be no failure of juftice upon this fcore. -The paffions of men are pretty fevere executioners, and to them let us leave this ungrateful tafk,-and rather ourfelves endeavour to cultivate that more friendly one, recommended by the apoftle,-of letting all bitterness, and wrath, and clamour, and evil-fpeaking, be put away from us,-of being kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as GOD for Chrift's fake forgave us. Amen.

SERMON XII.

Jofeph's History confidered.

Forgiveness of Injuries.

GENESIS L. 15.

And when Jofeph's brethren faw that their father was dead, they faid, Jofeph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evils which we did unto him.

HERE

are few inftances of the TH exercise of particular virtues which feem harder to attain to, or which appear more amiable and engaging in themselves, than those of moderation and the forgiveness of injuries; and when the temptations against them happen to be heightened by the bitternefs of a provocation on one hand, and the fairness of an opportunity to retaliate on the other, the inftances then are truly great and heroic. The words of the

text, which are the confultation of the fons of Jacob amongst themselves upon their father Ifrael's death, when, because it was in Jofeph's power to revenge the deadly injury they had formerly done him, they concluded in courfe, that it was in his intention,-will lead us to a beautiful example of this kind in the character and behaviour of Jofeph confequent thereupon; and as it feems a perfect and very engaging pattern of forbearance, it may not be improper to make it ferve for the ground-work of a difcourfe upon that fubject.-The whole tranfaction, from the first occafion given by Jofeph in his youth, to this last act of remiffion, at the conclufion of his life, may be faid to be a mafter-piece of hiftory. There is not only in the manner throughout, fuch a happy though uncommon mixture of fimplicity and grandeur, which is a double character fo hard to be united, that it is feldom to be met with in compofitions merely human;-but it is likewife related with the greateft variety

of tender and affecting circumstances, which would afford matter for reflections useful for the conduct of almoft every part and ftage of a man's life.But as the words of the text, as well as the intention and compafs of this difcourse, particularly confine me to speak only to one point, namely the forgivenefs of injuries, it will be proper only to confider fuch circumftances of the story, as will place this inftance of it in its juft light, and then proceed to take a more general ufe of the great example of moderation and forbearance, which it fets before us.

It seems ftrange at firft fight, that after the fons of Jacob had fallen into Jofeph's power, when they were forced by the foreness of the famine to go down. into Egypt to buy corn, and had found him too good a man even to expoftulate with them for an injury, which he feemed then to have digefted, and pioufly to have refolved into the over-ruling providence of GoD, for the prefervation of much people, how they could ever

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