fion of them uncertain things, of which an hundred accidents may deprive us, and therefore we cannot have an absolute contentment in them. But he who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, as he always obtains, so he obtains what is well worth his labour. Every grace he obtains, and every finful inclination he subdues, is no less than a new conveyance to him of eternal glory, a new assurance of his right and title; and this being what his very foul was made for, must be entirely agreeable to all his faculties, and throughly fatisfying. The more he advances in the way of righteousness, the more he is refreshed; the farther he travels, he is the less weary: The pursuit may be oft difficult, but the reflection is pleasant. God has fo fitted religion to the minds of men, that tho' there be labour in the undertaking, there is always a relish goes along with it. The conquering of an evil habit, or a ftrong temptation, is like the conquering of a powerful enemy; difficult to perform, but when accomplish'd fills us with mighty joy and triumph. Nor is it less delightful to do good, than it is to resist and conquer evil. What a refreshment is it to the charitable man to help the afflicted? His alms is not so acceptable to the poor creature he relieves, as the religion of it is to himself. But his fatisfaction is then at the highest, when he fees religion flourishing abroad, the kingdom of Chrift gaining ground, impiety and vice put out of countenance, and the flaves of fatan rescu'd into the glorious liberty of the fons of God: When he difcerns the characters of goodness and virtue in his children, for whom he has fo long pray'd, and on whom he has bestow'd so much pious pains to instruct them in the ways of virtue; and when he fees the neighbourhood, or any foul in it, effectually reform'd and taught by his example, friendship, influence, reproofs, or charity, it gives him something of that holy joy on earth, which angels have in heaven, where they are faid to rejoice over the repenting sinner.

(3.) AND lastly, to compleat the blessing; this hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled with an everlasting fulness in the world to come: for here the appetite of the foul is rather refreshed than filled: the righteousness of the present life is but imperfect, and he who loves it best, and labours most after it, will still be sensible of many defects and failures in it, and these are no little abatement of his fatisfaction. He observes also, beside his own deficiency, so much unrighteousness abroad; fo great a neglect of the religion of Chrift, even amongst Christians; so many dishonours done to our holy Master, by those who profess to follow him, and to be his servants, that the good man is still more uneasy upon a publick account. For as his defires after righteousness are not restrained to his own private and personal cafe, but enlarge themselves to the encrease and propagation of righteousness in the world; so if he live in an age in which the righteousness of the Gospel is not only neglected, but ridiculed and laughed at, and the religion of Christ, in the power and practice of it, like himself, condemned and crucified, he cannot but be under great disturbance and concern, notwithstanding the comfort of his own fincerity. But when that happy time shall come, when he shall enter into the joy of his Lord, amongst the spirits of just men made perfect, not only his own righteousness, which here is in its infancy, weak and expos'd, in a state of warfare, furrounded with many enemies, attack'd, and sometimes worsted, by many temptations, shall be advanced to a full strength and perfection, be placed in an entire fecurity, and rewarded with eternal glory; but he shall see the righteousness of all good people likewife perfected; perfected; he shall fee an universal righteousness, and that in its full luftre and beauty, in an innumerable company of unfinning angels, triumphant martyrs, and compleated saints. There his fatisfaction shall not drop upon him in small showers, which serve to refresh him only for a time, but he shall drink out of rivers of pleasure at the right hand of God. There shall be nothing there to tempt or to offend the righteous, * their victory over sin shall be absolute, their triumph everlasting. They shall indeed be filled with righteousness; for there every man shall be filled according to his measure; and though there be different proportions, there will be no imperfection. And thus it shall continue, as long as the Sun of righteousness endures; for they who shall be thought worthy to meet the Lord Jesus in his kingdom of glory, + shall remain for

ever with him.

* Matth. xiii. 41.

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† 1 Thef. iv. 17.

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CHAP.

H

mercy.

AVING gone through the four first Beatitudes, we come now to the fifth, and shall confider it in the same method, the text falling into the same general divifion, viz. The persons described by their moral character, [the merciful, and that correfpondent blessing pronounced upon them as their reward, the affurance of obtaining mercy for themselves.

I. FIRST, For the confideration of the perfons, and these are the merciful: and in order to know what is included in that character, we must confider the proper objects of mercy, (which may be reduc'd to three, the miserable or unfortunate, the injurious, and the guilty;) together with those acts of mercy which are suitable to their respective cafes, and ought to be shewn towards them.

(1.) To begin with the miferable, or unfortunate; whatever the circumstances are which make them so, the instances of mercy towards them are as follows.

1. THE being inwardly affected with pity and commiferation of them. Humanity it self requires this tenderness, 'tis wrought into the very frame of our natures, and none but savage, ignoble, and disingenuous spirits can be without it. The sense and interest of the common condition of mankind excites it, exposed (as all of us are) to pain and sickness, and unhappy accidents, to poverty and contempt, to losses and disappointments, and to whatever else we see our neighbours suffer; and though at present all is easy with us, we know not how foon their case may be our own; and therefore should commiserate them, as we would have others pity us upon a like occasion. 'Tis very fitly urged upon us to this purpose, by the author to the Hebrews, * Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adverfity, as being your selves also in the body. And cer tainly 'tis a very great argument of the goodness of God to us, that though he would not take away the consequence of fin, the calamities and afflictions of this mortal life, lest we should forget his justice, and our own demerits; yet he was pleased so far to pity us, as to imprint upon our nature this generous, this divine impression of his own, that we might not be without some comfort one from another, (as well as from his gracious promises and our eternal hopes) to qualifie and mitigate our forrows. For this experience teaches us, that if the fufferer meet but with a compaffionate ear, that gives attention to his story, it is a mighty cafement to his mind, it takes off half his burden, he is but half unhappy. St. Paul therefore, to strengthen the obligations of nature by those of religion, requires us to weep with those that weep; † to be kind to one another, tender-hearted; † and to