SERMON XXI. OF QUIETNESS, AND DOING OUR OWN I THESS. iv. II. And that ye ftudy to be quiet, and to do your own business. Chryf. in. 2 Cor. Or. SERM. As frequently between neighbouring states there do rife 19. diffenfions and contests about the juft limits of their terri- XXI. tories; 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 distant, yet the borders of them do lie very close together, and are in a manner contiguous; a certain ridge of feparation 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 contradi&t; 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 σroudỹ pǹ 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 ἀλλήλους. 19. XV. 2. SERM. cern ourselves heartily for the good of our neighbour, and XXI. to strive earnestly in promoting it; we are enjoined so far 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 Karavμ differences between them; to promote their edification and Heb. 1. 24. peace: Let us, faith the Apoftie 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. To be zealous and earnest 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 inftru&t them; that we enter into contest with them; that we examine their words and actions; that we presume to tax and oppose them. 1 Theff. v. 11, 14. In fine; our religion doth seem 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 should anfwerably affect us; fo that by intermeddling with any thing relating to their welfare, we can hardly be said 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 difcharging all offices of fociety, in pursuance of any traffic or commerce, in all intercourfe and converfation, while we tranfact our own business, we cannot avoid the furthering or obftructing the bufinefs of others, who are engaged in the fame or contrary defigns. Society doth fubfift 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 so 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 business; and because it is joined with being quiet, which refpe&teth others, and importeth not stirring beyond our own bounds; to be fo meddlefome, being also a practice expressly 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 fee, not only forbidden, but is coupled with the most heinous offences. How then shall 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 somewhat I fhall endeavour toward it, by propounding fome rules and directions, which fhould commonly be observed in our dealing and intercourfe with others: but firft let us a little reflect upon the terms in which the precept is couched. Study to be quiet. Study; the word is portiodar, which fignifieth to be ambitious, that is, to affect quiet with the like vehemency of defire and care, as men are wont to purfue 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 fafti SERM dious or drowsy liftleffness to do any thing; not a fenfeXXI. lefs indifferency concerning the matters of others; not an abfolute fequeftering ourselves from common affairs: this is not quiet or tranquillity, the тò houxάlew here, but a naughty floth, stupidity, or favageness: the quiet here meant is opposed to diforderly motion, to turbulency, to contention, to pragmatical curiofity, to all fuch exorbitant behaviour, whereby the right of others is infringed, their peace difturbed, 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, modesty and sobriety: such a motion as the heavenly bodies do keep, which fo 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 párσ Tà dia, to do our own bufinefs, 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 fupply our own needs ; may work benefit to others, or however avoid being anywife burdenfome or troublefome to them; an inftance of 2 Theff. iii. which practice is immediately fubjoined; 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 Tepiepyάleodai, being over-busy, or pragmatically curious, and to walking diforderly; that is, beyond the bounds of our calling, or the rules of our duty; fo as to encroach upon the rights, or molest the quiet of others. 12. The words then, as they do imply an obligation lying upon us to be induftrious in our own bufinefs, fo they chiefly defign to prohibit our meddling with the concernments of others; but how to settle the limits between 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 thoroughly to perform. However, the method toward SERM. it, which I fhall obferve, is this: Firft, I fhall touch fome XXI. cafes, in which it is allowable or commendable to meddle with the affairs of others: then I fhall propound fome general rules, according to which fuch meddlesomeness is commonly blameable: in the next place, I fhall affign fome directions proper to fome chief and moft obvious kinds of meddling and lastly, offer some confiderations to diffuade men from this pragmatical humour. 1. Superiors may intermeddle with the business of their inferiors, (that is, of fuch as are subject to their care and charge,) in all matters relating to the needful execution of their office. Magiftrates may infpect the carriage, may examine the doings, may reprehend and punish the offences of their fubjects: parents may advise, rebuke, and correct their children: fpiritual guides and pastors may admonish and reprove their flock. These things while, with due prudence, equity, and moderation, they perform, they do indeed @pάoσei tà dia, do their own bufinefs; it is their proper work, to which God hath defigned them, and which reafon exacteth of them; they are appointed, to use St. Paul's expreffion, to attend con- Rom. xii. tinually upon this very thing; their proceedings there- 6. fore are not to be charged with culpable pragmaticalnefs. 2. In any cafe, wherein the honour and intereft of God is much concerned, we may interpofe in vindication and maintenance of them. If any man dareth to blafpheme God's name, we may and ought to stand up in its defence; if any man difparageth religion, we should strive. to clear its repute; if any man impugneth any divine truth of moment, we should endeavour to affert it; if any man notoriously tranfgreffeth God's law, we may discountenance his presumption, and reprove him for it: every man in such cases, as God's subject, hath not only a commiffion, but an obligation; is indeed by his allegiance bound to serve God, in maintaining the honour and interest of his empire: it is foul difloyalty, it is pitiful base |