DIRECTIONS For the DUE Observation Of The LORDS DAY.  
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Dring in Fleet-Street, 1682.   

TO THE READER.  
THe Author of this Collection having no design, but the honour and glory of God, which being by nothing more effected, than by the Observation of His Day( I mean the Sabbath Day): And having found it very well pressed in a large Treatise, and dispersed in it upon several Occasions, which is not so ready for general Use, or in the power of those whose condition cannot allow the Charge of so big a volume; hath therefore comprised it into this Compass; which he is not at all ashamed to own, since it is to make it more ready for every ones consideration, that desires to serve God according to His Rule, to whom God hath promised the blessing of Peace.  
He doth not care how this Action is Censured,( which being without the Authors knowledge, or of any that relate to him) may perhaps be thought a great piece of confidence; but if it prove a service to any poor Soul, he will think it return enough for this small pains. It is certain, this Day cannot be too much regarded, nor we cannot be too often desired to remember it.  
It was dedicated as soon as the Creation of the World was finished, to this great End, That the wonderful Work of GOD might not be forgotten, but might be kept in remembrance to all Generations; that we might Fear Him, and Serve Him, and Obey Him; which Moses says, shall be well for Us, and for our Children.  
It was strictly Commanded by God, that it should be kept with great care; and was delivered upon the Mount with the other Nine Commandments, with Thunder and Fire, and a Terrible Voice( to beget a Reverence) which made the Children of Israel exceedingly Tremble and Quake; that so by his Dreadfulness, he might make them afraid to break them, as holy Job says.  
Besides, the greatness of the Punishment which he inflicted upon the neglect of it, on the Offenders, which were to be stoned to Death, should give us great caution how we behave ourselves; it being still a Command in force upon us Gentiles, as well as the Jews; and not abolished as the Sacrifices, which were only Types of the Messiah; and after his coming, were no longer for our good, as Ezekiel says: But became a burden too heavy for us to bear, and of no use after our Blessed Saviour became a Sacrifice for us, having no power to take away Sin: For it was impossible, the Apostle says, for the blood of Bulls and Goats to do it: But our Saviour says, A Body was prepared for him, and his delight was to take it; He came to do the Will of GOD: Yet notwithstanding says, He came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it: He took away the Rigour of it, by paying our Debt; He bore our sins on his own Body, and so fulfilled all Righteousness; but was himself Obedient unto it: He went himself on the Sabbath Day, and Taught in the Temple; He corrected the faults of the Jews, and instructed them how they were to perform the Will of God; not by works of Righteousness, which he only could perform, but by Humility, and Love to GOD, and our Neighbours, which he  told them was the fulfilling of the Law: He had satisfied for us, and therefore that Holy Day was to be employed in Prayer and praises, in acts of Charity and Compassion, according to his great Example, who on the Sabbath Healed all manner of Diseases, and was laborious for the relief of the Necessities of his poor Creatures: and charged us to do as he had done. His holy Apostles and Disciples did follow this Rule, and therefore ordained the First-Day of the week, which is the Christians Sabbath, to be employed to that great use, and therefore called Sunday; it being the day on which the Son of GOD Rose from the Dead; by which He gave us Assurance that he had finished this great work of our Redemption, and had overcome Death and Sin, and the Grave and Hell, having blotted out the Hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us, and nailed it to his across: All our sins( as a cloud) he had taken out of the way, so that we might come boldly to the Throne of Grace, pleading his Merits, and except a glorious Resurrection from him, to inherit those Mansions prepared for us in his Fathers Kingdom. Which was certainly a greater work than the Creation at first( although that was of this excellent world, full of such Curiosities, qualified to so great end, and to continue in so extraordinary a manner, till he that made it, shall think fit to say( Time shall be no more) which cannot be altered or changed by the power of the greatest Potentate, till he pleases to permit it); but this of our Redemption is yet more Admirable, being of this world, after it had lost the favour of God, and was out of all possibility of receiving that Happiness to which( in the Creation) it was designed, and became most Miserable: No creature, no not the Angels being able to undertake this great work; they wept much out of Compassion for us, that none was found worthy to open the Seals, wherein our destruction was bound up, till this lion of the Tribe of Juda came, the Son of GOD, who took upon him our Nature, and in it made full satisfaction; as his provoked Father testified, by a Voice from Heaven, saying, He was well pleased; He did accept of the Offering, and by it the Kingdom of Heaven was opened to all Believers.  
