Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."* These passages all stand by the side of each other; the New Testament is full of such; it is superfluous to quote more. Even among the mild virtues, which, as a class, take precedence of all others, the preference is given to charity, or a good-will so diffusive as to embrace all mankind. This crowning virtue of Christianity, moreover, is preferred before that hope which maketh not ashamed, which is a helmet of salvation, and an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast; † and before that faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and without which it is impossible to please God. "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity." St. Paul says, "If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." And again, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."§ St. John says, "This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also." St. James calls the same commandment, "the royal law."¶ (5.) The peculiar doctrines of Christianity were, at its first promulgation, absolutely new to the world, and the character of the Christian is to be formed under the united influence of its doctrines and its morals. And, if it cannot be said of its morals as of its doctrines, that there was any thing absolutely new in them, still it can be said, with the most perfect truth, that Christianity has improved and corrected our views of all the virtues and duties of life, by infusing its peculiar spirit into them. This *Rom. xii. 4 - 21. Rom. v. 5; 1 Thess. v. 8; Heb. vi. 19. Heb. xi. 1-6; 1 Cor. xiii. 13. || 1 John iv. 21. is the case with some much more than with others;— patriotism, friendship, and humility, may serve for illustration. It was impossible that a religion so benign as the Christian, destined to be universal, and being itself the ultimate standard of morals, should be without an influence on the entire department of morals, — if not direct, still both real and beneficial. Patriotism, as understood in Greece and Rome, and too often also in later times, justified outrageous wrong towards every other nation, provided the patriot could, by such wrong, advance the supposed interests of his own country. Christian patriotism, while it permits and requires a just preference of our own country, still enjoins good-will to all other nations. Again, many of the sentiments of the ancient writers respecting friendship are just and proper in themselves, and cannot be perused without admiration. They comprise tenderness, amiableness, faithfulness, and a willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of a friend; but, at the same time, they permit and encourage a spirit of exclusion and indifference to the welfare of all who are out of the pale of a man's friendship, that has been softened by the universal benevolence, which is the corner-stone of Christian morals. So again, humility (humilitas), which among the Romans signified meanness, abjectness, in its Christian meaning signifies a low estimation of ourselves and our deserts in the sight of God, but is not inconsistent with all suitable manliness and independence of spirit and conduct in the sight of men. Finally, Christianity has softened and rectified the spirit and temper, which we should carry into all the situations and relations, which we sustain in life, by enjoining on us the great law of love; to wit, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." But the character of our Saviour, as well as the doctrines and moral precepts taught by him, is a part of the morality of the The Roman history, however, contains instances to the contrary. See Cicero, De Officiis, Lib. III. c. 11, 22. "Non fraude, neque occultis, sed palam et armatum populum Romanum hostes suos ulcisci,' -"Not by fraud, not by secret machinations, but openly and armed, the Roman people avenges itself on its enemies; was the answer of the Senate of Rome to the proposition of the king of the Catti, to take off Arminius by poison. Mat. vii. 12. gospel; without some delineation of which, this part of my labors would be too imperfect and unsatisfactory. But how shall I acquit myself on this part of the subject? Not by attempting to do it justice; for this would be impossible. Who can, with safety, attempt to portray the moral character of the Saviour of mankind? As never man spake, so never man acted, like this man. What may not be done fully, however, may be done imperfectly; and, if a vivid picture cannot be drawn, a faint one at least may be furnished. The imperfections may well be attributed to the writer. The greatest of the Roman orators and moralists, and the most eloquent and valuable writer of all antiquity, (Cicero,) has left us a delineation of a great and good character, in the drawing of which, he may well be presumed to have exhausted his utmost skill. The chief excellences combined in the character of the great and good man delineated by him, are, a low estimate (contempt) of riches, power, honor, and the other gifts of fortune, a willingness to undertake arduous labors, incur dangers, and even expose life itself in a good cause, independence of mind,the pursuit of nothing but what is honorable and praiseworthy, and that complete self-control, which raises a man above the influence of all passion and agitation of mind, and puts it beyond the power of external circumstances to discompose or otherwise disturb him. And it must be admitted, that these † John vii. 46. ‡ I subjoin the entire passage, of which the above is a summary. —“All true greatness of mind," says he, "is especially seen in two things; the first is a generous contempt or disregard of all the goods of fortune, proceeding from an opinion, that it is unworthy of a man, to admire