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of our heavenly Father; we cannot follow the pattern, and keep the commandments, and communicate with the Spirit, of our blessed Redeemer; unless we "put away from us all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, with all malice: unless we be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us." And therefore, unless we do these things, we cannot enjoy the accomplishment of his "exceeding great and precious promises," nor enter into his rest.

The Scripture is express to the point. "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses k." "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." "Without," that is, excluded from

k Matt. vi. 15.

Gal. v. 19, 20, 21.

the city of God and from the tree of life,

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are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie; these shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death." Whilst on the other hand we are assured, as one condition of future happiness, that "if we forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will also forgive us:" that patience under unmerited suffering is "acceptable with God":" that "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price:" and that they, who are partakers of Christ's sufferings, by submitting,

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as

Christians," to reproach and persecution, shall, “when his glory shall be revealed, be glad also with exceeding joy P." In a word, the blessings of being called the children of God, and of partaking of mercy in his heavenly kingdom, are promised by the Gospel to "the poor in spirit," to "the merciful," and "the peacemakers." And it is the design of the Gos

4.

Rev. xxii. 15. xxi. 8.
P Ib. iv. 13.

⚫ 1 Pet. ii. 20.

• Ib. iii.

pel to prepare men for the enjoyment of the promises, by enabling them to procure those qualities, on which the blessings will be vouchsafed. Would you enjoy the delights of heaven? You must labour to acquire heavenly tempers. A malicious and vindictive disposition cannot hope to be admitted into the mansions of everlasting peace: nor, if admitted, would it be capable of enjoying their delights.

To conclude the motives, which the Gospel holds out for the putting away of all malice and the cultivation of lovingkindness, show the cause of the distinction, which I before noticed to prevail, between the Christian and the Heathen characters. With these motives the Heathens had for the most part no acquaintance. But being clearly revealed to the followers of Christ, they ought to have, and, if suffered to operate duly, they will have, the effect of improving us continually in that quality," which is the very bond of peace and of all virtues, and without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before God." If

* Collect for Quinquagesima.

they do not produce in us such an effect; if, notwithstanding we call ourselves Christians, we are malicious, unforgiving, and revengeful; we are no better than Heathens; nay, in reality, we are worse, and in a worse state than they. Ignorance may be pleaded, as an extenuation of their sin. But we who "have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law" by that law which expressly teaches us to love, to forbear, and to forgive one another, as we hope to be forgiven of God for Christ's sake and which unequivocally admonishes us of the doom reserved for those wicked and malicious servants, who " from their hearts forgive not, every one his brother, their trespasses "."

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SERMON XXII.

THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE A MOTIVE WITH ST. PAUL TO HUMILITY AND DILIGENCE.

1 COR. XV. 9, 10.

For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God:

But by the grace of God I am what I am; and his grace which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

IN the whole compass of the sacred volume, there is no character, after that of our blessed Lord himself, which more strongly calls for our attention, and is more entirely worthy of our imitation, than the character of the holy Apostle Paul.

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