from everything like trouble and misery, who are continually roaming about in a larger or fmaller circle of noify and ftunning amufements, and as it were fport, laugh, trifle away the whole of their lives. But be not deceived; this is not the road to real, lafting happiness. Levity is the character of fools, and folly degrades and leffens the man, and punishes him fooner or later with remorfe and trouble. Mere fenfual pleasure is feldom harmless, still feldomer lafting, is frequently pernicious. Wild tumultuous joys are generally attended with furfeit, difguft, painful fufferings; and all these things, even when they are the most innocent, leave the heart empty, and never fatisfy the mind, which requires nobler food and employment. No, bleffed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Bleffed is the man to whom ferioufness and reflection are neither strange nor irkfome, who frequently in the folemn hour of folitude bewails his fins and failings and those of his brethren, is indifferent and infenfible to no fpecies of human misery, is not ashamed of the tears of penitential forrow, of grief, of pity, of affection, which a tender confcience, a fenfible, a fympathifing heart and the ardent afpiration after fuperior perfection, fo frequently cause him to fhed! His seriousness promifes and procures him far more real unadulterated pleafure than the levity and wantonnefs of the fool. His forrow will procure him permanent joy; his generous, and humane tears will open to him plentiful fources of comfort. The testimony testimony of a good confcience will bless him, peace and ferenity will reign within his breast; and, when the world with its lufts is paffing away and the pleafure of the finner is changing into pain, then will joy embrace him, and his happiness will begin to be truly great. Perhaps you think thirdly, my pious hearers, that, in order to be happy, in order to maintain our confequence and to live fecurely in the world, we should not patiently put up with an injury, fhould let no affront pass unrefented, should submit to none, concede to none, affert all our rights to the uttermost, and hearken to the demands of every rouzed or irritated paffion. But be not deceived, calls Jefus to us; this is not the way that leads to content and inward peace. Thus you will open to yourselves inexhauftible fources of difquietude, of trouble, of perplexity and remorfe. Thus will you repulfe your brethren from you and close their hearts against you. Thus you can never have the true enjoyment of life. No, bleffed are the meck: for they fhall inherit the earth. Bleffed is the man, who has the command of himself, who knows how to controul his anger, to fubdue his antipathies, and is not under the authority of any impetuous paffion! Bleffed is he who is of an amicable, meek, inoffenfive temper, who has learnt candour and indulgence, to overlook failings, to fupport loffes, to fuffer wrong, to forgive injuries! He will live far more fecurely, will enjoy his life far more quietly and fully, will VOL. II. D D love love more and be more beloved; and the bleffednefs of love and the fuavity of conscious peace and the elevating fentiment of felf-poffeffion, will make every facrifice easy to him and fuperabundantly compenfate every loss. Perhaps you may view fourthly all the bounds in general which the precepts of religion and virtue fet to your appetites and paffions, as inconvenient, as obstacles to your happinefs; perhaps you may imagine, that you would be completely happy, if you could with impunity break these bounds; if you could entirely give the rein to your defires and pursuits of worldly goods, of outward diftinctions, of fenfual pleasures, if you could throw off the reftraints of religion and virtue; perhaps you pity them as unhappy who have nothing fo much at heart as to be always becoming wifer and better and more pious. But how little are they, how much are you to be pitied! You feek your liberty in bondage, your honour in what is degrading to man, your fatiety in things that are ever whetting your defires, but never fatisfy them. No, bleffed are they which do hunger and thirst after righte oufness for they fhall be filled. Bleffed are they who understand the whole value of virtue and piety, apprehend their entire beauty and lovelinefs, refign themselves entirely to their fervice, with whom the inward fpiritual perfection is everything, and who as earnestly pant after it and as ftrenuoufly pursue it, as the hungry and the thirsty long for for food and refreshment. Their defires are directed towards the worthieft objects, towards objects that are worthy of their most cordial affection and their most zealous endeavours, and never are these noble defires deceived, never does God, the protector and rewarder of righteoufness and virtue, allow them to want means for their gratification. They are fure not to mifs of the mark at which they are aiming, and as they perpetually proceed from one stage of perfection to another, fo they advance from one degree of happiness to another. Perhaps fifthly (celeftial wisdom addreffes us by Jefus,) perhaps you imagine, that the man who would be happy fhould think folely on himself, care folely for himself, concern himself about others only fo far as his own interefts permit, fhut the avenues of his heart against all disagreeable fenfations which the fight of mifery may excite, and not fuffer himself to be disturbed in the enjoyment of pleasure by any participation in the distresses of another. But believe me, this is not the way to happiness. By this means you contract your heart and the sphere of your activity. By this means you exclude yourselves from many ample and pure fources of pleasure. By this means you can neither promise yourselves the good pleasure of God, nor the love and affiftance of your fellow-creatures. No, blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Bleffed is the man whofe heart is pervad ed by benevolence and compaffion and officiousness towards all his brethren, is moved at the mifery of another as at his own, who is fain to weep with them that weep, haftes to relieve the wants of the poor and needy, and does good to all men according to his ability. Thus both his heart and his sphere of operation expand alike, he lives in others as well as in himself, multiplies as it were his exiftence, and enjoys the pureft, the divineft joys; the joys of beneficence. Him God will not be extreme to judge, him will the merciful parent of mankind treat far more graciously and indulgently still than he treated his brethren, and all his fellow-creatures will vie with one another to fhew him juftice and indulgence, and to afford him help and relief in the time of need. Perhaps you think farther, my pious hearers, that a continued attention to one's-felf, an unremitted vigilance over all the defires and appetites of our hearts, the care to fubmit them all to the will of God and to keep them all innocent and pure, the defeat and mortification of all inordinate fleshly lufts, which religion and virtue enjoin, that these are endeavours and performances that fet the most grievous bounds to your pleasure and are not compatible with your happiness. But from what follies and iniquities, from what enormities, from what thraldom and what mifery will you be fecure, unless order, innocence, purity prevail in your minds, unless you keep your heart, that primary fource |