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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 % 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Division 
 
 Section 
 
 Number 
 
 <^:'^ 
 
 fA 
 
 -3 
 
fe- 
 
 
'7\^^^£u/yi^ Jcrtt^rt^yt^ <y/tt**^>^^, (2r^' /H'-f^. 
 THE 
 
 Chriftian Sabbath 
 
 EXPLAINED: 
 WITH 
 
 RULES 
 
 F O R A 
 
 'Religious Obfervation 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 L O R D's DAY, 
 
 Both Do6lrinal and Pra6tical. 
 Tn two parts. " 
 
 Under the following Heads, vtz^. 
 
 J, The Grounds and Reafonsof 
 the Obfervation of the Sab- 
 bath and Lord's Day. 
 
 II. An Account of the Change 
 of the Day from the Seventh 
 ta the Firjl Day of the Week. 
 
 III. The Benefits and Advan- 
 tages, both to the Public, and 
 to private Perfons, from the 
 Devout and Religious Obfer- 
 vation of the Lord's Day. 
 IV. The Particular Manner in 
 which this Holy Day ought to 
 • beobferved by all Chrillians. 
 
 By JLEXANDERJEPHSON, A.B. 
 Redor of Craike in the Diocefe of Durbam. 
 
 This is the Day zvhich the Lord hath made., zve will Re- 
 joice and be Glad in it. Psalm cxviii, 24. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J, Hint on, at tht King's Arms^ In St PauF^ 
 Church- lard. 
 
 MDCCXL. 
 
I 
 
TO THE 
 
 Right Reverend Father in G O D 
 
 ED WARD, 
 
 By Bivinc Providence, 
 
 Lord BiOiop of DURHAM 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 HAT I afcribe die 
 prefent Difcourfe to 
 your Lordihip, is not 
 in the lead owing to 
 a Principle of Vanity ; as if 
 I could poffibly imagine that 
 any Performance of mine could 
 
 A 2 be 
 
vi DEDICATION, 
 
 ferve your Lordlhip's Life and 
 Health, for the Good of His 
 Church, and the Happinefs and 
 Delight of all Your Clergy, is 
 the hearty Prayer and Defire 
 of. 
 
 My Lord, 
 Tour Lordjbip^s 
 Mojt Dutiful 
 And mofi Obliged 
 Humble Servant 
 
 Alexander Jephfon 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 HERE will be no needj prefume, 
 of making any Apology for pub- 
 lifhing a Difcourfe upon this Sub- 
 ject, the Religious Okfervation of 
 the Lord's Day^ iince the Horrible 
 Profanation of this holy Seafon is 
 now grown fo general and common, that no one 
 can poffibly be infenfible of it. And the Learned 
 Dr Heylin hath fhewed that he was no Pro- 
 phet^ whtn^ in Defenfe of his vindicating the 
 Lawfulnefs of Public Sports upon this Day he 
 told King Charles I, that " in fuch a Church as 
 *' this, fo fettled in a conftant Pradlice of Reli- 
 " gious Offices, and fo confirmed by godly Ca- 
 " nons for the Performance of the lame, there 
 '' was no fear that ever the Lor J'.f Z)^^ (the Day 
 *^ appointed by God's Church for His public Ser- 
 '' vice) would have been over-run by the Profane 
 '^ NegleS of any Pious Duties on that Day re- 
 " quired : But that the Danger rather was, left 
 A 4 «' by 
 
vlii The P RE FACE. 
 
 '' by the violent Torrent of fomelMen's AfFec- 
 *' tions it might have been overflown by thole 
 '' Superftitiofis^ wherewith in Imitation of the 
 " jews they began to charge it (a).'*' We have 
 now^ lived to fee the contrary, and that the Lord's 
 Day is over-run by Profa72e?ieJsm^miQ\y more than 
 ever it was overfoum by SuperJfitio?t^ to uie the 
 -Doftor's own Exprefiions. And indeed, in fo 
 fliameful a Manner is this holy Day now profaned 
 by great Numbers of all Orders and Degrees of 
 Men among us, not only by the Negledt of at- 
 tending upon the Public Worlhip, but alfo by 
 fpending the whole Day in Travelling, in keep- 
 ing of Company, and in wordly Biifmefs and Flea- 
 Jure ', that unlefs fome fpeedy Stop be put there- 
 to by thofe who are in Authority, the Chrijiian 
 Religion will be in great Danger of being loft 
 in this Kingdom ; and the greateft Part of our 
 Youth will be corrupted in their Frmciples and 
 debauched in \k\€viMorah, beyond all Recovery, 
 to the Infinite Mifchief and Damage of the whole 
 Nation. For thefe Reafons I have long thought 
 that an ufeful Difcourfe upon this Sabjefl: would 
 be abfolutely Neccffary. And I waited a good 
 w^hile in hopes that fome Perfon of Worth 
 and Eminence would undertake it. But finding 
 nothing of this Nature done by any one, I was 
 refolved by God's Grace and Afiiftance to fet 
 about it my felf. And as I freely acknowledge 
 that I am very unequal to the Undertaking, I 
 hope the Meannefs of this Performance will en- 
 gage 
 
 ^ (<?) Dedication to his Hilloiy of- the ^ahbtttht p. 2, 
 
The PREFACE. ix 
 
 gage fome other Perfon to fupply the Defedls 
 thereof, who is of greater Abilities. And in cafe 
 any Man of good Learning and Judgment will 
 employ his Pains this way, and publifh fuch a 
 Treatife upon this Subjed:, as Ihall prevail with 
 the Generality of Chrijiians to obferve the Lord's 
 Day Religioufly, both with regard to the Public 
 and Private Duties thereof; I will make bold fo 
 far as to aflure him, that he will do as much (if 
 not more) for the Honour of God and the true 
 Intereft of Religion, as he can poffibly do by 
 writing on any other SubjecS. 
 
 Having obferved thus much concerning the 
 Reafon and Neceffity of the prefent Undertaking, 
 I think it proper in the next place to give the 
 Reader fome Account of the Work itfelf ^ that 
 he may the better perceive what he is to exped: 
 from it, and that it may be the more ufeful and 
 beneficial to him. The Book is divided into 
 Two Parts. The firft Part confifts of Three 
 Chapters. In the firft of which I have treated 
 largely and diftindly concerning the Grounds 
 and Reafons of the Obligation of the Sabbalh 
 and Lord's Day. And I am well afllired that I 
 have alledged nothing in Defence of my Hypo- 
 thejis^ but what is plainly contained in Holy 
 Scripture, and fupported by the Authority of the 
 greateft and wifeft Men, both of Antient and 
 Modern Times. I am fenfible indeed there are 
 fome confiderable Difficulties upon this Head 
 which (as it hath happened in other Cafes) have 
 caufed very Learned and Good Men to differ 
 from each other 5 all which I have endeavoured 
 
 I to 
 
X rhe PREFACE. 
 
 to clear up and explain as well as I can. But 
 however let Men entertain what Opinion they 
 pleafe in this Matter : Whether the Obfervation 
 of the Sabbath be a Law given to all Mankind 
 in Gen. ii. which is the General Opinion -, or, as 
 others think, that It was not given till the Time 
 of Mofes, and tke?2 only to the Jews : Whether 
 the Law of the Sabbath as delivered in Exod. xx. 
 be a Moral Law which binds all Chrijlians j or 
 whether we have no Authority for the Obligation 
 of a Sabbath Day but from the New Te/lamerit : 
 And as toThat ; whether we are bound to obferve 
 the Lord's Day by virtue of our BlelTed Saviours 
 direft Authority and Command, as fome aflirm ; 
 or as others, that the Lords Day is enjoined on- 
 ly by Apoftolical Inftitution and Pradlice ; or as 
 others ftill affert, that the Obligation thereof is 
 wholly to be refolved into Eccleiiaftical Autho- 
 rity and Conftitution ; All which Hypothefes are 
 fully confidered in the faid Chapter : I fay, what 
 ever Opinion any Man fliall be of in this Mat- 
 ter, I will not in the leaft contend with him ; 
 Provided he will take due Care to obferve the 
 Lords Day Religiouily, both with Regard to 
 the Public and Private Duties of it {b). For this is 
 
 the 
 
 [b) Hoc vero ante omnia obfervandum, ut non tarn de in- 
 veftlganda prima Dominici Diei origine fimiis foliciti, quam 
 dc feria k fedula ejus fancSlificatione. Quamcunque fenten- 
 tiam quis fegni voluerit (libere enim fuo quemque judicio frui 
 patimur) hoc ar6le U inviolate omnibus curandum, ut ex 
 prsefcripto Chrifti fidelesa profanationlbus abdufti facris Pie- 
 tatis exercltiis ferio incumbant, & facrofancSlum hunc diem 
 lanaeobfervent. Turret in, Injitut, Theolog, Part II. ^afi, 
 XIV. p. 105, 106. 
 
The P REF AC E. xi 
 
 the main Thing that I am concerned about, and 
 which all the Laws of God and Man refpeding 
 the Sabbath are defigned to advance. I have 
 nothing farther to add upon this Head, but that 
 I am fenfible the Paffages of the Greek Poets (in 
 p. 1 8.) formerly cited by Artflobuliis an Alex- 
 andria7i Jew, and by Clem. Alex, and others, in 
 Proof that the Tradition of the Sabbath Day was 
 handed down to their Times, have been thought 
 by fome Learned Writers to relate wholly to the 
 feventh Day of the Month,which was celebrated 
 by the Greeks in Honour of Apollo. It would 
 be of no Confequence to my Argument, if this 
 could be proved never fo clearly : Since the Au- 
 thority of the Sabbath does not depend upon the 
 Teftimony of the Gr^^^ Poets, but on That of 
 Holy Scripture. And the only Reafonof my urg- 
 ing thofeTeftimonies was to fhew (in Oppofition 
 to fuch PerfonSjWho derive the firft Inftitution of 
 the Sabbath from the Law given to the Jews by 
 Mofes in the Book of Exodus) that the Sabbath 
 is not only plainly appointed by God at the 
 Creation of the World in Gen, ii \ but alfo, that 
 on any other Suppofition there can no Rational 
 Account be given of that Cuftom, which pre- 
 vailed among the moft ancient and diftant Na- 
 tions (many of which had no Correfpondence 
 with the Jews) of computing their Time by 
 Weeks, and obferving every feventh Day and 
 keeping it Holy. And this being a Matter of 
 fome Weight and Confequence to my Argument. 
 I could not omit to take notice of thofe Paf- 
 fages of the Greek Poets which plainly favour it; 
 
 tlio* 
 
xli The PREFACE, 
 
 tho' I do not think any great Strefs is to oe laid 
 upon them. And becaufe many Learned Men 
 both Ancient and Modern are of Opinion, that 
 thofe Paffages of the Greek Poets do all of them 
 relate equally to the Obfervation of the Sabbath 
 Da)\ I have therefore thought proper to pro- 
 duce them all together, ^s they are cited 
 by our Learned Gataker ; tho' I freely own 
 that I think it more than probable, that the 
 firft of them (that of Hefiod) hath Reference 
 only to the feventh Day of the Month, 
 which was held Sacred to Apollo fcj. But 
 however that be , the following Teftimonies 
 as there cited cannot poffibly appertain to 
 that Matter, but relate only to the Cuftom of 
 Celebrating the feventh Day of the Week in 
 Memory of the Creation, as will clearly be 
 fhewn in it's proper Place. And this is in 
 Efteft acknowledged by Dr Hey/in himfelf, 
 tho' he hath done all that Ues in him to weaken 
 and deftroy the Force of thofe Teftimonies ; for 
 he grants that the Gefttiles knew, that the Seventh 
 DayyOn which the World and all Things therein 
 were made, had a Privilege^ and was hallowed 
 above other Days. But then he contends, that 
 they did not derive this Knowledge from the 
 Light of Nature, but from the Holy Bible, 
 which he imagines the ancient Poets might have 
 confulted ^ (d) (which is a Conceffion of the 
 
 utmofl: 
 
 (c) VId. Hefiod. Oper. &Dier. 1. 770, 771. cu?ji Clerlci 
 Annotat. in he. 
 
 (d) Heylins Hiftorv of the Sabbath, Part I. chap. iv. 
 S. 9. 
 
i:he PREFACE. xiii 
 
 utmoft Service and Advantage to my Argument) 
 and that the ancient Pagans did not oblerve the 
 jeventh Day amongfc themfelves more than any 
 ^ other ^ which is more than he or any oneelfe can 
 prove (c). 
 
 After having thus enquired into the Grounds 
 and Reafons of obferving one Day in every 
 Week, iii Memory of the Creation and of the 
 RefurreBion of J ejus Ckrijl^ I proceed in the 
 next Place to fliew the Neceility and Obhgation 
 oi JanBifyi7ig ihh Day and keeping it Holy; 
 the Reaibns of which are in the fame place fully 
 Confidered. 
 
 In the fecond Chapter, I have fliewn the' 
 Grounds and Reafons of the Change of the Sab- 
 bath Day from the Seve?2th to the Firji Day of 
 the Week ; the Neceffity of which the Rea- 
 der will there clearly perceive. And in the 
 lame Place I have refuted the chief and Prin- 
 cipal Objeftion, which is urged by the Jews 
 againft the Chrijlian Revelation, which is drawn 
 from the Eternity and Vnchangeablenefs of the 
 JewiJJ:) Sabbath and Priejlhood. 
 
 In the third Chapter, I have difplayed the 
 many and great Advantages, which would re- 
 dound to the Public, as well as to private Per- 
 fons, from a Conftant and Devout Obferva- 
 tion of the Lords Day : Concerning which I 
 have nothing further to add here, but that I 
 hope all Perfons will be induced and prevailed 
 upon thereby to the Regular Practice of this 
 gr»at Duty. 
 
 From 
 
 (e) Fid. Bijhop Stillingflm' s Irm;umy lib, i. cap, v.p, 97, 
 
xiv The P RE FACE. 
 
 From hence I proceed to the fecond Part, 
 which is to enquire in what Manner this Holy- 
 Day ought to be obferved by all good Chriftians, 
 And this I have fliewn to be by attending Re- 
 gularly and Conftantly upon the Public Worfhip, 
 and by fpending fome Confiderable Part of the 
 remaining Time in the Private Religious Duties 
 thereof, fuch as Reading the Holy Scriptures, 
 the Meditation upon Divine Things, the Exa- 
 mination of their Lives and Anions, and the 
 Inflrud'ion of their Children and Families. 
 And I have nothing further to obferve upon 
 this Head, but only to acquaint the Reader 
 with the Method in which I have drawn 
 up this fecond Part ; which I forefee will 
 be liable to this Objedion, viz. that fince 
 my Defign in this Treatife is to Eftablifh 
 the Neceffity of a Devout Obfervation of the 
 JLorJ's Day, by attending upon the Public 
 Worfhip, and performing the other Religious 
 Duties of the Day, fuch as Reading the Scrip- 
 tures, Divine Meditation, and the like; it would 
 have been fufficient to this Defign, to have 
 fliewn, that all Chrifiians are bound to pradice 
 thefe Duties at this Holy Seafon, and not to 
 have largely confidered the Grounds and Rea- 
 fons of the Obligation of thofe Duties, and to 
 prove that they are Neceffary and Eflential Parts 
 of Religion, as I have done : Which feems to 
 be quite foreign to my Purpofe. In anfwer to 
 w^hich I fhall only allcdge thus much, viz. 
 that there were two Reafons which feemed to 
 me very ftrong and cogent, which induced me 
 to follow this Method. 
 
rhe PREFACE. xv 
 
 The Fir/l Reafon was, That in this Sceptical 
 ^nd Difputing Age, when too many Perfons fet 
 up their Reafon as the Sole Meafiire and Stan- 
 dard of Truth, it would be in vain to perfwade 
 them to the Pradice of thefe Religious Duties 
 at any Seafon, unlefs we can iirft convince them 
 of the abfolute Neceffity and Obligation t hereof j 
 and that they are of the utmoft Coniequence 
 and Importance to their true Happinefs. And 
 in the Second Place, As this Difcourfe is chiefly 
 defigned for the Ufe of the Common People, I 
 thought that the moft likely Means to prevail 
 upon them to apply themfelves to thefe Religi- 
 ous Performances on the Lord's Day, who have 
 for the moft Part no other Seafon and Oppor- 
 tunity for the Exercife of them, would be to 
 (hew them clearly and plainly, that they are all 
 Neceflary and Effential Parts of Religion, and 
 as fucb cannot be neglecfted without the Ruin 
 and Deftrudlion of their Immortal Souls : And 
 alfo that it would be of great Service to many 
 of them, to give them fome plain and ufeful 
 Direftions how and in what Manner they 
 might beft difcharge thofe Duties. And more- 
 over there are feveral Pernicious Doctrines 
 lately advanced among us, which have a very 
 fatal EfFe6t and Influence upon Religion 5 and 
 therefore I confidered with myfelf, that it would 
 be a fruitlefs Attempt to exhort Men to the 
 Pradice of true Piety upon the Lord's Day^ 
 unlefs we could clearly fliew them the Fglly 
 and Abfurdity of fuch Dodrines. Thus for 
 Inftance, It is a Prindp/e ftrenuoufly propagated 
 
 and 
 
xvi <rhe PREFACE. 
 
 and greedily received by great Numbers of Men 
 in the Kingdom, and efpecially by Perfons of 
 Fajhion and DiJiinBion, that Religion dots whoWy 
 confift in Moral and Social Duties, as they call 
 them ', and that as God does not want our 
 Prayers, fo He does not require them of us. 
 And in virtue of this Principle the Public Wor- 
 lliip of God is moft fliamefully negleded by 
 many Perfons, and ridiculed and defpifed by 
 others, to the great Difhon our of God and the 
 Danger of Men's Souls. For this Reafon, v^hen 
 in the Firft Chapter of this Second Part I v^as 
 treating upon this great Duty of the Lords Day 
 (the Attendance upon the Public Worfliip) I 
 thought it abfolutely neceffary in order to make 
 Men fenfible of the ftrifl; and indifpenfable Obli- 
 gation of it, to expofe the Weaknefs and Ab- 
 surdity of this Principle 5 and to fhew clearly, 
 that the Public Worftiip of God is as Neceffary 
 and Effential to Religion as Moral Duties 3 nay, 
 and to Ipeak properly, that it is even a Chief 
 and Principal Part of Morality itfelf. And con- 
 fequently that it cannot be negleded and defpifed 
 by any Man without the manifeft Hazard and 
 Danger of Salvation. 
 
 And fo likewife in the following Chapter 
 concerning the Reading the Holy Scriptures. As 
 there are fome Writings lately publiflied which 
 are in great Vogue, which have ferved the Caufe ' 
 of Popery (whether the Authors had any fuch 
 Exprefs Deiign in fetting them forth I will not 
 fay) by vilifying and difparaging the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and reprefcnting them as obfcure and un- 
 intelligible i 
 
fhe P REFACE. xvi 
 
 intelligible', I thought it would be to little pur- 
 pofe to periwade Men to re^d the Scriptures 
 unlefs 1 could convince them that it would be 
 worth their while to employ themfelves in this 
 Exercife, and that by due Care and Diligence 
 they may attain to a true Senfe and Knowledge 
 of them. For which Reafon I have not only 
 confidered the Neceffary Duty of Reading the 
 Scriptures, and the Sin and Danger of negleding 
 it, but have aljb difplayed fome of the many Beau- 
 ties and FerfeBiom with which the Sacred Wri- 
 tings abound ; and have fliewn, that (fetting 
 afide the Divine Authority and Infpiration of the 
 Holy Scriptures) there are more and greater Excel- 
 lencies and Perfedions to be found in them 
 than in the very /^f/? of all Human Compoiitions. 
 And I have alfo laid down fome plain and ufeful 
 Rules, by the due and careful Obfervation of 
 which Men may attain to the true Knowledge 
 of them in all fuch Points as are Neceffary to 
 their Happinefs and Salvation. And the fame 
 Method I have followed in other Parts of this 
 Difcourfe ; /. e, I have not only ihewn the Rea- 
 der the Neceffity and Advantage of the Duties 
 there recommended to him ^ but alfo the more 
 firmly to eftablifh them I have endeavoured to 
 anfwer and refute the Objedions and Cavils, 
 which Infdels and profane Writers have urged 
 againft them. And I very freely own, that I 
 have not been fo much concerned to obferve the 
 nice and exad Rules of Method in the prefent 
 Difcourfe as to render it of Ufe and Service to 
 thofe far whom it was chiefly defigned. And 
 
 a if 
 
xvili The PREFACE. 
 
 if this Treatife fhould happen to fall into the 
 Hands of any Perfons who are of greater Under- 
 ftanding and Experience, to whom the feveral 
 Rules and Directions therein given may be en- 
 tirely needlefs, I hope they will the more rea- 
 dily excufe them, fmce they may be of great 
 Service and Advantage to other Men : And 
 they may eafily pafs them by, and dwell the 
 longer upon fuch Parts of the Book as may 
 be more ufeful and beneficial to themfelves. 
 
 Having thus fhewn the Manner in which the 
 'Lord'^ Day ought to be obferved, both with re- 
 gard to the Public and Private Duties thereof: 
 that what is here laid down may not feem too 
 harfh and rigorous, I have endeavoured to qua- 
 lify the feeming Stridnefs and Severity of it, by 
 {hev/ing with what Reftriftions and Limitations 
 it is to be underftood : the better to guard againil 
 the Extremie of Siiperftitioji as well as Frofane- 
 nefs. And becaufe the Religious Obfervation of 
 this Holy Day is too often charged with Fana- 
 tlcifni or Enthufiajm j in order to expofe the 
 Rajhnefs and Folly of this Charge I have in the 
 laft place endeavoured to {hew that the Doc- 
 trine which is delivered in this Difcourfe is not 
 only plainly founded in the Nature and Reafon 
 of Things, and the clear Teftimony of Holy 
 Scripture; but is alfo exaftly conformable to 
 the Opinion and Sentiments of the moft Learn- 
 ed and beft of Men, both in the former and 
 latter x\ges of the Chriftian Church. 
 
 As to the feveral and fometimes large Quota- 
 tions out of ancient and modern Authors (ma- 
 ny 
 
T-he PREFACE. xix 
 
 ny of which may perhaps to feme Perfons ieem 
 needlefs and troublefome) I have only this to 
 fay, that they were not produced in the leafl 
 thro' a Principle of Vanity or Oftentation of 
 Learning (of which I pretend but to a very 
 fmall Share) but that my Readers, and efpeci- 
 ally fuch us are not well affcdted to Religion, 
 may hereby be the more eafily convinced of the 
 Reafonablenefs of thofe Principles which are 
 advanced in this Treatife, when they (liall per- 
 ceive that they. are perfedly agreeable to the 
 Senfe and Judgment of the wifcft and greateft 
 Men in all Ages. And for this Reafon it is, that 
 I have now and then in the Margin inferred Paf- 
 fages out of the Heathen Philofophers and Poets, 
 and that correfpondcnt even to Texts of Scrip- 
 ture by me cited 5 not as if I imagined, that the 
 Teftimonies of all the Philofophers and Poets 
 both of Greece and Rome could add one Tittle 
 to the Force and Authority of God's Word; 
 but that many Perfons among us, who have 
 but a mean and obfcure Notion of the Excel- 
 lency and Perfedion of the facred Writings, 
 may be the more afhamcd to neglect and de- 
 fpife thofe Infbuftions in Holy Scripture, which 
 are delivered to them by the mod admir'd and 
 celebrated Writers in the Pagan World. I 
 have nothing more to add, but to beg of God 
 to give a Bleffing to this Work, and to incline 
 the Hearts of all Men, and efpecially thofe who 
 are in Authority and Eminent Stations, to ufe 
 their befl: Endeavours to promote the Religious 
 Obfervation of the Lord'^ Day: Since there is 
 
 nothing 
 
 • o 
 
XX The PREFACE. 
 
 nothing which they can do, which will tend more 
 to the Honour of God, and the prefent and future 
 Happinefs of Mankind. And if any of my Rea- 
 ders fhall receive fo much Benefit from this Dif- 
 courfe, as to be prevailed upon thereby to obferve 
 this Holy Day more devoutly and religioufly 
 than they had been ufed to do ; let them 
 give God the Prarfe and Glory, and I have 
 the End which I aimed at in the Publi- 
 cation. 
 
 T H E 
 
[ xxi J 
 
 P EI IT OF/ \ 
 
 . I IEC. NOV ISaO ' 
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Introduction.: 
 
 GOD io he puhlickly worjhippedy as our Creator and 
 Governour^ Page i 
 
 'This a necejjary Token of our Dependency upon 
 Himy p. 2 
 
 Allowed hy Hobbs as well as others^ ibid, 
 
 C H A P. 1. 
 
 Concerning the Obligation of obferving one Day in 
 
 every Week, and keeping it Holy. 
 The Lord's Day may he properly called Sunday or the 
 
 Sabbath, p. 6, 7 
 
 The Law of Nature requires that Godjhould he puhlickly 
 
 worjhipped. p. 8 
 
 The Time of that Worfhip may jujily he determined hy Civil 
 
 and Ecclejiajiical Authority^ ibid. 
 
 The Ohfervation of the Sabbath required of all Mankind^ 
 
 in Gen. ii. 3, V' 9 
 
 The true Notion of fan^fifying the Sabbath, ibid. 
 
 Archhifhop Bramhall'j Interpretation of this Text re- 
 futed^ p. IQ 
 The Notion that this Command was given hy Anticipation 
 
 refuted^ p. 1 1 
 
 The Silence of Scripture no Proof that the Patriarchs did 
 
 7iQt ohferve theSMDd,i\\T>2.y^ p. 14, 15 
 
 b ' Thi 
 
Txn The CONTENTS. 
 
 The moft antient Nations compute their "Time hy Weeks ^ 
 and honour the Seventh Day ^ Page 17, 18, &c, 
 
 ^he Greek Poets affirm the Seventh Day to he held/acred 
 in Memory of the Creation, p. 1 8 
 
 ^e Patriarchs probably ohferved the Sabbath Day, 
 
 p. 15. 17 
 
 In what Senfe the antient Fathers affirm^ that the Pa- 
 triarchs did not keep the Sabbath Day, P- ^ 9 
 
 *The Obfervation of the Sabbath Day not derived from thd 
 
 ' Number of the feven Planets^ p. 21, &c: 
 
 iThefeventh Day which was obferved by all Nations ^ not 
 
 the feventh Day of the Months iut the feventh Day 
 
 cf the Week^ P- 24, &c. 
 
 'disproved from Jofephus , Philo, and other Writen^ 
 
 p. 2g, 26 
 
 '^he haw of the Sabbath adopted hy Chrift into the Mo- 
 ral Law of his Gofpel^ P- 27, 28 
 
 No Obje5lion to this that the Command of the ^dbhzxh is 
 not exprefsly mentioned hy our Saviour^ p. 28, 29 
 
 It is ufual in Scripture tojignify the whole of Religion by a 
 Part of it^ ibid. 
 
 ^he Reafon why our Lord when requiring the Obfervation 
 of the 'Ten Commandments^ mentioned only thofe of the 
 Second Table ^ p. 29, 30 
 
 By the Commandments there referred to^ the whole De- 
 calogue is underftood^ p. 3.0 
 
 That the Law of the Sabbath is binding to Chriftians,./j 
 
 ^ in Effect allowed by Archbifhop Bramhall, p. 30, 31 
 
 Thd* Chriftians are obliged to keep the Sabbath, they are 
 not hound to hep it on the fame Day of the Week which 
 the Jews did, P- 3^ 
 
 The Grounds of the Sabbath, as delivered to the Jews, 
 twofold^ p. 32 
 
 The Law of the Sabbath in Exod. xx. no new Law\ hut 
 an old Law renewed and re-ejiablifjjedy ibid. 
 
 // is ufual with God to renew the Obligation of His Laws 
 in Scripture y P- 33 
 
The CONTENTS. telii 
 
 In what Senfe the Sabbath is /aid to he a Sign htwe^eh 
 
 God and the Children of Ifrael, ' Page 34,' '^^ 
 
 ^e Reafon ivhy our Saviour di4^notexprefsly abrogate the 
 ■"^'J Jewifh Sabbath, v *'',.!' P- S^ 
 
 irl^CWc/5> r/ England vindicated^ as to the infer Hng the 
 
 Fourth Commandment^ and the Petition thereto amcxed^ 
 
 into her Communion Service^ ?• 39 
 
 'Tfoe Interpretation given, of this Matter hy Br Heylin 
 
 refuted^ . p. 40, v^rc. 
 
 ^he Obligation of ohferving every feventh Day^ from the 
 
 Example of our Saviour and the Apoftles^ p. 46 
 
 ^e Expreffton after Eight Days in //^^ Jewifli Language^ 
 '\Jignifies aJFeek^ p. 47, &c. 
 
 ^he Apofiles inveftedwith Legiflative Authority under the 
 
 Gofpel of C\in% p. 50j 5^ 
 
 '^eir Univerfal Judgment and Practice a fuficient Dif 
 
 covery of the Mind and Will of Chrifl, p. 51^ 52 
 "The Judgment of Archhifhop Bramhall, Bifhop Taylor, 
 
 ayid others on this Point, p. 52, 53 
 
 ^he Apofiles immediately directed hy the Holy Ghoft in their 
 
 Religious Determinations y p. 54 
 
 7hey hzid the Authority and Directions of Chriil, in the 
 
 Appointment of the ^imes and Places of Divine IVor- 
 
 fhip ; as is affirmed hy Clemens Romanus, ibid. 
 
 *J^hey did not exprelsly abrogate the Jewifli Sabbath, and 
 
 why^ ibid. 
 
 ^he Primitive Chriftians univerfally obferve the Lord's 
 
 Day, p. SS 
 
 ^hey keep the Day of tlo€ Jewifh Sabbath alfo^ and why, 
 
 ibid. 
 'The Sabbath cr Lord's Day to he kept holy, p- 5^ 
 
 The SanBification of this Day does not conjijl in a hare 
 
 Reft from Bodily Labour, ibid. 
 
 It is to he employed in God's Public Worfhip and Religious 
 
 Duties, P- 57 
 
 The Jews kept their Sabbath /;/ this Manmr before the 
 
 Babylonian Captivity, p. 58, 8cc. 
 
 b 2 Whether 
 
xxiv The CONTENT S. 
 
 Whether the Jews had any Synagogues or not before thi 
 Captivity doubtful^ Page 6i 
 
 They had Places for Public Worfhip and reading the 
 Law^ long before that Time^ p. 62 
 
 Thefe thought to be as early as the Times of the Judges, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 There were probably fuch Places of Religious JVorfhip in 
 the Days of Abraham, p. 6'^ 
 
 In what RefpeBs they differed from the Synagogues, 
 
 p. 64 
 
 There is mention made of them in the New Teilament, 
 
 p. 65 
 
 The Law appointed to be read on the Sabbath Day by 
 
 Mofes himfelf^ as attefied by Jofephus and Philo, 
 
 p. 65, 66 
 
 The Jews after the Captivity^ and the Primitive Chril^ 
 tians very flriB in the Obfervation of the Sabbath and 
 Lord's Day, p. 6y 
 
 The Application^ p. 67, 68, 6(^ 
 
 CHAR II. 
 
 Concerning the Change of the Day from xhtfeventh to 
 
 the firfi Day of the Week. 
 The Sabbath not necejfarily to be kept on Saturday, as the 
 
 Sabbatarians yz/^^yd*, p. 70, 71 
 
 72?/? Jewilh Sabbath grounded on the Deliverance from the 
 
 Land of ^gypt, P- 7^ 
 
 By what Sign the Day of the Sabbath was difcovered to 
 
 the Jews, P* 7 2 
 
 The Jewifh Sabbath abolifhed by the Death of Chritl, 
 
 P-73 
 
 ^e Lord's Day henceforward ohferved in Memory of 
 
 Chritl's Refurre^fiony ibid. 
 
 The great Reafonablenefs of that Obfervation^ ibid. 
 
 No Necefjity of an exprefs Precept ^Chrift or His Apofiks 
 
 for the Alrogation of the Jcwilh Sabbath, p. 74, y^^ 
 
 The 
 
The CONTENTS. xxv 
 
 ^e Ohfervation of the Sabbath on any Particular Bay 
 of the Week above the other only Circumftantial,, 
 
 Page, js 
 fhis in EffeB acknowledged by Archhtfhop Barmhall, 
 
 ibid. 
 *tht Law of Mofes not obligatory upon us Chriftians, 
 
 p. ^e 
 ^e Injunof'ian of the Apojiles in Ads xv, 29. explained^ 
 
 ^ . p. 77^ 78 
 
 ^he OhjeSlion drawn from the Eternity of the Lazv of 
 
 Moles, anfweredy p. 79, &:c. 
 
 In what Senfe the Jewifh Sabbath and Prieflhood are 
 
 faid to be everlafting, p. 80, 83 
 
 That the Law of Mofes was to be abrogated by the 
 
 MeflTiah, proved from the Prophecies of the Old 
 
 Teftament^ p. 80, 81 
 
 ^Ihe Temple at Jeruialem defiroy^d by Titus ; and the 
 
 Jews difperfed according to Chrift' j Predictions p. 8 1 
 Julian the Apofiate endeavours to rebuild the Jewilh 
 
 Temple s and why^ p. 81, 82 
 
 Uis hefign defeated by a Dreadful Interpofition of 
 
 God^s Providence^ p. 82 
 
 The Word Everlafling often ufed in Scripture and pro^ 
 
 fane Writers for a finite and fhort Duration, p. 83 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Concerning the Benefits and Advantages of a Reli- 
 gious Obfcrvation of the Lord's Day, 
 
 Firft, // is the greateft Means under God's Provi- 
 dence of keeping up a Senfe of God and Religion 
 in the World^ P- 85 
 
 Divine Meditation the Life of Religion ^ p. 86 
 
 The Negle^ of this the true Caufe of the Impiety, 
 and Wickednefs that abounds i the World, p. 87 
 
 An Excellent Ohftrvation of Dmn Prideaux to this 
 
 Purpofe,, p. 88,89 
 
 b 3 Secondly, 
 
xxvi The C O N T E N T S. 
 
 Secondly, // is the furefi Method to procure the Di^ 
 'Vine Bicff^^ig and .P.rotc5iion^ Page 89 
 
 'The Benef.i of Prayer^ efpecially Public Prayer^ confi- 
 dered^ - • p. 89 90 
 
 Thirdly, It does in the greatefi'Meajitre promote the hit e- 
 refts of Biman Society^ ashy this Means all Men may be 
 fully infirtSed in their Chriitian Duty, p 90, 91 
 
 The right Notions of Religion which many even of the com-^ 
 mn... People have, chiefly owing to Public Preachings 
 
 p. 91, 92 
 
 Fourthly, It is of the greateft Confequence to eveiy Par-- 
 tlcidar Perfon in the Grand Concernment of his own 
 Sahatiom Firfl, On Account of the Bemfit of Public 
 JVbrfoip^^. 92, Secondly , T??^ Opportunity ofhear^ 
 ing the Word i^reached^ P- 93- Thirdly, The Advan- 
 tages of Dvitr.: Meditation^ ibid. 
 
 Contemplation the greatcfl Happinefs and Perfection of 
 Man^ p. 94 
 
 Without the E'xercife of Divine Meditation Religion can^ 
 not pcfjibly fuhjifl^ p. 95 
 
 PART. II. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 Containifig a general Account of the Manner in which 
 /i?^ Lord's Day it to be obfervedy P- 97 
 
 C H A P- I. 
 
 Concernig the Duty of attending upon the Public 
 
 Worihip. 
 The Reafon of the Neceffity of injifling upon this Duty, 
 
 p. 9^ 99 
 
 The Public WorJJjip of God hath in all Ages of the World 
 
 been thought ejjeniial to Religion^ p. 100 
 
 Tbs Judgment of the ancient Philofophers upon this Pointy 
 
 p. 100, lOI 
 
 m 
 
The C O N T E N T S. xxvli 
 
 No Ohje5iion to their 'Teflimony that they placed the heft and 
 mqfiacceptableWorJhipofGodinPurity of Mind^Fa.g. lo t 
 
 The Holy Scriptures have judged in the fame Manner ^ tho* 
 they have f idly eftahlifh^d the Neceffity of that Tf^or- 
 fhip^ p. 102 
 
 ^e Philofophers did not ohjeSi againft the ths Gentile 
 Rites and Sacrifices^ hut on the Account of their Super- 
 ftition and Impurity^ p. 103, 104 
 
 The Heathen Priefts taught no Morality^ and why^ p. 
 
 104 
 
 ne Public Exercifi of Religion eftahlififd in all Na- 
 tions hy Civil Sanations ^ p. 105 
 
 The Neceffity. and Ufefulnefs of thi's acknowledged by 
 Atheilts themfelves^ ibid. 
 
 The remarkable Teftimonies of Hobbs, Machiavel and 
 Varro, upon this Head, p. 106, 107 
 
 God hath made exprefs Provifion in Holy Scripture fcr 
 His Public V/orfbip^ P- 1^7 
 
 He determined the ]ewl(h Rites and Ceremonies Hinf elf 
 with the uimoft Stri5fnefs andPun5fuaUty, p. 107, ig8 
 
 God hath not done fo under the GofpeU and why^ p. 108 
 
 This no Ohje^^icn to theNecefftty of fuchlVorfhip^-^, 108 . 109 
 
 The Unity of the Church cannot be maintained without 
 Public Worfhip^ p. 109 
 
 The hijuntiions of our Governours^ as to the Times and 
 Places of Public IVorfbip^ are ncccffarily to be obefd^ 
 
 p. no 
 
 Morality will not be available to Salvation without Public 
 Worjhip^ p. in 
 
 The Neceffity of enforcing this Ohfei'^ation^ ibid. 
 
 Mens Honefty juftly to be fufpe^ed who make no Public 
 Profe.ffion of Religion^ ibid. 
 
 The Public Worfhip of God an Ejjential Part of Re^ 
 ligion, p. 1 1 2 
 
 This deraonftrated from the Relation we bear to Gody 
 
 p. 1 14 
 
 Natural Religion ncceJTarily requires Public TVorjhip^ 
 
 p. 114, 115 
 b4 It 
 
xxvUi The CONTENTS. 
 
 Jt is a Principal Part of Morality itfehfy Page j t^ < 
 In what Senfe the Exercife of Charity is to he preferred 
 
 before it, p. u^, nS 
 
 'The NegleEl of Public Worftoip will expofe Men to the 
 
 Judgment of God, p. 1 1 8, 119 
 
 Jn Excellent Ohfervation of the Archbifhop of Cambray 
 
 to this Purpofe, P- 1 1 9 
 
 The Grace of God's Spirit neceffary to a good Life, ^.121 
 This acknowledged by Jews and Heathens, ibid. 
 
 Public Worfloip necefjary to the obtaining the Holy 
 
 Spirit, p. 1 2 1, 122 
 
 The befi hnd mofi righteous Men in all Ages have been 
 
 remarkable for their Attendance on the Public JVor- 
 
 Mpy ^ p. 122 
 
 Our blefjed Saviour fingularly eminent and remarkable 
 
 for the Pra^iice of this Duty, p. 123 
 
 Private Devotion and Reading on the Lord's Day, no 
 
 Excufe for abfenting from Public Worfhip, p. 125 
 The great Regard which pious and good Men have always 
 
 fhewnfor the Public JVorfJjip, P- 127 
 
 The Primitive Chriftians fubmit to grievous Perfecutions 
 
 rather than yiegkoi the Public Worflnp, p. 129 
 
 The Application^ p. 130, &c. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Concerning the Duty of Reading the Holy Scriptures. 
 The Necejfity of this Duty confidered, p. 1 34, &c. 
 
 The ancient Jews had the utmojl Feneration for the Holy 
 Scriptures, p, 138 
 
 The great Zi'/il of the modern Jews in the reading of them ^ 
 
 ibid. 
 The Primitive Chrillians very diligent in this Exercife^ 
 
 p. 13S.139 
 They fubmit to the moft grievous Perfecutions and Deaths 
 
 rather than firrr en der their Bibles, p. 139 
 
 Xhe grsal Value which our Anceftours in^ this Kingdom 
 
 fet upon the Scriptures^ p. 140 
 
 Ther^ 
 
The C O N T E N T S. xxl^e 
 
 J^ere are three great Advantages of reading the Scriptures^ 
 Firft, ijoe are hereby made acquainted with our whole 
 Duty^ and the Motives to the Pra5iice of it^ Page 
 
 141,, &c, 
 
 ^he Ancient Pagans doubtful of a future State ^ p. 143 , 144 
 
 An excellent Pajfage of Bifhop Gibfon to this Purpofe^ 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Secondly, By the reading of the Scriptures we may judge 
 of thel'ruth in Controverfas of Religion^ p. 144, &:c. 
 
 'This approved of by Chrilt and his Apoflles^ p. 145 
 
 The true Senfe of Scripture to be found out by a Jincere " 
 Study of ity p. 146 
 
 No Argument againfi this that many wife and good Meie 
 differ from each other in the Interpretation of Scrips 
 ture^ p. 147, &c. 
 
 The Church of Rome more peculiarly Faulty in this Par- 
 ticular^ p. 150 
 
 Rules by which a Man may judge of his own Sincerity in 
 the reading of Scripture^ p. 157, 158 
 
 Rules to be obferved for Underftayiding the true Do^rinc 
 of Scripture y p. 160, &c. 
 
 JVe muft not fet up our own Reafonings in Oppojition 
 to exprefs Declarations of Scripture ^ p. 171, &:c. 
 
 A moft ufeful Exatnple given us in this Matter by our 
 B kjjed S:iviouYy P- ^73 
 
 The third Advantage of reading the Scriptures confifts in 
 the prefent Pleafure and Satisfa^ion in the perufal of 
 them^ p. 175 
 
 The Holy Scripture^ befides ifs Infpiration^ excells all 
 
 . other Writings whatfoever^ in fever d RefpeEis^ As^ 
 Firft, the Holy Bible is the moft ancient of all other 
 Books y ibid. 
 
 TJoe Integrity <?/ Moles conftdered, ibid. 
 
 The pretended Antiquity of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, 
 and Chinele fabulous^ ibid , 
 
 The Molaic Hiftory of great Ufe and Advantage in t-ivo 
 RefpeEls^ Firft, In clearly difcovmng tc us that God 
 created this World ^ " P- ^ 7^ 
 
 The 
 
x%x The e O N T E N T S. 
 
 ^e ahfurd Noiiom af the ancient Philofophers in- this 
 Matter^ P* ^77 
 
 Secondly, Injhewing us the true Ground of the Corrup- 
 tim of our Nature and the Retnedy thereof^ p. 178, 
 
 179 
 
 fhe 'Doctrine of the ^ranfmigration of Souls owing to the 
 Ignorance of this Pointy ibid. 
 
 Secondly, 'The Hifiory of the Bible is more ufeful and 
 entertaining than any other Hifiory^ p. 179, &c. 
 
 It gives us a more fenfible Mamfefiaiion of God's Provi- 
 dence^ and Government of Mankind^ p. 181, &c. 
 
 Thirdly, We have a mere perfe^ Syflem of Moral Pre- 
 cepts in Holy Scripture than is to be found in any other 
 Writings^ p. 184 
 
 *The V/e knefs of the Old Philofophy in this Refpeif^ con- 
 fidercd^ ^ p. 185 
 
 Many horrid Vices juftified by the ancient Philofophers^ 
 and allowed ofly the Laws of Pagan Nations^ p. 1 86 
 
 The Writings of Philofophers improved and enriched by 
 the Holy Scriptures^ 187, 188 
 
 The Chriliian Morality compleat and digefied into one re- 
 gular Syflem^ p. 1 8 8 
 
 Fourthly, There is a much greater Strength of Reafon- 
 ing^ and more fublime Thoughts and Eloquent Expreffwns 
 in Scripture than in any Human Writings^ 188, &c. 
 
 The Excellency of our Savioufs Parables conftdered^ p. 
 
 192, &c. 
 
 Tloe Ufe of Parables very ancient P- ^95 
 
 The great Sin and Danger of negleBing to read the Holy 
 Scriptures^ p. 203, &c, 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Concerning the Duty of Divine Meditation. 
 The Neceffity of Divine Meditation in general^ confidered^ 
 
 p. 207 
 
 The Duty of Meditating upon the Word of God when 
 
 ■ preached to us^ p. 213, &c. 
 
 TloefmallProfciency ofmofi McninPiety andVirtue in great 
 
 Afeafiire owing to the Negle£f of this Duty^ p. 21 5 
 
 Th^ 
 
The CONTENTS. xxxi 
 
 *the Tbilofophers of old frequently' complain on the like Oc-^ 
 
 cafion^ ^^g^ 2i5 
 
 An Excellent Ohfervat ion of St Chryktilomon this Head 
 
 Tbe Neceffity of Meditafing frequently upon the Being of 
 
 God and His Perfections^ 
 Firft, Ti? guard us again/i' the dangerous Impreffwns of 
 
 Atheifm, p. 220, &c. 
 
 "The Increafe of Atheifm in the Worlds conjidered^ p. 
 
 221, 222 
 'T^he Proofs and Evidences of the Being of God and His 
 
 Perfeilions p. 226, 227 
 
 ^e Ahfiirdity of the Epicureans and others in denying 
 
 Final Caufcs^ . p. 228 
 
 Secondly, Meditation on the Being of God and His Per- 
 
 fe5iicns^ neceffary to preferve in our Minds fuch a lively 
 
 Senfe of thefe Truths as may prevail upon us to the 
 
 Pra^ice of Virtue^ p. 229, &c. 
 
 ^e NecefpJy of Meditating upon Divine Providence 
 
 fhewn^ Firfl, To confirm us in the Belief of it ^ upon 
 
 which our Happinefs depends^ p. 235, &:. 
 
 Secondly, To make us patient and fubmijfwe under the 
 
 Affli^ions of this Life^ p. 248, &c. 
 
 The NeceJJity of a firm Belief of Divine Providence ex- 
 emplified^ p. 235, &c^ 
 The Proofs and Evidences of Divine Providence confideredy 
 
 p. 238, &c. 
 The great Benefit and Advantage of believing a Divine 
 
 Providence^ owned by Epicurus p. 250 
 
 The Neceffity of Meditating frcqueyitly upon the Love of 
 
 God in the Death of Chrift, ibid. 
 
 In what Senfe the Sacrifi.ce of ChriR:'i Death was ?iecef 
 
 fary for the Expiation of Sin ^ p. -51 
 
 God not obliged to pardon the Sins of Men barely upon 
 
 their Repentance' P* ^53- 
 
 The Sacrifice of ChrA^ s Death a powerful Dijfuqfive from 
 
 Sin and Wickednefs^ ibid. 
 
 The 
 
xxxii The CONTENTS. 
 
 "The great Love of Chrift in dying for us, conjidered and 
 illuftrated. Page 254, 255 
 
 "The Neceffuy of Meditating frequently upon a Future Judg- 
 ment and Everlafting Retributions , p. 258 
 ^isfhewn in general from the Nature and Condition of 
 Mankind, p. 259. 
 Meditation upon Future Retributions neceffary to convince 
 us of the i'ruth and Certainty of them, p. 260, 261 
 ^he ahfolute Neceffity of this Convi5fion, p. 261 
 Meditation upon Future Retribution necejjary to give us 
 a lively Senfe of the Nature and Importance of them, 
 
 p. 262, 26J 
 ^bis abfolutely neceffary to overcome the Force of prefent 
 Things, p. 263, 264 
 
 No Objc5fion to the Importance of Future 'Things, that 
 they are in a great Meafure unknown to us, p. 265, &c. 
 The Doctrine of Eternal Punijhments taught by the beft 
 Philofophers, p. 270 
 
 The Belief of this Doctrine of great Service to the Caufe 
 of Religion and Virtue, P- ^7 ^ 
 
 The Beauty and prefent Rewards of Virtue not fuficient 
 to induce Men to the Pra^ice of it, p. 273, &c. 
 
 The Difference between the Stoics and Modern Infidels 
 upon this Point p. 274 
 
 // is no mean andfervile Thing to be ijtfluenced by the Be- 
 lief of future Retributions, p. 278, &c. 
 The extraordinary Piety and Goodnefs of the Primitive ' 
 Chriftians owing in great Meafure to their frequent 
 Meditation on future Thinp, p. 281 
 Chriftians after the Time of Conftantine the Great 
 grew very bad and wicked, and why, p. 2 8 2 
 The Sentiments of fome Eminent Divines concei-ning the 
 Neceffity of Divine Meditation, p. 283, &c. 
 
 C H A P. IV. 
 
 Concerning the Duty of Self-Examination, 
 A careful Examination of ourfelves neceffary to the Re- 
 pentance of our Sins, p. 2 8 6 
 
 This 
 
The C O N T E N T S. xxxiii 
 
 '3Tyis ohferved and recommended hy the old Philofophers^ 
 
 Page 287 
 ^e great Ufefulnefs and Advantage offuch Examination^ 
 
 p. 288, 289, 
 An Examination of our/elves necejfary to the Underfiand- 
 
 ing the true State and Difpojition of cur Souls ^ p. 289 
 The Manner in which this Duty of Self-Examination 
 
 fhould be performed^ p. 290, &:c. 
 
 The Knowledge of the true State of our Souls neceffary to 
 
 the Peace and ^iet of our Minds ^ p. 294 
 
 And to our Growth in Grace ^ and Improvement in Virtue ^ 
 
 P- '^^S 
 Ifhe Gofpel does not require us to he perfe£i in Holinefs but 
 
 by "Degrees^ p. 296, 297 
 
 Our Growth in Grace abfolutely neceffary to prevent Apo- 
 
 Jtacy and Befe^ionfrom Piety and Virtue^ p. 2 9 7, &e. 
 
 CHAP. V, 
 
 Concerning the Religious Education of Children. 
 
 In what the Religious Education of Children conjifls., 
 
 p. 299, 300 
 
 The Manner in which Parents fhould inflruB them in their 
 Catechifm^ p. 300, &c. 
 
 They fhould early inftru5t them in the Priyiciples of Reli^ 
 gion^ and why ^ P- 30i» &c. 
 
 The Manner in which they fhould injlru5l them^ Firft, 
 In their Duty to God^ p. 304, &c. Secondly, In 
 their Duty towards their Neighbour^ p. 306, &c. 
 Thirdly, In their Duty towards themfelves^ p. 
 
 309, &c. 
 
 They Jhould earnejily caution them againft keeping bad Com- 
 pany, p. 315, &c. 
 
 They fhould floew them the great Advantage of early Piety 
 and conftant Virtue, p. 316, 317, &c. 
 
 More particularly, theyfloould irjlrvoi thern in the neceffary 
 Duty of God' 5 public TVcrfxp p. 321, &c. 
 
 Atd 
 
xxxiv The CONTENTS. 
 
 Jnd in a Reverent Behaviour to the Mtnifters of God*s 
 
 JVord^andiJuhy^ p. 326, &c. 
 
 ne peculiar Worth and Merit of the Englifli Clergy^ 
 
 P- 329 
 
 ^he Manner in which "Parents fhould infimEi their 
 
 Children by the reading of the Scriptures^ p. 330, &c. 
 
 ^he great Benefits and Advantages ofChildrens early read* 
 . ing the Holy Scripture y P* 334 
 
 Parents Jhould carefully inftruSl their Children in the Doc- 
 trine of Qhvi^^s Mediation^ and why ^ p, 335, &c. 
 
 ^he ahfohite ISeceffty and great Advantage- of a Religions 
 Education^ p. 340, &c. 350, &c. 
 
 ^he great Dificulty of reforming Vicious Habits y p. 
 
 , ' 34/, 348 
 In what Senfe the Holy Scripture reprefents it as impojf 
 
 Jbk, ibid. 
 
 ^he exceeding Guilt of many Parents in the Negle^ of 
 
 this Duty of Religious .Education ^ P- 349 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Concerning the Manner and Meafure in which die Re- 
 ligious l.)udes abovementioned are to be difcharged 
 on the Lord's Day, 
 
 All Men of what ^ality and Condition foever hound t9 
 attend upon the Public WorfJoip^ and to meditate on the 
 Word preached to them on the Lord's Day, p. 355 
 
 ^e Private Duties of the Day to he difcharged in greater 
 or lefs Meafure^ according as Men fpend more or lefs 
 ti?ne in them at other Seafons^ P- 359 
 
 Tet they are not to be wholly omitted at this "time by any 
 Man what foever ibid. 
 
 Thegreatejl Men bound to obferve the Lord's Day reli- 
 gioujly^ Firil, On Account of their Families ^ p. 360 
 
 ^he Neceffity of Family InfiruBion conjidered^ p. 360, 
 
 361, &c. 
 Secondly, 
 
The C O N T E N T .«. xxxv 
 
 $&aond\y yJVith Regard to their own PerfonalOhUgathm 
 Firft, Becaiife God hath commanded ity p. ^6^, Se- 
 condly, That they may fet a good Example to oth^ 
 MeHy p. 367. J^nd Thirdly, "That they may give no 
 Offence to others y p. 368 
 
 The great Sin of giving Offence conjidered^ P* 368> 
 
 369, &c. 
 
 y[he many and great Mifchiefs of neglecting the Religious 
 Dmies of the Lord's D^y, p. 374, &c. 
 
 King James the Firfl'j and King Charles the Firft' j Be- 
 claratiqns for Sports on the Lord's Day, theOccafion 
 and ill Confequence of them^ . p. 3S2, &c. 
 
 *p}e abfolute N^cejfity of a Reformation in this Par^ 
 ticular^ p. 385 
 
 .Superllition on the S^hbath, a mifer Extreme at Pre- 
 fent than Frof-^incnGiSy P- 387 
 
 ^he Salifications with which the 'DoElrim of the Reli- 
 gious Obfervation of the Lord's Day is to he under- 
 flood, p. 388, &c. 
 
 The Sabbath deftgn^d for the Eafe and Comfort of Man- 
 kind^ as well as for the Perforamnce of Religious 
 Duties, . ^.^^ 
 
 The fame obferved by the beft Philofophers concerning their 
 Feftivals, P- 39^ 
 
 The BoBrine of the Religious Obfervation of the Sabbath 
 when truly ftated^not hard and fevere, p. ■393>394 
 
 CHAP. :^n. 
 
 Containing the Teftimonies of Pious and Learned Meii 
 in the former and latter Ages of the Church, con.- 
 cerning the Religious Obfervation of the Lord's 
 Day. 
 
 The Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day rafhly 
 
 charged with Err our and Superft'itiony P- 395 
 
 The Sabbath obferved religioufly by the ancientrS-dXonSy 
 
 p. 296 
 
xxxvi The CONTENTS. 
 
 Hie Laws of the Land enjcin the Religious Obferva^ 
 
 tion ofxKis Di^y., Page 396, &c, 
 
 ^he Primitive Chriilians make many excellent Laws 
 
 and Canons for the Religious Ohfervation of this Day^ 
 
 p. 399, &c. 
 ^e Judgment of the ancient Fathers of the Church 
 
 upon this Head^ p. 403, &c. 
 
 ^e great Regard which the firft Chriflian Emperours 
 
 fhewed for the Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's 
 
 Day, p. 406, 407 
 
 'Ihe Sentiments of the heft Divines of the Church of 
 
 England in this Matter^ p. 408 to 42^ 
 
 ^he Opinion of the Author of the Fable of the Bee^, 
 
 upon this Pointy p. 423 
 
 Aferious Jpplicatim to the Clergy and the Civil Magi- 
 
 ftrates, p. 425, 426 
 
 ^he Conclufton^ p. 427, 42I 
 
 THE Reader is defired to corred the Folio's 
 of the Pages from Pag, ij6 to Pag, 193, and 
 from Pag, 368 to ^^^, 
 
 A DISCOURSE 
 
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 1 
 
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 11 
 
 
 PART L 
 
 The Introduction. 
 
 O D as He is our Creator, fo is He alio 
 our Supreme Lord and Governour, 
 and as fuch^ hath an ablblute Right to 
 die utmcfi Service and Obedience, which 
 we' can pofTibly pay unto Him. As 
 we depend upon Him in all our "Wants, 
 and receive from Flim all Things we enjoy ; it is our 
 hciinden Duty to Acknov/ledge that Dependence by 
 conftant and fervent Prayer and Devotion : and in 
 token of His Goodnefs in Creating us, and theDiftin- 
 guifhing Bleffings of His Providence to all [a) Man- 
 kind \ we are obliged to celebrate His Praife ih)^ and 
 
 B to 
 
 {a) God loveth. a V, more than He can be loved of /?//, even every- 
 one individual^, more than all together are ever capable ot exerting 
 their Love to Him. Thomas a Kemlis on the Imitation of Chrifi, 
 
 Vol. n,p^g.2',6^ 
 
 lJ)ii', n ^iJ.vHV TO -S-mf , y^ z'j:piW.Siv* :c, iTn^i^yji^i 7a\ ^jieilct^ ; 
 
 n- &ioV) Uiyai &iji, en r,lJ.iv rm^iy>v u^]i.vii tv.vtx^ 6i dVrlifi 
 ')^if 'i^yjia6 m^' /y^;'/< u 0£^<j, 077 yj't^-'^ cA'/w/.^r. 077 y/l'-i- 
 7r.(nyy 077 yj^tMet.v^ on Av^i^.t ?^.iM}f)'o'Tn)i , on yj^^vJcvjcn cfv-iTiv ^v ; 
 
 i!^ViJ.V«iVy 07/1 
 
 )7/i tI/ij J)j\<i!J.tv 'itiojyji tIjj fs^pcLXjo^vB.niytjj) Tkuzav x^ 
 
 &c, Arri'an, in Epidlct. Jib. i, 
 
 XVI. 
 
I N r R O D U C T I O N. 
 
 to proclaim the Honour and Majefty of His Name m 
 all Ages and Generations of the World. To fuppoie 
 otherwife, is to deny ourfelves to be created Beings : 
 For to allow that we are made by God, and depend 
 every Moment upon Him, and yet are not bound to 
 teftify That Dependence by the neceflciry Performance 
 of thefe Duties, is as great a Contradiction (<:) as any 
 in the World. As we are therefore bound to worfhip 
 God in general j fo hkewife are we obliged to a va- 
 rious and different Manner of performing this Duty, 
 according to the different State and Circumftances of 
 our Condition. As we are private Perfons, we muft 
 manifeft our Dependence upon God in private. We 
 muft pray to Him for thofe Things of which we our 
 felves ftand in need •, and return Him Thanks and Praife 
 for thofe many Bleffings we enjoy* And as we are 
 confidered in a public Capacity ; we muft apply our 
 felves to God in fuch a Manner, as is agreeable to our 
 public State and Condition {d): That He would be 
 pleafed not only to profper ourfelves, but all Mankind -, 
 that He would avert all Judgments due to our Sins, 
 and grant us the public BlefTings of Unity and Peace : 
 And that, as the only return we can make for His Ex- 
 ceeding Favours ; He would accept of our fincere love 
 and Affedion, and moft hearty Praife and Thankf. 
 
 giving. 
 
 [c) Dependency in a Creature, without fomc Mark or Manifella- 
 tion of fuch a State, is utterly unintelligible, or to fpeak more pro- 
 perly a Contradiftion ; becaufe it is, with regard to that Creature, 
 to ail Intents and Purpoi'es a St^te of Independency. Revelation 
 Examined zuith Candour, &c. Vol. l.pag.^'j. 
 
 {d) Reafon diredeth not only to worfhip God in fecret, but alfo 
 and efpecially in public, and in the Sight of Men ; for without that 
 (that which in Honour is mo ft acceptable) the procuring others to 
 honour him is loft. Hobbs's Leviathan!, chap, xxxi, pag. 192. 
 
 As to Matters relating to theWorfliip of God. it is the Voice of 
 Nature, that God fhould, be publickly worfliippcd ; and that Men 
 fliould do this in the moil convenient way, by appointing amongil 
 themfelves. Time, Place, Perjons^ and all other things which re- 
 quire fpecial. Determination, Ckri[lianity as old as the Crcatim^ 
 pag. 115, 116. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 giving. Now thele being all necej/ary Duties relulting 
 trom our State and Condition in this World, do re- 
 quire fome 'ti?ne and Place for the Performance of 
 them ; which by reaibn of the different Tempers and 
 Inclinations of Men, and the various BufinelTes and 
 Affairs of the World, ought in all Wifdom to be 
 determined by fome jufl and proper Authority ; 
 that fo there might be no Negled or Diflradion in 
 the Exercife of thefe Duties : But that all Men, as they 
 fhould with one Heart and cne Mouth, fo they might 
 in one Time and one Place meet together xo glorify God. 
 Accordingly we find that the Divine Wifdom hath 
 taken Care of this Matter, by feparating one Day in 
 every Week for His Worfhip and Service, thro' all 
 Ages and Generadons of the World : It being (as will 
 be clearly feen hereafter) a Law everlaftingly obliging 
 the Sons of Men, that they fhould Remember the Sabhath 
 Dav and keep it Holy. i. e. That they lliould remember to 
 obierve every fe^centh Day in the Week, as a Refl from 
 bodily Work and Labour \ and not only that^ but 
 alio as a Day confecrated to the Worfhip and Service 
 of God. 
 
 In tread ng upon which Point io necefTary to be well 
 underflood, and fully confidered by all Chriflians 
 (efpecially in this profane and degenerate Age) I ihall 
 in the following Difcourfe endeavour to do thefe four 
 Things. 
 
 Firft., I fhall endeavour to fhew in general the 
 
 Perpetual Obligation of obferving one Day in every 
 
 Week, as a Day of God's piUic Worfhip and 
 Service. 
 
 Second y, I fhall give an Account of the Change 
 of the Day from the feventb to the firjl Day of the 
 Week. 
 