Ought not then this great work of his to be kept in remembrance for ever? Ought we not to go into his Courts with Thanksgiving, and into his House with Praise, to be Thankful unto him, and to speak good of his Name; since we find by experience, the Lord is Gracious, his Mercy is Everlasting, and his Truth endures to all Generations: Omitting no opportunity of Serving him, Conversing with him, and Receiving him, whereby we may please him, and perfect our Duty, as the Reverend Dr. tailor says, Not resting in the last and lowest means of Necessity, but passing on to the Transportation of an excellent Religion; that others seeing our good works, may glorify our Father which is in Heaven; that so by their joints and bands, our Souls may be knit to our Head Christ Jesus, taking fast hold on him, from whom all the body, having nourishment ministered, may be together increased, with the increase of God.  Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in thy Courts: He shall be satisfied with the Goodness of thy House, even of thy Holy Temple, As it is in Psal. 65. ver. 4.  

Directions for a Christian Behaviour on the Sabbath.  God is Greatly to be feared in the Assembly of his Saints( saith Holy David) and to be had in Reverence of all that are round about him. 
IT is certain, that had we a right Understanding of that GOD we have to do withal: We should endeavour to be strict in Obedience to all his Commands, which are Holy, and Just, and Good, and ought not to be disputed by us, though we do not understand them; but to be obeied with great circumspection by us his Creatures, who are wholly at His dispose, having our Being from Him, and all that we enjoy; and only, through his Son Jesus Christ, expect our Eternal Well-being. Had we but a true Consideration of the Power, and Excellence of God, it would make us afraid;( as Holy Job says) and we should humble ourselves in Dust and Ashes, who is a Consuming Fire; stand Amazed at his Goodness and Love to us, that still contrives ways for the making us happy, who are so unworthy of his Love. The Saints of God are infinitely sensible of it. O how great is his Goodness( saith Holy David) to those that fear him, to them that keep his Covenant. To those that remember his Commandments to do them, thou shalt fill them( says he in another place) with the fatness of thy House; thou shalt make them drink of the Rivers of thy Pleasure, thou hast shew'd them the Paths of Life; in thy presence is fullness of joys, and at thy right Hand are Pleasures for evermore. The Saints love God, and they love his Ordinances, his Word, and his Worship, Sabbaths, and Sacraments they love; they take delight in approaching to God, and to wait on him in his holy Temple.  
It is God in the Word that they love,& it is him that they Worship and Honour on this his Day; and in his Courts, they confess him worthy to receive Honour, Power, Glory, and Dominion, world, without End. And this ought to be our work upon this Holy Day principally,& our great Pleasure. To this God makes a great Promise, Isay 58.13. That if they turned away their foot from the Sabbath, from doing their pleasure on his Holy Day, and that the Sabbath was their delight, the Holy of the Lord, as it was honourable, so they did honour him, not doing their own ways, nor finding their own pleasure, nor speaking their own words, but did delight themselves in the Lord: Then he would make them to ride upon the high places of the Earth, and feed them with the heritage of Jacob their Father.  
Keep up Sabbaths, and you will keep up Scripture, Ordinances, Ministry, and Religion; keep up Religion, and the Devil, the World, and your Lusts will fall before you, and you will see them dead upon the stones; in vain shall the Devil Tempt, if our hearts were but thus fixed, trusting in the Lord.  