or wish for or endeavour after any thing, unless it be honorable and becoming; to submit himself to the will of any one; to be a slave to his own irregular passions; or, in any way, to be affected by the caprices of fortune. When he has acquired such a temper of mind as I have been describing, then the second thing is, that he perform such actions as are glorious and beneficial, but withal very full of labors and difficulties, and extremely hazardous to life itself, as well as to those things which pertain to life, and on which the value of life very much depends. Now all the lustre and dignity of these two things, nay, I add, all their usefulness too, consists in the latter; but the principle, as it were, and effective cause of all true greatness, consists in the former. For, in that," continues he, "are contained those noble aspirations, which exalt men's minds, and raise them above are severe and searching tests by which to try greatness and excellence of character. But we may subject the character of the Saviour of mankind to tests vastly, nay, infinitely more severe, searching, and comprehensive, than those put forth by the rich and cultivated imagination of this greatest master of all antiquity, and it will not be found wanting. * 1. We may reflect on the moral sublimity of THE DESIGN OF HIS COMING ; which was to bring life and immortality to light; to overthrow the dominion of Satan, sin, and misery; and to establish an empire of peace, knowledge, and righteousness, which should embrace all the nations of the earth within its ample bounds. 2. We may reflect on THE NATURE OF THE MEANS WHICH HE EMPLOYED TO ACCOMPLISH HIS SUBLIME AND BENEFICENT DESIGN; which were, the exclusive devotion of himself to every labor of benevolence; to the working of miracles, which were to be, in every country and in all succeeding time, the standing and overwhelming proofs of the divinity of his mission; to the instruction of all men without discrimination of rank, as occasion was given him, and of a select band of disciples in particular, to whom was to be intrusted a portion of his miraculous power; the instructing of all mankind in his religion, and the organization of a society (the church),† designed to be a universal commonwealth of peace, intelligence, and holiness; and, to crown all, the voluntary sacrifice of himself on the cross, to make an atonement by which the pardon of sin might be rendered possible, and repentance might become effectual to salvation. all earthly things. The first particular, too, is itself made up of two parts,1. An opinion, that nothing is truly and really good, but what is honorable, 2. Freedom from every kind and degree of passion or disturbance of mind. For, what can more discover a man of a brave and heroic spirit, than to make no account of those things which seem so glorious and dazzling to the generality of mankind, but entirely to disregard them; not from any vain caprice and humor, but from solid and firm principles of reason and judgment. Or what can more show strength of mind and unshaken constancy, than to bear those heavy and numerous calamities, which are incident to mankind in this life, with such firmness and consistency of temper, and fixedness of soul, as never to transgress against nature and right reason, or do any thing unworthy of the dignity and character of a wise man."- De Officiis, Lib. I. c. 20. * 2 Tim. i. 10. + See Bishop Butler's Works, p. 159. London, 1828. 3. Again, we may reflect on THE PERSONAL QUALITIES DISPLAYED BY THE SAVIOUR, in prosecuting a design thus fraught with the choicest hopes and prospects of mankind; his patience and endurance, equally inexhaustible by labor, by suffering, and by provocation; his uncompromising denunciations of iniquity, in places however high, and under circumstances however hazardous; his mildness and benevolence, as seen in his kindness to children, f in his weeping upon the death of his friend Lazarus and over the approaching ruin of his country, § in his notice of the widow's mite, in his parables of the ungrateful servant, of the pharisee and publican, and of the good Samaritan, and in his prayer for his enemies in the midst of his sufferings, which seems then to have been new, though it has since been frequently imitated; his humility, as seen in his commending moderate desires after the goods of fortune,¶ and in his constant reproof of contentions for superiority; his piety and devoutness of mind, as seen in his frequent retirement for solitary prayer,** in his habitual giving of thanks, †† in his reference of the laws and beauties of nature to a Divine Providence, in his earnest addresses to his Father, more particularly the brief but solemn prayer before calling Lazarus from the tomb, in the profound piety of his behaviour in the garden on the last evening of his life ; §§ his prudence, where prudence is most wanted, that is, on trying occasions, and in giving answers to artful and ensnaring questions. Particular and striking instances of these are seen in his withdrawing, at various times, from the first symptoms of tumult, |||| with the wish of prosecuting his ministry in quietness; in his declining every kind and degree of interference with the civil affairs of the country; in his judicious answer to the ensnaring question respecting the payment of tribute to Cæsar; ¶¶ in his solution of the difficulty concerning the interfering relations of a future state, as proposed * Matt. xi. 20-24; xxiii. 13-38, &c. § Luke xix. 41-44. T Luke xii. 15-34. + Mark x. 16. John xi. 35. || Mark xii. 42. **Matt. xiv. 23; Luke ix. 28. tt Matt. xi. 25; Mark viii. 6; John vi. 23; Luke xxii. 17. Matt. vi. 26 - 28. §§ John xi. 41; Matt. xxvi. 36-47. || Matt. xiv. 22; Luke v. 15, 16; John v. 13; vi. 15. |