 B 2 ' nirdh\ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Thirdly, I Ihall lay before the Reader the^ many and 
 great Bleffings and Advantages which will redound to 
 the Puhlick^ as well as to private Pirfons^ from a De- 
 vout and Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Bay, 
 And in the 
 
 Fourth and lad Place, I fhall confider the particular 
 Manner in which this Holy Day ought to be obferved 
 by all Chriftians. "Which points, as they are of the 
 greateft Confequence and Importance to the true 
 Happinels of Mankind ; ought not to be [lightly and 
 fut'nficiaUy handled, but to be throughly and prkijly 
 , treated upon, as with God's Afllftance, they fhall be 
 in the following Chapters. 
 
 A DIS- 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 Concerning the 
 
 Religious Ob 
 
 ^tWY QT 
 
 OF T 
 
 L O R D's 
 
 ,RtC.NOVl8S0 
 
 C H A p. I. 
 
 Concerning the Obligation of obferving one Day 
 in every Week, as a Day of God's Public 
 IVorJJdip and Service, 
 
 EFORE I proceed to the Corifi- 
 deration of this point, I think it ne- 
 cefiary to premife, that I Ihall not at 
 prefent enter into the DiiJDUte, by 
 what Name and Chara6ter that Day 
 ought to be called, which I am now 
 enquiring about *, whether Sunday^ the Sabbath^ or 
 the Loni^s Day: Since it is all one to my Purpofe 
 by what Name the Day is called, provided it hi 
 
 ' B 3 duly 
 
6 A Difioarfi concerning the 
 
 duly obferved in that Pious and Religious Mannef 
 that it ought to be. And indeed though the Lord's 
 Bav is the true Appellation of the tiril Day of the 
 Week which the Chriftian World obferves, and is fo 
 called by St John^ Rev, i. lo. yet on the other Side 
 I profefs I fee no Harm in calling this Day by the 
 Name of Suyiday^ or the Sabbath Day \ and I think 
 the Charge of Gentilifm or Judaijin^ which hath too 
 often been laid on thofe who exprefs the Lord's Day by 
 either of the two other names, is very rajh and 
 unchriftian(e). For as to the /-^r/, it is certain that the 
 Lord's Day was called by the Name of Sundav by fevenil 
 of the early Writers of the ff) Church, becaufe it hap- 
 pened on that Day of the Week which the Heathens 
 dedicated to the Sim •, and therefore as it was bell 
 known to them by that Character, the andent Fathers 
 commonly make ufe of it in their Apologies to the 
 heathen Governours ; and it feldom paffeth under any 
 other Name in the Imperial Edicts of the firll Chriftian 
 Emperours. Befides, as an excellent Author well ob- 
 serves (f), it may properly retain that Name as it is 
 dedicated to the Honour of our bleflfed Saviour ; who is 
 by the Prophet called thtSun of Righteoufnefs ^ Mai. iv. 2. 
 And as to the (?/Z?(?r Appellation, vix. diat of the Sabbath^ 
 it properly fignifies RejL and is a Term of very large and 
 general Signification : Somedmes impordng the feventh 
 Day of the Week, which the Jews obferved as a Day of 
 Reft from bodily Labour \ in which Senfe the Word 
 Sahhath is moll commonly ufed in the New ^eftament : at 
 other Times the Space of a PFeeik, as Matt, xxviii. 1 . In 
 
 the 
 
 (f) Vid. Heylin's Hiflory of" the Sabbath, Part 11. chap. ii. 
 5- 12. ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 l^ivov]coy tiri to dv\o aijv'iKvjTti y\v{\cfjt^ &c. Juil. Marr. Apo- 
 log i. /)iem S<?/is Ixik'ix indnl^ciiuis. TertuUiaiu Apol. cap. at,. 
 . (?) Nellbn on the Feftivals, p. 18. See alfo Bijhop Bcvcrid^e*3 
 Thoughts oa Religion, 8vo, Part il, p. 324. 
 
'Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 7 
 
 the End of the Sabbath^ as it began to dawn towards the 
 firft Day of the Week^ in the Original it is ^^^ .^Ut 
 aft^Crir&^v (h). And in Luke xviii, 12, where the 
 Pbarifee boafting of himfelf, faith, / fajl twice in the 
 Week^ in the Greek it is rendered ,/»^eL;« s^U t« <rct5^AT><' 
 And in Lev. xxv. 8. the Space of feven Years is 
 ftiled a Sabbath ; and the feventh Year in which 
 the Land was to he fallow by the Command of 
 God, is likewife called by the fame Name, Lev, 
 ccxv: ;?, 4. And in general^ the Word Sabbath may 
 be applied to any Day of Reft whatfoever, that is 
 dedicated (/) to the Worlhip and Service of God. 
 Thus we find that the Feafl of Trumpets^ which was 
 to be celebrated upon the frfl Day of the feventh 
 Month, on what Day of the Week foever it Hiould 
 fall-, is called a Sabbath^ Lev. xxiii^ 24, And {o 
 likewife the great Day of Atonement^ which was air 
 ways to be kept on the tenth Day of the fame 
 Month, is defcribed by this Name, It fhall be unto 
 you a Sabbath of Reft^ v. 27, 32. And feveral 
 -Other Feftivals are alfo called by this Name, as 
 may be obferved in the fame Chapter. 
 
 Waving therefore all Difputes about die Propriety 
 .of thole 1 erms by which tlie firft Day of the Week 
 is expreifed, I proceed to the 7nain Thing pro- 
 pofed, viz. to ihew the ^^r^^/?^^/ Obligation of ob- 
 ferving one Day in every Week as a Day of God's 
 public Worfhip and Service. I ^d\\ firft treat of the 
 particular Obfervation of one Day in feven. And fe- 
 <:ondly^ of confecrating this Day, thus fet apart ^ to the 
 more immediate Worfhip and Service of God. And, 
 B 4 Firft, 
 
 [b] Ut J^^J^23ti' Hei>rais, ita adCCAJct Heile?iifiisy Multitudinis 
 numero plerumquedicuntur non ipfi dies otiodati, fed tota dierum 
 hebdomas, ab unius Sabbati initio, ad initium alterius ; quarum 
 dierum prima, earn ab rem vocatur ^ist aACCcLTcoy ex Hebraifmo. 
 Grot, in loc. 
 
 [i) Ad feftos orancs dies tranflatum nomen (Sabbatum) eft, ut 
 decent Chryf. in Horn. 40. in Matt. Theophil. & Euthym, in 
 Cap. Lucae 6. Ribera 4e f employ lib. v. cap. i. 
 
8 A Difcotirfe ccncerning the 
 
 Firft^ As to the Particular Obligation of obferving 
 one Day in every Week. Now the Arguments by 
 which this Obligation will be proved, I fhall con- 
 fider in the Order and Mediod following. 
 
 Firfiy It muft be confefied that the Law of Nature 
 hath made no Determination in this Matter. We are 
 indeed required by that Law to ferveand worfiiipGod, 
 and confequently to feparate fome Part of our Time, 
 for the more ReguLir and Solemn Performance of this 
 Duty •, as will be fully ihewn in the Sequel. And 
 becaufe we are liable to continual Wants and Necef- 
 fities, and are daily receiving Mercies and BleiTings 
 from God ♦, thereibre thefe limes of Divine Service 
 and Worlhip ought to have a frequent Return in 
 the Courfe of their Obfervation. Thus much the 
 Law of Nature plainly requires (k). But what par- 
 ticular Meafure of our Time is to be appropriated to 
 this End, is a Thing which that Law hath left In- 
 different. In fuch a Cafe then, if God hath made no 
 Revelation of His Will and Pleafure about it, the 
 Public Authority in every Country mufi: determine 
 the Matter. And therefore fince in all Chriiiian 
 States, one Day in feven is fet apart for this Purpofe, 
 by the Command of the Government \ it ought to be 
 duly obferved by all their Subjeds. And the Reafon 
 of this is plain •, becaufe whatfoever is left Indifferent 
 by the Divine Laws, may very juftly be made the 
 Subject Matter of Human Conllitutions (I'). So that 
 fuppofing there were no other Authority tor the Ob- 
 fervation of this Day, but only the Order and Ap- 
 pointment of our Governours in Church and State •, 
 this alone would be lufficient to inforce the Obligation 
 of this Duty upon us : And to ufe the W^ords of an 
 
 Excellent 
 
 {k) Fid. Vrffendorf^ Law of Nature and Nations, Book M. 
 chap. iv. vvirh the Notes upon the Place. tVoolafion^ Religion 
 of Nature delineated, p. 124,, i 21;. 
 
 (I) See Hooker'^ Ecclefiaftical Polity, Book III. Bifhop SHI- 
 ti':gjlc£C% Iremcumi Part 1. chap ii. () -i and 5. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 9 
 
 Excellent Prelate, (m) " He that defrauds God Al- 
 " mighty of that Portion of Time, which by the 
 " Law of his Country is folemnly confecrated or de- 
 *' voted to Him •, may be truly faid to fin againft 
 " God in that Matter, as well as to tranfgrefs a Canon^ 
 " or an yf^ of Parliament*^ Bat this is not all : 
 For in the 
 
 Second Place^ The Obfervation of one Day in every 
 Week is exprefsly required by God Himlelf, to be 
 celebrated in Memory of the Creation of the (n) 
 "World. ThnsGen. ii. r, 2, ?. I'be Heavens and the 
 Earth were made^ and on che Seventh Day God rejied 
 from His Work which he had made •, and God hlejfed the 
 Seventh Bay and fan5iified it. i. e. He feparated it 
 from the other fix Days for holy and facred Ufes : For 
 that is the confiant Senle of this Word, when applied 
 to particular Times and Seafons (0), For as to the 
 
 Interpretation 
 
 (m) Archbifhop ^harph Sermons, Vol. IV. p. 260, 261. 
 See the Place. 
 
 (v) Sabbatum ab Initio Mundi deRinatura ell ad cukum DeL 
 Luther. Loc. Commun. per Fabricium^ Claff. iii. p. 85. 
 
 (0) San6liiicare Sabbatum non eft otio ignavo Diem contererc, 
 fed vitare peccata, &; opera fanfta Sabbato peragere. Aliter Deus, 
 aliter Homines Sabbatum fandlificare dicuntur. Deus Sabbatum 
 fanftiiicat, quia illud Cultui Divi?.o defiinat ; Homines illud fanfti- 
 iicant, quando illud in ufum a Deo deftinatum referunt. Vrfmi 
 ExpUcat. Catechet. ?art.\\\. ^.tefi. 13. Sabbatum fan£lificavit 
 Deus, i. e. a Profano ufu fegregavit, & Cultui Divino dedicavit. 
 Scgrcgavit ex vujgi numero, folennem ac fanftum & venerabilem 
 haberi voluit. Munjier. Fag. Oleaft. Ainfw. & Vatabl. in 
 Gen. ii. 3. \Ji fanSlifices (Sabbatum) /. e. Divino cultui totaliter 
 appliccs. Lyra in Exod. xx. 8. Ut celebres, habens pro fanfto 
 h confecrato cultui Dei. Vialvend. ibid. Ut fepares ilium ab aliis 
 diebus profanis, abftinendo ab operibus, & cultui Divino applices. 
 Hcec enim duo importat Chadas. Oleajier.^ ibid. Ut fanSfe 
 colas, id fit lastl grataque Recordatione Mundi a Deo conditi. 
 Grot. ibid. Sandis operibus vult tranfigi ; & cum dicit, Memento 
 ut fanSIifces, iniinuat veram Sabbati Celebrationem non confiftere 
 pracipue in externa quiete, isfc. fed in Meditatione San6lificationis, 
 &<■. Ut San^ificesi vacando ab opere Servili, ut otium tibi fit 
 Divinis rebus operam dandi. Gerundenjts ^ Menochius apud Pelt 
 Syhopf. Crit. ibid. 
 
10 A Difcourfe ctncernhig the 
 
 Interpretation of this Text given by a Learned Prelate, 
 v'fz. ^hat the 'Text only tells us^ what God did Himfelf^ 
 not what He commanded us to do ; God may do one Thing 
 Himfelf^ and yet command us to do the contrary (p) ; 
 it is of no Force. For God is not any where faid to 
 fan5fify the Sahhath^ with regard to His own holy and 
 facred Behaviour thereupon ; for in that Refpecl, 
 every Moment of His Eternal Duration is equally 
 ianctified by Him : nor barely by His reding from 
 His Works upon that Day, as this Author fup- 
 pofes, (q) \ but by fetting it apart to all Mankind, for 
 His Public Worfhip and Service : which is the 
 only true Notion of the Sanciification of the Sab- 
 hath^ as is evident from the Pafiages juil now 
 cited in the Margin, and will more fully appear from 
 what lliall be faid hereafter. So that here is laid an 
 Obligation upon all Men, and that by the exprefs 
 Command of God Himielf, to oblerve the Seventh 
 Day in Remembrance of the Creation : That fo all 
 Men might have zftated Opportunity of praifing God 
 for the Glory of His Works ; of refledmg upon their 
 Condition as created, dependent Beings ; and of con- 
 fidering the Duties and Obligations confequent there- 
 upon. So diat dio* we Chriftians are not bound (as 
 will hereafter be clearly fhewn) to keep the Pardcular 
 Day of the Jewijh Sabbath, becaufe that depended 
 cndrely upon the Law of Mofes, which is now of no 
 Force ; yet the Duty of oblerving one Day in feven 
 is obligatory upon all Men, who acknowledge the 
 Bible to be the Word of God : Becaufe God Himfelf 
 
 hath 
 
 (p) AYChh\?!:iO^ BramhalPsV^orks, p. 911. 
 
 (q) Non poteft dici Deus benedixifTe diei feptimo, & ilium 
 fdnaificafle nifi per Sabbati Inftiiutioneni ; non alium enim in 
 iinem elt bencdiftus ille dies, nifi ut Dei cultui confecnretur, in 
 Memoriam Quietis Divinoc ab operationibus Creationis : Dicitur 
 ergo Dcus benedixijfe & JanBificaJfe, quia fanftificando benedixit, 
 a profano & communi ufu legregando, 6c divino cultui dedicando, 
 xM deinceps ab hominibus fendliiicaretur per exercitia publica pie- 
 tatis & folennem Dei cuhum. Turrctin. Irijf^tut, Part, II. ^^fi^ 
 
Religious Objervation of the Lord's-Djay. i r 
 
 hath exprefsly enjoined it to be obferved in Memory 
 of the Creation *, and that, many hundred Years before 
 the Law of Mofes was eftabhlhed. And this Sandi- 
 cation of the Sabbath from the very Beginning of the 
 World., was a mod wife and neceflary Provifion for 
 preferving the Regard and Reverence which is due to 
 God •, becaufe it naturally " puts Men in mind of the 
 *' Obligation which lies upon them to celebrate the 
 " Divine Perfedlions, which may be learned from 
 *' God's WorkS) and the NeceiTity of Ibme folemn 
 " and fepnrate Time for this Religious Worfliip," as a 
 very learned Prelate has well remarked (r). 
 
 This feems to be a Ytxy plain and clear Account of 
 this Matter-, but it will be more clear and plain, - 
 when we confider the Weaknefs of that Argument 
 which is urged againfl: it: and that is, that thefe 
 Words are here fpoken by Way of Anticipation •, /. e. 
 that God is here faid to appoint the Obfervation of 
 the Sabbath^ becaufe He defigned that it Ihould be 
 obferved at the givi?tg of the Law -, fo that what was 
 then commanded, is figuratively faid to have been re- 
 quired before, even at the Conclufion of the great 
 Work of Creation. And indeed it muft not be de- 
 nied, that not only fome of the Jewijh Writers, but 
 alfo feveral learned Modern Critics come into this 
 Senfe (s). But however it is a manifeft Force upon 
 the Words, and fuch an ill Conftrudion, as cannot be 
 charged upon any Writer of good Senfe and Under- 
 ftanding j for do but obferye what an odd Sentence 
 
 it 
 
 (r) Bifliop Kidder*^ Preliminary Argument to the Book of 
 Genejis^ p. 5. 
 
 (s) Fid. Poli Synopf. Critic, in Gen. ii. 3. Synopfis Purioris 
 Theologi^, per Poliandrum, Rivctum, &c. Difputat. xxi. § 13. 
 Heyiiri\ Hiftory o( iht Sabbath, Parti, chap. i. § 2, 3, 4. 
 Archbifhop BramhalPs Works, p. 91 1, 9 1 2. Llmborchi Thcolog. 
 lib. 5. cap. zZ. § 3. 
 
12 A 'Difcou7'fe concerning the 
 
 it makes 0). Mofes here fays, that God refled from 
 His Works on the Seventh Day ^ndfan^ified it ; and 
 till the Reafon is becaufe about 2500 Years after, when 
 He gave Flis Laws to the Children of Ifraely He 
 commanded them to keep and obferve this Day. 
 An Account very ftrange and incoherent^ and which 
 is plainly repugnant to the exprefs Words of Scripture, 
 which fays that God hlejjed the Seventh Day and fanBi- 
 fed it^ hecai»[e that in it He refted (u) from all His 
 Work^ Gen \\, 7, So that as long zs this Text re- 
 mains in the Bible, it will be a Demonftrative Proof 
 cf this Point, that all Men -to whom the Floly Scrip- 
 tures have been revealed, are bound to obferve the 
 Sabbath Day in Memory of the Creation (x) ; and as 
 
 a Time 
 
 (/) They do indeed in faying tbis, make Mofes an Admirable 
 Orator z% well as an Hirtori^n; for they make him fpeak fuch 
 ftrange Figures, and tell his Story in fuch a Way, as never any 
 
 good Author did lince his Time. — But this is our Comfort, 
 
 that tho* fome of the Jews talk after this Manner; yet the Di- 
 fcrceteft, and thofe that ? re Incomparably the beft and moft ju- 
 dicious Writers of that Nation, are of another Opinion, and own 
 the Inftitution of the S'lbbath to have been from the very Crea- 
 tion of the World. Arckbifhop Sharp'j Sermoiis, Vol. IV. 
 p. 271, 7~7Z» 
 
 («) The Blefjtvg and 5.7«.'?//v/ve being { in G^,^. ii, i, 2, 3.) 
 fabjoined to God's Seventh Day's Reii, as that is to His perfe6t- 
 ine His Work,; and this to His finifning the Heavens and the 
 Earth, 2nd all the Hoft of them ; and the fame copulative (and) 
 being ufed all the Way, without ihe leall Mark of any Difference 
 with regard to the Point in Difpute: To believe that this BJeifmg 
 and Saudifying (as well as the other Particulars, ) were aSiual^ 
 and beat the fame Relation they do, that is, to Mankind; is to 
 belic^'e what fuits heft with the Nature of Hi/iory and the Cir- 
 cumftances of the Place. From this Bottom we ought not to 
 flir, wiihout fome U'gent Reafon for it, which is what I could 
 never yet meet with HiJl on the fourth Commmidment^ 
 Difccurfe I. p. 27. Quomodo autem fanftificavit ? (Sabbatum) 
 jion Solum decreio & voluntatc^ {^di. reipfa ; quia ilium d'em ( ut 
 lion pauci volunt, & probabile ell) mandavit primis Parentibus 
 fanftificandum. Zaruhius in quarlum Decalogi praceptum, 
 
 (x) The firft InlHiution o:" x\it Sabbath was on purpofe that 
 Men periodically celebrating the Creation of God, might thereby 
 
 be 
 
Religious Obfervation of tke Lord's Day. 13 
 
 a Time of Refleding upon the Dudes and Obliga- 
 tions which arife therefrom. And it is a vain At- 
 tempt of a very (y) \ earned Perfon (who oppofes the 
 Antemofaical Inftitution of the Sabbath) to dellroy the 
 Force of this Reafoning by alledging that God did 
 not fandlify the Sabbath till after the Delivery of the 
 , Ifraelites from the Egyptian Bondage : but that then 
 it was very proper for Mofes to fet before them the 
 Hifiory of the Creation^ and Goi^s refting from His 
 Work on the Seventh Bay^ that it might be perpetually- 
 retained in their Memories as a powerful Means of fe- 
 curing them againft Idolatry, and preferving them in 
 the Worfhip of the true God. For if this had been 
 all^ and the San6lification of the Sabbath had con- 
 cerned die Jews only^ it would have been fufficient to 
 this End to have inferted it into the Body of his 
 Laws, (as we find done by him in Exod, xx. and 
 
 other 
 
 be preferved from Irreligion and Idolatry. Deut. iv. 19. Dr 
 
 Ckrkii Sermons, Vol. X. p. ^3, 54. The Moral Part of the 
 Sabbath, /. e. To far as it is a Commandment enjoining the Virtue 
 of Humanity, or of allowing Time to thofe who are under our 
 Power, to reft from the Labours of their worldly Employments ; 
 and fo far as it is, according to the Original Reafon of it's Injiitw 
 tion in Paradife, a Time fei apart for the Religious Commemora- 
 tion of God's Work of Creation, and praifing Him for the Things 
 that He has made, and ferving and worfhipping Him, as the 
 IVlaker of all Things ; This Moral Part of the Sabbath, I fay, is 
 of eternal and unchangeable Obligation, Clarke, ibid. p. 59. 
 The Ends and Reafons of this (the 4th) Commandment, are, 
 frjhihu Men might contemplate and commemorate the Work of 
 Creation. For in Six Days the Lord made the Heave?; and the 
 
 Earth', for this Reafon the Sabbath is a perpetual Covenant, 
 
 Exod. xxxi. 16, 17. And not to the Children o^ Ifrael only, but 
 from the ver-^ Beginning of the World, was this a Sign and Cove- 
 nant appointed of God, and is therefore of a Moral Nature through- 
 out all Generations, hr ClarkeV Expftion of the Catecbifm^ 
 p. ?73, 174. This Senfe of Gen. ii. 3. is (as will be fhewa 
 hereafter) followed by our Church in the Homily concerning the 
 Time and Place of Prayer, Part I. and by the Generality of 
 Learned Divines boih Antient and Modern. 
 
 (y) Spencer de Legib^ flebraeorum, Edit. Chappelow, lib. i. 
 cap. 5. ^ ig p. 87. 
 
14 A Difcourfe coneerning the 
 
 other Places) and befides, we cannot imagine but 
 that fo wife and judicious an Author as Mofes was, 
 would have related this Matter in it's proper Place, 
 {vi%, the RedemptioTf of the Ifraelites) and not in a 
 Hiftory of about 2500 Years extent, and in which 
 the Chronology is very clear and exadl, have imjne- 
 diately fubjoined the San6lification of the Sabbath, to * 
 his Account of God's finifliing His Works of the 
 Creation in fix Days, and refting on the feventh ; as 
 if he had defigned on purpofe to confirm us in the Be- 
 lief, that the Sabbath was inftituted from the very Be- 
 ginning of the World : Which no Writer of to- 
 lerable Senfe and Capacity would, I humbly think, 
 otherwife have done. And it is no lufficient Anfwer 
 to this Argument to urge that the Holy Scripture is 
 filent as to the Patriarchs Obfervation of the Sabbath 
 'Day. For it is no ftrange Thing at all, that in a Hi- 
 ftory of fo large an Extent of Time, as about 2500 
 Years, and yet contained in fo fmall a Compafs^ as 
 that of the Bible is from the Creation of die World 
 to the giving of the Law ; the Chief Defign of which 
 is to fhew that God is the Creator and Governour of 
 all Things -, to manifeft the Wonders of His Provi- 
 dence ', and to fet forth the Genealogy and Succeflion 
 of the Jews : I fay, it is no ftrange Thing at all, 
 that in a Hiftory of this Kind, many Material Things 
 relating to the Religious Obfervations and Behaviour 
 of the Antient Patriarchs ftiould be omitted. For 
 what a very excellent Prelate hath obferved concern- 
 ing the Hiftory of Mofes before the Floods is true alio 
 with regard to the Remaining Part of it, till the 
 Giving of the Law », viz. " The Account is very 
 " fhort^ and conveys but /////^Knowledge to us of the 
 " Religion of thofe Times (z). And therefore it 
 
 can 
 
 (x) Bifhop Sherlock's Ufe and Intent of Prophecy, &<:. 
 Pifcourfe IV. p. 8g. Quamvis in vita Patriarcharum non iiat 
 mcntio exprcfla Sabbati ab ipfis obfervati, non Tequiiiur non fuifTe 
 
 * cognituii^ 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's-Day r r 
 
 can never be certainly concluded that die Patriarchs 
 did not obferve the Sabbath Day, merely becaufe the 
 Holy Scripture makes no mention of it. And yet 
 if it were never fo certain that they did not keep 
 this Day (the Contrary to which is exceedingly 
 probable (a), as will be fcen prelendy) yet it will 
 by no means follow from hence, that they were 
 not obliged thereto, as fome have imagined. For 
 the Law of the Sabbath being clear and exprefs, as 
 was before taken Notice of, the Authority and Ob- 
 ligation of that Law can never be difanulled and 
 laid afide, by the Negledl of any Men hoy^ pious and 
 good Ibever to keep and obferve it. 
 
 What hath been laid down under this Head, is, I 
 think, a very fufficient Proof, that there was from the 
 Beginning of the World one Day in every Week ap- 
 pointed of God to be kept Holy •, and that in Me- 
 mory of the great Work of Creation. For tho' I do 
 not deny but that fome Things may be fpoken in 
 
 Scripture 
 
 cognitum vel obfervatum omnino ab ipfis, quia compendiofa cfi 
 Kiirratio, in qua non necefle eft omnia reperiri qus ad iplbs per- 
 tinebant. Satis fuit Spiritui iando ea attingere quae faciebant ad 
 Ejus Scopum, nimirum confirmare promifllones faftas ipfis de 
 Semine Benedido, ^ texere Genealogiam ipforum ad veritatem hi- 
 ftoria; cognofcendam ; fic nulla mentio fit Sabbati obfervati tempore 
 Judicum & Samuclis ; unde tamen, quis perperam coUigerer, non 
 oblervatum fuifTe. Secundo non legimus Patriarchas ulla ftata 
 tempera obfervaflead cultum publicum Dei, k tamen Pietas ipfonini 
 nos dubltare vetat certos dies habuilTe facros & folennes cultui Dei 
 confecratos. Tales autem dies non potuerunt commodiores effe» 
 quam dies ieptimi hebdomales, qui a Deo peculiari ratione bene- 
 dicli & fandificati crant ad quietem hominis ad inftar quietisDci. 
 lurretin. Injlitut. Part II. ki^afl. XIII. />. 91. 
 
 (a) Non dubito primos homines populi Dei hunc diem coluifT^:; 
 jam inde ab Adamo. MahtT.dn in GV;/. ii, 3. Neque enim, 
 Adam in Paradyfo, li in Innocentia manfiilct, vixiflet otiofus ; 
 Sabbato die docuill'et filios, ornairct Deum mcritis Laudibus, publi«a 
 pracdicatione & ie & alios concemplatione operum Dei excitaffct 
 ad graiiarum Actionem. Lutheri L'.c Cornmun. Cltifs iii. p. 8^. 
 See alio Mr Hilt on the Fourth Commandment, Diicourfe the 
 Firft, in which many Objc6\ions leluring to this Mairer aie fully 
 »nd diflin£lly anfwered. 
 
i6 A Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 Scripture by way of Anticipation^ and that Text in 
 Exod. xvi. 34. where ^^r^;? having fill'd a Pot with 
 Manna^ is faid to have laid it up before the Tefti- 
 mony to be kept, may perhaps be fo underftood, as 
 'DrHeylin (b) contends ;becaufe as^^/, there was nojrk 
 nor tabernacle made, and confequently no Tejlimony 
 before which to keep it •, yet it was but in the follow- 
 ing Year, that the Ark and "Teftimony were finifhed and 
 the 'Tabernacle reared up : and therefore Mofes having 
 mentioned Aaron's filling the Pot with Manna^ might 
 very naturally at the fame Time (c) take notice of his 
 placing it before the Teftimony ^ becaufe he aElually 
 did fo in a very little Time after, when the Ark and 
 ^efiimony were prepared. And befides, Mofes does not 
 lay in the Text, that Aaron placed the Pot of Manna 
 before the Teftimony^ immediately upon his filling it. 
 But fure it muft be a very bold and unexampled Li- 
 berty of Speech for Mofes to fay, that God fanBijied 
 the Sabbath Day upon His finiJJoing the TVorks of 
 Creation ; and yet, that this Commandment was given 
 only to the Jews^ and was not to be in Force for 
 above 2500 Years. But yet, if even this could be 
 fuppofed, there would then certainly have been fome- 
 thing laid down in the Commandment itfelf as the 
 Ground and Reafon thereof, which made it peculiar to 
 the Jews ; as we find exprefsly done in Deut. z\ 1 5. 
 when God appointed the Sabbath to that People only : 
 for there the Reafon of that Appointment is plainly 
 given, viz. becaufe the Lord had delivered them 
 from the Land of Egypt. "Whereas in Gen. ii. the 
 only Thing that is mentioned as the Reafon of the 
 Sabbath is this, viz. becaufe on that Day God relied 
 from all His Work •, which is a Reafon that ail Man- 
 kind are concerned in, as v«/ell as the Jews, and was in 
 
 eq^ual 
 
 (b) Hiftory of the Sabbrith, Fart I, Chap. i. §. 4. 
 
 [c] Thefe (the Tables of God*sLavv) were given afterwards at 
 Mount !:i?:ai and there the Ark was made ; but Mofes rehejrfed 
 the Thing here, to makq z/ull End of the Hiilory. Jinfwortb, 
 in he. 
 
Religious Ohfervatlon of th^^. Lord's Day. \y 
 e^ual Force ahd Obligation from the very Beginning of 
 the World, as it was from the I'ime of the Law of 
 Mofes. And indeed this Argument for the Antiquity 
 of the Sabbath^ and the Univerfality of it's Obligation, 
 drawn from the Reafon laid down in Gen. ii. is fo 
 vtry ftrong and cogent^ that the learned Doclor himfelf 
 feems in great Meafure to be fenfible of the Force of 
 it ; by allowing that the Text (in Gen. ii. q.) affords 
 a fufficient Intimation of the Equity and Reafon of the 
 Sabbath^ viz. God's reding on that Day, after all His 
 Works that He had made (d). And that which ren- 
 ders it highly probable that the Patriarchs tonftantly 
 oblerved this Day (notvvithflanding the Silence of 
 Holy Scripture) is, to lay nothing of their great 
 Piety and Regard to (e) God's Indications, the Con- 
 fideration of that Cuftom of computing Time by 
 Weeks ; by which Means the Memory of the feven 
 Day's Work was preferved, by honouring thtfeventh 
 Day, as Grotius expredes it (f). Which Cudom pre- 
 vailed generally., if not univerfally^ in all Ages, and 
 C amono-d: 
 
 [d] He'jlin.^ ibid. chap. ii. §. i. 
 
 \e) The Command of the Snbbnth \Vas given by God to Man- 
 kind from the Beginning of the World. So M^j tells us, Gen. 
 ii. 2, 3. and it is not to be doubted, but that accordingly fuch a 
 Sabbath did continue to beobferved, fo long as any ^enfe of true 
 Religion remained upon the Earth. Archbijhop Wake'^ Expojition 
 of the Church Cateihifm- §. 16. p. loi. Hoc ipfum (Sabbatunl 
 obfervatum fuifle a mundo condito) confirmat Pietas & Religio 
 Patrum veterum, quia cum fit Juris naturalis & perpetui, ut certa 
 tempora feparentur ad folennem Dei cultum, fieri non potefl quiii 
 Adamus & S. Patriarch^c dies aliquos facros ic folennes habuerint, 
 quibus cukus Dei perageretur, in quibus Dei beneficiorum in Cre- 
 atione cceli & tcrrcC recordarentur. Et fi qui fuerint turn dies facri, 
 confentaneum ell Diem hunc a Deo inftitutum fuifle oblervatum, 
 potius quam alios quoflihet dies de quibus Scriptura nihil dicit. 
 Frulira regeritur alia poruifleeos habere tempora praeter hunc diem. 
 Nam cum hoc nufpiam dicitur, eadem facilitate rejicitur qua pro- 
 ponitur: Nee fine temerirate alia finguntur tempora quse nufquain 
 memorantur, Sc prxreritur illud tempus cujus Sandlificationis ante 
 Legem tain diferia fit raentio. lurretin injittut. Part II. ^eji, 
 xiii p. S9, 90. 
 
 (/) Grot, de Feritat, Relig, Chrifiianat lib, i. cap, xvi. 
 
1 8 A Difcoiirfc cojicernlng the 
 
 amongft the moft antient Natdons, (g) of which we have 
 any Records left \ and cannot rationally be derived 
 from any other Source than 'Patriarchal Tradition. 
 This Matter cannot be better exprefled than in the 
 Words of an excellent Prelate of our Church. 
 " What Account, fays he, can be given of all the 
 '' World's computing their Time by Weeks \ that is, 
 " counting feven Days and then beginning again : I 
 " fay, what pofiible Account can be given of this, but 
 " that original Diftribution of Time that God had ob- 
 *' ferved in the Works of the Creadon, and had 
 *' delivered to the firft Parents of Mankind, and 
 " they to their Children ? For Men to reckon Time 
 '* by Days and Nights^ is obvious to Senfe ; nay, and 
 " to compute Time by Months and Tears^ hath a fuf- 
 " ficient Foundation in it from Nature : for Man- 
 " kind cannot avoid the Obfervingthe Courfe of the 
 *' Moon^ and of the Sun^ which makes Months and 
 " Tears. But why they flwuld count feven Days, 
 *' and then begin again, 'That hath no Foundation in 
 '' Nature •, but muft be taught them from the Tradition 
 *' of their Fathers, which could have no other Ori- 
 ** ginal than that which I am now infilling upon. 
 
 " And 
 
 (|-) Et mtrz feptem dies pera£li operis memoria rervata,''rion apud 
 Gr^cos tantum &c Italos^ honore diei feptimi, quod txjofephy 
 Pbilone^ Tibullo^ Clem. Alexandririo^ Sc Luciano difcimus, (nam de 
 Hebrdeis notiffimum eft) fed & apud Ccltas Sc hidos. quibus omni- 
 bus per Hebdomadas digeft* tempora ; quod nos docent Phi'oftra' 
 tust Dion CaJJiui, Jujiinus Martyr^ Sc vetuiliffima dierum no- 
 mina. Grot. ibid, vide Annotat. ad loc. 
 
 De fepthno die fic loquitur Anihbulus Epidola ad Ptolcmaum 
 apud Eufeb. Pra:par. xiii. 12. ^dCQdTQV avdnrcivai^ cfli^p/JMivzrai 
 (Sabbatum ^uiete7n fignificat) Septijnum autem Yfitm pni^um efle 
 docent Sc Hep.odus x^'-'^^y^y.'tUicjv tilJi-ctp. Et Hofnerus ''^C^oij.dm 
 c^' f/TTtnTst yjtTiiKuSii' li^y tiy.ctpy i. e- Mcml feptimus d\tsfa?iSius. 
 Et alibi, ''ECJ^o/y.oy uy^xp inv* y^ tco T{\ihi<^ ccTmvTct, i. e. Septimus 
 dies erat in quo omnia perftcla iunt. Et Linus, 'ECJbuccTH J'i) ot 
 (lege J"* i]o7} T{\i\i7iAvcL 'ttclvIa jiivKjiCt J Sc rurfus 'ECc^ofx^ eiv 
 dya^li ^ )^ 'ECcTllXii W y.i'iBAiu 'ECJ'oum h fcs^jpram ;t) 'EC- 
 cf'o/Ct« i)^' Ti^Miu Gataker apud Foli Synop, Critic. i?i Gen. ii. 3. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the hot A' s Day. 19 
 " And yet this Way of computing Time by a 
 '' Weekly Revolution, obtained throughout all the 
 «' World, as far as we can judge, from the very 
 " Beginning of Time. T\idXt\\t Patr.iarchs diid fo, 
 " lome hundreds of Years before the Law of the 
 '' Sabbath was given to the Children of Ifrael^ we 
 *' have fufficient Evidence from fundry Texts of 
 *^ Scripture. That all the ancient Nations of which 
 «' we have any Hiftory, Egyptians^ Chaldeans^ Greeh^ 
 «' Romans^ nay, and tne Barbarous Nations too *, I 
 *' lay, that they did fo likewife, is proved to us from 
 " the ancienteit Records that are extant about them. 
 *' This Pradice now that had no Foundation in Na- 
 «' ture obtaining thus univerfalfy throughout the whole 
 «' World, and that from Time immemorial^ is to 
 *' me a Demonftration that they had it from the 
 *' Jirjl Parents of Mankind, and that it was founded 
 '' in God's Inftittition of the feventh Day, being fet 
 " apart for his Service, (h)'* Thus far that excel- 
 lent Prelate : and what he hath laid down in this Paf- 
 fage is I think a very fufficient Proof, at lead it ren- 
 ders it highly probable, that the Patriarchs did from 
 the Beginning of the World obferve the Sabbath Day^ 
 according to God*s Appointment. And whereas it is 
 laid by Juftin Martyr^ 1'ertullian^ Eufebius^ and 
 others of the ancient Writers of the Churchy that 
 the Patriarchs who lived before the Time of Mafes^ 
 did not obferve the Sabbath Day : This is not to be 
 underftood of their holding religious Aflemblies on the 
 feventh Day of every Week, as Ibme very confiderable 
 Authors have indeed imagin'd (i)^ but of their 
 keeping the Sabbath confider'd as a Jewijh Feftival ; 
 
 C 2 which 
 
 (b) Archbifhop Sharp's Sermons, Vol. IV. p. 272, 273. 
 
 (i) Arcbhijhop ^vimhdWs Works, p. 912, &c. Heylin's Hi- 
 Jlcry of the Sabl5ath, Part I, chap. iii. Spencer de Leg. Hebr. lib. 
 i. cap V. §. 9. Vol. I. p. 73, 74. i^r Thomas Burnet, in Epift. 
 (ccunda de Archcsolog, Philolbph, ad cakcm Tradat. de Arch^eo- 
 LgHs, p. 497, &c. 
 
20 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 (which was the only Point the ancient Fathers were 
 concerned about •, it being their Defign .to fhew that 
 Men were juftined by Faith in God, and. by the Co- 
 venant which God made with all Mankind in 
 Adam^. and afterwards renewed in AWakam without 
 the Worlcs of the Jewijh (k) Layv) or at leaft it is to 
 be underllood of a rig^d and Jfri^ Refting upon that 
 
 Fjay 
 
 (k) See particularly Juft'ui Martyr^ in Viakg. cum Trypho. 
 Tertullian, adv. ]\idi?^os^ Cr.p. ii. c^ iv. The Chief Objcftion 
 againft this Pofition feems to be this c/z that when the ancient 
 Writers of the Church affirm that the Patriarchs who liv'd before 
 the Times of Mofes did not keep the Sabbath, it muft be very 
 abfurd to fuppofe that they meart the Jewifh Sabbath : For how 
 could Men pofTibly obferve an Inflitution before- it was appointed ? 
 They mull therefore hereby underftand the 5"^/\^^;^, which forre 
 Learned iV'en fw>i/y imagine to be inftituted by God from the 
 Creation of the World; But this Obje<^ion will eafily be removed, 
 if we confider that the fame Difficulty \w\\\ occur in the Article 
 of Circumcifion ; of v/hich Inftituiion there a-re not the leaft 
 Footfteps to be found in Scripture 'till the Days of Abraham. h\'\^ 
 yet the fame Fathers equally obferve that the Patriarchs who 
 lived and died feveral Hundred Years before the Appointment of 
 Circumcifion, were juftified by God, tho' they were Vnc'trcum- 
 cifed\ as the Reader vvill perceive if he will turn to the Paflages 
 of the Fathers, as they lie in the Authors I have now cited in 
 the Maigin. Which plainly fhewsthat what thofe antient Writers 
 fay concerning the Patriarchs being juftified without Circumcifion, 
 and the Obfervance of the -^rrhbath, hath no Relation at all to 
 the Time and Seafon when thofe Infliiutions were enjoined, but to 
 the Original Covenant which God made with all Mankind in 
 jid^m immediately after the Fall, of which Covenant Circum- 
 cifion and the Jezvijh Sabbath were no EiTential Parts and Con- 
 ditions : which was the m.am Point they endeavoured always to 
 prove in their Arguments againft the jews, who infifted upon 
 the Necellity of obfcrving thofe Ordinances with Regard to Sal- 
 vation. To which we may add that the Fathers in the fame 
 t*iaces frequently fpeak of the Patriarchs not keeping the- t'abbaths 
 in the plural Number, (by which as v/as before remarked (p. 7.) 
 the Jczvijh Feftiv^Is are to be undcrftood) and adjoin to them 
 the other exprefs Precepts and Inftitutions of the Law of 
 Mo/ei, without keeping of which thty affirm (and that very truly) 
 the Patriarchs of old were juftified : Which is -, Matter entirely 
 foreign to their not celebrating the feventh Day in every Week, as 
 God had commanded them in Memory of the Creation. 
 
 And 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 2 i 
 
 Day after the Manner of the Jews j as a mofl learned 
 •Writer hath well obferved (I). 
 
 But I am fenfible there are two Objeclions, which 
 may be made to this Argumentation ; the clear Solu- 
 tion of which will fully eftablifli the Truth of that 
 Point which we are now upon. 
 
 The fir ft Obje<ftion is this *, that fuppofing it was 
 the Cuilom of all Nadons, and that from the 
 moft early Ages, to compute their Time by Weeks *, 
 yet that Cufiom might not be derived from any Pa- 
 triarchal Tradition of the Sabbath Day^ but rather as 
 fome learned Men think {?n) from the Num.ber of the 
 feven Planets, which might be dilcovered in the 
 Heavens from the very Beginning of Time. In an- 
 fwer to which we may obferve, 
 
 Firft^ That tho' the Ufe of Aftronomy was very 
 
 ancient among fome Nations, and particularly the 
 
 C 3 Egyptians 
 
 And moreover if th-e Fathers of the Church could have never fo 
 clearly demonftrated, that the AutemofaicalVs^xn^x^^.z did not in 
 any wife keep a Sabbath, it would have been impertinent to have 
 ur;c:ed that in their Difputes with the Jews. For on Sup- 
 pofit'on that there had been no Subbatli appointed of God 
 before the times of Mofes, or if there were, that the Pa- 
 triarchs had univeifally negledled the Celebration thereof; it would 
 by no nieans fdiloWfroni hence, that, when God had inftituted 
 .the Sabbath by a clear and exprefs Law, mExod. xx. all Men 
 were not llriflly bound and obliged to obferve it, unlefs it could 
 he proved by fome other Reafons and Arguments that their Ob- 
 ligations to fuch Obfervance was vacated and fuperfeded. 
 
 (/) Grotius i?i J^s xv. "2i. 
 
 [m) I fufpedl that the Foundation o^ Weeks was rather from the 
 Seven Planets, than, from the Creation of the World in fez'e?i 
 Days. Meiifieur he Clere's Notes onGrotius de Feritat, ^e. lib. i. 
 §. 16. Though the moll Ancient of the Greek Poets make 
 jnention of the feventh Day, as facred to Religion, yet this m'ght 
 proceed either from ibmc Traditionary Account among them of 
 the jMnfaic Hiftory of the Creation, or rather, as feems ?/iore pro- 
 babky from the Order and Nufnber of the fevefi Planets. Dr 
 Fiddes's Sermonjy Sz'O. Vol, II. p. no. Ex Gentihus quidam 
 feptimum fimilirer diem colueruat, vel prifco ufu vel Judaeoruni 
 
 Ii.'iitatione, vel aliam forte ob caufam fcilicct ob fepteni 
 
 Planetarum Revolutionem. Synopf. purior. Theolog. Dii'put. ,ya'/. 
 i 16. 
 
22 A Dlfcourfe concerning the 
 
 Egyptians and Chaldeans •, yet it is certain, that 
 among others, and even the Greeks themfelves, it 
 was of later Invention (n). And therefore it does not 
 appear, that many of thofe Nations (who yet com- 
 puted their Time by Weeks) did make any fuch 
 Obfervations of the Heavenly Bodies, as to be a 
 fufficient Ground for fuch Computation. Or if they 
 did j why they might not have made the fame Com- 
 putation from any other Number oi feven^ which they 
 might have difcovered in Nature, and particularly 
 irom the Seven Stars in the North (which I am fure 
 are much more obvious to common Apprehenfion, 
 than the Seven Planets) no good Reafon can be given. 
 And indeed the great Folly and Weaknefs of building 
 any Religious Obfervations upon theMyfteries of Num- 
 bers (notwithftanding many great Men have indulged 
 themfelves in fuch vain (o) Fancies) hath been largely 
 and fufficiently expofed by the Learned Dr Hey tin (p). 
 By laying which, I do not deny what fome very learn- 
 ed Men (q) have obferved from Herodotus and other 
 Writers, viz. that it was uiual with fome ancient Na- 
 tions, and particularly the Egyptians^ to confecrate the 
 Days of their Week to the Seven Planets, and to Dig- 
 nify them with their Names •, which they might be very 
 eafily led to do, fince the Planets were efteemed and 
 honoured by them as Gods. I only deny that the 
 Computation of Time by JVeeks was only at the 
 Firft derived from the Number of the Seven Playiets : 
 it being much more reafonable to think, that this 
 
 Manner 
 
 (n) Vid. Stillingfleet's Orig- ^^aci^ Book ii. chip. ii. fiurnetii 
 Archaeologiae c^p. viii. p. lOo, &c. cap. ix p. 149. 
 
 (0) See particularly concerning the Myjiery of the Number 
 Seven, Cypria^'y d'e E^hortatione Martyrii, & de Spiritu Sando. 
 Dr Bourid de ^abbato Vcteris Sc Novi Tcilamenti, p. 1 24. Pra.'^ice 
 cf Piety, \27no. p 206. &c. Spencer de kg. Hebr. Lib. I. cap., 
 5. §. iih. in Vol I. p. g6. 
 
 [p) Hift. of Sabbath, Part I. chap. i. §. 8. &c. 
 
 {q) Spencer ^t\tg. Hcb. Vol. I. p. 88. Bur^tst in Ep.ift. 
 It de Archa^ologiis Philofopk. p. 513. 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 23 
 manner of computing Time was fettled in the World 
 for many Ages before the Science of Aflronomy was 
 in any Meaiure cultivated and improved, and i\\t par- 
 ticular Days of the Week had planet mj Denominations 
 given to them. For there are no juft Grounds to think^ 
 that the Days of the Week had any planetary Names 
 and Titles affixed to them, fo early as the Times of 
 Mofes^ as Dr Spencer himfelf allows (r) : Whereas we 
 find it cuflomary with the Patriarchs long before the 
 Birth of Mofes (and from them the Cuflom might eafily 
 defcend to the feveral Nanons of the Eardi) to make 
 this Diflribution and Computation of their Time. 
 Vid. Gen. viii. ic, 12 — xxix. 27. But, 
 
 Secondly^ Suppofmg it were more probable, that 
 the Computation of Time by Weeks might be deriv- 
 ed from the feven Planets, than from the fame Num- 
 ber, which might be taken Nodce of in any other Parts 
 of Nature -, yet that the Number of the Seven Planets 
 was not in Faci the true Ground of this Computation, 
 is very evident from hence ; viz, that it was not 
 only the Cuflom of all Nations to compute their Days 
 by TFeeks^ but alfo at the fame Time, to obferve 
 every Seventh Day, and keep it holy,, as was juft now 
 remarked. Now tho' we fhould .allow (which yet 
 is very flrange and hard to conceive) that all Nations 
 of the World fhould agree in computing their Time by 
 Weeks from the Order and Number of the Seven Planets, 
 yet all the Wit of Mankind cannot find out the leafl 
 Reafon in that Number, for the Obfervadon of every 
 Seventh Day in the Week, and keeping it holy. And 
 therefore fince this Obfervation of every feventh Day 
 prevailed throughout the World, as well as the Cuflom 
 of computing their Time by Weeks j we mufb necef- 
 farily afcribe it to fome other Ground and Original, 
 which cannot rationally be conceived to be any Thing 
 d^Q than Patriarchal Tradition. But, 
 
 C 4. Secondly^ 
 
 (r) Speiicer, ibid. 
 
24 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Secondly ; Admitting that the Cuflom of obferving 
 every Seventh Day prevailed throughout the World *, 
 yet it is farther objeded, that it can never be proved 
 that this Cuflom was derived from the Patriarchal Tra- 
 dition of the Sahhath •, becaufe it is at leaft very doubtful, 
 whether the Seventh Day which all Nations are laid to 
 have cbferved was the Seventh Day of every JVeek^ or 
 the Seventh Day of every (j) Months whichwas confe- 
 crated am.ong the Greeks to the Honour of Apollo (as 
 other Days of the Month were to other Gods) and 
 u^on which the Ceremonies of the 0i'p;^MA.'ct and (/) 
 Tivctvi'it:L were performed. But the AnlWer to this 
 Objeftion will be very fliort and eafy. And 
 
 Firft^ Suppofing it were doubtful which that 
 .Seventh Day w^as, which the Greek Writers fay was 
 kept Holy •, whether the Sabbadi Day properly fpeak- 
 ing, or the feventh Day of the Month that was confe- 
 crated to Apollo •, yet this Doubt cannot extend to 
 many ancient and diftant^ and even barbarous Nations, 
 who had no Correfpondence with the Greeks, and yet 
 did all of them oblerve the Seventh Day : Which they 
 could not pofTibly do by Virtue of the Grecian 
 Laws relating to their Feflivals ; but mufl draw that 
 Obfervation from fome other Authority and Original. 
 And befides, fince the mofl ancient and diftant 
 Nations, the Barbarous as well as the Polite, com- 
 puted their Time by Weeks, as was before re- 
 marked j it will remain an infuperable Difficulty 
 
 upon 
 
 (j) They who make fome of thefe Allegations, (n'z. concerning 
 the Heathens Obfervation of the Seventh Day as FefJival) do 
 miftake the Day of rhc Month for tlie ]3ay of thtWeek. Arch- 
 bifliop BramhaU\ Works, f. 90R. S:e alfo Heylifi's Hiflory of 
 the Sabbath. Part 1. chap. iv. §. 8. Bifhop Stillingfieet^ 
 Irenicum, Part ^, chap. v. p. 97. 
 
 (/) If the Reader hath a Mind to know the Meaning of thofe 
 Words, and the Ceremonies performed in thofe Feftivals, let: 
 him confult Archbifhop PoiUr's Greek Antiqultiei, Book ii. chap. 
 XX. p. 400, 428. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 2 5 
 
 upon them, who refolve the Ohfervation of the Se- 
 venth Day into the Grecian Practice and Cuftom, to 
 give ^ny juft and rational Account of the Foundation 
 and Ground of that Computadon : Siiice there is no 
 doubt at all to be made, but that the Cuilom of 
 computmg their 'Time by Weeks ^ and that of obferving 
 every Seventh Day (both which prevailed equally in ail 
 Ages and Nations of the World) were derived from 
 the fa-me Fountain and Original. Eat, 
 
 Secondly^ It is very clear and evident, that the 
 Seventh Day, which was obferved 2iV\&\dA facred by 
 all "Nations, and in all Ages of the World, was the 
 Seventh Day of every JVeek^ and not that of the Month 
 as dedicated to Apollo •, for this very plainly appears 
 not only from the computing their Time by IVeeks^ 
 (which leems to have a necefiary Connexion with the 
 Observation of the Seventh Day, as I juft now hinted) 
 but alfo from the Account which many ancient Writers 
 give us of that Oblervation, Thus Jofephus ipeaking 
 of this Matter, fays, there is no City or Nadon, Greek 
 or Barbarian^ in which the Cuftom of Refting on the 
 Seventh Day is not prefer ved, as it is among the 
 Jews {u). The fame Thing was taken Notice of before 
 him by Philo Jud^eus^ whofpeaking of the4S'^i;^;^/i?Day, 
 fays. It is a Feftival celebrated not only in one City 
 or Country, but throughout the Whole {x) World. 
 Now it is v/ell known to every Body that the 
 Seventh Day, which was kept by the Jews^ was the 
 feventh Day of the Week, which they called their 
 Sabbath^ and which they kept by Virtue of the Fourth 
 Commandment: And therefore fince according to 
 Philo and Jofephus^ the Gentiles obferved every Se- 
 venth 
 
 ru^y^ To i%^ « cT/ci'jrc^oiTMXs. Jofeph. adv. Apion. lib. ii. 
 cap. xxix. 
 
 Philp, de Vita MoC?, lib. ii. "^^ 
 
2 6 A Difcourfe cojtcern'mg the 
 
 venth Day, and kept it Holy, as the Jews did ; 
 it is very plain that it mull be the Seventh Day 
 of every JVeek^ and not that of the Month (which 
 was Hicred to Apollo) as fome have imagined. And 
 this is farther demonftrable from thofe Paflages of the 
 Greek Poets, before mentioned {y) ; who give this 
 as the Realbn why the Seventh Day was celebrated 
 and kept Holy, becaule all 'Things were made and 
 fmjhed on that "Day : Which is a Reafon that, I am 
 fiire, hath not the leaft Relation to the Grecian 
 Feftivals obferved on the Seventh Day of the Month 
 in Honour of Apollo^ but is plainly Declarative 
 of the Original Cuftom of obferving the Sabbath 
 Day in Memory of the Creation ; becaufe as Mofes 
 exprefies it, God refted on that Day from all His Work 
 which he had created and made. Gen. ii. 2. And the 
 Univerfality of this Notion and Practice is often 
 taken Notice of by Philo, Jofephus, and other Au- 
 thors ; and is made Ufe of by them as an Argument to 
 fhew, how the Pagans had borrowed their Cuftoms 
 from the Hebrews : Though, as an Excellent Divine 
 rightly judges, they might better have faid, how both 
 had borrowed from the fame common Fountain of 
 Patriarchal (z) Tradition. And it will be no Objeftion 
 at all to this •, that, as a moit Learned Writer truly 
 intimates (a), it will be very difficult to determine 
 in what Manner the ancient Pagans obferved the 
 Seventh Day, and kept it holy ; whether by any 
 Public Religious Cuftom, or by fome Private Super- 
 llition. It is fufficient to my Purpofe, that as they 
 computed their T^ime by Weeks, fo they peculiarly 
 honoured the Seventh Day in fome Refpecl or other ; 
 and that in Memory of the Creation., and becaufe all 
 Things were made and finifhed on that Day. And in- 
 deed, 
 
 (y) See above ^. i8. 
 
 (z) Archdeacon tVaterland's iirft Charge to the Clergy of Mid- 
 dlejex, 1731. /. 42. See the Place. 
 
 {a) Bifhop ^tillingficef% Irenicum, lib, i. cap. v. p. 97. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day, 27 
 
 deed, as a very learned Bifhop of our Church well re- 
 marks, " It appears that the Obfervation of die .Se^:;^;?//?? 
 *' Day is a very fit Matter to be fixed by fome 
 *' facred and perpetual Law, and that from th^jirjl 
 ^' Creation: Becaufe their being then no other Me- 
 *' thod for conveying down Knowledge, befides 
 " Oral tradition •, it feems as highly congruous to that 
 *' State as it is agreeable to the Words in Genejis, 
 *' to believe that God ihould then have appointed one 
 " Day in fevtn for commemorating the Creation^ 
 *' and for acknowledging the Great Creator of all 
 " Things {b)r 
 
 And thus I think it is very clear and evident^ that 
 the SMath Bay was obferved from the Beginning of 
 the World •, and that in virtue of God's Command, 
 which exprefsly required that it fhould be kept and 
 celebrated in Memory of the Creation, 
 
 "Thirdly^ We may further take notice, that God in a 
 particular Manner commanded the Jews to pbferve the 
 Sabbath Day •, and in many Places of Scripture is 
 very much difpleafed and offended with them tor their 
 Negled: of it. Thus, Remember the Sabbath Day to 
 keep it holy, Exod. xx. 8 . and again, Keep the Sabbath 
 Day to fan^iify it, Deut. v. 12. 
 
 It is true indeed, thefe were Commandments that 
 were given to the Jews^ and may therefore be faid 
 not at all to concern us Chriftians. And fo far it is 
 certain, that as the Sabbath is a Jewijh Law, we are 
 not obliged by it ; and confequently not bound to 
 obferve the Jewijh Sabbath, as will be ieen hereafter 
 in it's proper Place. But we are obliged to San6lify 
 cue Day in feven by the Command of God, as I have 
 before Ihewn, in Memory of the Creation : And more- 
 over, our BlelTed Saviour hath laid the fame Obliga- 
 tion upon us, by adopting the ^en Commandments into 
 the Moral Law of His Gofpel, and making no Ex- 
 
 cepdon 
 
 [b] Burnet on the XXXIX Articles, Artie. VII. /. 104. 
 
2 3 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 ception to that of the Fourth. This is plain from His 
 Anfwer to the Young Man, If thou wilt enter into 
 TJife^ keep the Commandments: Matt. xix. 17. And 
 that by thefe are meant the Ten Commandments^ is very- 
 evident, becaufe our Saviour inflances in feveral of 
 them, ver. 18, 19. I am well aware, there hath been 
 great Difpute upon this PafTage of Scripture, and 
 many curious Enquiries raifed therefrom •, and parti- 
 cularly, why our Lord, when He plainly referred to 
 the lien Commandments., mentioned 072ly thofe of the 
 Second Table ? But I fliall not fpend much Time in 
 the Confideradon of them. If any one hath a Mind 
 to be fully acquainted with thofe Niceties, let him con- 
 fult the Commentators upon the Place. At prefent I 
 fhall take occafion to obferve, that the Weaknels of 
 thofe Mens Reafoning is very great, who would infer 
 from that PalTage that Religion confifts entirely in 
 Moral Righteoufnefs, and that the Duties of the Second 
 Table only are of neceflary Obligation ; fince there is 
 nothing more ufual in Scripture, as well as in all other 
 "Writings, than (c) Synecdoche Partis pro T'oto., i. e. the 
 exprelTing the whole of any Thing by a Part of it. 
 Nay, there are innumerable PafTages in Holy Scrip- 
 ture, where Religion is fignified and defcribed by one 
 fmgle Grace ''3ind Virtue : In the Old Tejlament com- 
 monly by the Knowledge or Remembrance of God. 
 Prov. XXX. 7. Eccl. xii. r. and very often by the 
 Fear of God, as in the Book of Job., tht^Proverbs, 
 and the Pfalms. And in the New 'Teftament Religion 
 is expreflfed by Faith in God and Chrill, and by the 
 Ij)ve oi Them. Heb. xi. 6. and Rom. viii. 2S. & 
 paffim. And our Blefied Saviour well knew the Perfoh 
 
 to 
 
 (c) Chriftus hie tantum memorat praecepta fecundse Tabular : 
 non quod haec prasceptis primaj Tabulse funt potiora ; fed quod 
 homini efTcnt faciliora S^ notiora, ut inde arguerct {uperbiam Pha* 
 rifaicam : Sab illis tamcn Synecdochic;^ ifta intelligi vult, Argu- 
 mento a minore ad majus, cum longj devindlior Deo fit homo 
 auam pro.ximo. Luc. Brugenf. in loc. 
 
Religious Obfervation cf the Lord's Day. 29 
 to whom He fpake, and that He was too well ac- 
 quainted with the 'Ten Commandments to {land in need 
 of a particular Recital of them. And to thole, who 
 afk why our Blefled Saviour, when He repeated fome 
 of the Ten Commandments, mentioned only thofe of the 
 Second Table, and none of the Firft, we may briefly 
 return this Anfwer, viz. That tho' it is certain that 
 die Laws of the Firit Table are equally binding and 
 necefiary, as thofe of the Second, yet our Saviour 
 might choofe to inftance at that Time only in the 
 latter -, and that for thefe two Reafons. 
 
 Firft^ That He might let us know, that the great 
 Duties of Right eoufnefs and Charity towards our Neigh- 
 bour are a Main and Principal Part of Religion, and 
 one of the greateft Proofs and Evidences which we can 
 give of our Love to (d) God ; as the Apoitle hath 
 well oblerved. He that loveth not his Brother whom 
 he hath feen, how can he love God, whom he hath not 
 feen? John iv. 20. in which Senfe St Paul, when 
 fpeaking of the Love of our Neighbour, faith that 
 Love is the fulfilling of the Law. Rom. xiii. 10, 
 And fecondly. Our BlelTed Saviour might do this, 
 the more efFefhially to convince the Jews from their 
 own Law of that great Errour and Miftake which 
 they had fallen into •, viz. of placing Religion in a 
 Rigorous Obfervation of the Sabbath, and in the Ex- 
 ternal Parts of Piety and Devotion, and in imagining 
 that their great Zeal in thefe Particulars v/ould atone 
 for the Negled of Moral Duties : Which was a 
 Matter that our Lord often reproved them for in th? 
 Holy Gofpel (e) -, as the Prophets had alio done before 
 
 him 
 
 (d) Obfervatione dignum eit, iterum iterumque in NovoTefta- 
 mento facia mentione totius Legis in Secunda tantum Tabu'i. 
 exemplificari, ut hie, ita & Rom. xiii 8, 9. Jac. ii. 8, 11. Cha- 
 ritas erga proximum eft Religionis apex & figaujn indubiratifiimuiLi 
 amoris erga Deum. Li^htfoot in loc. 
 
 (e) See particularly Matt, xxiii. 
 