But the more immediate Influence of it will appear, if we consider that this day is a day, 

1. Of separation for God.  
2. Of special Communion with God.  
3. Of special protection for Souls.    
1. It is a day of separation for God; the people of God as such, are a separated People, separated from the Lusts of men, to the Laws of God, Neh. 10.28. Ezra 6.21. In their First Day, their day of grace, they separate themselves from the Evils of the World; and in this Day they are to separate themselves from the affairs and thoughts of the World. This day is an Hallowed day, Sanctified by God, and to be sanctified by his Saints; God's Sanctifying it, is setting apart the day for an holy one; our sanctifying it, is the setting it apart, for an holy Service. This day is a privileged day; nothing that is Common or Unclean may encroach upon it. The Day of the Lord is as the House of the Lord, a kind of meeting between Heaven and Earth, wherein God Calls us up to the Mount, and comes down to give us a meeting; and as when he came down to Mount Sinai, He required that his People, who were yet to come no nearer Him, than the foot of the Mount, should by washing their clothes, and separating themselves from their Wives, make ready against his coming down: So doth he here give us as strict a charge; Remember, be also ready, be ye also washed, and be ye separate; wash your hands, empty your hearts, come in from your fields, come out of your shops; lay by your work, leave this Earth below, come up to meet your God.  
There are two things that give to Objects, their greatest Efficacy and Advantage upon us; their nearness to us, and the remoteness of the contrary. The world on this day loses both these Advantages, wherein we are called to stand aloof from it; and so draw nigh to God.  
We are then fairest for Victory over the world, when we are farthest off it; 'tis ill fighting a Cock on his own dunghill: while the world is at our Elbow, there's little like to be done against it; while it is in our Eye or our Head, 'tis not easy to keep it out of our Heart: When the Lord hath gotten our Company alone, and the world hath nothing; not an Ox, nor an ass, not a Business, not a Pleasure to solicit our Love and Labour: when we are gotten out of sight, and out of hearing of this Harlot, and it crys after us: then it is most likely to lose its hold of us. The reason why we ordinarily make no more advantage of Sabbaths this way, is; because, however we pretend to draw nigh to God; yet we do not withdraw from the World. We come into the Sanctuary, as Israel went out of Egypt; we carry not our Wives and our little ones only; but our Flocks and our Herds, and all our Substance; we carry all we have with us, when we come before the Lord: the lowing of the Oxen, and the bleating of the Sheep, the sounding of the Millstone is so still in our Ears; the Butter and the Honey, the Wine and the oil, the Silver and the Gold, are so still continually in our Eye, that we cannot harken what the Lord God doth say, or see his face.  
Brethren, who is there with you at this hour? here you are before the Lord; but who is there with you? Search every Room, look into every Corner, is there none within that should not be there? Is there no messenger of satan? Hath the world no Agitator now at work within you? O behold! While the Lord is a treating with our Ears, what a mixed Multitude are there within; Cares, and Thoughts, and Lusts, and Projects for this World; and what a stir do they all make, that God may not be regarded? The Devil will be most busy at such a time, he doubts how matters might go with him, if he now keeps silence: doubtless many a soul more, might have been gained over to God, had not Satan stood by and hindered, and kept those ever near us that forbade the Match. Use to be alone with God, out of the Company, and out of the Noise and hearing of the wooings of this Harlot, and then there's hope the Lord may gain your Loves.  
What wonder that the Seed dies, and becomes unfruitful, that falls into a field of Stones, or amongst such Birds as stand watching to catch it all away? what hopes that the Council of the Lord will be Accepted of a mind preposses'd, and actually stuffed with the Cares of this Life? How canst thou ascend with thy burden on thy back? Unload, unload, lay aside every weight, and then go up and prosper.  
Say to all you have, stay here, while I go and pray before the Lord. Let the Night before each Sabbath, be as the grave betwixt the two Worlds; there let thy dust be butted, and thy Spirit fly Naked to thy God. Let the Night, which is the Partition betwixt thy own days and the Lords, be thy Souls taking its leave of all thou hast; any sinful thought, work or pleasure, thy lusts and thy evil ways, give thee an eternal Burial. Be gone, see my Face no more, and for matters Lawful and Honest, that concern this Earth, charge them not to thrust in before the Lord; go your way also for this time, and when I have a convenient season, I will sand for you. And if from Sabbath to Sabbath thy feet stand thus on the Mountain of the Lord, thou mayest find them all the week long on the tops of the Mountain of the Earth.  
