Serm. CXXXVI. confider'il, as our irxarrFpÌe. Such a difficult Virtue as this had need of all forts of Inducements to engage us to the Pra&ice of it. And therefore Our Bletfed Lord did not think it enough ftri&ly to enjoyn it, and to enforce it upon us by the Molt powerful Confide- rations, teaching us in our daily Prayers, to beg Mercy and Forgivenefs of God upon this Condition, That weforgive others, and not to hope for it upon other Terms; telling us, that as we demean our felves toward one another in this Cafe of Injuries and Provocations, fo God will deal with us; Ifye for- give Men their Trefpaffes, your Heavenly Father will al, /o forgive you : but ifye forgive not Men their Tofajs, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your TrefGPs, Nothingcan,beurged upon us with greater. Force than this Dutyis,becaufe upon our Practice and Performance of it, all our Hopes of Mercy and Forgivenefs from God, are furpended: But yet it is difficult after all this; and therefore to allure us note powerfully to the Pradice of it, our Lord hath given us the Example of it in the whole Courfe of his Life ; in which being continually affaulted with Injuries and Provocations, he had perpetual Occafion for the Practice of Förgivenefs ; and that in greater Intiances, and upon Occafion of greater Injuries, than anyof us are capable of receiving. He who could never (land in need of Forgivenefs from Men, who needednone from God, who had it always in his Power to have revenged with Eafe, and to the utniofl, all the Provocations and Affronts thatwere offer'd to him ; he, who had none of thofe powerful Inducements to Forgivenefs which we have, was thus ready to forgive; and did it perpetually, upon the greaten, upon innumerable Occafions ; he forgave his Enemies all their ill Will toward him, and all their vile and ma- licious Ufage of him throughout his whole Life : But mofe remarkably at his Death, when the Provocations were greaten and molt violent, when they fell thick and in Storms upon him, and when they were more grievous and pier- Bing, in the very Agonyand Anguilla of his Suffering ; in thefe hard and pref fing Circumftances, he was fo far from breathing out Threatningand Revenge againft the Authors of his cruel Sufferings, that withhis latt Breath he did molt effe&wally declare his free Forgivenefs of then, and perfect Charity toward them, by his fervent Prayer to God for them; Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do. q. And Lally, Our Saviour is likewife a Pattern to us of the molt needful Virtues, and for the Pra&ice whereof there is the greaten and molt frequent Occafion in Humane Life. Several of there I have already mentioned tinder the former Heads; has Sin- cerity, which bath an univerfal Influence upon all our A&ions, and is a grin- cipal Ingredient into all the Duties and Services which we are to perform to God and Men ; Humility and Meeknefs, for the Exercife whereof there is al- moll continual Occafion in all our Converfation with others. Therehavebeen fpoken to, I (hall therefore inftance in foone others, which are likewife of great and frequent Life in Humane Life. (i.) The great Humanity of his Carriage and Deportment, of which he gave manifold affiances, in his free and familiar-Converfation with all forts of Peo- ple. Hedid- not defpife the meaneft. How familiarly did he talk with the Woman of Samaria ? lnfomuch that his Difciples were offended at it, and mar- veiled that he tal/'d with her. He did not decline the Converfation of the worth of Men, where he had any Hopeof making them better by it ; and tho' bis companying with Publicans and Sinners was often objected as Matter of Scandal- to him, yet he would not for that Reafon neglect any Opportunity of doing Good. He was affable to his Inferiours, to the meaneft Perron that had occafion to fpeak with him; yea he rebuked his Difciples, for forbidding the little Children to come to him, They would have kept them from hint, becaufe they could not imagine to what purpofe they fhould be permitted to conic to him: But the they were not capable of his Inftru&ions, yet they were of his Kindnefs and Bleffìng. He took them up in his Arms, and laid his Hands upon them, and bled them ; and be propofed them to his Difciples asEmblems of that Innocencyand Simplicity, without which no Man (hall enter into the Kingdomof God. Hh His 233
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