JO A Difcourfe conceriiing the 
 
 him C/j. Thefe with many other Reafons might be 
 cLven, why our BlelTed Saviour when He referred to 
 the ^en Commandments inilanced only in thofe of the 
 Second Table •, without detracting by any means from 
 the Divine Authority and Obligation of the Firll 
 Table. For it is demonftrable that the three firil 
 Commandments of that Table are of the iame Eternal 
 and Indifpenfable Obligation as thofe of the fecond ; 
 and the fourth Commandment, fo far as it relates to 
 the Duty of fetting apart fome Time for the Public 
 Worfliip and Service of God, is of the fame Nature (g) : 
 Excepting the Particular Limitation of that Time, 
 which entirely depends upon Pofitive Inliitudon. And 
 it would be highly impious as well as ahjurd to fuppofe 
 that our BlelTed Saviour by fpecifying only the Com- 
 mandments of xht fecond Table, fhould thereby defign 
 to difcharge us from thole of the firft -, when they are 
 in themfelves of Equal Force and Authority, and 
 when God had confirmed and eflablilhed them under 
 fuch fevcre Penalties. It is very plain then, that by 
 the Commandments here referred to the whole Deca- 
 loo"ue is meant and fignified ; and confequendy, the 
 fourth Commandment is binding to us, as well as the 
 reft : i. e. Our Blefled Saviour by requiring the Ob- 
 ferv^adon of this Law in His Gofpel hath renewed the 
 Oblicradon thereof upon us •, in the fame manner, as 
 by enjoining the great Law of Univerfal Righteouf 
 nefs (which as He Himfelf declares Matt, vii. 21. 
 was the Law and the Prophets) He hath adopted it into 
 Chrijlianit)\ and made it Gofpel •, as a molt Excellent 
 Prelate very judicioufly (h) obferves. 
 
 &Jt 
 
 (f) Ifaiahi. Ii. &c. chap. Ixvi. 3. Jer. vi. 20. Arnoi, v. 
 21 22. 
 
 \g) See Aichhifhop Bramhall\ Works, p. 90?^, 909. in which 
 it is"\]early fhewn how far the Oblcrvation of the Seventh Day is 
 founded upon tlie Law of Nature, and how far it is not. 
 
 (h) Archbifliop T^iUotforh Sermon on Moral ^ighteoufnefsy 
 preached at Cnnlegate 1661, p, 14. And what this Excellent 
 
 Fcrfoii 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s-Day 3 1 
 Bat to this I forefee it will be objeded, that if our 
 BlelTed Saviour hath adopted the fourth Command- 
 ment into the Chriftian Religion and made it Part of 
 His Gofpely it will follow from hence that we are 
 bound to obferve die Jewijh Sabbath, and confe- 
 quently to keep die fame Day of the Week for our 
 Sabbath, which the Jews did : Which is in itfelf vay 
 abfurd to fuppofe, and is plainly contrary to feveral 
 Places of the New Teftament^ and pardcularly to that 
 in Coloff. ii. 165 17. And indeed it mufb not be de- 
 nied, that fome very Learned Men have been of that 
 Opinion ; and becaufe they could not get rid of this 
 Confequence^ they have therefore concluded, diat our 
 BlefTed Saviour and His Apoftles liave made no De- 
 termination about the Sabbath in the New Teflament ; 
 but that all it's Authority and Obligation is to be re- 
 Iblved into Ecclefiaflical and Civil Conftitution. But 
 ix)w tlio' it is very certain, that if there be no Law in 
 Scripture reladng to this Matter, it will properly fall 
 within the Power and Jurifdid:ion of our Governours 
 both in Church and State, as hath been obferved in 
 Part already, and will be more fully fliewn in the Se- 
 quel : I fay, tho' this cannot fairly be dilputed ; yet 
 the Weaknefs of thofe Men's Reafonings, who infer 
 from our Saviour's adopting the fourth Command- 
 ment into the Moral Law of His Gofpel, that there- 
 fore we are bound to keep the Particular Day of the 
 Jezvijh Sabbath, will be fufficiently difcovered even 
 from the Old 'Teflament itfelf. For if we look into 
 
 the 
 
 Perfon here Jays down, is in EfFeft acknowledged by a verjf 
 Learned Writer, who is ot" a different Opinion and Judgment in 
 this Matter ; who, tho' he doth not allow that the Fourth Com- 
 mandment obligeth Chriltians legally and precepthelyy yet atfirms 
 th.it it obligeth them equitably and excmplarily ; becaufe Chriftians 
 ought not to come fhort of the Jezus in the Performance of Reli- 
 gious Duties. Nay, fays he, in another place, we are more bound 
 to God than the Jezus, and ought at leaft to pay him as much 
 Moral Duty and Service as they. Archbiihop BrambalC^ Work<^ 
 P- 93«. 9»5- 
 
-32 ' A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 the Law of the Sahhath^ as given by Mofes in Exod. xx, 
 and Deut. v. we fhall clearly perceive that there were 
 two different Grounds and Reafons, for which- the 
 Sabbath '^:istr{]6m^ 6. to xhtjevjs. The firft Reafon 
 of this Inftitiition, as it is given in Exod. xx. is no 
 other than that^ for which the Sabbath was appointed 
 from the Beginning of the World, viz. that it lliould 
 be celebrated in Memory of the Works of Creation ; 
 for that is all that is faid in this Place of Scripture, 
 Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy^ &c. and then 
 the Reafon is given at the eleventh Verle, for in fix 
 Days the Lord ynade Heaven and Earthy the Sea and all 
 that in them is^ and refled on the feventh Day \ where- 
 fore the Lord bleffed the feventh Day, and hallowed it. 
 Now this is exaftly the fame Realbn for the Appoint- 
 ment of the Sabbath, as was before given in Gen. ii. 5.' 
 And therefore in that Refped, it concerned the Jews 
 no otherwife than it does any other People. And 
 indeed to fpeak properly, the Law of the Sabbath as 
 delivered in Exod. xx. is not a new Law, but a Re- 
 newal and Confirmation of the old\ as many good 
 Critics have well obferved if). For, in the fecond place, 
 
 when 
 
 (i) Memento d'mn Sahbnti^ kc. Hac voce utitur (Mofes) ut 
 nos remktatad primcevam Sabbati Inftitutionem Gen. ii. 3. cujus 
 Memoriim remvare voluit. Gerundenfis i?t Exod. xx. 8. Ergo 
 adJitur in Deut. v. ficut piascepit tibi Dominus nimirum jam olim 
 ab Or bis initio, nempe Gen, ii. 3. Diftinguitur enim praeceptum 
 pa cuhus a praecepto otii^ & caufis & temporibus. Iliad caufain 
 habuit mundu7n conditum, & a conditu rerum fiiit ; hoc, Mxjptia- 
 cam Sefvitute?n, Sc poll earn inccpit : Illud 2A genus hu??ianum per- 
 tinet; hoc ad Ebraos folos, Exod. xxxi. 13. Ita & Iren. Grot, 
 ibid. Verba PriEcepti quarti, (Recordnre diei Sabbati ut lanflifices 
 ilium) non obfcure innuunt Legem hanc non tunc prima datam 
 ■fuiflis, fed tantum rencvatam^ poliquam in defuetudinem veluti 
 abierat; ut curam fi-.gularem in hac re adhiberent, nee poilea 
 traderent hoc mandatum oblivioni, ut antel fecerant:^ quod verba 
 fcquentia confirmant, ubi repetit rationem Inltitution:s allatam 
 Gen. ii. de Requic Dei U Benediftione ac Sandlificatione diei 
 -feptimi, quoJ fatis indicat Sabbatum turn inllitutum luiife, quan- 
 do ratio ilia bcnm habuit. lurretin. InJUtut. Vjeolog. Fart. II. 
 ^i^Ji. 13. p. 88. ^^' 
 
Religious ^Gbfervafion of the Lord's Day. 33' 
 
 Vvhen the Law of the Sabbath is given to the Jews in 
 particular^ Deut. v. 12, ^c. there Ve find fuch a 
 Reafon laid down for the Obfervation of this Law, 
 as -^^ls, peculiar to That People : for thus it is exprelTed, 
 And remember that thou waft a Servant in the Land of 
 Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out 
 thence through a mighty Hand and a ftr etched out Army 
 therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the 
 Sabbath Bay, And indeed, as Archbilhop /F^/^e well 
 remarks, " it became very needful for God to renew 
 " the Obligadon of the Sabbath at the giving of the 
 "' Law by Mofes ; as it was needful for him to renew 
 *' many other Precepts, which yet werfe eer- 
 *' tainly given by Him, and obferved in the 
 *' World long before. No body queftions but that 
 " Adam and his firft Defcendants both knew and 
 *' worfhipped the true God ; yet this Was provided for 
 *' again now. So immediately after the Flood the 
 *' Law againft Murder was folemnly promulged, 
 *' Gen. ix. 6 ; yet neverthelefs the fame Command 
 " was here again repeated, Exod, xx. 1;^. As for 
 " the Cafe before usj as Men lived farther off from 
 " the Creation^ and Wickedneis prevailed over the 
 " Face of the Earth, and the true JVorfloip of God 
 " was corrupted by almoll an univerfal Idolatry, 
 *^ fo was the fblemn Day of His Worjhip negledled 
 *' likewife. And tho' it may have been in fome 
 
 D ^' Meafure 
 
 Res. in Sacra Scripture faepe fieri dicitur, quando continual 
 tur vel augefcit -— « videtur aliquando a6lio nova, cum lit ve- 
 teris Coiitinuatio vcl Incretnentum. Gl^JJii Philolog. Sacr. lib. 3. 
 7ra^. 3. Can. 4. p. 352. Edit. JmJieUd. Exempla videas 
 apud Authorem. And the fame Senle of this Place is fol- 
 lowed by Archbilhop /^<7i^ (Expoliiion of the Catechifm, §26.) 
 Archbilhop Sha7-p (Sermons, Vol. IV. p. 294, 295.) Bifliop 
 Pear/on (on the Creed, p. 26 v) Bilhop Burnet (on the XXXIX 
 Articles, Art. VI f.) Dr Clarke (Expofirion of the Catechifm, 
 p. 175, 176.) And by innumerable other Divines of the greatsft 
 Learning and Judgment. 
 
34 ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 *' Meafure revived after the Floods and continued in 
 '' fome Part of Abraham's Family ; yet in their 
 *' Egyptian Slavery it was utterly abolifhed •, fo that 
 '' the very Memory of it feems to have been loil 
 " among them (k)." Thus far this very Excellent 
 Prelate •, and from what hath been here obferved out 
 of him, and the other Writers juft mentioned, it fully 
 appears that this Notion of God's renewing the Sab- 
 bath at the Time of His giving the Law by Mofes to 
 the Jevjs^ is no" vain Fancy and Imagination (as Dr 
 Heylin and others would fain reprefent it) but is fup- 
 ported by the Judgment of the Created and Wifeft 
 Men ; and moreover hath a very fufficient Founda- 
 tion in the Authority and Example of Holy Scrip- 
 ture. And it is no Objedion at all to this, that when 
 God requires the Jews to obferve the Sabbath in Exod, 
 xxxi. i;?, ^c, and gives no other Ground and Reafon 
 for it, but only that it Ihould be done in Memory of 
 the Creation \ He yet affirms, that it is a Sign between 
 Him and the Children of Ifrael^ v. ij. This will not 
 prove that the Law of the Sabbath was given only to 
 the Ifraelites^ as fome Jewijh Writers (I) did indeed 
 ^ppofe •, tho' the moil learned and judicious Writers 
 of that Nation were of another Opinion, as was before 
 taken notice of. For it hath been already clearly 
 proved, that die Law of the Sabbath was given to 
 Mankind from the Creation of the World, and was 
 obferved by the mod ancient and diflant Nadons of 
 the Earth, as well as the Jews : and therefore when 
 it is faid in Exod. xxxi. 17. that the Sabbath was a 
 Sign between God and the Children of Ifrael for ever ; 
 it can mean no more than the particular Day which 
 the Jews were to obferve in token of their Deliverance 
 from the Land of Egypt ^ as well as in Memory of the 
 
 Creationy 
 
 (k) Expofuion of the Catecliifni, i&id, 
 (/) Fid. Ainfmrtb in hc> 
 
Religious Objervafion of the Lord\s Day. 3 ^ 
 
 Creation^ and die ftri^f and regular (m) Manner in 
 which they were to keep it. Or if the Paflage be fup- 
 pofed to relate only to the Remembrance of the Crea- 
 tion^ fince no other Ground of the Sabbath is there 
 mentioned ; yet it cannot poffibly fignify any thing 
 farther, than that when the Jews fliould celebrate the 
 Sabbath in Memory of the Creation^ by confidering 
 and praclifing the Dudes and Obligations which arife 
 therefrom (n), this Ihould be ?ifuU and ftifficient Sign 
 and Evidence that they were God's People, and that 
 they acknowledged Him to be the True (0) God. 
 This, I fay, muft be the Senfe of that ExprefTion in 
 Exod, xxxi. 1 7, and not that the obferving 07ie Day in 
 feven in Memory of the Creation was a Law peculiarly 
 given to the Jews^ or a Sign by which God would 
 dillinguifh them from all other People, as fome of 
 them vainly imagined ^ and as fome Chrijiian Writers 
 (p) do themfelves contend : for this Opinion is utterly 
 irreconcileable with the Truth of Holy Scripmre, 
 D 2 which 
 
 [m) Signum inter Me & vos (Sabbatum) Quod obfervari jubeo, 
 ut totum iiium diem impendatis recognofcendo beneficjum Crea- 
 tionis, & ilium tranfigendo in Cultu Divino, in auditu verbi, ia 
 precibus & Sacrificiis. Malvenda in Exod- xiii. 13. 
 
 [n) This Qualification is very necefTary to be obferved, (and it 
 will give fome Light into the prefent Argument) lince notwirh- 
 ftanding the Injundion of the Sabbath i if the Jews fhould fall 
 into Idolatry, or indulge themfelves in Sin and VVickedncfs (as 
 moft of the Gentiles did, who yet honoured the feventh Day, and 
 u^ere diligent in the Externals of Religion) the Sabbath would be 
 fo far from being a Sign and Covenant between them and God, 
 that, as the Prophet tells us, it would be an Abomination to Him. 
 Ifa. i. 13, 14. \Neomenias veftras ^ Sabbat a ^ die^ feftos vejlros 
 edit anima Mea'\ Hie quidem ubi de Muneribus mandatur, ubi 
 adhuc nulla peccata funty dies feftcs meos dicic ; ubi autem ■peccatinn 
 eft, non meos fed vejlros dies dicit Dominus. Origen. in Numer. 
 cap. 28. Ho mi I. 23. 
 
 {0) Signum inter Me & vos (Sabbatum) Documentum commune 
 inter Nos ; Mei, ut Creatoris, Domini, Sc Sandihcantis ; Veftii 
 autem, ut qui creati elUs, & populus mens, & Sanflificati. Ide7Jt 
 ibid. 
 
 (p) Vid. Burnet in Epift. 11. de Archsolog. Philofoph. pag. 
 509, &c. Spencer, de Leg. Heb. lib. i. cap, 5. § 7, 8, 9, 
 
36 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 which plainly declares that the Sabbath was to be kept 
 before the Law was given at Mount Sinai ^ even from 
 the very Creation^ Gen. ii. o^ •, and therefore that it was 
 a Commandment enjoined by God to all Mankind. 
 And it is only the Deliverance from the Land of 
 E^pt^ which is the true Ground and Reafon of the 
 Sabbath^ as it is a Jewijh Inflitution ; and this was. 
 that which determined the particular Day which the 
 Jews obferved (q)^ and which was difcovered to them 
 by the Mannah ceafing to drop upon that Day, as it 
 did on the other fix Days of the Week ; of which we 
 read in Exod, xvi. and fhall have occafion to take 
 more Notice hereafter. 
 
 Now fince there is fuch a plain Diftindlion in the 
 Law of the Sabbath ^ as given by Mofes to the Jews-y 
 and there were two different Grounds and Reafons of 
 it's Appointment : Our Blefled Saviour might very 
 well Renew the Obfervation of the Sabbath as to the 
 Primary Ground of it's Liftiuition, without laying us 
 tinder any Obligation to keep the Pardcular Day 
 which the Jews did •, which depended upon fuch 
 Reafons as were peculiar to that People^ and with 
 which no otlier Nation of the World was in the lead 
 concerned. And fince it is very apparent, that the 
 Jews celebrated one Day in every Week in Memory 
 of the Creation^ and that the Particular Day kept by 
 them was grounded upon their Deliverance from the 
 
 Land 
 
 (q) Did God therefore command the Obfervation of the Sab- 
 bath {i. e. one Day m feveri) becaufe He brought the Children of 
 Ifrael out of Eg-^pt ? That cannot be ; for the Reaf:)n is quite 
 othcrwife given, both in the Beginning of Genefis and in the De- 
 livery of the Ten Commandments in the twentieth of Exodus^ 
 By both thefe Places it appears, that God therefore commanded 
 the Obfervation of one Day in feven, becaufe that He made the 
 World in jlx Days, and reded on the ferenth. This therefore 
 mufl: be the Meaning of that Text ; God therefore commanded 
 the Obfervation of that particular Day in the fevefi, as a Day of 
 Reft to the Jetvs, becaufe that on that Day He delivered His 
 People from the Bondage of Egypt. Archbifliop Sbarp'z Sermons. 
 Vol. IV. p. 294, 295. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. ^y 
 Land of Egypt ; the fame Analogy will prove that it 
 is in no wile ablurd for Chriftians to obferve the Sab- 
 bath upon a two-fold Account (r) ; the Firft in Re- 
 membrance of the- Creation of the World ; the other 
 in Token of a much Greater Deliverance than that of 
 the Jews from the Land of Egypt ^ viz. their Deli- 
 verance from the Guilt of Sin and the Power of 
 Death, by the Refurredion of Jefus Chrift from the 
 Dead (s). Wliich Confideration might have made a 
 very Learned Divine a little more mild and moderate 
 in his Cenfure, when he affirms thofe Perfons to be 
 guilty of a miferable (not to fay^ ridiculous) Miftake, 
 who contend that Chriftians are bound to obfei-ve the 
 Lord's Day, by Dedicadng It wholly to a Ceffation 
 from Worldly Labours, and to the Duties of Religion 
 (which yet he himfelf allows to be highly commend- 
 able in any one to do) in Virtue, and by the Authority 
 of the Fourth Commandment (/). For this is not 
 only alTerted by thofe Excellent Divines of our Nation 
 whom I have juft now mention'd, but alfo (as will be 
 clearly feen hereafter) it is the exprefs Doctrine of our 
 Church in the Book of Homilies^ and hath been fup- 
 ported and maintained by die Greateft and moil 
 Learned Divines, which our Church hath ever had 
 fince it was in Being. And yet befides this Diftinftion 
 of the Ground of the Sabbath in the Law of Mofes 
 itielf, there is a very good Reafon to be given, why 
 our Bleffed Saviour when He referred to the Ten 
 D 3 Commandments 
 
 (r) FU. Ainfworth in Exod. xx. i o. 
 
 [s) The Noral Law reqairing a Jeventh Part throughout the 
 Age of the whole World, to be that way employed ; although 
 with us the Day be changed, in regard of a new Revolution begun 
 by our Saviour Chrift, yet the fame Proportion of Tim? con- 
 tinueth, which was before ; becaufe in Reference to the Benefit of 
 Creation^ and now much more of Revovation thereunto added by 
 Him, who vvas Prince of the World to come ; we are bound to 
 account the Sandlification of one Day in feven, a Duty, which 
 God's Immutable Law doth exaf]t for ei'er. Hooker i Eccl. Polity, 
 Book V. $ 70. 
 
 [t) Spencer dc Leg. Hebr. Vol. L p. 96* 
 
38 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Commandments did not make any Exception to the 
 Particular Day of the Jewijh Sabbath , and that is, 
 becaufe the Obhgation of that Day was yet in Force ; 
 the Jewijh Ordinances not being abrogated till the 
 Death of Chrift^ when as St Paul obferves our Sa- 
 viour blotted out the Hand-writing of Ordinances that 
 was againft us^ and took it out of the Way^ nailing it to 
 His Crofs (u). Colojf. ii. 14. And therefore fince God 
 had lb plainly commanded us to keep holy xhtfeventh 
 Day in Memory of the Creation^ and Mofes had as 
 plainly renewed the Obfervation of this Command at 
 the giving of the Law ; our Blefled Saviour might 
 very well in His Gofpel refer to the Fourth Com- 
 mandment, without making any Particular Explica- 
 tion of the Nature and Obligation thereof; leaving 
 that Matter to be fully fettled and determined by the 
 Judgment and Pradice of the Holy Apoftles. Which 
 ihews the great Weaknels of thofe Men's Reafoning, 
 who thi nk that if we are at all obliged to obferve the 
 Sabbath T>ay in virtue of Chrifi's Authority and Com- 
 mand, v/e are obliged to obferve it at tho. fame Time, 
 and in the fame Manner, which the Jews did : For 
 this depended entirely upon their own Laws and Con- ' 
 ftitutions ; and therefore can lay no Obligation upon 
 us, but in fuch Cafes, where there is a Parity of 
 Reafon, or where we have received Diredtions from 
 Chriji or His Apoftics. Of which more hereafter. 
 
 A'>d thus much I thought abfolutely neceflary to 
 be obferved upon this Point, in Vindication of the 
 Honour of our Eftablifhed Church, as to her inferr- 
 ing me fourth Commandm.ent into her Communion 
 Service, and adding that Petition after the Rehearfing 
 
 of 
 
 [u) The Meaning of this ExprelTion is this, It was one Way 
 among the Ancients of cancelling a Bond or Writing, to drive a 
 Nail through it: In Conformiry lo which Cuftom, u?hen St Paui 
 would fignify to us cur Freedom from the Obligation of the Law 
 of Mcfes, he cxprefTes it by Chrifi^s taking away the Handwriting 
 that was againji us, and nailing it to His Crofs. Vid, Grot, 
 in loc. 
 
Religiom Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 39 
 
 4Df that Commandment, which is done after the o- 
 thers, viz. hord have Mercy upon us^ and incline our 
 Hearts to hep this haw. For this hath been often- 
 times urged againft the C^/^rfZ?, as if hereby fhe had 
 confirmed the Obfervation of the Jewijh Sabbath, 
 The famous Mr Chillingworth was once of this Opi- 
 nion (tho' he did at length get the better of thi^ 
 ■ix) Scruple) who in his Letter to Dr Sheldon (after- 
 wards Archbifliop of Canterbury) September 21, 16^5, 
 gives this as one Reafon, why he could not fubfcribe 
 to our Church Forms ^ viz. " becaufe that to fay the 
 " fourth Commandmxnt is a haw of God apper- 
 *' taining to Chriftians^ is falfe and unlawful {y)J* 
 And the Learned Dr Heylin goes into the fame way 
 of Thinking, by alledging that if *' T'/?^/ Peution 
 *' (hord have Mercy upon us^ &c.) which is to be 
 " ufed after the Repetidon of the fourth Command- 
 *' ment, be to be underfiood in a literal Senfe, ac.= 
 " cording as the Words are laid down in terminis % 
 *' it muit then be the Meaning of the Common 
 *' Prayer Book, that we fhould pray unto the Lord 
 " to keep the Sabbath of the Jews^ and that in the 
 *' felf fame Manner which they did : For, faith he, 
 *' of the Changing of the Day there is nothing faid, 
 " nor nothing intimated •, but the whole haw laid 
 *' down in terminis^ as the Lord delivered it." And 
 therefore he could find no other Way to extricate him- 
 felf out of this Difficulty, but by conceiving that the 
 " Intent and Meaning of the Church in that Peti- 
 *' tion was, to teach her People to pray to the Lord 
 " to incline their Hearts to keep that Law, fo far as 
 " it contained the haw of Nature^ and had been en- 
 *' tertained in the Chrifiian Church i,as alfo to have 
 «' Mercy on them for the Negled thereof in thofe 
 
 D 4 " Holy 
 
 (v) Vy, Bayle's Hiftorical and Critical Didionary, Vol. IV. 
 p. ;2o. 
 
 (y) The Reader may Tec this Letter of Mr. Chilliiigzvortb in 
 ^:?_y/Vs Dictionary, Vol. IV. p. 319, 320. 
 
40 A Dlfconrfe concerning the 
 
 ** Holy Bays, which, by the Wifdom and Authority 
 '* of His Church had been fet apart tor God's Pub- 
 *' lie Service." And he further iuppofes, " that this 
 " Petidon was put into the Common Prayer Book to 
 *' crufh the Furious Fancies of xh^Anabaptifts^ in their 
 *' not hallowing certain Days and Times to God's 
 f Public Service (z)" This is the Reprefentation 
 which this very Learned Ferfon makes of the Senfe 
 and Judgment of our Church in tliis Matter. Bu: 
 that he hath not given a true Account of the Senfe 
 and Judgment of our Church upon this Point, is I 
 think very clear and evident. For tho' the Law of 
 Natupe does plainly require, that lome Pardcular Time 
 te fet apart for God's Public Worfhip, as bath been 
 already proved ; yet there is no more Reafon from that 
 Law, why one Day in [even lliould be confecrated to 
 that Purpofe, than one in fi>: or eight, as Dr Heylin 
 himfelf obferves {a). If therefore the Defign of our 
 Church in the inferring that Petition after the Fourth 
 Commandment, be only^ as Dr Heylin lirft fuppoies, 
 to diredl us to pray to God to incline our Hearts to 
 keep that Law, fo far as it contained the Law of Na- 
 ture ; then I humbly conceive there would be this 
 great Abfurdity attending fuch Petition, viz. that w^e 
 Ihould therein pray to God, that we might keep one 
 Day in feven as He had fpecially determined in that 
 Commandment ; and yet mean no more thereby, than 
 that we might ferve Him pnhlickly at fome Hated Seafons 
 by virtue of thel^-K; cf Nature, which hath made nofpe- 
 cial Determination of one Time more than another ; 
 For to ufe his own Words, the whole Law is kid down 
 in the 'Terms in which the Lord delivered it. And tho* the 
 Cliurch (on whofe Authority, according to Dr Heylin^ 
 the Obligarion of the Lord's Day entirely (b) dependii) 
 
 hath 
 
 {z) Hiftory of the Sabbath, Part II. chap. viii. § 3. 
 
 \a\ Part I. chap, i- § 7. 
 
 (^) Preface to the Hiilory of the Sabbath, p. 5, CJT* pafiim. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 41 
 hath appointed the keeping of one Day in feven for 
 pur Chriftian Sabbath -, yet if, as that Author argues 
 throughout his whole Book, the Law of the Sabbath in 
 Exod, XX. was given folely to the ^ews^ and the Parti- 
 cular Day fpecined therein (which, as he intimates, 
 was the very fame Day of the Week on which God 
 relied from all His {c) Works) then the fecond Ac- 
 count given by him of our Ufe of the Petition after 
 the Fourth Commandment, viz. *' that therein we 
 *' beg of God to incline our Hearts to keep this Law, 
 *' fo far as it hath been entertained in the Chriftian 
 *' Church., is very falfe and abfurd alfo." For the 
 Sabbath Bay (confidered as a Jewijh Feftival) was never 
 obferved by the Catholic Church as a haw of Gody 
 from the Beginning of Chriftianity to this Day : Tho' 
 the Primitive Chriftians did indeed for fome Ages ob^ 
 ferve the Sabbath as well as the Lord's Day^ by holdr 
 ing their public AfTemblies thereon, the Reafons of 
 which will be hereafter feen in their proper Place* 
 And moreover in this View (fince, as I jull now in- 
 timated, we repeat the Law of God in our Church 
 in His own exprefs Therms) we Ihall pray to God in 
 this Pedtion, To incline our Hearts to keep holy the 
 feventh Bay of the Week^ at the fame Time that by 
 the Appointment of our Governours we obferve only 
 the firft Day -, which would be a Contradiction. But 
 i hope better Things of our Church, than that Ihe 
 fhould require us in her Public Offices to pray to God 
 for one Thing, and mean quite another. And indeed 
 it is abfolutely impofnble on any other Suppofidon 
 than what hath been laid down under this Head, to 
 ddivcr the Fourth Commandment and tht Petition thereto 
 annexed in our Communion Service from that Con- 
 fufion and Perplexity, which will for ever attend theui 
 upon Dr Heylifi's Scheme. . But if we attentively con- 
 sider what liath been delivered in the foregoing Part 
 
 of 
 
 (c) Purt I. chap. iv. §1. 
 
42 A DifcGurfe concerning the 
 
 of this Chapter, it will make the whole Matter very 
 eafy and plain. For fince, as I have juil now re- 
 marked, the Law of the Sabbath was given by God 
 at the Creation of the World, and the Law delivered 
 in Exod. XX. is only a Renewal and Confirmation of the 
 Former •, and further,rince as I before proved, any pub- 
 lic Day of Reft, which is dedicated to God's Worfhip, 
 may as properly be called 2. Sabbath as iht feventh 
 Day of the Week, which the Jews obferved: it very 
 clearly follov/s from hence, that the Church might 
 require all her Members to celebrate one Day in every 
 Week in Memory of the Creation according to God's 
 Commandment, by rehearfing to them the fourth 
 Precept of the Lav/, in which that Commandment is 
 contained; without laying them under any Obligation 
 to keep the Particular Day of the Jewijh Sabbath^ 
 which depended upon fuch Realbns, as were peculiar 
 to the Jews^ and was difcovered to them by a re- 
 markable Difpenfation of Providence, of which more 
 hereafter. It is therefore very clear and certain, that 
 the Church by the Recital of the fourth Command- 
 ment and the Petition which is ilibjoined did not 
 mean, that we fhould beg of God to incline our Hearts 
 to keep the Law of the Sabbath Day, ib far only as it 
 contained the Law of Nature, and had been enter- 
 tained in the Chriflian Church •, and much lefs to de- 
 clare, as Dr Heylin further fuppofes, that certain Holy 
 Days eftablifhed by her Authority fhould be duly ob- 
 ferved; fmce that Man muft be Ytrj fagacious indeed, 
 who can, in the fourth Precept of the Decalogue, dis- 
 cover a Command to celebrate the Feftivai of St Peter 
 or St Patd^ or any other of the Apoftles ; and as a 
 ^..earned Writer well remarks, *' No body could ever 
 * ' ihew how this jumble of certain Holy Days (without re- 
 *' gard to the Ch'ifiian Sabbath more than to any other) 
 *' is countenanced by the fourth Commandment (d);'^ 
 
 but 
 
 (il) Hill on the Fourth Command men r, Difcourfe I. p. 6. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's-Day 43 
 but that one Day in every Week fliould be fet apart 
 for God's Public Worlhip and Service •, and that 
 by virtue of a Divine Law. And fince, as Dr Heylin 
 and others rightly judge, it is abfurd to fuppofe that 
 this lliould be the Jewifh Sabbath ; it mutt then be 
 tiie keeping of one Day in feven in Memory of the 
 Creation^ which God firft required in Gen. ii. and 
 afterwards renewed in Exod. xx. as was before jfhewn. 
 And that this is the True Senfe and Judgment of our 
 Church in this Matter, feems to me very evident 
 from the Do6lrine of our Church upon this Point 
 in the firfl Part of the Homily concerning the Place 
 and Time of Prayer. For after the Church hath 
 there proved, that we are not bound to keep the 
 Pardcular Day of the Jewifh Sabbath^ Ihe proceeds 
 to Ihew thefe two Things. Firft^ that by the fourth 
 Commandment we are obliged to that which the 
 Law of Nature requires of us, which is to fet apart 
 fome Particular Time for the Manifeiladon of God's 
 Glory, y<r. And fecondly^ that this Time thus fet 
 apart ought to be one Day in feven •, and that not 
 barely by way of Conformity to the Example and 
 Pra6dce of Chriflians, as Dr Heylin fuppofes •, but 
 becaufe fays the Homily^ " God hath given Exprels 
 " Charge to all Men, that upon the Sabbath Day^ 
 '' to^iCl) l^ our &Unt»a?, they fhould ceafe from their 
 '' Weekly Labours, ^r." for which the Homily gives 
 this Reafon, vix. that '* God wrought fix Days^ and 
 " rejled on the feventh and fan5iified it:'' which is 
 the very Thing I have been proving. A ftrange 
 Ailertion indeed ! if according to Dr Heylin, the Law 
 of the Sabbath in Exod. xx. had been given only to the 
 Jews, and obliged all thofe who acknowledge the 
 Authority of that Law, to keep their Sabbath on the 
 very fame Day which they did. And the NecefTity of 
 obferving one Day in every Week by God's Com- 
 mand is feveral times repeated in the following Parts 
 of that Homily. 
 
 And 
 
44 -^ Difcourfe concerntfig the 
 
 And then as to the fecond Part of the Objedlion 
 made by Dr Heylin and others, viz. that if we are 
 obliged to keep the Sabbath by virtue of the fourth 
 Commandment, we are bound to keep it in the 
 felf fame Manner which the Jews did *, this is a 
 Conlequence that will by no Means follow. For 
 thofe Words in the fourth Commandment, h it thou 
 Jhalt do no Manner of JVork^ are nothing more than a 
 general Expreffion, fignifying that Men Ihould abftain 
 from their Common and Ordinary Labours, upon a 
 Day, which is fet apart for God's Public Worfhip and 
 Service. For as to the Particular /r/^ Manner in which 
 the y^ic'j were to keep tlidr Sabbath, and the Penaldes- 
 which were annexed to the TranfgrefTion thereof •, that 
 could not be determined from the fourth Command- 
 ment, but was declared in feveral exprefs Precepts and 
 Threatnings delivered to that purpofe ; as in Exod.xvu 
 29. chap. xxxv. ?^ ^, and other Places. And yet if 
 we put together all that the Scripture hath laid down 
 upon this Head of Refting from Labour on the Sab- 
 hath Bay., it is very plain that all Works of Neceflity 
 and Charity were excepted ; as our BJefifed Saviour, the 
 belt Interpreter of the Law, hath clearly Ihewn^ in 
 feveral Places of the Gofpel. And diat the fame Al- 
 k>wance was made by the beft Jewijh Writers and In- 
 terpreters themfelves, Dr Heylin hath parricularly cb- 
 ferved (e). Since then the Claufe in the fourth Com- 
 mandment, confidered by itfelf, can amount to no 
 more than a general Prohibition of common and ordi- 
 nary Works upon the Sabbatb Day (which is what the 
 Natural Reafon of Mankind would of itfelf (f) re- 
 quire 
 
 {e) Hiflory of the Sabbath, Part I, chap. v. 
 
 (/) Prout enim Judaeis ita <k Gentilibus llii erant dies ^-^affjfxot, 
 leu rebus agendis idonei, quibus nempe opus aliquod facere per 
 mores & leges licuit; & dies iopUcniJLOi feu Fefti, quibus ixios crat 
 (ut^ait Strabo lib. 10) Wj Ue^mnAi ui\cl ctvi(Pccoi iopjct^iitvls 
 TrrjH^ctt, fatra peragere cum iahrum Intermijftmefejhva. Nam 
 
 hujus 
 
Religious Obfervatioit of the Lord's Day. 4^ 
 
 quire upon fuch a folemn Day dedicated to the Service 
 
 of God and Religion) our Church might very well 
 
 lay this Injundlion upon her People in the Words of 
 
 the fourth Commandment, without obliging them 
 
 to any of thofe Peculiarities which God required of 
 
 the Jews^ and which were not contained in the fourth 
 
 Commandment, but as I jull now obferved in o- 
 
 ther Laws delivered to them, -with which we are in 
 
 no wife concerned : and much lefs without confining us 
 
 to thofe Rigours and Aufterities^ which the Scribes and 
 
 Pharifees had grafted upon the Laws of God by their 
 
 Tradidons (g). And yet it hath always been the 
 
 Artifice of thofe, who have oppofed the Religious Ob- 
 
 fervation of the Sabbath Day^ to confound thofe 
 
 Pharifaical Inventions with what the Law of God 
 
 hath plainly commanded in Holy Scripture. Tho* 
 
 I fhould have thought, that of all Men in the World 
 
 Dr Heylin would not have raifed an Objedlion againft 
 
 the keeping of the Sabbath^ on account of that Reft 
 
 which is enjoined in xht fourth Commandment •, fince 
 
 he hath brought many PaiTages out of Learned Wri* 
 
 ters, as well Jewifh as Chrijlian^ to prove that the 
 
 Refi from Labour, which God commanded the Jews to 
 
 oblerve upon the Sabbath Day^ was not fo ftrid, but 
 
 that they were allowed to do feveral kinds of JVork^ 
 
 and to travel on that Day, and alfo at the fame 
 
 Time to have their Feajls and Entertainments^ and 
 
 to divert themfelves all manner of ways, as by run^ 
 
 ' ning 
 
 hujus modi ferix (uti Romanorum vulgo Creditum) multiplici ope- 
 mm genere polluebantur, Quapropter, inquit Servius (ad Georg. 
 lib, i.) Po7itifices {txn^facrijicaturiy pramittere Calatores fuos folerit, 
 tit ficu bi viderint Opifices aJfidenieSi opus fieri prohibeant ; ne 
 pro 7iegotio fuo, cb* ipforum iculos iff Deorum ccremonias 
 attaminent, Firia enim oper^ Deorum credits funt. S^enc. dc 
 Leg. Hebr. lib i. cip. v. § i ith Vol. I. p. 89. 
 
 (g) If the Reader hath a mind to it, he may fee a large Ac- 
 count of there Superfiitious Notions in Munfter as he is cited 
 hy Glajftui in Fbiklog. Sacr, lib, v. Trail. I. cap. xiv. p, 
 S82-3. 
 
46 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 7iing^ walkings dancing (b). Sec. which, I think, is^ 
 as much as the moil Licentious Man could well defire. 
 Fourthly^ The Obligadon of obferving one Day in 
 every Week is further evident from the Example of 
 our BlefTed Saviour and His Apoftles, who kept 
 every feventh Day as a Day appointed for the A\ orfhip 
 and Service of God. Thus we read in John xx. that 
 on xhtjirft Day of the Week Chrift d,ppQ2Lrtd to His 
 Difciples, vv^ho were affembled together (as He had 
 often done (i) before at the fame Seafon) and ihewed 
 them the Marks and Signs in His Body, by which they 
 might know that He was rifen from the Dead, ver. 
 19, 20. And that the Occafion of the Difciples 
 affembling together at that Time was for the Wor- 
 fhip and Service of God, is evident, not only from 
 thofe PafTages of Scripture where fuch Affembling is 
 mendoned (fome of which will be taken Nodce of 
 prefently) and from the Account which the Antient 
 Writers of the Church conftantly give of their 
 Meetings butalfo from the Teflimony of jP//«y him* 
 felf, who tells us that upon a certain appointed Day 
 the Chriftians ufed very early to meet together, and 
 fing an Hymn to Chrijt, as being God, and oblige 
 themfelves by a Sacrament not to commit any 
 Wickedneis (k)^ ^c. But nomas not being with 
 the reft of the Difciples at the Time wheii" our Blefled 
 Saviour firft came to them declared, he would not 
 believe the Reliirredion of Chrift, unlefs he Jhould 
 fee the Print of the Nails in His Hands, and put his 
 Hands into His Side, ver. 25. But tho' our Lord was 
 pleafed to gratify this Curiofity (which at the fame 
 Time He juilly reproved, ver, 29.) that thereby He 
 might give the clearer and more convincing Proof of 
 His Refurredion •, yet there is no Account of His 
 appearing to him for that purpofe, 'dll that Day 
 
 fevennight 
 
 (h) Heylin ihid. § 5. to the End of the Chapter. 
 (/■) See Matt, xxviii. 9, A^ark ivi, 9. huh xxiv. 30, 
 (k) Pliny lib. x. Epill. 97. 
 
Religious Ghfervafio72 of the Lord'§ Day. 47 
 fevennight^ and then we read that our Saviour came and 
 latisfied him. Thus ver. 26. it is faid, that after 
 eight Days, or (as the Words may be properly rendered) 
 in, or within eight Days, again His Difcipks were 
 within, and Thomas was with them ; then came Jefus 
 the Doors being put, and flood in the Midft of them^ 
 &c. I know that fome Men have obje6ted to this 
 Interpretation, as thinking it abfurd, that theDiftance 
 of a JVeek^s Time Ihould be fignified by this Expref- 
 fion, after or in eight Days ; for, fay they, it might 
 as well fignify any Time whatfoever, as that of a 
 IVeek (I). But this Objeiflion will appear to be of no 
 Force, if we confider that the 6"/^^ of the N^w Tefmnmtt 
 is for the molt Part accommodated to the Manner of 
 Expreflion among the Jews •, with whom it was very 
 ufual to fignify a WeeJC^ Time by this Sayings 
 /a€^' »)/i*i(^-? o;c]<y, after, or in eight Days. An Emi- 
 nent Inftance of which we have in Jofephus, much like 
 the Expreffion in the Text we are now upon; who 
 Ipeaking of the Jewifh Prieils in their Courfes (who 
 were bound to miniller for one JVeek according to their 
 (m) Families) having faid tliat King David appointed, 
 that every Family ihould minifter unto God c^^ 
 })/^i^.< o)C]m for eight Days •, he iir.med lately explains 
 the Phrafe by this Expreflion, ttTii (TaCCuT^ ^ caCCai^v 
 i. e. from one Sahbath Day to another (n). And Glaf- 
 fius, an excellent Hebrew Grammarian oi the lall Age, 
 upon an exad and accurate Comparifon of the feveral 
 Hebrew Paifages in the Old Teftament with the Septna^. 
 gint Verfion of them writes thus, that the " Proepo- 
 " fidon f^iT^, (after), when underilood of Time, is 
 *' fometimes uled for the Word intra, (within) 
 ** and does not always fignify the laft Part of that 
 " Tim.e which it exprefles to be perfectly expired. 
 " The Word //e7w does not always declare the Time 
 
 " tha: 
 
 (I) HeylihZ Hirtory of the Sab atii, PartH, chap. i. ^ 4. 
 (m) See 2 Kin^s >i. 6, 7, 9 —2 Chron.Kxm. 8. 
 (»j Jo/ipbui Anti^. lib, vii. chap, xi. 
 
43 v^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 " that follows^ but that which is intermediate and 
 *^ as yet fiihjifting (o)P ~ This I own would feem 
 ftrange to us in Modern Language, but for all 
 that. It is very certain, that it is the Jewijh Man- 
 ner of ExpreflTion in the Holy Scriptures. This 
 will be evident to any one, who will compare to- 
 gether the feveral Paflages in the Evangelifis which 
 relate to the Refurredion of Chrift from the Dead •, 
 in which he will foon perceive that the Exprei^ 
 fion, after three Bays^ is equivalent to that within 
 three JDays^ and that both of them fignify the fame 
 :is on the third Day (p)^ and were fo underftood by 
 the Jews themfelves, as a Learned Bifhop of our 
 Church obferves (q). And if we look into the 
 0ld 'Teftament^ we Ihall find many Paflages, in which 
 the lame Manner of Expreflion is made Ufe of. 
 That I may not dre the Reader's Padence, I will 
 mention only two or three which are inconteftable. 
 Thus Deut, xiv. 28. it is laid, at the End of three 
 Tears thoufhalt bring forth all the Tythe of thine Increafe^ 
 But the Septuagint renders it, after three Tears : and 
 both of them fignify the fame as in the third Tear, 
 as is evident from Beut, xxvi. 12. Thus again, 
 when Shalmanefer befieged the City of Samaria, the 
 Scripture tells us diat at the Ejid of three Tears 
 they took it, even in the Jixth Tear of Hezekiah- 
 (that is the ninth Tear of Holhea King oflimtY) Samaria 
 
 was 
 
 {0) M!]ct poft, de Tempore ii accipiatur, quandoque pro 
 i/!tra accipitur ; feu ultimam temporis partem (quam notat) 
 non Temper plane exadam Si pr^eteritam effc fignificat. ■ 
 /Aijci. non Temper declarar confequens tempus fed quandoque 
 interjedum & adhuc vigens. GkJ[tt Philolog. Sacr. lib. iii. 
 ^Traif. VI. Cario?i xi ^.493. 
 
 (p) Compare together Matt, xxvii. 63, 64. chap. x.vi. 21. 
 Mark viii. 31. chap. x. 34. Luke ix. 22. chap. xxiv. 7. 
 Jchn ii. 19. 
 
 (q) Smalbroke*& Vindication of our Blefled Saviour's Miracles, 
 Vol. II. p. 438. See aljo Miracles of Jefus Vindicated, Part 1. 
 p. 12 13, 14 
 
Religious Obfcrvation of the Lord's Day. 49 
 
 was taken, 2 Kings xviii. 10. Bat that this Expreffion 
 can fignify no more in Modern Language than after 
 two full Tears ^ or in the third Tear, is clear from 
 ver. 9. where it is faid that the City was befieged /« the 
 feve?ith Tear of Hofhea King of Ifrael. So hkewife in 
 Jer. xxxiv. ia. the Prophet requires that they JJjould let 
 go every Man his Brother that had been fold to them at the 
 End of feven Tears : but how this Expreffion is to be 
 underllood we find in the fame Verfe, and in Exod, 
 xxi. 2 . where the Law of Releafing Servants is laid 
 down-, aud in both thele Places it is faid, that he 
 fhould be releafed, when he hadfervedftx l^ears. And 
 to fay no more, in Luke ix. 28. where the Evangelift 
 is fpeaking of the Transfiguradon of Chrifi, he ex- 
 prelfes himfelf thus, <yV« jW^v./ l}t]u, i. e. \t vf2iS about 
 eight Days, viz. after the Sayings of Chrifi in the fore- 
 going Verfes. But that this could not fignify any 
 greater fpace of Time than tliat of a Week, is mani- 
 feft from that Account which St Matthew and St Mark 
 give us thereof, who both lay it was after fix Bays ; 
 Matt. xvii. r. Mark ix. 2. it being ufual with them to 
 fignify the Space of a Week by both thefe kinds of 
 Expreffion ; fometimes calling it eight Days, as ac- 
 counting the two Days that were extreme, and at other 
 Times fix Days, as excluding the two extreme Days. 
 And the fame Liberty and Manner of Expreffion is 
 authorifed by the Teftimony of the Andent Jews, as 
 it is preferved in both their 'Tahnuds, and is allowed of 
 by the bell Claffic Writers both Greek and Roman, as a 
 Learned Prelate hath lately (r) fhewn. And we may 
 further obferve, that the fame Manner of Styleh taken 
 up by the Phyficians, who in their Accounts of Fevers 
 call that by the Name of the Tertian or ^artan Fever, 
 which hath but one or two Days Intermiffion between 
 
 E the 
 
 fr) See Bifiiop Smalh'di$ Vindication, Vol. II. p. 447, 
 459- 
 
^o A Difcoiirfe ccncerning the 
 
 the Fits (j). From all which it is very evident, that 
 the Objed:ion made by Dr Heylin and others againfl our 
 Blefied Saviour's appearing to His Dilciples upon 
 thtfrjl Day of the Week (as He had certainly done 
 the Time before) drawn from the Exprefllon, u^y i^uida^ 
 cK^i^f ^ft'^^ 01* ^^ ^^g^^ 'Days^ is entirely of no Force : 
 and confequently, His appearing again to His Dil- 
 ciples at that Time was for the fecond Eftablifhment 
 of that Day for the Chriftlan Sabbath ; as an Eminent 
 Author hath well remarked (/). And further, we may 
 clearly perceive, that after our Lord's Afcenfion this 
 Day was duly and conilantly obferved by the Holy 
 Apoflles. Thus St Luke tells us, that on the Day of 
 Pentecoft (which then happen'd to fall on the Lord's 
 Day) (u) when the Holy Ghoft came down upon the 
 Apoilies, they were all with one Accord in one Place. 
 AEIs ii. I . And what that Place was, and what their 
 Employment was therein, the fame Evangeliil tells us 
 in chap, i. 12, 14 ix). And again in A5is xx. 7. we 
 read that upon the firft 'Day of the Week (the uiiial 
 Name of the Chriftian Sabbath after our Saviour's 
 Reiurre6tion) the Difciples came together to break 
 Breads and Paul pleached unto them until Midnight. 
 And in i Cor, xvi. 2 . there is mention made again of 
 
 the 
 
 [s) See ^mn 'broke ibid. p. 448. where there are Teveral Inllanccs 
 given of this Matter. 
 
 [t) Echard's Ecdefiallical Hiflory, 8vo. Vol. I. p. 213, 
 
 C?/) Hie porro dies Fentecoftcs erat Dies Dominicus, ut facile 
 conflat ex computatione Dierum, &c. fic confultum voluit Chriftus 
 honori Diei Dominica;, ut prius Refurredione fua,ita jam efFufione 
 Spiritus Sanifli in illo die. Li^htfoot in loc. 
 
 (.v) The Refurreflion of Chrijt upon this (the firft Day of the 
 Week) and His diverfe Apparitions to His ApolHes upon this Day, 
 and His fending to them the Holy Ghoft upon this Day, and all 
 this at fu: h a Time as they were allembled in their ufual Place of 
 Prayer, and in all probability whilft they were performing the Duty 
 of the Day, did at leaft evidently point out to them this Day for 
 His Public Worfhip, and ratify their aflembling upon this Day 
 to do him Service. Archbifhop BramhallV Worb^ '^. 916. i^ee 
 alfoj Hammond 0:1 A^s i. 13. 
 
Rehgioiis Ohfervatmi of theTuovA'^ Day. 51 
 
 the firji Day of the Week, in which the Chriftians 
 were to meet together, and lay by their CoUe- 
 dions for the Poor by the Command of St Paul, 
 And this Day we find is called by St John by 
 the peculiar Name of the Lord's Day. Rev. i. 
 10. And that as ibme Interpreters think, becaufe 
 Chrift did on that Day rife from the Dead ; or as 
 others, becaufe He Himfelf did appoint that Day ; 
 or becaufe He was the Object of that Worjfhip, which 
 the Chriftians offered up Weekly upon that Day. And 
 thus this Text hath always been interpreted by the 
 Catholic Church. Now what a very judicious Di- 
 vine obferves upon another Occafion may very 
 properly be applied to the prefent Argument, viz, 
 that *' The Pofitive Laws and Inflitutions of our 
 *' Saviour Jefus Chrift are always to be interpre- 
 '• ted according to the Univerfal and received 
 " Pradice of the Apoftles (;;)." And the Reafon 
 Vv'hich he gives for it is very ftrong and unanfwer- 
 able, viz. '' That the Apoftles were not only, 
 " as Judges and Magiftrates in a Civil State, en- 
 " trufted with the Execution of the Laws and In- 
 " ftitutions of our Bleffed Saviour ^ but had alfb 
 *' hereby fuchconftant, certain, and even infallible Af. 
 *' fiftance from the Holy Ghoft {who guided them 
 *' into all "Truths John xvi. 13. taught them all 
 '' 'Things^ and brought all 'Things to their Remem- 
 *' brance whatfoever Chrift had [aid unto them^ chap, 
 ^' xiv, 26) as put them beyond all pofTibility 
 *' of Errour, to which even the beft Magiftrates 
 '' and moft learned Judges in Wordly Com- 
 " ^Bunities are often fubjecl." And therefore, fup- 
 poling it could not be proved, that our Bleffed 
 Lord had himfelf appointed the hordes Day (which 
 from v/hat hath been faid before is I think very 
 E 2 clear 
 
 (y) Archbifhop5^7/^^'s Divine Authority gf Church Governmeat 
 p. 26, 27, ^ee the Place. 
 
52 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 clear and plain that He hath) yet the Univerfal 
 Judgment and Pradice of the Holy Apoftles iii 
 this Particular is of itfelf fufRcient to determine the 
 Matter, and to render the Law concerning it per- 
 fetiial^ and for ever binding upon all Chriftians. 
 And what Mr Calvin hath oblerved of Impofidon 
 of Hands in Ordination, will hold equally in the 
 prefent Cafe ; viz. that tho' there were no exprels 
 Precept about it, yet fince it hath been perpetually 
 obferved by the Holy Apoftles, this accurate Oh- 
 fervance of theirs ought to have with us the Force 
 of Covdmand and Law (z). And the fame Acknow- 
 ledgment is made by many Learned Writers, who 
 were very far from being too ftrid and rigid in 
 this Matter, or attribudng too much to the Obfer- 
 vation of the Lord^s Day. It may not be amils 
 to recite two or three Paffages to this Purpofe, in 
 order to lliew the great Weaknels of thofe Men's 
 Reafoning, who argue againft the Divine Authori- 
 ty and Obligadon of the Lord's Day, becaufe 
 there is no exprefs Precept of Cbnjl or his A- 
 poftles for the Obfervation of it. Thus fays Arch- 
 bifliop Bramhall, " Tho' the Original Inftitution 
 *' of the Lord's Day be not Recorded in Holy 
 " Scripture exprefsly, yet fo much is Recorded as 
 *' is fufficient to fatisfy all Confcientious Chriftians, 
 *' that there was fuch an Liftitudon of Chrift or 
 " His Apoftles, or of Chrift by His Apoftles ; 
 '^ and with the Help of the perpetual Pra6lice and 
 *' Tradition of the Catholic Church ever fmce the 
 *' Refurredlion of Chrift, is fufficient to convince 
 " all Gainfiyers. And he that profefteth Chrift i- 
 " anity, and will not be fatisfied with the perpetual 
 
 " and 
 
 (2:) Licet au'em nullum extet certum Praeceptum de manuum 
 Jmpoiitione, quia tamen fuifle in perpetuo ufu Apoftolis videmus, 
 iDa tam acrurata E'Jiuni Obfervatio Pr^cccpti vice nobis elTe debet, 
 Cah. Injiitut. lib. iv. caj'. iii. ^ 16. 
 
E eligiGUS Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 53 
 
 " and undoubted Tradidon of the Univerfal Church 
 '' of Chrift, t, e, of the whole World of Be- 
 " lievers, including the Apoftles themfelves \ is 
 *' utterly incapable of any real Satisfaction, and 
 *' buildeth his Religion more upon his own wilful 
 " Humour and private Phantafy, than upon true 
 " Judgment (^)." 
 
 And the judicious Bifhop White ipeaking of this 
 Matter, faith, " It is not necefiary to demonilrate 
 " out of Scripture that the Apoftles ordained the Sun- 
 " <% as a Weekly Holiday, l^c. for it could not 
 *' pofllbly have come to pais, that all and every A- 
 " poftolical Church throughout the Univerlal World 
 " fhould fo early and in the Beginning of their Plan- 
 " tadon have confented together to make the Sunday 
 " a Weekly Feflival •, unlefs they had been direded 
 " thus by their Founders the Holy Apoftles them- 
 *' felves. And fo he concludeth out of St Auftin^ 
 '' that it is moft rightly believed to have been delivered 
 " by Apoftolical Authority (i*)." And for this 
 Reafon the Learned Bllliop Taylor^ who refolves' 
 the Authority of the Lord's Bay into mere Eccle- 
 fiaftical Inftitution (<:), affirms *' that the keeping 
 " of this Day, befides all the other Reafbns de- 
 " rived from the Nature of the Thing, yet even 
 " for this alone ^ becaufe it is derived from the A- 
 " poftles, is to remain fo for ever : becaufe the 
 *' Reafon being at firft competent for which they 
 " kept their Aftemblies, and gave that Day to Re- 
 " ligion, and the fame Reafon remaining for ever, 
 *' (and another cannot come in place of it, and 
 " a greater there cannot be) although the Churches 
 ^' are not in Confcience dire5fly bound, yet colla- 
 " terally and indire^ly they are (J)." And that the 
 Apoftles were not only direded by the Holy Spirit 
 E ? in 
 
 [a) Bramhall's Works, p. 916. 
 
 [b) Bijhop White on the Sabbath, p. 192. 
 
 {c) Du^tor Dubitantiutn, Book ii. chap. ii. Rule 6. §51. 
 C^) Dl£1. Dubit. Book iii. chap. iv. Kule 13. ^1, 
 
^4 -A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 in Matters relating to Divine Worlbip and Religion, 
 but alio had His immediate Authority in their De- 
 terminations upon fuch Points, is very evident from 
 A5ls XV. 28. where the Apoftles fpeaking of their 
 Decifion in the Affair of the Circumcifion, exprefs 
 themfelves thus, // [eemed good to the Holy Ghofl 
 and to us (e). And if we may rely upon St Cle- 
 ment (a Companion and Fellow Labourer of St 
 Paul^ Phil. iv. q.) we may be afllired that the A- 
 poftles were perfonally inflruded by our Lord to do 
 w^hat they did in this Matter of the Lord^s Bay : for 
 he tells us, that they had Chrifth Authority and Dire- 
 6i:ion concerning the appointed Seafons and Places 
 of Public Worihip (/). And " if Chrift did pre- 
 *' fcribe Rules for the Times and Places of His 
 ** Worihip •, there is little doubt to be made, but 
 *' that the hordes Day was His own Ordination, 
 ''as a Learned Prelate hath well obferved {g)P 
 And therefore the Apoftles fetting apart the hordes 
 Day from the Beginning, was a clear Proof of 
 it's Divine Authority *, and there was no Occafion 
 for an exprefs Precept of Chrift or His Apoftles 
 for the Abrogation of the Sabbath^ and the Inftitiition 
 of the hordes Day^ as fome have imagined. For this 
 would for feveral Reafons have been very impro- 
 per •, and particularly, as it would have given the 
 greateft Offence and Difpleafure to the Jews in 
 regard of the extreme Veneration which they had 
 for their Sabbath^ and thereby have mightily hin- 
 dered and retarded their Converfion to the Faith of 
 the Gofpel. And upon this Account it was an 
 Adl of great Prudence as well as Piety in the A- 
 
 poftles 
 
 [e) Dicunt, mfiim efl Spiritui San^o, ne humanum illud negotium 
 cfie vidcretur ; addunt, & nobis^ ut Minifterii & operae fidelitas 
 demonftretur, & ut conflaret ipfos non fuifTe authores illius fenten- 
 tiae. Cnmeray'ius ^ Cnmero i?i loc. 
 
 (f) Clem. I Ep. to Corinth. § 40. Edit. Wake, 
 {g) Bramhair^ Works p. 920. 
 
Religious Obfervafion 5/^ //S^ Lord's Day. 55 
 
 poftles and their SucceiTors to obferve the Sabbath 
 for fome Time, as well as the Lord's Day ; and 
 afterwards to let it drop and fall gradually^ as will 
 be ihewn hereafter. 
 
 Fifthly and laftly^ The Obfervation of the Lord's 
 Day is very clear and evident from the Example 
 and Practice of the Primitive Chriftians^ who always 
 kept it in a mod Devout and Religious Manner ; 
 and that fo univerfally^ that in all Parts of the 
 World, wherefoever the Chriftian Faith was propa- 
 gated, the Obfervation of the Lord's Day was eita- 
 blilhed with it. This is not only attefted by all 
 the ancient Writers of the Church, but acknowledged 
 alfo by the Heathens themfelves ; who frequently 
 accule them of adoring the Sun (*), becaule they 
 prayed towards the Eaft^ and kept the Sunday for 
 their Feftival. Which hath made many Learned 
 Men, who deny that our Bleffed Saviour Him- 
 felf hath inftituted this Day, conclude that it was 
 a Matter fettled by all the Apoftles, and handed 
 down to the Church by Apoftolical Tradition. 
 Nay, fo notorious was their Practice in this Particu- 
 lar, that in many Churches the ancient Chriftians 
 obierved both the Saturday^ which was the Jewijh 
 Sabbath^ and the Sunday^ which was the Lord's 
 Day (h) ; (tho' the Preference was given to the lat- 
 ter in many (/) Refpeds). Whether they were un- 
 certain which was the Right Day, as fome have 
 imagined ; or as others judge better, becaufe they 
 would' give no Offence to the Jews^ and were willing 
 to embrace any Opportunity of converting them to 
 E 4 Chrifiianity 
 
 (*) Alii folcm Chrillianum Deum cfle seftimant, quod innotueri t 
 ad Oricntis partem facere nos precationem, &c. TertulL ad Nat, 
 lib. j. cap. xiii. 
 
 (A) Vid. Grot, in Aft. xv. 2T. 
 
 (/) Vid. Binghams's Aniiquities, Vol. IX. lib. xx. cap, 
 
 Ui. § 3- 
 % 
 
56 ADifcourfe concerning the 
 
 Chriftianity by the Preaching of the Gofpel (k) : 
 Which was the True Reafon why the Sabbath was 
 much more obferved in the Eaftern Church than 
 in the Weftern \ there being a much greater Num- 
 ber of Jevos in that Part of the World. But be 
 that as it will ; it plainly f};ews thus much, that 
 they thought themfelves obliged to celebrate every 
 feventh Day, as a Day of the Worfbip and Service of 
 God. 
 
 And thus having confidered the NecefTity and. 
 Obligation of Obferving every feventh Day, I pro- 
 ceed now to the other Pardcular, viz. to fhew 
 that we muft keep it holy. And one would think 
 there fhould be no NeceQity of infilling upon this ; 
 it being a Thing fo plain and evident in itlelf. 
 But yet there have not been wanting fome Men 
 who have oppofed it, and declared againfl the 
 NecefTity of Divine Worfhip and Service on this 
 Day •, and who affirm that the Peculiar Sanctifica- 
 tion of the Sabbath did confift in refting upon that 
 Day, and in the Separation of it from all Bodily 
 Work and (/) Labour : Tho' they are indeed wil- 
 ling to own, that God in the enjoining that Reft 
 might have a farther View and Regard to the 
 Actions of Piety and Religion ; but they deny 
 that they are comprehended in the Notion of fan- 
 (ftifying the Sabbath ^ or that God hath thereby /^r- 
 mally required and commanded them. And it is 
 much to be feared that too many Chriftians have 
 entertained the fame Thoughts concerning the Lord's 
 Day ; as may appear from their grols Negledt of 
 the Religious Duties of the Day both public and pri- 
 vate, and their dedicating it entirely to Company 
 
 and 
 
 {k\: Vid. Cave'j Pri?nithe Cbrijiianity, Part i. chap, vii. 
 p. r74. 
 
 (/) Fid. Bonfrerium in Exod. xx. 8. Heylin^J Jiiftory of the 
 Sabbathy Part I. chap, vi § 3. Spencer de Leg. Uebr. lib, i. 
 ch.^p. V. § 10. Vol. i. p. j-j, &c. 
 
