this indirectly, and perhaps innocently. They do it by giving too much reputation and influence to the wealthy class of the community, by paying too much homage and respect to gold, and by withholding from the virtuous poor, that respect which their conduct merits. We cannot set this truth before you in a more forcible light, than by relating from memory, an anecdote of Dr. Franklin, with which we will conclude. The rich merchants and professional men in Philadelphia proposed to form themselves into a social circle from which all mechanics were to be excluded. The paper, drawn up for the purpose, was presented to Dr. Franklin for his signature. On examining its contents, he remarked, that he could not consent to unite his name, inasmuch as, by excluding mechanics from their circle, they had excluded God Almighty, who was the greatest mechanic in the universe!

SERMON XV.

ON FORGIVENESS.

"And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." EPHESIANS IV. 32.

A TENDER heart is the boon of kind heaven, and forgiveness is a virtue too little exercised in the common intercourse of life. Men are too apt to be in character Pharisees. They are too apt to love those that love them, and to hate their enemies. Retaliation is inconsistent with the spirit of the Gospel, and is a vice deeply to be stigmatized and deprecated by all lovers of peace and morality. By retaliation, we are to understand the injuring of another because he has injured us. This spirit of revenge betrays a contracted mind, in which the feelings of compassion and forbearance never found a permanent abode. A man of a peevish, irritable, and revengeful temperament, is to be pitied, instead of being injured in return. By retaliating the evil he may have done, you involve yourself in the same condition of meanness, and in your turn become the injurer.

All those men, whose names are rendered illustrious and immortal, have been distinguished

for a spirit of forbearance, kindness, and mercy. Were there no examples of rashness, no failings and imperfections among men, there would then be no opportunity to distinguish ourselves by a spirit of forgiveness. God has so constituted the present existence of his creatures, that the perfections of his divine character might be manifested to them in the unchanging exercise of his paternal compassion and forgiveness; and thus afford them an opportunity to imitate himself in the exercise of those exalted feelings, which emanate from heaven.

We are not, however, to understand, that tenderness of heart and forgiveness are to be exercised to the utter exclusion of the principles of honor and justice. If our children offend, or our dearest earthly friend do wrong, we are to manifest the feelings of tenderness and forgiveness, but these ought not to induce us to overlook their crimes or faults, by remaining silent in regard to their vices. This would be suffering our compassion to degenerate into weakness. It would in fact be hardness of heart. It would betray a spirit of indifference to their dearest interest, as by our silence, they might remain in blindness to the demerit of their deeds, and hurry on to the ruin of their reputation, and consequently, of their earthly happiness. True tenderness of

heart makes us watchful over the conduct of:

those we love, and with whom we are connected in life; moves us to lay naked before them their faults, so that they may early correct them, and thus inspire their hearts with tenderness, and prompt them to regard the happiness, feelings, and welfare of others. It is immaterial how near and dear your friend may be, you should, by the feelings of mercy, be induced to tell him his faults, however much it may wound his heart.

The

wise man says, "the wounds of a friend are faithful; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Too many parents, for want of determination of character, and for suffering their compassion to degenerate into weakness and remaining blind to the faults of their children, have seen them come to some disgraceful end, a state prison, or even a gallows. This, instead of being true tenderness of heart, was infatuation, and the worst species of hardness and insensibility to the welfare of their offspring. On the other hand, we ought never to suffer a spirit of revengeful indignation to slumber in our bosoms, ready, on every trivial occasion, to awaken into resentment and retaliation. In fine, we ought to imitate our God in feelings and conduct towards each other, as it is expressed in our text. But many suppose, that God is filled with feelings of revengeful indignation towards his creatures, and that the period is rolling on, when he will cease to be merciful, and

will commence torturing us in the future world for the sins committed in this, and that too, when punishment can do no good to the sufferer, when reformation will be out of his reach. To torment a frail, dependent creature, under such circumstances, would be the most degrading species of revenge. And if this is the conduct of God, then we must practise the same, because we are commanded to imitate him. Our text says, "Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another; even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

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In this passage, our Father in heaven is held up to the world as that model of kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness, which mortals are to imitate. God is the moral standard to which every bosom ought to aspire. The highest perfection and loveliness of man, fall infinitely short of the intrinsic loveliness and divine perfections of Jehovah.

If he is that standard of moral excellence which we are to imitate, then we must admit, that the copy far exceeds the imitation. If man is called upon to act like God, in order to improve his character and affections, then God is better than man, and every opposing objection must forever fall to the ground. Perhaps it may be said, that all denominations of men allow him to be so. This is not correct. It is true, they say this, in so many words. But words are one