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SERMON XXXVI.

Why Silence and Solitude are irkfome to many people.

GRACIO

RACIOUS God, merciful father, never doft thou fuffer us to be wanting in motives and means to improvement. They are varied according to our feveral neceffities, and as repeatedly offer themselves to us as we are in need of fresh incentives and new energies to good. Oh that we did but make the proper, the best use of them. Thou, o God, art righteous, but to us belongs confufion of face! Thou art never unmindful of us, thou never ceasest to provide for our happiness; and we are fo frequently forgetful of thee, and are so apt to cease from rendering ourselves well-pleafing in thy fight! Yes, amidst fo many wife and kind provifions which thou haft made for our improvement, many, perhaps the generality of us are not better, remain conftantly as we are, and advance not one step nearer to the perfection to which thou calleft us. Enthraled by a variety of unruly lufts and passions, driven to and fro by the fucceffive distractions of bufinefs and pleasure, we never totally abandon

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them for filence and retirement, never acquire a thorough knowledge of our most important interests, never provide for them with that ardour which it behoves rational, intelligent beings and christians to do. Ah that at length to-day we might hearken to the voice of truth, imbibe its leffons with docility and follow them with unremitted diligence! Do thou accompany them with thy all-powerful aid, great father of mercies, and cause them to make deep, durable, truly efficacious impreffions on us, fruitful in real improvement. Entirely relying on the promises of thy son Jesus, in his prevailing name we farther lift up our fuppliant hands to thy eternal throne for those bleffings which otherwife for our unworthiness we fhould not dare or for our blindnefs not know how to afk. Our father, &c.

2 THESSALONIANS iii. 12.

Now them that are fuch we command and exhort by our Lord Jefus Chrift, that with quietnefs they work, and eat their own bread.

FROM

ROM this day, my devout audience, several, otherwise perhaps innocent, but tumultuous and extremely diftracting entertainments and diverfions, are fufpended for a feafon among chriftians. Now outwardly at least a greater ftillness will reign among them. Now it will be more than ufually perceptible, that we live among people, who believe

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themselves formed not folely for the prefent, but alfo for a better world, who are acquainted not folely with fenfual, but likewise with nobler, fpiritual pleasures, and do not regret the former, if they can unmoleftedly enjoy the latter. But to how many may not these restrictions be difagreeable! How many may probably deride them both at home and in company as wretched remains of the old fuperftition! How many think themselves very wife in being able to draw this plaufible inference from the practice: Either the amusements that are now to be fufpended are in themselves and for ever unlawful and finful, or they are not; and if they are not, they must be as innocent, as harmless, as lawful at one time as at another, therefore these restrictions are the effects of bigotry and fuperftition. As if whatever is lawful in itself, were likewife invariably the fittest and the best! As though even the good should not frequently yield to the better, and the better to the best! As though what is innocent and harmless may not very often by too frequent repetitions and too long continued ufe become criminal and injurious! As though we had not the moft cogent reafons, for feizing all opportunities to check the prevalence of fenfuality and heedleffness among mankind, and to lead them to reflection, to the fentiment of their fuperior dignity and appointment!--But too many, my pious hearers, fhun filence, avoid folitude, and feek ' their fatisfaction entirely in noife and diftraction.

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But how far, how very far are fuch perfons out of the road of christian wisdom and virtue, the way of real peace of mind and fubftantial enjoyment! With this turn of character, where is that christian difpofition which looks more at invifible than at visible objects, strives more after the things which are above than after thofe that are here below; that christian difpofition, which teaches us to confider this terrestrial life as a state of pilgrimage and exercife, the excellence whereof confifts in treading in the footsteps of Jefus, in following him, in becom ing like unto him, and thus fitting ourselves for thatfuperior life which he now enjoys! Oh how I pity the man who has never studied the art of filence, has never yet tafted the fweetnefs of inward repofe, of a total independence on external objects, never yetenjoyed the felicity of familiar converfe with himself and with heaven, has never yet felt that he fhould even then be contented and happy in God, though all without him had vanished from his fight, and all other fources of joy had failed him! May we however, my dear friends, difmifs our prejudices against filence and retirement, learn more juftly to estimate their value, to esteem them more highly, and to reap more profit from them! May we alfo in this respect follow the precept of the apoftle, who fays to christians in the words of our text: We command and exhort you, by our lord Jefus Chrift, that with quietnefs ye work!

In pursuance of this defign, my pious hearers,

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we will at prefent confine ourselves to reflections on the causes, why to many of you filence and folitude are disagreeable. Thefe caufes it will be neceffary for you to understand, if ye would put them afide; more justly estimate the value of filence and folitude, acquire a tafte for retirement, and in future make that use of it, which every one does, who is ferioufly intent upon becoming truly wife and good and happy.

The first cause, why filence and folitude are fo frequently irksome to you, is unquestionably this: Because you cannot very well tell what you have to do there, how you fhould be occupied, how you are to pass your time. In your ordinary mode of life you pass either from one business to another, or from one party of pleasure to another, or alternately from those to thefe and from these to those. Both of them commonly draw off your attention entirely from yourselves, turn it folely on externals, and whirl you about in a round of distractions, never leaving you at reft, never allowing you to get a clear consciousness of yourself or to poffefs a lively and confiderate fentiment of your personal existence. Now fhould it happen that thofe occupations and these pleasures with their concomitant distractions are at an end; that the greater or lefs exertion of your faculties required for them ftops; that all that helped you to employ or to confume your time is departed; that you are reduced to filence and folitude: you then feel a certain void within, and a fort

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