vert with all his might, as heretical and antichristian. The dispute soon becomes a trial of skill, and the passions and prejudices of the combatants spread a cloud over the question, in which truth and charity often vanish together. Thus dark and tempestuous are these lower regions. But, by study and meditation in solitude, the Christian, in heart and mind, ascendeth to a purer element, from whence he beholdeth the storms produced by contending factions far beneath him, and expatiateth at pleasure in those fields of light and serenity which open themselves on all sides to his view. He consoleth himself by contemplating the church as she formerly subsisted in original purity and unity, and as she will hereafter exist in her triumphant state above, when her members of every age and nation shall all lift up their voices together, and make their sound to be heard as one, in giving glory to God, and to the Lamb. Disencumbered of passions and prejudices, he followeth after the truth which leadeth to godliness, and the wisdom whose end is salvation.

For the attainment of that wisdom a third thing requisite is divine illumination. Wisdom is one of those "good and perfect gifts," which "come down "from the Father of lights," and must be sued for with humility and fervour, in petitions like these"Give me wisdom that sitteth by thy throne, and

reject me not from among thy children-For "though a man be never so perfect among the child"ren of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, "he shall be nothing regarded-O send her out of "thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy

For

"glory, that being present she may labour with me, "that I may know what is pleasing unto thee. "she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she "shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve

me by her power-For what man is he that can "know the counsel of God; or, who can think what "the will of the Lord is, except thou give wisdom, "and send thy Holy Spirit from above"?" Such gracious promises are made, and are ready to be fulfilled to the retired Christian. Let but the pollutions and distractions of the world be removed, and the wisdom which "is first pure," and then "peace"able," will enter in. To receive the law, Moses was called away from the congregation to the top of the mount. Ezekiel beheld the visions of God, while a solitary captive upon the banks of Chebar. Daniel was informed concerning the restoration of Jerusalem, and the advent of Messiah, on the evening of a day dedicated to retirement, for the purposes of fasting and prayer. St. John was an exile in the desolate Patmos, when the glorious scenes described in the book of Revelation were made to pass before him, and he was enabled to extend his view, through all the different revolutions of empires, and periods of the church, to the end of time. And although we no more look for visions and revelations from heaven, yet from thence we expect, according to the most sure promise of our Master, the gift of the Spirit, to bless and prosper us in our studies, to open to us the Scriptures, and our understandings, that we may

Wisdom, ix. 4.

understand them. The same Spirit that gave the word, giveth likewise the interpretation thereof. And the latter, as well as the former, is best received in solitude, which appears to be thus admirably calcu lated for the attainment of wisdom, as it requireth study and attention, a dispassionate and unprejudiced mind, and that illumination which is from on high.

Sin, in the language of Scripture, is styled folly, to intimate to us, that true wisdom and holiness are inseparable companions. That, therefore, which conduceth to the acquisition of one, can never bear an unfavourable aspect towards the other, and solitude will be found the best nurse of sanctity, more particularly as it consisteth in the exercise of mortification.

This is a work which no man can set about, till he knoweth what those failings are, to which he is subject. And such is the power of self-love, that the person concerned is generally the last who comes to a knowledge of this most important point. If neither the fidelity of his friends nor the malice of his enemies let him into the secret, there is only a third way in which it is possible for him to become master of it, which is self-examination, constantly, sincerely, and thoroughly practised. And this requireth stated seasons of retirement; for want of which, we see those, who are engaged in a circle of business, or pleasures, living entire strangers to themselves and their own infirmities, though intimately acquainted with the follies and foibles of all around them. "In the night," the psalmist tells us, he communed with his own heart, and "his

"spirit made diligent search"." Then silence and solitude afforded him an opportunity of scrutinizing the tempers of his soul, of discovering the maladies to which he was inclined, and of applying the proper remedies to each.

That medicines may be administered with success, it is necessary to cut off the provisions, which nourish and increase the disorder. The world, in the case before us, is full of such provisions; and therefore the patient must withdraw, for a while, from the influence of its temptations. "Where no wood is, "the fire goeth out"." Remove the object, and the passion will by degrees die away. In solitude, the pleasures and glories of the world no longer strike upon the senses, and solicit the affections. The soul, therefore, in this situation, like one escaped out of a battle to a place of security, hath leisure to reflect upon her condition, and to provide for her future safety. By looking into herself, she perceiveth how much she standeth in need of mercy and grace; and then she is naturally led to look up to heaven, as the only place from whence they are to be obtained. The former of these prospects filleth her with compunction, and causeth her to mourn for her sins with that godly sorrow which worketh a repentance never to be repented of; the latter encourageth her to pour forth herself in continual prayer to the God of her salvation, until he have mercy upon her. St. Peter, when reminded of his offence by the crowing of the cock, and the affectionate look of an abjured Master,

Psal. lxxvii. 6.

P Prov. xxvi. 20.

went out from the high priest's hall where he was, and in solitude, with strong crying and tears, made supplication for pardon and peace. In retirement it is, that we find ourselves best able to practise all the holy arts of abstinence and self-denial, so needful for the perfecting repentance by mortifying the whole body of sin.

When men cannot be induced voluntarily to take this course, they are often forced into it by Providence visiting them with some heavy calamity, which by a stroke, like the amputation of a limb, severe but salutary, separating them at once from the world, shall oblige them to converse first with themselves, and then with God. Thus was Babylon's haughty monarch driven, in an extraordinary manner, from society, to learn humility in the fields and woods, until he acknowledged the power and the righteousness of the King of heaven. And thus the idolatrous and superlatively wicked Manasseh became a sincere and hearty penitent in the solitude of a Chaldean prison. Nor can we but admire, upon this occasion, the wisdom and goodness of God in sending sickness, as a preparative for death. Sickness takes a man, as it were, out of this scene of things, to fit him for another. It draws the curtain between him and the world, shutting out all its cares, and all its pleasures. It puts away his idle and noisy acquaintance far from him; and having thus secured his attention to the one thing needful, gives him ideas of the nature of sin, and the importance of death, the vanities of time, and the glories of eternity, to which he was before an utter stranger. Now appear to him, in