2 ; QneJhons, and CafesofConfcience Chap.9 Fifthly, its often Peen that whileli men confutne thetnfelves with hatred of others : the perfonhated is healthful, merry and quiet, as if imprecations made him profper : I11-grounded hatred drawinz, Gods bleíl'ing upon the party, unjutlly hated and perfeeuted : as David hoped, Pfal. 109. 28. Let them c,srfc, bot bleffe thou. tcíf, what means may we ore to prevent,or cure hatred? Afw. Confider that hatred is conceived for one of there two ends. Fitlf, either to avenge our felves, or II. Secondly, to aIren e mjuilice : which is the caufe ofGod. I. Firti, Now before we think of revenging an injury, we muff confider whe- ther we have done or received the greater wrong : For its ordinary that the offender is harder CO be reconciled, that it may not be thought that he is in the wrong. II ; Secondly, calmly confider whether the revenge may not do us more harme then the injury : For betides, that there is no enemie fo defpicable , but it is better ro let him alone then provoke him, the harme that hatred doth within us cannot be recompenced by any fweernefle ofrevenge, though there wereno other harme in it, then to delight in robbing God of that which he huh refer- ved to bin-1G: if : feeing he challengeth revenge as due tohim, excluding all o- , thers, Hcb. to. 30. IIT, 7 Thirdly, firive againfl the tenderneffe, which makes you quick to pick offen- ces, and flow to make fatisfad&ion : I3e alto ingenuousto devife arguments fo: patience : Art thou condemned being guilty ? acknowledce ]uflice: Art thou innocent ? bow under Authority. Art thou lately offended ? Its too foon to refent it. Is the Sun gone down lince ? Its then too late. Art thou wounded ? look to thy cure, not to revenge. Art thou well again ? let not thy minde be harder to heal then thy body. Art thou offended by a friend? Remember thefsiendihip more then the offence, Is it doneby an enemy ? La- bour to make him thy friend by returning good for evil. Is he too {Ironsfor thee ? Its folly to contendwith him. Is he tooweak ? Its afhame todo it, Is he thy Superiour ? Thou muff yield to him , Is he thy Inferiour ? Thou mutt fpare'him, &c. Iv. Fourthly, lince pride reprefenrs our enemies to us under a vile and unwor- thy notion, let us fetch fome good out of thatevil : Ler contempt help pati- ence to bear their provocations : For if a dog bite me, fhould 1 bite him a- gain ? Or if an Affe did kickme, fhould I kick him again ? Fifthly, when another offends thee, remember that thou hall offended others: Ir is too great a flattery of felf-love to think to be excufed by others, while{} we will excufe none: we muff thereforeput on a refolution of mutual forbear- ance. VI. Sixthly; above all, we mull remember, that we are all guilty before God, and Rand in need ofhis mercy, and unleffe we forgive we pray again(}our felves, andbeg condemnationevery time we fay the Lords 'Prayer. VII. Sevenrhly, meditate oftenupon death, which will conduce much tothe lay- ingdown ofhatred : Let as not be fohot in our diflenfions : deathwill quench our heat within a fewdayes : as when two little fifhes are contending for a Fly, the Pike comes and devoures them both : fo whileff we quarrel about fmall rhings, death is coming, which will fwallow up him that is in the right, and him that is in the wrong ; the Vanquifher, and the vanquifhed, and fend both to plead their caufes before the great Judge : and it will go ill with us, if we appear in Judgement without Repentance and Faith, and without charity to our neighbours they cannot be found : why fltould our hatred be long, lince our lives are fofbort ? Iramortalirsm debet efe mortalis. II. Secondly, to temper our hatred again(} injuffice andfin, let us confider that for
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