Religious Obfcrvatioji of the Lord's Day. 57 
 
 and Drinking and Worldly Pleallire. But now, 
 if this were all ; it would have been fufficient' to 
 have required the Obfervation of the Sahhath Day 
 without the Injundlion of keeping it holy ; 
 for that does of itfelf fignify that it is a Day of 
 Reft (m) : Whereas the Addidonal Command to 
 keep it holy does plainly require fomething more. 
 And I believe it will be difficult to fhew any 
 Place of Scripture, where any Day or "Time is faid 
 to be holy in fuch a Senfe. The keeping of a 
 Day holy does not only imply the Separation of 
 it from all bodily Work and Labour, but alfb 
 the Dedication of it to the Worlhip and Service 
 of God j as is very evident from the conftant 
 Senfe of that Expreffion in the lacred Writings, 
 as hath been before (n) remarked. Bat how- 
 ever it will not be amils to confider what is al- 
 ledged in Defence of their Argument, by thofe 
 that are of the contrary Opinion. Now thefe Men 
 alledge that before the Captivity of Babylon we 
 have no Account, that the Jews kept the Sabbath 
 in a Religious Manner by dedicating it to the pub- 
 lic Worlhip of God, the hearing of the Law, Di- 
 vine 
 
 {fn) And yet perhaps not barely a Day of Reft ; for the Word 
 Shabatb from -wKich i\iQ Word Sabbath \s dtnw^d. doth not, as a 
 Learned Writer obferves, fignify fuch a Reft, wherein one 
 fitteth ftill and doth nothing (as the Word Noach doth) but 
 only a refting and ceafing from that which lie did before. Vid. 
 Leigh V Crit. Sacr. in voce rQK^- -^"^ ^^^ Learned Dr Hey- 
 liriy tho* in the Place above cited he affirms, that in reference 
 to the People God eommanded only Reft from Labour on 
 the Sabbath Da"}, and the Priefts to perform the Sacrifices, &c, 
 yet in another Place (I think inconiifiently with himfelf) 
 when enquiring into the Meaning of the Word Sabhathy he 
 fays it is ufed in Scripture to fignify fome felefted Time 
 which God hath deputed unto Holiuefs as well as Re/f. Part 
 L chap, V. § I, See alfo ipencer de Leg. Hebr. lib. i. cap. v. 
 ^ 10. /// VoJ. I. p. 80, 81, 87, in which he manifefts the 
 iame Senle and Judgment. 
 
 ( //) See above, p. 9. 
 
58 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 vine Meditation, and {0) the like ; tho' they grant 
 that the Jews after the Captivity did obferve the 
 Sabbath very ilridly in the Perforinance of fuch Re- 
 ligious Duties ; and Hkewife that in all Ages of the 
 Chriftian Church the Lord^?> Bay hath by all pious 
 and good Men been celebrated in the iame Man- 
 ner. And this one would think fliould be luffi- 
 cient to determine the Matter : And that fuppofing 
 it could not be proved that the Jews before the 
 Captivity did the like, yet this ought not to be 
 admitted as an Argument againfb the Religious 
 Obfervation of the Sabbath Bay : becaufe if there 
 be no clear Account in Scripture and Antiquity on 
 either Side ; it is from the Nature of the Thing 
 more probable, that the Antient Jews did keep 
 their Sabbath like the Moderns, than that they did 
 not. But however, I will not leave the Matter fo. 
 For if the Jewijh Rabbins knew any Thing of the 
 Pradice of their own Church in this Particular ; 
 it is plain that the Ancient Jews underftood the 
 Obfervation of the Sabbath to confift, not only in 
 the Reft from Bodily Labour, but alfo in the 
 Confecrating of it to the Service and Worlhip of 
 God. For this is exprefsly affirmed by feveral of 
 the bell and moft learned of them. Thus fays 
 jiben Ezra " The Sabbath was appointed that we 
 ** might contemplate on the Works of God, 
 *' and meditate on the Law (^)." And R. D. 
 Kimchi m Pfalm xcii. fays that " the Sabbath is 
 *' more grateful to God than the other Days of 
 ** the Week •, becaufe in that a Man is freed from 
 *' the Bufinefles of the World, and his Mind from 
 ** all Bodily Occupations, and he excercifcs himfelf 
 '' in \\ ifdom and the Service of God." And the 
 
 Word* 
 
 (0) Vid. Heylin's Hijlorj cf the Sabbath, Part I. chap. vi. 
 § 3 and 4. 
 
 (p) Ab. Ezr. apud Riveti Expofit. Decalog. in Exod. 
 XX. 8. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 59 
 
 Words of Rabbi Manajfes are very remarkable to this 
 purpofe. " It is, fays he^ a very great Errour to 
 *' affirm that the Sabbath was inflituted merely for the 
 " Sake of Bodily Reft ; for that being of itfelf the 
 *' Parent of all Vices, there would thence accme more 
 " Harm than Good from the Obfervation of the 5<^^- 
 *' hath. But we muft neceflarily declare, that the 
 " Sabbath was appointed, that Men being in a greater 
 " Readinefs, by reafon of their Freedom from the 
 *' Cares of the World might apply themfelves to the 
 " Study of the Law, might go to the Synagogues 
 *' and Schools of the Prophets, and there enquire 
 *' into the Senfe of difficult Paffagesof Holy Scrip- 
 " ture ; wherefore it is exprelsly laid in the Jerufa- 
 *' km Talmud, that the Sabbaths and other Feftivals 
 *' were not appointed to the Ifraelites but for the 
 " Meditation of the Law (^)." A very wife and rea- 
 fonable Determination ; and which ought to be well 
 confidered by all thofe, who oppofe the Neceflity of 
 a Religious Obfervation of the Sabbath Day, And 
 long before him Philo acquaints us, " That among 
 " the Ancient Jews the Cuftom always was, as Op- 
 " portunity ferved, but efpecially on the Sabbath Day^ 
 " to exercife themfelves in Knowledge ; the Chief 
 " Perfon going before and teaching, the reft increaf. 
 " ing in Goodneis, and growing better in their Lives 
 " and Manners (r)." And Jofephus tells us more ex- 
 -prefsly that " Mofes commanded the People to meet 
 *' together for the hearing of the Law ; and that not 
 ** once or twice, or feveral Times, but on every 
 *' feventh Day ; and that laying afide their Works, 
 *' they fhould learn it exactly (j)." To which I 
 Ihall only add, that the Tide of the xcii Pfalm^ which 
 is by fome afcribed to David^ by others to Mofes 
 
 and 
 
 (q) R. Manafies ap. Rivet, ibid. 
 ( r) Fhilo de Vit, Mofis lib. iii. 
 (j) Jofepl), adv. Apion. lib. ii. 
 
6o ADifcourfe concerni7ig the 
 
 {and which is a joyful Meditation of the gracious 
 Works of God towards His People, whether by way 
 of commemorating the Creation and the Sabbath fol- 
 lowing that •, or foretelling their Peace and Profperity 
 in this World, and that Reft which God had pro- 
 mifed to give His Church under the Meffiah) I fay that 
 the 'Title of this Pfalm is A Pfalm or Song for the Sabbath 
 'Day. And this Title was given to it, becaufe, as 
 Dr Hammond obferves in his Paraphrafe thereupon, it 
 was appointed to be ufed in the Jewijh Church upon 
 the Sabbath Day. And as one Eminently fkill'd in Z/^- 
 ^r^ze; Learning takes notice, " the Ancient J^wj had 
 *^ proper Pfalms appointed for the Pardcular Days of 
 *' the Week ; and in the Talmud there is an exprels 
 *^ Account of thofe Pfalms^ which the Levites were 
 *' to fing upon certain Days, and that which was 
 *' appointed for the Sabbath was the xcii Pfalm (t)'* 
 Nay the Chaldee Paraphraft carries this Matter a great 
 deal farther, by affirming that this Pfalm was fung by 
 Adam himfelf upon the Sabbath Day. And for this 
 reafon it is called the Pfalm or Song of Adam by fe- 
 veral of the Jewijh Writers (u). But I own -it is more 
 probable (as the Generality of Learned Men think) 
 that it was made by David for the ufe I have now 
 mentioned. And Mr Calvin is of opinion, that he 
 compofcd many others for that purpofe (x). And 
 Jofephtis tells us, that he compoled feveral Hymns 
 to the Honour of God, and taught the Levites to 
 praife God's Name upon the Sabbath Days (j). From 
 all which it very clearly appears, that the Ancient 
 Jews did not place the Sanblification of the Sabbath 
 
 in 
 
 [t] Lud. de Dieu, in loc. 
 
 («) Canticum Adami dicitiir ab Hebraeis, quod talia dicere po- 
 tuit Adamus cum primum Res a Deo conditas aipcxir. GrU. 
 in he. 
 
 (x) Calvin in loc. 
 
 (_>•) Jofeph. Antiq. lib. vii. cap. x. Zee a'fo the fame Author 
 abcz-e cited p. 47. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 6 r 
 
 in a hare Reft from Bodily Labour *, but they thought 
 alfo that it required their Attendance upon the Wor- 
 Ihip and Service of God. Nay, even Bonfrerius him^ 
 felf, who, as was, lately remarked, places the Sandi- 
 fication of the Sabbath entirely in fuch Reft, does yet, 
 I think inconfiftently with himfelf, in the fame Place 
 allow, (and Dr Spencer is much of the fame Mind, 
 which feems to me in great Meafure to render the 
 Argument of thefe Perfons againft the received Opi- 
 nion very needlefs and trifling) that the End of 
 the Precept of refting from their Works was the 
 Worftiip of God, and that the Jews were wont 
 to apply their whole Sabbath in a moft Religious 
 Manner to fuch Worftiip. I know indeed that 
 the chief Thing which confirms fome Men in this 
 Opinion concerning the Ancient Jews^ is, that 
 they had no Synagogues for Divine Worftiip and 
 Reading of the Law, 'nil after the Babylonian Cap- 
 tivity (z) •, and therefore fay thefe Men, they could 
 not have any fuch Thing as public Worftiip, 
 excepting that in the Tabernacle and the Temple. 
 But this is a very weak Inference. For fappofing it 
 were certain that the Jews had no Synagogues be- 
 fore the Capdvity ; yet this will not in the leaft 
 prove that they had no other Places to meet in 
 for the Worfliip of God, and the Reading of their 
 Law : Since it is well known that the Primitive 
 Chriftians met together for the like Purpofes a 
 good while before they had any public Churches 
 properly fo called. And the fame may be affirmed 
 of the Jews with regard to their Synagogues. But 
 whether the Jews had any Synagogues before the 
 Captivity, or not, the Learned are not fully {a) 
 
 agreed 
 
 • (z) Vid. H^slin's Hift of the Sabbath, Part I. chap. vi. § 4 
 and 10. Spcrccr de Leg. Hehr. ibid. p. 79. 
 
 • (a) It is indeed the common Opinion that there were no Syna- 
 g-'gues before the Captivity ; but then by Synagogues muft be 
 
 underllood 
 
f)Z A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 agreed •,, tho* I grant that it cannot be clearly 
 proved that they had. For whereas it is faid in 
 Tfalm Ixxiv. 8. ^hey have burnt up all the Syna- 
 gogues of God in the hand ; the original Words 
 {Moadhe El) may be interpreted the ftated or ap- 
 pointed Times of God's Worjhip •, and then the Mea- 
 ning will be, they have abrogated the Solemn Fe- 
 fiivals j in which Senfe the Vv'ords are underilood 
 by the Chaldee Paraphrafl, the Septuagint^ and fe- 
 veral of the Old Verfions. Or if the Words do 
 rather relate to the Places of God's Worfhip, they 
 may then, as the mofl: Learned Dean Prideaux truly 
 obferves, fignify no more than the Aflemblies of 
 God (b). And fuch as thefe that Excellent Au- 
 thor grants the Jews had before the Captivity, 
 and allows that they were Places of Divine 
 Service, to which they ufed to refort for 
 that purpofe befides the 'temple. And there are 
 not wanting fome Learned Men, who think that 
 the Jews had Places appointed for public Prayer 
 and Inftrudion in Religion as Early at leaft as 
 the Time of the Judges {c) ; by what Name or 
 
 Tide 
 
 underftood, Places of Judicature, rather than of Divine Worfhip. 
 For the Courts of Judicature were anciently held in the Gates of 
 Cities, not in any Places peculiarly defigned for that Ufe. Amos 
 V. 12, 15. But there is no leafon to quellion, but the Jews had 
 their Profeuchas or Places of Prayer from the Beginning./)/- Jenkin'j 
 Reafonable7iefs and Certainty of the Chriftian Religien^ Vol. L 
 €hap. vi. p. 173. See alfo Fur cha^''s Pilgrim age y Book II. chap. 
 iii. p. 117. Ggjerus on Pfalm\xx\v. 4. thorndyke''s Religious Jf- 
 fembliesy chap.W. GcdiV'pi^s Antiquities, Book 11. chap. \\. 
 
 [b) Prideaux's Connexion 8vo. Vol. IT. p. ^56. ^ee alfo Bi- 
 Jhop Beveridge on the NecelTuy and Advantage of public Prayer 
 p. II. 
 
 (c) Rugierunt in medio Convcntuum vel Ecclefiarum, &c. 
 Pfal. Ixxiv. 4.) SchoJaruni k Synagcgarum, quae pafTim in urbibus 
 erant conftitutae, non modo a Cciptivitate Babylon, iit putat Sigo- 
 nius ; fed etiam tempore J udicum & Re2;um (ut ftatuunt Becanus 
 Anna!. V. & N. T. p. 241. Tolet in Johan. 16. Torniel. A. M. 
 2594. n. 14) ne populus communibus Oraiionum atque in- 
 formationis locis deftitueretur. Gejerus in Pfal, Ix.xiv, 8. 
 
Religious Obfervafion cf the Lord's Day. 63 
 
 Title foever fuch Places might be called. Nay, 
 there is good Reafon to think that fuch Places as 
 thefe were in the Days of Abraham: for we read 
 in Gen. xxi. 33, that Abraham planted a Grove in 
 Beerjheba^ i, e. as a very able Writer hath well 
 explained it, a Place of Prayer fet round about 
 with Trees {d) ♦, and called there on the Name of 
 the Lord. Which makes it highly probable, that 
 this Plantation was for Religious Ufe (e) ; which 
 before the Law given by Mofes might be lawful, 
 as a Learned Annotator obferves upon the Place 
 (/). And there are many other Paflages in the 
 Book of Genejis., wherein the Patriarchs are faid to 
 build Altars unto the Lord (g) \ which Altars were 
 not folely defigned for facrihce, but alfo for that 
 which is the uliial and neceffary Concomitant there- 
 of. Devotion and Prayer, as is clear from Gen. 
 xiii. 4. It being, as a moft Learned (Jo) Prelate 
 well remarks, owing to this Natural Principle (the 
 Necefiity of public Worfnip) that the Ancient Pa- 
 triarchs, who lived abroad in Booths and Tents 
 frequently changing their Places for frefh Pafture, 
 when they came to any new Place of Abode, where 
 they pitched their Tents, their Cuflom was to e- 
 re6l Altars^ and enclofe them about, which was 
 uiiially done in fome Mountains, high Places, and 
 Groves. And thefe, before they came to be abufed 
 by Idolatry, were in general Requelt among them, 
 being ilyled by the Name of San5iuaries^ or holy 
 Places, to which a Reverence is commanded. I'e 
 pall keep my Sabbaths^ and reverence my San^ua- 
 
 ries. 
 
 [d) Shuckford's Sacred and Profane Hiflory connecled. Vol. F. 
 p. 304. 
 
 [e) Hie erat Oratorium, ubi egit cum Deo & de Deo. 77- 
 rinus in he. 
 
 [f) Ainfvvorth in loc. 
 
 (V) SeeGtxi. xii. 7. ch. xiii. 4, 18. ch. xxvi, 25. ch. xxxv. I, 
 ('>} Biihop /;^///^/Vs Sermons, p. 333. 
 
.64 ^ Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 ries. Lev. xix. 0,0. However this Matter may be, what 
 the Eminent Dean Prideaux lays down is fufficient 
 to my prelent purpofe •, it being of the fame Con- 
 fequence to my Argument, that the antient Jews 
 had fuch AJfemblies^ as if they had proper Syna- 
 gogues. Thefe Aflcmbhes were called Profeuch^^ i. e. 
 Oratories or Plac;es of Prayer (i). And they dif- 
 fered from the Synagogues in thefe two Refpeds. 
 Firft^ In that the Synagogues were fuch Houles as 
 were covered at the Top •, but thefe AJfemblies wxre 
 open. And fecondly^ That in the Synagogues the 
 Prayers were offered up in public Forms, as they 
 are in our Churches ; whereas in the AlTemblies 
 every one prayed particularly for himfelf, as they did 
 in the Temple (*). And they were generally built 
 upon Mountains and high Places ; which makes it 
 reafonable to believe that the high Places mentioned 
 in the Old ^eftament were oftentimes no other than 
 thefe Affemblies. Which tho' they were frequently 
 condemned by God, by reafon of the Idolatrous 
 Worfhip that was offered up in them, yet, as the 
 Learned Dean truly obierves, they were not al- 
 ways fo -, they being often made Ufe of by Prophets 
 and good Men for Holy Purpofes ; as appears 
 from I Sa?n. ix. 10. where Samuel bid Saul go be- 
 fore him to the high Place^ where he JJoould cat 
 with him. And from the fifth Verfe of the fol- 
 lowing Chapter, where he told him that he Jhould 
 meet a Company of Prophets coming down from the 
 high Place. Thefe Profeuch^e or Affemblies were 
 many of them Handing in our Saviour's Time. 
 
 And 
 
 (i) Vocabantur a [udreis Grxce loquentihus aifji(7gu;yai' undc 
 nomcn Latinum Profeiuha, pro Sy?w^?^ogn ; quafi dicas domos O- 
 rationis five Oratoria ; Has frequentabant potiflimum Sabbatis Ju- 
 daei, caufa difcendi quae patriam Religionein fpciStaient, (^c. L(2my 
 Jipparatus Chronologicus in Harmoniam 4 Et'angcHfiarum Vol. L 
 /• 'M- 
 
 (*] Vid, Prideaux ibid. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 6 r 
 
 And our BlefTed Lord is thought by fome good 
 interpreters to have been in one of" them for a 
 whole Night together. For that which is in our 
 Tranflation, Luke vi. 12. He continued all Night 
 in Prayer to God, h by them rendered thus, He 
 continued all Night in a Profeucba or an AJfem- 
 My of God. There is mention of thefe Aj&m- 
 blies in other Places of the New 'Teftament^ A5is 
 xvi. i:^, 16. ik). And iikev/ife in fome of the 
 Latin Poets {I). And it was to thefe Profeuch^ 
 or AfTemblies that the antient Jews repaired for 
 the Worfhip and Service of God, and before 
 the Building of the Temple offered Sacrifice in 
 them \ as appears from i Kings ^ iii. 2 . where it 
 is faid, that the People Sacrificed in thefe high Places^ 
 becaufe there was no Houfe built unto the Name of 
 the Lord. They reforted alfo to the Cides of the 
 Levites and the Schools of the Prophets for their 
 Inflrudlion and Information (m) in Religion, and 
 that chiefly upon the Sabbath Bays ; as is plain 
 from the Anfwer which the Shunar/iiteh Hufband 
 gave her, when fhe was preparing to go to the 
 Prophet Elifloa after the Death of her Child. 
 Wherefore^ faith he, wilt thou go to him to Day ? 
 it is 7t either New Moon nor Sabbath^ 2 Kings ^ iv. 
 2^. {n). And it is the Opinion of fome very 
 Learned Men, that Mofes himfelf appointed, that 
 
 F his 
 
 (k) Fid. Hammond in Joe. 
 
 (/) — — in qua te quasro Profeucha, Ju^. Sat, III, 
 I. 296. 
 
 (m) Vid. Cun^eum de Repub. Hebrasorum, lib. ii. cap. xvii. 
 Thorndyke'i Religious Ajfemblies^ cap, ii p. 29. Bijhop Bull'/ 
 Sermons, Vol. Jl. p. it 19. 
 
 (n) His (five feftis) diebus pii homines adibant Synagogas perl- 
 tofque Legis aJ audiendum verbum Dei Legifque Explicadonem, 
 ut patet ex A61, XV. 21. Mcnochius, Pifcator, ^ Sa?:Siiui iii loc. 
 Ad Prophetas ibant, quo tempore quibufque locis alii convsntUa 
 non er^t. Grot. ibiu. 
 
66 A Dlfcoiirje concerning the 
 
 his Law fliould be publickly read every {d) Sab- 
 bath Bay, This is exprefsly affirmed by Jofephus 
 as was before ob.:ived (p). And there is a Frag- 
 ment of Philo I he Jew preferved by Eiifehius 
 iq) in which he afferts the fame. And this will 
 receive great Countenance from A^ls xv. 21. where 
 it is faid, that Mofes of Old Tnne (in the Origi- 
 nal 'it is 6Jt y.vi^v a^'i^ia-v, from the Antient Ages^ 
 hath in every City them that preach him^ being read 
 in the Synagogues every Sabbath Bay. And it will 
 be no C)bjed:ion at all to this, that it is probable 
 the Jews had no Sy?iagogues properly fpeaking 
 'till after the Capdvity. For it is well known 
 that the Word Synagogue, Church, (Ecclefia) Ajfembly, 
 and the like, are ufed with great Latitude, both 
 by Sacred and Frophane Writers (r). And par- 
 ticularly the Word Synagogue is ufed in Scripnire 
 indifferently for any Religious AfTembly (s) •, And 
 is by St James (and others after him) pardcularly 
 applied to the Chriftian Churches, or to the Con- 
 fift. ries for Judicature, as fome Learned Men un- 
 derdand the Text (t) ; Jam. ii. 2. If there come 
 into your Affembly, &c. in the Originial it is, 
 €ii rhjj cFuvct')oiybM vuaiv* into your Synagogue. But 
 however tliis be -, it is very clear and evident from 
 what hath been before obferved, that the Sabbath 
 Bay among the antient Jews was not confined to 
 the Reft from Bodily Labour •, but that the Cele- 
 bration of it did alfo extend to their Inftruction in 
 
 Religion 
 
 (0) Crcditura Move fuilfe inflitutum, ut Lex in Sabbato legere- 
 tur. Grot . in A^f . XY . 21. 
 
 (/>) See above p. 59. 
 
 [q] Eufeb. Fraep Evang. lib. viii. cap vii. 
 
 (r) Vid Phileleuth. Lipfienf. Part If. p. 3. Blpop Monta- 
 gues Jc-h md Monuments of the Ckurcb, chap. i. § 100, and 
 
 (j) Vid. Gi'^t. in Jac. ii. 2. /.f/^c^'o Critic. Sacr. in voce (fyva.- 
 
 [t) Vid. Hammond in loc. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s Day. 67 
 Religion, and the performing the Duty of public 
 Prayer and Devotion to God. But in the latter 
 Ages of the Jewijh Church, this Point is indeed 
 more plain and incon tellable ^ the Jews being not 
 only accuftomed to Ipend this Day in public De- 
 votions and Religious Duties (u)^ but alfo having 
 arrived to an extreme Degree of Superflition in the 
 Obfervation of their Sabbath (x). And with what 
 exemplary Piety and Devotion the Primitive Chri^ 
 ftians obferved the Lord's Day, is well known to 
 all thofe who are acquainted with their Pradice. 
 They did not only at that "Time abftain from 
 Bodily Work and Labour, but (as will be fully 
 fhewn hereafter) made a Confcience of attending 
 regularly and conilantly upon the Church, to join 
 ' in the Prayers and Praifes of it, to hear God's 
 holy Word, and to receive the BleiTed Sacrament 
 of ChrijVs Body and Blood. All which Duties 
 they performed with fo true and noble a Zeal, 
 and with fuch an elevated Strain of Piety and De- 
 votion, as no Age nor Generation of the World 
 can parallel. 
 
 And thus I have finifhed the firfl: Particular 
 which I propofed to treat of, and fhewn the Per- 
 petual Obligation of obferving the Sabbath Day\ 
 and keeping it Holy, Before I proceed any fur- 
 ther, I lliall make a brief Application of what 
 hath been already confidered. And now that 
 
 P' 2 we 
 
 ( u) Agathar chides^ whom Jojephus reckons to be no Friend, 
 nor on the other Side a malicious Enemy to the Jews, gives 
 this Account of their Behaviour on !ihe Sabbath " they hiive 
 •* {yhith he'' a Cuftom cf reftmg on the Seventh Day, without 
 •* either bearing of Arms, or Tiling the Ground, or attending 
 *' any common Bufinefs whatfoever : but they employ it wholly 
 •' in their Temples and in their Devotions from the Morning 
 *' to the Evening.''' Jof<pb. adv. Apion. In. i. 
 
 [x] Vid, i. Maccab. ii. 34. Agatharchid. ap Jofephum ibid. 
 
 rr Prideaux'j Connexion, 8vo. \ol. III. p 2S5. \ ol. IV. p. 
 
 62O5 621. 
 
68 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 we have feen what great Grounds and Reafons we 
 have for the Rehgious Obfervation of the Sabbath 
 Day i let us all, my Brethren and Fellow Chriflians, 
 make a Confcience of this Duty, by applying our- 
 felvcs to all thole Holy and Divine Exerciles, for 
 which this Day was inllituted and appointed. Let 
 us at this Time Contemplate upon God our Great 
 Creator, Preferver and Governour, and the Author 
 of all the BleiFings we enjoy : and not only that^ 
 but moreover as One whofe Regard to us extends 
 beyond the Heavens, and reaches to Eternity. Who 
 has not only provided for us in this fhort Life, but 
 hath alfo prepared an everlafling State of unfpeakable 
 Happinefs for us,' when this World and all the 
 Pleafures of it Ihall be at an End. l^^ay, and 
 whofe Love to us was fo exceeding Great, that 
 lie fent His only Begotten Son into the Worlds who 
 died for our Sins^ and rofe again for our Juftification, 
 John iii. i6. Rom. iv. 25. Does not fo great 
 Love and Kindnels as this demand every Moment 
 of our Time, and the utmoft which the Powers 
 and Faculties of Soul and Body can perform in 
 Return to fo Good and Excellent a Bt^ing ? Me- 
 thinks it would be little enough, if in the V\ ords 
 of St John^ Rev. iv. 8, 11. we fhould be con- 
 tinually praifing God and faying, Holy^ Holy^ Holy^ 
 Lord God Almighty •, thou art worthy to receive Glory 
 and Honour and Rower ^ for thou hafl created all 
 "Things. But our State and Condition in this World, 
 will not admit of this Perfection. We mufb pro- 
 vide and labour for the " necefTary and convenient 
 Things of this Life -, and therefore we cannot al- 
 ways be employed in the Actual Exercile cf Re- 
 ligion. This our Good and Gracious God well 
 knows : And becaufe we cannot fubfift without 
 thefe prefent Things, Fie therefore allows us fix Days 
 in the Week to compals and procure them ^ and 
 
 hath 
 
Religidus Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 6g 
 hath referved only one Day in /even for His pub- 
 lic Worihip and Service. What Thought then mult 
 we have of God ; what Notion of His Mercies •, 
 what Senfe of our Condition •, of our prefent 
 Wants and future Exiflence ; nay what is become 
 of our ReHgion, or even of our Reafon itfelf -, if 
 we fhall think much of fo fmall a Porrion of our 
 Time to be Dedicated to His Service ? To His 
 Service, did I fay ? I fhould rather have faid to 
 our ov/n (k) \ fince we can never poflibly ferve 
 God, but at the lame Time we do thereby infi- 
 nitely more ferve ourfelves. Oh then \ Let all thefe 
 Conliderations engage us all to ferve Him j and as 
 a Principal Part of That Service, to remember the 
 Sabbath l^a'j and keep it Holy. 
 
 [k) 'Tis a great Condefcenfion and Goodnefs in God, to accept 
 our Imperfed Praifes and Ignorant Admiration of Him ; and were 
 He not as wonderfully Good as He is Great and Qlorious, He 
 would not fufFer us to fully His Great and Glorious Name by ta- 
 king it 3n our Mouths; and were it not for our Advantage and 
 Kappinefs to own and acknowledge His Benefits, for any real 
 Happinefs and Glory that comes to him from it. He could well 
 enough be v.ithout it, and difpenfe with us for ever entertaining 
 one Thought ox Him ; and were it not for His Goodnefs, might 
 defpife the Frailes of His Creatures with infinitely more Reaton, 
 than wife Men do the Applaufe of Fools. Ti/Iot/cn Vol, 
 IL p. 6Si. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 CHAP. IL 
 
 Concerning the Change of the Sabbath Day, 
 from the Seventh to the Firil Day of the 
 Week. 
 
 HAVING in the foregoing Chapter fully 
 fhewn the /»^r/^/;J^j/ Obligation of oblerving the 
 Sabbath Bay^ and keeping it holy -, I proceed now 
 to the Confideradon of the next Fardciilar, which is 
 to give an Account of the Change of the Day 
 from the Seventh to the Firft Day of the Week. 
 And this I think very necefiary to be done, becaufe, 
 as I remark'd before, it is the Opinion of fome 
 Men, that if we are bound to keep the Sabbath 
 Day at all by virtue of any Command in Holy 
 Scripture, we ought to keep it on the fame Day of 
 the Week, as the Jews did. And we have had a 
 Sed of Men in this Kingdom, who called themfelves 
 Sabbatarians upon this Account, viz. becaufe they 
 kept the feventh Bay of the Week and not the firft 
 for their Chriftian Sabbath. And it was the known 
 Opinion of the Ebionites of Old, that the Jewijh Sab- 
 hath was o^neceffity to be obferved as well as the Lord's 
 Day (a). But now that we are under no fuch Obli- 
 gation will eafily appear, if we confider that we are 
 not bound to the Obfervation ot the Sabbath by virtue 
 o{ the Law which God gave to the Ifraelites by Mofes ; 
 for this is a Matter of a Jewijh Confideration, 
 and as fuch v;holly related to that People -, and 
 confequently upon tfie ceafing of that Law it did of 
 itfelf expire with it. 71uis St Paul hath determined 
 
 the 
 
 i^dj Via. Jbuieb, liiii. JtLccl. l.b, iii. cap. xxvi;. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord\s Day. 7 1 
 
 the Cafe, Coloff. ii. 16. Let no Man judge you in 
 Meat or Drink^ or in refpe& , of an holy Day^ or of 
 the New Moon^ or of the Sabbath Bays ; which are 
 a Shadow of things to come^ but the Body is of Chrift. 
 Indeed {o far as the Sabbath is of a Moral Con- 
 iideration, fo far does the Command which God 
 gave to the Jews lay an Obligation upon us (b)\ 
 And as God hath required the Obfervadon of the . 
 Sabbath in Remembrance of the Creation^ and our 
 BleiTed Saviour hath likewife commanded us to 
 keep it in the Law of His Gofpel^ as hath been 
 before taken notice of (*) ; it certainly doth hence- 
 forth receive the Force of pofitive Inftimnon, and 
 the Obligadon of it is for ever binding among 
 Chriftians, But then this Obligadon can extend no 
 further than is required by that Law, and that is 
 fo obferve one Day in every Week in Memory of 
 the Creation^ and as a Day of Holy Reft and Di- 
 vine Worfhip. This is all that the Gofpel of Chrift en- 
 joins us to do with Regard to the Fourth Command- 
 ment. For as to the Particular Day on which the 
 Jews kept their Sabbath, that was determined by 
 fuch Reafons, as do no more concern us than any 
 Thing elfe in the Mofaic Diijpenfadon. The Ground 
 and Reafon of tiie Jewiflo Obfervadon of the Sab- 
 bath was the Remembrance of their Deliverance 
 from the Tand of Egypt, as hath been fhewn be-* 
 fore from Deut. v. 15. where after the Inftitution 
 of the Sabbath, it is faid, Remember thou waft a 
 Servant in the Land of Egypt, and that the Lord 
 thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty 
 Hand and by aftretched out Arm, therefore the Lord thy 
 God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day. This 
 is the true Ground upon whicli the Jews (confidered 
 
 F 4 as 
 
 (h) See Bl/hop Burnet, Artie. VII. p. lOj, 104. 
 (*) See above p. 9, 27. 
 
72 A Dtfcourfe concerning the 
 
 as fa ch) did obferve this Inflitution (c). And that 
 which direded them to the Particular Day which 
 they were obHged to keep, we find in Exod. xvi. 
 26, 27. And that was the ceafing of the Manna 
 to drop on that Day, as it had done on all the 
 other Days of the Y/eek. Thus lays Mofes^ Six 
 Days Jhall ye gather it^ hut in the Seventh T)ay^ 
 which is the Sabbath^ in it there Jhall be none. 
 And it came to pafs^ that there went out fome of 
 the People on the feventh Day for to gather^ and they 
 found none. And that this was the Sign by which 
 they were to difcover the Day of their Sabbath^ 
 is very evident from hence ; that that Day feven- 
 night they had gone a long Journey, as appears 
 from the firil Verfe of this Chapter. Now what 
 are thefe Reafons to us ? or how are v/e concerned 
 at the dropping down of Manna in the Wilder- 
 nels, or at the Deliverance of the Jews from the 
 I,and of Egypt ? So that from hence it is very plain, 
 that we are net bound to oblerve the Jewijh Sab- 
 lath on the Account of any L.aw that v/as given to 
 the Jews^ and are np further fubjecl to any luch 
 Inftitution, than as it hath pleafed God to require it 
 cf Mankind in general, or it is to be deduced from 
 the Laws and Precepts of Chrift's Gofpel. And by 
 this, as I have already intimated, we are obliged to 
 • no more than to obferve one Day in every Week, 
 -IS a Day of God's Worfhip and Service. Agreealply 
 
 to 
 
 (c 1 INovv this (i.he JL/ciiverance [rom the Land oi- tgypt) cou'd 
 noi be any fpecinl Realbn, why the J ems fnould oblerve a fe-jev.th 
 j.\^y \ firjl^ becaufe in reference to tjieir Redemption the Number 
 oi fev€7i had no more Relation than any other Number. Secondly^ 
 h<c\\\^i. the ResTon of xht feventh Day was before rendered in the 
 hody cf the Commandment itlelf. There was therefore a double 
 Kea'bn rendered by God, why the J-jia fliould keep that Sabbath 
 w'aich they did: one j'peda/, ^s to a /eve;:th Day, to fhew they 
 v.orlhipped that God, who was the Creator of the Woild ; the 
 <."tiyer ifidiviJual, 10 fignify their Deliverance from the Egyftinr^ 
 B<-'ndage, froni wbicn //W/fS'^/7//i' D^y waj d,;ted, Bij'hop Fea?.-?, 
 »oii c?i the Creed, />. 265. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s Day. 73 
 to this we find in Scripture, that upon the Ceafing 
 of the Jewijh Law at the Death of Chrift the 
 Obhgation of the Jewijh Sabbath ceafed with it ; and 
 henceforth, the Jirft Day of the Week was obferved 
 by our BlefTed Saviour and His Apofiles, and fucceed- 
 ing Chriftians : and the Reafon of it was this, bccauie 
 our Lord Jefiis Chrift did on that Day rife from 
 the Dead (d), and thereby perfedled that Redemp- 
 tion, which He wrought for us by His Death. 
 Hence the Obligation of the Jewijh Law ceafed 
 and expired, as is well expreffed by St Paul, Col. ii. 
 34. Chrift hath blotted cut the Hand Writing of Or- 
 dinances ' and took it cut of the Way^ nailing 
 
 it to His Crofs : herein plainly fignifying to us, that 
 by the Death of Chriji all that w^as Ceremonial and 
 Figurative in the Law of Mofes had it's full and 
 final Completion. From this Time, the Pardcuiar 
 Day of the Jewijh Sabbath^ was not kept by vir- 
 tue of any Divine Law and Authority ; tho' the 
 Sabbath Day itfelf was often fpent in the public 
 Offices of Religion : but there was a Change of the 
 Day from tht feventh to the /^y? Day of the Week. 
 And this was certainly done upon the highefl 
 Reafon ; fince if the Deliverance of the Jews from 
 the Egyptian Bondage be a fafficient Ground for 
 their Obfervadon of a Particular Day in Token of 
 that Deliverance, our Spiriuial Redemption from 
 the Dominion of Sin and Death by the Refur- 
 redlion of ChriJI muft furely be a much better 
 Reafon for our Obfervadon of the frjl^ Day of the 
 Week in Memory of that Relurreclion (e). And 
 thus we find this Matter determined by our Bleiled 
 
 Saviour 
 
 (^) This Account of the Obfervation of the Lord's Day is 
 given by Jojjatius in Epi/}, a.i Mag7!es. Clem. Alex, in Stro?n, 
 lib. vii. Juflin Martyr in Apol. \ Origen in Horn. V. in EJaiam. 
 Aug. de Civitat. Dei lib. xxii. cap. ult. And by fevcral other? 
 of the ancient Writers. 
 
 (i?j Vid. Pearfon on the Creed, p. 265, 266. 
 
74 ^ Dlfcourfe concerning the 
 
 Saviour and His Apoftles, who henceforward cele- 
 brated the firft Day of the Week as their Chr'iflian 
 Sabbath^ which we read in i<^^. i. ig. is called by 
 St John the Lord^s Bay^ as was before fhewn. This 
 is a very fufficient Reafon for the Change of the 
 Sabbath Bay. And tho' I am fenfible fome Men 
 earneftly contend, that if there was to be a Change 
 in the Day of the Sabbath^ we ought to have had 
 an exprefs Precept of Chri/l or . His Apoilles for it •, 
 yet I cannot think it in any wife Neceffary. For 
 iince (as hath been already proved) our Blefled 
 Saviour and His Apoftles inftituted the Lord's Day, 
 it is of no confcquence in what Way and Method 
 they fjgniiied their Mind to us. For to ufe the Words 
 of a Learned Prelate upon this Occafion, " Not 
 *' only the formal Precepts orally given of thofe 
 '* who are in Authority, but the certain Intima- 
 *' tion of their Pleafure, by what Way foever it 
 
 *' be done, doth oblige their Subjefls. The 
 
 *' Antient or Common Law of England doth not 
 *' confifr in Statutes^ but in Old Cujloms and Pre- 
 '' fidents grounded upon Practice. And a Cuilom 
 *^ immemorial., tin controlled^ is a fufRcient Proof of 
 *' Sovereign Approbation. And Example is a more 
 ^^ compendious Way of Direction than Precepts. 
 *' To quefdon now whether there was a formal Vrz- 
 " cept for that, which all the Chriflian World hath o- 
 *' beyed ever fince C/r^'sTime, and fhallobey until 
 '' Chrifih fecond Coming, is a ftrange Degree of Folly 
 ** (/)." And this is acKnowledged by Bifhop l^aylor 
 himielf, who fpeaking of this Matter lays, " It is 
 *^ true what Juflin Martyr faid, our Blejfed Lord Him- 
 *' felf changed this Bay -, that is, by annulling the 
 *' Sabbath^ and by His Refurredion and excellent Ap- 
 *^ pearances and llluflrations upon that Day •, not by 
 '' Precept^ but by Indigitation^ and remarking that 
 
 " Day 
 
 (/) Archbijhop Bramhall's V/orks^ p, 918. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's-Day 75 
 " Day by fignal A6lions and an Heap of Blel^ 
 *' (ings (g)^ ^f." And indeed, notwithllanding the 
 pofirive AiTurance and intemperate Zeal, v/hich ibme 
 Men have exprefled in this Particular, what a very 
 Learned Prelate hath obferved on this Occafion is I 
 think very Judicious and unanRverable ; viz. " thaj 
 '' tho' it feems very clear, thathere(inG^;^. ii.) Tiper- 
 " pefual L2iw \w:\s given the World for the feparadng 
 " the feventb Day •." (which Law as I have before taken 
 *' notice (h) of was renewed and re-eft ahlijloed in Exod. 
 '' XX.) Yet it was a mere Circumftance, and does not at 
 " all belong to the (landing Uit of the Law in what 
 '' End of the Week this Day was to be reckoned ; 
 " whedier the firft or the lafr : fo that even a lefs Au- 
 " thoritythan theApoillcs, and a lels Occafion than 
 " the Refurre6tion of Chrift, might have ferved to 
 " have transferred the Day ; there being in this no 
 " Breach m^ade on the good and moral Defign of this 
 " I aw, which is all in it that we ought to reckon 
 " Sacred and Inviolable (i).'' And this is in Effed 
 allowed by Archbifhop Bramhall himfelf, v/ho tho' in 
 his Treatiie of the Sabbath and Lord's Day he argues, 
 that if we are obliged to obferve the Sabbath in Memory 
 of the Creation by virtue of God's Command in Gen. 
 ii, we Ihould be obliged to keep it on the fame Day of 
 the Week on which God refied from His Works ; 
 yet in another Part of the fame Difcourfe, vdien ihew- 
 ing how the Lord's Day may be laid to be Sacred to 
 each of the Divine Perfons in the BlefTed Trinity, and 
 
 obferving 
 
 [g) Dudor Dubitantium, Book ii. chap. ii. Rule vi. § 56. 
 
 [b] See above p. 32. 
 
 (;) Burnet Artie. VU. p. 104. Lex (de Sabbato Gen. ii ) eft 
 immurabiJis, propter caufam imutabilem ii caufa ilia ieu finis iJle 
 necelTario &c peipecuo hanc ]egem tanquam effedum aut medium 
 requirat : non auteni, fi aliis iVicdiis ad eundem finem re6lius per- 
 veniatur, aut alia iege eundem ftncm non minus conlequi Legiflator 
 po:elt. Atqui Mediratio U. Lelebratio operum L'ei non minus alio 
 oie quam Jeptimo fieri poieft. £a igitur J.egem de Icptimo die non 
 facit perpeiuarn. Urfini Explicat. Latecb. ^ajt. 103 <) 2, 
 
76' A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 obferving how xhtfirji Day of the Week may be Sa- 
 cred to God the Father -, he fays " It preferveth the 
 " Memorial of the Creation^ as v/ell as the feventh Day." 
 And again, '' that the firft Day of the Week doth 
 " preferve the Memory of the Creation^ as well as the 
 " Bay after the Creation (k)" And thus we have a 
 clear Account of the Change of the Sabhath Day 
 from xh^ feventh to xhtfirfi Day of the Week, and a 
 very fufiicient Reafon alledged to vindicate that Alte- 
 ration. If any one therefore Ihall think it neceifary to 
 keep the Jezvifh Sabbath^ we may juftly fay of fuch an 
 one, as St Paul did of thofe who thought they were 
 bound to be circumcifed •, viz. Chrifi fljall ^profit him 
 nothing. Gal. v. 2 . For to imagine a Neceffity of ob- 
 ferving the Jewifh Sabbath^ is to conclude the Law of 
 Mofes to be flill in Force. And then, as the Apoille 
 fays. If Righteoufnefs come by the Law, Chrifi is dead in 
 vain. Gal. ii. 21. 'Tis true indeed, the Apoftles after 
 the Refurredion of Chrifi did whilfh they converfed 
 with the Jews in great Meafure obferve the Day of 
 their Sabbath. Thus we read that St Paul went into 
 the Synagogue of the Jews at Theffalonica, and three 
 Sabbath Days reafoned with them out of the Scriptures. 
 j4^s xvli. 2. . The fame likewife we find mentioned in 
 other Places, y^^j xiii. 14, 44. chap, xviii. 4. And 
 this they did not by virtue of any Obligation to the , 
 Law of the Jewifh Sabbath -, but by the Liberty which 
 they had from the Chrifiian Religion, and as being 
 £rlad to embrace any Opportunity of converfing with 
 the Jews., that they might thereby the better convert 
 them to the Faith of Chrifi by the Preaching of the 
 Gofpeli and that the Obfervation of their Law might 
 expire with the greater Decorum and Refped:, as the 
 Antients ufed Ibmedmes to cxprefs this Matter. But 
 when the Apoftles turned to the Gentiles, and the Jews 
 who were amongft them infifted upon the NeceiTity 
 
 of 
 
 [Vj BramhallV ff"orh, p. 924, 928. 
 
Religious Obferijation of the Lord's Day4^77 
 
 of obferving their Law, we -find that their Pradice 
 was quite ditFercnt. Thus St Paul^ tho' he had often 
 compHed widi the Jews in many of their Obfervances, 
 {vid. I Cor. ix. 20. A5l5 xvi. q. chap. xxi. 26.) yet 
 was ib far from giving up his Chriftian Liberty, that 
 when the Jews endeavoured to infringe upon it, he 
 declared he would not give Suhje5f ion to them even for an 
 Hour. Gal. ii. 5. And tho' it was cuftomary with the 
 Primitive Chrifiians in fome Churches to celebrate the 
 JewiJ/j (/) Sabbath as well as the Lord*s Day^ that they 
 might give ho Offence to the Jews^ and have the bet- 
 ter Opportunity of bringing them over to the Belief 
 of the Gcfpel., as was before intimated \ yet in procels 
 of Time, when Chrifiians began to judaize in that 
 Point, and to lay Ibme flrefs upon the Obfervation of 
 the Jewijh Sabbath., we find what was the Senfe of 
 the Church in that Matte r by the Twenty-ninth Ca- 
 non of the Council of Laodicea ; which was made di- 
 re6i:ly againft fuch Chrifiians^ asihould keep ^tjtjoijh 
 Sabbath., as thinking themfelves under an Obligation 
 to obferve that as well as the hordes 'Day. And by this 
 Canon they were required to work on the Sabbath Day^ 
 and to prefer the Lord's Bay before (m) it. And that 
 v/hich will clearly demonftrate, that we are not obliged 
 to keep the Jewijh Sabbath^ is that folemn Determi- 
 nation which v/as made by the Apoftles and Elders at 
 Jerufalem concerning the Obligation of the Law of 
 Mofes. A5fs XV. For when certain Perfons which came 
 down from Judea had taught tlie Brethren at Antiochy 
 that except they were circumcifed and kept the haw of 
 Mofes., they could not be faved \ ver. 1 , the Council of 
 y^r^^/^/^^afTembled upon this Occafion, and came to this 
 
 Reiblution 
 
 (/) Vic, Socratis Hift. Eccl. \h. vi. cap. viii. Turn (Scilicet fub 
 Hadriano) pene omnes Chriilum Deum, fab Legis Obfervatione 
 ciedebant. :^^ulpit. Sez'. Sacr. hifi. lib. ii. /. 1142. 
 
 (/v) Non oponeL Chiiflianos judaizare. & in Sabbato vacarc, fed 
 orerari eos in tadem die doininicam pra^poneiido eldein diei, ^c. 
 'Shu Council zv:.s held a Lout A, D '^G'', 
 
78 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 Refolution, viz. that the Gentiles were not obliged to 
 cbferve the Law of Mofes ; but that they might 
 give no Offence to the Jeivs^ whilll they lived among 
 them, they enjoined them to obferve the Precepts of 
 the Sons of Noah ^ as they were called, (and which only 
 were required of the Jewifh Profelytes of the Gate (n)^ 
 viz. that they Jhould abftain from Meats offered to Idols ^ 
 and from Blood., and from Things ftrangkd., and from 
 Fornication, ver. 29 {0). From all which it very 
 clearly appears, that we are not bound by any Law of 
 God to keep our Sabbath upon the feventh Day of 
 the Week as the Jews did ; but on the contrary we 
 arc: obliged to obferve the Lord's Day : which hath al- 
 ways been fet apart by Chrift and His Apoftles and the 
 Catholic Church, as a Day of God's Public Worihip 
 and Service, and which has accordingly been dignified 
 and celebrated in all Ages of Chriftianity with great 
 De\^odon. And thus I have given an Account of the 
 Change of the Sabbath Day from the feventh to the 
 firfi Day of the Week. I fhall before 1 Ihut up this 
 
 Head 
 
 [n) The Jezvijh Profelytes or Converts were cf two Sorts. Fir/fy 
 The Profelytes of Jufiice^ or of the Covmant ; thefe took upon them 
 the Obligation of the whole Law of Mofes ^ by Bapdfm, Sjcrifice 
 and Circumcinon ; and were in all Refpeds accounted as Natural 
 born Jews^ ana admitted into all the Benefits and Privileges of the 
 il^^y^/f Covenant, excepting that of Intermarriages, from whxh 
 they were in fome Cafes excluded. The Second weie called Pro- 
 felytes of the Gate. Thefe were only obliged to obferve the fcven 
 Precepts of th i Sons of Noah^ which required them to worihip the 
 true God, to avoid Idolatry, Uncleannefs, c^r. as in the Text. 
 And they were called Profelytes of the Gate, becaufe they were 
 permitted by tliQfezas to dwell within the Gates of their Cities, 
 which other Heatliens were not. And thefe are the Perfons who 
 were called the Strangers within thy Gates in the Fourth Command- 
 ment. Vid. !Spe/.c. de leg. Hehr- lib. i. cap. v. § i ?, in Vol. \. p. 
 91, 92. And they were allowed alio to wcrfliip God in th"" le nple, 
 buc not to go any further than the outward Court, called the 
 Court of the Gentiles. if the Reader hath a Mind to know any 
 Thing more concerning thefe two Sorts of Profelytes., let him 
 confult Dr Hammond on A:.ls xv. 29. Dr Prideauxs Connexion 
 iivo Vol. III. p 434, &c. 
 
 {0) \ id. Hamtnond on the Place. 
 
Religious Obfervation rf the Lord's Day. ^ 70 
 Head confider the Force of an Objedlion, which is 
 fometimes urged in Defence of the Obfervation of the 
 Jewijh Sabbath. This is taken from Exod. xxxi. 1 6, 
 in, where God fays, that the Children of IfraelJIoall 
 cbfirve the Sabbath for a perpetual Covenant ; and that 
 it is a Sign between Him and the Children of Ifraelfor 
 ever. And the Jews bring the fame Objection agaihft 
 the whole Chriftian Rehgion, on account of the hke 
 ExprefTions which are ufed in the Old 'Teftament con- 
 cerning their Law and their Priejlhood^ viz. that they 
 are faid to be everlafiing. (Fid. Exod. xii. T4.xxvii. 21, 
 Lev. X. 15. xvi. Q,4. Numb.xvnu 11. Exod. x\. j^). 
 Which Objedion, if it be tme in that Senfe in which 
 they urge it, will undoubtedly eftablifh that Conclu- 
 fion which is grounded thereupon. It thercfore de- 
 ferves a ferious Confideration, Now the whSe Force 
 of this Objection depends upon this Suppofition, viz. 
 that the Words /<?r ever and everlafiing in thefe and the 
 like Places of Scripture are ufed in 2Lftri5l Senfe for a 
 Duration, that fhall never come to a Period and Con- 
 clufion : as much as to fay, that as long as the World 
 itfelf endures, the Covenant of the Law., the Priefthoody 
 and the Jewifh Sabbath ihall abide and continue. In 
 anfwer to which, not to mention that no ExprelTions 
 how iblemn foever, when applied to the Pofitive 
 Laws of God, can put any Limitation upon the 
 Law-giver's Power to abrogate and repeal them at His 
 Pleafure, or can Mean any Thing farther than that 
 the People have no Authority over ' thofe Laws to 
 change or alter them when they think fit (p) j I fay not 
 
 to 
 
 (p) By the Phrafes of a Statute for ever ov thronjrout all Gene- 
 rations can only be meant, that luch Laws were not Tranficnt 
 Laws, fuch as were to be obferved whilft they marched through 
 the Wildernefs, ,or upon particular Ocrafions ; whereas fuck 
 Laws which were conftantly and generally to be obferved^ were to 
 them perpetual. But that does not import that the Law giver him- 
 felf had parted with all the Auihoi ty that n^tarally belongs to 
 Him, over His own LjlWs. It only lays that the People had no 
 
 Power 
 
yS A Difcourfe coficerning the 
 
 to mention this, that the Words for ever and ever 
 lafting^ when attributed to the Jewifh Sahhath and 
 Prieflboodj cannot poflibly fignify any more than 
 this, viz. that thefe Inilitiitions were not Tranfient 
 and Temporary, but fuch as fhould continue as long 
 as the Difpenfation of the Law itfelf. But they could 
 not by any Means abide any longer -, becaufe the 
 Law of Mofes itfelf, of which they were a Part, 
 was to come to an End and Conclufion. This is 
 very evident from the feveral clear and incon- 
 teftable Prophecies c^ the Old 'Teftament^ which relate 
 to the Mejjiah that was to come into the World \ 
 by whom the Law of Mofes iliould have it's full 
 and final Completion. Thus it is faid Gen. xlix. lo. 
 that the^ceptre foall not depart from Judah^ nor a Law- 
 giver from between his Feet., until Shiloh come -, the plain 
 Meaning of which is this, that the Jewifh Law 
 and Government ihould continue 'till the Com- 
 ing of Chrift (t). But now it is plain from all 
 Hiftory, that the Jews have been a fcattered and 
 difperfed People for almoil 1700 Years \ which is 
 a very clear Proof that their Law could not be 
 everlafting in the ftrid Senfe of that Word, becaufe 
 it was to have an End and Period put to it by 
 the Coming of the Mefjiah. There are feveral 0- 
 ther Places of Scripture which prove this j and 
 
 that 
 
 Power over fuch Laws to repeal or change them, they were to 
 bind them always; but that puts no Limitation upon the Law- 
 giver Himleif, lb that He might not alcer His own Conftitutioiis. 
 Pofitive Precepts, which have no real V^alue in themfelve, are of 
 their own Nature alterable: and as in Human Laws, the Words 
 of Enadlinga Law for all future Times do only make them to be a 
 perpetual Law for the Subjefts, but do not at all limit the LegiHa- 
 tive Power, which is as much at Liberty to abrogate or alter it, 
 as if no fuch Words had been in the Law. Burtiet y^rtic. VIT, 
 p. 96. To fuppoie God unpoffefTed of a Power to fufpend Or 
 controul his own Laws, is to fuppofe him unpoflefled of a Right 
 Effential to all Leglflative Authority. Revelation examined U'^tb 
 Caudour, Vol IL p. zijl. 
 \^i) Vid. ?oli S^nopf. Critic, in loc. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 8 1 
 
 that the Gentile World was to be admitted into 
 Covenant with God, which plainly fignified the 
 Abolition of the Jewijh Polity and Government (q^). 
 But I Ihall not fpend any more Time in the Con- 
 iideradon of them. I Ihall therefore only mention 
 that of the Prophet Daniel^ who not only foretells 
 our BlefTed Saviour's Coming into the World, but 
 alio the exadl and precife Time in which He fhould 
 come ; which was accordingly in the moft punftual 
 Manner accomplifhed ; viz. that he il:iould come at 
 the end of 490 Years after the Rebuilding of J^r^^/^w 
 which had been laid wafte during the Captivity ; 
 that He jhould he cut off*, and that the City and 
 San5iuaryJhould be dejiroyed ; and He Jhould caufe the 
 Sacrifice and Oblation to ceafe. Dan. ix. 24, ^c. 
 Now all this happened exadly ; our Bleffed Savi- 
 our came into the World at this very Time ; 
 He put an End to the Inftitutions of the Jewijh 
 Law, and did Himfelf in mod exprefs Words pro- 
 phefy the Deftru(5lion of the Temple, and declared 
 that one Stone of it Jhould not be left upon another^ which 
 Jhould not he thrown down^ Matt. xxiv. All which came 
 to pafs about 40 Years afterwards, when Vefpajlan 
 and his Son 'titus deftroyed the City of Jerufakfn^ 
 and laid the Temple level with the Ground 5 and 
 not only that, but alfo killed about 11 00000 of 
 the Jews^ and took about 97000 of them Prifo- 
 ners. Here the Jewifh Common-wealth came to 
 an End, and has never fince been able to re- 
 vive in any Kingdom of the World to this Day. 
 And this Judgment was fo remarkably inflidedby God 
 upon that obftinate People, that about 291 Years 
 after, when Jidian the Apoftate endeavoured to re- 
 build the Temple at Jerufalem^ and reilore the 
 Jewijh Rites (as thinking that would be an un- 
 G anfwerable 
 
 (q) See particularly Pfal. ii. 8. xxii. 27. Ifa. xi. 10, &c^ 
 xlix. 6, Fid. Burnet 'Artie, VII. p. 93, &c. 
 
§2 A "Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 anfv/erabie Argument againft Chrtftiantty\ fmce if 
 would invalidate the Predidions of our Blefied 
 Saviour reladng to that Matter) we are alTured that 
 divine Vengeance v/ould not luffer it ; for dreadful 
 Balls of Fire ifTued out from the Foundadon, which 
 deftroyed the Work as fall as it was built, and 
 at length forced the Workmen to give over the 
 Attempt, by rendering the Place inacceffible. The 
 Truth of which remarkable Providence is not only 
 attefted by Socrates Scholafticus {r}^ Chryfoftom (j) 
 and other andent Writers of the Church, but alfo 
 by Ammianus Marccllinus (t) himfelf, a Pagan 
 Hiilorian, who ferved in the Wars under Julian 
 in the Eaft, at the very Time when this hap- 
 pened. But, 
 
 Secondly^ The whole Force of this Objedllon 
 and all that is built upon it, will very eaiily be 
 removed by the Letter of the Old 'Tejiament itielf ; 
 in feveral Places of which the Words for ever and 
 everlafting do fignify only a limited, and frequently 
 a very Ihort Time. Thus Gen. xvii. 7, 8. God 
 fays, tlrat Fie will give to the Pofterity of Abraham 
 the Land of Canaan for an everlailing PofTefTion. 
 Now (not to mention that by the Land of Canaan 
 in this Place the Kingdom of Fleaven is typically 
 
 fio-nified 
 
 ^;J Socrat. Hift. Eccl. lib. iii. cap. xx. 
 
 (s) Chrylbft, in Hom. IV. in Matt. 
 
 {{) Ambitiofum quondam apud Hicrofolymam Templum,- quod 
 poll multa interneciva Certamina, obfidentc Vefpafiano pofteaque 
 Tito, cvgre eft expugnatum, inllaurare immodicis fumptibus exr 
 cogitabat, ntgotiunique maturandum Alypio dederat Antiochenfi-, 
 qui olim Britannias curaverat pro Pra^fef^is. Cum itaque Rei idenn 
 fortirer iniiaret Alypius, jnvayetque Provincial Reftor, Metuendi 
 GJobi Flammaruni prope tundamentacrebris airiiltibus erumpentes, 
 icccrc Iccum, e;^uilis aljquoties operanfibus, InaccefTum, hocque 
 modo Elcmcnto deninatiusrepellenie, cefTavit inceptum. Ammian. 
 ^.arcell. Hijfor^ lib, .x.\iii. ^^/>. i". 
 
"ReUgioiis Obfervatiofi of the L,oi'd*$ Day. 83 
 
 fignified and reprefented, as many Learned Men (7^ j have- 
 clearly demonftrated) the y^':^;^ diemfelves ^yill not 
 fuppofe that God would be falfe to His Word 
 and Promife •, and therefore fince the Pofterity of 
 Abraham hath, been driven out of that Land for fo 
 many Ages, this is a Demonilration that the 
 Word everkfting m that Place muft be underftdod- 
 in a finite limited Senfe, to fignify their PofTef- 
 fion of that Land during the Difpenfation of the 
 Law. This is yet more plain in the Law of Men- 
 fervants Exod. xxi. where a Servant that , was to' he 
 releafed in the Seventh Year, upon declaring a- 
 gainft his Freedom before the Judges, is faid to 
 be obliged to lerve his Mailer for tver^ very 6. 
 Now how is that? Why the plain Meaning of the 
 Phrafe fox ever in that Place is this, viz. that he 
 fhould be bound to ferve 'till xh^ n^xt Jubilee] 'in 
 which Serife the Phrafe is ufed by the Targum^ Jo-^ 
 ftphus^ • and other Jewijh Writers {x)^ or elfe 
 the Vv^ords for ever may be underflcod to fignify, 
 that there jfhould be no Part of his Days in which 
 he ihould not be a Servant, or that he ihould ferve 
 his proper Mafter during Life (jy). And in this 
 Senfe the Word Eternal or Everlafting is ufed by 
 the bed Clajfic Writers (2;). And this is exactly 
 
 G 2 the 
 
 {u) See particularly Dr Sherlock on the. Immortality : of the 
 Soul,; dr-r. p. 175 /^ X99- /^r Clarke's Connexion of Prophe- 
 cies, ^(. p. 10, .11. 
 
 {x) Vid. Jofeph Antiq. lib. iv. cap. viii. Ainfworth in he, 
 Stzdcihouk' s Body of Dim nit y, p. 717. 
 