Brethren, where is our Sabbath-separation? Is there not a fault amongst us upon this Account? Let him that heareth inquire how it is with us: Am I not faulty? What are my Sabbath-Thoughts? What are my Sabbath-Discourses? If I be better employed in the House of God, what do I in my own House? What are my morning, evening, and mid-day Thoughts? What is my Table-talk, my Chimny-talk? If Business, if Bargains, or Journeys be not admitted, are not Visits, or compliments, or vain Stories, or impertinent News, suffered to fill up the time? Is it thus or not with thee? Is it well that it is thus? O clear your Sabbaths of such worldly encroachments, or you'l never clear your Hearts; drive all the world into Patmos, into Banishment; and be wholly in the Spirit on the Lords-day; be abstracted from earthly things, and earthly Thoughts, bring them with you, neither to the House nor to the Day of the Lord.  
Let your own House, and your own Table, be as the House and Table of the Lord; have nothing to do from morning to evening but to wait on God: and it is our duty to live in great watchfulness over ourselves, that we may not do this Work of the Lord negligently, but may walk in the Fear of the Lord all the day long, with a Caution not so apt to be surprised as Dr. tailor says, and a Faith not to be reproved; that God may not be provok't by our negligence to forsake our Assemblies, and to sand a Curse upon us instead of a Blessing; we may then come boldly to the Throne of Grace through his Son Jesus Christ, and expect his gracious Assistance. To this man will I look( says God by His Prophet, Isay 66.2.) that trembles at my Word: Which every soul must necessary do, if they did but behold the Holiness, and the Authority of it, that it is the Word of the great God.  
He that reads the Word as the Epistles of God sent down to the World, cannot but have a great Reverence for it; where they behold it as the Epistle commendatory, that show the excellence of God, and his Letters mandatory, that charge subjection to God, he cannot but resign his will obediently to every part of it. It will be the bent and desire of his Soul to be obedient in all things, when he takes every word as coming from the Mouth of the Holy One of Israel, Then he lies prostrate before the Lord, his Soul bows, his Heart falls low, before the Feet of the Almighty. The Word by how much the more it is considered as the Word of God, so much the more awe it works upon him. Every look he casts upon his Bible, is a looking into Heaven. He that fears God, fears when he comes to Worship, reuerences his Sanctuary: in thy Pear will I Worship. That which works this Fear, is, that he looks upon the Ordinances and Duty of Worship, as  
The Institution of God:  
And his Applications unto God.  
This( says the devout Soul) is that which the Lord hath Sanctified; behold his Image and Superscription, here he hath appointed me to wait, and to meet my Soul; now I am going up to the Mount of God: The Mount of God is every where, where the Worship of God is. My Soul, where art thou? I am before the Lord of the whole Earth, Put off thy shoes from off thy Feet, the place whereon thou standest is Holy Ground: I am before the High and Holy One, the God of all the Earth, and upon transactions of eternal Consequence, to do my Homage to the everlasting King, to kneel before the Lord my Maker, to kiss the golden sceptre, to beg my Life at his hand, to behold his goings in the Sanctuary, his Wisdom, and his Mercies, and his Goodness are all passing before me. How dreadful is this Place, this is none other than the House of God and the Gates of Heaven! How dreadful is this Word, this is no other but the Word of God! How dreadful are these Ordinances, they are none other but the Door of Glory! Tremble thou Heart at the Presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob: and must not this holiday employed thus, tend much to our eternal Benefit? Will not God command his blessings, upon us, even Life for evermore? it must be so, because  
Secondly, Holy are the Days set on part by God, on purpose for Special Communion with Him; the Meeting of God with his People on the Sabbath-Day, is like the Meeting which was promised to Moses, Exod. 25.22. Before the Mercy-Seat, there will I meet thee, and Commune with thee; there will I show thee all my mind, and hear all thy requests. It is a Day of Blessing, Thither the Tribes go up to Bless the Lord, and there he comes down to Bless his People. It is said, Gen. 2. and Exod. 20. that God blessed the Seventh-Day. God's Blessing that Day, makes it a Day of Blessing, a good Day to his Saints; he then comes to them in the fullness of the Blessing of the Gospel.  
