SERMON: Upon Sleeping In Church, by Jonathan Swift

Posted on September 23, 2012

And there sat in a Window a certain young Man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and while Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with Sleep, and fell down from the third Loft, and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:9)

I have chosen these Words with Design, if possible, to disturb some Part in this Audience of half an Hour’s Sleep, for the Convenience and Exercise whereof this Place, at this Season of the Day, is very much celebrated.

There is indeed one mortal Disadvantage to which all preaching is subject; that those who, by the Wickedness of their Lives, stand in greatest Need, have usually the smallest Share; for, either they are absent upon the Account of Idleness, or Spleen, or Hatred to Religion, or in order to doze away the Intemperance of the Week; or, if they do come, they are sure to employ their Minds rather any other Way, than regarding or attending to the Business of the Place.

The Accident which happened to this young Man in the Text, hath not been sufficient to discourage his Successors: But, because the Preachers now in the World, however they may exceed St. Paul in the Art of setting Men to Sleep, do extremely fall short of him in the Working of Miracles; therefore Men are become so cautious as to choose more safe and convenient Stations and Postures for taking their Repose, without Hazard of their Persons; and upon the whole Matter, choose rather to trust their Destruction to a Miracle, than their Safety. However, this being not the only Way by which the lukewarm Christians and Scorners of the Age discover their Neglect and Contempt of Preaching, I shall enter expressly into Consideration of this Matter, and order my Discourse in the following Method.

First, I shall produce several Instances to shew the great Neglect of
Preaching now among us.

Secondly, I shall reckon up some of the usual Quarrels Men have
against Preaching.

Thirdly, I shall set forth the great Evil of this Neglect and Contempt of
Preaching, and discover the real Causes from whence it proceedeth.

Lastly, I shall offer some Remedies against this great and spreading Evil.

First, I shall produce certain Instances to shew the great Neglect of Preaching now among us.

These may be reduced under two Heads. First, Man’s Absence from the Service of the Church; and, Secondly, their Misbehavior when they are here.

The first Instance of Men’s Neglect, is in their frequent Absence from the Church.

There is no Excuse so trivial, that will not pass upon some Men’s Consciences to excuse their Attendance at the public Worship of God. Some are so unfortunate as to be always indisposed on the Lord’s Day, and think nothing so unwholesome as the Air of a Church. Others have their Affairs so oddly contrived, as to be always unluckily prevented by Business. With some it is a great Mark of Wit, and deep Understanding, to stay at Home on Sundays. Others again discover strange Fits of Laziness, that seize them, particularly on that Day, and confine them to their Beds. Others are absent out of mere Contempt of Religion. And, lastly, there are not a few who look upon it as a Day of Rest, and therefore claim the Privilege of their Castle, to keep the Sabbath by eating, drinking, and sleeping, after the Toil and Labor of the Week. Now, in all this the worst Circumstance is, that these Persons are such whose Companies are most required, and who stand most in Need of a Physician.

Secondly, Men’s great Neglect and Contempt of Preaching, appear by their Misbehavior, when at Church.

If the Audience were to be ranked under several Heads, according to their Behavior, when the Word of God is delivered, how small a Number would appear of those who receive it as they ought? How much of the Seed then sown would be found to fall by the Way Side, upon stony Ground, or among Thorns? And how little good Ground would there be to take it? A Preacher cannot look around from the Pulpit, without observing, that some are in a perpetual Whisper, and, by their Air and Gesture, give Occasion to suspect, that they are in those very Minutes defaming their Neighbor. Others have their Eyes and Imagination constantly engaged in such a Circle of Objects, perhaps to gratify the most unwarrantable Desires, that they never once attend to the Business of the Place; the Sound of the Preacher’s Words doth not so much as once interrupt them. Some have their Minds wandering among idle, worldly, or vicious Thoughts. Some lie at Catch to ridicule whatever they hear, and with much Wit and Humor provide a Stock of Laughter, by furnishing themselves from the Pulpit. But, of all Misbehavior, none is comparable to that of those who come here to sleep; Opium is not so stupefying to many Persons as an Afternoon Sermon. Perpetual Custom hath so brought it about, that the Words of whatever Preacher, become only a Sort of uniform Sound at a Distance, than which nothing is more effectual to lull the Senses. For, that it is the very Sound of the Sermon which bindeth up their Faculties, is manifest from hence, because they all awake so very regularly as soon as it ceaseth, and with much Devotion receive the Blessing, dozed and besotted with Indecencies I am ashamed to repeat.

I proceed, Secondly, to reckon up some of the usual Quarrels Men have against Preaching, and to shew the Unreasonableness of them.