 , {y) QucEdam d.icuntar cEterna ex hypothefi, quod fi res acternse 
 eflent, id quod de iis dicitur a^ternum elTec : ut. Exod. xxi. 6* 
 a nunquam morerecur, femper maneret Servus. Ga taker in 
 Levit. XXV. 4.6. , - . ., 
 
 (2) Scrviet setemum, quia p^rvis nefciet uti. Horat. Epiji, lib, 
 \.Ep. 10. Spero dehinc inter nos aeternam gratiam fore, 'Terent, 
 in Eunuch. AB. v. Seen, 2. ^ternumque daret Matri Tub pefto'e 
 vilnus. Lncret. -lib. ii. Et. in codem fcnlu .voces ttiS'/Q'-, diJvi^ 
 
 Grxcis Scriptoribus frequentius ufurpantiir. Ita Ludos Ssculares 
 
84 ^ Difcoiirfe coftcermng the 
 
 the Cafe of the Jeinijh Sabhath and Priefthood, They 
 were everlajiing Covenants between God and the 
 Jews ; /. e, there fhould be no Time under the 
 Jewijh Difpenfation in which thefe Things were 
 not to abide and continue. But it is impoflible 
 that they fhould be defigned to continue for 
 ever in the ftrid Senfe of that Word \ becaufe 
 as hath been before obferved, the Law of Mofes 
 itfelf of which they were a Part was to come to a 
 Period and Conclufion. The Subilance of what has 
 been faid upon this Head is this : The Jewijh Sabbath 
 was of Force fo long as the Law of A%^j continued;- 
 but upon the Abolidon of that Law it ceafes to be 
 of any Obligation. Our Blefled Saviour hath com- 
 manded us to obferve xh^ Sabbath-, but not the Par- 
 ticular Day which the Jezvs kept in token of their 
 Deliverance from the Land of Egypt, which is of no 
 Concern at all to us ; but the firft Day of the Week, 
 in which he rofe from the Dead, and thereby complea- 
 ted the great Work of our Redemption. This is the 
 Lord's Day which we are obliged to obferve, not only 
 in Memory of the Creation of the World, (which is 
 the firft Ground of the Inftitudon of the Sabbath) but 
 alfo in Contemplation of that great Ardcle of our 
 Faith, the Relurrection o^Jefus Chrift from the Dead, 
 and the ineftimable Value of that Redempdon .which 
 He hath wrought thereby. And God grant that-we- 
 may all make a Confcience of obferving it in that 
 Pious and Religious Manner which we ought to do ; 
 and that not only from the Realbn and Duty of the 
 Thing itfelf, but alio from the many and great Bene- 
 fits and Advantages of fo doing ; which is the next 
 Thing to be coniidered. 
 
 fl Romanis cclebratos Gr.cpci vocabant ct/wj-iiif, ut Herodot. fcftatur 
 lib. iii. & Thucyd. ftipendium in vitam duraturum vocat c/jU)ov 
 Uwj^Qf^^f^y > Ith. vi. § 24. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Eeligiotis Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 85 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Co7icerning the Benefits and Advantages of a Reli- 
 gious Obfervation of the Lord's-Day. 
 
 HAVING in the foregoing Chapters fhewn 
 the NecefTity and Obhgation of oblerving 
 One Day in every Week and keeping it 
 Holy, together with the Grounds and Reafons for {o 
 doing i and having likewife confidered upon what 
 Accounts there was a Change made of the Sabbath 
 from the Seventh to the Firft Day of the Week, 
 which is called the Lord's Day ^ I proceed now to 
 lay before the Reader the many and great Benefits and 
 Advantages of a Pious and Religious Obfervation of 
 this Holy Day. Now the Benefits and Advantages of 
 a Religious Obfervadon of the Lord's Day are chiefly 
 and principally thefe Four. 
 
 Firft^ It is the greatefl Means under God's Pro- 
 vidence of keeping up a Senfc of God and Religion 
 in the World. Secondly^ It is the beft Method to fe- 
 cure the Protedion of God and His BlefTing upon 
 all our Endeavours. Thirdly^ It does in the greatefl: 
 Meafure promote theHappinefs and Benefit of Humane 
 Society as it is the Means of inilrudling all Orders of 
 Men in the feveral Duties which they owe to God and 
 to one another. And Fourthly and Laftly^ It is 
 of the greatefl: Ufe and Advantage to every Par- 
 ticular Perfon in the Important Concernment of 
 his own Salvation. And, 
 
 Firft y A Pious and Religious Obfervation of the 
 Lord's Day is the greatefl: Means under God's Pro- 
 vidence of keeping up a Senfe of God and Religion 
 
 G 3 in 
 
1,6 A, Difcoujje^ concerning the 
 
 in the World. This is evident at firlt fight : for con- 
 fidering the great Degeneracy of Piety and Good- 
 nels among us, the . general Contagion of bad Ex- 
 amplef^, and the little Care that is taken by moft 
 Parents in the Education of Children \ and con- 
 fid.cring further how intent the- greateft part of 
 Mankind are upon the Cares and BuuncfTes of 'Life, 
 and the' Pleafures and Diverfions of it ; 1 fay, con- 
 fidering thefe Things, what Senfe do we think Men 
 would have of God, and what Notion of Religion, 
 if it wer-enot for this pious and holy Inftitution ? The 
 grand Foundation of Religion is, the Contemplation 
 of God and His Perfections, the Meditating upon 
 Eternity, and the Reflexion upon the Important Con- 
 cernments of the Life to come. Thefe Things are 
 often called by Divines the Food of the Soul -, and 
 ^-as fhail be fully fliewn hereafter) are as indifpen- 
 iably required to fupport the Spiritual and Divine 
 Life in us, as Meat and Drink are to fupport the 
 Natural and Animal Life ; infomuch that if a Man 
 had the largefi: Underftanding and moll fublime 
 Knowledge which could reach to die utmoft extent 
 of Nature, it would hot yet adminifler' the leafi: 
 Benefit and Advantage to his Soul, unlefs it was 
 applied to a ferious and frequent Meditation on thele 
 Subjects. For it is not the bare Belief of the Being 
 of God, and the Acknowledgmenc of a Future 
 State of Rewards and Punifhments, that render Men 
 truly Pious and Religious ; fince we often obferve 
 Mon to be very diffolute and flagitious in their 
 Lives and Manners, who yet conftantly profefs the 
 Belief of thefe Articles of our Faith j and who 
 are fo far from juflifying themfelves in their Wicked- 
 nels, that they own it is a Matter of condnual Un- 
 eafinefs and Vexation to them. But that which 
 prevails upon Mankind to die Pradice of Piety and 
 Viraie, is the due weighing thefe great Truths in dieir 
 Minds, and fcrioufiy and irequerttly attending to tlic 
 
 , Nature 
 
Religious Obfirvation of the Lord's Day, 87 
 
 Nature and Confequences of them. The true Reafon / 
 why the Generality of Men are fo profane and wicked, 
 is not, becaufe they are Atheifts and Infidels (for it 
 would be very falfe as well as uncharitable to pafs That 
 Judgment on them ) but it is, becaufe they will not 
 allow themfelves Time feriouQy to refledt upon the Na- 
 ture and Evidence of Religion, and the milerable Con- 
 fequences of Sin and Wickednels ; and becaufe, to ufe 
 the Words of the Prophet, 'Thd' the Ox knoweth his 
 Owner ^ and the Afs his Maftefs Crih^ yet Ifrael doth 
 not know^ God's People doth not confider. Ifaiah i. q. 
 Since then Religion cannot poflibly be preferved in the 
 Minds of Men without a due Cantempladon upon 
 God and a Future State, it is abfblutely necelTary tp 
 fupport that Contemplation in the Generality of Man- 
 kind, who are ever engaged in the Cares and Pleafures 
 of Life, that fome Public Times be appointed for the 
 Service and Worfhip of God, and for a more than or- 
 dinary Meditation upon Divine Things. For this, if 
 duly and carefully obferved, naturally tends to revive 
 a Senfe of God and His Perfedions, and a future State 
 of Rewards and Punifhments upon the Minds of 
 Men (a). This the greatefl Polincians of the World, 
 nnd even Atheifts themfelves have frequently ac- 
 knowledged ; and becaufe they are ienfible that Reli- 
 gion is abfolutely necelTary to the Being and Happineis 
 of any Common-Avealth, they have therefore always 
 took Care to provide for that by a folemn Appoint- 
 ment of public Feftivals {b). Since then this is the 
 Nature and Condidon of Mankind ; it is very clear 
 and evident, that if it were not tor the Obfervation of 
 the Lord's Day^ and the Attendance upon the public 
 Worfhip, and the hearing the Word of God at that 
 G 4 Time, 
 
 (a) Fie/, DrMarfliairs Sermons, Vol. I. p. 269, 27a Vol. II, 
 p. 516. 
 
 [I J Vid. Hobb*s Lcvuihan, chaj>. 34!. 
 
88 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 Time, the fmall Remains of Piety and Religion that: 
 are left among us would foon be loft, and we flioiild 
 in a few Years degenerate into a State of Heathen Bar- 
 barity and Ignorance {c). It is therefore a very great 
 
 Sin 
 
 (c\ "innumerable Pajfages might be produced out of: our befi Ft- 
 Vines to confirm the Truth of this Objervation y but I fhall at prefent 
 only mention One out of the mo/I Learned Dean Pridfaux, which is 
 very remarkable. The Do61rines of our Holy Religion, [faith he) 
 having in t^em the fublimeft Principles of Divine Knowledge, and 
 the Precepts of it containing all the Duties of Morality, in the 
 iiighell Manner improved ; nothing can be of greater Advantage 
 to us for the leading of us to the truell Happinefs we are capable of 
 as well in this Life, as in that which is to come, than to have thefe 
 xveekly taught and explained unto us, and weekly put home upon 
 our Confciences, for the forming of our Lives according to them. 
 And the Political State or Civil Government of every Cbnfiatt 
 Country is no lefs benefited hereby than the Church itfelf. For 
 as it beft conduceth to keep up the Spirit of Religion among us, 
 and to make every Man know his Duty to God, his Neighbour, 
 and himfelf ; fo it may be reckoned of all Methods the moil con- 
 ducive to preferve Peace and good Order in the State. For hereby 
 Subjedls are taught to be obedient to the Prince and his Laws, 
 Children to be dutiful to their Parents, Servants to be faithful to 
 their Mailers, and all to be juft and charitable, and to pay all other 
 Duties which in every Relation they owe to each other; and in 
 the faithful Difcharge of thefe Duties doth the Peace and good 
 Ofdter and Happinels of every Community confifl. And to be 
 weekly inftrui^led in thefe Duties, and to be zveekly excited to the 
 Obedience of them, is certainly the propereil and the moft effec- 
 tual Method to induce Men hereto. And it may juftly be reckoned 
 that the good Order v^^hich is now maintained in this Kingdom, is 
 more owing to this Method, than to any other now in Pra6lice 
 among us for this End ; and that one good Miniiter by his weekly 
 Preaching and daily good Example fets it more forward, than any 
 two of the belt Julliccs of the Peace can by their exa<5l eft Diligence 
 in the Execution of the Laws which they are entrufted with. For 
 thele by the utmoil of their Coercions can go no farther, than to 
 reftrain the outward A(51s of Wickednefs ; but the other reforms the 
 Heart 'Within, and removes all thofe evil Inclinations out of it, 
 from whence they flow. And it is not to be doubted, but that if 
 this Method were once dropped among us, the Generality of the 
 People, whatever elfe may be done to obviate it, would in feven 
 Years Time rebpfe into as bad a State of Barbarity, as was ever in 
 pra(f^ ice among the worll of our S a. xw ox Dan if J Ancellors. And 
 ", there- 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 8 9 
 
 Sin for any Man to neglect the Obfervation of this 
 Holy Day, and a much greater to defpife and run it 
 down ♦, fince it is the beft Means under Heaven of 
 making Men Ibberly and feriouQy Religious, and fmce 
 the Generality of Mankind have fcarce any other Op- 
 portunity of Thinking to any good Purpoie on the great 
 Affair of another Lite, and tranfacling the important 
 Concern of their Salvation. 
 
 Secondly^ The Religious Obfervadon of the Lord's 
 Day is the fureft Method which can be ufed, to engage 
 the Divine Protedion and Bleffing upon all our En- 
 deavours. For the Service and Worfnip of God is the 
 beft Means we can take to procure His Favour (d). 
 This the Holy Scriptures have aflured us of in innu- 
 merable Places. Thus fays the Apollle, 'The Eyes cfths 
 Lord are over the Righteous^ and His Ears are open unto 
 their Rr ay ers, iP^/. iii. 12. And om* BlefTed Saviour 
 hath let us know that if we ask^ it Jhall be given to us ; 
 // we feek^ we Jhall find •, // we knock^ it Jhall be opened 
 unto us. Matt, vii. 7. And further, that God will give 
 that beil of Gifts, the Holy Spirit to them that ajk Him, 
 Luke xi. 13. And once mo^*e, for the Encouragement 
 of Prayer andDevodon, our Blefied Saviour hath told 
 us in a diftind: Parable, Luke xviii, how efFedual our 
 Addrefles to God will be, if they are offered up to 
 Him with diie Faith and Fervency. If then this be 
 
 fo; 
 
 therefore, fuppofing there were no fuch Thing in truth and 
 Reality y as that Holy Chriftian Religion which the Minitters of 
 the Gofpcl teach (as too many among us are now permitted with 
 Jmpunity to fay) yet the Service which they do the Civil Govern- 
 ment in keeping all Men to thofc Duties, in the Obfervance of 
 which it's Peace, good Order, and Happincfs confifls, may very 
 well deferve the Maintenance which they receive from it. Dr 
 Vr\dt2L\\x^s Connexion ^i;o. Vol. II. p. 561, 562. Sui^ Anti^ ante 
 Cbrijium 444. 
 
 'Tbeognid^ Sent en t^ 1. J^ic 
 
90 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fo ', if there be fo much Good to be expecled from the 
 frivate Exercife of Piety and Devotion •, and if where 
 two or three are gathered together in the Name of Chrift^ 
 there will He be in the midjv of them \ Matt, xviii. 2c, 
 what Blelfing may we not' exped from, the united 
 Prayers of whole Congregations {/) ? provided indeed, 
 that we did offer them up to God with that Fervour 
 and Zeal which ought always to accompany them, 
 and would bring ourfeives. off from that Deadnefs and 
 Coldnefs, not ta fay thzt indecent and ridiculous Beha- 
 viour, which is oftentimes too vifible in- our Devotions. 
 So that this is one great Advantage of obferving the 
 hordes Ikiy^ that befides the Beneht of hearing God's 
 Word, which I fhall confider prelendy, we have 
 hereby a conftant Opportunity every Week of affemb- 
 ling ourfeives together and begging the Divine Pro- 
 tedlion and BlefTing^ which, if our Petinons are hearty 
 and fervent, and our Lives and Converfations fuitable 
 thereto, God will not fail to pour down upon us in 
 great Abundance. For as a Learned Divine (/) v/ell 
 expreffes it, 'The Hearer of Prayer is God's favourite 
 Chara6ler, when He can hear it with Llonour and 
 without Difparagement to His Laws. 
 
 Tmrdly^ Another great Benefit and Advantage of a 
 Religious Obfervation of the Lord's ~Day^ is this, viz, 
 that it does in the greateft Meafure promote the Intereft 
 and Happinefs of Human Society, as it is the Means 
 of inftrucfting all Orders and Degrees of Men among 
 us, in the ieveral Reipeflive Parts of Chriflian Duty. 
 For one main Part of the Day confiRs in the Hearing 
 of God's Holy Word, which is duly and conilantly 
 preached to the People. And that Men might receive 
 the greater Benefit from thislnftitudon, it hath plealed 
 
 God 
 
 [e) Fid. Bijhop Beveridge on the NecefTiC/ and AdvanU^e of 
 Public Prayer /. 33, 34. 
 
 (/) DrMarflisll's Sermons Vol. I. p. 238. 
 
Religious Obfervation. of the Lord's Day. 9^ 
 
 God in His great Wifdom to fet apart a Peculiar Or- 
 der of Men to this Office and Employment ♦, fo that 
 hereby all Perlbns may learn the Duty which they owe 
 to God, and how they ought to behave themfelves one 
 towards another, whatfoevcr Condition or Relation 
 they are in : whether they be Hufbands or Wives, Pa- 
 rents or Children, Magiftrates or Subjeds, Mailers or 
 Servants, or common Brethren one to anodien Each 
 of thele Relations hath it's Peculiar Duties, which all 
 Perfons concerned in them are obliged to perform -, and 
 for which they muit give a ftrift Account to Almighty 
 God at the lall Day. Now confidering how much the 
 Peace and Happineis of Human Society in general, 
 and that of every Neighbourhood and Family in part- 
 ticular, depends upon the Practice of thefe Relative 
 Duties ; and confidering farther how little Leifure the 
 Generality of Mankind wiU allow themfelves from the 
 Cares and Diverfions of Life, to think feriouQy on fuch 
 Things : It muft certainly be allowed to be a very wife 
 and beneficial \n{Yit:axion^ which tends to inculcate thefe 
 and all other Moral Duties upon Men, and by all pro- 
 per Arguments and Motives to excite and llir them up 
 to the Obfervation of them. And therefore as an Emi- 
 nent {g) Writer well remarks, " if keeping holy the 
 " Seventh Day were only aji human Inftitution, it 
 " would be the hefi; Method that could have been 
 '•.' thought of for tiie polifhing and civilizing of Man- 
 *.' kind.". And whatever fome Perfons may think of 
 their own Talents and Self-fufficiency ; yet it is certain, 
 that to this Excellent Ordinance of public Preaching 
 that fmall Pittance of Knowledge,which the Generality" 
 of the common People have in tiie Chrifbian Religion, 
 the Senfe which they have of God and His Perfe6tions, 
 dnd oEthe Obligation of Moral Duties, and their Be- 
 lief 
 
 [g] Mr Addifjn in Spedator No. 1 1 2, 
 
92 ADlfcourfc concerning the 
 
 lief and Apprehenfion of a future State of Rewards and 
 PuniHiments, are almoft entirely owing. 
 
 Fotirtifhy and.hafily^ The Lad Thing which I fhall 
 mention at prefent, as a great Benefit and Advantage 
 of a Religious Obfervadon of the hordes Bay^ is the ex-. 
 ceeding IJfefulnels of it to every Particular Perfon, in 
 the great Concernment of his Eternal Salvation. For 
 by this Means every pardcular Perfon has Ordinarily a 
 conftant Opportunity every Week of repairing to God's 
 Church, and joining in the devout Prayers and Offices 
 thereof. And how great a Blefiing this is, may eafily 
 be judged not only from the apparent Intereit and Ad- 
 vantage thereof, but alfo from the exquifite Delight 
 and Satisfadion which conftantly attends it. This the 
 pious and good Men in all Ages of the World have 
 univerlally acknowledged, anaefteemed \.\{]s intimate- 
 Communion with God as the moil pleafant and delight- 
 ful of all Enjoyments. Hear how pathetic the Words 
 of Holy David are, upon Account of his Abfence and 
 Banifliment from the San(5luary. O how amiable are 
 'Thy Tabernacles^ Thou Lord of Hofts. My Soul longeth^ 
 yea even faint eth for the Courts of the Lord^ my Heart 
 and my Flefh crieth out for 'the Living God, For one Day 
 in Thy Courts is better than a Thoufand. I had rather 
 be a Door-keeper in the Houfe of my Gody than to divell 
 in the Tents of TVickednefs. Pfalm Ixxxiv, From which 
 we may jultly affirm, that when Men can contentedly 
 abfent themfelves from the Church of God, or if they 
 come thither, are cold and indifferent in the Offices 
 thereof ; it is a fure Sign that they have not the true 
 Spirit of Piety and Religion in them, and have not yet 
 tailed of that heavenly Delight andPleafure, which re- 
 lults from the Life and Vigour of Devotion (h). But, 
 
 Secondly^ 
 
 {h) Devotion \varms and opens the Soul, and difpofes it to re- 
 ceive Divine Influences. It Ibmetimes raifes the Mind into a Hea- 
 venly 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day . 9 3 
 
 ^condly^ This is not all. For in the next Place, every 
 Perfon by obferving the Lord's Bay hath the Benefit 
 of hearing One or Two Godly Sermons in a Week, 
 in which the Senfe of Scripture is explained, and, gene- 
 rally fpeaking, ibme Practical Point of Religion opened 
 and enlarged upon. By which means, if he makes 
 a Confcience of attending conftantly upon the Church, 
 and does his beft Endeavours to remember and medi- 
 tate upon what he has heard \ if together with this he 
 prays to God for his Grace to enable him to make a 
 right Ufe and Application of it ; he cannot well be ig-^ 
 norant in any Eflential Part of Chriftian Duty. Nay, 
 he will by this Means in a little Time, if he conftantly 
 joins the Reading of the Holy Scripaires with it„ attaia 
 to great Perfe6lion in Divine Wifdom •, and as far as 
 true faving Knowledge goes, he will be a much better 
 Scholar, than many who have ftudied hard for Years 
 together, and carry a whole Library along with them 
 in their Heads : it being not the Extent of Knowledge 
 in which the Divine Life confifts, but the devout Ap 
 plication of it to our fpirituai State and Condition. But 
 "Thirdly^ and laftly. The Man I am now fpeaking of 
 may ftill reap this farther Advantage from a conftant 
 Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day^ viz. That he 
 has thereby a glorious Opportunity at leaft once in a 
 Week of redring from the World ; and, when the 
 Tim.e of Divine Service is over, of reiledling within 
 himfelf, and of meditadng upon Eternity and the 
 weighty Concernments of tjie Life to come. This is 
 a BieiTing which many fenfible Men, who have been 
 unavoidably engaged in the Hurry and Bufinefs of this 
 World, hdivc defired and longed for with the utmoll Im- 
 patience ; 
 
 venly Ecftacy, and fills it with a Joy that is not to be exprelTed. 
 When it is pure, it leaves a ftrong Imprellion upon the Heart of Love 
 to God, and infpires us with a Contempt of this World, having 
 tafted the Pleafures of the World to come. Dr Eurnci's Theory 
 \>flhe Earth, Vol. II. p. 289. 
 
c4 -^ Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 patience ; and when the happy Opporaihity was come^ 
 have paid down a great Price for the Purchafe of itl 
 For the Sake of Retirement many Princes have refign'd 
 riieir Crowns, and betook themlelves to a private Life 
 (i). And indeed let the Men of the V/orld fay what 
 they will of Delight and Pleafure, there is no Pleafure 
 on this fide Pleaven (excepting that of doing Good) 
 that comes any thing near to that of Contempladon (k)\ 
 and no wonder, when the Happinefs of Heaven itielf 
 does in a great Meafure confift therein. All the Plea- 
 fures of Senfe ?irtjloort4iv'd'^nd fadings and foen become 
 Tiaufeous and ungrateful to us ; but the Pleafure of Di- 
 vine Wifdom, which is the'Refult of due Contempla- 
 tion, is continually growing and encreaftng^ and the more 
 we have thereof, the more we fliall ever wifh for and 
 defire. For this is the Charadler and Defcription 
 which Wifdom gives of -her felf, Eccluf. xxiv. 2 1 . they 
 that eat me [hall yet he hungry^ and they that drink me 
 Jhall yet be thirfty. And indeed for a Man to retire from' 
 the Noife and Hurry of this World, to look into Him- 
 felf, and examine his Heart, and to re6i:ify every Thing 
 there that is amifs, 'dll he brings himfelf to his juft 
 Perfedion ; and pardcularly to think upon God the 
 Great Creator of all Things, to confider the Glory of 
 His Works ^/J, the Wifdom of His Providence, and 
 
 His 
 
 {^■) Vid.^z\,^x^^^Y{:^^.oi England, Vol. J. p. 63, 
 
 ^cJsov ifiif hJ'cti/UQi'&i i^&iJr} ^Jh^u'd vj)ivc>:vH :^.ct)zluc. £^' oo^V 
 iXit cPictjeivei i; Outlet )i^ « ivAtiiMonety it^ Jjj jua>^cv VTrapyei 
 
 Ariftot. Ethic. adNicom. lib. x. cap. viii. FiJ, loc: 
 
 
 in Epidet. lib. i cap. vi, * 
 
Religious Obfervatio7i of the Lord*s Day. 95 
 
 His infinite Love to Mankind in the Redemption of 
 the World by the Death of His Son : This 1 fay, is 
 not only a neceflary Duty which God requires of every 
 Man, but is moreover fuchaHappinefs, as the greateft 
 Pleafures of Senfe are never to be compared with. 
 And yet this great Happinefs is what the meanefl Per- 
 fons among us may frequently enjoy, if they v/ill but 
 apply the Lord's Bay to this excellent Purpofe. But 
 however Men may judge in this Cafe, and in what 
 Things foever they place their chief Happinefs ; it is 
 very certain (as fhall be fully Ihewn in the Sequel) that 
 without a due and frequentyit^kziion on Divine Things, 
 it is impojjihle for a Man to become tndy Religious. He 
 may, I grant, do many good Things in Religion, and 
 yet be far from being a good Mun and fuch as God 
 will accept. He may, I lay, do many good Things 
 in Religion, thro' Cuftoni^ Example and Education^ 
 when he is nb ways inclined to do the contrary. But 
 he will never bear up againfl the Stream of Nature in 
 fuch Cales where he is violently attacked ; neither will 
 he be ever able to withfland the Power of ftrong and 
 extraordinary Temptations. Feter thought he was fe- 
 cure of his Fidelity to his Great Lord and Mafter, 
 TZ?^' / jjocidd die with l^hee^ faith he, / will notjeny 
 Jbee in any wife. Mark xiv. o^i. But for want of De- 
 pendence upon God and meditating upon the Point, 
 he came off ihamefuUy and denied his Matter. And 
 jufl '^ will all Men do in the like Cafes, if they do 
 not maintain a Communion with God by devout Prayer 
 and frequent Meditation. Whofoever therefore would 
 be a Chrifiian indeed, and defires to approve himfelf 
 to the Righteous Judgment of God, muft make a Con- 
 fcience of hearing His .Word, and obferving ^tSah^ 
 bath ; he mufl frequently pray to God for His Grace 
 and Afliftance ; he muil when he hath Opportunity 
 read the Holy Scriptures and other good Books, and 
 cfpecially upon the Lord's Bay *, he mufl often and 
 
 particU' 
 
9 6 A Difcourfc concerning^ &c. 
 
 particularly at that Time, retire from the Worlds and 
 meditate upon Eternity. This will fecure him againft 
 the Power of Temptations, and keep his Mind in it*s 
 true Poflure and Condition. And this is one of the 
 great Benefits and Advantages'which arife from a Pious 
 and Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day •, which, 
 together with the others I have mentioned, Ihould one 
 would think be lufficient to prevail upon all Men to a 
 due and conftant Obfervation thereof. 
 
 The End of ike Pirfi Part. 
 
 P A R t 
 
l97i 
 
 P A R T ir. 
 
 Concernhi^ the Manner in which the 
 Lord*s Day is to he ohferved. 
 
 The Introduction. 
 
 AVING in the former Part of this 
 Difcourfe Ihewn the Obligation of ob- 
 ferving the Sahbath Day^ and likewife 
 upon what Accounts the Day was 
 changed from the -feventh to the jirft 
 Day of the Week, together with the 
 great Benefits and Advantages of a 
 Pious and Religious Obfervation of the hordes Bay^ I 
 proceed now to coniidef the Particular Manner in which 
 this Holy Day ought to be obferved by all Chriftians. 
 And this I fhall endeavour to do theie two Ways. 
 
 Firft^ From the Nature and Reafon of the Thing 
 itfelf, and the plain Teflimony of Holy Scrip- 
 ture. And, 
 
 Secondly ^ From the Senle and Judgment of thoie 
 Perfons who muil be allowed to be the bell and 
 moft competent Judges in this Matter. And, 
 
 Firft^ From the Nature and Reafon of the Thing 
 itfelf, and the plain Teftimony of Holy Scripture. 
 Novr I having fhewn in the firft Chapter of this Book, 
 that the due Obfervation of the feventh Day does im- 
 
 H . ply 
 
98 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ply not only the Reft from Bodily Labour, but alio 
 the Dedication of it to the Worihip and Service of God, 
 and to the Duties of Religion -, it will hence be no dif- 
 ficult Matter to obferve the particular Manner in which 
 the Lord's Day ought to be kept and celebrated by us. 
 The Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day then does 
 at leaft imply thefe live Things. 
 
 FirJ^, A diligent and conftant Attendance upon the 
 Pul?lic Worfhip of God and thePreachingof His Word, 
 at the iiated Times and Seafons thereof 
 
 Secondly, The Reading of the Holy Scriptures and 
 other good Books. 
 
 I'birdly^ A due and ferious Meditation upon Divine 
 Tilings. 
 
 Fourthly, A diligent and careful Examination of our 
 Lives and Adions. And, 
 
 In the Fifth and laft Place, The Religious Inftrudion 
 and Education of our Children and Families. Of 
 thefe in their Order. 
 
 CHAP L 
 
 Ccncerning the Duty of attending upon the Public 
 
 IVnrfl^i'h Isr.r 
 
 JVorJJjtp, &C. 
 
 THAT God is to be worjfhipped in a Public 
 Manner I have already briefly hinted in the In- 
 trodudtion to the firft Part ; wherein I have lliewn at 
 large, that He hath appointed a Particular Day in 
 every Week for the due Celebration o{ that Worililp. 
 And this is a Truth fo clear and evident, that the very- 
 Heathens themfelves in dieir moft corrupt and dege- 
 nerate State were always duly lenfible of it. And in- 
 deed it is fo plainly founded in Natural Reafon, that if 
 
 ' ' it 
 
Religious Ohfervation cf the Lord's Day. 90 
 It were not for the ftrange Notions of too many Per» 
 fons among us, and the grofs and JJoameful Negled of 
 others in this Particular, it would ieem unnecefTary 
 and impertinent to treat upon it. But the unhappy 
 Diftin5iion that has been made of late Years between 
 Morality and Religmi^ and the gernicious Do6lrine of 
 fome Men, who have refolved all Religion into the 
 Pradice of moral and y^a^/ Dudes, hath had fuch a 
 fatal Influence upon many Perlbns ^ that it becomes 
 ablblutely neceffary to fpeak fully and diftindly to this 
 Point. In order therefore to manifeft the great and 
 indifpenfable Duty of attending upon the public Worfhip 
 of God at the dated Times and Seafons thereof, I fhall 
 endeavour to fhew thefe three Things. 
 
 Firft^ That the public Vv'orjQiip and Service of God 
 hath in all Ages of the World been thought neceffary 
 to Religion, and by all wife Law-givers and Founders 
 of States hath been made an ElTendal Part of their 
 Civil Conititution. 
 
 Secondly^ I Ihall fliew that God hath made an expreis 
 and particular Provifion in Holy Scripture for His 
 public Worfnip and Service. And 
 
 thirdly and laftly^ That the Pra6tice of Morality or 
 a good Life (as fome Men (a) call it) will not without 
 the pubhc Worfhip and Service of God be available to 
 Salvation. 
 
 H2 If 
 
 (a) A State of Temperance, Sobriety, and Juflice, without 
 Devotion, is a cold, lifelefs, infipid Condition of Virtue, and is 
 rather to be lliled Philofophy than Religion. Mr Addifon in Spec- 
 iator No. 201. 
 
 With all who have a right Underllanding of the Law of Nature, 
 Acknowledgment of tne one True and Living God, a fuitable Ve- 
 neration of Him, Devotion to Him, and Concern that He have 
 His due Honour from us and our Fellow Creatures ; and that His 
 Sovereign Authority overall His Rational Creatures, and Right to 
 rule them, as to His unerring Reafon Ihall feem meet, be owned 
 by all ; will pafs for the highejt and moft important Points of Mo- 
 rality and Branches of the Law of Nature. Simon Brozv?u Defenp 
 tf the Religion cf Nature, &c, Chap. ii. p. 66, 
 
TOO A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 If thefe three Points can be clearly made out, I think 
 nothing more can be required to Ihew the abfolute ne- 
 cejfary Duty of attending upon the public Worfhip 
 and Service of God. And with the Favour and Can- 
 dour of the Reader I do not doubt to make them all 
 three very plain and evident. And, 
 
 Firfi, I fliall fhew that the public Worfhip and Ser- 
 vice of God hath in all Ages of the World been thought 
 necejfary to Religion (h). If v/e look into the Writings 
 of the ancient Philofophers, we fhall find them to be of 
 the lame Mind and Judgment in this Matter. They 
 ever made the public Worfhip of their Gods a material 
 2ind necejfary Part of their Religion. Thus i^dys Pytha- 
 goras : In the firil Place, Honour and Reverence the 
 Immortal Gods (c). The Reafon of which is given 
 us by the Commentator upon him, becaule Piety or 
 the Worfhip of God is the Principal and Foundation 
 of all Virtues (d). And Plato (e), Cicero (/J, Epi5fe- 
 
 tus 
 
 (b) Can we think our Saviour's Meaning (on that Text, Matt. 
 vi. 6. tvhen tho'> prayeji efiter into thy Clofet) to be this, that the 
 Dilciples fhou'd never pray but in their Clofets ? No certainly ; 
 for it is a Precept of Natural Religion that God is to be worfhiped,. 
 in the Societies of Men Dr ClagettV Pofthumous Ser?no?is^ Vol." 
 II. p. 7. 
 
 I believe we may cha]lenc!;e all the Hiilories in the World of any 
 Credit to name any Civilized People, where there was not always 
 fome Form or other of Religious Worihip, fome public Place or 
 other, eitherTemple, or Grove, or Mountain, or Altar, ufeJ and 
 appointed for the Perfoimance of it. Bifbop LengV Ser?nons at 
 Eoyle'j LeBureu p. 108. Vid. p. 331, 365. 
 
 (c) Aur. Carm. !, 2. 
 
 (d) Hierocl. in loc. 
 
 (e) ripJycj/ /jSp dctuiv UfjJ:^ TttV wer' IhviJ.rnii^ TZ ^ '^< ' 
 
 t'i^V }[^ct v'ofcoy l^-){A^QUivet. Plato de Legib. lib. iv. 
 
 ( f) Suofque Deoi nut ncvcs aut alietiigenas coli, confujtonem hahet 
 re igionum, ^ ignotas ceremonias etiam facer dotib us, Nam a Pa- 
 
 tribiis 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. lo i 
 tus (g)^ and others of the mofl fiminent Philofophers, 
 are continually exhorting Mankind to Serve and Wor- 
 Ihip the Gods, according to the Laws of their Country ; 
 of which many PalTages might be produced out of 
 them, if it were neceflary. And it is no Objedion at 
 > all to this, that we fometimes meet with Pafiages in the 
 old Heathen Moralifts, which import that the beft and 
 moft acceptable Worfhip of God is a pure Heart and 
 Mind, and the endeavouring to imitate Him in His 
 Moral Excellencies and Perfedions (h). For this is 
 
 H 3 no 
 
 tribus acceptor Deos ita placet coliy fi huic Le^i -parueriint ipjt. 
 Cicero de Legib. lib. ii. Jam illud ex Ivfiitutis Pontijicum tT 
 Arufficum non mutar.dum eft, quilus hofliis irnmQlandum cuique Deo. 
 IJ. ibid. 
 
 S^i) iyj'^ii '7re^7ii)iii- Epidet. Enchirid. cap. xxxviii. ^lom'do 
 fint uii (O'endi filet pracipi. StVitz. Epift. 9^. ^A^vdrn*, fj^j 
 'Trfarct 9s«<, vo^JLo) co^ iha.}LHv\aj.i &c. W\d..Marcilii Comment, in loc, 
 
 (h) Cultus Deorum eft optimus idemquecaftiiumus atque fanftif- 
 limus, pleniflimufque Pietatls, ut Eos Temper pura integra incor- 
 rupta, & Mente & voce veneremur. Cic. de N^t. Deorum, lib. ii. 
 Vis Deos propitiare ? bonus eito: Satis Illos coluit, quilquis imi- 
 tatus eft. Senec. Epijl. 95. 
 
 Colitur autem, non tauroium opimis corporibus contrucidatis, 
 nee auro argentoque fufpenfo, nee inThefauros ftipe infufa, fed pia 
 & reda voluntate. Idem Epift. 115. 
 
 JV>r Bove maRaio Caleflia numina gaudent, 
 
 Sed, queapraftanda eft, ^JtneTeJie, Fide. Ovid. Epift. 20. 
 
 Comfofitum jus fafque animi, SanSiofque recejfus 
 
 Mentis & ivcoBum generofi peSim hone/io. 
 
 Hoc cedo ut admoveam templis, & far re litabo. ^ - 
 
 Perf. Satyr. 2. in fine. 
 
 Jmmunis aramfi tetigit Ma?ius 
 
 Non fumptuofa blandlor hojHa, 
 
 Moll i bit averfos Penates 
 
 Farre, pio O' faliente Mica. Herat. Carm lib. Hi. Od. 23. 
 
 Hierocl. in Carm, Pythag. 24, 25. 
 
102 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 no more than what the beil Chriftian Writers them' 
 felves frequently fay, wh6 yet earnetlly contend for 
 the Necefiity of iuch Worfliip (i). Nay we find 
 God Almighty Himfelf often fpeaking in the fame 
 Manner in the Holy Scriptures. ^ Thus Mic, vi. 
 6. &c. Wherewith fhalt I come before the Lord and 
 how myfelf before the High God? Shall I come before 
 hm with burnt Offerings^ with Calves of a Tear old ? 
 &c, He hath floewed thee O Man what is good\ 
 and what doth the Lord require of thee^ but to do 
 juftly and to love Mercy ^ and to walk humbly with thy 
 God? And again, to what Purpofe is the Multitude of 
 your Sacrifices unto me ? faith the Lord, When ye come 
 to appear before Me,, who hath required this at your 
 Hands to tread my Courts? bring no more vain Oblations,, 
 Incenfe is an Abomination to me •, the New Moons and 
 Sabbaths <i the calling of Jffemblies T cannot away with \ 
 it is Iniquity^ even the folemn Meettng,, &c. Ifa,\. ii. 
 ^c. See alfo chap, Ixvi. 7. Now it would be the 
 higheft Ablurdity imaginable to fuppofe, that God 
 lliould be difpleafed with the Jews for their Perform- 
 ance of the E xternal Rites and Sacrifices of their Wor- 
 fhip, or that He Ihould not require their Attendance 
 upon thefe Things y when He Himfelf had exprefly 
 
 intlituted 
 
 (i) Hoftias & vi6limas Domino offeram, quas in ufum mei pro- 
 tulit, ut rejiciam EifuumMunus? Ingratum ef", cum fit litabilis 
 lioftia bonus animus & pura mens k fincera Conicientia. Igitur qui 
 Innocentiam coli', Domino fupplicat ; qui juilitiam. Deo libat \ qui 
 fraudibus abllinet, propitiatDeum ; qui Hominem periculo fubripit, 
 opimam vi(fi:iman cacdit. Ha?c noltra Sacrificia, h^c Dei Sacra 
 funt : Sic apud nos religiofior eft Ills, qui jullior. Nlini^t. Felix 
 (ie IdolVanitat. p. 94, 95. In the fame manner alfo fpeaksthc Son 
 o^ Sirach, Eccl. xxxv. r, 2, 3. 
 
 A virtuous and good Life is better not only than Jewifl? Rites 
 and Ceremonies, but better even than the beft of any other Worfliip 
 that ie paid to God either in Earth or in Heaven. Neverthelefs as 
 the one ought above all Thin-^s to be done, fo the other ought nQt 
 by any Means to be left undone. Dr Cl.irke's Sermo?iSy Vol. IX, 
 p. 437. See alfo, Tillotfon's Works in folio, Vol. II. p. 346, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 103 
 ] nftituted and appointed them (,k). But the plain Mean- 
 ing of thole Places of Scripture is this ; that God pre- 
 fers the great Dudes of Piety, Juftice, and Charity, 
 before any External Rites and Inltitutions of His Wor- 
 fhip, and that he has no regard to fuch External Ser- 
 vices when they are offered up by Men of impure Hearts 
 and (I) wicked Lives •, by Men whofe Hands are full 
 of Bloody and who are guilty of Uncharitablenefs and 
 Oppreffion, as the Prophet obferves in the Palllio-es 
 above cited. 
 
 And the fame Judgment is to be pafled upon the 
 ancient Moralifts. They only fignihed that true Piety 
 and Charity were more valuable in the Sight of God, 
 than the External Rites and Iniritudons of Religion. 
 But they did not mean hereby to exclude the NecefTity 
 of External Woriliip •, fince they had lb well provided 
 for tJoat by many exprefs Precepts (m). And if in fome 
 few Places of their Writings we find them Ipeaking 
 ^/^^//>' of External Rites and Sacrifices-, this was not, 
 becaufe they dilapproved of fuch Things in Divine 
 Worfhip {n)^ but becaufe the Gentile-Kixj^ and Sacri- 
 
 H 4. fices 
 
 [k^ See a remarkable Pa iBge of €t 0/7^^;;, above cited, in p, 35;. 
 {!) Se? this Matter very dearly and judicioufly ftated, in i^crip- 
 ture Vindicated, Part III. p. 37. to 41. p. 67. to 72. 
 (m) Vide Page 100. 
 
 Hefiod. Oper, ^ Vier. lib. i. L 334. 
 7071 iy i'TTo^A/Jui rno {QUO) T;')>' v^ui) auTui t^TiudXaxnityjifi. 
 
 Hierocl. ibid. p. 58, Via. etiam Simplicii Comment, in Epi^ct. cap, 
 xxxzuii. 
 
 {n) Audiat licet, queinadmodum fe gerere in Sacrificiis debeat, 
 quam procul refilire a molellisfuperftitionibusj nunquam fatis pro- 
 feflumerit, niii quilem debet, Deum, menteconceperit, &c. Senec, 
 ^Ph^- 95' See alio EpitUt. E?uhirid, cap. xxxviii. Where tho' he 
 fully fhews that the chief and principal Part of Religion is to have 
 right Notions of the Gods, and to conform ourfelves to them, &c. 
 
 yet 
 
I04 A Dlfcourfe concerning the 
 
 fices were almoft every where crowded v/ith infinite. 
 Superftitions, and in many Places mixed with fo much 
 Filthinefs and Impurity^ as wou'd juilly render them 
 the Abhorrence of all wife and good Men (o). 
 
 Nay, fo great a Regard had the ancient Pagans to 
 the public Worihip of their Gods, that they fell into 
 an Extreme and Fatal Errour in this Matter. For the 
 Heathen. Friefts taught no Morality in their Aflemblies, 
 but fpent the Whole Time of their public Service in 
 offering up their Sacrifices, and in performing the 
 Ceremonies of divine Worihip, as we are informed 
 both by LaElantius (p) and StJuftin {q). 
 
 This great Negled might perhaps be owing to 
 the vaft Number and Variety of their Sacrifices, of 
 which this was the True Ground and Reafon. They 
 generally thought that Sin would not be pardoned by 
 God upon the bare Repentance of the Sinner, with- 
 out offering up fome Sacrifice (r) in his flead ; and 
 being ignorant what kind of Sacrifice God would 
 accept, this gave Occafion to fo great a Number 
 and Variety of- Sacrifices, that the Oblation of them 
 
 together 
 
 Yet at the fame Time fas the reft of the Philofophers did) he obferves 
 
 the nece/fhry Duty of worfhipping them publickly, according to the 
 
 Eftablifli'd'Laws o\' every Country. 
 
 (o) Fid. Jul. Firmic. de Errore Profan. Rellg. p. lo. ^c Auguft. 
 
 <3e Civitate Dei. lib. ii. cap. iv. and v. lib. iv. cap. xxxi. Arnob. 
 
 adv. Gentes lib. v. Grot de Veritat. Relig. Chriftianae. lib. iv. §. 3. 
 
 Bijhop GMons Second P/^JIoralLettery ip. 2'^. 
 
 [p] Philofophia & Religio Deorum di:jun61:a funt, fi quidem alii 
 
 funt profeflbres Sapiential per quosutique ad Deosnon adimr. Alii 
 Religionis antillites, per quos fapere non difcitur. And agm??. Nil 
 ibidifTeriturquod pioficiat ad mores cxcolendos vitamque forman- 
 dam, ncc habet inquifitionem aliquam Veritatis, fed tantummodo 
 rirum colendi, qui non officio Mentis fed miniilerio Corporis con- 
 flat. LaSiant. Iriftiiut. lib. iv. cap. Hi. ^ 
 
 (f ) Dicatur in quibus locis haic docentium Deorum folebant pras- 
 cepta recitari, & a cultoribus eorum populis frequenter audiri, ficut 
 nos oftendimus ad hoc Ecclcfias hiltitutas, quaquaverfum Religio 
 Chriftiana difFunditur. Jug. de Civit. lei, lib. ii. cap. v'L 
 Vid loc. 
 ' (r) Vid. Dr Marfhall'j Sermons^ Vol. I. p. 443, to 447. 
 
Religious Obfervation of thel^ovi^ Day. i o 5 
 together with the performing the Rites and Ceremo- 
 nies of Religion took up the whole Time of their 
 pubhc Meetings. Which, tho' it was a great and 
 manifeft Errour, yet it plainly fliews their Senfe of 
 the Neceflity of public Devotion -, and they could 
 never pofTibly have fallen into fuch an extreme negleft 
 o^ Moral Inftruclion, if they could have been per- 
 fwaded with fome Men in thefe latter Times, that 
 the bare Lpye of God and the Performance of the 
 Duties which v/e owe to each other do without the 
 public Worfhip of God make up the whole of Reli- 
 gion : and this is all the Purpofe for which I bring 
 the Teifimony of them. And hov/ jiecsjjary the Wifeit 
 Law-givers and Founders of S.tates have thought the 
 public Worfhip of God to be may appear from hence, 
 that they ever made it an eflential Part of their 
 Civil Conflitutipn ; v/hich is evident not only from 
 what has been already obferved concerning the Phi- 
 lofophers requiring Men to worfhip God according to 
 the Laws of their Country, but alio from the Laws 
 themfelves, which are ftill to be ^ttn in the Andquities 
 of all Nadons concerning the public Eftablilhment of 
 Religion. And this Judgment of the Antient Law- 
 givers is not only applauded by all pious and good 
 Men (j), but it alfo extorts the Commendation of 
 thole who 2iXtprofeft Adverfaries of all Religion. For 
 when the Atheifts would account for th^firft Introdu- 
 ction of Religion into the World, they commonly tell 
 us it was owing to the Craft of Statefmen and Poli- 
 ticians •, 
 
 (5) Towards keeping Mankind in Order, it is necejfary that there 
 fliould be fome Religion profefTedHnd even eftabliflied, which cannot 
 be dene without ibme/;f<^//V Worfiiip. Ard were it not for that 
 Senfe of Virtue, which is preserved (fo far as it is preferved) by 
 National Forms and Habits of Religion, Men wxuld foon lofe it 
 all, run wild, prey upon one another, and do what elfe the worft of 
 Savages do. Woolajions Relig. of N^t. delineated, p. 24. See alio, 
 an excellent PalTage of Dean Frldc^iix to this Purpofe already cited 
 in p. 88, 89. 
 
io6 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 ticians (t) -, which by the Way is a plain Acknow- 
 ledgment that the pubhc Eftablilhment of Religion is 
 advantage Otis and beneficial to Human Society (u). 
 And Mr Hobhs hath a peculiar Thought in this Mat- 
 ter. Among other Reafons he gives, why the firft 
 LegiQators did eitablilh t\\t ptihUc Excercife of Reli- 
 gion, he mentions this as one, that " in cafe any 
 '' Misfortunes fnould happen upon the Community, 
 " the People might lay the Fault on their ownNegle6l 
 " and Errour in the Ceremonies of ReUgion, and lb 
 *' be lels apt to mutiny againft their Governours f^J." 
 And the fame Acknowledgment hath been often made 
 by many great Politicians and Statefmen, who were 
 never thought partial to Religion. Thus Machiavel 
 oblerves that '^ the Grandeur and Succefs of the Old 
 *' Romans is chiefly to be afcribed to their Piety and 
 *' Religion •, and Xh':itRome was more obliged to Nu- 
 " ma PompiUus for fettling the Rites of Religion a- 
 *' mongft them, than to Romulus the Founder of 
 *' their State ; and the Reafon he gives for it is this, 
 *' becaufe v/ithout Religion there can be no fuch 
 
 " Thing, 
 
 (/) The curious Reader may lee this Notion of the Jtheijis in- 
 genioufly defcribcd in the /t:,'/;?7/?^ ^V'z/cy^/^^/fr, Vol. I. p. 23. And 
 if he thinks there is any Ground i-br it, he may find the fame ja- 
 dicio'jfly and folidly confuted by the Learned Dr Cudworth in his- 
 JnteJleitual Syftem, p. 691, &c. and by Bifhop L^;7p- in his 5th 
 Sermon at Boy/es LeStureSy ard by Archbifliop Tillctfon Vol. I. p. 
 18. '* Quid ? ii qui dixerunt totam de Diis lmmortali'"US Opinio- 
 •* nem ficlam effe ab hominibus fapientibns Reipublic32 Caufa, 
 " ut quos ratio non pofiet, eos ad Officium rcligio duceret: nonne 
 •' omnem rel gioneiii funditus failulerunt ?" Cic. de Nat. Deo 
 rum. lib. i. 
 
 [u] When it is judge i convenient for the Purpofes of fnHde'ity, 
 we have this (which is indeed the Praife and Merit of R<']igion) 
 improved into an Argument againll the Truth of it ; as if it were 
 therefore an human Contrivance, bec«ufe it is found fo fcn-ice'ibU 
 to Human Life ; whereas God the Author of every good VVorlc 
 did indeed contrive it for our Ufe and Benefit ; and the Contrivance 
 is as ancient as the Scheme and Model of the Creation. Dr Mar- 
 JhaFs Sermons, Vol. L p. 49. 
 
 (tv) Leviath. cap. xii. p. 57. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 107 
 " Thing as Military Dilcipline •, R^igion being the 
 *' Ground and Foundation of good Laws and Difci- 
 ^' pline Cjy^-" -^"d Vawo who was one of the mofl: 
 Learned of all the antient Romans^ when he had en- 
 couraged and multiplyed the Roman Theology, and 
 ihewed them the Gods they were to worlhip, thought 
 that thereby he did his Countrymen a very great Piece 
 of Service (z). Which Teitimonies to the ExceU 
 lency and Ulefulnefs of Public Worfliip ought to 
 make our Modern Dcifts and hifidels ajhamed of them- 
 felves, by reaibn of \b.oiz ftrange liberties they often 
 take of ridiculing the Eftabliihed Religion of their 
 Country. And fo I proceed, 
 
 Secondly^ To fliew that God Himfelf hath made ex- 
 prefs and particular Provilion in Holy Scripture for 
 His Public Woriliip and Service. Thus fays the 
 Pfahnift^ Give unto the Lord the. Glen due unto His Name, 
 worjhip the Lord in the Beauty of Holinefs. Pfalm xcvi. 
 8,9. And again, come let us zvorfJoip and how down^ 
 let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, xcv. 6. Enter 
 into His Gates with ^hankfgiving^ and into His Courts 
 with Praife., be thankful unto Him and hlefs His Name. 
 c. 4. And once more. Let them exalt the Lord in the 
 Congregation., andpraife Him in the Ajfembly of the Elders^ 
 cvii. 32. And indeed as the Words of our Church 
 well exprefe it C^)," " Concerning no other Matter 
 ■ ' did God give either more, or more earneft and ex- 
 " prefs Laws to His People the Jews^ than thofe 
 " that concerned the t7'ue Worlliipping of Him.'^ 
 Nay fb great a Regard had God to His Public Wor- 
 lhip, that in the Laws which He gave to the antient 
 Jews., He not only commanded them to build Him a 
 tabernacle., but alio determined the Time and Manner 
 of His Service, together with the Perfons who were t6 
 perform the Ceremonies of it, and even the Inftruments 
 
 and 
 
 — — — ' " ' ■ 'I r ' I ■ ■ 
 
 fy) MachiaT'ePs Dircoutles upon i/Vy, lib. i. cap. xi. 
 (z) Vid. Auguft. de Civit. I 'ei lib; iV. cap xxii. 
 {a) Homily on the Peril of Idolatry, Part I. 
 
io8 A Difcourfe concernmg the 
 and Veffels that were to beiifed rherein, with the utmoll: 
 P^r//V/^/^r//y of Circumflance. ' Pis true indeed, God 
 has not been io exa5l and pm^ual under the Goipel ; 
 fince fuch an Exac^tnefs in the Ceremonies of Divine 
 Worfhip is not fo neceffary to Chriftians, as it was to 
 the Jews. For the great Def.gn of the Jewijlo Reli- 
 gion, next to it's fhadowing out and prsefiguring the 
 Death of Chrift, being to prelerve the Ifraelites from 
 any Correfpondence with the Idolatrous Nations ; 
 It did upon that Account require a much greater 
 Variety of Ordinances and more Exadnels in the 
 Inflitudon of them, than was neceflary for any 
 other People. And the Reafon, why God did Him- 
 felf appoint all thofe Ordinances, rather than leave 
 the Inilitution of them to the Authority of the Jewijh 
 Church, may perhaps be this j that hereby they might 
 have lefs Reafon to complain of the Difficulty and 
 Burthen of them. For that the Jewifh Ordinances 
 were thought very grevious and troublefome, is plain 
 fi-om the Teftimony of 'S^t Peter and St Paul, who 
 call them a Tcke of Bondage which neither they nor their 
 Fathers were able to bear. A5ls xv. lo. Gal. v. t. 
 And this explains the Reafon why there is fo little faid 
 in the Four Gofpels concerning the Time and Man- 
 ner of God's Worlhip ; unlefs it be to redify the Mif- 
 take of the Jews about it, as they placed it too much 
 in External Obfcrvations, and to fliew that it mult be 
 performed in Spirit and in 'Truth. John w. 24 . For 
 the Chriftian Religion being of a moft Divine and 
 Spiritual Nature does therefore require but few 
 external Ordinances and Inftitutions (b)., which may 
 very well be left to the Wifdom and Prudence of 
 Ecclefiadical Authority. But tho' our BlefTed Sa- 
 viour hath not been fo pun^fual and exa£i in the Ex- 
 ternals of Divine Worlhip for the Reafon abovemen- 
 tioned -, yet he hath taken fufficient Care for the Wor- 
 fliip 
 
 [h) Vid. Vit Burnet [late Majler of the Charter HouJ'e) on the 
 Faith and Duties of ChrifiianSy cap. v.^. 97, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s Day. 109 
 
 Ihip itfelf, not only by communicating Himfelf with 
 the Jewijh Church, and fubmitting to the External 
 Ordinances of Rehgion, which ihall be confidered here- 
 after j but alfo by requiring Men to worjhip God in Spirit 
 and in 'Truths John iv. 24 . and to this End, not to for- 
 fake the Ajfemhling them f elves together^ Heb. x. 1^, By 
 promifing that where two or three are gathered together 
 in His Name^ there will He be in the Midji of them^ 
 Matt, xviii. 20. By inftituting the two Sacraments ^_ 
 which are oi public Obfervation, Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 Luke xxii. 19, 20. And by appointing an Order of 
 Men J whofe ' Peculiar Office it fhould be to perform 
 the Service of God, and to preach his Word in 
 the AiYcmblks ol Chrijiians, Matt, x-xviii. iq, 20 
 Luke X. 2 Tim. ii. 2. And we may farther obferve that 
 our BleiTed Lord hath united all the Members of His 
 Church into one Body., and under one Spirit. Eph. iv. 
 4. Which Unity cannot be upheld and maintained 
 by an Agreement only in the fame Doclrines, and by 
 Love and Charity for one another, as fome 
 have imagined •, but it alfo requires (c) the Afiembling 
 of themlelves together for public Woriliip ; as is evi- 
 dent not only from the Exprefs Doctrine of Scripture, 
 which I have obferved already, but alfo from the Ex- 
 ample and Pradice of the Primitive Believers ; who 
 as St Luke tells us, continued ft edfaftly in the Apoftles Do- 
 5lrine and Fellow/hip^ and likewife in breaking of Bread 
 and in Prayers (d). A5ls ii. 42. This is a fufficient 
 Provifion 
 
 {c) O-fV Bmgnam's Aniiquiiies, Book xvi, chap. i. ^ 5. 
 
 [d) Whatever Worfhip God requires of any one aloney the 
 fame He requires alfo of all met together as one } being God 
 of the Body as a Churchy as well as of any o?:e Member as 2t 
 Chriftian. Neljon on the Tefiirahy p. 11. A!l the Promifes of 
 the Gofpel are or'ginally m^de to the Chriftian Church, the Body 
 of Chrill, and to Particular Chriilians as Members of and in Com. 
 munion with the Chr'ftian Church. But thofe cannot pretend' 
 to be in Communion with the Church, who never communicate 
 with it : who tho' they form no Schifm, yet withdraw them- 
 felves from it's public Afiemblie?, and will either be no Chrifti- 
 ans (which I fear is too often the Cafe) or will be Chriftians by 
 fhemielves. Now if they know of any Promifes made to them^ 
 
no A Difcour/e concerning the 
 Proviiion for tht public Service o^, God ; and dierefore 
 if it could not be proved that God hath appointed a 
 Particular Day for t^is public Worfliip, as fomeMen 
 fay He hath not made any fuch Appointment to Chri- 
 ftians in the Holy Scripture (tho' I humbly conceive 
 the Contrary hath in the foregoing Part of this 
 Difcourfe been proved very clearly) yet that would 
 be no Objection at all to tht Neceffity of fuch W or- 
 ■fliip. For the Inilitudon of the Worfhip does of 
 itfelf fuiiiciendy indmate that there muft be fome 
 Time and Place appointed for it, and fome Manner 
 of It's Celebration, either fettled by God, or left to 
 the Determinadon of Authority ; fmce as Mr Calvin 
 well remarks, " unlefs the Allemblies of the Church 
 are fixed, and have their proper appointed Days, 
 *' they cannot be held and attended upon {e)r And 
 it is certain that in this Cafe as well as others, whatfoever 
 IS determined by juft and lawful Authority is as necelTa-^ 
 rily to^be complied with, as the exprefs Inflitudons of 
 GodHimfelf The Reafon of whickis not that any Au- 
 thority can pofilbly be equal to that of God, but becaufe 
 to fpeak properly all juil Authority whether it be Ec- 
 clefiaftical or Civil is the Authority of God Him- 
 Iblf ; it. being as plainly declared by God in Scriprare 
 that Men fliould obey them that have the Rule over thern^ 
 as that they Ihouid obfervc His own Commands! 
 . Ror/i, 
 
 in this firgle C3apacity, let them tal;e the (^omrorc or it jt^or 
 Jriy part I know of none. Thofe who live in Communion with 
 the Church, and Icrve God in His Houfe, as oft as Leifure and 
 Opportuniiy will permit, may expea a gracious Return to their 
 Fr^vate Prayers, which are offered to Gcd in the Name of Chrift. 
 anu m the Communion of the Church : but there is no Enrou- 
 ragcment to thole who fet up private Devotions a;,ainft public 
 ^^'orflll:>. Dean SheriocCs Sermons Vol. I, Sermm xiii p 
 396-7- ^^id. alfo WoohiJlorCs Relig. of Nat. delineated, p. 124 
 
 {e) Nifi flat; fmtConvenms Ecclefiaflici, & fuos habent conltitutos 
 dies, quomodohaberipoffunt? Caii>. hftit:.:t. lib. ii, cat.viii.^ 32. 
 
 it js neceiTary^ that fome folcmn Times fnould be kt apart . 
 fcr full and copious Meditations on thefe (Divine) Subjeils j 
 this fliould be unwerfal, kit if the Time were not the fame 
 iver;^ where, the Bufmels of fbme might interfere with the De- 
 votions of others. Burnet^ Artie. Vii. /. 103. See thi Place. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord*s-Day 1 1 1 
 Ronu xiii. i, 2. i Fet. ii. 15, 14. Heh. xiii. 17. 
 (f) And what claims foever Men may make to 
 Liberty and Freedom, yet if they do not fubmit 
 themfelves to fuch Commands of their Superiours as 
 are in no wife contrary to God's Word •, they do 
 not I am fure obferve the Rules of Holy Scripture, 
 and therefore cannot be accounted good Chrifiians, 
 And fo I pals on to the, 
 
 'Third and Laft Co7ifideratlon^ which is to fliew that a 
 good Moral Life (as fome call it) will not without the 
 Public Worlliip of God be available- to Salyation. 
 And indeed, there is the higheft Reafon for infifiing 
 upon this •, fince there are too many Perfons among us 
 who are fallen into 2, great and dangerous (g) Errour in 
 this Matter. They argue that Morality is the grand 
 End and Defign of all Religion, and therefore 
 they think that if a Man fecures that Point, there 
 is no doubt but God v/ill accept him : and then 
 fince God is infinitely Perfed and Sufficient for His 
 
 cwn 
 
 (f) Whatfoever God hath not commanded or forbidden by 
 His own immediate Difla'eand Authority. He hath authorized 
 His Vicegerents to command or forbid, as they fliall judge it moil 
 Expedient for the Puhlic. So that when they command what 
 God hath nor forbidden, or forbid what he hath not commanded! 
 their Will is God's, who commands us by their Mouihs,, and ftamps 
 their Injunftions with His own Authority. Dr Scotrs Chrijlian 
 Life^ 8vo. Vol n. p. 2. 
 
 (o-) The Honour of God has fufFered by nothing {o much a» 
 by Mens making a Difference betwixt ^/r///^ and Religion ; for by 
 Reafon of this Diflinftion it hath come to pafs that fome have 
 had the Credit to be thought virtuous tho' in the mean Time 
 they were carekfs of God, &c. Dean Kung's Sermoiu, Vol. 
 I!, p. 376. 
 
 'Tis a fatal Thing both to Religion and Morality to diftinguifh 
 io far bet\yeen them as to i;ragine that either of them can be per- 
 feii without the other j for as we have all the Reafon in the World 
 to fufped t.\it Sincerity of that Man's Profeilion of Religion who is 
 vvijlingly deficient in Moral Hone lly ; fo he that de;lare> himielf to 
 ^e under no Rellraint of Confcience from the Belief of any Invi- 
 fible Principle, mult excufe us if we doubt whether His Integrity 
 may in al! Cafes be iafely depended on. Bijlop Leng'j Sermons 
 at Boyle's Le^ures^ p. 85. 
 
112 A Difco7irfe concerning the 
 
 €wn Happinefs ; they cannot fee how He can ftand 
 in any Need of our Service (h). And fo far it is un- 
 doubtedly true, which is urged in this Argument, 
 viz. that. Morality and a good Life is the great End 
 and Defign of all Religion, without which all Pofi- 
 tive Inftitutions and Obiervations will be of no Effecl ; 
 and likewife that God cannot poffibly receive the leafl 
 Benefit from our Service and Worfhip of Him (/). 
 But the great Weaknels of this Reafoning in excluding 
 the NecefTity of God's Public Worfhip will appear 
 from thefe three Confiderations. 
 