As God makes the Clouds his Chariots, so also he makes his Word, and his Ministers and his Ordinances his Chariots, wherein he rides down to give the World a Meeting; but especially upon the Sabbath-Day, which was set apart by himself for his Service, doth he principally Manifest himself: And he hath promised, that those, Who thus endeavour to order their Conversations aright, shall see the Salvation of God.  
When Ministers come down, and the Word comes down, God comes down in them to visit his People; as 'twas said of Paul, so it is true of Apollos and Cephas, and all the Dispencers of the Gospel: they are chosen Vessels, to bear his Name before the Sons of Men; and as they are the Chariots, in which God comes down, so are they also wagons which He hath sent them, to fetch them to Himself.  
The Saints sand up their Hearts in their Duty, their Hearts in their Prayers, in their Praises to God. Old Israels Heart leaped when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent. Oh! What Love doth the Psalmist express to the House, and Court of GOD: How amiable are thy Tabernacles? I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the House of the Lord. He was glad to go thither, because there he hoped to be carried higher, from the Mountain to the Mansion; from Mount Zion here below, to Jerusalem which is above.  
It is their Duty, and the Delight of Saints to be ascending Heaven-wards: As they are Dead with Christ, they are Risen with Christ; and it is not with them as they would, till they are ascending up with Christ. They are Dead with Christ by Repentance and Humiliation; they are Risen with Christ by Faith and Sanctification; and they Ascend with Christ by Love, and Holy Affection. This is their Chariot of Fire; a Chariot within a Chariot, that through Duties and Ordinances Rides up, in its own Flames, to the God of Love. Or if you will, the Ordinances of God are our Jacobs Ladder, reaching from Heaven to Earth, by which Angels descend, and Souls ascend: God comes down, and Hearts go up; Praises go up, and Blessings come down. Thou hast not proved what an Ordinance means, what Prayer is, or Preaching is, or Sacraments are, that hath not seen God coming down, nor felt thy Heart Ascending by them: He that hath felt this, will say, Here let me dwell; let others be where they will, amongst their Herds, upon their Beds, or at their Cups, amongst their Harlots, or in their Houses; it is good for me to be here. We should not think this Day lost; but shall Long till we have leave again to approach unto GOD.  
But no wonder Christians, that Carnal Hearts are such strangers to the Word, can so well set out at Duties, and can want Ordinances; Preaching, and Praying, and Sabbaths, they can spare, and not feel their want: What wonder! What is God to Flesh? These Chariots would carry them away from their gods; carry them out of their own Countries, into a strange Land, where they have neither Possession nor Acquaintance. But Oh! What a sad wonder is it, that Saints should go up so often into the Chariots, and yet be got no nearer Home! That they should be still so much on the Earth, that have been so often Mounted for Heaven! That those Hearts should still be on the dunghill, whose Feet are so often on the Mountain of the Lord! That the wagons should be so often sent down, and go Empty, scarce an Heart sent up in them! Yea, That they should be so far from God, when God is among them! Where's your Love Christians? How is it, that it is still below? What have you here? Your City is above, your Home is above; your God, your Jesus, your Treasure is above: Oh! How is it, that where your Treasure is, your Hearts be not also? Hear from God, and not God with the Messenger! sand up to Heaven your Eyes, your Heads, your Prayers, your Complaints, your Promises, and still leave your Hearts below! sand up your Hearts to Heaven, and let them return down again to the Earth, remain Earth, and Flesh, and Filth, and Vanity, after so much converse, or pretence to it, with the Holy GOD of Spirits! Lovest thou God, when thou canst go so often where He is, and not care to see Him; or if thou meet Him, canst let Him go without a Blessing? Or if He Bless thee, canst go presently, and exchange the Fathers Blessing for a Mess of Pottage; canst lose a Duty in a Dinner? The Comforts, and Revivings of a Sermon, of a Sacrament, of a Sabbath, in an Hours Carnal Converse in the World? Did we Love our God more, certainly we should be more with Him, and to better purpose: His Meetings would be more precious, and the Fruits of them more lasting; we should neither go away without his Blessing, nor throw it away when we had gotten it. But should infinitely value these gracious Opportunities and be mighty thankful to God, that by these means he is pleased to call us off from the World, that we may prepare for Eternity. Of this Sabbath David speaks with great delight, says he in Psal. 118. This is the Day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. And in Psal. 111. He hath made his wonderful Works to be remembered.  
