lewd and prophane liberty of difcourfe they take, upon fo many thousand fubjects, are fo dull as to furnish nothing but tedious repetitions, and little paultry, naufeous common-places, fo vulgar, fo worn, or so obvious, as, upon any other occafion, but that of advancing vice, would be hooted off the ftage? Nor, laftly, are preachers juftly blamed for neglecting human oratory to move the paffions, which is not the bufinefs of a Chriftian orator, whofe office it is only to work upon faith and reafon. All other eloquence hath been a perfect cheat, to ftir up men's paffions against truth and juftice, for the fervice of a faction, to put falfe colours upon things, and by an amusement of agreeable words, make the worfe reafon appear to be the better. This is certainly not to be allowed in Christian eloquence, and, therefore, St. Paul took quite the other courfe; he came not with excellency of words, or enticing Speech of men's wisdom, but in plain evidence of the Spirit and power. And perhaps it was for that reason the young man Eutychus, used

to the Grecian eloquence, grew tired and fell fo faft afleep.

I go on, Thirdly, to set forth the great evil of this neglect and fcorn of preaching, and to difcover the real caufes from whence it proceedeth.

I think it is obvious to believe, that this neglect of preaching hath very much occafioned the great decay of religion among us. To this may be imputed no fmall part of that contempt fome men beftow on the clergy; for whoever talketh without being regarded, is fure to be defpifed. To this we owe, in a great measure, the fpreading of atheism and infidelity among us; for, religion, like all other things, is fooneft put out of countenance by being ridiculed. The fcorn of preaching might perhaps have been at firft introduced by men of nice cars and refined tafte; but it is now become a fpreading evil, through all degrees, and both fexes; for, fince fceping, talking, and laughing are qualities fufficient to furnifh out a critick, the meanest and moft ignorant have set up a title, and fucceeded in it as well as their

betters.

betters. Thus are the laft efforts of reforming mankind rendered wholely uselefs: How ball they hear, faith the apoftle, without a preacher? But, if they have a preacher, and make it a point of wit or breeding not to hear him, what remedy is left? To this neglect of preaching, we may alfo entirely impute that grofs ignorance among us in the very principles of religion, which it is amazing to find in perfons who very much value their own knowledge and understanding in other things; yet it is a vifible, inexcufable ignorance, even in the meaneft among us, confidering the many advantages they have of learning their duty. And it hath been the great encouragement to all manner of vice: For in vain we preach down fin to a people, whofe hearts are waxed grofs, whofe ears are dull of bearing, and whofe eyes are clofed. Therefore Chrift himself, in his discourses, frequently roufeth up the attention of the multitude, and of his difciples themfelves, with this expreffion, He that hath ears to hear, let him bear. But, among all neglects of preaching, none is so fatal as that of fleeping in

the

the house of God; a fcorner may listen to truth and reafon, and in time grow ferious; an unbeliever may feel the pangs of a guilty conscience; one whose thoughts or eyes wander among other objects may, by a lucky word, be called back to attention: But the fleeper fhuts up all avenues to his foul: He is like the deaf adder, that hearkeneth not to the voice of the charmer, charm he never fo wifely. And we may preach with as good fuccefs to the grave that is under his feet.

But the great evil of this neglect will further yet appear, from confidering the real caufes whence it proceedeth; whereof the firft I take to be an evil confcience. Many men come to church to fave or gain a reputation, or because they will not be fingular, but comply with an established cuftom; yet, all the while, they are loaded with the guilt of old rooted fins. men can expect to hear of nothing but terrors and threatenings, their fins laid open in true colours, and eternal mifery the reward of them; therefore, no wonder they ftop their ears, and divert their thoughts,

Thefe

thoughts, and feek any amusement rather than ftir the hell within them.

Another cause of this neglect is, a heart fet upon worldly things. Men whose minds are much enflaved to earthly affairs all the week, cannot difengage or break the chain of their thoughts fo fuddenly, as to apply to a difcourfe that is wholly foreign to what they have moft at heart. Tell a ufurer of charity, and mercy, and reftitution, you talk to the deaf; his heart and foul, with all his fenfes, are got among his bags, or he is gravely afleep, and dreaming of a mortgage. Tell a man of bufinefs, that the cares of the world choak the good feed; that we must not encumber ourselves with much ferving; that the falvation of his foul is the one thing neceffary: You fee, indeed, the fhape of a man before you, but his faculties are all gone off among clients and papers, thinking how to defend a bad cause, or find flaws in a good one; or he weareth out the time in droufy nods.

A third cause of the great neglect and fcorn of preaching arifeth from the practice of men who fet up to decry and

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difparage