Page images
PDF
EPUB

SERM. eth on carrion,) as it fignifieth bad confcience; for he XX. that knoweth evil of himself is most prone to fufpect, and

moft quick to pronounce ill concerning others, fo it breedeth and foftereth fuch ill dispositions; it debaucheth the minds of men, rendering them dim and doltish in apprehending their own faults, negligent and heedless in regard to their own hearts and ways; apt to please and comfort themselves in the evils, real or imaginary, of their neighbours; which to do is a very barbarous and brutish practice.

These confiderations may, I hope, fuffice to persuade the obfervance of this precept, by the help of God's grace, to which I commend you, and conclude.

Now the God of peace make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleafing in his fight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON XXI.

OF QUIETNESS, AND DOING OUR OWN
BUSINESS.

1 THESS. iv. II.

2 Cor. Or.

19.

SERM.

XXI.

And that ye ftudy to be quiet, and to do your own business. Chryf. in. As frequently between neighbouring states there do rise diffenfions and contefts about the juft limits of their territories; fo doth it frequently happen between virtue and vice, right and wrong, duty and miscarriage in practice; for although the extreme degrees, and even the middle regions of these things are very diftant, yet the borders of them do lie very close together, and are in a manner contiguous; a certain ridge of separation running between them, which commonly, being very narrow, thin, and obfcure, it is not easy to discern. So it particularly falleth out in the matter before us, wherein our text is concerned. Duty and offence do nearly confine, and almost indifcernibly differ one from the other; for there are about this cafe precepts which feem to contradict; there are duties appearing to thwart one another.

St. Paul here biddeth us to be ftudious or ambitious of quiet; otherwhere he enjoineth us to be earnestly active, (to be σñoʊdã μù ỏxvnpoì, not slothful in business :) here Rom. xii. he would have us to mind our own affairs; otherwhere 11. he prescribeth, that we should not look every man to his Phil. ii. 4. own things, but every man alfo to the things of others.

According to the general drift of Scripture, and the tenor of our religion, we are in charity obliged to con

SERM. cern ourselves heartily for the good of our neighbour, and XXI. to strive earnestly in promoting it; we are enjoined so far

ἀλλήλους.

to interpofe and meddle in the affairs of others, as to watch over them for their good; to inftruct and advise them, to admonish and excite them, to check and reprove them upon occafion; to offer and yield them fuccour, to compose Karavoμs differences between them; to promote their edification and Heb. 1. 24. peace: Let us, faith the Apostle to the Hebrews, confider Rom. xiv. one another, to provoke unto love and to good works. Let us, faith St. Paul to the Romans, follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another; and, Exhort yourselves together, and edify one another ;— warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, fupport the weak, faith he to the Theffalonians in this Epistle.

19. XV. 2.

1 Theff. v. 11, 14.

To be zealous and earneft in the maintenance and propagation of truth, of virtue, of piety, is a duty incumbent on us, which implieth care and activity concerning others; Tit. i. 11. that we offer to instruct them; that we enter into contest with them; that we examine their words and actions; that we presume to tax and oppose them.

In fine; our religion doth feem by the bands of mutual relation, and obligations of charity, fo to unite us together, fo to endear us to one another, and to all men, that all things belonging to our brethren do nearly touch us, and fhould anfwerably affect us; fo that by intermeddling with any thing relating to their welfare, we can hardly be faid to meddle with what doth not con

cern us.

The condition of things alfo may feem to require, that we fo intermeddle; for the duties and affairs of men are fo entangled or interwoven, that we can hardly profecute any concernments of our own, without being engaged in the matters of others: in discharging all offices of fociety, in pursuance of any traffic or commerce, in all intercourfe and conversation, while we transact our own bufinefs, we cannot avoid the furthering or obftructing the business of others, who are engaged in the fame or contrary designs. Society doth subfift by combinations of care and pain, regarding common interests, so that it

feemeth impoffible fo to mind our own business, as not to SERM. meddle with the business of others.

XXI.

Yet notwithstanding St. Paul enjoineth us fo to affect quiet, as fimply to mind our own business, or not to be meddlesome in the concernments of others; for that doing our own business is meant exclufively to meddling with the affairs of others, is plain enough by the importance of Tà dia, which is emphatical, and fignifieth only our own, or our proper bufinefs; and because it is joined with being quiet, which refpecteth others, and importeth not stirring beyond our own bounds; to be fo meddlefome, being also a practice exprefsly condemned by St. Peter, in that prohibition, But let none of you fuffer as a murderer, or 1 Pet.iv. 15. as a thief, or as a malefactor, or as a bufy-body in other men's matters: where pragmaticalnefs is, we see, not only forbidden, but is coupled with the most heinous offences.

How then fhall we reconcile these things? How shall we in the cafe fever between the bounds of duty and blame? It is indeed fomewhat difficult to do it precisely, and with diftinctions which fhall reach all cafes. But fomewhat I fhall endeavour toward it, by propounding fome rules and directions, which fhould commonly be obferved in our dealing and intercourfe with others: but first let us a little reflect upon the terms in which the precept is couched.

Study to be quiet. Study; the word is rudar, which fignifieth to be ambitious, that is, to affect quiet with the like vehemency of defire and care, as men are wont to pursue reputation, dignity, and power, the objects of ambition: the expreffion containeth a remarkable emphafis, or a grave acumen; for whereas ambition commonly doth prompt men to be reftlefsly bufy, and engageth them in the concernments proper to others, St. Paul biddeth them to be ambitious the contrary way, in affecting quiet, and abftinence from other affairs befide their own.

To be quiet: This doth fignify not a phyfical, but a moral reft; not a total forbearance of action; not a fasti

SERM, dious or drowsy liftleffness to do any thing; not a sense. XXI. less indifferency concerning the matters of others; not an

abfolute fequestering ourselves from common affairs: this is not quiet or tranquillity, the Tò iouxάge here, but a naughty floth, ftupidity, or savageness: the quiet here meant is opposed to disorderly motion, to turbulency, to contention, to pragmatical curiofity, to all fuch exorbitant behaviour, whereby the right of others is infringed, their peace disturbed, their just interest or welfare any wife prejudiced. This quiet is a calm, fteady, regular way of proceeding, within the bounds and measures prescribed by reason, justice and charity, modefty and fobriety: fuch a motion as the heavenly bodies do keep, which so move that they seem ever to stand still, and never disturb one another: in fine, what a quiet is meant, the subsequent words and the context do fhew: it followeth,

And πpáσσ Tà dia, to do our own business, or to act things proper and pertinent to us; things which fuit to our condition, our ftation, our vocation; whereby we may discharge our own duties, and supply our own needs; may work benefit to others, or however avoid being anywife burdenfome or troublesome to them; an instance of 2 Theff. iii. which practice is immediately subjoined; to work with our own hands-that we may have lack of nothing; in another place St. Paul calleth it μετὰ ἡσυχίας ἐργάζεσθαι, to work with quiet, oppofing it to repiepyάedai, being over-busy, or pragmatically curious, and to walking disorderly; that is, beyond the bounds of our calling, or the rules of our duty; fo as to encroach upon the rights, or moleft the quiet of others.

12.

The words then, as they do imply an obligation lying upon us to be induftrious in our own business, fo they chiefly defign to prohibit our meddling with the concernments of others ; but how to fettle the limits be tween this quiet minding our own business, and a culpable neglect of the duties concerning others; how to diftinguish between meddling innocently, from being blameably meddlefome, hic labor, hoc opus eft; this is that hard task which I am to undertake, but cannot hope

« PreviousContinue »