pray

than grace to convert him; you must rather than command, and conjure him with fweetnefs to return to his duty, than reprimand him with fournefs. Remember, fores must be touched with a foft hand, and that thofe of the foul are more easily cured with lenitives than caufticks.

Tho' charity obliges every one to contribute to the correction of his brother, yet it feldom reaches an inferior, in refpect of his fuperior; for, in all probability, admonitions, that come from fuch a perfon, will be more apt to make him worfe than better, and the greatest good that can be expected, is that they do no harm.

But a fuperior lies ftrictly under this command; and therefore is guilty of the disorders his inferiors commit, if he winks at them, when it is in his power to correct them. Nor is it fufficient to admonish them; they muft exert their authority, and (if occafion requires) join punishment to reprehenfions. Heli was acquainted with the fcandalous behaviour of his children, and condemned it; nay, he endeavoured in fome manner to reclaim them, Why do ye fuch things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all these people, 1 Sam. ii. 23, 24. But because he ftopt here, and applied no remedy, but a bare rebuke, God punished the childrens crimes with death, and the father's partiality, not only with death, but the forfeiture of the high priesthood. If your pains are fruitless, they will not go without a reward; for God measures his bounty by our charity, not by the fuccefs; but if you perfuade your brother into a fenfe of his duty, you have gained him; and what a crown God has prepared for fuch a conqueft, may be conjectured by the precious blood Chrift laid down for his redemption.

Tho' the Scribes and Pharifees watch'd every motion of our bleffed Saviour, pry'd into every action,

and

and never failed to misconstrue all his words; yet he defied them, publickly, to prove him guilty of the least fin; Which of you convinceth me of fin? He gave the defiance in the face of his enemies, to establish his innocence, and at the fame time to convince the world, that he underwent a fhameful death upon the crofs, not for his own, but for the fins of men; and that he freely laid down his life, to purchase, not only life, but eternal happiness, for criminals.

But, principally, he would teach his profelytes by his example, as well as by his words, how they muft behave themselves when bad Chriftians attack their reputation by calumnies, and infidels their lives by torments; their conduct must be blameless, and their behaviour without offence; fo that they may challenge their enemies with a Which of you convinceth me of fin? And when they are confcious of no offence, they must bear up courageously against calumnies, and even death it felf, when they cannot avoid it without a fin; for it is better to die innocent, than live guilty. This doctrine St. Peter preach'd to the firft believers; If ye be reproach'd for the name of Chrift, happy are ye, 1 Pet. iv. 14. To fuffer for a crime is fhameful, but for religion and justice glorious; for, if it is a glory to be a Christian, it can be no infamy to be a good one; and, if it be honourable to profefs Chrift, it must be ignominious to deny him: this made the primitive Chriftians lead fuch pious lives, and die fuch glorious deaths; they lived like faints, and fuffered like traitors in appearance; yet their very perfecutors admired their courage, and all Chriftians venerate their virtue if we intend to partake of their glory, we must follow their example, i. e. return good for evil, deserve praise, and receive reproaches.

But

But further; it is not fufficient to walk fo uprightly, that our greatest enemies dare not charge 1 us with any real crime; we muft live with fuch circumfpection as to give no just ground even for fufpicion this the apoftle meant, when he exhorted the faithful to refrain not only from evil, but from the very appearance of it; and St. Bernard. delivers the fame doctrine; Let us take care, "not only to live virtuously before God, but to "converfe with edification before men; and to "do nothing that may give occafion to our neigh"bour to fufpect us of irregularity." Thofe therefore are in a great error, who think it lawful to herd with debauch'd company, to entertain a commerce too familiar with the fex, out of a pretence that they do no harm, that their confcience is clear before God, whatever interpretation is put upon their actions by men: but this is a mistake; for every Christian is obliged, not only not to offend God, but alfo not to fcandalize his neighbour. Now, is it not a scandal, to put one's felf in those circumstances, in which men are more often guilty than innocent? or can any one pretend that more people do well in bad company than ill? or that more preserve their chastity in too frequent and clofe converfation with women, than lofe it?

Tho' therefore you do no other harm, at leaft you fcandalize your neighbour, and this is harm enough to draw upon you our Saviour's curfe, Woe to that man, by whom the offence cometh, Matth. xviii. 7. and certainly no flight fault draws on the offender fo fevere a punishment.

O God! fuffer me not to receive thy favours with ingratitude, much lefs with outrage: if any fin lies undiscovered in my foul, command my conscience to disclose it, and to upbraid me night and day, till by the affiftance of thy grace I have T

afked

afked forgiveness, and thy goodness has pardoned it. I firmly refolve, in thy divine prefence, to abftain from what thou doft forbid, and to execute what thou doft command; and, as thy mercy has given me this refolution, let it alfo lead me to the execution.

EPISTLE to the Philippians, Chap. ii. Verse

5. Let this mind be in you, which was alfo in Christ Jesus:

6. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a fervant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8. And being found in fashion as a man, he bumbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9. Wherefore God alfo bath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every

name:

10. That at the name of Jefus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11. And that every tongue should confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Fa

ther.

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The MORAL REFLECTION.

HE Philippians, tho' born to Chrift by baptifim, left not the old vices of paganifin. When they embraced the new established religion of our Saviour, they forfook not their former weak

neffes:

neffes they were ftill poffefs'd with the spirit of ambition and contention, and affected more to rule than obey. The apoftle endeavours here to reclaim them from a practice fo contrary to their profeffion : he exhorts them not to contend with one another, but to fay and think the fame thing. Phil. ii. 2. Then he diffuades them from vainglory, the cause of difcord and difunion, and thus invites them to the exercife of humility, fo fingularly practifed by our Saviour, and fo emphatically recommended by him to his profelytes, in the next verse; Let nothing be done through ftrife ori vain-glory; but in lowlinefs of mind let each efteem others better than themselves, Phil. ii. 3.

And, to prefs this virtue upon them with more force and energy, he propofes the example of our Saviour, who, being God equal to his Father, invested himself with human nature, ftoop'd to all our infirmities (fin excepted), taking upon him the form of a fervant, and abafed himself fo far as to die, nay, even the most infamous and humbling death, that of the cross: He bumbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Now, this virtue being of no easy purchase, because contrary to our darling paffion pride, which is fo interwoven with our nature, that it is difficult to fhake it off; (for it lies with us in the very cradle, and accompanies us to the grave) the apoftle proposes the glory that followed Chrift's humiliation, as a motive to excite the Philippians to the exercise of it, that the hope of a reward might either remove or abate the difficulty of the conqueft: Wherefore God alfo bath highly exalted him, and hath given him a name, which is above every name. And then he conjures them to bear the fame affection to humility, mercy and peace, that

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