will have his hand in the work, and are quickening and inflaming one another. Fathers, children, husbands, wives, all find some employ- ment or other about their idolatrous service. Oh, that every one would be as forward and zealous and helpful in the work of God ! Oh, that we were as careful to train and set our families a-work in a course of godliness ! Christians should reason thus : What honour hath God by making me a father, a master of a family ? Every such an one hath a charge of souls, and he is to be responsible. It will be no grief of heart to you when by your means they become acquainted with God : ' Ye are my crown and my rejoicing,' says the apostle, of the Thes- salonians converted by his ministry. It will be a crown of honour and rejoicing in the day of the Lord, when you have been instrumental, not only for their prosperity in the world, but of their increasing in grace. 2. In our converses, how little do we edify one another ! If Christ's question to the two disciples going to Emmaus were put to us : Luke xxiv, 17, ' What manner of conversation had you by the way ? ' what cause should we have to blush and be ashamed ! Generally our dis- course is either — (1.) Profane and sinful ; there is too much of the rotten communication which the apostle forbids : Eph. iv. 29, ' Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearer.' Eotten discourse argueth a rotten heart. Or, (2.) Idle and vain, as foolish tales. The apostle bids Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 7, to ' refuse profane and old wives' fables,' or ' vain comj^liments,' though we are to give an account for idle words, Mat.xii. 36. Or else, like the Athenians, we ' spend our time in hearing and telling news,' Acts xvii. 21. Or we please and solace ourselves with frothy flashes of wanton wit, and ' jesting that is not convenient,' which the apostle forbids, Eph. v. 4. The praise of a Christian lietli not in the wittiness, but in the graci- ousness of his conversation. That which is Aristotle's virtue is made a sin with Paul — foolish jesting. You should rather be refreshing one another with what experiences you have had of the Lord's grace ; that is the comfort and solace of Christians when they meet together. But when men wholly give up themselves to move laughter, all this is idle and vain discourse. It is not enough to say it doth no hurt, but what good doth it do? doth it tend 'to the use of edifying'? A Christian that hath God and Christ, and his wonderful and precious benefits to talk of, and so many occasions to give thanks, he cannot want matter to discom'se of when he comes into company ; therefore we should avoid vain discourse. Or, (3.) We talk of other men's matters or faults, as the apostle speaks of those, 1 Tim. v. 13, that wandered from house to house ; that were not idle only, but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not : Lev. xix. 16, ' Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people.' The Hebrew word signifies a merchant, or one that goeth about with spices to sell ; thence the word is used for one that wan- dereth from place to place, uttering slanders as wares. These pedlars will always be opening their packs. Men fill up time by tattling and meddling with others : Thus have I heard of such or such an one. Or, (4.) our discourse is wholly of worldly business, not a word of God : * They are of the earth, and speak of the earth,' John iii. 31. The
VeR. 13.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 127
habituating ourselves to worldly discourse together, without inter- posing something of God, is a great disadvantage. Or, (5.) vain jangling ; if we speak of anything that hath an aspect upon religion, we turn it into a mere dispute about opinion ; we do not use conferences as helps to gracious affections. How many are there sick of questions, as the apostle saith, and ' dote upon strife of words ' ? 1 Tim. vi. 4. Thus if we did put ourselves to question at night, What have I spoken? what good have I done ? what good have I received from such com- pany ? — it would make the word more sensible and active upon our souls. tlse 2. To press us to holy conference, both occasional and set.
1. Occasional. We are not left at random in our ordinary discourse, to speak as we will ; but at all times and with all persons we should have an ejQ to the good of those with whom we speak : Col. iv. 6, ' Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.' In visits, walks, journeys, let your speech be always with grace. We should ever be drawing to good discourse, as remembering we must give account : James ii. 12, ' So speak as those that shall be judged by the law of liberty.' Certainly a gracious heart will thus do. He that doth not want a heart will not want in occasion of interposing somewhat for God. This was Christ's manner : Luke xiv, 15, when he was eating bread in the Pharisee's house, he discourseth, ' Blessed is lie that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.' There will be a feast in heaven, when we shall ' sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God.' So when Christ was at Jacob's well, John iv. 14, he dis- courseth of the ' well of living waters which springeth up to eternal life ' ; still he draweth towards some gracious improvement of the occa- sion. So John vii. 37, when he was at the feast of tabernacles, and it was the custom there to fetch water from Siloa, and pour it out upon the altar of burnt-offerings — they were to make a flood of it — Christ improves it : 'If any man will come to me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water;' he spiritualiseth the occasion. If our hearts were as they ought to be, we would have a gracious word more ready ; we would either be beginning or carrying on good conference where- ever we came. But Christians are to seek, either through barrenness or leanness of soul ; they have not that good treasure or stock of knowlege in them, or through the custom of vain speech. And the great cause of all is the prevalency of an unsanctified and worldly heart ; this hindereth us from being more fruitful in our converse.