 Firft^ Bccaufe Piety or the Worfhip of God is 
 an E0ential Part of Religion, as w^ell as Morality (k). 
 
 {h) The Author of the UilLOurle on Frce-tKinMing /laih a 
 Urange Pairag^ to this Effc»El, in v/hich he drolls egregiou/Iy upon 
 the Jezvijh and Cbrifrian Rejgion, not without a fneering Refle- 
 £lion upon the Church of England. •* God, fays he^ being inca- 
 •' pable of having any Addition made either to His Power or Hap- 
 ** pinels, and wanting nothing, can require nothing of Men for 
 *' His o-wn Sake, but only far Man's Sake ; and confcquently that 
 •* all Aftions or Speculations which are of no Ufe to Mankind (as 
 •* for inftance, yF/i^^/>^ ox dancings or wearing of Habits, ov Ob- 
 ** fsrvation of Daysy or eaiifig or dri..ki??g. ovfmghteri'?g cf BcaffSf 
 *• [in which Things the greateft Part of the lieatken Woriliip con- 
 «' iiiled] or the Belief oX Tra)fuhfla>itiatim^ or Confuhftantiation, 
 '* or of any Doftrines not taught by the Church of England) ei- 
 ** ther fgnify nothing at all with God, or elfe difpkafe Him, but 
 *' can never render a Man more acceptable to Him. Free- thinking 
 
 '* p. 37, 3S." 
 
 \i) Plurima & maxima beneficia in Nos Deusconfert, fine fpe 
 recipiendi. quoniam nee Jllc collato cgct, nee nos Ei quidquam con- 
 fcrre pofiumu^ Senec de Benef. lib. iv, cap. ix. 
 
 €tf;t>7T;V 7^ Qiii eiicu Kpt^T^Joict. HSero.les in Carm. Pythag. p. 25. 
 
 {/:) Difcite Juftitiam moniti & non temnere Divos. 
 
 yiroil yEneid. ri. I. 620. 
 
 The Worfhip of God is the moll excellent Part of Religion, ^s 
 having Cod the moft Excellent Being for ii's Objed. SherlocFs, 
 IfitroduJ. to his Lifcourfe on Religious Jfftmhiies. 
 
 Suppofe a Man could f.tisfy h'mielf, as to thefe two Points of his 
 Duty \viz. towaids liis Neighbour and himfclf) yet if he makes j 
 roXJonfcicnce of the Third, /. e. of Piety towards God, in 
 ■what Senfe or Notion can this Man be faid to have done his Duty, 
 or to lead a virtuous Life ? Certainly in no ^enfe at alh For as to 
 one third Part of his Duty (wh'ch is indeed ^% confiderable atleaft,. 
 
 if \ 
 
Religious Obfej^vafion of the Lord's Day. 113 
 
 This is plain froin tliofe Pofitive Precepts of 
 Holy Scripture, which require us to ferve and wor- 
 fhip God, and from that Care and Provifion. which 
 Pie hath made for that Worfhip, as hath been al- 
 ready obferved. And indeed if the Scripture had 
 been filent in this Matter, it would be iufficiently 
 evident from Natural Reafon (/) ; lince nothing can 
 
 I be 
 
 if not more than either of die othei) he is a notoriws TranTgref- 
 four. And tho' he be not unjull, tho' he be not debauch'd- yet 
 wanting Piety towards God, he is impious ; and that will ci.% cer- 
 tainly damn him as either of the orht;r. Jrchhifiop Siiarp's Ser- 
 f/ions, Vol. I. p. 467 
 
 What fhall we fay of the feemingly good Anions of thofe Chri- 
 fii.ins^ who are deftitute of that C/^z/?zVi^ Principle from which 
 every Chrijlian Virtue proceeds \ we will not call them Sins, for 
 that may be thought liard : hut furely they are unavailing Virtues. 
 And is it not great Pity, that good Aftions fhouJd be loll for want 
 of a good Principle to recommend them ? and that after we have 
 taken Pains to live [oberh and righteonjlj, we fhouU lofe our Re- 
 ward and be deceived at laft, for want of living goilly too ? Yet 
 how miiny Men are there, who have outwardly no Fault, and in- 
 wardly no Senie of Virtue! who are very Regular and Orderly in 
 the Difcharge of all Duties, except that which they owe to God 1 
 Thr.t, which is not only the moft neceffary of all Duties, but that 
 ahb, without wh'ch the Performance of all Duties is no better than 
 Formality and Precence? Di Littleto?i's Sermons y Vol. I. p. 98. See 
 the Place. 
 
 (/) Sure they (the Impiou?) cannot expefl, that in the moft 
 Imperfeft Sketch of Natural Religion the Worfhip of the Deity 
 flTOiild be omitted. WoolaJioMs Religion of Nature delineated, 
 p. 126. 
 
 I cannot allow that Natural Religion Ihould be painted utterly, 
 naked withoutany Manner of Drefs or Ornament, like a B:rth that 
 is newly come from the Womb, or the Earth defpoiled by Winter 
 of all the Fruits and Flowers that are wont to adorn it. Natural 
 Religion is rather wont to fuper-abound in thefe, and to incline to 
 Supeiilition ; fo that for the moft Psrt fomething ought to be 
 pruned from thefe to reftrain their Luxuriancy. I would have all 
 that is faperfluous and fuperlliiious cart entirely off from it : yet 
 fome External Worihip wid illU remain, and thofc ficred Rites and 
 thole wholeforae Inftitutions of Piety, which in Nature" s fe If ^xq 
 Ibunded. Such are Spiritual Hymns, and Praifes, and Prayers, and 
 folemn Supplications in public Congregations. Such likewile are 
 the ConfciTion of Siiis, and Prayers for the averting of Judgments, 
 
114 A Difcourje concerning the 
 
 be more plain in Reafon, than that all Created 
 Dependent Beings are bound to acknowledge their 
 Obligations to their Creator, by all proper Ads of 
 Homage and Devotion (;;2). And indeed fmce the 
 Obligation of all Moral Duties is founded in the 
 Nature of Things, and the feveral Relations which 
 they bear to each other •, it is monftroujly abfurd to fup- 
 pofe that the Relation, ^\{\c\i finite created Bdngs bear 
 to God their Creator, Governour, and beft Benefa6lor, 
 fhould not be fui^cient to eftablifh thofe Duties which 
 arife from that Relation •, as well as the Relation which 
 weak and imperfecl Creatures Hand in to one another 
 fhould be deemed fufficient to eilablifli the refpeftive 
 
 Duties 
 
 as likewife the ordinary enabiifhed Forms and Profefiions of Faith 
 in God, which in Nature's ///zrc founded. All thefe have Pb.ce 
 in Natural Religion, and likewife Feftivals fet apart for the perform- 
 ing of facred Rites, and Difcourfes to the People, and Exhortations 
 to Virtue, to Piety, to Repentance and Reformation ; or laftly, 
 whatever may contribute to the averting the Wrath of God, or to 
 the obtaining His Bleffings, or may be for public or private Good, 
 according to thebeft and trueit Light of Naiure : A'l thefe are to 
 be engrafted and adopted into Natural Religion. Dr Burnet on the 
 Faith -nd Duties of Chriftians, ch ii. p. i6" i 7. See alfo, a very 
 excellent and judicious Difcourfe concerning the Neceflity and Ufe- 
 fulnefs of Rituil and External Inftitutions in Religion in Dr Mar' 
 /hall's Sermons^ Vol, II. Sermon vii. 
 
 [m] We worihip God, we pr^ife and pray to Him, not becanffi 
 we think that he h proud cx our Worlhip, ox ford of our Praife or 
 Prayers, or affeSied with them, as Mankind are, or that all our 
 Service can contribute in rhe leaf Degree to His Happinefs or 
 Good, but becaufe it is goody,/- us to be difpofed towards God, 
 becaufe it hjuft^nA right and fuitable to the Nature of Things^ and 
 becoming the Relation we Hand ia to our fupieme Lord and Go- 
 vernour. Minute Phiiofopher^ Vol. I. p. 263. 
 
 Give unto the Lord iaith, David, the Honour due unto His Name^ \ 
 Pfa/m xxix. 2. Intimating it is no arbitrary or volu>:tary Acl, but \ 
 theP^yn-ient of a j:if Debt; and indeed 'for this very End wc J 
 were created, that we might praife God. He gave us Eyes to fee.,; 
 and Realbn to apprehend His wondrous Works, and Tongues to'; 
 publifli the Glory of Him that made them all; which if wefhal!.' 
 i.cgle<St, we do not anlwer the End of our Creation ; and by with; 
 holding this fo dclerved a Tribute, we divcll ourfelves of all rigi' 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 115 
 
 Duties which are derived therefrom {n). Piety therefore 
 or the Worfhip of God is eflential to Religion, and 
 a neceflary Part of that Juftice {0) which is due to God : 
 And fo in a proper Senfe may be reckoned a material 
 Branch of Morality (/>) itfelf And Piety towards 
 God not only implies the regular Performance of the 
 Devodons of the Clofet, but alfd a due and conftant 
 I 2 Attendance 
 
 to any of God's Gifts, and are but Reives and Robbers, if we ufe 
 them and do not pay him o\xx juft Acknowledgments. Comber\ 
 Companion to the Temple. Partll.§ii. 
 
 {71) God is the Life of the World, the Spirit that animates and 
 governs the iinmcnfe Frame of Nature. To him our Relation is 
 irJifputab'e^ our Obligations are infinite. We cannot exclude Him 
 from the Univerfe withouc deflroying it, and Ihall wefhutHim ouc 
 of our Scheme of MoraHty ? The Relations we ftand in to Men 
 are acknowledged to be the Foundation of various Offices of in- 
 difpenfable Neceffity, and the utmoft Importance in human Life: 
 and can in be, that our Relations to God conllitute no Tie, no 
 Bond of Duty .? Is it fit that we Ihould aft as if we were born 
 for ourlelves without having any Concern for our Feilow-Creatures; 
 and are we at Liberty to live as without God in the World ? No- 
 thing can be more abfurdly, more inexcufably wicked : For it fup- 
 pofes the Univerfe to be all Creature and no Creator, all Effe8 and 
 noCaufe. Forfier''% Sermo7ts., Vol. IL p, 201, 202. See alfo 
 Idv MarpaPs Sermonsy Vol IILp.221 to22s;. 
 
 [p] Efl enim Pieras Jullitia adverfum Decs. Cic. del^at.Deo-- 
 rum., lib. i. cap xli. To deny or negledl the Worfhip of God is 
 the higheft Injuftice j it is to deny God what is His Natural Right, 
 what is due trom us, what alone we are able to give, and what He 
 requires of us. Sherlock on Religious AJJemblies, Fart 1. chap. i. 
 § 2. 
 
 (p) If there be really a God that has any Concern with us and 
 fjr us, a compleat Morality mull neceffarily have refpedl toHim 
 as well as to our Intercourfe with one another. This is what 
 cannot reafonably be denied, unlefs there Ihould be any who think' 
 becaufe God is a Spirit and invifible, that therefore Men who are 
 clothed with Body have no Means of Ihewing him any Honour 
 or Reverence, or of afting and doing any thing that can have Re- 
 lation to a Super-eminent Being If therefore Morality 
 
 <;annot be compleat and perfeft without afting fuitably and becom- 
 ingly to every Relation in which We ftand to any Beings, and 
 cfpecially rational Beings that are known to us ; the very chief Parts 
 of it mull be in proper A6ls of Piety and Religion to the Firft Be- 
 ing, from whom we derive our Rcafon itfelf. Bijkop Leng's Sermom 
 4> Boyle'j L'Mi'.res, p, 86; 87. 
 
1 1 6 A Difcoiirfe coiicemijig the 
 
 Attendance upon t\\t public Worfhip at the ftated Times 
 and Seaibns of it. Since by this Means not only the 
 Honour of God is beft promoted and advanced {q) 
 (as hath been already obferved in the Introdudiion to 
 the fir (I Part, p. 2.) and a good Example of this 
 JDuty is fct before the World (r) •, but aifo becauie 
 as an Eminent Divine (s) well exprefles it, " by this 
 *' public Worfiiip of God are made the propereft 
 '' ExprelTions of the Senfe we have of our Dependence 
 '' upon Him •, and by this Manner of expreffing it, 
 *' is that Senfe itfelf, the Senfe of God and Jleligion 
 *' upon the Minds of Men, moFc efieduaily kept up 
 " and preferved " And indeed to ufe the Words of 
 a very Learned Writer, (/) " It is too fad and yet 
 " undeniable, that wherever the Solemn and Public 
 *' Worihip of God in certain and fixed Places de- 
 *' dicated to that ufe is difcontinued •, Religion, the 
 " Honour and Reverence of God imm.ediately de- 
 " cays and becomes torgotten. As in all Parts of 
 *' the Chriltian Church it may be oblerved, that 
 " wherever the Public Worihip of God in Churches 
 " hath been taken from Chriftians as in Perfta and 
 " Africa^ the Faith of Chrift hath been wholly loit 
 *' in one or tw^o Generations : Vv^hercas the Church 
 " of Greecehy the Advantage of the Ufe of Churches 
 *' permitted to them, hath continued to flourifh and 
 " retain her Faith uniliaken under the Government 
 
 of 
 
 (f) Vid.Pfal. xxix. I, 2. PfiiLc. 4. 
 
 .(?■) Plal. XXXV. 18. The External Worfliip of God confifts in 
 fervinf!; and horouring Him not only in Private, but in Public 
 too, and in the Face of all the World : for to d3 a I'hing fecretly 
 looks as if we were afnamed of it ; whereas Woilhip publickly 
 paid not only gives Teliimony of our o^vn Zeal, but alfo o hers 
 by our Ex^.mt;le to be as Devout as we are SpcvanhFuffendorfy 
 Vol. I. p. 162, 162, bee the Notes upon the Place* 
 
 [s) Dr Clarke: Sermons, Vol. 11. p. 27. 
 
 (/) Wbartoih^^imoxis, \o\. If. p. 427-8. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 1 17 
 
 "of the 'Turks ; although continually opprefled, 
 " difcountenanced , injured and perfecuted by 
 " them." And therefore, tho' we muft grant that the 
 external Worfhip of God at any particular Time 
 and Seafon of it may and ought to be omjtted, 
 when any unavoidable Duty of Neceffity and 
 ^ Charity interferes therewith ; yet this is not becaule 
 the Worfhip of God, even as to the external Part of 
 it,' is net Moral and eq^ually binding with that necefTary 
 Duty -, but becaufe it may on that Account be well 
 deferred 'dll another Opportunity, which the Duty of 
 NecelTity and Charity cannot be. For otherwife, where 
 the Cafe is not fo urgent, but that the Moral Duty 
 may be fully and fufficiently difcharged at another 
 Time •, the greateft Ad of Goodnels and Charity 
 which liich a Man can perform will not atone for 
 one Jingle Negled of attending upon God's Worfhip. 
 For inltance, were I juft now going into the Houfe of 
 God to ferve and worfiiip Him, or approaching the 
 Holy Table of the Lord in order to receive the Blc>- 
 fed Sacrament of His Body and Blood, and at that very 
 Inftant my Neighbour's Houfe Ihould be on Fire, and 
 could not be exdnguiilied v/ithout my Help -, or Ihould ■ 
 any thing of the like Nature happen at that Time, 
 which could not admit of the leaft Delay : in fuch a 
 Cafe, there is no Doubt, but that I ought to omit the 
 Worfhip of God and receiving the Sacrament for that; • 
 Seafon, that I might affift my Neighbour in his Diftrefs. 
 And I am really of Opinion, that the OmifTion of the. 
 public Service and Sacrament upon fuch an Account 
 would not only be highly pleafing and acceptable to 
 God, but alfo that I Ihould for the Sake of my Hu- 
 manity and Charity receive the full Benefit of thofe 
 K.eligious Inftitutions, as well as if I had attended upon 
 them. Bat had I determined with myfelf to diftribute 
 fuch or fuch a Sum of Money among the Poor of this 
 or that Town or Fariili, or to do any other Act of 
 Charity, which might as v/ell be done on any other 
 
 I 3 Day 
 
1 1 8 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 Day as that which is dedicated to the Worlhip of God; 
 it would be a very great Sin to negle6l the public Wor- 
 lhip of God in His Church, upon account of diftri- 
 budng that Charity j becaulc die Condition and Cir- 
 cumftances of both Duties are fuch, that each of them 
 may be duly and fufficiendy dilcharged in its proper 
 Seafon. And fo likewife, tho' fome Moral Crimes, 
 fuch as Adultery^ Fornication^ Slander^ and the like, 
 may be in themfelves more finful and more feverely 
 punifhed at the laft Day than the /^^rf Negled of God's 
 Worfhip and o^ Pojitive Inftitutions ^ becaufe in fuch 
 Cafes there is a TranfgrefTion againft the Rights of 
 Men as well as God, and fo a double Violation of 
 God's Law; yet the one is as truly an Inftance of Sin 
 as the other, and as fuch will expofe Men to the 
 Judgment of God, according to that Determinadon 
 of the Apoftle (which equally holds in all Kinds and 
 Inftances of wilRil and deliberate Sin) whofoever floall 
 keep the whole Law^ mid yet offend in one Pointy he is 
 guilty of all. Jam, ii. lo. And if we look into Scripture 
 we (hall find that God often punifhes Men, and in as 
 terrible a Manner, for the Breach of thofe Laws which 
 relate to His Worfhip, and of Pofitive Tnflitutions, as 
 well as for the Violadon of Moral Duties (u) : as ap- 
 pears from feveral Inftances, and particularly from the 
 Cafe of the Man that was ftoned to Death tor gathering 
 of Sucks upon the Sabbath Day (x). Numb. xv. 
 ^ ^ (y) 3^> 
 
 (u) Qiiisnon mifereatur Ufe, quifoloArcse non tangendx taftu 
 cecidir exanimis ? Annon exitiabUe fait Saulis faftum, quod metu Sc 
 tnorae Samuelis t^edio in facrificandi Munus irruit r CJnde non in 
 Samuelis modo, fed Dei funeftam Indignationem incidit, Quis Prin- 
 cipum non horrefcat qui videt Uiiam Regem, tentando non len- 
 tanda, in lepram incidiiTe; qua? in vita ilium a Regimine, & in 
 Morte a Regum Sepulchrisextrufit ? ApolhniiGralla^ P-3^7- 
 
 [x) Ph'ilo fpeaking of this Man's Crime, and his being brought 
 unto Mofei 3.ndJaron and all the Congregation, z^er. 33. obferves 
 that Mo/es was then expounding the Law, as upon the Sabliaih Dayi 
 it beinEj the Cuftom of the J-ews to fpend Part of their Time on the 
 Sabbath Days in Public Affe^^blies, as Was before remembred in a 
 Paflage cited out of him, p. S9» 
 
 Nee 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 119 
 
 32, ^r. (^y) and from diat to*!:^ Judgment which was 
 executed on Korah^ Bathan and Ahiram^ for invading the 
 Priefl's Office. Ntimb.xwi. Ofwhichy^i^tr^ Proceeding 
 no poflible Senfe could be made, if the public Worfliip 
 and Service of God were not an Eflendal Part of Re- 
 hgion. And in the other World Men fliall be pu- 
 niihed for the Neglcd of God's Worlhip, as well as 
 for breaking the Rules of Morality. In which Senfe 
 we may very properly ufe thofe Words of the Pfahnijly 
 ix. 17. (which as fome think are by him applied to 
 (z) another Purpofe) ^be Wicked jJjdl he turned into 
 HelL and all the Nations that forget God (a). For by 
 this FxprefTion is oftentimes meant in Scripture the not 
 Worfnipping of God -, as is plain from innumerable 
 Palfages which might be produced, and particularly 
 from thofe Places where Mofes cautions the Ifraelites, 
 left ijvhen they came into the promifed Land and enjoyed 
 
 I 4 the 
 
 (')NecSabbati enim infpicis Legem opera huniana non divinapro- 
 hibentem. Ideoque qui Sabbatis lignatum ierat, morti datus eil, 
 fuum enim opus fecerat iege inrerditflum. Qui veru arcam Sabba- 
 tis circumtulerart, impunc gelTerunt j non ^um enim opus fed Dei, 
 ex priEceptol'cilicet ipfius, adminiilraverant. Tertull. adv. Marcion. 
 lib. ii. 
 
 (z) ^ee Bijhop Patric!:, in toe. compared with Dr Sherlock on the 
 Immcrfality of the Soul ^c. p. 149. 
 
 (a) 7>/f7/A7r^/<;j feeing the Three (Infernal) Judges (according to 
 the Notion of the Poets) pafiing Sentence upon a Man, took the 
 Liberty to ask them, what were his Crimes ; the Criminal immedi- 
 ately taking upon himfclf to anfvver, cried out, I never did the leall 
 Evil on the Contrary. I placed my grcatell Happinefs in doing 
 ■ Good; J was ever generous, liberal, iu(l,compaiTionate; what have 
 they then to charge me with ? to which Minos anfwered, we have 
 nothing to accufe thee of with refped to Men ; but didft not thou 
 owe to them far lefs than to the Ciods, where is then that Juftice 
 thou fo much braggcfl of? thou hall failed in nothing towardsMcn 
 who are nothing; thou haft been virtuous, but thou haft referred 
 all Virtue to thy felf, and not to the Gods who gave it thee; thou 
 hadft a Mmd to enjoy the Fruits of thy own proper Virtue, and 
 mule it centre in thy felf; thou hall been thy own Deity ; but the 
 Grd^', who were the Creators of all Things and who have made 
 nothing but for themfelves, cannot renounce their Right. As thou 
 didll forget them, fo they will forget thee, and furrender thee up 
 to thy felf; fmce for thy felf thou livedft, and not for them. Jd- 
 ventures ^Telemachus, Part IL lib. xviii. p. 185. 
 
120 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 the Blejfings of it, they Jhould forget God \ the Meaning 
 of which he immediately explains, by their walking after 
 other Gods ^ and ivorjhipping them. Dcut.vm. tu. For 
 this is called tht forgetting of God, becaufe it is a trans- 
 ferring that Worfliip upon the irlcaihen Deities, which 
 God hath firitlly appropriated to Himfelf (b). And 
 how great a Sin this was, may be judged by the Threat- 
 ning which in that Text is annexed to it. u^nd it fhall 
 h,e, that if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and 
 walk after other Gods, and ferve and wcr(hip them, I 
 iejlify againjiyou this Day that ye fhall fur ely perifh. And 
 fo great an Offence to God was this Sin of Idolatry and 
 Worlhip of falfe Gods, that as an excellent Divine well 
 obferves (c), " the whole Hiitory of the J ewifjj Na- 
 '' tion may fatisfy us, that tho' God many Times 
 " fpared them when they were guilty of other great 
 " Sins, yet they never fell into Idolatry, but Ven- 
 '' geance foon purfued them ; and they were either 
 '' opprefled by their Enemies at Home, or carried 
 " Captives into Foreign Countries.'* 
 
 Secondly, 'Tis to no purpofe for any one to feparate 
 Morality from Piety or the Worfliip of God ; lince 
 we cannot attain to that Perf e6lion of Morality, which 
 fhall render us acceptable to God, without attending 
 upon His public Worfliip and Service. For not to 
 mendon that the Performance of the Duties of God's 
 Worlhip does of itfelf naturally call to Mind, and 
 bell prelerves in our Thoughts (d) a 'due Senfe of the 
 
 Being 
 
 {t>) Fid. Rom. i. 19, e^^-. 
 
 (rj ^i'^r/jTT/^ on Divine Providence, ch?.p. viii. p. 313. 410. See 
 the Pliue 
 
 (d) Some Aftsof Worfliip to be religioufly performed at Regular 
 and Stated Periods are not only the genuine Efieds, but the beil 
 Prtferyativcs of that Religious Awe which we ought to have for the 
 Majefty of God. But fuch A6ts as thefe cannot well be periormcd, 
 at icaft'not at all Times with equal Profit, without the Help cf 
 fome outward S'gn-. We may indeed fometimes with infinite De- 
 light fet Gur Tlioughts a ranging in thofe boundlefs Fields of Con- 
 templation on the Attributes of God, *till they are loll and fwaJ- 
 
 lowed 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 121 
 
 Being and Providence of God, and the great Concern* 
 ments of a future Slate, which are the Life and Sup- 
 port of Religion *, it is a Principle which Chriftians are 
 generally agreed in, that without the Grace of God, 
 and the Ainilance of the Holy Spirit, we are notable 
 to perform our Duty. This the Je^ucs of (e) Old, and 
 the very Heathens themfelves (f) were fenfible of. 
 But now it is very ckar from Holy Scripture, that 
 thefe BiciTings are not ordinarily difpenfed to us, but 
 by the Uie of the external Adminiltrations of Reli- 
 gion (g). Thus we muft pray to God for His Holy 
 Spirit. Luke xi. i ?. And if we expecl the Grace and 
 AiTiltance of God, we mull frequently receive the 
 Plefi'ed Sacrament. Which Inftiltaion. tho' it is de- 
 fpifed by fome among us, and too much neglected and 
 diiufed by others •, yet was ever held in the higheft 
 Veneranon by the Primitive Church, and thought to 
 be oi the utmoit Benefit and Advantage to all good 
 
 Chriftiam, 
 
 lowed up in Wonder. And fuch an A£l as this, when it is a vo- 
 luntary Aft, performed with a fixed and deliberate Defign to ad- 
 mire and adore the Deity, is doubtlefs in His Sight as much an Aft 
 of Worfhip, as when we offer up the Sacrifice of our Lips. But it 
 is not every one that hath this Strength of Mind. Many have no 
 No. ion of any Ad of Worfhip, {o pure, {o abfira^led and refuied% 
 nor can even thofe who have be fo fure of praifing God in an ac- 
 ceptable and proper Maner, when they are left to the Dire6lion of 
 their own fudden Thoughts, as they are by the Help of a fet Form 
 of Words, defigned lo contain and fugged to their M^nds proper 
 M.uter for their Praife and Worfliip. Ur Littletons Sermons, Vol. 
 II. p. 177, 178. 
 
 (e) Vid. Poli Symp. Crit. mPfal. li. 13. 
 
 (f) A/ c/1' ati^cu '^vyjii (pvcreif ciy.(pia-Cm^<rifwt Iv (Ai^eia *? 
 
 TdJ. cvvxyj;'!^^ ,'^S iy in/MiiTTO^f ^ k^r) ba.-n^ -m. xpeiTle* 
 f>mi ii) ytiPayjoym^. Max. Try. DifTertat. xxii. p. 265. T/V. lo£. 
 The faifielsalfo obferved frequently by AriJiotle'\n hi.<^ Ethics to 
 "Nicomachusy by Seneca in Epiil. xli. and by other Philofophers. 
 
 (g) As God is to be obeyed, fo He is to be worfliipped alfo ; 
 nay the worfliipping Him is a Part of ihatcvry Obedience, and a 
 Means to enable Men to perform more acceptably the other Parts of 
 their Obedience. Dr C/.2r/(-'s Sermons, Vol. IX. p. 437. 5^fVol. 
 \L p. 27. 
 
122 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Chrifiians (h). And indeed well might the Primitiva 
 Church think fo ; when it is called by St Pml^ the 
 Coinmunion of the Body and Blood cf Cbrift, i Cor. x. 
 1 6, ifc, that is, as the bed Interpreters have always 
 rendered it, the Means whereby we communicate with 
 Chrjft^ and receive the Benefits ofl-:is Death and Pal^ 
 fion (/). And therefore it is idle and vain 'Talk in the 
 Enthufiafts of the prefent Age to fay, PFhai figmfies 
 powing a little JVater upon a Man in Baptifm ? What 
 Jignifies eating of Bread and drinking of Wine at the Sa-^ 
 crament ? Lead a good Life^ if thou expeclejl (k) to be 
 favedl I fay, this is nothing but idle and vain Talk ^ 
 fince a Man cannot ordinarily obtain that Grace and 
 Aflillance of God, v/hich is necelTary to a good Life^ 
 without the Uie of thefe external Miniftrations (/), 
 But^ 
 
 Thirdly and laftJy^ The bed and mod righteous Men, 
 who have been the mod remarkable for the Prad:ice of 
 Moral Goodnefs and Virtue, have likewife been ever 
 the mod eminent for their Attendance upon the public 
 Wordiip and Semce of God {m). This is very evident 
 
 from 
 
 (h) ''Et'is ci'pi^v it\xv7i^ 'ijt Z£tp(M.'.'/.ov a^vcLcioi', cLyjidtT©^ 
 
 Epijl. cdEphef. juxt. fin, Caro abluiiur ut anima emaculctur, Cara 
 Corpore h Sanguine ChrHli vefcitur, ut & aninia dc Deo laginerur. 
 Non poiTunt ergo ieparari in Merccde, quas opera conjungit. Ter- 
 tiiWan de Rrfarreffione, in pn?iciph. 
 
 Sacramentorum vis inennarrabiliter valet pjurimum, c^ ideo con- 
 tempta facrjlegos facit ; inipie quippe coniQ.m\vAuY^ fine qua non 
 ferfici poteft Pietas. J^i!^j(ft. contr, Fdi/fi. lib. xix. Vid. etlam 
 Cypriani lib. ii. Epifi. iii. ad Ctecilium. 
 
 {?') See pirticiilarly Bvrr.ef^ Artie. XXVlII, p. 316, 317. 
 
 {h) Vid. Barclay s Pi^ol. Prop. 12 ^ ii. p. 415. 
 
 (/) See Dr Goodmany on the Parable of the Prodigal, Part. L 
 chap. iv. §.2. 
 
 [rn] In fail it has always been found that in thofe Place, where 
 there h:ith been liuie Senfe of God and Religion, or where the No" 
 tions of Religion have been greatly debafed anl corrupted, fo as to, 
 have little Sffefl upon the Minds of Men in their Moral Conduct, 
 there the Manners of Men have been always mod brutifh and in- 
 human. And on the contrary, where Men have had the julUft 
 
 • and 
 
Religious Cbfer^vatiGn of the L ord's Day. 1 2 3 
 
 from the Example of all the righteous and good Men, 
 both among Jeivs and Chriftians ♦, .nay, and I will add 
 among Heathens too (n). But it is molt peculiarly rc« 
 markable in our BleiTed Saviour Himfelf He was 
 ahfolute in Morality and all Goodnefs : For in Him was 
 no Sin^ neither "joas Guile found in His Mouthy t Fet. ii. 
 22. And yet nofwithftanding this Perfeftion, He 
 punBually obferved the external Ordinances of Religion. 
 Thus, He'uoas circumcifed when He was eight Days Old^ 
 as the Law required. Luke ii. 2t. AnA 7i^ Baptifm 
 was a (landing Part of the Jewijh Conftitution, He 
 freely {6) complied with it, and told t\\QBaptiJl^ it was 
 the fulfilling of Righteotifnefs . Matt. iii. 15. {p). And 
 He not only ferved God in private^ but alfo commu- 
 nicated with the Jewijh Church in all it's Offices and 
 Adminiftrations (ji) ; and that not only in fuch Things 
 as were exprefsly appointed by God Himfelf, but alio 
 in fuch as were eyitirely owing to Human Inftitution. 
 
 For 
 
 and moit lively Seme of a Deity and a Providence, there all Moral 
 Virtues between Man and Man have flourifhed, the mofl worthy 
 and generous A6lions have been performed and the Manners of 
 Men have ever been the moil human and civilizM. Bifhop Lengs 
 Sermons, p. 75. Vid. loc. 
 
 Haud fcioanPietateadverfum Deosfublata fides etiam & focietas 
 humani generis, h una excellentilTiraa virtus Juilitia tollatur. Cic. 
 de Nat. Oeorum, lib. i. in Pro^mio. 
 
 (n) ' Ky^d ^uK^dm eii Fleipcucc vaninei T^nv^diJLivQ- iH 
 
 'TT^jrjfofji. Max^iyrij Oijfcrtat. xxx. p. 366. hee alfo above, p. 100., 
 [0) Chriilum nunquam le in adionibus fuis exhibuiffe vel often- 
 taffe tanquam eximium k. fingularem Homincm, fed caeteris fimi- 
 Jem : unde voluit more aliorum circumcidi, inTemp'o prxfentari, 
 & nunc a Johanne baptizari; ut difcas in omnibus etiam Spiritu- 
 alibus te aliis accommndare, nee peculiaria privilegia tibi vendicare 
 ob doftrinam, fapientiam, opus, induflriam. Bufai Enchiridion 
 fiarum Meditationum. p. 320. 
 
 (/) Vid. Poli Synopf. Critic, in loc. 
 
 (^) It is very remarkable in the whole Hiftory of our Saviour, that 
 in all Cafes, where neither any Natural Neceffity nor moral Obliga- 
 tion intervened to the contrary, there He was conftantly T^o^exnTv 
 and nice in fulfilling every Particular even of the Ceremonial Law, 
 Dr Clarke'^ Sermons, Vol. X. p. 45. See alfe Dr Marjhair^'^i" 
 mons. Vol. II. p. 416 10419. Vol.III.p. i6i,drr» 
 
324. -^ Difcourfe concernijig the 
 
 For St John tells us that He was prefent (r) at the Feafl 
 o^ Dedication. John x. 22. Which Feaft was not ap- 
 pointed by God in Holy Scripture; but by theGover- 
 nours of the Jewiflo Church in the Time of the Macca- 
 hes^ upon their reftoring and purifying the Sancluary 
 after it's Pollution by the King oi Syria (j). Which 
 does not only demonflrate the Lawfulnels of comply- 
 ing with fuch Liilitutions, as are wMly grounded upon 
 Human Authority (/), in oppofition to fome Fcribns 
 among us who have afTerted the contrary i but is more- 
 over 
 
 (r) ^-'his Feftival Chriil honoured with HisPrefence at Jerufalem^ 
 coming thkher on Purpoie to bear a Part in the Iblemnizing of it, 
 which implies His Approhafion of it. And therefore from hence 
 Grotius very juilly infers [inComme-t. nd Job. x. 22 ) that Felli- 
 val Days in Memory of public Bleffings may piou/ly be inliituted 
 by Perfons in Authority without a Divine Command, or (it may 
 hQ added) the Example of a Perfon divinely direded obferving the 
 fame ; for the Inflitution of this Feilival was without either, there 
 being neither any Divine Precept, nor the Ex?.mpie of any Prophet 
 for the Obfervance of it. Prideanx's Connexion 8vo Vo]. III. p. 
 278. Sub. Anno ante Ch rip um. 165. 
 
 (5) I Maccab. ch.iv. And that the Feall o{ Dedication mentioned 
 by St John^ at which our BlelTed Saviour was prefent, was not 
 cither of the two Former Dedications of the Temple which were 
 celebrated before, viz. that o^ SolotnoNy i K^ngs ch viii. and after- 
 wards that oiT.-erubhabd, Ezra vi 16. <^c. as fome early Writers 
 of the Church imagined, (Vid. Maldonat in loc.) is very evident 
 from \\it.{z two Considerations. FirJ}^ That tho* thcfe Dedications 
 were obferved in a very Solemn manner, at the lime \'vhen they 
 were performed, yet there was no Aniiiverfary appointed in Coia- 
 mcmoration of them, as there was of this of Judas Maccabeus, 
 AnAthtn Secondly, This Feaft of Dedication happened at a quite 
 different Time of the Vear, from that of the tw3 Former Dedica- 
 tions. For that of Solmon was in the Seventh Month then called 
 Ethandm^ afterwards Tizri, which fell about the Time of our i^/^^- 
 f ember, i Ki77gs viii/z. And that of Zenibbabel was in the twclhh 
 Month cared Jdar, which fell in the Beginning of the Spring; but 
 this Feftival of the Maccabees was appointed to he obferved on the 
 tvyenty-fifth Day of the Month Cijleu, which fell in the middle of 
 the Winter. 1 Maccab. iv. 59. And that it was obferved at that 
 Seafon of thcYear in our Blefied Saviour's Days, St John tells u« 
 in t^e Place above cited. 
 
 (t) ^t^ ArchV\^\o^rilIotfon, Yd III, p. 227. \)r MarJI-alfs 
 Sermons, Vol. II p. 519, 520. in which there are two very Ex- 
 cellent PaiTagCi to this Putpofe^ too loag tobe here inferCed. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 125 
 
 over a nianifeft Proof that the pubhc Worfliip and Ser- 
 vice of God is an eifential Part oi Rehgion •, fince it 
 cannot be at all fuppoied,.that our BlefTed Saviour, 
 who was infinite in Wildom as well as Goodnels, would 
 have employed {o much of H}s Time in public Devo- 
 tion and the Worfhip of God, if it had been fuch a 
 trifling :ind indifferent a Matter, as fome Perfons among 
 us now reprefent it to be. And thus I have lliewn the 
 Neceflity and Obligation of attending upon the public 
 Worlliip and Service of God •, in the due Performance 
 of v/hich great Duty the Religious Cbfervation of the 
 Lord's Day does mainly and principally confift. I 
 ihall, before I proceed to the next Particular, make one 
 or two ufeful and neceffary Reflexions upon what hath 
 been delivered upon this Head. And, 
 
 Firft^ Yxom what hath been faid concerning the 
 Virtue and Benefit of the Chriftianln^^ixniions^ we may 
 fee how great a Blefling thoie Men deprive themfelves 
 of, who negledl the public Worfliip and Service of God. 
 I know the wretched Excufe which many of them make 
 for themfelves •, and that is, that they can pray as well 
 to God in private^ and read as good a Difcourfe at 
 Home, as they can hear at Church (ti). And what if 
 they can ? Does all the Benefit of coming to Church 
 
 confift 
 
 (u) Others there are who acknowledge it is their Duty to wor- 
 fhip God, but they think they can worfliip God as well at home 
 as at Church ; th.it it is not the Place which makes their Prayers 
 more or lefs efFeclual, but God hears us wherever we pray, and is 
 always pleasM even Vv'ith the fingle and private Devotions of good 
 Men. And the World is fo well ftored with good Books, that they 
 can fpcnd their Time to as good purpofe in reading at Home, as if 
 they went to Church to hear a Sermon. And I need not obferve 
 how many there are who A61 according to thefe Principles. Sherlock 
 on Religious Affemblies. Part I. ch. ii. p, 1 1 1 See Part II ch. iii. 
 
 And the Excuie here taken notice of by the Learned Dean^ as 
 alledged for the neg'ecl of attending upon the Public Worfhip, we 
 find made as early as the Time of St Chnfojlom, who makes men- 
 tion of it, and fhews how vain and frivolous it is, by fetting forth 
 t'.e many and fuperionr Advantages of Public Devotion ; as the 
 Reader may fee in an excellent Paflage cited out of his Homilies by 
 ihe Learned Mr Bingham, in his Jntiquitiesy Book XX. ch. ii. § . li , 
 
126 A Difcouffe concerning the 
 
 confift in hearing of Sermons ? And if fuch Men dc> 
 pray to God in private (which is much to be que- 
 flioned {x) ) yet is there no Obligation to the Duties 
 of public Prayer and Thanklgiving {y) ? And is it of 
 no confequence to partake of thofe Divine Ordinances, 
 which are the neceffmj Means of conveying the Grace 
 of God and His Holy Spirit to us (2;)? Sure if there 
 had not been fome greater Benefit and Advantage in 
 
 the 
 
 (x) We fhall never find that a truly Wife and Good Man with- 
 draws himfelf from the Comnuinion of Religious Affemblies. Pri- 
 vate Devotion may be a Pretence to juftify the negletS of Public 
 Worfliip, but I dare appeal to thefe Mens Confciences that it is ne- 
 ver the true Caufe. For Men who do. heartily defire to worfhip 
 God, will choofe to worfiiip Him in the bell and moft folemn Man- 
 ner, that is, in the public AfTemblies of C^-z/^i^///. Sherlock ibid, 
 p. 115. God inflituted public Times of Worfhip (among the y^zt'j) 
 ind fuch Times as thefe are defcribed by calling AJfemblie^ and fo- 
 lemn Meetings ; Ifa. i. 1 3, becaufe then they met together iox pub- 
 lic Worfhip. For indeed it fcems to be a Contradi6tion to appoint 
 public diTid folem?i Times for private Worfhip. if Men are bound" 
 to worfi-iip God only in private^ there is no need oi public Days of 
 Refl dedicated to God's woifnip ; for every Man may take his ozvn. 
 Time for it, as he finds moil convenient and ufeful. But^A'^<^and 
 J^ated Times of Worfhip do necelTarily fuppofe public Worfiiip, and 
 evidently prove that folemn and public L'ays for Worfhip are not 
 landified merely by Private Aids of Worfhip. Sherlock ibid p. 123. 
 Th^y (the Primitive Chrijlians) did not think it Enough to read and 
 pray, and praiie God at Ho?ne, but made Confcience of appearing 
 in \.\\Q public Affemblics, from which nothing but Sicknefs and ab- 
 lolute NcceiTity did detain them : and if Sick or in Prifon or under 
 Baniflunent, nothing troubled thenn more than that they could not 
 tome to Church, and join their Devotions to the common Services._ 
 Jf Perfecution at any fme forced them to keep a little clofe, yet no 
 fooner was there the leall Mitigation, but they preiently returned to 
 their open Duty, and publickly met altogether. No trivial Pretenfes, 
 no light Excufes were then admitted, for any ones Abfencefrom the' 
 Congregation, but according to the Merit of the Caufe fevereCen- 
 fures v\ere pafTed upon them. Lr C2i\zs Primitive Cbrijiianity^ 
 Part I. chip. vii. 
 
 (y) Although God has promifed to hear us when We pray pri- 
 vately, fb it be done faithfully and devoutly, yet by the Hiltory of " 
 the Bible it appearcth, that public and common Prayer ismofl available 
 before Godj and therefore it is much to be lamented that it is no bet- 
 ter eileemed amcngus, who profel's to be but one Body mChriJi, 
 Hcmily of the Church concerning Common Prayer andSdcramints. 
 
 (zj See p. 121, 122. 
 
Religious Obfervationofthe Lord^s Day. 127 
 
 the Communion of the Church than many of us are 
 apt to think ; we fhould not have heard Holy David 
 complaining lb pathetically as he does in the Ixxxiv 
 Pfdm^ upon his being banifhed from the San^uary, O 
 bow amiable are thy tabernacles thou Lord of Hofts! My 
 Soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lor d^ 
 my Heart and my Flejh crieth out for the Living God {a) 
 ver. 1,2. And again, ver. 10. One Day in fhy Courts 
 is better than a Thoufand, Neidier would he have ex- 
 prefled fo much Zeal for the Building of the Temple 
 (as he had before done in preparing a Tabernacle or 
 Recepdon for the Ark. Pfalm cxxxii. 1 . to 6.) And 
 tho' God did not approve of his doing it in his own 
 Perfon, but in that of Solomon his Son (b) -, yet fure we 
 fhould not have found his good De(ign fo well accepted 
 by God, and fo great a Reward andBlefTing promifed 
 to Him upon that Account, if it had not been a Mat- 
 ter of great Confequence and Importance to His Ho- 
 nour and Glory. 'Thy Houfe and thy Kingdom^ lays God, 
 fhall be ejlahlifbed for ever before thee. Thy 'Throne fmll 
 be eftabiijhed for ever, 2 Sam. vii. 16. Neither would 
 the andent Men among the Jews have wept with fo 
 loud a Voice even at the Building of the fecond Temple; 
 when they obferved how fhort it came of the Glory of 
 the firft Temple : Ezra, iii. 12. It being abfurd to 
 imagine that they fhould exprefs fo much Zeal and Paf- 
 fion for the outward Fabrick and Strudure upon any 
 other Account, than as it had Reladon to the public 
 Worfhip and Service of God which was offered up 
 therein. Neither would the Heathe7is themfelves, when 
 they were befieged by the Enemy, have been fo zealous 
 and dihgent in laving their Temples and Places of Gods 
 Worfhip, at the fame Time that they neglected the Care 
 of their own Houfes, Families and Fortunes ; as an 
 
 eminent 
 
 {a) Devotion opens the Mind to ii,reatLorKept.ono,cinGii.. k with 
 moxz fublime Ijeas than ary that Are to be met with in the mo'T E.\.al- 
 ted^cience. And at the fame Time warms and agitates the Soul more 
 than Seniual Ple-ure. Wn Addijony in Spectator, No. 201. 
 
 {b) Vid, 2 Sam. vii. i Chron. xxii. 2 Chron. vi. 8, 9. 
 
128 A DifcrAirfe concerning the 
 
 eminent Divine hath well remarked {c). Nor would 
 the antient Princes and Nadons of the World have em- 
 ployed their Riches and moil ingenious Inventions of 
 Archite5fure in, building and adorning Temples for 
 their Gods *, and which is more, would the greatefl of 
 their Kings have«taken the Priefthood upon them, and 
 thought the Offering up the Sacrifices of their Worfhip 
 to be a mighty AccefTion to their Honours ; as is every 
 where to be ieen in Fagan HiRoty (/). Neither, in 
 cale it fo happened (as it mail needs do fometimes, 
 through the Defoladons of v ar, and the Iniquity of 
 thei\ge) thatany of their Temples were deifroyed, or 
 fell to Decay j would they have reckoned it a Mark of 
 Impiety and Wickednefs, to negleft the Rebuilding and 
 Repairing of them (e). Neither would the Priminve 
 Chrifdans have exprefs'd fuch Exuberant Joy and 
 Thankfgiving at the Building and Confecradon of their 
 Churches, when the Perfecudons were ended, if the 
 public Worfhip and Service of God had not been a 
 Concernment of the greateH Importance and Delight 
 to them (/). Our BleiTed Saviour would not fo ear- 
 iieftly have exhorted Men to pray akj:ays and not to faints 
 Luke xviii. i . and by His own Example have (liewn 
 them theNeceffity and Benefit of Church Communion*, 
 if it had been a Matter cf fo great IndifFerency (^). 
 And fui'ely, God Almighty vv^ould not have fo exprelsly 
 declared upon the Bailding of Solomon^s Temple, that 
 His Eyes Jhould be open^ and His Ears at tent unto the 
 Prayers of His People ivhich were made in that Place ^ and 
 that His Eyes and His Heart Jhould he there perpetually -^ 
 
 ■' Chron^ 
 
 (c) Dean Ynu i^'s SerrnoNs. W.l. I. p 280. 
 
 (d) ^:ec Dr Scot's Chrijhan Life, Vol. Ill p. »3^ ^S^* ^rch- 
 hijkop Potter'y Antiquities of Greece, Vrl. I. p. 7, i 87. 203. Edit. 5.. 
 In which there are fcveral rennukable Inftances of this Matter. 
 
 (e) Cur eget indignus quifquam 7e Divite? ^are 
 Templa ruunt antiqua Deum ? Cur, improbey car^ 
 Non aliQuid Patriot an to erne : iris acerz'o? 
 
 Herat Satyr, lib, ii. Sat. n, 
 
 (f) Vid Eufcbii EccL HiH. lib. 10. cap. 2, 5, 4. 
 \g) Sc2 above, p. izj. 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord*s Day. 129 
 
 2 Chron. vii. 15, 16. if public Devotion had not been 
 of the greatcft Service and Advantage to Mankind. 
 And doubdeiS) the Primitive Penitents would not with 
 fach Showers of Tears have bewailed their Misfortune 
 in being excluded from the Church, and fo devoutly 
 begged the Prayers of the Faithful ; if they v/ere of fo 
 little Value and Efteem (h). Neither would the andenr 
 Fathers of the Cliurch fo conftantly have exhorted Men 
 to Church Communion, and to partake of the Divine 
 Ordinances of the Gofpel ; as the Means to overcome 
 the Temptations of the Devil (/). And to fay no more > 
 if the public Wor{l:iip and Service of God had not 
 been a Matter of the utmoft Necefilty and Advantage, 
 I am fure the Primitive Chriftians were infatuated and 
 bewitched beyond Meafure ; in expofing themfelves to 
 fo many Hazards and Dangers j as they repaired to the 
 Places of Divine Service. Of which many Inftances 
 are to be met with in Ecclefiaflical Hiflory during the 
 Ten Perfecutions : But one of the moil remarkable of 
 all was that under Mmilian^ who was the Roman Go- 
 yernour of Egypt in the Reign of the Emperour Vale- 
 rian, This Deputy was a bitter Enemy to the Chrifii- 
 ansy and refolved to do the utmoft he could to prevent 
 their Meedng at their Affemblies. Many of them he 
 killed with all the Arts of Cruelty; fome he kept alive 
 for the Rack and Torture \ and others were loaded 
 with heavy Chains, and thruft down into loathfome 
 Dungeons, the Prefence of their neareft Relations and 
 Friends being denied to them. And yet notwithftand- 
 K ing 
 
 (b) He that without a necefTary Caufe abfents himfelf from pub- 
 lic Prayers, cuts himfelf ofF from the Church; which hath always 
 been thought fo uv.h.ippy a thing, that it is the grcirell Punifhment 
 the Governours of the Church can lay upon the worll Oflendej': ; 
 and therefore it is altrange Madiiels for Men toinflifl it upon them- 
 fe'ves. Whole Dut'/ cf Man^ Eund. V. § 1 1 . Vid. Termll. de Pce- 
 nitentia. See alfo the Homily of our Church, concerning the right 
 Ufe of the Church, Part II. towards the End. 
 
 «iX/yuyci( <fii '^ujavu, ^'C Ignat. Eyjl ad E^b f. 
 
530 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 {ng all thcfe fevere Proceedings, he could not keep back 
 the Chrifl'mns of Alexandria from their AfTemblies, nor 
 terrify them from the Performance of that Duty which 
 they owed to God {k) : which ought to make many 
 Thoufand ChriJUans among us blufh and afhamed of 
 themfelves, upon the Account of thoik trivial Vind /can- 
 dalous Excufes which they often make for abfenting 
 themfelves from the public Worfhip. 
 
 Thirdly and Iqftly, What hath been faid under this 
 Head of the puMic Worfhip of God, viz. that it is 
 eJentialtoRdigioUy and that without it theDifcharge 
 of Moral Duties will not be available to Salvation, is 
 a very fevere Reproach to that horrible Profanation of 
 the Lord's Day now growing more and more cufto- 
 mary in this Kingdom. I am fenfible, that Men are 
 much divided in their Opinions about the Obligation of 
 this Holy Day. Some think that the Duty thereof is 
 fufficiently difcharged by a conftant Attendance upon the 
 public Service, and a grave and ferious Behaviour and 
 Deportment therein ; and that after this, Men are entirely 
 at their Liberty as upon all other Days to indulge them- 
 felves in the Recreations and Diverfions of this World. 
 And I would to God that all Men had fo much Regard 
 to the Lord's Day., as to obferve it even thus far. It is 
 to be hoped (and I think there is littie doubt to be 
 made of it) that a due Senfe of the Obligation of this 
 Day in this principal Refpe6t would in Time and by 
 Degrees lead them to acknowledge it's Obligation in 
 all others. But other Perfons think that the whole Day 
 is holy, and ought to be dedicated to the Service of God 
 and Divine Things •■, and that after Men have attended 
 upon the Worfhip of God in His Church, they fhould 
 retire Home, and fpend fome conftdcrable Part of the 
 
 remain-' 
 
 (k) V id. Eufelj. EccL tiift. lih. vii. cap. xi. Quotidie oblide- 
 mur, quotidie prodimur, in ipfis plurianun Coetibus& Congre^ati- 
 nnibiis noftris oppriiniinur. TertuUian. Abolog, Q2i^^. v\\. See alLO 
 Binghnni'i Antiquities, Book XX. chip. ii. §. 8, in w|iicli there 
 are ionie Remarkable Jnftances given of the great SufFcings and Per- 
 IcccKions of the ChriJUans in the Time of ;heir Afiembiies. 
 
jR eligioiis Obfervation of the Lord's Day. i ^ r 
 
 remaining Time, in reading the Holy Scriptures, in 
 meditating upon Heavenly Things, and in thelnftruc- 
 tion of their Families. I Ihall not enter now into this 
 Difpute, which will be fully confidered in it's proper 
 Place. At prefent I fhall only obferve thus much, that 
 the latter is at lead the wifeft and xh&fafeft Way, and, 
 as will be feen hereafter, not only the antient Fathers 
 of xhtChriftian Church, but the moft Pious and Learned 
 Men of our own Church have ever been of that Opinion. 
 Bat be that as it will ; all Chriftian Writers allow, that 
 the Attendance upon the public Worfliip of God at 
 the flated Times and Seafons of it is every Man's ahfo- 
 lute and bounden Duty •, and that unlels it be in Cafe of 
 Sicknefs or fome very neceflfary Caufe no Man can abfent 
 himfelf without Sin. We need not be at any Pains to in- 
 form Men of this ♦, the very Heathens themfelves will ac- 
 quaint them with it. And if this be true, Good God! 
 what Judgment can we pals upon that wicked 3.nd impious 
 Cuftom, which prevails among all Orders and Degrees 
 of Men in the Nation, and efpecially among Perfons 
 of Fafhion and DiRincStion, of vifidng their Friends 
 and Acquaintance even in the Time of God's Worfhip ; 
 and thereby not only negleding the Service of God 
 themfelves, but keeping others back that would attend 
 upon it? Which is much like the Temper of thePi^^- 
 rifees^ as our Blefled Saviour obferved : "They would 
 neither go into the Kingdom of Heaven themfelves^ nor fuf^ 
 fer thofe that were entering to go in. Matt, xxiii. 13. I 
 know indeed that Men have fomething to fay in Ex- 
 cufe tor themfelves in this Negle6l, as viz. that they 
 have no other Opportunity of feeing their Friends, or 
 that the Bufinefs that they go about is of fuch Confe- 
 quence that it cannot be deferred to any other Time. 
 This is for the mod Part nothing but Pretence. And 
 I would beg of every Man to confider, that there is 
 fcarce any Sin fo great, for which the Devil will not 
 furnifh Men with lome Excule of other, in order to 
 make diem eafy, and to quiet their Confciences as well 
 as he can. Bur hov/ever Men may for the prefent fa- 
 K 2 tiftfy 
 
13 2 A Dtfcotirfe concerning the 
 
 tisfy themfelves in fuch Cafes, yet they may reft atTured, 
 that God Ahnighty will not be impofed upon. He 
 hath plainly told us the great Danger of breaking His 
 Laws. He hath let us know that there is one 'Thing 
 needful above all others. Luke x. 4? . That we mufty^^^ 
 the Kingdom of God and the Righteoufnefs thereof in the 
 firft Place ^ Matt, vi. 0,0,, And our Bleffed Saviour has 
 in a diftinft Parable fnewcd us the Polly and Danger of 
 making any vain and idle Excufes in the Negled of the 
 Service and Duty which we owe to God. Luke xiv. i o, 
 iSc. When the Men in that Parable refufed the Invi- 
 tation to the good Man's Supper, they thought it a very 
 fufFicient Excufc, the one of them, that he had bought 
 a Piece of Ground^ and he mufi needs go and fee it *, the 
 fecond , that he had bought five Toke of Oxen^ and he mufl 
 go and prove them -, and the third, that he had married a 
 Wife^ and therefore he could not come. Thefe were the 
 Excufes which they made for themfelves : and they 
 muif at leaft be allowed to be as good as thofc, which 
 Men do now commonly make for theNeglecl of God's 
 public Worfliip and Service. Br^t yet our Bleffed Savi- 
 our tells us, they were not accepted by the good Man ; 
 but that notwithftanding their Pretences, He was angry 
 with them., and refolved that none of them fhould tafte of 
 His Supper. And I very much fear, that Men will 
 meet with the fame Judgment in the other World for 
 the Negle6l of God's public Worfliip which I have been 
 confidering, according to that folemn Declaration of 
 Scripture, which God will make good at the laft Day ; 
 Them that honour Me., liiith God, I will honour^ and they 
 • that defpife Me fhall be lightly ejlec?ned, i Sam. ii. _^o. 
 
 And thus I h^ve finifhed what I propofed to confider 
 upon this Point concerning the Neceffity and Advan- 
 tage of attending upon the public Worfliip and Service 
 cA God. i fhall only before I proceed any farther beg 
 leave to obferve the particular Happinefs v/hich thofe of 
 us enjoy in this Refpeclj who are the Members of the 
 Eftabjidied Church. For we have an Excellent and 
 
 well 
 
 
Religious Ohfervatio7iofthelJoxdi\T)2.y, 133 
 
 well compofed Liturgy ; which is not only agreeable to 
 the bed and mofl primidve Patterns, but is alfo fo 
 fully expreffive of all our Wants, and fowell contrived 
 and digefted in all it's Parts, that whenever we offer 
 up our Devotions to God therein, we may affure our- 
 felves that we worfhip Him in the beit Manner we are 
 able (/) •, and that we are equally freed from the Ido-, 
 latry and Saperftition, which infeparably adhere to all 
 Popifh Compofidons, and from the Extravagancies and 
 Indecencies of Extemporary Effufions. And indeed 
 were it not very manifeft that Prejudice of Education 
 will incline Men to any Way of Thinking, and make 
 them infinitely zealous in judging of and condemning 
 many Things, which they never underilood, nor per- 
 haps once confidered in their whole Lives •, one would 
 think it iiTipolTible that ever That fhould have been 
 made an Objedlion againft the Church, which is one 
 of the greatefl Glories and Ornaments thereof But 
 however other Perfons may judge in this Matter v ^let 
 all us who are Members of the Eilablifh'd Church, be 
 thankful to God for the great BlefTings which we enjoy. 
 To this End, Let us always fet a great Value and Efteem 
 upon our public Liturgy, and take all Opportunities 
 of joining in the Offices and Devotions thereof. And 
 whenfoever we do apply ourfelves to this great Duty of 
 
 K 3 God's 
 
 (i) The Excellency of onr Englifh Lifurgy hath been fo fully dif- 
 play'd hyT>rComber, DxlVellsy Dr BiJe.Mr //7v/?^/)' and Others, that 
 it is necdlefs to add any thing in Commendation thereof; but yet 
 upon this Occafion, I cannot omit to take Notice of one very Re- 
 markable Inftance of the greateft Efteem and Value \vhi.:h Learned 
 Foreigners had for the faid Liturgy ; and that i?, that in the famous 
 Quarrel ber.ween ?opz Pau/ V. and the Republickof ^mr^, (which 
 happened in the Reign of our King James J.) when Bifliop Bedell^ 
 who was then Chaplain to the £/?^///7; Ambafladour, and tranflated 
 the Engli]h Common -Prayer Book into Italian, Father Paul (that; 
 Oracle for Wifdom) and the Seven Divines that during the Jr.ter- 
 di'l were commanded by the Sc?2ate both to Preach and Write 
 againft the Pope's Authority, liked it fo well, that they refolv'd to 
 have m.ade it their Pattern, in cale the Differences between the Pope 
 and them had produced the Effedl which they hoped and longed 
 for. See Bifnop B-urnet\ Life of Bifliop ^6^^^//, p. 8. 
 
134 -^ Dtfcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 God's Worfhip, let us confider in what Manner we 
 ought to prepare our felves for it: viz. by keeping our 
 Foot^ when we go into the Hctife of Gcd^ Ecclef. v. i . (jn), 
 and by letting our Hearts and iAjfedions accompany our 
 Devotions {n). Then wc need not doubt but that God 
 vj\\\ hear us, when we Worjhip Him in the Beauty ofHo- 
 linefSyPfaL xxix. 2. and when v^tprefent ourlelves a li- 
 ving Sacrifice^ holy and acceptable unto Him, Rom, jdi. \ , 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 Concerning the Duty of Readift^- the HOLT 
 SCRIPTURES, 
 
 IT is not my Defign in treating on this Particular 
 to enlarge upon the great Weaknels and Infuffici- 
 ency of natural Reafon, and thereby to fliew the Ne- 
 cefTity of a Divine Revelation for the Inftrucftion and 
 Salvadon of Mankind. For the prefent Difcourfe is 
 dire(5led only to profefTed Chriftians, who are fatisfied 
 of this Truth, and fully convinced of the Duty and Ob- 
 ligation of reading the Scriptures ; tho' by the Cares of 
 the World and thePleafuresof Life they are too often 
 interrupted in the Difcharge of it. And befides, it is 
 a Subje6l that hath been of late compleatly handled by 
 many Excellent Writers, from whom any one that is 
 defirous of it may receive entire Satisfaction in that 
 Matter {a). But that which I propofe at this Time is 
 to awaken the Carelefs and Negligent among us, and 
 by 
 
 (m) See a Difcourfe concerning the grea: iind indifpenfable Duty 
 of a Reverent Behaviour in God's Church, written by the late Pious 
 and Learned Dr If' ells. See alio the SpcSlator No. 259, 460, in 
 which there aie fome very ufeful Obfervations to this Purpoie; and 
 an Account o^ the horrible Offence and Scandal, which too many 
 Perfons amon^ us give by their Indecent and Ridiculous Behaviour 
 in the Time of God's Public Worfnip. 
 
 •nxMV (.tJA-n >X-]^ tJ.^in 'ar^i^7i- ^ymbol. Fythag. apud. HicrucL 
 
 (a) See particularly Bifliop Gtbfor:^ fecond Palloral Letter. Dr 
 
 Samuel Clarks\ Sermons at Bo;^le^ Leaure?, \^o\, il. Prop, 5, 6, 7. 
 
Beligious^ Obfervailon of the Lord's Day. 135 
 
 by proper Arguments and Motives to excite them to 
 the Pradiceot this great Duty of a diligent and conftant 
 Reading of the Holy Scriptures. In doing which I fhall 
 follow this Method. Firft^ I Ihall fhew the Neceffity 
 of this Duty of reading the Holy Scriptures. Secondly^ 
 I fhall confider the great Benefits and Advantages 
 thereof. And in the T!hird Place, I fhall obferve the 
 great Sin and Danger of Neglefting it. And then I 
 fliall make a brief Applicadon of the Argument to the 
 Subject of the prefent Dilcourfe. 
 
