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by his

By the

ment of his blood; to fanctify us fpirit, and justify us his death. former he reconciles us to God, and by the latter he reconciles God to us; and is at once our righteousness and ftrength. He died to purchase for us the happiness we had forfeited, and fends his grace and fpirit to fit us for that happiness he hath thus purchased. So complete is his redemption fo fuitably adapted is the remedy he hath provided, to the malady we had contracted!" O bleffed Re"deemer of wretched ruined creatures, "how unfpeakable are the obligations I "owe thee! But, ah! How infenfible "am I of thofe obligations! the faddeft "fymptom of degeneracy I find in my "nature, is that bafe ingratitude of heart, "which renders me fo unaffective with "thine aftonishing compaffions. Till I "know thee, I cannot know myself; and "when I furvey myfelf, may I ever think "of thee may the daily consciousness of

my weakness and guilt lead my thoughts "to thee; and may every thought of thee "kindle in my heart the most ardent glow "of gratitude to thee, O thou divine, com"paffionate friend, lover, and Redeemer of mankind."

Whoever then he be that calls himfelf

a Chri

a Chriftian, that is, who profeffes to take the gofpel of Chrift for a divine revelation, and the only rule of his faith and practice; but, at the fame time, pays a greater regard to the dictates of men, than to the doctrines of Chrift; who lofes fight of that great example of Chrift, which fhould animate his Chriftian walk, is unconcerned about his fervice, honour, and intereft, and excludes the confideration of his merits and atonement from his hope and happiness; he forgets that he is a Chriftian;-he does not confider in what relation he ftands to Chrift, (which is one great part of his character,) and confequently discovers a great degree of selfignorance.

(3.) Self-knowledge moreover implies a due attention to the feveral relations in which we ftand to our fellow-creatures; and the obligations that refult from thence.

If we know ourselves, we fhall remember the condefcenfion, benignity, and love that is due to inferiors; the affability, friendship, and kindness we ought to fnow to equals; the regard, deference, and honour we owe to fuperiors; and the candour, integrity and benevolence, we owe to all.

The particular duties requifite in these relations are too numerous to be here menD tioned

tioned. Let it fuffice to fay, that if a man doth not well confider the feveral relations of life in which he stands to others, and does not take care to preferve the decorum and propriety of those relations, he may juftly be charged with felf-ignorance. And this is fo evident in itself, and fo generally allowed, that nothing is more common than to fay, when a perfon does not behave with due decency towards his fuperiors, fuch a one does not underftand himself. But why may not this with equal juftice be faid of those who act in an ill manner towards their inferiors? The expreffion, I know, is not fo often thus applied; but I fee no reafon why it fhould not, fince one is as common, and as plain an inftance of felf-ig norance as the other. Nay, of the two, perhaps men in general are more apt to be defective in their duty and behaviour towards those beneath them, than they are towards those that are above them; and the reason feems to be, because an apprehenfion of the difpleafure of their fuperiors, and the detrimental confequences which may accrue from thence, may be a check upon them, and engage them to pay the juft regards which they exp‹ &: there being no fuch check to restrain

them

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them from violating the duties they owe
to inferiors, (from whofe difpleasure they
have little to fear,) they are more ready,
under certain temptations, to treat them
in an unbecoming manner.
And as wif-

dom and felf-knowledge will direct a man
to be particularly careful, left he neglect
thofe duties he is most apt to forget; fo,
as to, the duties he owes to inferiors,
in which he is moft in danger of tranf
greffing, he ought more ftrongly to urge
upon himself the indifpenfable obligations
of religion and confcience. And if he
does not, but fuffers himself through the
violence of ungoverned paffion to be tranf-
ported into the exceffes of rigour, tyran-
ny, and oppreffion, towards thofe whom
God and nature have put into his power,
it is certain he does not know himself; is
not acquainted with his own particular
weaknefs; is ignorant of the duty of his
relation; and, whatever he may think of
himself, hath not the true fpirit of govern
ment; because he wants the art of felf-
government. For he that is unable to go-
vern himself, can never be fit to govern
others.

Would we know ourselves then, we must confider ourselves as creatures, as Chriftians, D 2

and

and as men; and remember the obligations, which, as fuch, we are under to God, to Chrift, and our fellow-men; in the feveral relations in which we stand to them: in order to maintain the propriety, and fulfil the duties, of those relations.

CHAP. IV.

We must duly confider the Rank and Station of Life in which Providence hath placed us, and what it is that becomes and adorns it.

III.

A

MAN "that knows himfelf, will "deliberately confider and at"tend to the particular rank and station in life in which Providence hath placed him; and what is the duty and decorum of that station: what part is given him "to act; what character to maintain; and "with what decency and propriety he "acts that part or maintains that cha"racter."

For a man to affume a character, or aim at a part that does not belong to him, is affectation. And whence is it that affectation of any kind appears fo ridiculous, and exposes men to univerfal and just contempt,

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