Such unwarrantable Demeanor as I have described, among Christians in the House of God, in a solemn Assembly, while their Faith and Duty are explained and delivered, have put those who are guilty, upon inventing some Excuses to extenuate their Fault: This they do by turning the Blame either upon the particular Preacher, or upon Preaching in general. First, they object against the particular Preacher; his Manner, his Delivery, his Voice are disagreeable; his Style and Expression are flat and low, sometimes improper and absurd; the Matter is heavy trivial and insipid; sometimes despicable, and perfectly ridiculous, or else, on the other Side, he runs up into unintelligible Speculation, empty Notions, and abstracted Flights, all clad in Words above usual Understandings.

Secondly, They object against Preaching in general; it is a perfect Road of Talk; they know already whatever can be said; they have heard the same an hundred Times over. They quarrel that Preachers do not relieve an old beaten Subject with Wit and Invention; and that now the Art is lost of moving Men’s Passions, so common among the Orators of Greece and Rome. These, and the like Objections, are frequently in the Mouths of Men who despise the Foolishness of Preaching. But let us examine the Reasonableness of them.

The Doctrine delivered by all Preachers is the same: So we preach, and so ye believe: But the Manner of delivering is suited to the Skill and Abilities of each, which differ in Preachers just as in the rest of Mankind. However, in personal Dislikes of a particular Preacher, are these Men sure they are always in the right? Do they consider how mixed a Thing is every Audience, whose Taste and Judgment differ, perhaps every Day, not only from each other, but themselves? And how to calculate a Discourse, that shall exactly suit them all, is beyond the Force and Reach of human Reason, Knowledge, or Invention. Wit and Eloquence are shining Qualities, that God hath imparted, in great Degrees, to very few, nor any more to be expected, in the Generality of any Rank among Men, than Riches and Honor. But further: If Preaching in general be all old and beaten, and that they are already so well acquainted with it, more Shame and Guilt to them who so little edify by it. But, these Men, whose Ears are so delicate as not to endure a plain Discourse of Religion, who expect a constant Supply of Wit and Eloquence on a Subject handled so many thousand Times; what will they say when we turn the Objection upon themselves, who with all the lewd and profane Liberty of Discourse they take, upon so many thousand Subjects, are so dull as to furnish nothing but tedious Repetitions, and little paltry, nauseous Commonplaces, so vulgar, so worn, or so obvious, as upon any other Occasion, but that of advancing Vice, would be hooted off the Stage. Nor, lastly, are Preachers justly blamed for neglecting human Oratory to move the Passions, which is not the Business of a Christian Orator, whose Office it is only to work upon Faith and Reason. All other Eloquence hath been a perfect Cheat, to stir up Men’s Passions against Truth and Justice, for the Service of a Faction, to put false Colors upon Things, and by an Amusement of Agreeable Words, make the worse Reason appear to be the better. This is certainly not to be allowed in Christian Eloquence, and therefore, St. Paul took quite the other Course; he came not with Excellency of Words or enticing Speeches 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 so fast asleep.

I go on Thirdly, to set forth the great Evil of this Neglect and Scorn of Preaching, and to discover the real Causes from whence it proceedeth.

I think it is obvious to believe, that this Neglect of Preaching hath very much occasioned the great Decay of Religion among us. To this may be imputed no small Part of that Contempt some Men bestow on the Clergy; for whoever talketh without being regarded, is sure to be despised. To this we owe in a great Measure, the spreading of Atheism and Infidelity among us; for, Religion, like all other Things, is soonest put out of Countenance by being ridiculed. The Scorn of Preaching might perhaps, have been at first introduced by Men of nice Ears and refined Taste; but it is now become a spreading Evil, through all Degrees, and both Sexes; for, since Sleeping, Talking, and Laughing are Qualities sufficient to furnish out a Critick, the meanest and most Ignorant have set up a Title, and succeeded in it, as well as their Betters. Thus are the last Efforts of reforming Mankind rendered wholly useless: How shall they hear, saith the Apostle, 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 also entirely impute that gross Ignorance among us in the very Principles of Religion, which is amazing to find in Persons who may much value their own Knowledge and Understanding in other Things; yet it is a visible, inexcusable Ignorance, even in the meanest among us, considering 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 Sin to a People, whose Hearts are waxed gross, whose Ears are dull of Hearing, and whose Eyes are closed. Therefore, Christ himself, in his Discourses, frequently rouseth up the Attention of the Multitude, and of his Disciples themselves, with this Expression, He that hath Ears to hear, let him hear. But, among all Neglects of Preaching, none is so fatal as that of sleeping in the House of God; a Scorner may listen to Truth and Reason, and in Time grow serious; 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 Sleeper shuts up all Avenues to his Soul: He is like the deaf Adder, that hearkeneth not to the Voice of the Charmer, charm he never so wisely. And we may preach with as good Success to the Grave that is under his Feet.