 And Firfi then^ I am to fhew the Neceflity of tliis 
 Duty of reading the Holy Scriptures. Now this will 
 plainly appear from thefe two Confiderations. 
 
 Firft^ From the Nature and Defign of thefe Holy 
 W firings. For fince it hath pleafed God to fend His 
 Only Begotten Son into the World to make a Difcovery 
 and Revelation of His Will, it mufl certainly be His 
 Defign in this Difpenfation, that all Men fhould care^. 
 fully attend to the Mefifage, and duly examine the Con- 
 tents of it. To negle6t to do this, is to defpife the Gift 
 of God, and to render it contemptible : and how great 
 an Affront to God that is, may eafily be judged of, not 
 only from the Excellency of the Revelation itfelf, but 
 alfo from the Dignity of that Divine Perfon who is the 
 Difpenler thereof. This Argument the Apoflle clearly 
 infills upon, in Heb. ii. i, 2, :?. Therefore (faith he) we 
 ought to give the more earneft heed to the 'Things which we 
 have, heard^ left at any Time we jhould let them flip. For 
 if the Word fpoken by Angels was ftedfaft ^ and every Tranf- 
 greffwn and Difobedience received a juft F^ecompence of Re- 
 ward, how fhall we efcape^ if we negle^ffo great Salvation, 
 which at the firfi began to be fpoken by the Lord. And our 
 Blefled Saviour in a diftincl Parable plainly aggravates 
 the Sin of thej^icj in their bafe and ignominious Treat- 
 ment of Him, on the Account of the Excellency and 
 Dignity of His Perfon. Matt. xxi. 3 :^, i£c, Whoibever 
 therefore negledts to read the Holy Scriptures, He 
 not only defpifes the ^^Philofophy that ever the W^orld 
 
 K 4 has 
 
1^6 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 has been acquainted with *, but alfo refufes to hear the 
 Son of God Himfelf, who is Ejfential Truth, and Eter- 
 nal Wifdom : and who not only came down from His 
 Father's Bolbm to make a Dilcovery of His Vv ill to 
 Mankind, but alfocloathed i .inifeif in Flefh, and fub- 
 mitted to all the Infirmities and Sufferings of our Nature, 
 in order to render it the more Effedual. And there- 
 fore how heinous an Affront it muft be unto God, as 
 well as bafe Ingratitude to ourBleffed Saviour Himlelf, 
 to neglect and defpile the gracious Meffage which He 
 hath brought to us, every one may eafily judge. I fhall 
 therefore conclude tins Point, with thofe remarkable 
 Words of StPaul^ Heh, xii. 75. See that ye refufe not 
 Him that fpeaketh-, for if they efcaped not who refufed 
 him thatfpake on EartH^^ much more fhall not ive efcape^ if 
 'we turn away from Him that fpeaketh from Heaven. But, 
 
 Secondly^ The Neceffity of this Duty of reading the 
 Holy Scriptures will be very clear and evident from 
 many exprefs Diredions which are given to this Purpofe 
 in the Sacred Writings. Thus Alofes tells i\\Qjew5., that 
 he had taught them Statutes and Judgments as the Lord 
 commanded him^ and therefore that they fJjould keep afid 
 do them J and teach them to their Sons ^ and their Sons Sons 
 after them. Deut. iv. 5, 6, 0. And again, he com- 
 mands the Brieftsj when all Ifrael was afjcmbled together^ 
 to read the Law before them in their hearing. And toga-- 
 ther the People together^ Men., and Women ^ and Children^ 
 and the Stranger that was within their Gates ^ that they 
 might hear and learn ^ and fear the Lord their Gody and 
 cbferve to do all the Words of their Law. 'Dent. xxxi. 11,12. 
 And what the fame Prophet obferved of their King^ 
 might be jufUy applied to every other Perfon among 
 them. T^be Law fhall he with hiin^ and he fhall read 
 therein all the Days of his Lfe^ that he may learn to fear 
 the Lord his God. Dent. xvii. j 9. So likewife the Pro- 
 phet Ifaiah required the Jews to fcek cut cf the Book of 
 the LaWy and to read. chap, xxxi v. 16. And Jofhua tells 
 the People^ that the Kock of the Law foaU.no t depart mt 
 
Religious Obfervaticn of the Lord's Day. 137 
 
 of thy Mouth, hit thou fhalt meditate thereon Day and 
 Night, that thou mayft ohferve to do according to all that 
 is ivrittcn therein. Jofto. i. 8. And how very exad: 
 aiid circumftantial the Divine Precept was in this 
 Particular is very evident from a remarkable PalTage, 
 where God fpeaks thus to the Je^^s \ Te jhall lay 
 up thefe my IVords in your Heart, and in your Soul^ 
 and bind them for a Sign upon your Hand, that they 
 may he as Frontlets benveen your Eyes. And ye fioall 
 teach them your Children, fpeaking of them when thou 
 fittefi in thine Houfe, and ivhen thou walkejl hy the Way, 
 and when thou Heft down, and when thou rifeft up. And 
 thou Jhalt write them upon the Door-pofts of thine Houfe, 
 and upon thy Gates. Deut. xi. i-, 19, 20. And if we 
 look into the New Teftament we fhall find our BlefTed 
 Saviour and His Apoilles plainly dire6ling us to this 
 Duty. Thus our BlefTed Saviour commands its tofearcb 
 the Scriptures, John v. 39. and puts the Proof and Te- 
 ftimony of His Divine Authority and Miffion there- 
 upon. And StP^/^/ commends T/;«<?/^y, mi\\2ilheknew 
 the Scriptures from a Child. 2 Ti7n. iii. 1 5. And in ano- 
 ther Place, he requires him to give Attendance to Read- 
 ing, as well as to Exhortation d,nd Do^rine. i ^im.iv. 1 3. 
 And to fay no more in fo plain a Matter; the NecefTity 
 of reading the Holy Scriptures is very evident from the 
 Anfwer which Abraham gave to the rich Man in the 
 Parable, when he begged of him 10 fend Lazarus to his 
 Father^ s Houfe to teftify unto his Brethren, left theyfhould 
 alfo come into that F lace of "Forment -, they have, faith he, 
 Mofes and the Prophets, let them hear them. Luke xvi. 2 9. 
 Hereby plainly fignifying the Ufe of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, as a neceflary and proper Means to fecure Men 
 from Damnation. And as the Holy Scriptures do every 
 where abound with Precept and Exhortations to the 
 People to read and perule them ; fo we fhall find the 
 Practice of all pious and good Men both among Jews 
 and Chriftians to be conformable thereunto. Thus fays 
 'i;\Q\y David, Lord, what Love have I unto tJjyLaw, all 
 
 the 
 
138 ADifcourfe concerning the 
 
 the D^ long is my Study in it. Pfalm cxix. 97. In which 
 Matter his pious and good Example was carefully fol- 
 lowed by the ancient Jews ; who, tho' indeed in our 
 BlefTed Saviour's Time they had in a great Meafure 
 weakened the Force and Audiority of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures by their Traditions, yet they ever had the utmoft 
 Veneration for xhtSacred Writings ^ and were fo extremely- 
 diligent in the Reading of them, and inftru6ling their 
 Children in them •, that upon this Account, as Jo- 
 fephus informs us (^), the People became {ojkilful in 
 the Laws, that if one afked any of them concerning 
 them, he would more eafily tell them all than his own 
 Name. And how exadly the Modern Jews have 
 copied after this Pattern is well known to every 
 one {c). Their great Zeal in the Study of their Scrip- • 
 tures, their Diligence in the Inftniction of their Chil- 
 dren in them, and the early Progrefs and Proficiency 
 which they make therein, are Matters for which they 
 deierve to be highly efleemed and commended j 
 and in which they may be juiHy faid to be a Shame and 
 Reproach to the Generality of Chriftians (d). And if 
 from the Jews we pafs to the Primitive Chriftians^ we 
 fhall find that they ever had the higheft Efteem and 
 
 Veneradon 
 
 (i>J Jofeph. adv. Apion. lib ii. Sfe aljo^ Revelation Examined 
 with Candour, Vol. I. p. 232. in which many Particulars of the 
 Jetvs great Zeal and Regard for the Holy Scriptures are difphiyed. 
 
 (i) See Dr Addiforh Prefent State of the Jeivs, chap. x. Pur 
 r^^i's Pilgrimage, lib. ii. chr.p. xiv. p. 193. 
 
 (d) It is the only vifible Rcafon of the Jezv^ adherirg {0 firmfy 
 to their Religion ; that during the Ten or Twelve Years of their 
 Education their Youth are fo much pra6lif:d to the Scriptures, to 
 iveigh every V/ord in them, and get them all by Heart : that it is 
 an Admiration to fee how ready roth Men and Women among 
 them are at it. Their Rakbiei have it to that Perfection, that they 
 have the Concordance of their zubole Bib'e in their Memories : 
 which gives them vafl: /idvaritage.% when they ave 10 argue with 
 any that are not fo ready as they arc in the Scriptures. Our Task 
 is much Ihoner and c.ifier, and it is a Reproach, efpeciaiJy to up 
 Prutejiar.ts, who found our Religion merely on the Scripture^, rbar 
 we .'<now the Ne'v 7ef>amcnt fo little, which cannot "be ez.ca.t';. 
 BiJkcp'^\xiXiZlon the Vajhrcl Care, cbiip. sm, p, 160. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 139 
 
 A'eneration for the Holy Scriptures. There is no one 
 Point which occurs more frequently in the ancient 
 Fathers, and in which they do more unanimoufly a- 
 gree, than in earneftly exhorting the People to a care- 
 ful and diligent Reading of the Scriptures {e). And ^o 
 remarkable was the Obedience ot the People in this 
 Particulat-, that they not only duly attended to the 
 fuhlic Reading of them in their Churches, but alio 
 ipent a confiderable Part of their Time in private^ m 
 a devout Perufal of them. And by this Means they 
 attained to fuch a through and perfed: Knowledge of 
 the Chriftian Religion, as by the Divine AfTiilancc en- 
 abled them to perfevere in the ProfefTion thereof, not- 
 withflanding the moft cruel and barbarous Sufferings. 
 This their Enemies fully perceived •, and therefore a- 
 mong other Methods, which they contrived to bring 
 them over to their Idolatry, and to oblige them to re- 
 nounce the Chriftian Religion, diey at length put out an 
 Order, as particularly under the JDiocleftan Perfecution, 
 that all Chriftians fliould furrender their Bibles, and 
 that they fhould be publickly burnt (/). And though 
 indeed it is not to be denied, that there were feveral 
 Perfons who complied with this Order through fear of 
 Perfecution -, yet the Generality of Chriftians flood 
 firm and immoveable, and did upon this Account as 
 well as others fubmit to fuch tormendng Dcsiths znd 
 unfpeakable Sufferings, as are fcarcely to be parallel'd in 
 the Records of Time {g). And how odious this 
 Crime of delivering up their Bibles was thought 
 by the Church, may appear from hence, that they 
 branded thofe who were guilty of it with the infiimous 
 Name oi ^raditors (that is to fay. Traitors), and re- 
 
 fufed 
 
 (e) See DrScoti's Chrijiian Life^ Vol. V. p. 395, &c. in 
 vyhich there are many Paflages cited, and many excellent Obferva- 
 tions to this Purpofe. 1 
 
 (f) Vid. Eufebii Eccl. Hiftor. lib. viii. cap. ii. 
 
 \Z) See EchariCi Eccl. Hillory, 8vo. Vol. II. p. 664 to 663, 
 [uh, A. D. 303. 
 
1^0 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fufed to admit them to their Communion. And how 
 great a Matter of Joy it was to our pious Anceflors in 
 this Kingdom, when the Bible was tranflated into 
 the Vulgar Tongue (i?), and recommended to every 
 ones Perufal -, what a high Elleem and Veneration 
 they had for the Holy Scriptures, and how diligent « 
 and conftant they were in the Reading of them : I 
 are Things well known to every Man, who hath \ 
 read the Hiftory of this Kingdom, and efpecially 
 that of the Reformation, I cannot forbear adding 
 upon this Head, that it is a Matter of great Sur- 
 prize and Aflonifhment as well as juft Reproach and 
 Scandal to us, who profefs the fame Pure and Re- 
 formed Religion which they did, and ground our 
 Do6lrine entirely upon the Teilimony ot the Holy % 
 Scripuire ♦, that the Generality of us Ihould mani- \ 
 feft fb great a Negledl and Contempt of thtfacred 
 Writings^ and be more pleafed and delighted with the 
 moil trijBing Romajice or Novel than with the Read- 
 ing of the Bible : which not only (as we Ihall fee 
 prefendy) affords Matter of the greateft Pleafure and 
 
 Inflrudion 
 
 (h) That the Biblq, was very ear/y tranflued into the Vulgat 
 Tongue in this Nation, and the great Zeal and Piety which the 
 Princes and Bifhops of thofe Days manifelled in the doing of it, 
 appears fufficiently from our Hiilories. Upon which Occafion I 
 fhall infert the following PafTage from a Le,irned Writer, very wor- ; 
 thy of our No'ice. '• The Popip Frieils could not with fo much ' 
 ** Confidence charge us with a Crime, at leait not v,-ith Novelty, . 
 ** in having the Scripture in our Mother Tongue ; did they know , 
 ** that the whole Bible was tranflated into Snxj/i, our Mot/jerT cngue, 
 *' above 800 Years ago by Priefts, great Prelates, and celebrated ■ 
 " Kings of Eng/(iTid,iohe. fecn great Part thereof to this very Day. 
 *-' King Alfred with h's own Hand tranflated great Part of the Bible 
 '* into Saxon^ v>/hich Wis then the Vulgar Language, and iirlt 
 ** divided theScriptuje into Poriions to be read on Fcllivals. Nay 
 ** ihe. Saxon K.\w^z r\oi only permiitcd fuch Tranflations, and en- 
 " couraged them by their own pious and great Example ; but made 
 *' Lavv's lor cilablifliing thereof and for teaching the Scriptures in 
 *' their own Language.* ^J udge Fontkxx^'s Preface to the Chan- 
 tcihr FortercueV T!t\;tife'(fJlfolute a?:d Limtfd Monarch^x'i 
 p. 6> ' ' 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 141 
 
 Inftrudlion, bat alfo contains the Lively Oracles of 
 Divine Counfel and Eternal Wifdom. And thus 
 having fhevvn the NecefTity of this Duty of Read- 
 ing the Holy Scriptures, I proceed, in the Second 
 Place ^ to confider the great Benefits and Advantages 
 of it. Now there are three Things, which I fhall 
 mention at prefent, as great Benefits and Advantages 
 of Reading the Holy Scripaires. 
 
 The firft Advantage is this, that by this means we 
 are madeperfedly acquainted with tht whole W\\\ and 
 Pleafure of God, and with that Duty which He re- 
 quires in Order to our Salvation ; together with the 
 moft Prevailing Arguments and Motives to the Pra- 
 dlice of it. Thus fays the Pfalmift^ ^'The Law of the 
 Lord is perfect ^ converting the Soul ; the Teftimony of 
 the Lord is fure^ making wife the fmple^ Pf xix. 7. 
 And St Paid tells 'Timothy that all Scripture is given by 
 Infpiration of God^ and is profitable for Do5lrine^ for 
 Reproof for Corre5tion^ for InfiruEiion in Righteoufnefs : 
 that the Man of Godynay beperfe5i^ throughly furnifoed 
 unto all Good Works, 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. And 
 again, he obferves to him more exprelsly, that the 
 Scriptures are able to make him wife unto Salvation, 
 ver. T^. And this is a Peculiar Excellency of the 
 Chriftian ReHgion, in which all the Teaching and 
 Infl:ru6lion of Heathen Philofophy was wanting and 
 deficient. Now the Reading of the Holy Scriptures 
 conduces to this End thele two Ways. Firft^ by 
 clear and plain Rules of Duty and Obedience ; fuch 
 as are the Laws and Injundtions of God both in 
 the Old and New Teftament, and particularly thole 
 in our Blefied Saviour's Divine Sermon on ' the 
 Mounts by which we have a true Notion of Moral 
 Duties ', and by thofe wife Corrections which the 
 Wildom of God hath made in them from the falfe 
 and abfurd Interpretations of the Jews^ we may 
 plainly perceive the true Senfe and Meaning thereof; 
 and from hence may clearly underftand what is that 
 
 guod 
 
142 ADifcourfe cojicermng the 
 
 good, and acceptable and perfeEl Will of God. Rom, 
 xii, 2. For this is a Truth that has been always 
 eftablifhed in the Chriftian Church, (notwithftanding 
 what the Church of Rome pretends to the contrary) 
 that all Matters of Fairh and Pra6lice are plainly 
 delivered in the Holy Scriptures : fo that whofoever 
 reads them with due Attention, and is careful toufe 
 the beft Means and Helps to underftand them, fuch 
 25 catechifing, and hewing of God's Word, and 
 reading of good Books and Comments upon them, 
 and the like, cannot well be ignorant in any necef- 
 fary and effential Part of Chriftian Duty (i). For 
 thefe are the Books which fhew us what is good^ 
 and what the Lord doth require of us ; Mic. vi. 8 . 
 which fet before its the Way of Life and the Way of 
 Death, Jer. xxi. 8. And which teach us what we 
 rniift do to be faved. Ads xvi. ^o. And this Inftrudlion 
 we receive not only from the Precepts of Duty which 
 are laid down to us in the Holy Scriptures, but alfo 
 (which is the Second Way) by thofe many height and 
 fhining Examples of Piety and Virtue, which are there- 
 in propounded to our Imitation ; and particularly that 
 of our BlelTed Saviour, who did no Sin^ neither was 
 Guile found in His Mouth '^ i Pet.n, 22. and who in 
 every Inllance of Holinefs and Righteoufnels as well as 
 Patience and Meeknefs under Sufferings, hath left us 
 an Example that we fJoould follow His Steps •, ver. 2 1 . 
 And likewife the Example of the Holy Apoflks, 
 v^h-O^Q. Faith we Jhould follow confidering the End of their 
 Converfation. Heb. xiii. 7. Which Examples are of 
 great Service and Advantage to us, not only as they 
 give Life and Strength to the Precepts of the Gofpel, 
 by clearly Hiev/ing us that they are really practicable -, 
 but alio as they tend in their own Nature to excite our 
 
 Zeal 
 
 (?) Via. Tjllotfon, Vol. I. p 229, 3^2. 6v:9, 682. T)r Ben" 
 net^^ Confutation o^" Popery. Part I. chap, xi. J ackforh Zimarkt 
 en Chrijlia/iity as old as the Creatio:!^ p, 33. 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day . 143 
 
 Zeal, and to animate us with due Vigour and Relblu- 
 tion in the Imitation of them. And then the more 
 effeflually to encourage us to the Pradlice of Chriftian 
 Piety and Virtue, we Ihall by the Reading of Scrip- 
 ture difcover two Things of the greateil Importance 
 and Confequence to our Happinefs, which God hath 
 promifed us, and which are in a great Meafure Pecu- 
 liar to our Holy Religion. The Firft is the Graci- 
 ous Gift of God's Holy Spirit, which He hath declared 
 He will bellow upon us, on Condition of our hearty 
 and fervent Prayer, and receiving the Sacrament -, as 
 was before obferved (k). The Second is the Confide- 
 ration of the Glorious State of Immortality, which the 
 Gofpel propofes as the certain Reward of our fincere 
 and faithful Obedience. And this Encouragement is 
 "^tBiftinguiJhing (J) Privilege andBlefling of Chriftianity^ 
 
 in 
 
 {k)See above p. 121. 
 
 (/) This I know is a Point which is flrenuoufly denied by our 
 Modern Infidels; but neverthelefs it hath been clearly demon- 
 ftrated from feveral genuine Paffages of the beft Heathen^ riitrs, and 
 by many Learned Defenders of the Chriftian Religion. In faying 
 wh"ch we do not mean that the antient Pagam did not believe the 
 Immortality of ths Soul and a Future State ; for this appears un- 
 deniably from innumerable Places in their Writings : but we aflert 
 that their Belief of this great Point was not fo fixed and ftedfail 
 as to free them from all Doubts and Uncertainty about the Truth 
 of it. And this, I fay, is what many Learned Chr0iqn Writers 
 have clearly demoulirated. I Ihall beg leave in this Place to tran- 
 fcribe a Pafiage from an Eminent Author to this Purpofe, that we 
 may the better perceive the ineilimable Advantage we enjoy by the 
 Chriftian Revelation, and for the Sake of fuch into whole Hands 
 this Difcourle may fall, v/ho may not be fo happy as to have per- 
 ufed that excellent Treatife from which it is taken. Cicero (fays 
 he) enumerating the Opinions of Philofophers upon this Head, 
 {Tufc, ^aft. lib. i.) not only allcrts what every one knows 
 to be true, that the whole Sefl of Epicureans disbelieved the 
 Soul's ImmortaKty but adds, that many of the moil Learned 
 Philofophers were of ihe fame Opinion ; and he parcicula ly men- 
 tions two of great Note a-nong them \ one who in his Writings 
 had avowedly argued a^ainft it, and another who had profelledly 
 written three Books to c:nfute it. He tells us farther that tho' 
 the ^toici beJievcd ihat the Soul remuned after Death for fomt 
 
 'iui!^ 
 
144 * A Difcourfe concerntfig the 
 
 In which all Heathen Philofophy was dubious and uncer- 
 tain : fo juft is that Obfervation of St Paul, that Cbriji 
 bath brought JJfe and. Immortality to light by the Gofpel, 
 2 ^tm. i. lo. Thefe are the Benefits of Reading the 
 Scriptures : and to them who underftand their own 
 Intereft, and the Value of Eternal Life and Happi- 
 nels, they mull be efleemed infinitely beyond the high- 
 eft Honours, and the greateft Riches and Pleafures of 
 tliis World. Well therefore might the Pfalmiji pro- 
 nounce that Man blejfed and happy, whofe Delight is in 
 the Law of the Lord, and who meditates thereon Day and 
 Night, Pfal. i. f, 2. But, 
 
 Secondly, Another great Benefit and Advantage of 
 reading the Holy Scriptures is this, that hereby we fhall 
 be able to find out the Truth in thofe different and 
 contradirlory Do6frines which are taught in the World, 
 and by that Mark to diftinguifli the true Church. 
 We 
 
 ^imey yet they did not believe it was immortal. And even So- 
 crates and Cicero^ who were peculia'-ly favourable to the Doflrine 
 of the Immortality of the Soul, do yet diCcover feme Doubt and 
 Uncertainty about it. 
 
 Socrates, a little before his Death, tells his Friends, he had good 
 Hope of fome Sort of Being, when this Life was at an End ; but 
 afier that he fpeiks doubtfully, and fiys, '' Tho' he fhould be mif- 
 " taken, he did at leaft gain thus much, that the Expeflation of it 
 '• made him lels uneafy v/hiie he lived, and his Errour would die 
 •' with him;" and he concludes, " I am going out of the World, 
 '* and you are to continue in it ; which of us has the better Part, 
 *' is a Secret co every one but God " [l^id. Plato in Phed. ^ in 
 Apol. Socrat.) And Cicero fpealcing of the fcveral Opinions 
 concerning the Nature and Duration of the Soul {Tufc^u^eif. lib. 
 i ) fays '■ Which of thefe is true, God alone knows ; and which is 
 •'■ moft probable, is a very great Queftion " And he intro.iuces 
 one compia-ninc:, *' That whilil he was re ding the Arguments for 
 •' thelmrnortality of the Soul, he thought himlelfconvinced; but as 
 •* foon as he laid afidc the Book, and began to r^Ti^on with himfelf. 
 •* hisConvidlion was gone." All which ^^ivc Seneca \u9i Occafion 
 to i.y (£///?. 102) *' Th-^t rmi'.orra ity, howe^^er defirab'e,' was 
 •* rather prom'jed than proven by tlv/e great Men." BiJJjot) Gib- 
 {q\\s -^econd Pajhral Letter, •^. \1, i,S. .<>^/?_^ /> Sam. Clark eV 
 Sermons at Boyk's Le^lr^res, Purt \]. P op. v. § 3. Tillotfon, 
 Vol. Jir. p. 133, 134. Grot, de Vcrit. Chriilianac Relig. lit. 
 ii. § 9. cum Annot. in loc. 
 
Religious Ohfervafion of the Lord's Day. 145 
 
 We are not bound to believe any Perfon or Church, 
 let them pretend never fo much to InfalUbihty, 'till 
 we have compared their Do^lrines with Holy Scripture^ 
 and by that judge of their Goodnels and Truth. . ^0 
 the Law and to the '^Teftimony^ as the Prophet fpeal^js .; 
 and let Men be never fo/>^/w and confident^ yet; // 
 they [peak not according to this JVord^ it is hecatife there 
 is no Light inthem^ Ifa. viii. ?.o. This is likewife the 
 Judgment of St Paul^ i T^.^ y. 21. Prove all 
 'things ^ i. e. try and examine all Doclrines and Pre- 
 cepts by the certain Rules of Reafbn and Revelation : 
 and then it follows, hold f aft that "johich is good. And 
 St John diredls us, not to believe every Spirit^ hut to try 
 the Spirits whether they are of God: . becaufe many falfe 
 Prophets are gone out into the' World, i John. iv. i. 
 And this is what our BlelTed Saviour conftantly ob- 
 fcrved in all His Converfatlon. He never defired 
 any Man to believe Him blindly and implicity without 
 good Proof and Evidence : So far from this., that he 
 often commends Perfons for Reafoninpr uDon Flis Do- 
 
 Ox 
 
 6~Lrine ; as you may particularly obferve in the Cafe of 
 the Centurion^ Matt. viii. 8 to 1 1 . And the Woman of 
 'Canaan., Matt. xv. 22 to 28 (m). And in John v. 
 ■^Q. He defires the Jews to fearch the Scriptures., 
 and puts the Caule of Fiis Divine , Miflion upon 
 the Teftimony of them. And in another Part of 
 the fame Chapter He tells the Jews., that the true Rea- 
 fon, why they did not believe in Him, was, becaufe they 
 did not believe the Scriptures. Had you believed'M.oic'i^ 
 fays our BlefTed Lord, you would have believed Me \for he 
 wrote of Me : hut if ye believe not his Writings., hozvftjall 
 ye believe My Words? ver. 4^, .17. Nay, fo far is it 
 from being a Cri?ne to read the Holy Scriptures^ and to 
 compare Dodlrines with them, that Perfons are therein 
 co?nmendsd forExamining the Dofirines of the ApoHles 
 E themlelves, 
 
 . (//?) See Tillotfons Works, Vol II. p. i?. Bam^t, ArdC' 
 XIX p. 183. 
 
146 A DlfcoiLrfe concerning the 
 
 themfelves, and comparing them with this Rule. Thus 
 when' St Paul preach'd the Gofpel at Berea^ we read in 
 A5is xvii. 1 1 . that the Bereans were more noble than thofe 
 in 'TbeffalGnica^ in that they received the Word with all 
 readinefs of Alind^ and fearched the Scriptures daily ^ whe- 
 ther thcfe livings were fo. And therefore it is an arro- 
 gant Impofition of the Church of R.ome^ to require us 
 to believe her Doctrines without the Liberty of exa- 
 " m ining and comparing them with Scripture. The Pre- 
 tence is fo very abfurd, that it was abfolutely neceflliry 
 to find out fome Invention to paUiate and defend it. 
 And the only one, that could anfvver the Delign, was to 
 declare That Church to be infallible in all her Determi- 
 nations and Decifions : which is juil as if a confident 
 Mm fhould expecl that v/e fliould put out our Eyes, or 
 deny our Senles *, only that we might take his Word, 
 and be led about by him at his Pleafure. If then we 
 will carefully and diligently read the Scriptures ; we 
 fhall be able to pals a true Judgment on all thofe dil- 
 puted and controverted Dodtrines, which are of any 
 Moment and Importance to us. For fmce God hath 
 given us the Holy Scriptures to htth^z Ride of ouvFaith^ 
 as well as tor our Inftrudtion in Moral Precepts ; it would 
 be highly abfurd to iuppofe that He Ihould exprefs His 
 Will to us in this Matter Iq darkly and obfcurely, that we 
 fhould not be able to find out and dilcover it after the 
 mo{^ Jincere and perfe5f Examination. But I am fen- 
 fible there is one very great DiiBculty in the Point lam 
 now upon, which I think abfolutely necelTary to clear 
 up and explain before I proceed any farther, in order 
 to take off all Difcouragement againil the Reading of 
 the Holy Scriptures. The DifBculty is this •, if the 
 Holy Scriptures are fo clear and plain in all Things that 
 are neeeffary and ef[entia% as fome pretend; how then 
 comes it to pafs, that not only the ignorant and unlearned^ 
 and ilich as are plainly led away by the Violence of Pride 
 and Fadion, or the Dominion of Worldly Lulls, fnoald 
 think differently on the Doctrines of Scripture-, but that 
 
 alfo 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 147 
 
 ; alfo there ihould be the lame Variety of Opinion and di- 
 red: 'Contradidion of Sentiments among diofe who are 
 •eminently Learned, andVho (as we have all theReafons 
 in the World to think) arePerfons oi ahfolute Probity 
 and Sincerity •, and who have been very careful and di- 
 ligent in the Study of the Floly Scripture, and heardly 
 prayed to God to direct them in their Enquiries into the 
 Truth of it. And that this is the State of the Chriftian 
 .World at prcfent, and hath been for many Ages, every 
 one muil readily grant. How then, may any one lay, 
 •ihall I h^ Jure of difcovering the Truth in all Points that 
 are ElTential by the Study of the Scripture \ when fo 
 many libife^ honeft and upright Men, who have ftudied 
 it with the utmoft Diligence and Attendon, ^have ex- 
 prelsly-contradided each other in fuch Points ? This is 
 die Difficulty, and I freely own that it is a very great 
 one. The Facl is very evident, as to^ the Diverlity and 
 .Oppofidon of Sentiments in the Chrifiian World : and 
 "that Man mult be ^Ar/rm^^unchari table., who fnall judge 
 all thofe who differ from him in Opinion about Matters 
 ,of Confequence to be wilfully infincere. Now tho' it 
 may be impoillblefor us ever to conquer this great Dif- 
 ficulty, becaufe we cannot difcern the Hearts of Men, 
 nor perceive in all Cafes what it is which leads them into 
 falie and erroneous Opinions j yro^on the ether fide, 
 there are feveral Conhderadons to be offered, which will 
 in a great Mealure extenuate and le£ent\iis Difficulty, and 
 fully afcertain the Difcovery of the Truth in all neceflary 
 and elTential Matters, to all fuch Perfons who Ihall, 
 fincerely.^vA diligeyitly iludy.the Holy Scriptures ih). In 
 order therefore to ftate tiiis Matter clearly, it will be 
 neceflary to confider diefe following Particulars. r 
 
 , Firfl^ There are many of thole who frequently read 
 the Ploly Scriptures, who are of fuch mian Parts and 
 low Appreheniions, and who through tne want of a lit 
 ■■■'■■^- ■■■ ■ '■ - L 2 and 
 
 '■' (^^j'See B,ilhop:^^^^r^/^;-/B Ser:r:ons,- Vol; Jir. Sermon IX ^ X," 
 arfd XI. In Svhieh there are m^ny sxcsUent and judicious Obferv;;^ 
 tiofls on ^hi: Head. 
 
J 4^ -^ DifcGurfe concerning the 
 
 and proper Education, are fo littk acquainted widi the 
 very Language and Expremons of Scripture which relate 
 to the Ccntrovernes of Religion , that they are abfolutely 
 unable to pals any Judgment upon them. To fuch Per- 
 Ibns as thefe, I do not tiiink that the Argument I am 
 now upon is to be dire61ed i nor that the Reading of 
 the Scriptures will be a certain Guide to them in difpii- 
 /fi Points, The belt Advice which I can give to fuch 
 Perfons is this -, that they v/ould read the Scriptures as 
 frequendy and diligendy as they can for their Infor- 
 mad on in their Duty •, that they would ilick to that 
 which is dear and plain ^ and in all Matters of Difficulty 
 rely upon their Teachers. And then what a mod ex- 
 cellent Writer lays down in this Cafe will certainly hold, 
 viz. " That if the Providence of God hath placed 
 '' them under fuch Guides as do feduce them into Er- 
 " rour, their Ignorance is /';;^'i//(f/Z'/^, and God will not 
 " condemn them for it, fo long as they fincerely endea- 
 " vour to do the y\ ill of God fo far as they know (/)." 
 But yet, there is thus much to be faid even in the Cafe 
 of thefe Perfons, d -at if they will read carefully and judge 
 fincerely^ and dived themfelves of all Prejudice, they 
 will be freed from many /^z/^/ and pernicious Errours, 
 which corrupt the Minds of other Men. Particularly, 
 they mufc fee the great Sin and Danger of worfhipping 
 Angels^ and Saints^ and Images ^ which are {o plainly 
 and ^.vpr^y}/v condemned in God's Word. Matt. ly. lo. 
 Colli. 1 8. i^^-z;. xix. ic. Exod. xx. j, 5. And: 
 they cannot alfo but difcover the horrible Wickednels 
 of bating and perfect'Jing thofe that differ from them^ 
 which is contrary to innumerable Texts of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and pardcularly to thofe where we are frriclly 
 commanded to have love for one another, nay and even 
 for our greated Enemies. John xiii. 34, 35. Matt. v. 
 43, 4.4, And by the fame Method, many other dan- 
 gerous and pernicious Miftakes in Ivcligion may ea/ily 
 be difcovcred and prevented. 
 
 Secondh'y 
 
 (0 fit/ajou, Vcl.l.p. 22iJ.- 
 
Religkus Ohfervatlon of the Lord*s Day. 149 
 
 Secondly^ Tho' it be very diffictili in all Cafes to de- 
 termine when Men fall into Errour through Prejudice 
 and PrepofTellion, and it is very probable that' there 
 are very tew Perfons, if any^ who are not in fome Degree 
 and Meafure afredled with it-, yet on the other fide, it 
 muft be owned that there are fome Cafes in which it is 
 notorious and vifibk and highly culpable, tho' the Per- 
 fons who are guilty of it may perhaps not perceive it 
 {o fenfMy as others do. Asfrft, Some Men who read 
 the Scriptures frequently, yet never pals any due Confi- 
 deration upon them ; nor apply them to the Decifion 
 of thole Dilputes and Controverfies which they arc 
 fenfible are of the greateil Moment and Importance to 
 them. This is a Fault which the Generality of Perfons 
 in all Communions are guilty of They are all too apt 
 to indulge their Lazinels and Sloth, and to depend upon 
 the Piety and Judgment of that Church or Party to 
 which they belong -, and to fay, as Symmachus faid of 
 old, Scquimur Major es noftros^ qui feliciter fecttti feint fiios, 
 I. e. We follow our Anc eft ours ^ as they happily followed 
 theirs. But it is in a mofl grofs and fJoameful Manner 
 to be afcribed to the Church of Rome., who in the Four- 
 teenth Article of her Creed fet out by Pope Pius IV. 
 and efcablifhed by the Council of 'Trent hath taken 
 effediual Care to prevent 2^fincere Enquiry into the Do- 
 ctrine of Holy Scripture, by obliging themfelves to re- 
 ceive and interpret it in no <?/^^r Sen ie than that which 
 tlieir Church hath put thereupon (k). Secondly., Others 
 who read the Scriptures and fpend fome Thought in the. 
 Confideration of them do yet judge very partially in 
 this Matter. They lay greaJ Strefs and Weight upon 
 all fuch Pafiiiges as make for them, and pafs over thole 
 vtvy fdghtly that make againft them : and in Cafe that 
 any Books are publiihed in die Controvcrfy to clear up 
 and explain the Senfe of Scripture, they will be lure to 
 
 E ;: read 
 
 [k) T;em Gcrjiin Scripturani juxra eum lenfum, quem tenuity te- 
 net lanfta ;Vlater Eccleria, cujus eft judicarc de ve o renfu lV iiverprc- 
 latione Sacrarum Scripturarum admitto, nsc earn unquam, niS juxra 
 uaanimem Conrenfum Patrum accipiam Sz intcrpretabor. 
 
 I 
 
"i^o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 read only thofe which are on their own Side. By which 
 it is very evident that they do not read in order to form- 
 a tnie Judgment upon the Point in Debate, but only to 
 confirm; themfelves more ftedfqftly in thole Opinions 
 which they haveah'eady teceived. This is Hkewiie fo 
 vifthly the Fault of all Parties, that it cannot but be 
 obferved by every one who hath the lead Acquaintance 
 with the World : but yet it is impofTible to deny that 
 there is a ;?c^;?//^/? Difference between the Church o^Rome^ 
 and the Reformed Churches in this Matter. For whereas 
 the Roman Church locks up the Scriptures from her 
 People, and forbids them, and fuch as are Converts to 
 her, the reading oi Heretical Books as they call them (/) % 
 it is the Glory of all the Proteftant Churches, that they 
 not only in a ftricl Manner require all their Members 
 to read the Scriptures, and to examine the Points in 
 Controverfy for themfelves -, but alfOj as Archbifhop 
 billot fon truly obferved (ra)^ thtj do not forbid them 
 the reading of the very befl Books which our.Adver- 
 faries have been able to write againflus, thirdly ^ There 
 are other Perfons, who, tho' they often read the Holy 
 Scriptures themfelves, and frame Difcourfes out of them 
 for the Benefit and Edification of the People as they 
 pretend, and to confirm them in the true and found 
 ProfelTiOn of the Chriftian Faith \ ., yet are guilty of a 
 moff /:>^;'>f2^/:^/Sappre{rion of the Truth of Scripture, in 
 order to obilru6t a right Judgment upon the Points n 
 Controverfy. This is a Fault, which perhaps the Wri- 
 ters of all Parties may be in fome Meafure guilty of. 
 But the Church of Rome is abominably gone affray in 
 this Particular. In many Books which they have pub- 
 liflied in the Difpute between us, and for the Confir- 
 mation of their People ViU^ Profelytes in the ProfefTion 
 of their Faith^ they not only difguife and fupprefs the 
 trMe and nd Dodlrine of dieir Church in the moft ma- 
 terial 
 
 (/) Vide Sfi//mgjleet''s Amwer 10 d. Papijf mii'reprefented and 
 repre'entsd, chap, xxxiv. p. 161, 
 [m] Tt.af.r.y Vol. li. p, 56. ; • 
 
Religious Ohfervatlon of the Lord's Day. 1 5 r 
 
 terial and efTential Points, tbdt.the People, and efpe- 
 cially the Profelytes to them, might not htjhocked and 
 Jurpn'zed at k (?z) ; but alio do frequently ground their 
 Dodrine upon doubtful and impertinent Texts of Scrip- 
 ture, and at the fame Time take no notice of fuch as 
 immediately relate to the Points in Queilion, and which 
 are mo^ full and clear and exprefs againft them. It were 
 very eafy to give many Inftances of diisfrom the Popipj 
 Wridngs ♦, but that I may not be tedious, I will n>en- 
 tion only one at preient : and ,that is taken froiin. a little 
 Book lately printed and entituled, A Profeffion of Ca- 
 tholic Faith ^ ex traced out of the Council /?f Trent by Pope 
 Pius IV. and now in Ufe for the Reception of Converts 
 into the Churchy &c. In this Book, chap. viii. §. q. 
 concerning the JVorJIjipping. of Angels and Saints^ the 
 Author grounds the Lawfulnels. q? this Pradice upon 
 two Texts of Scripture, neither of which do in any wife 
 relate to thePurpofe for which he brings them. The firft 
 
 L 4 Text 
 
 (n) This is very z-if.b 'e in many of xhtPopi/h Wridng?, and ef- 
 pecially in thofe which are pubilfhed in Profeftaiit Kingdoms; but 
 it ispeculiarty remarkable in a famous Boo'c, which came out about 
 the latter End o^' King Charles the lld'g Reign, called ^ Papiji ml/- 
 reprefentfd and reprffenttd^ in two Parrs or Columns, bv ^ . L one of 
 the Church of Rome. h\ the firft Column, called A Papi/i mifrepre- 
 fented^ the Author gives fuch an Account cj Poper"^ as hath always 
 been given of it by Learned Prctejiants ; and thi-. the Author ilyies 
 2i Mifrcprefentation of Popery. in the fecond Column, called, a 
 Fiipiji reprefe'tedi he gives a quite dhfhent and more favourable . 
 Chafa6l-3r of F^'/'^ry, in order to reconcile the 'Efiyli,f]}t\\t better ro 
 itj and whi.lv^he would fain o'^rude upon us as the true and real 
 Dotlrine of their Church. Bifhop Stiltin fleet anfwered the Book, 
 and proved that what the Author called a Mifreprefentation o^ Popery ^ 
 i.nhe /r//^ Character and Reprefertation of it : which he hath fo 
 dearly demoniuated from the pu'jilc Offues., Caiechifms, Decrees', 
 Serterces, 2nd Cc?tf?7i'/A of that Church, and particularly i\ift Council 
 ofTreht, and from the judgment and Teitiriionv oi\\\tr?iO^'tearr.cd 
 Writers in that Co-^im union ; thit it is impoffible any juft Reply 
 can be made to it. This Bcok is very receflary to be read by all fuch 
 f erfons, who would undeilcand the Controverfy ber\vccn ns and 
 the Church of Rome \ fince it \i in vain to argue again ft the Errotfrs 
 and Ccrri/ptions of that Church if we cannot prove that fliC really 
 holds and jnainlains fuch Errcurs andCorryptions, 
 
152 A Difcourfe concernmgthe 
 
 Text is that in Gen, xlviii. 15, 16. ^\\txtJacQh begging 
 a Bleffing upon the two Sons of Jofeph^ Ephraim and 
 Manajfeh^ ufeth thefe Words, God before whom my Fa- 
 thers Abraham and Ifaac did walk^ the God which, fed -me 
 all my Life long unto this Day, /^^ ANGEL which re^ 
 deemed me from all Evil, blcf the Ends . The other Text 
 is in Rev. i. 4, 5. where St John, ipeaking to the Se- 
 ven Churches in Afia, fays, Grace be unto you a,nd Peace 
 from Him which is, and which was, and which is ta 
 come •, and from the Seven Spirits which are before His 
 'Thrones, and from Jefus Chrift. Now tho' it be very 
 certain that in the Firft of thefe Texts (as many Learned 
 Writers of the Church of Rome will readily allow) by 
 tXicyingel who redeemed Jacob is meant our BlefTed Savi- 
 our Jefus Chrift, who prefided over the Aifairs of the 
 Patriarchal and JewifJj Churches {o)y who is called the 
 Redeemer by the Prophet Ifa. lix. 20. and by St Paul, 
 who fliews that Chrifl is the Redeemer mentioned by that 
 Prophet •, Rom. xi. 26. And whom the fame Prophet 
 ftyhst\\tA>igel of God's Prefence, chap. hdn. g. And 
 Malachi the MefTengcr, /. e. the Angel of the Cove- 
 nant, chap. iii. i. (compare Matt. xi. 10. Marki. 2. 
 Luke vii. 27.) and who when He is called xh^ Angel of 
 the Lord in feveral Pailages of Scripture, yet we may 
 obferve in the fame Pafiages that He is often exprefsly 
 ilyled X'^ri and God (p). And as fuch, there are in- 
 numerable Texts in the Old 'T'effament, where God and 
 Jehovah is fpoken of, which are by the ancient Writers 
 cf the Church applied to Him {q) ; and can be applied 
 to no other Perfon (r). And as to the fecond Text, 
 \.\ . tho' 
 
 (0) 'Fi4. fiufeb. Ecclef. Hift. lib. i. cap. ii. Dr Scott's Chriftian 
 :f.it*e. Vol. III. chap. vii. p. 233, &c. Bulli Def. Fid. Nicen, 
 cap.1. ^i.' 
 
 '(p) See particularly. Gen. xxii. i^, 16. Exod. iii. 2 to 7. and 
 in Ecclef. v. 6. what is rendered from Vhq Hel/rezv, neither fay tkoii 
 iefore the Angeh kc. is read, fjy thou before God in the Septuoginty 
 g^nd likewile in feveral of the Old Verfioas. 
 
 \if) Fid. ViTlVater land's Second Defe ife, Quer, ii. p. 28. 1033. 
 
 \r) T/^. iSri?//', ibid. p. 239 to 242, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 1 53 
 
 tho' there is no doubt but that, as the beil Expolitors 
 ]iave rendered it (s)^ by ihtfeven Spirits is meant the 
 Hcly Gkoft: yet iuppofing there had been fomepiffir 
 culty in the Interpretation of thefe Texts ; if our Author 
 had not fuppreffed fome very dear and plain Texts of 
 Scripture ^/v'hich relate to this Matter, but had as he 
 ought to have done confidered them altogether, it 
 would be impojjihle that any Perfon of common Senfe 
 liiould ever be drav/n away by the Scripture Proofs al- 
 ledged by him to the great Sin of Worihipping An- 
 gels (t). For our Saviour exprefsly obferve? inHis An- 
 
 fwer 
 
 (j) The Holy Ghoil isthoughr by Learned Mer^ to be here de- 
 f:ribed by the Chanidter of the/^tt-^ .5/)/n>j, becaufe it would be 
 abfurd to luppofe that in a Petition for Grace and Peace any Created 
 Being fliould be joined together with God the Father and the Son. 
 And there is no Inftancc of the like to be found in all the Scripture: 
 and becaufe St John himfelf, ns well as the other Apoftles in their 
 Petitions or Wifhes for Grace and Peace, ^c do always beg it from 
 God only. 2 John iii. And it is farther obferved by thefe Inter- 
 preter?, that the Holy Ghoft is called by the Name of l\\Qfeven 
 Spirits^ becaufe His many Gifts have given Him the Name o^ many 
 SfintSy as you may particularly obferve in Ifa. xi. 2 and becaufe 
 the Number Seven among ihtjezus was a iS^rr^^ Number imports 
 ing Perfection [yid. Spenc. dc Leg. Hebr. lib. ii. cap. xxvi. §, 
 3. in Vol. i. p. 497. )• And they likewife intimate, that the Holy 
 Ghoft may as well bedefcribed by His feveral Gifts, as the Gifts of 
 the Spirit are in Scripture frequently fignined by the Spirit Himfelf, 
 as Luke xu 13. GaL'it. v. 25. i Th^JJ. iv. 8. Vid. Po/i Sy nop/. Cri- 
 tic, in loc. Burnet Artie. L p. 39. Dr Bennct\ Confutation of Po- 
 pery, Part \\. chap. xiii. Tho' it muit not be denied, that there 
 are iome very confiderable Interpreters, who think that by the [even 
 Spirits are meant the <:et'en Angels, who are faid in chap. viii. z. 
 to ftand before God. And they underitand the Words of this Text 
 not to be z formal Prayer, but only to contain a Wifh and Defire, 
 that God and Chriil would fend down Grace and Peace upon the 
 Churches by the Miniftration of Angels. (See particularly H^/^^a^o;;^ 
 in loc.) But I think the other Interpretation is much the moil pro- 
 hable for the Reafons abovementioned. To which we may add this 
 remarkable Obi'ervation, that tho' the Beads and Elders are faid in 
 chap. iv. and v. to worjhip Him that jhleth upon the Throne, yet 
 the fevcn Spirits are never faid to do lo. 
 
 (/) This Author is alfo guilty of another inftancc of SupprelTion 
 |n this Matter, and that is in fupprelfmg the true Dodrineahd Prac- 
 tice of the Roman Church in the Worfhip of Angels and Saints: for 
 
154 ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fwer to the Devil (what the Law of God by Mofes had 
 before required) 'Thcujhalt worfloip the Lord thy God^ 
 and Him only jlmlt thou ferve. Matt. iv. lo. And St 
 P^///*s Admonition to the Coloffimsv^'^s^ that they ihould 
 let no Man bepiile them of their Retvard — by the JVor- 
 Jhipping of Arigels. ii. ] 8. And when St John , in the 
 Revelations, fell do'wn at the Angel's Feet to worfhip him, 
 (upon his diicovering to him the Blcffednefs of thofe 
 who v/ere called to the Marriage Feaft of the Lamb) 
 He immediately forbad him, faying. See thou do it not, 
 J am thy Fellow Servant — worfhip God. i? ^. xix. \c. See 
 alfo, chap. xxii. 9. All which Texts are as full and 
 clear againft the Wor.fhipping of ^//o-^'/i and Saints 
 as it is polTible for any V/ords to exprels. Now when 
 in thefeand the like Cafes I affirm^ thatMen who read 
 the Scriptures and judge of them in this Manner are 
 plainly ltd aw^ay by Prejudice and Prepoffcflion •, it is not 
 my Defign hereby topafs any harlhCenfure and Judg- 
 ment upon the Ferfons themielves, who maintain fuch 
 Do6lrines as are manifeilly falfe and erroneous ; for I 
 do not know how far thefe Men may be fenfible of 
 their Miilake, nor what Allowance God Almighty 
 will make for it. And I verily believe (and I think it 
 would be very hard and uncharitable to deny it) that 
 there have been and are fiill, even in the Church of 
 Rome itfelf, many pious and learned Men, who are fo 
 far from contributing kvilfdly to the Propagation of Fal- 
 fhood, th^t they would immediately renounce their 
 Errours if they were made fenfible of them. But the 
 great Prejudice of Education v/hich is common to them 
 with all others, and the peculiar Tendency of many 
 of their Doctrines to promote their Temporal Intereft 
 
 and 
 
 he denies (and by that Evafion ic h that the Church of Rome chiefly 
 inipolcs upon th.ofe who are Piofelytes to her) that they pay true 
 L'ivine Worfliip to them as they do to God ; but only pray to them 
 br their Inlercellion. [vid. chap. viii. -and ix.) Buf whether he has 
 not given a falfe Account of this Matter, will be evident to any one 
 who will confult chap. ii. and iii. of Bifliop Stil!ingfieet'& learned 
 Book abovementioncd. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. j 5^ 
 
 and Dominion, caft fuch 2iftrong Byafs upon their Judg- 
 ments, as hinders them from a true and impartial Dc- 
 terminauon in the Controverfies of Religion. And 
 above all, their firm and iledfiil Belief of the Infallibi- 
 lity of their Church hathfucha^^^-zcfr/k'/ Influence upon 
 their Minds, that by this Means, if they happen to meet 
 with any Texts of Scripture which make againft them, 
 they do not think it neceflary to give them a full and 
 ^//^/V^Confidei-adort : becaufe tho' there might be fome 
 Difiicuky in reconciling fuch Texts with the received 
 Opinions, yet they are fully fatisfied that there are other 
 Texts diat plainly favour them ; and fincethey arefure 
 that the Scripture cannot contradict itfelf, and the 
 Church which is infallible hath confidered the Whole 
 JScripture together, and paffed a Definitive Sentence 
 thereupon y they think it much fafer and wifer to reft 
 upon the Judgment of fuch a Church than upon the 
 Private,! nterpretation of declared Heretics and Schifma- 
 tics. This is no doubt the Cafe of manyPerfons in the 
 Church of Rome y withRelpect to the Sincerity of their 
 Perfwafion, in the many Errours and Corruptions 
 maintained by them„ And the like may be applied to 
 rnany Perfons of other Comjnunions. It is no ftrange 
 Thing to obferve Men very pojitive and peremptory in 
 their Opinions, notwithftanding the cleareft and plaineft 
 Texts of Scripture which are urged againft them. Ei- 
 ther they can tind out fome plaufibleDittindion to avoid 
 the Force of fuch Texts, or elle if they cannot anfwer 
 them themfelves they make no doubt but the Heads 
 and Leaders of their Se^ and Party can -, and fo they 
 think it much better to depend upon their Judgment 
 than upon that of any other Perlbns. This is fo vifibly 
 the Cafe of the Generality of Men in all Pardes and 
 Communions, that no Man who is in any Mealiire con- 
 verfant in the World can be infenfible of it. And 
 the' it is culpable in any one who enquires after Truth 
 to be thus governed and led away by Prejudice •, yet 
 how far in iome Cafej Men may themfelves difcover 
 
 fuch 
 
156 A Dicoiirfe concerning the 
 
 fach Prejudice, or v/hat Allowance the Goodneis of 
 God will make for it in the great Day of Retribution, 
 is moi-e than I or any one can tell \ and therefore it 
 iiiUiL be left to His Righteous Judgment. But all that 
 is neceffary to be proved in the Arginient we are now 
 upon is this, viz. that the Holy Scriptures are, to all 
 Perfbns capable of reading them, io clear and plain 
 in all Necefiary and ElTential Points •, that whofoever 
 will read them with that Care and Diligence which he 
 ought to do, and will entirely diveft himfelf of all 
 Prejudice, and free his Mind from the Power of all 
 Worldly Interefl and Affections, fhall not in the Un- 
 derftanding of thofe Scriptures fall into any Errour 
 that fhall be fatal and delf rudive to him". This is an 
 AfTertion which I think the Wifdom and Goodnefs of 
 God will bear me out in maintaining: fince to fay that 
 God hath made a Revelation of His Will in Holy 
 Scripture for the Salvation of Mankind, and yet that it is 
 not to be underllood in Neceffary and Effential Points 
 by the moftjincere and diligent Inquirers, is worfe than 
 to fay that He hath made no Revelation at all. And 
 as the great Grot ins well obferves (a) " The Goodneis 
 *' of God will not fuffer us to believe, that the Way to 
 *' Eternal Salvation cannot be difcovered by thofe who 
 ^' feek after it without any Regard to Worldly Ho- 
 ** nour and Interefl ; fubmittiiig themfelvcs ennrely to 
 *' His Providence and imploring his Afrifrance." 
 And fays another .(;r') Learned Writer, " I think we 
 *' may fafely pronounce in this Matter, that theGood- 
 *' nefs and Mercy of God is fuch, that Pie never de- 
 *' ferts a fincere Perfon, nor fuffers any one that lliall 
 " live (even according to thefe Meafi-ires of Sincerity) 
 *' up to what he knows, to perifn for want of any 
 ^' Knowledge neccftiry •, and what is more fofHcient 
 *' to fave him." And as a very Judicious Prclate [y) 
 
 expreffes 
 
 (u) Grotius de Verit, Re'i^. Chnft. lib. vi. §, 2. See the Teln- 
 jTioiiies of Ju(iin Mart'.r and Ori^en to thi] Purpofe, in his Ai^ao- 
 tations upon the Place. 
 
 [x] Dr ^otftl/s Scimonr, Vol. 1. p. 2Q8. 
 ' (yj Archbif^iop ^j7i^/sGenUeman's RcligioRj Parti. §.3^ 
 
keligtoui Qbfervation of the Lord's-t)ay 157 
 exprefles it, " If there be a God, and if He requires 
 "any Service cr Wor&ip (/. . any Rel.g.on) from 
 " us it is undoubtedly for this End, that it may be a 
 " Trial of our Faithfulnefs and Obedience to Him. 
 " Now whofoever has a Mind to prove his Servant, 
 " whether he will be faithful and obedient, he will 
 " not crive him fuch dark and intricate Commands as 
 *' fhalfpuzzle him to find out the Meaning of them ; 
 " (for how can a Servant approve himfelf ^"hful and 
 " obedient, if he be uncertain what it is that his Ma- 
 « fter requires from him?) but he will furely give him 
 " fuch Commands and Directions as are eafy enough 
 " to be underftood, however difficult they may be to 
 " beenterpriz'doraccomplilhed I conclude there- 
 " fore that all the Duties of Religion which God re- 
 " quires of any Man muft needs be eafy enough for 
 " him to underftand, however hard they may be to 
 " be pradifed. For otherwife. Religion would be a 
 " Trial rather of aMan's Wit and Cunning, than ot 
 " his Faithfulnefs and Obedience." The mam Diffi- 
 culty which Men commonly apprehend m thisAftair 
 irthis viz HowffiallaManbeable«rto«/ytoknow 
 whether he is fincere and impartial or not in his hn- 
 SaftertheTruthof Scripture Now tho' I freely 
 ^w^there is fome Difficulty in this Matter yet J h 
 due Care and Caution I cannot think it fo W to 
 nv,l-e this Difcovery as fome have imagined. And .- 
 „Z^ad^^, by which the Sincerity of 
 Sen°is ufually tried, thefe three following are the chief 
 ^d principal! with a reipect to a fmcere and impar- 
 rial Enquiry into the Doanne ot Scripture. F.rft f 
 a Man reads the Scripture diligently, and compares 
 together, and confiders cooly and throughly what is 
 alkdSd on both fides in any Points that are controver- 
 . T h^fnre he comes to a Conclufion. Secondly, If 
 E 'caSy ct nS into the Temoer and Diipojaon 
 o Z Mi n'd, and upon fuch Examination can tul^- 
 furc himiblf that he is not .led away by. ny P^^deor 
 
158 A T)ifcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 PafTion or vicious Inclination •, but that his Affedli-' 
 ons are placed on heavenly Things,' and that his Love 
 to God is iiich, that he has a much greater Regard for 
 Him than tor any Temporal Confiderations, and 
 would choofe rather to fufier the greatefr Evils in this 
 World, nay and even to lay down his Life itieif!, than 
 in any wife to oppofe His Will and Pleafure. And, 
 thirdly and laftly^ If in a due Senfe of Human Vv eak« 
 nefs and Infirmity, He prays frequently and fervently 
 to God for His Lloly Spirit to illuminate his Mind, 
 and with Holy 'David to o'pen his Eyes and to/'give him 
 Underft'anding^ that he may difcover the Things in his 
 Laiv. Pfaki cxix^ 18, >^4.. .He that will conftantly 
 and diligently read the Scriptures with this due Prepa- 
 ration and Difpofition of Mind., may reftafTured, that 
 he fhall certainly difcover the Truth in all Matters 
 that are of Moment and Importance to him. And 
 tl:io' he may obfervc many wife and good Men to 
 differ frorri him in their Opinions upon Efiendal Points^ 
 yet this is no good Reafon why he fhould queftion 
 his own Judgment upon thofe Points ; fince it is in 
 many Cales very plain and vi/IMe that Men "are influ- 
 enced by Prejudice and Worldly Affections, tho' 
 they themfelves may not clearly perceive it. And it 
 hath pleafed God.^ as in natural and fenfible Things, 
 fo alfo in the Revelation of His Will, to give us luch 
 plain Marks and Criterions of Truths by which we 
 may certainly find out and perceive it. And the true 
 Reafon why there is fo great a Variety and Contradi- 
 ciion of Opinions amongft Inquifitive Men in the Do- 
 (Tirines of Religion, .and ib little Difference between 
 them in Natural and Scnfible Things, is, beco-ufe the 
 Prejudices and PalTions and temporal Intereifs of 
 M.inkind are concerned in the one Cafe, and not in 
 the other (z). That thcreibre a truly fincere Perfon,. 
 
 \ wiio 
 
 Sz\ If the AfFciftions and Interell of Menvveieas deeply ron = 
 ccmedj and as feiifl ]v tcuch'd in the Truth of MatbeTnati.ca/?YO' 
 
 poH tiers 
 
I ReUglous Ohjervation of the Lord's Day. 15 
 
 S who reads the Scriptures with the Preparation above- 
 
 { mentioned, may not be feduced into any Fatal and 
 
 ■; Deilruclive Errours -, I beg leave to trelpals a little 
 
 longer upon the Reader's Patience, whilft I point 
 
 : out thofe Marks and Criterions of Truth, by which 
 
 he may certainly attain to the Knowledge of it. In 
 
 doing which I fhall not mention all diofe Means 
 
 and Helps in the Study of the Scriptures, fuch as an 
 
 exa6l Skill in the Original Languages in which the 
 
 iacred Books are written, the Phrale and Manner of 
 
 ipeaking among die Jews^ the Hiftcry and Cufloms 
 
 <X the Times in which the Infpired Writers lived, 
 
 and the like •, all which Things are indeed abfolutely 
 
 necelTary to a through and perfect Underflanding of 
 
 the Holy Scriptures : Tho* fince it hath pleafed 
 
 God in the Revelation of His Will, not only barely to 
 
 difcover to us thofe Things which are abfolutely ne^ 
 
 ceiTary to our Salvation, but alfo to deliver Himfelf 
 
 to us in great ^'ariety and Ornament of Difcourfe, 
 
 and to confirm and ftrengthen the main Dodlrine by 
 
 many ftrong and forcible Arguments fcattered up and 
 
 down in the facred Wridngs •, it is certainly our indif- 
 
 penlable Duty by all proper Helps and Afliftances to 
 
 gain 
 
 Pofirons, as they are in the Principles of 7lf^;W//)) and Religion; 
 we fhouU iind that when a P-opolition ftor d in their Wiiy, and 
 lay crofs to their Intereit, tho' it were never fo dearly demon- 
 ftrared, yet they would raife a Bull about it, aiid make a Thou- 
 iand Cavils, and fence even againll the Evidence of a Demonftra- 
 tion ; they would palliate their h.rrour with all the Skill and Art 
 they could ; and tho' the A'ofurdity of it v/as never fo great and 
 palpable, yet they would hold it fail againll all Senfe and Reafon, 
 and face down 'Vianlin i in the obftmate Defenje of it ; for we 
 have no Rcafjn to doubt but that they, who in Matters of Reli'^ion 
 will believe diredly contrary to what they fee, would if they 
 had the fame In.ereil and Faflions to (way them in the Cale, 
 believe roi.trary to \\it clQxrQ'X Mat hem.:t:c a! :£moTiJ} ration i foR 
 where there js an abfjlu:e Relblut^on not be convinced, ali the 
 R.*iifon and Evidence in tiie vVorld fignihes nothing T'.'l'^fon 
 y'l. II, p. 239. Hee alfo Aic\\b\^Q^ S^jti^ii Centlema/i's Ri^igi:^'^ 
 Part I, § 3, 
 
i6o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 gain as perfect and compleat an Underflanding o 
 them, as our Capacities and Opportunides will ad- 
 mit. And fuch who are not fl^illed in the Original 
 Language, nor acquainted with antient Hiftory and 
 CufLoms, may yet arrive to a very confiderable Know- 
 ledge in Holy Scripture, by the Uie of thofe many 
 Excellent Comments which are publifhed in the Na- j 
 tion. But as this Difcourfe is chiepjy defigned for com- ' 
 mon Readers, I jQiall do no more than give two ot 
 three plain Rulesand Dire6lions, by which they may 
 certainly find out the Truth in all fuch Matters as are 
 neceiTary and Effential, or of great Importance to the 
 Peace and Happinefs of their Minds. 
 
