man as a person in any station whatever; that there are virtues and proofs of virtue within his power, as real, as substantial, and, he may hope, as well pleasing to his Creator, as those are which lie only within the reach of the highest and the richest, and even of those amongst them who use wealth and power as they ought to do.

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"1. Now one fair rule for judging of men's characters is, to see whether they knowingly do harm. It is not in every man's power to do much good, but it is in every man's power to do ill. And this is the first point to be taken care of. The fear of God is the beginning of religion; and that fear will indicate itself by keeping us from doing any thing which we know to be evil. Now this is in the poor man's power quite as much as it is in the rich man's; namely, to be harmless. I own I count but little of those, whether rich or poor, who, at times, and by fits and starts, do good and generous actions, but at other times, and perhaps in the general course of their conduct, seem to care very little what mischief they do; who never let the harm they may do stand in the way of their inclination, or their gratification, or their end, or the compassing of their end; because I do not see in such characters the foundation of virtue, the fear of God. Were it within them, the contradictory conduct which we describe could not exist. The not doing harm or mischief knowingly in any shape whatever, or to any person or persons whatever, whether they be many, or few, or one;

whether they be able to bear the loss or unable to bear it; whether they be our acquaintance or strangers to us, and persons whom we have no cause to have any particular regard for the abstaining, I say, from doing harm of any kind is a proof of goodness which every man must give, before he can be accounted sincere in his moral and religious principles; and it is a proof which the poor of all others are the most bound to give, because it is often in point of conduct towards their neighbours, the chief proof which falls within their power.

*

The last, and probably the very last piece of writing with which he was concerned, as it seemed to have been before him at his last sitting, is the following piece of a sermon.

"Lead us not into temptation."

"I interpret this petition to be as though we should say, so dispose by thy providence and order the things of life towards us as to be favourable to our virtues.

"The final view of the petition relates to another life, because it relates to our salvation; but the subject and matter of the petition lies on this side the grave, because it respects that conduct upon which our future happiness or misery depends. The present life is the scene of our temptations; the stage and state of our trials. When we pray, therefore, not to be led into temptation, our prayer regards the present disposition of things; the order and dispensa

tion of Providence towards us as it takes place in the world in which we now live.

Now all prayer passes in which respects what this life supposes two things: first, that the affairs of life are within the ordination of God's providence, either ordinary or extraordinary. Secondly, prayer likewise supposes us to have some object at heart, to the attainment of which we request that the dispensations and ordering of events may bring us. These two things are implied in every prayer which we offer.

"When we say that the things of this life are within the ordination of God's providence, we do not presume to say or to hope that the affairs of the world are to be conducted and directed exclusively to our advantage and benefit. God is the parent of the universe. His wisdom, his benevolence, his counsels, his providence points to the good of the whole. Eyery thing, therefore, which relates to us as individuals must be in submission to that large and comprehensive view upon which the divine mind, rests. There may be a thousand cases which we can imagine, wherein our particular good, or at least what we should account and reckon our particular good, would obstruct the good of the whole; and there may be ten thousand and ten thousand times ten thousand cases of the same kind which we cannot imagine. Indeed, it must be so, if we consider the immensity and variety of interests which worlds of sentient and rational beings may or rather must comprehend, and

how small a portion of these we ever have any knowledge of, or can form any judgment about. Still there is room and range for Providence to act. This consideration does not prove that Providence is confined in its operations, for Providence may act and order things very variously. Still having the same great and ultimate end in its view, the consideration only proves that by reason of the influence, if we may so speak, which this end must have upon the measures and councils of a good and gracious God, it becomes impossible in most cases for us to judge of the propriety of particular events or situations which are permitted to take place.

"We have spoken of providence being ordinary and extraordinary. This may require some explanation. The first idea of extraordinary providence is that of a sensible providence, that is to say, when its interposition is distinguishable. This is the case with miracles undoubtedly. It may also be the case, though not directly and properly miraculous. There may be deliverances so critical, mercies so timed and circumstanced, warnings so seasonable, nay judgments may so overtake an offender and his offence, as to induce the most reasonable judgment to think of them as extraordinary providences. But there is also another signification under which providence, though not sensible by any certain marks distinguishable, may be deemed extraordinary. The general course of God Almighty's providence is towards the general good; and that may be called his general providence.

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Whenever out of the various, perhaps infinitely various ways by which the general good may be sued, he is induced by prayer or otherwise to adopt that which brings a particular good to one or to certain individuals, then his providence with respect to. them may be said to be extraordinary. It is so in fact, and as to all the benefit of it, though neither miraculous nor sensible."

His last illness was occasioned by an attack so little: different from those to which he had before been subject, that it caused no apprehension of immediate. danger, even in his medical attendant. He had been. labouring during the last year under the consequences. of one of his painful attacks, and for some time before he had been so much longer in regaining his strength, that it became obvious his constitution was impaired; but he had so often escaped the common consequence of severe inflammation, that though his bodily sufferings were most severe, not much was apprehended on that ground. He appears to have thought of and prepared for this, as being his last, or at least his most severe illness, though without any observable alteration in his usual style of conversation or mode. of life, such as might alarm those about him, or induce them to suspect he was sensible of the approach. of death. A few days before that event took place, he had made an assortment of his letters and papers, and ordered some of them to be destroyed. Some short time before that, he had been employed in his > study in tying up two or three bundles of sermons,