and their jefters, or sportsmen that make them merry, and give them fome of the sweetest diversion of their lives; to hear their profane drollery, and to fee their bold impiety, yet the laws that ferve to support ́ their own worldly profit, or fleshly pleasure, they have thefe ever before their eyes; and not only prefs them into their service, to catch every little fly, that ftrikes upon the web; but even to fqueeze out the blood of them for the pitiful offender, to drink it up, with the mixture of his own brinifh tears.

And though fome make figns, and mutter, and others paraphrafe, and give out words, and all do cenfure, and deteft the oppreffion: and judge the great man, to be the greater finner, nay even his own creatures and flaves, the tools and terriers, and blood-hounds, that execute his pleafure (for whom indeed, executioners founds the propereft name) they cannot but fecretly defpife the little great man, that no better employs them: and damn in their minds, the wretched work, in which they must have their hands; yet on he goes, with the noble defign of doing juftice. And this juftice he is fo much for; that one day he may have his fill of it; if fooner he do not remember, to mingle more mercy with the judgment; and if here the Lord do not make him a more tractable scholar, that he, who feems to have loft all pity for others may learn to grow more pitiful to his own foul, and procure a milder doom for himself. O my foul, as thou needeft mercy, and wouldst be glad, in thy need, to find it: be as ready now to fhew it; and come not into the secrets, nor ever contribute any thing to abet the practices of those men; whose very tender mercies are cruel. But what thou canst not hinder, bewail, and where it is out of thy power to help it, yet dislike it, deteft it, put in thy protest against it, and instead of having any participation in fuch guilt, pray God deliver me from the way, and from the end of these men.

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G

REAT Lord of all! who haft given promotion and wealth to fome, above the rest, O that "thou wouldst make them as eminent in gifts of "thy heavenly grace, as in thofe of the worldly "good! and as thou haft filled their hands with great ability, fo fill their hearts (in agreeable pro

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portion) with tender mercy: that they may not "grind and opprefs the inferior wretches, whom "they ought to pity and relieve; but be more re"lenting and favourable, if not for their poor bre"threns fakes, yet for their own dear fouls fakes; "because they are to expect mercy according as they "have fhewed it. But, O Lord, have more mercy

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upon them, than they had upon others. And "have mercy upon thy poor, to keep them from "falling into fuch cruel hands. Give rich men grace to be kind; and give poor men grace to be "honeft. And give all men grace, to fear thy great name. Amen.'

ઠંડ

MEDITATION LXXXVI.

Of the forgiving Charity.

MY foul, am I in God's ftead, that I fhould take upon me to forgive fins! no, it is not the fin against God, but only the hurt and injury to myself, that my Lord enjoins me to remit and not ftill that damage neither, if it be too great for me to bear; or an offence against the public, as well as against myself, and if it be not in rancour that I re

quire it, to vent my paffion, and execute vengeance? but to humble and amend the nocent, and to warn and prevent others, for inaking themfelves fo obnoxious. After I have tried all other means, with out the defired fuccefs; then, in the cause that is weighty and neceffary, I may lawfully feek my right by law. As magiftrates and parents may correct offenders, and execute juftice, as well as mercy, for promoting the ends of their government; fo even as a private perfon, in momentous cafes, may I defend and right myself, by legal remedies. But the ill will, I muft forgive, and be ready to do good, for that evil; and "have compaffion on my fellow fervant, as my Lord has had pity on me," Mat. xviii. 33. For O what is he that has wronged me, but upon equal terms with me? whereas the God whom I have offended, is infinitely above me, and others offences against me, compared with my fins against him, alas, what are they, but as an hundred pence to ten thousand talents? what is a difparaging word, a fcoff, a reproach or fome hinderance in my worldly concerns; the unkindness of one finner to another, O what is all this, to the enmity of my heart, or the injuries of my life againft the Lord? it is this runs up my fins to fuch a prodigious height, that they are treafons and rebellions of a mean fubject, against the fupreme Sovereign of the world. And fhould I go to aggrandize the poor matters against myself, and will hear of no reconciliation; but am inexorable and implacable: catching my offender by the throat, and running all to utmoft extremities; like one that delights to fifh in troubled waters, and is for forcing the litigious trade, and forward to lay hold on every occafion of advantage: O what would become of me, fhould the Lord so aggravate all that he has against me? nay, if he do not exceedingly mitigate things in my favour, I am undone for ever, because still he has me lying at his mercy; to kill

and

and caft me into hell; and tear me in pieces, when there shall be none to deliver.

O my foul, there is no forgivenefs which I am capable of fhewing, that can merit, or precede the forgiveness of God; nor be its caufe or its pattern. And wo to me, if God fhould forgive me, no better than I do others: yet is he pleased to make it the fign, the condition, and effect of my pardon: and a refreshing argument, to give me confidence of the divine mercy, for when I that am fo evil, can have fuch bowels of compaffion, O what may I expect, from the God altogether good, the original fountain of all mercy and confolation? and that he fhould oblige me to forgive, how great is the reason, that is, indeed, for me to do, as I would be glad to receive? and to what does he bind me, but what even the poorest in the world are capable of performing; for who that has nothing to give, yet cannot forgive? but be he never fo poor otherwife, yet must he have the riches of God's grace, or elfe he cannot do it. For though nature teaches us to relieve the needy; there is fomewhat fupernatural in it, heartily to forgive an injury. Therefore heathens had it not in their ethics: unlefs to condemn it, as bafe, and unworthy of a great man. But we have a better rule, that teaches us, rather to lose our own honour, than God's pardon; yea, makes us to understand that to be our trueft honour, which gives us the nearest refemblance of our heavenly Father. And we may obferve, that the weakest creatures are the angrieft, when as the nobler do fcorn to feek revenge. However be fure, my foul, there is none fo vile and undeferving in refpect of me, as I am, compared with the great and bleffed God. And here fee, O fee, and admire his goodness, to fet me even in his own room, and give me fuch an opportunity, to fit me for his mercy! because if none offended me, there would be no place then for exercifing this mercy:

but

but here now is good to be got, even by the worst of enemies, as we get honey from the bees, that have their ftings. For their wrongs give occafion for my pardon, and my pardon of them makes way for God's pardoning of me. O let me not be in

care then only to pay my debts, and owe no man any thing, but to have God's peace, and to even accounts with heaven. And when I am conscious and afraid, let me use reasons and pleadings, to encourage and embolden my belief of his mercy. That is, not to perfuade God to forgive: but to perfuade myfelf, that he will do it. And then, that I may not make the petition, where I beg to be forgiven as I do forgive, an imprecation on my head, instead of an obfignation of bleffing to myself; O may I never ufe it in hypocrify: but really do, as I extremely need to have. And though I am not bound to truft, or to make intimate friends of all that I forgive, yet may I from my heart, forgive them, as I defire God, for Chrift's fake, to forgive me.

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Blessed God! how contemptible is the forgiveness, that I am able to grant; compar"ed with the forgiveness, that I have need to find! "and how inconfiderable are my wrongs, to be re"mitted by me, to all the crimes, that I have com"mitted against thee! yet, O how fliff and hard "have I been to pass over injuries and indignities? "how apt to heighten them to extremities, and ftill "to retain anger, and bear grudges? O God, be " merciful to me, and pardon all my finful averfe"nefs to pardon my offending neighbours. And "(if not for their fakes, yet for my own) make me "wifer, than to bar up against myself, the door of "that mercy, which I am undone, if I do not find. "Yea, make me confcientious to forgive, for thy

fake.