Those that Question, whether the first day of the week be the Christian Sabbath; Let them consider, what day since the Death of Christ, the Lord hath exalted above all dayes, that they can with most confidence say, This is the day which the Lord hath Blessed. On what day was the Gates of Death broken, the Lord Jesus declared to be the Son of God with power by his Resurrection from the Dead? On which day was the Spirit of God most signally  shed abroad, on the Apostles, and Primitive Christians, in those Extraordinary Gifts, whereby they were made more capable of Publishing the Blessed Gospel to the Ends of the Earth, and in that special grace which seized three thousand Souls in one day, Acts 2. What day is it that hath been honoured to be the Birth-day of the greatest number of Saints, ever since that hath been their Feast day, wherein their Souls have been most sensibly Nourished, and they have been Increased with the Increasings of God, Col. 2.19. What meals have they had to their Lords-day meals, what joys to their Lords-day joys? Surely if this may determine the Question which day is the Sabbath of the Lord, the day which of all others God hath most Blessed and made a good day; The Experiences of all Christians, in all ages would bring in their Vote for the First day. And did we consider it, we should go into his Gates with thanksgiving, and into his Courts with praise; we should be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name, who doth give us hope of this benefit of which they were partakers, in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. But this by the way.  
This day, as is said before, is the Rest of God, a little hence let down to us on Earth. God calls us up hither, as he called Moses up to Pisgah, to give us a view of the promised Land. The Sabbath is hence opened, we may give a guess, at the Glory to come, by those glimpses and tastes we have of it here.  
It is the day of Interview betwixt the Bridegroom and the Bride, wherein he beholds our faces, and shows us his Love, wherein he comes down into his Garden to Eat his pleasant fruits, and we behold his goings, the goings of God in the Sanctuary.  
The business of this day is to look into the Ark of the Covenant of God, to review and renew the Covenant-Transactions betwixt him and our Souls: to search out, to Contemplate and Admire the Mercies and loving kindness of the Lord; to receive the overflowings of his goodness; to pour forth our Souls as an Offering to him in our prayers and praises; to give and receive mutual tokens and pledges of his love, and faithfulness; to seal to our fidelity to him, and to receive farther tokens and assurances of his grace and good will to our souls; to obtain help from God against our Enemies, the Devil, the World, and the corrupt Lusts of our Hearts. Hereby we may execute upon them the Vengeance written, and upon this Mountain ordinarily is the Victory obtained, There broke he the Arrows of the Bow, the Shield, the Sword, and the battle, Psal. 76.3.  
Christians, have you ever experimented this Sabbath-Communion? hath the Lord God appeared thus unto you, hath there been such friendly, and familiar intercourses betwixt him and your Soul? Oh how contemptibly hath the world looked on that day!  
