insult over a spirit already humbled in secret: that the returns of kindness are sweet; and that there is neither honour, nor virtue, nor utility in resisting them. No. 196.] THE DOCTRINES OF CHRIST. [SUNDAY. THE doctrines of our Saviour are far superior to those of any other instructor. It may be truly said, he spake as never man spake. He taught as a teacher sent from God. He laid down the most excellent principles of religion and virtue; he enjoined the purest and most perfect discipline; he offered the most powerful assistance, and held up to view the most noble rewards. And, lastly, he hath made an ample discovery of a future state; and clearly represented the awful process of the general judgment, when all who have ever lived upon earth, shall stand before his high tribunal, to be judged according to what they have done in the body, whether it be good or evil. No. 197.] CONSOLATION. [MONDAY. Submit thyself to heav'ns indulgent care, The tracks of providence like rivers wind, Yes, there is a Being benignant above us, To shelter in sorrow, and cherish in care; Yes, there is a power, to pity and love us— A balm for the wounded, a tear for the tear; The Being who reigns o'er yon beautiful sphere, Reads the heart, and remembers the sigh of contrition, Nor bruises the reed that is broken and sear. ENGLISH PROVERBS. [TUESDAY. No. 198.] "WELL begun is half ended." All the actions and enterprises of mankind labour under the reflection of this quaint moral sentence. It intimates that persons should be very deliberate and advised in the beginning of every undertaking; for that to begin well is the only way to quicken and dispatch the end, let it be what it will. It intimates that there is a great deal of difficulty in beginning well, and that a false step at first, is with great difficulty, if ever, recovered afterwards: that the work does not cost half so much trouble as the design of it; that it is an easy matter to make way, when an opening is once given. It reflects upon false foundations and foolish projects, and it holds good from morality and worldly affairs to religion, that a good beginning is a fair step to a good ending.' No. 199.] [WEDNESDAY. ON THE NEGLECT OF EARLY IMPROVEMENT. THERE is not a greater inlet to misery and vices of all kinds, than the not knowing how to pass our vacant hours. When the former part of our life has been nothing but vanity, the latter end of it can be nothing but vexation. How can they apply themselves to studies, who have let youth slip away without an acquired relief for reading, or taste for other rational satisfactions? How much otherwise is it with those who have treasured up an inexhaustible fund of knowledge! When a man has been laying out that time in the pursuit of some great and important truth, which others waste in a circle of gay follies, he is conscious of having acted up to the dignity of his nature; and from that consciousness there results that serene complacency which, though not so violent, is much preferable to the pleasures of animal life. No. 200.] ADMONITIONS. [THURSDAY. To do ill, in any circumstances, is the effect of a corrupt heart. To do well, when there is nothing to fear, is the merit of a common man: but to do well, when a man exposes himself thereby to the greatest dangers, is peculiar to the truly virtuous. When the conscience awakes, and the blush of confused and trembling guilt yet varies the complexion, the sin is not of long standing, or of deep root; but when the mind seeks to disguise itself from the danger when playing upon the edge of the precipice, the victim willingly deludes itself, and appears hard and callous to every admonitory caution, then is the moment of alarm. No. 201.] MODESTY. [FRIDAY. MODESTY is the reflection of an ingenuous mind, when a man has committed an action for which he either censures himself, or fancies that he is exposed to the censures of others. A man truly modest is as much so when he is alone as in company; and as subject to a blush in his closet, as when the eyes of multitudes are upon him. A man without modesty, is lost to all sense of honour and virtue. No. 202.] ASSURANCE. [SATURDAY. ASSURANCE is the faculty of a man's possessing himself, or of saying and doing indifferent things, without any uneasiness or emotion of the mind. That which generally gives a man assurance, is a moderate knowledge of the world; but above all, a mind fixed and determined in itself to do nothing against the rules of honour and decency. An open and assured behaviour is the natural consequence of such a resolution. A man thus armed, if his words or actions be at any time misrepresented, retires within himself, and from a consciousness of his own integrity, assumes force enough to despise the little censures of ignorance and malice. No. 203.] THE PARABLES OF CHRIST. [SUNDAY. THERE are two ways of communicating knowledge and instruction: by plain and direct precepts, of which the greatest part of the Sermon on the Mount consists; and by moral similitudes, or fables, such as the parables which our Saviour used in order to recommend his doctrines and enforce their duty upon men. The parables are full of sublime truths and important instructions. Read them with attention. and candour, and endeavour to discover the spiritual wisdom and good sentiments which are concealed in them: consider their particular meaning and design; the main object and leading point in view, and bring the application home to your own mind. |