ftrong for our Charity, and ought to prevail over all Confiderations to the contrary. In other Cafes we may make a difference in our giving, and ufing our Chriftian Prudence we may, and ought to relieve those in the first place who are our Relations and Friends, and who are moft deferving; but here there is no room for confidering; his extreme Mifery recommends him to our Bounty, and it is our Duty to fuccour him in his Need, and thereby preserve him from perishing; tho' he be the greatest Enemy we have in the World, at fuch a time we must relieve him before the deareft Friend we have, who is not in the like Extremity.

Thus we see that our Charity ought to be univerfal, and without Exception; and for this we can have no greater Example, no nobler Pattern, than the eternal Fountain of all Goodness, even God himself, who does Good Pfal. cxlv. to all, and whofe tender Mercies are over all 9. his Works; he maketh his Sun to rife on the Matth. v; Evil and on the Good, and fendeth Rain on the 45Juft and on the Unjuft. Wherefore that we may fhew ourselves the * Children of the moft High, we should labour as much as we can to imitate the divine Goodness, and be

* Τῷ γδ ὄν]ι εἰκὼν τὸ Θεῖ ἄνθρωπΘ ἐνεργειῶν, &c. Clem. Alex. Στραμ. λογ. β'.

merciful,

36.

Luke vi. merciful, as our Father which is in Heaven is merciful. The more extenfive our Love is, the more shall we be like God; wherefore, as far as it is poffible, let our Love, like his, be unbounded and univerfal, and let us do Good unto all we can.

Luke vi. 35.

And in thus doing Good to Men, we are not to* regard our own Profit and Intereft; we are to diftribute our Goods for the Ufe of others, without any Prospect of Advantage to ourselves. We muft do Good, and lend, hoping for nothing again. For if we give, and at the fame time hope to receive; if we lend, with a view of gaining as much again, we do as it were fell our Help and Affistance, we profit by the Neceffity of thofe to whom we give, and do but increase their Mifery, under the Pretence of making it less. Such a defigning, felf-interested Charity may agree well enough with the Principles of a Turk, or an Heathen, but is utterly inconfistent with that Largeness and Opennefs of Heart which muft adorn the Life of a Chriftian. He that bestows a Charity for the fake of his own Intereft, rewards himself, and pays himself with his own Hands; but he that scatters his Gifts

* Id enim piè, id juftè, id humanè fit, quod fine fpe recipiendi feceris. eíque potiffimum tribue, a quo nihil fperes. Lact. lib. 6. cap. 11.

among

among the Poor and Indigent, among fuch as are not able to make any Requital, thinks of no Return for his Benefits from his Neighbour, but expects his Reward from God; and this is what Charity would have us do, fhe bids us contribute as much as we can to the Happiness of others, and not to be too intent upon our own Things. Charity feeketh not her own.

VII.

CHAP. VII.

Charity is not eafily provoked.

C

*

Harity is not eafily provoked. Charity is not of a froward, touchy, and fretful Temper, is not foon moy'd to Anger, and presently put into a Rage, and led away by Violence and Precipitation; fhe is

* Ου παροξύνε)· πάντα πάχετα κ παροξύνεται πρὸς ὀργήν. Oecumen. Non facilè irritatur, Aug. & Eft. in avansa weis sylw, Theophyl. Non profilit in iram. Adeò delicta & negligentias fratrum fert, ut non valdè exacerbetur, Seb. Meyer. Etiam in graviffimis caufis non facilè iram effundit, fed retinet amorem ac dilectionem erga eos, in quos jure ac meritò videretur poffe irafci, Petr. Mart. Non excitatur ad contentiones & certamina, Calv. Non modò non irafcitur fine caufâ, fed in justâ commotione modum fervat. Grot. Non exiftimandum elt ob hoc charitatis ingenium omnem iræ affectum à piis amoveri; ira non eft fruftra in animis hominum à Deo collocata, valet enim ad reprimenda & caftiganda quæ verè noxia funt, &c. Petr. Mart.

never angry without a Caufe, and never takes Pet upon little frivolous Occafions; and when fhe hath juft Cause given her to be angry, she takes care to reftrain the Paffion within its due Bounds and Limits, and is not more or longer angry than in reafon fhe ought to be. We are not to imagine, as fome Philofophers have done, that Anger is in itself unlawful. Anger is an Affection which God hath thought fit to implant in our Natures, and nothing can proceed from him that is fimply, and as fuch, evil; nothing can be done or defigned by him upon any Account in vain; this, as well as the reft of our Paffions, may be ferviceable to good and excellent Purposes, if we do but regulate the Motions of it with Prudence and Sobriety. There is a virtuous Anger as well as a vicious; there is an Anger which is not only innocent, but commendable; and there are fome Cafes, in which it is not only lawful, but we may even do well to be angry. * 'Tis the Duty of a Father to angry with his Children, and of a Mafter to be angry with his Scholars, when they

be

* Iræ affectus nobis datur ad coercenda peccata eorum, qui funt in noftrâ potestate, ut arctiore disciplinâ minor ætas ad probitatem juftitiamque formetur, &c. Lat. lib. 6. cap. 19.

Ἐὰν δέ τις ὀργίζεται ευλόγως καὶ ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ καὶ καλὰ ζῆλον avaμalinov, & xylanehoa. Theodoret. in Matt. 5. 22.

defpife

Prov.xxix.

defpife Inftruction, and will not hearken to wife and wholsome Admonitions; when they tranfgrefs the Rules of Morality, and break the Laws of God, and run into Sin, 'tis the Duty of their Inftructors to put on an angry Countenance and auftere Looks, and to use not only Reproof, but Correction, when the mild Addreffes of Reason and the gentle Arts of Persuasion will do no good; hereby they give a Check to Vice, and encourage Virtue; by their Anger and Severity they drive away Prov. xxii. Foolishness, and while they use the Rod, they 15 give Wifdom. And certainly fuch Anger 15. as this can in no wife be blameable, in as much as with regard to its End it is defign'd to do Good. And there is an Anger too which deferves the highest Praise and Commendation, which is fo far from being a Sin, that it is a noble and an excellent Grace; and that is, when we are angry for the Caufe of God and Religion; to be moved with Indignation when we hear the Name of God profan'd, and his Word and Truth dishonour'd, when we see his Sanctuary polluted, and Things facred impioufly trampled upon; to be incenfed against Sin, to take up Wrath

* Οργίζεται και παλὶς ὑῷ, ἀλλὰ κηδόμβρΘ. Chryf. εἰς по жало

out