and hidden pleasures, which devout souls do feel, when, having got out of the noise and hurry of the world, they sit alone and keep silence, contemplating the divine perfections, which shine so conspicuously in all his works of wonder, admiring his greatness, and wisdom, and love, and revolving his favours towards themselves; opening before him their griefs and their cares, and disburdening their souls into his bosom; protesting their allegiance and subjection unto him; and then listening unto the voice of God within their hearts, that still and quiet voice which is not wont to be heard in the streets, that they may hear what God the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints, and visit them with the expressions of his love. No wonder if those blessed souls who have tasted the pleasures of holy retirement, and found themselves as it were in the suburbs of heaven, grow weary of company and affairs, and long for the returning of those happy hours, as the hireling for the shades of the evening: no wonder they pity the foolish busy world, who spend their days in vanity, and know not what it is indeed to live.

But here I would not be mistaken, as if I recommended a total and constant retirement, or persuaded men to forsake the world, and betake themselves into deserts; no, certainly, we must not abandon the stations wherein God hath placed us, nor render ourselves useless to mankind: solitude hath its temptations, and we may be sometimes very bad company to ourselves. It was not without reason that a wise person warned another, who professed to delight in conversing with himself, Vide ut cum homine probo:

have a care that you be keeping company with a good man.' Abused solitude may whet men's passions, and irritate their lusts, and prompt them to things which company would restrain, and this made one say, that he who is much alone, must either be a saint or a devil. Melancholy, which inclines men most to retirement, is often too much nourished and fomented by it; and there is a peevish and sullen loneliness, which some people affect under their troubles, whereby they feed on discontented thoughts, and find a kind of perverse pleasure in refusing to be comforted. But all this says no more but that good things may be abused; and excess and disorder may turn the most wholesome food into poison. And therefore, though I would not indifferently recommend much solitude unto all, yet sure I may say, it were good for the most part of men that they were less in company, and more alone.

Thus much of the first and proper sense of sitting alone and keeping silence.

We told you it might also import a quiet and patient submission to the will of God, the laying of our hand on our mouth, that no expression of murmur or discontent may escape us: "I was dumb," said the Psalmist, "I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." And the prophet describeth our Saviour's patience, that "he was oppressed, and was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Indeed, a modest and unaffected silence is a good way to express our submission to the hand of God under afflictions. The heathen moralists, who pretended much

to patience, could never hold their peace, but desired always to signalize themselves by some fetches of wit, and expressions of unusual courage; but certainly the mute and quiet Christian behaved himself much better loquacissimum illud silentium, that eloquent and expressive silence saith more than all their vain and stoical boastings. We cannot now insist in any length on this Christian duty of patience and submission to the will of God; we shall only say two things of it, which the text importeth: first, this lesson is most commonly learned in the school of afflictions, "he sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him." In that forecited place of Jeremiah, xxxi. 18. "Ephraim bemoaneth himself, acknowledgeth that he hath been as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke," which maketh the greater reluctancy against it. Children that are much indulged, are the more impatient if they come to be crossed, and there is too much of the child in us all. The apostle tells us, that “tribulation worketh patience."

The other thing I

Custom makes every thing more tolerable unto us; and if it please God to sanctify the first stroke, the second is received with the greater submission. have to say on this duty is, that this advantage of afflictions is very great and desirable, that it is indeed "very good for a man to have borne the yoke in his youth," if he hath thereby learned "to sit alone and keep silence when the hand of the Lord is upon him." There is nothing more acceptable unto God, no object more lovely and amiable in his eyes, than a soul thus prostrate before him, thus entirely resigned unto his holy will, thus quietly submitting to

his severest dispensations; nor is it less advantageous to ourselves, but sweeteneth the bitterest occurrences of our life, and makes us relish an inward and secret pleasure, notwithstanding all the smart of affliction; so that the yoke becomes supportable, the rod itself comforts us, and we find much more delight in suffering the will of God, than if he had granted us our

own.

Now, to this God who loveth us, and correcteth us for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness, and thereby of his happiness-to God the Father, Son, and blessed Spirit, be all honour, praise, and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

SERMON IV.

THAT THERE ARE BUT A SMALL NUMBER SAVED.

LUKE xiii. 23-30.

"Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able," &c.

THOSE who have so much charity and goodness as to be nearly touched with the interest of mankind, cannot but be more especially concerned about their everlasting condition, and very anxious to know what shall become of poor mortals when this scene is over, and they cease to appear on the stage of the world, being called off to give an account of their deportment on it. And seeing we are assured that there are different, and very opposite states of departed souls, some being admitted into happiness, and others doomed to misery, beyond any thing that we can conceive, this may put them upon farther inquiry, how mankind is like to be divided, whether heaven or hell shall have the greater share. Such a laudable curiosity as this it was, that put one of our blessed Saviour's followers to propose the question in the text, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" Our Saviour had been lately foretelling the great success the gospel should have-how, like a little leaven that