can devise, to sweeten, to enhance, to multiply their enjoyment. And this we fhall do if we enjoy with inward consciousness all the beautiful and good which we perceive within us and without us; if we frequently, with a ferene and quiet mind, reflect upon it, and figure to ourselves in a lively manner its great value, its various and close connection with our welfare and the welfare of our brethren; if we confider all in reference to God, as teftimonies of his providence and love, as pledges of his continual grace and favour; if we fecure our hearts from inordinate violent paffions and at the fame time take pains to preserve our taste unvitiated and free. So shall we, even with a very inferior portion of talents and endowments, of means to pleasure and fatisfaction, enjoy more real happiness, than a thoufand others who have a fuperfluity of all these things.

Yet one more cause of our deficiency in happiness is laftly this: We think on all things and concerning all things too partially. Our thoughts, our sensations, our prospects and hopes comprehend too little; they uniformly adhere to fingle objects, to detached particles and circumstances. We think not frequently enough on the confequences of things, and on their clofe and indiffoluble connection and concatenation with each other. Indeed if we think folely on the labours and toils of this life, but not on the various and noble fruits of them; folely on the pains and fufferings that befall us, but not on their falutary influence on our moral improvement and perfection; if we look folely on

the bad, but not on the good fide, folely on the adverfe fortunes, but not on the glorious destination of our fellow-creatures; if we confider the evil independently of its connection with the good, and the prefent independently of its connection with the future; clouds and thick darkness must encompass us on all fides, we must find on all fides occafions for diffatisfaction and complaint. But why then do we divide in our thoughts, what in its nature and in the defign of God is fo infeparably connected? Why do we fo contract our mind and our heart, fince both of them are capable of furveying and of embracing fo much? No, let us rather expand both the one and the other, not always dwell on the detached parts of these things, but remark their adherence, and connect the parts with the whole to which they belong, the prefent with the future, time with eternity. This will clear up much, unravel much, caufe us to find many things far more beautiful and far better, than they apparently were; it will change many of our forrows into joys; the fairest hopes and profpects will be the infeparable companions of our life; and fo fhall we far more exultingly enjoy the prefent, and far more comfortably expect the future; we fhall there. fore befar more happy,

SERMON LI.

Caufes of the Deficiency in Social Pleafure.

OD, thou haft formed us for focial life: and

GOD

how abundant the fources of happiness which thou haft thus opened to us! The more intimately. thou haft connected us together; the more dependent thou haft made us on each other; the more reciprocal duties thou haft enjoined us the greater is the pleasure which we may procure to each other and mutually enjoy. Wants, imperfections, infirmities, failings, propenfities, forrows and joys, labours and employments, all draw us nearer together, and communicate to us motives and means to serve, to affift, to gratify one another, and mutually to render the journey of life more eafy and pleasant. With the practice of every social duty thou haft afsociated fatiffaction and felicity, and only vice can render our connections and intercourse irksome and pernicious. Oh that we were fenfible to thy gracious defigns, and endeavoured always more completely to anfwer them! That focial life might be and afford to us all that according to thy benign 'purposes and by means of our capacities it might and fhould be and afford! Oh that cordial benevolence and christian

philanthropy always actuated us likewife in this respect and regulated all our words and actions! How fecure and contented fhould we live among our brethren, and carry on our dealings with them! How much fatisfaction fhould we mutually enjoy and promote! It is our intention at prefent to meditate on this important branch of human happiness. Do thou bestow a bleffing on these our meditations; that they may lead us to the knowledge of our failings in this particular, and to the diligent correction of them. These our petitions we offer up to thy divine majesty with filial confidence as the votaries of Jefus ; and in firm reliance on his promifes conclude them in the form of words which he vouchfafed to give us. Our father, &c.

PROV. iii. 21.

My fon, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep found wifdom and difcretion.

SOCIAL life and its pleasures are unquestionably

a very productive fource of human happiness. Here one man communicates to another his agreeable ideas and fenfations, his views, his hopes, his fatisfactions, and thus both the one and the other are multiplied and brought into more general circulation. Here all participate in the beautiful and good, which each in particular poffeffes and does and enjoys, and in fome measure make them their own. Here every one forgets what is difagreeable and

trouble

troublesome in his ftation and calling, the cares and fatigues of a busy and laborious life, and enjoys the fruits of his diligence and industry. Here exertion gives place to relaxation, labour to reft, preparative to enjoyment. Here, in free and eafy con verse, without profeffed defign we reciprocally teach and learn, give and receive. Here the individual feels himself lefs weak, lefs ignorant, lefs defective in conjunction with his brethren; their perceptions and abilities to him feem rather the common bank and capital of human perceptions and abilities, than the private property of their owner. Here greater sprightliness, greater liberty, greater frankness and confidence reign than in the circle of ordinary affairs. So many advantages, my pious hearers, which are doubtless highly calculated to promote human pleafure and happiness. But do they in reality promote them to that extent which they might and ought? Do they come up to the expectations which we commonly and juftly form from them? Is and affords focial life to us all that it might and fhould be and afford to us? How often do we hear complaints, of the want of focial pleasure, of the want of focial happiness! These complaints indeed are feldom loud; they are generally ftifled by false shame; they are however intelligible enough to the humane and affectionate obferver of what paffes among his brethren. He fees on all hands forced jovialty, feigned mirth, deceived expectations, difappointed hopes; perfons who pretend to fatisfaction and pleasure, where they have enjoyed neither the

one