But the great Evil of this Neglect will further yet appear, from considering the real Causes whence it proceedeth; whereof the first, I take to be, an evil Conscience. Many Men come to Church to save or gain a Reputation; or because they will not be singular, but comply with an established Custom; yet all the while, they are loaded with the Guilt of old rooted Sins. These Men can expect to hear of nothing but Terrors and Threatenings, their Sins laid open in true Colors, and eternal Misery and Reward of them; therefore no Wonder they stop their Ears, and divert their Thoughts, and seek any Amusement, rather than stir the Hell within them.

Another Cause of this Neglect, is a Heart set upon worldly Things. Men whose Minds are much enslaved to earthly Affairs all the Week, cannot disengage or break the Chain of their Thoughts so suddenly, as to apply to a Discourse that is wholly foreign to what they have most at Heart. Tell a Usurer of Charity, and Mercy, and Restitution, you talk to the Deaf; his Heart and Soul, with all his Senses, are got among his Bags, or he is gravely asleep, and dreaming of a Mortgage. Tell a Man of Business, that the Cares of the World choak the good Seed; that we must not encumber ourselves with much serving; that the Salvation of his Soul is the one Thing necessary: You see, indeed, the Shape 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 drowsy Nods.

A Third Cause of the great Neglect and Scorn of Preaching, ariseth from the Practice of Men who set up to decry and disparage Religion; these, being zealous to promote Infidelity and Vice, learn a Rote of Buffoonery that serveth all Occasions, and refutes the strongest Arguments for Piety and good Manners. These have a Set of Ridicule calculated for all Sermons and all Preachers, and can be extreme witty as often as they please upon the same Fund.

Let me now in the last Place, offer some Remedies against this great Evil.

It will be one Remedy against the Contempt of Preaching, rightly to consider the End for which it was designed. There are many who place Abundance of Merit in going to Church, although it be with no other Prospect but that of being well entertained, wherein if they happen to fail, they return wholly disappointed. Hence it is become an impertinent Vein among People of all Sorts, to hunt after what they call a good Sermon, as if it were a Matter of Pastime and Diversion. Our Business, alas, is quite another Thing, either to learn, or at least be reminded of our Duty, to apply the Doctrines delivered, compare the Rules we hear with our Lives and Actions, and find wherein we have transgressed. These are the Dispositions Men should bring into the House of God, and then they will be little concerned about the Preacher’s Wit or Eloquence, nor be curious to enquire out his Faults of Infirmities, but consider how to correct their own.

Another Remedy against the Contempt of Preaching is, that Men would consider, whether it be not reasonable to give more Allowances for the different Abilities of Preachers than they usually do? Refinements of Style, and Flights of Wit, as they are not properly the Business of any courses, Men are satisfied with sober Sense and plain Reason; and, as Understandings usually go, even that is not over frequent. Then why should they be so overnice in expectation of eloquence, where it is neither necessary nor convenient, is hard to imagine.

Lastly, The Scorners of Preachers would do well to consider, that this Talent of Ridicule, they value so much, is a Perfection very easily acquired, and applied to all Things whatsoever; neither is it any Thing at all the worse, because it is capable of being perverted to Burlesque: Perhaps it may be the more perfect upon that Score; since we know, the most celebrated Pieces have been thus treated with greatest Success. It is in any Man’s Power to suppose a Fool’s Cap on the wisest Head, and then laugh at his own Supposition. I think there are not many Things cheaper than supposing and laughing; and if the uniting these two Talents can bring a Thing into Contempt, it is hard to know where it may end.

To conclude, these Considerations may, perhaps, have some Effects while Men are awake; but what Argument shall we use to the Sleeper? What Methods shall we take to hold open his Eyes? Will he be moved by Considerations of common Civility? We know it is reckoned a Point of very bad Manners to sleep in private Company, when, perhaps, the tedious Impertinence of many Talkers would render it at least as excusable as at the dullest Sermon. Do they think it a small Thing to watch four Hours at a Play, where all Virtue and Religion are openly reviled; and can they not watch one half Hour to hear them defended? Is this to deal like a Judge, (I mean like a good Judge) to listen on one Side of the Cause, and sleep on the other? I shall add but one Word more: That this indecent Sloth is very much owing to that Luxury and Excess Men usually practice upon this Day, by which half the Service thereof is turned into Sin; Men dividing the Time between God and their Bellies, when after a gluttonous Meal, their Senses dozed and stupefied, they retire to God’s House to sleep out the Afternoon. Surely, Brethren, these Things ought not so to be.