But Oh what dark and cloudy dayes are our Sabbath dayes ordinarily to us, the Sun not once appearing it may be for many dayes together! No wonder our Souls are so earthed all the Week, when they are so seldom in Heaven on the Day of the Lord. What dry Feasts are our Sabbath-Feasts; rather Fasts than Feasts: Real Communion with God is a strengthening to us; even in the Day of God Heaven is opened, but our Eyes are shut: God comes down to meet us, and to Bless us; but our Hearts are not there, the breasts of Consolation are full; but we have no skill, or no list to draw at the breasts; we come to the Well, but we do not let down the Bucket; we stand by the Pool where the Angel comes down, but our Crippled Souls put not into the Waters. We stand without, in the outer Courts of the Lords House: Our Sabbaths are to us but Figures of Sabbaths; the Ordinances of them are to us as Wells without Water, Lamps without oil, mere shadows of good Things: We go up from Week to Week, to meet one with another; but how seldom do we see God in the Company. And hereupon it is, that Sabbaths come and go, and leave us still as we were; the Devil may well enough trust us with such Sabbaths; the World may give us leave to go thus before the Lord, and be no loser by it.  
Brethren, get you into the Inner Courts, which on these Days especially was to be set open, Ezek. 41. there is an Entry through the House of the Lord, that leads into the Heart of the Most High: Get you into that Sanctum Sanctorum, and there let your Rest be. As often as the Morning of that Blessed Day appears, get your Vessels ready, and go you forth to meet this Bridegroom: Open your Eyes with these Thoughts: This is the Day which the Lord hath made; I will rejoice, and be glad in it: Climb up betimes, and let every Duty be a Stair, by which you may Ascend to the Lord: Let divine Contemplation; let Prayers, and Praises, &c. be your Holy Work: Let the Blessings of divine Communion be the whole Expectation of that Day, and when you find your hearts refreshed with his presence, and filled with the Company of your GOD, and He sends you away, laden with the Tokens of his Love, and with the Impress of his Face upon your Hearts, and the relish of his Goodness fresh upon your senates; when you thus go hot out of the Presence of the Lord; then you will learn to despise the Day of small things, with which the World Entertains you. Shall I forsake my Sweetness( saith the Fig-Tree)? Shall I forsake my Fatness( saith the Olive) and become King over the Trees? let the Bramble take that honour; farewell Dignities and Dominions, farewell Pomps and Pleasures, sarewel Houses and Lands; I have enough, I have seen the Face of God.  
Thirdly, It is a Day for special Provision for Souls, whereon the Lord brings forth, out of his Treasury, the spiritual Provision to keep the Soul in Heart Hunger-starv'd Souldiers are but poor Fighters; they are the weak Souls whom the World hath vanquished. Strength and Beauty are in his Sanctuary, Psal. 96.6.  
Sabbaths are the Souls Market-days; Men have Market-days, whence to be supplied with Necessaries for their Bodies; and on this Day God keeps a Market for Souls; he hath his Milk, and his Honey, his Wine, and his oil, his Bread, and his Water of Life; and on this Day, in especial, he makes Proclamation: Ho, every one that is Thirsty, come to the Waters and Drink; and he that hath no Money, come, buy, and Eat; yea, buy Waters and Milk without Money, and without Price, as it is in Isa. 55.1.  
The Bread which comes down from Heaven, though it is to be had every day, yet on this Day more plentifully: Our week days may, in their Measure, be all Sabbaths.  
The Jews had their Corporal Manna on their six days, but none on the Seventh; but the hidden Manna falls more thin, and sparing on other days; and on this Day more abundantly. They were to gather double on their Sixth Day, that they might have enough to supply them on their Sabbath: but for the Spiritual Manna, all our other days are to be supplied from our Sabbath provision.  
A Christian that is not fit to meet the Bridegroom, is neither fit to meet his Adversary without oil in his Lamp; it is the great Commodity that is set to sale in this Market, oil for your Vessells; come bring your empty Vessells, here's oil to fill them. The Ordinances which are this day administered, are the pipes opened; these golden Pipes, by which the golden oil is emptied forth, and conveyed down from the living Olive, Zech. 4.  
