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VIII.

SERM. buke, implied in the question which he repeatedly puts to him, Simon fon of Jonas, loveft thou me? reftores him, with great benignity, to his office as an apoftle, by giving the commandment to feed his fheep; and intimates also that it fhould be his lot to fuffer death in the cause of his after. The apoftle John, diftinguished here by the denomination of the difciple whom Jefus loved, being prefent at this conversation, Peter, who was always eager and forward, looking to John, puts this question to our Saviour, Lord, and what shall this man do? "What shall be his employment? what “his rank and station in thy kingdom? "what his future fate in life?-By what principle Peter was moved to put this unseasonable and improper question to his Mafter; whether it arose from mere curiosity, or from fome emotion of rivalship and jealousy, does not appear; but it is plain that our Lord was diffatisfied with the enquiry which he made; and presently he checks Peter's curiofity, by a fevere reply; What

VIII.

is that to thee?" What is it to thee SE RM. " what this man shall do; what fhall be "his rank; or what the circumstances " of his life or his death? Attend thou "to thine own duty. Mind thy proper "concerns. Fulfil the part which I "have allotted to thee. Follow thou "me."-The inftruction which arifes from this converfation of our Lord's with Peter, is, That all prying inquiries into the state, circumftances, or character of others, are reprehenfible and improper; that to every man a particular charge is affigned by his Lord and Mafter, the fulfillment of which ought to be the primary object of his attention, without officioufly thrufting himself into the concerns of others. The illuftration of these points shall make the subject of the prefent difcourse.

THAT idle curiofity, that inquifitive and meddling spirit, which leads men to pry into the affairs of their neighbours, is reprehenfible on three accounts. interrupts the good order, and breaks

It

the

VIII.

SERM. the peace of fociety. It brings forward and nourishes several bad paffions. It draws men afide from a proper attention to the discharge of their own duty.

Ir interrupts, I fay, the order, and breaks the peace of fociety. In this world we are linked together by many ties. We are bound by duty, and we are prompted by intereft, to give mutual affiftance, and to perform friendly offices to each other. But those friendly offices are performed to most advantage, when we avoid to interfere unneceffarily in the concerns of our neighbour. Every man has his own part to act, has his own intereft to confult, has affairs of his own to manage, which his neighbour has no call to fcrutinize. Human life then proceeds in its most natural and orderly train, when every one keeps within the bounds of his proper province; when, as long as his pursuits are fair and lawful, he is allowed, without disturbance, to conduct them in his own way. That ye ftudy to be quiet, and

to

by any

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to do your own business*, is the apoftoli- SER M. cal rule, and indeed the great rule, for preservation of harmony and order. But fo it is, that, in every age, a set of men have existed, who, driven by an unhappy activity of spirit, oftener perhaps than fettled defign of doing ill, or any motives of ambition or intereft, love to intermeddle where they have no concern, to inquire into the private affairs of others, and from the imperfect information which they collect, to form conclufions concerning their circumftances and character. These are they who, in fcripture, are characterised as tatlers, and bufy bodies in other mens matters, and from whom we are called to turn away.

.

Though perfons of this defcription fhould be prompted by nothing but vain curiofity, they are, nevertheless, dangerous troublers of the world.

While

they conceive themselves to be inoffenfive, they are fowing diffenfion and

VOL. IV.

*

L

I Theff. iv. II.

feuds.

SERM. feuds.

VIII.

Croffing the lines in which others move, they create confufion, and awaken refentment. For every

Be

man conceives himself to be injured,
when he finds another intruding into his
affairs, and, without any title, taking
upon him to examine his conduct.
ing improperly and unneceffarily dif
turbed, he claims the right of disturbing
in his turn those who wantonly have
troubled him. Hence, many a friend-
fhip has been broken; the peace of ma-
ny a family has been overthrown; and
much bitter and lafting discord has
been propagated through fociety.

WHILE this fpirit of meddling curiofity injures fo confiderably the peace and good order of the world, it also nourishes, among individuals who are addicted to it, a multitude of bad paffions. Its most frequent fource is mere idlenefs, which, in itself a vice, never fails to engender inany vices more. The mind of man cannot be long without fome food to nourish the ac

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