Way in which quarrels originate.

Our Savior's precept.

little by his feelings. So that in almost all the connections of business, between man and man, their mutual claims overlap each other, as it were, a little, and it is in this disputed and doubtful territory, that almost all the streams of discord and contention take their rise. Now the Christian will avoid this ground. He will generally set up no claim to it. He will endeavor, by wise and prudent forecast and circumspection, to make it as narrow as possible, so as to leave as little room as possible for uncertainty; but when such ground is left, he knows very well that the selfish shrewdness of the one he deals with, will lead him to reach his arm over to the further boundary of it; and, unless in some very peculiar case, he will retreat at once to that boundary, and make no serious attempts to secure any thing, but what is most unquestionably his.

It is a good plan, whenever any subject of difference seems to be coming up, between you and any man with whom you have dealings, for you to go over in imagination, as it were, to his side, and try for a moment to look at it as he does;-not as he ought to look at it, but as you know he will,-possessing as he does, the usual feelings of human nature. Now the encroachment on our rights, which men of the world are thus likely to make, will only in general extend over the uncertain territory, which, compared with the whole amount, will, with ordinary discretion, be usually very small, and it is generally best for the Christian to abandon it altogether.

"If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also." This may not mean that we are never, in any case, to contend for our rights, but it certainly does mean that we are very seldom to do it. It teaches that, at least as a general principle, Christians are to be content with what they can get peaceably. What we cannot secure without quarrelling for it, we must be willing to lose. If we determine beforehand to act upon this principle, we shall plan accordingly. We shall not

Misery of contention.

Way to avoid it.

expose ourselves, and in the end shall prosper as much, as the most sturdy and determined vindicator of his rights, who makes it his motto, never to demand more than he is entitled to, and never to take less.

But we seem to be considering the duty of not quarrelling, whereas our subject in this chapter, is not duty, but happiness. We should, therefore, rather be attempting to show the necessity of peace with our fellow men, in order to secure our own enjoyment. Though this scarcely needs to be shown. A man cannot be happy, while engaged in a quarrel. The rising feelings of indignation against injustice, are misery to the heart which feels them,-and so are the whole class of angry, and irritated, and vexatious feelings, about the misconduct or petty faults of others. Never yield to them. Expect often to find men selfish and blind to the interests and rights of others, and make it a part of your regular calculation to experience inconvenience from this source. Then you will not be surprised or vexed, when this inconvenience comes. Accustom yourself to look upon your neighbors' side of the question, as well as your own. Be desirous that he should do well and prosper, as well as you. In all your agreements, be clear and specific beforehand, as you certainly would be, if you knew that every thing left indefinite, would go in the end against you. Where any question arises between you and another, lean towards his rights and interests. With all your efforts in that way, you will not more than overcome your natural bias in favor of your own. If there is any doubt, then, give your neighbor the benefit of it, any ambiguity, interpret in his favor. This will be the best way to preserve your rights most effectually; but you do not think so, if you fear this course will lose something of your rights, you must admit that it is the way to preserve your peace and happiness.

if

2. There was one other point to consider, before bringing this chapter to a close, namely, the extent to which

Repining against God.

Losses.

Disappointments.

men mar and destroy their happiness, by struggling and repining against the Providence of God. Whatever happens to you, if it is not the direct consequence of your own personal misconduct, comes through the Providence of God, and you ought to feel that he has sent it. Is your child sick? that sickness comes from his hand. Is your house, which you have earned by slowly accumulating the fruits of your industry for years, burned by the carelessness of a domestic, or the malice of an incendiary. It is the same to you, as if it had been struck by the lightning of heaven; the loss, in either case, comes in the Providence of God, and you should no more make yourself miserable, by angry resentment against the domestic or the incendiary, than against the lightning.

Do you experience a heavy loss in your business, by the fraud or the negligence of a creditor. Bear it patiently and submissively as from God. It is from God. If you have done all in your power, by prudent circumspection, to guard against the danger, then you are not yourself responsible for it, and you should not repine, any more than a child should murmur at the loss of a plaything, when his father has sent his brother or sister to take it away.