'tis no wonder that men hunger after the World who know no better feeding. An Asses Head, or a Cab of Doves-Dung, are of great price, where there is no Bread. 'tis for want of Bread that Worldlings can make such a Feast of their Locust and wild Honey; those that have eaten of the Hidden Manna, will not Lust for quails. The Worlds Dainties will come out at their Nostrils, whose Bellys have been filled with this hide Treasure. Those whom God hath fed with his green Pastures, those whom God hath lead by his still Waters, they cannot Live in these salt marshy or stubble Fields; those whose souls God hath made well watered Gardens, will not need the Pools of the Wilderness.  
It is no wonder that the world beats us, when we go for many days together without making one good meal; when our Souls are famished into weakness, then are we our Enemies Prey: They are the hungerstarv'd Sheep, that are a prey to Crows and Kites; if Satan can but keep us low, if he can either keep the Manna, from falling about our Camps, or keep us Idle when we should be gathering it, he may then led us after his lure at pleasure. 'tis not a little strength that will suffice us against his great Temptations: And it is not a little Bread, by which we are like to gather any great strength; we had need feed well, if we will be strong; and we had need be strong, or we shall never fight well.  
A Soul that uses to come before the Lord, with an Appetite that feeds hungrily, and is as the thirsty Earth, that drinks up the Showers that come oft upon it, whom the Lord Satisfies with the Fatness of his House; You may turn him loose to the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. The Life of God within him maintained by Influences from above, will much secure him against all Assaults.  
Christians, know your Sabbath-Priviledges, the advantage of Sabbath-Separation, Sabbath-Communion, and Sabbath-Provision; Understand your Advantages, and make Advantage of them.  
Be ye separate, Remember your Creator, and rest from your Works, as he did from his: Remember your Redeemer, and rise from your dust, as Christ did from his: Let this Day of Resurrection be the Day of your Resurrection, and Ascention: Let Sabbaths be Sabbaths indeed, Holy to the Lord, and wholly his; divide not the day betwixt Flesh and Spirit, God and Mammon, but let it be entirely his; let every Duty and Ordinance of this day, be a Communion; prepare to meet your God, and go up to meet him. Seek his face in hope to see his face; see and love, see and rejoice, see and admire, and praise him in his Excellent Greatness; harken what the Lord God will speak, and let him hear your voice; confirm your Covenant- Transactions: have you chosen the Lord for your Portion, tell him you stand to your choice? have you renounced the Flesh, and the World, promise him not to return to folly? have you made the Lord your trust, put forth fresh acts of Faith upon him? look up to him, lean on him, for his Righteousness and Strength: let such as these, let Faith and Love, Hope, Prayers, and Praises, which are your Stairs to the other world, and your Weapons against this, be your Sabbath-work and delight.  
Let not finer clothes, and better Fare; Let not Idleness and Ease, no, nor filling up a Place in the Congregation, be the only difference between Sabbaths and other dayes, but this better Work and meat for Souls.  
Provide against the dayes of Severity, against the dayes of Temptation: Let not the Manna fall besides your Vessels; Let him that hath an Ear, hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches: catch at every Word, observe every look of your Lord upon you; and whatever you receive, lay up and ponder in your Hearts. Have you received a Check or Reproof, lay up your Reproof; Have you received a word of Counsel or Instruction, lay up your Instruction. Hath he spoken Peace to you, lay up that word charily by you, and whatever Transactions have passed between the Lord and your Souls, keep the Records; and when you go forth, where ever you go, carry all this upon your hearts, that when ever the world meets you again, you may be thus well appointed, and thoroughly furnished against all its assaults.  
Brethren, put hard on every Sabbath, for such an undisturbed attendance on the Lord; single out the Lord for the Object of your whole converse; Knit your Hearts thus to him; Solace yourselves thus in him; get you thus elevated and raised in your Spirits, from Earthly to Heavenly; and every inch of ground you get of your Adversary, maintain it carefully from Sabbath to Sabbath. If this were seriously designed, and more generally Attempted, by Christians, we should find both another face, and another power of Christianity in the Earth: the children of the Kingdom, would be more visibly differenced, from the men of this World; and both the guilt and reproach of Earthliness and Sensuality, be wiped off from the Professors, and Profession of the Gospel.  
FINIS.