ly and of choice; it is our duty; he did it for our fakes; we do it for our own : we did not deferve it of him; but he hath merited it of us.

Our Lord did not, like the Pharifees, give strict precepts to others, which they themselves did not follow. They faid, and did not; laid heavy burdens upon others, and grievous to be borne, when they themselves would not touch them with one of their fingers: nor like the philofophers, who fpake fine and glorious things of goodness and virtue, but did much like other men'; gave ftrict rules to others, but lived loofely themfelves; and therefore it is no wonder that their difcourfes had fo little effect upon the lives and manners of men, and were fo unavailable to the reformation of the world. Precepts of great strictnefs and feverity are like to be obeyed very flowly and faintly, unlefs they be fweetned and made eafy by the familiar practice of thofe that give them. In a way that is rugged and difficult, full of trouble and danger, it is not enough to bid men go on; but he that bids them, muft go before them, and take them by the hand, and give them an example to follow his fteps; without this, rules and precepts are very dry things, and give but faint and cold encouragement, Cæfar's example prevailed much more upon his foldiers, than his word of command. No man ever difcourfel better of magnanimity, and greatnefs of mind, in great dangers and calamities, than Tully does; and yet when it came to the trial, no man ever behaved himself more faintly, and fhewed greater dejection of mind than he did; fo that it is hard to fay, whether his difcourfes are more apt to raise, or his example to damp a man's fpirit. Seneca writes with wonderful wit and smartness, with great fineness and force of argument, about the contempt of the world and wealth; but then to confider how he flowed in wealth himfelf, and how intent he was to heap up riches beyond measure, would make a man more apt to defpife him, than the world. So neceffury is it that precepts, especially of great difficulty, fhould be backed and enforced by example, and that fevere rules fhould be mollified, and made eafy by the practice of those who prefcribe them. And this our Lord took particu

lar

lar care to do in those precepts of his, which seem to offer the greatest violence to the common bent and inclination of human nature.

And fo he did likewife in thofe virtues which are fo difficult upon the account of temptation from without, as well as of inclination from within. Not to infift upon his firm refiftance of all the temptations to ambition, which made not the leaft impreffion upon him; the offer of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, had no influence upon him. He was fometimes in great favour with the people, and mightily applauded by them, for fpeaking as never man fpake, and doing fuch things, as no man ever did but he was as little moved by their applaufe, as he was dejected by their reproaches. When the people would have made him King, to qualify him the better, as they thought, to be the Meffias, he would not take fo much notice of the offer, as to refufe it, but filently withdrew himself, that they knew not where to find him.

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But that which I fhall particularly take notice of under this head, is his great meeknefs; which is a very difficult virtue, if we confider the peevishness and infirmity of human nature, and the frequent temptations to paffion and anger, which occur in human life, and thefe very fudden and furprising: fo that there is nothing wherein wife men do oftener betray their own weakness, than in the matter of fudden anger. Mofes, the greatest of all the prophets that had been, and who it seems was naturally of a meek temper, having this teftimony given him by the fpirit of God, that he was the meekeft man upon earth; yet he mifcarried in this matter, and not being able to bear the continual perversenefs of that people, loft his temper, and fell into an irregular paffion. But our bleffed Lord, whofe temper was perpetually affaulted with the highest provocations in all kinds, ftill maintained the evenness and meeknefs of his fpirit.

The dulnefs and flownefs of his difciples to underftand and believe what he had fo plainly taught, and fo often inculcated upon them, was a great trial of patience; which yet provoked him no farther, than to a just rebuke of their fault. The hardest words he ever

gave them, were, O unwife and flow of heart to believe! how long fhall I fuffer you? And when he was in the height of his forrow and trouble, and his difciples were fo unco cerned for him, as to fall asleep, in the fame breath that he reproves their drowsiness, he makes an excufe for it: Can je not watch with me one hour? The spirit indeed is willing; but the flesh is weak. This carriage from his friends and followers, when he ftood in most need of their comfort and affiftance, and his foul was exceeding forrowful, even to the death, was a great temp tation to anger, efpecially falling upon a fore and afflicted mind: And yet it was fo far from provoking his anger, that it rather moved his pity toward them.

His tharp reproofs of the Scribes and Pharifees were but a neceffary feverity, and a juft expreffion of his indignation at the fulfom hypocrify of fuch great pretenders to piety and devotion; for he knew their hearts. His whipping of the buyers and fellers out of the temple, the only action of his life in which there appears any transport of anger, was no other but a becoming zeal for the honour of God's houfe, which he faw fo notorioufly profaned; which zeal was warranted, after the example of Phineas, by the extraordinary occafion of it. In all his other actions, he was perfectly meek and lowly in spirit, void of pride, one of the chief caufes of inordinate anger. We cannot fay he was never angry; but, whenever he was fo, which was very feldom, he finned not; it was upon great and just occafion, and never to any undue degree.

