mercies, for the continuance and enjoyment of them; and will learn from a higher authority than that of a Heathen moralift, that he hath nothing he can properly call his own, or ought to depend upon as fuch that he is but a feward employed to dispense the good things he poffeffes, according to the direction of his Lord, at whofe pleasure he holds them; and to whom he should be ready at any time cheerfully to refign them, Luke xvi. 1. (4.) Self-knowledge will help a man to preserve an equanimity and self-poffeffion under all the various changes of adverfity and profperity. Both have their temptations: to some the temptations of profperity are the greatest ; to others, thofe of adverfity. Self-knowledge fhews a man which of these are greateft to him; and, at the apprehenfion of them, teaches him to arm himself accordingly; that nothing may deprive him of his conftancy and felf-poffeffion, or lead him to act unbecoming the man or the Christian. (h) Epillet. Enchirid. cap. 15. We We commonly fay, no one knows what he can bear, till he is tried; and many perfons verify the obfervation, by bearing evils much better than they feared. Nay, the apprehenfion of an approaching evil often gives a man a greater pain than the evil itself; this is owing to inexperience and felf-ignorance, A man that knows himself, his own ftrength and weakness, is not fo fubject as others, to the melancholy prefages of the imagination; and whenever they intrude, he makes no other use of them than to take the warning, collect himself, and prepare for the coming evil; leaving the degree, duration and the iffue of it with Him, who is the fovereign difpofer of all events, in a quiet dependence on his Power, Wisdom and Goodness. Such felf-poffeffion is one great effect and advantage of Self-knowledge. •СНА Р. СНА Р. II. Self-Knowledge leads to a wife and steady II. A conduct. S Self-Knowledge will preferve a man calm and equal in his temper, fo it will make him wife and cautious in his conduct. A precipitate conduct is always the effect of an irregular hurry of thought; whereas the conduct will become fedate and rational by the influence of Self-Knowledge. It will give a man that fteady and uniform behaviour in the management of his affairs, that is fo neceffary for the dispatch of businefs; and prevent many disappointments which arife from the unfuccefsful execution of immature or ill-judged projects. Moft of the afflictions which men meet with in the world may be traced up to this fource, and refolved into Self-ignorance. We may complain of Providence and complain of men; but the fault, if we examine it, will commonly be found to be our own; our imprudence, which arifes from Selfignorance, either brings our troubles upon us, us, or increases them. Want of temper and conduct will make any affliction double. What a long train of difficulties do fometimes proceed from one wrong step in our conduct, into which felf-ignorance or inconfideration betrayed us ? And every evil us? that befals us in confequence of that, we are to charge upon ourselves. CHA P. III. Humility the Effect of Self-Knowledge. III.RUE Self-knowledge always produces IIITRI humility. › Pride is ever the offspring of felf-ignorance. Men are vain and felf-fufficient because they do not know their own failings; and the reafon they are not better acquainted with them is, because they hate self-inspection. Let a man but turn his eyes within, scrutinize himself, and ftudy his own heart, and he will foon fee enough to make him humble. Behold, I am vile*, is the language only of Self-knowledge (i). * Job xl. 4. Young (i) Qui bene feipfum cognofcit fibi ipfi vilefcit, nec laudibus dilectatur humanis. Tho, à Kemp de Imit, Chr, lib, 1, cap. 2.. |