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Still; and kept him a year longer *. This is celebrated by the ancients as a rule of excellent wisdom. But a Christian may prefcribe to himself a much wifer, viz. "When you are angry, anfwer not till "you have repeated the fifth petition of "the Lord's prayer, Forgive us our tref"passes, as we forgive them that trefpafs "against us; and our Saviour's comment "upon it, For if ye forgive men their tref paffes, your heavenly Father will alfo forgive you but if ye forgive not men their trefpaffes, neither will your Father forgive your trefpaffes," Matth. vi. 14, 15.

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It is a juit and feasonable thought that of Marcus Antoninus upon fuch occaLons. "A man mifbehaves himself to"wards me, what is that to me? The "action is his; and the will that sets him 65 upon it is his; and therefore let him "look to it. The fault and injury is his, "not mine. As for me, I am in the con"dition Providence would have me, and 66 am doing what becomes me +.”

But ftill this amounts only to a philofophical contempt of injuries, and falls much

* See Plut. Mor. Vol. i. pag. 238.
+ Meditat. Book 5. § 25.

much beneath a Christian forgivenness of them; which as Christians we are bound to, and which, if we know ourselves, we fhall be difpofed to. And therefore, in order to a true felf-knowledge, we must always take care to examine and obferve in what manner we are affected in fuch circumstances.

(2.) How do you behave under a fevere and unexpected affliction from the hand of Providence? which is another circumftance, which, when rightly improved, will help us very much to know ourselves. If there be any habitual difcontent or impatience lurking within us, this will draw it forth, especially if the affliction be attended with any of those aggravating circumstances with which Job's was.

Afflictions are often fent with this intent, to teach us to know ourselves; and therefore ought to be carefully improved to this purpose.

And much of the wifdom and goodness of our heavenly Father is feen by a ferious and attentive mind, not only in proportioning the degrees of his corrections to his children's ftrength, but in adapting the kinds of them to their tempers; -afflicting one in one way, another in another, according as he knows they are most T cafily

eafily wrought upon, and as will be moft for their advantage: by which means a flight affliction of one kind may as deeply affect us, and procure as great an advantage to us, as a much greater of another kind.

It is a trite but true obfervation, that a wife man receives more benefit from his enemics than from his friends, from his afflictions than from his mercies; by which means he makes his enemies in effect his best friends, and his afflictions his greatest mercies. Certain it is, that a man never has an opportunity of taking a more fair and undifguifed view of himfelf than in these circumftances: and therefore by diligently obferving in what manner he is affected at fuch times, he may make an improvement in the true knowledge of himself, very much to his future advantage, though perhaps not a little to his prefent mortification; for a fudden provocation from man, or fevere affliction from God, may detect fomething which lay latent and undifcovered fo long at the bottom of his heart, that he never once fufpected it to have had any place there. Thus the one excited wrath in the meekeft man, Pfal. cvi. 33. and the other paffion in the most patient, Job iii. 3.

By

By confidering then in what manner we bear the particular afflictions God is pleafed to allot us, and what benefit we receive from them, we may come to a very confiderable acquaintance with ourfelves.

(3.) In a time of peace, profperity, and pleasure, when the foul is generally most unguarded, what is its temper and difpofition then?

This is the warm feason that nourishes and impregnates the feeds of vanity, felfconfidence, and a fupercilious contempt of others. If there be fuch a root of bitterness in the heart, it will be very apt to fhoot forth in the funfhine of uninterrupted profperity, even after the frost of adverfity had nipped it, and, as we thought, killed it.

Profperity is a trial as well as adverfity, and is commonly attended with more dangerous temptations. And were the mind but as feriously disposed to self-reflection, it would have a greater advantage of attaining a true knowledge of itfelf under the former than under the latter. But the unhappiness of it is, the mind is feldom rightly turned for fuch an employment under thofe circumstances. It has fomething else to do; has the concerns of the T 2 world

world to mind; and is too much engaged by the things without it, to advert to those within it; and is more difpofed to enjoy than examine itself. However, it is a very neceffary feafon for felf-examination, and a very proper time to acquire a good degree of felf-knowledge, if rightly improved. (Laftly,) How do we behave in bad company?

And that is to be reckoned bad company, in which there is no probability of our doing or getting any good, but apparent danger of our doing or getting much harm; I mean, our giving offence to others, by an indifcreet zeal, or incurring guilt to ourselves by a criminal compli

ance.

Are we carried down by the torrent of vanity and vice? Will a flash of wit, or a brilliant fancy, make us excufe a profane expreffion? If so, we fhall foon come to relifh it, when thus feasoned, and use it ourfelves. This is a time when our zeal and wisdom, our fortitude and firmness, are generally put to the most delicate proof, and when we may too often take notice of the unfufpected escapes of folly, fickleness, and indifcretion.

At fuch feafons as thefe then we may often difcern what lies at the bottom of

our

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