your Speech be fuch as tends to that useful Inftruction, that every Body you converfe with have need of, or occafion for. Or thus, Let your Speech be pertinent, and fomeways fitting the Needs and Exigencies of those you have to deal with. This, I think, is the full Senfe of the former Phrafe.

(2.) And then, in the fecond Place, as for the latter, viz. that it may minifter Grace to the Hearers, Grotius's Note here is, that you may deferve well of your Hearers, by being useful to them. Dr. Hammond's Note is, that your Speech may bring Advantage to them who hear you. So that in truth, all that is meant and enjoined by this Text comes to this, (I give it you in the Words of another excellent Expofitor of holy Scripture, viz. Vorftius) Let no corrupt or vicious Communication proceed out of your Mouth, but that which is ufeful and pertinent, as there is Occafion, that fo not only your Speech may be acceptable to, and well received by them who hear it, but may also, fome Way or other, profit them, and be of Advantage to them.

This, I verily believe, is both the true and the full Senfe and Importance of these Words. It is not here faid that our Speech ought always to be ferious, much less that it ought always to be about Matters of Religion, or always to tend to spiritual Edification; but that it always ought to be pertinent and proper to the prefent Oc

cafion:

cafion: And, as far the Occafion will bear, it fhould be useful and inftructive to thofe who hear it, fo as that they may receive fome Benefit, fome Advantage from our Difcourfes, more or lefs, according as our own Talents and Abilities, or the Circumftances of the Company, or the Nature of the Bufinefs before us do give us Opportunity.

And if fo, I appeal to any one, whether the moft fcrupulous Perfon have any juft Reafon from this Text, to be afraid of any harmless Mirth, and Pleafantnefs, and Freedom in Converfation; or to think himself, upon Account thereof, obliged to talk nothing but what is grave and ferious.

And thus I have vindicated the innocent Liberties of common Converfation from the Objections which fome devout, but melancholy Perfons are apt to make against them.

II. But I must not leave the Matter thus: The Exhortation in my Text is of too great Moment to be flightly paffed over; and therefore I fhall proceed now, by way of Application, to inforce the Practice of that which the Text, in the true Sense of it, recommends to us: Let no corrupt Communication, fays St. Paul, proceed out of your Mouth, but that which is good to the Ufe of edifying, that it may minifter Grace

to the Hearers.

Now

Now to the obferving this Rule, it is fuppofed, not only that we have laid afide all vicious and corrupt Communication, that we have got over the common Faults of Mankind in their Difcourfes, viz. that we never talk unlawful forbidden Things, and that none of our Converfation is either against Truth, or Charity, or Piety, or Purity, which is the corrupt Communica tion that is prohibited by the Laws of Chrift. But, I fay, if we would observe this Rule, it is fuppofed further, that we make it one of the great Bufineffes of our Converfation to do all the Good we can; to help, and profit, and be useful to all we converfe with in all the Ways which are in our Power. Now there is no Man living, who is not a Natural or a Lunatick, but is fome way or other capable of practifing this Rule in his Converfation; at leaft at fome Times. He is an odd fort of Man, whatever his Education, or Profesfion, or Circumftances be, who cannot fometimes do Service by his Communication to those he converfeth with; (tho' otherwise much wifer than himself) either by teaching them fomething which he knows better than they, or informing them in fomething which it concerns them to know, and yet they cannot come to the Knowledge of it without that Information. But as for those upon whom God hath beftowed any confiderable Degree of Parts

and

and Talents, and efpecially where those Parts have been improved by Education or Experience; they ought to remember that God hath beftowed thefe Bleffings upon them not for their own Sakes only, but that they might be Inftruments of doing Good to Mankind by their Communication. It is in their Power, if they will, to make the most common Difcourfes they are ingaged in, fome way or other useful and beneficial to the Hearers. And certainly, if all fuch Perfons would once try this way of Converfation, viz. to talk as usefully as they can to the Company they are ingaged in (in what Way foever it be) they would foon find the Comfort of it.

There is no Doubt but that every Night, when they come on their Pillows to reflect on the Actions of the Day paft, (as I believe Men generally do not fleep fo foundly, but, whether they will or no, they make fome Reflections) they would find a great deal of Pleasure in being able to fatisfy themselves, that that Day hath not been fpent unprofitably. Tho' they have been ingaged in feveral Sorts of Conversation, yet they have endeavoured that their Talk should not have been altogether useless and impertinent. They have, fome way or other, bettered the Company, either by their Notions, or Inftructions, or by their Advices and Cautions. This that I now fay, hath Reference to all Sorts of useful VOL. VI.

Za

Talk

Talk wherein the Life of Men is concerned, whether it be in Matters of Trade, or Arts, or Sciences; or with respect to Mens Manners, or their civil and domeftick Concern

ments.

But there is one Sort of useful Talk, which, I think, I ought to press a little more particularly upon this Occafion, and that is, in the Points of Piety and Religion. Which I believe my Text hath a particular Respect to, tho' it ought not to be confined to them. St. Paul fays, that all our Communication should be good to the Ufe of edifying. I do not gather from hence, that all our Discourse ought to be about fpiritual Matters, or otherwise it is a corrupt Communication, for this is the Thing I have been all this while confuting: But this is that which I fay, Certainly fpiritual Things ought not to be wholly paffed by in our common Conversation. On the contrary, we ought to take all Occafions to speak of them, this being the beft and the nobleft Theme that we can employ our Speech about, and that which moft tends to the Benefit of others.

Pray hear what our Apoftle faith in anCol. 3. 16.other Place: Let the Word of Chrift, fays he, dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in Pfalms, and Hymns, and fpiritual Songs, finging with Grace in your Hearts to the Lord. Thefe Words import, that as we fhould always have a

deep