Now, therefore, if there be force in Some good Qualities, in Some of the Virtues of a good Man, to keep off the Anger and Displeasure of others, and befides there is a natural Tendency of Other of his Virtues to conciliate Friendship and Good-Will, and Others of them more particularly, yea, all together, do breed Reverence; and if Men cannot well be thought forward to injure thofe against whom they have no occafion of Displeasure, whom they find caufe to love, nay whom they efteem and revere, it should feem that in the ordinary Courfe of Things, that must remain true, which St. Peter fuppofes in this Queftion, Who is be that will. barm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? So that in the worst Times, (and thofe in which St. Peter lived were none of the best) if a Man may be as Good as he pleases to be, he may be as Happy as he needs to be, and if he be not, he hath more reason to complain of himself, than of Providence.

All the while let it be obferv'd, that tho' I have infifted upon the Moral Virtues of the three Kinds I have mention'd, as the Means of doing Well for our felves in this World, yet we are not to forget that these are not only Moral but Christian Virtues and Duties, and that the Performance of them is not neceffary only for our Good in

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this

this World, but for our Salvation also in the World to Come.

And we are to thank God, who is pleafed to give us all forts of Arguments, and to lay all kind of Obligations upon us to do our Duty.

The main Bufinefs of Religion, and of the Scriptures, I grant is this, To lead us to that Life here, which will make us Happy for ever; but it is the infinite Goodness of God, if in order to the fecurity of our eternal Welfare, he hath alfo given us Arguments from this prefent Life, and our Happiness here to engage us farther to do what he requires: And his infinite Goodnefs it is, that many things which he would have us do in order to our Salvation, are moreover neceffary for our Quiet and Security, and Reputation in this World; and in the mean while we are fo much the more to blame, and fhall be found at the last Day fo much the more inexcufable, if we neglected those Duties which were neceflary to our Salvation; the doing of which would in the mean time have confiderably contributed to our Welfare in this Life.

And accordingly my Defign in having been upon this Subject, and recommended thefe Things to your Meditations, is, That I might make you the more fenfible of the Folly of Vice and Sin, and of the great

Madness

Madness of a wicked Life, fince that befides the Hopes and Fears of another World, which are indeed infinitely the greater Motives to our Duty, the Practice of Virtue, and that Duty which God requires,is the beft for our Good in this préfent Life, for a peaceable Enjoyment of ourselves here in a Security from being harm'd by others. Righteoufnefs will be our Breaft-Plate, being next to the Divine Providence, our best Armour of Defence and Protection.

1

Not, that what has been difcours'd is to be understood otherwife than General Rules ordinarily are, which have fome Particular Exceptions, that are not fo many as to destroy the Authority of the Rules: Not that a good Man can fo certainly govern the Paffions of others, as he can his own: Their Prejudices ftill may be fo obftinate, their Ignorance fo grofs, and their Interests so cross to his, that his Innocence and Virtue may, inftead of protecting him, but expofe him to Danger.

And there is a Time when Things will not keep their ordinary Course, but as the Wife Man fays, It happeneth to the Just ac cording to the Work of the Wicked, Ecclef. 8. 14. and when good Men are perfecuted for Righteoufnéfs-fake ; and yet, even in this Cafe, fomething may be reafonably of fer'd to make it more confiftent with the

Observation of the Apostle, than one would readily believe.

I fay, after all, it is not to be fuppofed, That no good Man ever incurr'd the Dif pleasure of others, or was hurt or troubled by them; for the contrary is fo plain from the Experience of the World, that it is not to be faid of any one Man following that which is good, that he fhall certainly efcape all the Malice, and Ill-Will of bad Men; but that they are only a few, who fuffer under the Paflions of others, tho' thenfelves have given none Occafion, in comparison to those who incur Ill-Will by their own Sin and Folly; and that the best and most effectual Way to be fecure, is to follow that which is Good, which is enough to oblige a wife Man to use it, though it doth not abfolutely and infallibly fecure him. I am verily perfuaded, that a good Chriftian, that is, fuch a One, who meafures Good and Evil by the Hopes of a future Reward, and the Rule of God's Word written upon his Confcience, and in the Bible, I make no doubt, I fay, that such a One leads a fafer Life in an ill-natur'd World, than the moft difcreet Worldling of 'em all. But ftill there are fome Cafes, which yet will not often happen in the Courfe of a Man's Life, and which happen. indeed but to a few in comparison, that are

to

to be excepted out of ordinary Rules.A Man may have to do with one of fo bad a Temper, whom no Benefits can oblige, upon whom no Impreffions of Gratitude can be made by any Kindness that can be shown him. Some there may be in the World that delight in Treachery and Cruelty, and hate a good Man because of his Righte oufness, as Cain did his Brother Abel. Now in all this Difcourfe the Cafe of a good Man, that is injur'd by fuch Perfons, is to be fet afide for fuch as these are Monsters in Na; ture, and Rules are not, and cannot be made for Monsters, but only for the Natural and Ordinary Courfe of Things Such Exceptions as thefe do not deftroy. thofe Motives to Well-doing, which are founded upon the Suppofition of what is Regular and Natural. A faithful Man may chance to be fufpected, and a charitable Man to be hated, yet no Man will fay, that the Way to be Trufted is to be a Knave; or that for the procuring of GoodWill, 'tis all one whether we do Benefits or Injuries. So, Diligence, Preparation, and Wisdom will always be allowed the Means to thrive and fucceed well ; and yet there is a Time, when the Race is not to the Swift, nor the Battle to the Strong; neither. yet Bread to the Wife, nor yet Riches to Men of Understanding, nor yet Favour to Gg3

Men