Many people think they have a right to murmur, and make themselves miserable, at acts of injustice which they suffer from others. They feel as if they ought to submit pleasantly and quietly to those ills, which come more directly through the exercise of Divine Power, as when a ship is lost by a storm at sea, or sudden disease arising from no perceptible cause, attacks them, or when their business and their property is sacrificed by the progress of a pestilence, or unaccountable changes in the times. But when they can trace calamity, in the first instance, to the agency of a fellow man, they are disturbed, and irritated, and vexed, as if God had nothing to do with it whatever. But the agency of God has as much concern in one of these cases, as in the other. He has as much control over the

Joseph's case.

Lesson to be learned from it.

actions and feelings of your fellow men, and regulates as certainly the treatment you are to receive from them, as he does the force of winds and storms, the progress of a pestilence, or the track of the lightning. When Joseph was let down in the pit by his brethren, he was as much in God's hands, as was Jonah in the storm at sea. So Jesus Christ when scourged and crucified, bowed with submission to his sorrows, as to sorrows and sufferings brought upon him by his Father's hand.

Take the case of Joseph for instance. Suppose he could have foreseen how his history was to terminate, and what would be the ultimate result of his trials and sufferings, in respect to their influence upon the posterity of his father, and upon those who should read the narrative of them, in the word of God, in all future ages. How would he have felt, when his brothers sold him into bondage, to the wandering sons of Ishmael? Would he have been irritated and vexed, and would he have gone away into captivity, with a heart boiling with rage, at the injustice and cruelty of his brothers? No; he would have felt a calm and happy acquiescence in the will of God. He would have felt himself entirely in the hands of his Father, who would bring ultimate and lasting good out of his temporary sufferings. And so will the Christian always feel, if he feels right. He will carry about with him continually, the conviction that he is, in every respect, in God's hands,-that nothing comes to him but in the providence and as a part of the plan of God towards him, and while he takes every precaution to guard himself from evil and danger, yet, when it will come, whether it be through the wickedness of man, or more apparently through the direct agency of God, he submits. to it calmly and with an unruffled spirit. Unless a man takes this view of the occurrences of human life, his happiness can never be on any sure and solid basis, in such a world as ours.

Perhaps, the most common way in which Christians

Purposes of sickness.

The sick mother.

struggle against the Providence of God, is, in the case I have alluded to, where petty trouble or serious calamity comes through the agency of man. We forget in such cases, that so far as we ourselves are concerned, the trial comes as really in the providence of God, as in any case whatever. It is remarkable, however, that there is one case of suffering, which most plainly comes from God, and from him alone, and which Christians are very slow to submit to. I mean sickness,- -our own sickness, or that of our friends. How few there are who do not in heart strug gle against their Maker, when he comes and places them, or their friends, upon a bed of suffering. But sickness really comes from God. We must admit this, at least in those cases of disease which cannot be traced to imprudences or indulgences of our own. If we feel this, one would think that we should yield to it submissively, and bear it patiently. Suppose you take your child from some work or play, in which he is interested, and ask him to come and sit down by your side, while you speak to him upon some important subject. Instead of giving up the thoughts of his former employment, and listening attentively to what you have to say, he looks eagerly and anxiously away from you, watching his companions, and evidently longing to be restored to them. You reprove him very justly for his inattention, and his evident eagerness to be released from your hold.

But now come with me to this sick chamber. There lies upon that bed, the mother of a family, removed from the scene of her labors and enjoyments, and laid in helpless maction upon her pillow. Who has placed her there? God. For what? Because he has something to say to her. Is not sickness a providence, that is intended to speak to the soul? But, instead of lying quietly resigned to God's will, and listening patiently to his voice, her heart is filled with eager impatience to be restored to her family. She thinks how many things are going wrong,—how many