And this is the more remarkable, because he was very apt to receive the impreffions of other paffions; love and pity, which eafily moved him to kindness and compaffion, He could not forbear to weep, when he faw Lazarus his friends lamenting over his grave, though he knew the caufe of their forrow would foon be removed, and turned into joy, by his refurrection to life. Nay, he had not only this tenderness towards his friends, but even to his greatest enemies. When he looked upon Jerufalem, and forefaw the terrible revenge that God would take upon. his enemies and murderers, and beheld, at a great diftance, the dreadful calamities that were coming upon them, he could not refrain from tears, He allowed hime" VOL. VIII. Y

Telf

felf in these innocent and humane paffions; but, where there was danger of tranfgreffing, as there is in no paffion more than that of anger, he was continually upon his guard, and governed himself with great care, and never gave way to it, but upon evident and juft occafion; and was never tranfported to any undue degree.

And yet he lived and died almost under continual provocations to it; not only from his friends and followers, but from all forts of perfons, provocations of the highest nature; if the moft fpiteful reproaches and injurious ufage, and the most cruel perfecutions and fufferings, from the hands of those whom he had by all ways endeavoured to oblige; if the contradictions of finners whom he came to fave; in a word, if the greateft malice, accompanied with the highest ingratitude; if any, if all of thefe be provocations of a high nature, he was almoft continually, living and dying, exercised with thefe. And how did he demean himfelf in the midst of all thefe provocations ? With the greateft meeknefs and mildnefs imaginable, anfwering their bittereft reproaches and cruellest usage, either with calm reafonings, or with meek filence; that, by the reasonablenefs and meeknefs of his anfwers and carriage, he might either convince or mollify them! When his enemies charged him with the profanation of the fabbath, he only reafons the matter fairly with them, asking them, whether it was lawful to do good, or to do evil on the fabbath day? telling them, that the fabbath was made for man, and not man for the fabbath; bidding them go and learn what that meant, I will have mercy, and not facrifice. When they accufed him for being a magician, and cafting out devils by the prince of the devils; he convinceth them by reafon, that this was malicious and groundless charge, telling them, that kingdom divided against itself cannot ftand; and that, if he, by Satan, caft out Satan, his kingdom was divided against itself, and must fall. When they upbraided him for companying with publicans and finners; he juftifies the thing, by telling them, that the whole have no need of the phyfician, but the fick; that he came not to call the righteous, but finners to repentance. When they charged him with blafphemy, for faying to the man fick of the pally, Thy

fins be forgiven thee; he only asks them this question, Which is easier to fay, Thy fins be forgiven thee; or, Take up thy bed and walk? When they called him by the odious name of impoftor and feducer of the people, he makes no fharp answer, but appeals to his miracles, and the works which he had done among them, as an unqueftionable teftimony that he came from God. When they took up ftones to throw at him, he opposed to this hard ufage, only foft, gentle words, if, by that means, he might stay their rage, John x. 32. Many good works have I fhewed you from my Father; for which of these works do you ftone me? Thus, upon all occafions, he answers their malice and rage, not with boisterous paffion, but by calm reafon and argument: and, notwithstanding it had little effect, he continues this way to the laft; and, as the malice of his enemies was invincible, fo was his meekness. In his laft fufferings, when he was fo rudely and injuri oufly treated at his trial, and one of the High-priest's officers ftruck him, in the open face of the court, he only fays to him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why fmiteft thou me? What could be faid more meekly? What more reasonably? And when, in the extremity of his fufferings, the High-priests, and the foldiers, and the people, all joined together to revile him, and infult over his mifery, in the most barbarous and cruel manner; inftead of breaking out into paf. fion in this anguish of his foul, he pours out his prayers to God on their behalf, and makes the most charitable excuse and apology for them that their crime was poffibly capable of: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. While he felt the bitter effects of their malice, he imputes it to their ignorance. Here is an example of meeknefs fit for the Son of God to give, and much more fit for the fons of men to follow; for, as the wife fon of Syrach fays excellently, Pride was not made for men, nor furious anger for him that was born of a

woman.

And, having fuch an example left us of this great virtue, let us do likewife, Gince, as St Peter tells us, he fuffered, with all this meeknefs and patience, to leave us an example, that ye might follow his steps; who, when