 The Firft Rule is this ; When a Propofidon is de- 
 livered in as plain^ clear ^ and exprefs Words as any 
 Language will admit •, we mud always adhere to the 
 Truth of fuch Propofition, though it be never fo con- 
 fiidendy denied by Men of great Parts and Learning {a). 
 This Pofidon depends upon what has been already j 
 obferved in p. 156, viz. that God having made a Re- \ 
 veiation of His Will in the Holy Scriptures, it would 1 
 be highly ablurd to fuppofe, that He lliould exprefs 
 Himielf fo darJdy and chfcurely^ that we fhould not j 
 be able to difcern L is Senfe and Meaning after the ; 
 mod fmcere and perfe6l Examination. And if we 
 cannot do this, efpecially in iiich Pailiges of Scrip- ,; 
 ture as are expreffed in as clear and plain W^ords as '{ 
 any Language will bear, the Confequence will be ^ 
 that the Scriptures are given to us in vain •, and it will . 
 be impoffible for us to make any Ufe of our Radonal '• 
 Faculties in the Perufal of them, but we muft be, . 
 obliged to fit down in abfolute Sceptifm, Thus, to 
 make an Application of this Rule -, It is as clearly 
 
 and 
 
 [a) There is nothing more unrcafonable ' than to deny that to 
 be tl.e Meaning of Scriptue, which, if it had been the Meani'.^r, 
 could not have been excrell in plainer and more advantaged;? 
 Word? ; efpecially when this is done not in one or two Teas, but 
 yti-y many' TiUcfJbn, Vol. HI. p. 490. 
 
keligibus Obfervation of the Lord*s Day. i6i 
 
 lind plainly exprefled in Scripture, as any Thing can 
 ix)iribly be, that Jefiis Chrift earrie into the World 
 and took Human Nature upon Him, in the Womb 
 of the BlefTed Virgin \ that He truly fufFered and 
 died for our Sins •, ^c, and yet it is well known 
 that thefe Particulars were denied by feveral Ancient 
 Heretics^ who did not want good Parts and Appre- 
 henfion. But I hope thefe Points are never the lefs 
 true and certain, becaufe thofe Heretics have denied 
 them. And the like may be laid of the other Arti- 
 cles in the Creed -, They are all delivered in plain 
 and clear PalTages of Holy Scriprare ; and therefore 
 it would be no fufficient Reafon for us to doubt of the 
 Truth of fuch Articles, tho' it Ihould fo happen that 
 fome of the greateil Learning and Knowledge fhould 
 call them into Queftion. And the fame may be 
 affirmed of the two Sacraments of Baptifm and the 
 Lord's Supper ; they are very plainly and exprelsly 
 required and commanded in God's Word (fee Matt„ 
 xxviii, 19. MarkxYi. 16. Johnm. 5. Luke -ioai. ly, 
 &c. I Cor. xi; 23, &c.) tho' they are utterly denied 
 and renounced by a whole Se5f among us, in whom 
 there are undoubtedly rriany fenfible and well dilpofed 
 Perfons. And it is a vain and idle Attempt in them 
 to endeavour to invalidate the Force of thefe Texts, 
 by alledging that St Paul fays, that the Kingdom of God 
 confifteth not in Meat andBrink^ Rom. xiv. 17. and that 
 we mull not be fubje5f to Ordinances (b). Col. ii. 20. 
 and that the Sacraments were only Signs and Shadows^ 
 which were to be ufed for a while for the Sake of 
 weak Chriftians^ 'till they Ihould receive more perfcSf 
 Illumination and Strength from the Spirit of God (c) : 
 I fay, it is in vain to attempt to dellroy the Force of 
 thole Texts by this kind of Realbning •, fmce St Paul^ 
 
 M in 
 
 (l^) nd. Barclay's Apology for the ^akersy Prop. xiii. p. 48'i'< 
 Prop. xi. throughout. 
 
 (r) Barclay, Prop. xiii. p. 478* 
 
1 6 2 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 in the Paflages of Scripture lafl mentioned, is plainly 
 fpeaking of the Ordinances of the Jewiflj Law^ which 
 he is there proving to be of no ObUgation under Chri^ 
 fiiantty^ becaufe they were only Shadows of things to 
 come under the Gofpel, and Chrift hath blotted them 
 cut^ nailing them to His Crofs •, Col. ii. 17, 14. »'and 
 fmce the Scripture very plainly declares of both the 
 Sacraments, that they are to be celebrated until Chriji's 
 Second coming to Judgment. Matt, xxviii. 20. 1 Cor, 
 XI, 2 6 (d). Since both our BlefTed Saviour and St Paul 
 exprelsly affirm, that Baptifm by TVater is neceffary to 
 Salvation as well as the Regeneration of the Holy Spi- 
 rit^ John iii. 5. 'Tit. iii. 5. and fince the Illumina- 
 tion of the Holy Ghofl is fp far from vacating the 
 Neceflity of Baptifm, that when St Peter came to 
 Cornelius and his Friends, who were endued with the 
 Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit of God, he makes that 
 one main Argument -le'^ they Jhould be im?7iediately Bap- 
 tized., ABs X. 44 ,' &c. And laft of all, becaufe our 
 BlefTed Saviour Himfelf, whofe Example is always 
 an Infallible Comment upon Scripture, did, as has 
 been before taken notice (e) of, obferve the External 
 Ordinances of Religion, notwithflandingHewas fo^^- 
 y^/i^/^/y perfefl, as to be entirely /?Y^/r(7;;; (/) all Sin ^ 
 I Pet, ii. 22. and had the Holy Spirit given to Him 
 without Meafure., John iii. 0,4, From all which Con* 
 fiderations it is very evident, that the DoClrine of the 
 NecefTity of the two Sacraments is plainly and clearly 
 delivered in Floly Scripture, notwithftanding the many 
 Cavils and Objedions which the Adverfaries of that 
 Dodrine have raifed againil it. This then is the 
 
 Firft 
 
 [d] VU. Tillotfon, Vol. II. p.cic, CI 6. 
 
 r^vid.p. ,25. 
 
 \f) Hac ce caua Chriftus venit ad Johannem, voluitque ab 
 eo baptizari, ut fuo Baptifmatc illins B^ptifma approbaret, corto- 
 borarer, ac dcmonllraret Neminem t^t qiiamvis jujltt?n k faJiBum 
 cjuinea force falutari aqa.l abliiendus cam ipfe nuliius pur;atior!is 
 egens fie lullrari voluit. Pohdore Firgil dc Rerum Intent, lib. iv. 
 Clip. iv. " • 
 
Religious Qhfervatzon of the Lord's Day. 1 63 
 
 Firft Rule to be obferved in our Enquiry after the 
 Truth of Scripture, viz. that we flick to that which 
 is clearly and plainly exprefs*d, tho' there fhould be 
 many Perfons of good Senfe and Probity who Ihould 
 judge differently from us. If this Rule were care- 
 fully regarded, it would of itfelf fecure to Men a right 
 Judgment of Scripture in all Things that are Effential j 
 iince, as I have already remarked, whatever is necef- 
 fary to Salvation, either in Point of Faith or Pra6lice, 
 is plainly and clearly delivered in the Holy Scriptures. 
 And tho' it muft be confelTed that there are feveral 
 Paffages in Scripture which are difficult and obfcure, 
 yet as a very judicious Writer well exprefles (g) it. 
 If you do not underfland thofe Places that are 
 ohfcure^ in a Senfe contrary to thofe that are plain 5 
 tho' perhaps you may be in an Errour concerning 
 the Interpretation of fome of them, yet you can be 
 under no dangerous Errour." But, 
 Secondly^ Becaufe there are many fatal and deflruc- 
 tive Errours both to the Salvation of Mens Souls, and 
 to the prefent Peace and Quiet of their Minds, which 
 may receive Countenance from fome Texts of Scrip- 
 ture, at leaft as they are managed and explained by 
 artful and cunning Men \ therefore there are two other 
 Rules very neceflary to be obferved, in order to a true 
 iand right Underftanding of Holy Scripture. The 
 Firft . Rule is this ♦, Nevet to ground any Doctrine of 
 Moment and Importance upon one or two Texts of 
 Scripture, 'till you have put together and confidered 
 what is faid in other Parts of Scripture upon the fame 
 Point. The abfolute NecefTity of obferving this Rule 
 is very evident •, fince there are many great and per- 
 nicious Errours, which may receive fome Umbrage 
 and Support from particular Texts of Scripture, if 
 they are confidered feparately from others in which they 
 
 M 2 are 
 
 _ [g) Dr Clagett^ in bis Sermon on Jch, viii. 36. in the firft Vol. 
 ^f his Poilhumous Sermoiw. 
 
164 ^ Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 are clearly and plainly confuted. This I have Ihewn 
 already, both with refpeft to the worfliipping of 
 Angels, and the Do&ine of the Sacraments (^); and it 
 would be very eafy to give many more Inflances of the 
 like Nature, but it is not neceflary to do this •, fince 
 whofoever diligently reads the Scriptures and compares 
 them together, may readily make an Applicadon of 
 this Rule to himfelf. But, Secondly^ The other Rule, 
 which I Ihall mention at prefent as necefTary to a right 
 Underftanding of Holy Scripture, is this, viz. Never 
 to build any Doctrine of Weight and Confequence 
 upon Figurative and Metaphorical Texts (/) of Scrip- 
 ture, when the fame Doctrine is frequently and largely 
 treated of in other PalTages which are literal 2ind plain. 
 If this Rule had been duly obferved, the Dodlrine of 
 IrreJiJliMe Grace ^ vv^hich is one main Branch of theabfurd 
 and monftrous Do6lrine of Predeftination., would have 
 loll it's chief and principal Support. For tho' it is not 
 to be denied, that there have been fomevery confider- 
 ^ble and learned Men, who have engaged in the De- 
 fence of that Doi^lrine, and that with fo much Zeal 
 and Confidence, as to be almoll impatient of Contra- 
 didion (k) \ yet the bed Proof and Evidence, which 
 they could give thereof from the Holy Scripture, was 
 from fiich PaiTages as ?iXt plainly Figurative and Me- 
 taphorical : the chief and principal of which are thefe 
 three following. The firil Text is in 2 Cor, iv. 6. 
 where St Paul fpeaking of the great Change which 
 
 God 
 
 {h) Seep. 1,51, and i6r. 
 
 (/■) If Metaphors once come to be refilled on and drained, and 
 Confeqnences come to be drawn from them, and Dc»5lrines found- 
 ed nnd Theories built upon them ; they are of very ill Confequence, 
 and fe.rvc to no other Pu^-p )(e but to' blind and objure the plain 
 and fm^ple Notions of Things, and to feduce and miflcad the Un- 
 derltandings of Men, and to multiply Controverfics without End, 
 Tillotfon, Vo'. Ill p. 478. 
 
 [k) Sec Dr Clagetf^ Difpute with Dr Owen upon this Point, in 
 his moft Excellent Difcourfc concerning the Operations of the Hblf 
 
Religious Obfervatton oftheTuO^diS Day. 165 
 
 God Almighty had wrought in the Hearts and Lives 
 of the Corinthians^ exprefles it thus, God^ who commmt- 
 ded the Light to Jhine out ofDarknefs^ hath Jhined into our 
 Hearts •, to give the Light of the Knowledge of the 
 Glory of God in the Face of Jefus Chrifi, The fame 
 Manner of ExprelTion we may alio find in other Parts 
 of Scripture. A^s xxvi. 18. Eph. v. 8. i Peter ii. 
 9. The other Two Pafiages are in Ephef ii. i, 10. 
 where St Paul fpeaking of their State and Condition 
 by Nature^ and comparing it to that which they were 
 in by Grace ^ defcribes it in this Manner ; And you 
 hath He quickened^ who were dead in Trefpaffes and Sins, 
 And again, H^e are His Workmanfhip^ created in Chrift 
 Jefus unto good JVorks, Now tho' it is very clear and 
 evident, that the ExprelTions in thefe Texts are Fi- 
 gurative (I) and Metaphorical, and are ufed by the 
 Apoftle to fignify the Miferable State and Condition 
 they were in before their Converfion *, as that their Un- 
 der^ andings were darkned and obfcured, and their 
 Wills fo ilrongly inclined to Sin, that they were in a 
 manner quite dead to any Senfe of Good and Evil (fee 
 Ephef iv. 19.) and therefore (food in need of a more 
 than ordinary Power of God's Grace to reduce them ; 
 I fay, tho' this be very plainly the meaning of thofe 
 Expreffions in the Texts abovementioned, yet there 
 have not been wanting fome learned Men, who have un- 
 derftood them according to the ftri^ Letter, to fignify 
 that Men are entirely ^^t'^, /. e. that God doth all and 
 Men do nothing at all^ in the great Bufinefs of Rege- 
 neration and Converfion : and that, becaufe the A- 
 pollle, when he is fpeaking of fuch Regeneration, de- 
 fcribes it by Similitudes taken from thofe things, in 
 w^iich the Power of God is fokly concerned without 
 cmy Concurrence on their Part. For when God crea* 
 ted the World, and reflored dead Bodies to Life 
 M 3 again 
 
 (/■) ^es Dr Cl?gelt*s Operations of the Holy Spirit, Part il. 
 chap. V. ^. .(. 
 
1 6 6 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 again ; the Darknefs upon the Chaos did not in the 
 kail Degree contribute to the Light that fhined 
 upon it, nor the dead Bodies which were railed to 
 the Operauon of God's Power upon them. And 
 in the hke manner fay thefe Perfons, when Sinners 
 are regenerated and converted from the Errour of 
 their Ways, and brought over to the Practice of 
 Righteoufnels and true Hohnefs \ the Effe6l is en- 
 tirely owing to the Irrefiilible Power of God's Grace 
 upon their Minds, and not in any Meafure to the 
 Confent and Concurrence of their own Wills there- 
 unto. Now, not to mention that it would be a 
 fufficient Anfwer to this kind of Reafoning, that 
 though we fhould allow that God may and does 
 fomeumes a6t in this manner in the Converfion of 
 a Sinner {7n)j yet this cannot poflibly be the ufual 
 and general Method in which the Divine Grace 
 operates upon the Minds of Men ; becaufe then 
 thofe, who in Virtue of this Grace lliould repent of 
 their Sins and believe the Golpel, could not hereby 
 be entitled to any Praife and Reward ; nor thofe, 
 who for want of fuch Irrefiftible Grace ihould remain 
 Infidels and continue in their Sins, could juftly 
 deferve any Cenfure and Punifliment •, the contrary 
 to which the Holy Scripture as well as the com- 
 pion Senle of Mankind plainly fuppofcs (n) : I fay^ 
 
 not 
 ■■■ " ^ ' I i . '■ . I . — " ■ ■ ■» , — " i ■ . .1 .1 ^ 
 
 (m) VU, i)r More's Grand Myilery of GoidlinefsjfBook x. chap, 
 V. § 2 conifared with Dr Clagett's Operations "of the Holy 
 Spirit, Part IL chap, iv, § 6. p. 219. 
 
 {») If the infupportable Weight of Neceffity Kea apon Men, 
 they are Patients rather than Agents, and deferve Pky rather thaa 
 Blame or Pumfhment. It was a difcrcet frying oi Parphyry [De 
 Jhfl. lib. i.) 'O i^A'Ci^ivQr ki\v iirlcy k«» a/j/« thy 'dnkS^.^^ 
 ^idi^ile&t. i. e. A Mitriy that is moved by Force mly, is jroperty 
 snough faid ta be whurs he vjaSy as if he hrU vot bien mcvcd ct ali. 
 For whatfoevcT ftcming Alteration NeceiTity and Viokiice may. 
 shake for the prefent. when once the Force is o>ver, every I'bJng^ 
 jreturns £.0 it's own Nature agaki, and is what it was bft'cre ; biif 
 "Without doaU ia all Moral CQiJ^dej^tioaj Maa isKeaibnablf t& 
 
 " fee 
 
Religious Olfervatton of the Lord's Day. 1 67 
 
 not to mention this ; it is a manifeft Sign of Weak- 
 nels or Prejudice to ground the Doctrine of Irrefiftible 
 Grace upon the Metaphors and Allufions in the Texts 
 above-mentioned ; when there are innumerable Texts 
 of Scripture which relate to the Converfion and Salva- 
 tion of Sinners, in which the Freedom of Man's ^'^ ill, 
 and the Neceflity of it's Concurrence with the Ope- 
 ration of God's Grace, are plainly and clearly aflerted; 
 as the Catholic Church of Chrift has truly and wifely 
 determined upon this Point (0), It would be tedious 
 and unnecefTary to multiply Texts of Scripture in fo 
 familiar a Matter, I fhall therefore mention only two 
 or three which are very remarkable, and which I 
 defy all the Wit of Mankind to give any rational An- 
 fwer to upon the Predeftinarian Scheme. Thus our 
 BlefTed Saviour fays of the PbarifeeSy that they reje5led 
 the Comfel of God againft themfelves. Luke vii. 30. And 
 St Stephen of the Jews^ that they always rejifted the Holy 
 Ghojl, A^s \\i. 51. And again our Bleffed Saviour 
 • fays to Jerufalem^ Jerufalem^ How often would I have 
 gathered 'Thee^ even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens 
 finder her IVings^ and ye would not. Matt, xxii. ^^7. 
 
 M4 And 
 
 be interpreted to be in that State all the while, where he was by 
 his own Choice, and would have continued, had not Force expulfed 
 him. And Seneca faid very wtll. Magnum humane ImbeciUitatis 
 fatrocinium Nercffitas, qua, quicquid cogU, excufat. i. e. NeceJJjty 
 is the great San£iuary of hiunan Infirmit-^ ; which luhofoever can 
 lay claim to obtains ?rcte£lion\ for it perfectly excufes all the Faults 
 it commits. Whatfoever can juilly be pretended to be neceflary, iF 
 it be Evil, is a Natwral one and not a Moral., and an Unhappinefs 
 or Punifliment rather than a Sin. Dr Goodman on the Parable of 
 the Prodigal:, Parti, chap. Wi. § III. 3. 
 
 {0) Semper hoc Ecclefise Catholicse Judicium fuit, cum gratia, 
 fed Tub gratia tamcn, conTpirare amice Arbitrii Libertatcm. Nempe 
 ut D- Auguftinus fcite diccbat, f non ef Dei Gratia, qiiomodo filvnt 
 Mi/?td'rm ? &Ji non eft liber um Arbitriumy quomodo ]udicat Mun- 
 d-.vi ? Atque ut jiit Bernardus, Tollc liberum Arbirium. non erit 
 cju^d S^lvetar ; toUe gratiam, non erit unde Salvctur. Vojjii 
 H'tftor. Pelagian, p. i. 
 
1 6 8 A Difcoiirfe ccncerjimg the^ 
 
 And again he fays to the Jews^ ye will not come unta 
 me^ that ye might have Life. Johnv, 40. Now if Ir- 
 refiftible Grace be abfolutely neceflary to the Converfion 
 of Sinners, and it is through the want of this Grace 
 that fome Sinners are not rclormed •, upon what Grounds 
 then can our Bleffed Saviour blame the Jews fo feverely 
 for not coming to Him and beheving in his Gofpel ? 
 For fince Irrefiftible Grace is in God^s Hands, he might 
 as eafily have bellowed it upon them as He did upon 
 other Sinners. And to fuppofe that God fhould blame 
 and punifh Men for not rependng of their Sins and be« 
 lieving in Him, when it is abfolutely out of their Power 
 Xo repent and believe, is the fame thing in plain Words, 
 as if we fhould fay, that He blames and puniflies them 
 for nothing *, which, if it were not out of Reverence 
 to fome pious and good Men, who have maintained 
 the Dodrine pf Irrefiftible Grace, I fhould make no 
 fcruple to fay, it were Blafphemy to affirm (p), Tho' 
 therefore a Perfon of weak Judgment ihould be puzzled 
 with the Metaphorical Defcriptions of the Apoftle, 
 when He is fpeaking of the mighty Power of God in 
 the Converfion of Sinners, and lliould think tliat they 
 give fome Countenance to the Do6lrine of Irrefiftible 
 Grace j yet He would foon be delivered from this Mi- 
 flake, if he would compare thofe Paftages of Scripture 
 with the Texts laft mentioned, and pardcularly with 
 i\\^\: folemn\2tc\:iV2i\i\oT\ which God makes upon this very 
 Occafion in the Prophet Ezekiel^ As I live ^ faith the 
 Lord Gody I have no Pleafure in the Death of the Wicked^ 
 hut that the Wicked turn from his Way and live. T^urnye^ 
 turnye from your Evil Ways., for why will ye die^ OJIoufe 
 cf Ilrael, Ch. xxxiii. i \ (q). Nay lo great is the Folly 
 and Weaknefs of building any Doctrines of Moment 
 
 upon 
 
 ( p) yU Dr C/ajeli's Operations of the Holy Spirit, Part II. 
 chap. iii. §. 6. 
 
 ^ i^l See more to this purpofe. in I/a. v. 4. Li/ke xix. 42. Matf. 
 xi 21. Markvh 6. ch^p xv'i. 14. Seeri/fo^ moll excellent Difcourle 
 of Aichbifliop Ti/.'ot/'h upon this Poinr, in Vol, II. S^rfir. liii. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 169 
 
 upon Figurative PaiTages of Scripture in oppofition to 
 thofe that are literal ^ that in many Cafes the Senfe of 
 ifoch Paffages may eafily be difcovered and explained 
 by comparing them with thole that are plainly Figu-r 
 rative. Thus for Inflance •, If a Papift Iliould urge to 
 any Proteftant in Defenfe of Tranfubilandation the 
 Words of our BlelTed Saviour at the InfUtution of die 
 Sacrament, This is my Body, Luke xxii. 1 9 ; befides the 
 manifeft Abfurdity of the Doctrine, and it's Incapabi- 
 lity of being proved by Scripture, becaufe it deft roys 
 the Evidence of Senle, aiid confequently fubverts the 
 Foundation upon which the Authority of the Scrip- 
 ture itfelf is eftablifhed : I fay not to mendon this, that 
 any Proteftant of common Senfe might readily confute 
 that pernicious Doclrine, by comparing that Paflage of 
 St Luke with other Texts of Scripture that are clearly 
 Figurative. For if he hath the leaft Acquaintance with 
 the Language of Scripture, he cannot but know, that 
 there is nothing more common than to give to xhtSign 
 of a Thing the Name of that which is fignified thereby. 
 Innumerable Inftances might be given of this, if it were 
 neceffary ; but I will mendon only one which is very 
 remarkable : Thus Jofeph in the Interpretation of 
 fharaoh''^ Dream fays, the Seven good kine are Seven 
 TearSy and the Seven good Ears are Seven Tears, Gen, 
 xli. 26 (r). That is, furely ('as every Body of com- 
 mon Underftanding muft perceive) they are the Sign 
 or Signification of Seven Years. And it is very ufual 
 with our Blefied Saviour, when He is fpeaking of the 
 great BlelFings and Benefits which His Uifciples Ihould 
 receive from his Perfon aiid Dodrine, to deliver Him^ 
 felf in very ftrong Figuradve Expreflions. l^hus, to 
 give only an Inftance or two. In John x. 9. He fays, 
 / am the Door. And chap. xv. 1. I am the Vine. And 
 it is as Evident from thele Texts, that Chriil is really 
 and literally a Door and a Vine, as that the Bread in the 
 Sacrament is His rf^/iV^/wr*?/ Body. Nay, if we were 
 
 to 
 
 b-) See 4ilf9 Luke viii. 1 1 , ^c. 
 
170 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 to judge by the bare Letter of Scripture, there ieems to 
 be greater Proof and Evidence tor the one, than the 
 other. ForChrift fays, I am the true Vine. And tho' 
 the ExprefTion be plainly Figurative (as the Papifts 
 themfelves can eafily difcern) yet if He had faid the 
 fame of the Sacrament, This is my /r^/^Body, and this 
 is my true Blood, they would have triumphed exceed- 
 ingly, and thought it a Demonflradon of the Doctrine 
 of Tranfubllantiadon •, as a Learned Author well cb- 
 ferves (s). 
 
 And thus much concerning the Rules of explaining 
 and interpreting the Holy Scriptures, in order to ar- 
 rive at the true Knowledge and tJnderftanding of them 
 in Matters of Doclrine. And from what has been 
 laid down upon this Head, I hope it fully and clearly 
 appears, that tho' pious and good Men do oftentimes 
 fall into great Miftakes about the Do6lrine of Scripture, 
 thro' the Force of Prejudice and the Power of their 
 AfFed:ions-, yet the Will and Mind of God is fo plainly 
 revealed and expreffed in the facred Wridngs, that 
 whoever will be careful to diveft himfelf of all Preju- 
 dice and PalTion, and will read them with that Atten- 
 tion, Diligence and Reverence, which he ought to do, 
 need not doubt but that he fhall find out the Truth in 
 all Matters that are of any Confequence and Impor- 
 tance to his Salvadon. I 11^ all therefore conclude this 
 Point with thofe remarkable Words of a late Writer 
 (t) (tho' they are by him applied to a very different 
 Purpole) viz. that " Tho' if God revealed any Thing 
 " in a Way liable to be millaken, he cannot be dii- 
 " pleafed with fmcere People for miftaking it 5 yet 
 ^' certainly the End of God's giving any Precepts was 
 ^' not to deliver them fo obicurely, that People might 
 *' be faitltlefs if they miflook, but to make them lb 
 " plain that diey could not well miRake. And this 
 " is agreeable to infinite Wifdoni direded by infinite 
 
 '' Good- 
 
 (i) Dr5^r/7''^againfl Popery, Part I L chap. viii. p. 137. 
 {t\ Chriilianitv as old as the Cicaiion, chap. x. p. i 30, 
 
Beligious Obfervatkn of tie Lord's Day. 171 
 
 ^* Goodnels ; which certainly will give us equal Degrees 
 ^' of Evidence for Relimous Truths v/hich fo much 
 " concern us, as it has done for Truths of leis Impor- 
 *' tance." 
 
 There is only one pule more to be obferved, in order 
 to a tRie Underftanding of the Holy Scriptures in Mat- 
 ters of Pradice (and it mufl be added to what has been 
 already delivered concerning Matters of Dodlrine) and 
 that is, never to trufl to our ownReafonings in oppofi- 
 tion to plain and evident Declarations of God's Word. 
 i do not mean that Reafon is not to be confulted in the 
 Underftanding of Scripture, or that the Senfe of Scrip- 
 ture is not to be accommodated to the clear and undeni- 
 able Principles of Natural Reafon (u)-, but I mean, that 
 when God hath exprefied His Will andPleafure inHoly 
 Scripture in plain and dired Terms, we muft not re- 
 cede from it upon iiich Reafonings as are drawn from 
 our Worldly Interefls and Affedions. This one would 
 diink fhould be a very needlefs Rule, if we confider 
 how clearly and exprefsly all Matters of Practical Duty 
 are laid down in the Word of God. But if we look 
 abroad into the World, we fhall find too much Occafion 
 for infifting upon it. There are but few Men fo bold 
 and daring as wilfully to a6l in Oppofition to what they 
 believe to be the Truth of God's Word ; but by the 
 Power of their finful Affeclions and the Craft and Po- 
 licy of the Devil their Minds are furnifhed with h many 
 7iice and artful Diftindions, that they think the parti- 
 cular Cafe with which they are concerned may fairly 
 be exempted from the general Command : and by this 
 Means they do for a while make their Confciences eafy 
 
 and 
 
 {u) The Circumflances of Human Life zvcinjinite^ and depend on 
 a Multitude of Accidents not to be forefeen ; and confequently not 
 Xo be provided againft. Hence Laws niuft run in general Terms, 
 and fometimes the intent of the Law is bel^ fulfilled by running con- 
 trary to the Letter; and therefore Keafon and Honefty mx^ 
 guide us to the Fitiiefs of the Thing, and a great Scope mi\{\ be Jeft 
 f o Equity and Difcretion. Dm» Slanhope*^ Sfraon jiithi dmrniTUf* 
 jfiiHi ^/Cambiidgc, 1697, p. 13. Steslf^^ p. 12. 
 
172 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 and quiet in a manifeft TranfgrefTion of God's Law. In- 
 numerable Inilances might be given of this, in tlie Con^ 
 dud and Behaviour of proieiled Chriftians •, but it is 
 entirely needlefs : it being impoiTible for any one to 
 have any Converfation with Mankind, and not to be 
 acquainted with them. I fhall therefore only obferve 
 at prelent, that if Men who profefs to believe theFIoly 
 Scriptures can acquit themfelves of the Guilt of Perjury 
 in taking Oaths againft their Confciences, or of Fraud 
 and Injultice in cheadng die Public or Private Perlbns ; 
 or of any other Crimes which are exprefsly contrary to 
 the Declarations of Holy Scripture -, and that by the 
 Strength and Virtue of fuch Diftin6lions, as the Intereft 
 and depraved Affections of Men commonly fuggeit in 
 fuch Cafes, and which are too well known to itand in 
 need of a partiQular Account and Defcripdon : (and forr y 
 I am to fay it, there are many Perfons of grave and fe- 
 rious Behaviour, and who conftantly attend upon the (x) 
 public Worlhip, who do by this Means make them fel ves 
 eafy under thele TranfgrefTions) I lay, if Men can by 
 fuch Arts and Devices acquit themfelves of the Guilt of 
 flagrant and notorious Crimes, exprefsly condemned by 
 God in His written Word -, then indeed it will be a vain 
 and fruitl els Attempt to lay down any Rules for the 
 true underftanding of Holy Scripture •, fmce it is abfo- 
 lutely impoiTible that any Law of God can be fo clear 
 and plain, but it's Authority and Obligadon may eafily 
 be evaded and let afideby the Help of fuch Diilindions. 
 It is therefore abiolutely necefiary to a true and right 
 
 under- 
 
 [x] Neqiie enimdeuint inter ChriiHanos qui pietatem colunt, dum 
 orant Deum, dum Sacrificio tremendo aflillun':, dum facerdotem 
 concionantem audiurt : led interim vel blafphemant Dcum in ludo, 
 vel jurant per Deum fine Caufa, vel vota Deo ta(^l;a non implent. 
 Id veroquid aiiud eft quam pie cojere Deum & impium eflc in Deum ? 
 Oporret i^itur eos, qui cupiunt bene vivere ut de ur illii bene mori» 
 ira pie Deum coler-, ut abregeni omrem impi^taiem^ imm'> diam 
 omncni umbram quamvis tenuifiin>am impietatis. Parum enira 
 pr 'delt quotidie mifVam audirc, & Chririura in Sacro Mylierio ve- 
 nerari, ii interim impie Dcum bla'phemcs, vel per Deum p£J£r«?s, 
 BeHarrrAn. d^ Arte kne Mor.w:d., lia. 1. c^p. vi. 
 
Religious Obfern:atio?i of the Lord*s Day. iy% 
 
 tinderilanding of Holy Scripture, that we do not fet up 
 our own deceitful and fallacious Reafonings in Oppo^ 
 fition to the clear and exprefs Determinations of God*s 
 Word (y). And it hath pleafedGod in His Providence 
 to give us this Caution and Inftrudion in a very remark- 
 able PafTage of Holy Scripture ; and that is in the Ac- 
 count which we have of our BlelTed Saviour's being 
 tempted by the Devii^ Matt. iv. Now upon this Oc- 
 cafion we may obferve, that our Lord did not ona 
 Reafon with the Devil upon any of thofe Temptations 
 which he propofed to Him \ but only urged the Au- 
 thority of Scripture. It is written^ fays Chrift^ and 
 then tie gives His Anfwer to the Devil in the Words 
 ot Scripture. And pray why did He do fo ? Could 
 not our BlefTed Saviour who was infinite in Wifdom 
 have outdone the Devil in Point of Reafoning, and of^ 
 fered fuch Arguments to him as he fhould not have 
 been able to gainlay or contradid.? Yes certainly. But 
 our BlefTed Lord chofe this Method for our Benefit and 
 Example-, and to fhew us in what our Security confifts^ 
 when we are tempted by the Devil to depart from the 
 clear and exprefs Declarations of Holy Scripture : and 
 that is, not in trufting to our own Reafonings, but in 
 an abfolute Reliance upon God's Word. For if the 
 Devil can once prevail with us to reafon upon clear and 
 exprefs Declarations of God in Scripture, he will realbn 
 with us as long as we pleafe. And he is Mafter of fo 
 much Sagacity and Experience, and knows fo well how 
 to adapt himfelf to our Pride and Vanity, our Interell 
 and PafTions ; diat he will infallibly prevail over us by 
 
 thofe 
 
 (y) We find by Experience how often we are deceived, even in 
 Things be'brec'ur Eye's and th°coinmon Affairs of human Life; and 
 moie particularly in the Cafe of Religion hew apt our Judgirent 
 would be to follow the Bent of our Paffions and Appetites, and to 
 model curDutv according to their Motions and Defircs ; if God had 
 left this whol'y to every ones Reafon, and not given us a more plain 
 and expref Revelation of His Will, to check and balance that Influ- 
 ence which our PafTions and Appetites are found to have over our 
 Rc.ifon and Judgment. Bijhop GibfouV ^econe^ Pajloralt Letter^ 
 p. 1, 8. 
 
174 ^ T>ifcourf€ concerning the 
 
 thofe plaufible Realbnings and Infinuations, with which 
 he will colour over and difguiie his Temptations. It 
 was by this means that he deceived the firft Mother of 
 Mankind thro' his Suhtilty^ 2 Cor. xi. ;?* viz.\y^ per- 
 fwading her to argue and reafon with hini upon a plaia 
 and peremptory Command which God had given hen 
 Gen. iii. And therefore as a very Learned Writer judi- 
 cioudy obierves C^j, " Let the Fatal Example be a 
 *' Warning to others, how they liften to Sophiftry in 
 *' oppofition to Divine Truths." And this is the true 
 Reafon why fomeMen, who yet read the Scripture, turn 
 Atheifis^ others Heretics \ why Ibme deny God's Pro- 
 vidence, and others reconcile themfelves to flagrant In- 
 ilances of Sin and Wickedneis \ viz, becaufe in their 
 Enquiries into Divine Matters they fet out upon the 
 Foot of their own Reafomig^ and not, as wife and good 
 Men fhculd do, in an ablbiute Dependence upon the 
 Truth of God's Word. Whereas, in this Cafe, if Men 
 would abide by the clear DirevSlions of Holy Scripture, 
 and make them the Rule of Judgment in Matters of 
 Religion ; they would be fafe and fecure from all pof- 
 fihlHty of Dccepdon. For as Dean Sherlock fays ad- 
 mirably v/ell C^J, " the Devil cannot deal with the 
 *' Authority of God ; but to fay, it is written^ anfwers 
 " all his Temptadons, and makes him fly." Let us 
 then conflantly obferve this Rule in our Enquiry into 
 the Truth of Scripture. And if we will thus fludy the 
 Sacred Volume with Care and Diligence, with pure 
 and honefl: Minds, free from all Prejudice and Worldly 
 Interefl: and Affections ; we fliall receive fuch Guidance 
 and Iliuminadon from the Holy Spirit, that we fliall 
 in all Cafes krwzv of the Do5frines^ whether they be ofGodi 
 Johnvn. 17. And thus much concerning the fecond 
 Benefit of reading the Scriptures, viz. that we are thereby 
 enabled to form a true Judgm.ent in the Diiputes and 
 Controverfies of Religion. I proceed now to the 
 , _ rhird 
 
 {z.) Scripture Vindicated, Part I. p, 17. 
 (/i) SherbclionthelmmoruliiyofthcSouI, chap. v. §. i. p. 
 23,6, See the FUcf. 
 
Religious Obfervation ofthehord's Day. 175; 
 
 Third Advantage of reading the Scriptures, viz. the 
 Prefent Dehght and Pleafure which arifes from the Pe- 
 rufal of them. Now this will eafily be perceived, if we 
 confider what thofe Properties anclQyalifications are in 
 any Book, which render it agreeable and delightful to 
 Men of Senfe and Wifdom •, fince we (hall find that 
 they are all in a more eminent Degree contained in the 
 Holy Scriptures. And to fay nothing at prefent of the 
 Infpiration of the Bible, let it have but the common 
 Credit of other Books, yet we fliall foon fee that it ex- 
 cels them all in thefe four Pardculars, which always 
 bring a Book into great Efteem and Reputation with 
 the Generality of Men. And, 
 
 Firft, The Bible (with refpe6l to a great Part of it) 
 is the mofl (b) ancient of all other Books. And we 
 all know there is fcarce any Thing which hath more 
 excited the Curiofity and exercis'd the Study of Man- 
 kind, than the fearching into Antiquity. Now it is 
 certain, that we have no Hiftory of the World nor 
 of any of the Affairs thereof for a great many Ages 
 after the Creation, but what is enrirely taken from this 
 Holy Book. For tho' indeed it is not to be denied, 
 that there have been feveral Wife and Powerful Nadons, 
 as particularly the Egyptians., Chaldeans^ and Chinefe^ 
 who have laid Claim to a much greater Antiquity, and 
 carried the Accounts of their Hiftory for many Thou- 
 fand Years beyond that of Mofes •, yet (not to mention 
 the clear Proof and Evidence we have of Mofes^s Inte- 
 grity (c)) thefe Accounts have been proved to be 
 fakdotiSj and to abound with infinite Incoherencies and 
 
 Abfur- 
 
 ( b) Vid, Grot, de Verit. &c, lib. i. §. i ^ cum Annor. in loc. 
 
 [c) Neque vero cuiquam prudenti credibile fiet Mcfcniy qui non 
 Mgyptios taiuum hoftes habebat, fed & plurimas gentes ^lias, Idu- 
 ms.cs, Arahas, PbarJcas, vcl de Mundi Oitu $c rebus AntiquiiTimis 
 ca aufum palani prodere, qune aut aliis fcriptisprioribus revinci pof- 
 fent, aut pugnan'em fibi haberent perfuafioncm veterum atquc com- 
 muncm : vel de fui temporis rebus ea prredicaiTe. qune vivennuni 
 multorum teftimoniis poflcnt refelli Grot, de Veritat &c lib. i. 
 €. 16. Vid. Annotat in loc. See dMoDiFiddsi^ Bed/ of Divinity, 
 Vol. I. p. 189, 190. 
 
tj6 A Difcowfe concerning the 
 
 Abfurdides, by many Learned Writers {d). And the 
 Chine fe themfelves who have carried their Accounts the 
 highefl of any do not yet, as an eminent Author has 
 lately obferved (e)^ give any Credit to their pretended 
 Annals for more than 3000 Years before Chrift : nei- 
 ther do they pretend to have begun to write Hiilory 
 above 4000 Years agoe ; and the oldefl: Books which 
 tliey have extant in an intelligible Chara6tcr, are not 
 2000 Years old. And befides this, there are two 
 Particulars which we have from the Mofaic Hifbory, 
 which are of very great Moment and Importance to the 
 Benefit and Happinefs of Mankind ; the full Affurance 
 and Certainty whereof fhould methinks adminifter 
 the greateft Pleafare and Satisfaftion to their Minds. 
 
 The Ftrfi is the clear Difcovery which is made to us 
 in that Hiftory, that the World and all Things therein 
 were created by God. This one would think were a 
 very needlefs Obfervadon ; fmce as the Apoftle hath 
 well remark'd, Rom. i. 70. the Eternal Power and 
 Wifdom of God are plainly difcoverable from the 
 'Things which He hath made(f). And it hath been flriclly 
 demonilrated by many Learned Men (g)^ that the 
 World could not poffibly be Eternal^ nor exift of itfelf 
 by NecefTity of Nature -, but was created in Time by an 
 Intelligent and Allpowerfui Being : and that, as an ex- 
 cellent 
 
 [a] Vid. Particularly Srillingfleet's Orig. Sac. Jib. i. cap. ii. iii» 
 iv. Bijhop Pearfon o.i the Creed, Ardc. i.p. 58. &c. T>r Nicbolli\ 
 Conference. Part I, p. 178, d'"^- Edit. 5. Revelation Examined with 
 Candour, Vol. II. p. 175. 
 
 {e) A^inute Phiiofopher. Vol. II. p. 76, &c. 
 
 {/} Videmus enim nihil efle in otnni Mundo, qucd non habcat 
 in fe maximam mira^iilemqueSaniendam : Qus quia fupra hominis 
 Sap'enti^nii Sc Ingcnium ell, cui reftius quam diviner Providential 
 tribaenda eft? an, cum Simu^achrum hominis k ftatuam ratio & ars 
 fin?ir, iisfum hominem de frufris temere concurrentibus fieri puti- 
 bimu.^ ? Qn-fquamne igirur fanus exifiimat, quod homo rationed: 
 confiiio noil polTit, id concurfu atomorum palhrn cohscrentium ptjr- 
 fici p'-tuide.^ LaifdKt. de Ira, cap. x. 
 
 {v) See particularly Dr 5'^;/? ;*r/ C/.ir^f 's Sermons at ^(9)/ A's Lec- 
 ture;, Par: I. GurdojCt Sermons at the fame, Difcourfe Hi 
 to the XJth 
 
cc 
 
 Religious Obfervaticn of the Lord's Day. lyt 
 
 Cellent-C*; Writer exprefifes it, " there needs no great 
 *' Criticifm to find out the true Author of all the Works 
 *' of Nature ; for the Works themfelves fliew the Au 
 thor as plainly, as if His Effigies were drawn upon 
 them." But yet if we confider what Thoughts and 
 Sendments the ancient Philofophers, who were deftitute 
 of Divine Revelation, had of this Matter, as- viz. that 
 fome of them fuppofed the World exifted as it is from 
 nil Eternity, and was a necejfary Emanation from God'5 
 infinite Perfeftions, which was the Opinion o{ Ariftotle 
 and his Followers •, that others who attributed the For- 
 mation of all Things to God, yet conceived fo great 
 a Difficulty in the Notion of Creation^ as to afiert the 
 Pre^exillence and Eternity of Matter, which was the 
 Dodlrine not only of the Stoics f f^, but alfo of the Ge- 
 nerality of the beft Philofophers \ and that there werd 
 others who thought that the World was made byChance, 
 which was the Opinion of the Whole Se6l of Epicureans % 
 If to all this we add further the many Endeavours which 
 have been ufed by Modern Philofophers, fuch 2,%Hohhs^ 
 Spinoza^ i^c. to propagate their feveral Atheiftical 
 Schemes of Philofophy, which, it is to be feared, have 
 made an Impreffion upon too many Perfons among us 5 
 and that it is an eafy Tranfition from fuppofing Matter 
 to be Eternal and Neceflarily exifting, to conclude 
 
 N that 
 
 (*) Stillingfleefs Orig. Sacr. lib. iii. cap. i. 
 
 (f) What'$>t\\z<:'\ fa-js of'the Stoics, 'zv^s the general Opinion of the 
 ether Philofophers in this Particular. Dicunt ut fcis, Stoici noUri 
 duoeiTein Rerum Natura, exquibuso* nia fiant, Caufam &Mate- 
 riam ; Materi.i jacet iners, Res ad omnia paiata, cefTatiira, fi nemo 
 moveat. Can la au rem, id eft Ratio, Materiam format, &ciuocunque 
 vult verfat, ex ilia varia opera producit. 8enec. Epift . Ixv- vid. loc. 
 
 Mundumquidem fuifTe Temper, Philofophia Audorell, Conditorc 
 quidcm Deo, led non ex Tempore. Macroo in Samn. Scip. 
 lib. ii. cap. X. 
 
 ^^ Sicut eniminqulunt (Platonici) fi Pes ex ^ternitate Temper fuiflefe 
 in palvere, (emptr ei fubeflet veftigium ; quod tamen velligium i 
 calcarite fa6l urn Nemo dubitaret , rec alterum altero prius eflet,; 
 qiiamvis alterum ab altero favStum elTct: fic, ir^>?uiunt, & mundu;; 
 atque in illo Dii crcati, & femperfuerunt, Temptrexiftentc quifeeit?' 
 k ti'iaeiit fa(f>i funt, Jugujl,(^eC'v, i-V/elib, x. cip. x.xxi. Vid- lor. 
 
172 A Difcourfe cojicerning the 
 
 that it is the only Self-exiftent Being, and Original Cauie 
 of all Things , If all this, I fay, be put together and 
 duly confidered, we muft readily own, that, as the 
 Generality of Mankind are of weak Capacities, and too 
 apt to be drawn away by fallacious Reafonings -, it muft 
 be a Matter of great Benefit and Advantage to them 
 to have the Creation of the World, and the Manner (*) 
 in which God made all Things, fo plainly and parti- 
 cularly defcribed to them, and that in aHiftory of fucb 
 Antiquity and Authority as that of Mofes \ and efpe- 
 cially, if we fuppofe it (what it may be very clearly 
 proved to be) a Divine Revelation. For if once this 
 Point is allowed, viz. that the World and all Things 
 therein were created by God v there are fuch Stupen- 
 dous Marks of Wifdom, Power and Goodnels, every 
 where to be obferved in the Works of Nature, as muft 
 lay the ftrongeft Foundation for our Homage and Gra- 
 titude and Obedience to Him. But 
 
 Secondly^ The other Particular which we have from 
 the Mofaic Fliftory (and which it is a Matter of great 
 Benefit and Advantage to us to be duly informed of) 
 is that of the Fall of our Firft Parents. Now that there 
 is a great Corruption in our Nature, fo that, as St Paul 
 fpeaks, the Fkjh lufleth againft the Spirit^ and %ve cannot 
 do the things that we would., Gal, v. 17. (/)) is fo very 
 evident and manifeft, that it cannot be denied. Of this 
 the Ancient Philoibphers were very fenfible, and often- 
 times complained heavily about it (i). But for want 
 of knowing the true Origin of this Corruption,, they were 
 very much perplexed and puzzled in their Philofophy : 
 And it was upon their Ignorance of this Point, that the 
 abfurdDo6lrine of theTranfmigration of Souls, received 
 by the Whole Sed of the Pythagoreans^ and from them 
 handed down to t\\Qjews in our Blefled Saviour's Time, 
 
 was 
 
 (*) SccDr Fiddes\ Body of Divinity, Vol. I. Book III Part I. 
 chap-, iii.- 
 
 (h) See Rom. vii. 
 (/} Vid. DrCVtfr/f^'sSermon3at.^jyc''sLea.P«tII.Prop.vi.§,3. 
 
Reltglous Ohfervation of the Lord*s Day. 173 
 
 was entirely grounded. For when they diicovered in 
 Mankind, that early Inclination to Vice, and ftrong 
 Propenfity to Sin and Wickednels, which fo manifeilly 
 prevails in the greatefl: Part of them ; they could not 
 account for it any other way, than by fuppoling that 
 their Souls had formerly inhabited and finned in fome 
 other Bodies, and brought fi'om them into their prefent 
 Bodies thofe Vicious and Corrupt Principles, with 
 which they were tainted and defiled. And that the 
 Jews in our BlefTed Saviour's Time were of the fame 
 Opinion, is evident fromjcbn ix. 2, ^. (^). And there- 
 fore, fince we are fo unhappy as to labour under fuch 
 a great and manifeil Corrupaon of our Nature, of which 
 the Mofaic Hiitory fets before us the true Caule and Ori- 
 gin ; it fliould methinks be a mighty Comfort and Sa- 
 tisfadlion to us, that the fame Hiftory prefents to our 
 View a full and compleat Remedy for that Corruption ; 
 and that by the Appointment of a Saviour^ who fhould 
 bruife the Serpent's Head: Gen. iii. 1 5. (/) I'hat ashy one 
 Man^s Difobedience many were made Sinners ; fo by the 
 Obedience of One many might be made PJghteons, Rom, 
 V. 19. But, 
 
 Secondly^ The Hiftory of the Bible is more ufeflil and 
 excellent as well as more delightful and entertaining than 
 any other Hiftory whatfoever. And we all know, that 
 there is fcarce any Study which is more engaging and 
 agreeable to the Generality of Men than that of Ancient 
 Hiftory. And indeed with good Reafon •, fince by the 
 heading of Hiftory we are not only delighted for the 
 prefent with the various and different Affairs and Cu- 
 
 N 2 ftoms 
 
 [k] Vid. Poll Synopf. Critic in \qc, Prideaux's Connedlion. 
 8c'<?. Vol. III. p 479, 480. 
 
 (/) That by the ^eed cf the Wo'nan^ the Mefjlas is here meant, 
 and by the 5^/-/)fA^ the i)m/ who fed aced our firfl: Parents, hath 
 been fully flieu n by fevsral Learned VVriters. (^See Pool's Synop- 
 fis on the Place), /^-ud concerning the Ficnefs and Propriety of the 
 ExprelTion, to fignify our Bleded Saviour's Conquell: and Vidlory 
 oVcr the Devil, the Reader m.^y receive full SatisfaJlion from Bifhop 
 iS^/'/-/,;r>t's Difcourfes of Prophecy, and froir. Revelation Eica«iin?d[ 
 ^vi:h Cindour, Yo]. I, V^JJhtai. 4. 5, 6, 7. 
 
174 ^ Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 ftoms of Nations, but do alfo reap this farther Benefit 
 from thence, viz. that by obferving the Inclinations and 
 Dirpofitions and A6tions of Mankind in former Times, 
 .we may be able Xb pafs a pretty good Judgment upon 
 theii" Condiidl and Behaviour in our own. And more- 
 over, as an ingenious Writer (m) well remarks, *^ a 
 **^ fmall Piece of Plillory affords a greater Variety of 
 '' Incidents for the Improvement of our Minds, and 
 *' the right Condud of Life^ than can be fuggefted, 
 " within the fameCompafs, in the Way of Inllrudion 
 " and Reafoning." Now befides the Antiquity of the 
 Bible, of which already, there is no Hillory in the 
 WV;rld which can be compared to That, both for the 
 Variety of Pleafmg and Delightful Affairs with which 
 it abounds, and the many ufeful and excellent Inftnic- 
 tions which we may receive therefrom. To mukiply 
 Inftances of this Matter is very neediefs ; fince no one 
 can read the facred Hiilory, with any Care and At- 
 tendon, but he will be well acquainted with them. 
 However I cannot forbear to obferve, that in the facred 
 Hiftory the Original Simplicity of the Patriarchs m 
 their Feafts {n) and Entertainments, and in their mu- 
 tual Converllition with one another, and particularly 
 that Noble Interview which Jofeph had with his Bre- 
 threjiji Gen. xYm. v/hich, to ufe the Words of an Emi- 
 nent Writer, '' is a Relation that the Whole Compals 
 '' of Human Literature hath never yet pretended to 
 ^' equal (<?), " the Prodigious Ages to which they lived, 
 the numerous Progeny which defcended from them, 
 and their firll: Plantation and Settlement in the World, 
 have fomething in them that is extremely pleafing and 
 delightful. And if from, them we defcend to thtjezvs^ 
 and confider how many allonifhing Things God did 
 for them m the Eand of Eg)p y in v;hat a Miraculous 
 
 Manner 
 
 (/^) fV'^r's Sermons, "\'ol. I. p. s. 
 
 (//) .See a very Beautiful J^ifTage to thisPurpofe in ReveUtion ex- 
 afnirud z'Ath Candour, \ (A JI. p 204. S>ct a\[t) Biackwcdl's Sacrgi 
 Cl:jjt-^. ^to. Part i. p. 3. Part II. p. 258. 
 
 [0] Revelation examined, ii^td, p. 3<^3. 
 
Religious Ohfcrvatio?! of the Lord's Day. ly^ 
 
 Manner He brought them forth from thence into the 
 promifedLand, and gave them Vidtory over their Ene- 
 mies \ how by a condniied Scries of Miracles he fup- 
 ported tliem in the Wildernels, and watched over them 
 thro' all their Generations by His Care and Goodnefs ; 
 we muft needs confels,that the Account which the Scrip- 
 ture gives us of thefe Pardculars is very Solemn and 
 Majeftjc. And in the following! Jiflory of their Kings 
 there is a great Variety of Uleful and Delightful Tran- 
 ladions recorded, from which every one who reads 
 tliCm may eafily draw many excellent Oblervations both 
 Moral and Polidcal. And particularly in the Reign 
 of Solomon^ the Account which the Scripture gives us is 
 highly moving and furprizing •, The great Wifdom of 
 his Government, the Dignity and Reputation in which 
 he was held by all his Neighbours, the Splendour and 
 Grandeur of his Court (p)^ and above all the Vail 
 Preparations he made for the building of the Temple, 
 the Number of Men who were employed in the Work, 
 the Regularity and Order with which it was carried on^ 
 and the amazing Beauty, Riches and Magnificence 
 thereof when finiilied {q) : All this put together gives us 
 fuch a great and noble Idea of his Government, as is 
 not to be paralleled in the Hiflory of any Nation.- But 
 befides thefe things and many ctliers which very v;eli 
 deferve to be enlarged upon, there is one Peculiar 
 Excellence in the facred Hillory which ought highly 
 to indear it to us, fince it contains a Matter of the ut- 
 moft Satisfaction and Comfort to us -, and that is, that 
 we have therein a clearer anci more fenfible Manifefia- 
 tion of God's Providence over the World, and Plis 
 Protedion of righteous and good Men, than we can 
 ppfTibly gjiin afny other way. There is no Man who 
 can .read the Hillory of the Jezvs as delivered in the 
 Bible, but he muft be immediately convinced of this 
 great Truth, The many Wonders God periormed 
 N 3 in 
 
 Cp) Set I Ki;.gs, oliap.iv. 
 (v) See Chap, v, vi^ and vlith. 
 
176 A Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 in their Behalf in the Land of Egyp \ the ftrangeMan- 
 ner of their DeUverance from thence*, their fafe Paflage 
 through the i^fii Sea^ in which their Enemies were over- 
 whelmed •, His maintaining them in tlie Wildernefs for 
 forty Years together by daily Miracles \ His guiding 
 them in their Journies by a Cloudy Pillar in the Day^ 
 and hy a Light of Fire in the Night ; His giving theni 
 PoiTeffion of the PromifedLand, by almoft a continued 
 Courfe of Miracles wrought for them ; His raifing up 
 Deliverers for them, whenfoever they were brought 
 into any confiderable Danger and Diftreis ; His taking 
 the Adminiftration of their Government upon Himfelf, 
 and m.anaging the Affairs of it ♦, and even when they 
 foolifhly chofe to have a King of their own to rule over 
 them, and thereby call off their Regard and Subjection 
 to PI is Authority, His yet continuing His kind Inter- 
 pofition towards them, by a Vifible Manifeltation of 
 His Glory and Prefence in the Temple (r)^ and by 
 giving them exprefs Anfwers and Diredions from Hea- 
 ven, whenfoever upon any Difficulty and Emergency 
 in their Concerns they Ihould confult His Oracle con- 
 cerning them ; and to mention no more (which is a 
 very extraordinary Inilance of God's Providence) His 
 Protection of the Jews from the Invaiion of their Ene- 
 mies, when their Males went up to Jerufalem three 
 Times a Year at the ilated Seafons to worlhip the 
 Lord (j) •, Exod, xxxiv. 23, 24. Thefe with many 
 
 othej. 
 
 (r) See Dr CV^^^^r'j Operations of the Holy Spirit, Parti, chap. 
 iv. §. 3. p. 175, &c. 
 
 (s) What Was it thatreftrained the Enemies of JfraeU V^en they 
 Jcnew the Nakcdncfs of their Land, from making a Defcent upoii 
 it ?' The Nations that ufed to meet the Armies of the Living God in 
 the Field decline the Advantage of entering an o en, a defencelefs, 
 and an adjoining C ountry. To what fhall we impute a CondutSt fo 
 irreconcileable with the fettled Maxims of "Human Wifdom and 
 Policy ? To what ?' But to the fpecial Jnterprfuion of the fup'eme 
 Deity, who docs according to His Will^ among the li.hahitanti of the 
 Earth, Dan. iv. 35. And who boztirth when tie fees Jit th; Hearti 
 afa whole Nation or People, as the Heart of one Man, 2 Sam, xix. 14.. 
 i>r Fiddes's ocrmonSy Vol. II p. 3/^1/ 
 
K,&/«. Obfinalhit if the Lord's Day. 177 
 S„i; SrioTO .0 Bive us not only a general V.ew of 
 
 remlrkabk Providence was made the L ord and Cover- 
 a„,i„g ,1« T»«e f X;/r." od Sfgh? drfpaSrf 
 
 STSao" a^d i Vnd beca.le fom. P=rfo» arc 
 S*KaTe„,pera„dDifpor»b. *.«noJ s 
 
 tat r«T.»r and «»»-,» can have an, La=a a»d^n_^ 
 
 JN 4 
 
178 A Dtfcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 fluenceupqn them ; it has pleafed God for their Sakes 
 to fet before them the moft dreadful and terrible Monu- 
 ments of His Wrath and Difpleaflire againft Sin, in 
 the Panifhrnent of whole Nations and People, as well 
 as particular Perfons for their great Impiety and Wick- 
 ednefs. Of the Former of v/hich, the drowning the 
 World with a Deluge of Waters, Gen, vii. the burn- 
 ing o'^ Sodom and Gomorrha with Brimftone and Fire 
 from Heaven, chap. xix. the Overthrow of the Ca- 
 fiaanites by the Armies of the Living God, and the 
 final Defl:ru(5tion of Jenifalem by the Romans (which 
 was plainly defcribed and predided by our BlefTed 
 Saviour in Matt.xxw.) and of the Latter, the pecu- 
 liar ' Judgment executed upon Ahab King of Ifrael^ 
 I Kwgs xxii. and Beljhazzar King of Babylon, Dan. v. 
 are very fignal and remarkable Infiances, So that 
 iipon all Accounts, whether we confider the great 
 Variety of pleafing and delightful Tranladions, the 
 many Solemn and Majeftic Defcriptions, the vaft 
 Number of wife and ufefiil Examples, or the exceed- 
 ing Benefit which redounds to Mankind by the clear- 
 eft Difco very and Manifeftation of God's wife and 
 good Providence ; we muft needs be fully convinced, 
 that thtfacred Hiiiory is of all others the moft Enter- 
 taining and moft Excellent. But, 
 
 'Thirdly, The Holy Scriptures have given us a bet- 
 ter Syftem of Moral Precepts than are to be found ia 
 any other Books whatever. And there are no Wri- 
 tings which are fo univerfally efteemed by all wife and 
 judicious Men as tliofe upon Moral Subjeds. And 
 indeed with' good Reafon •, ftnce no other Wridngs 
 {'how pleafing focver they may be in the L^rufal) can 
 poiTibly tend fo much to the true Inte.reft and Happi- 
 nefs of Mankind, which is abfolutely infeparablefrom 
 Moral Duties. This t;he ancient Philosophers well per- 
 ceived •, and therefore they laid it down as a Rule to 
 their Difciples, that true Flappintfs did not confift 
 m Riches and Senfuai Pleafures, but in the Pradice of 
 
 Virtue 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 179 
 
 Virtue it). And indeed it muft not be denied, that 
 many divine and Excellent Sayings are delivered by 
 Socrates., Plato ^ A?iftotk and others upon this Head. 
 But neverthelels, the Pagan Scheme of Morality was 
 abfolutely inl'lifficient to the great End that was de- 
 fjgned thereby, viz. the Retormation of Mankind ; 
 not only (vvhich has been obferved frequently by Lear- 
 ned (u) Writers) becaufe there were but very few of 
 the Philofophers in Comparifon, who fet themfelves 
 in good earneit about diis great Bufinefs, and tiheir 
 Philofophy was almoit wholly confined among them- 
 felves, and confifted more in nice and difficult Points 
 than in Matters of eafy and plain Duty, and the 
 greatefl: Fart of the Philofophers were continually con- 
 tradiding and confuting one another, and delivered 
 their Do(5lrines rather as Matters of Difpute and De- 
 bate, than as the neceflary and indifpenfable Precepts 
 of Holy Living (x) -, I fay,^ the Pagan Scheme of 
 Moral Philofophy was not only upon thefe Accounts 
 infufficient for the Reformation of Mankind, but alfo, 
 becaufe the very bell of the Philofophers not only 
 
 vindicated 
 
 (t) Ovi^v jS a>'>,0 'Kr^V7<yj/ \yo ^^kAip^oixeth « 'HrelBcoV vu^v 
 
 yj^Y\U(iTC')V fCr^Jl^V, tXVTi iVK^ TtVOi iiTZa JI^Qt^^) «< ^ 4'>^)^?i 
 
 hrcoi cJ< eteUn ^fou. hiyuV ov inc ix,;)(^piif^7zoif » eLpi]i) ytvijsuy 
 
 ci'Trxvla.. Plato in ApoJog. Socrat. 
 
 (uj Vid. Dr Clarke^ Sermons at Boy lis Le£lures, Part II. Prop. 
 vi. § 3. Bifiiop G/4/^//*s Second Paftoral Letter, p. 13, (^c. 
 
 (x) Inclufos (Philofophos) in Angulis, facienda praecipere quze nc 
 3pji quidem faciunt qui ioquuntur ; & quoniam fe a veris Aftibus 
 removerunt, apparct eos exercendae linguae caufa vel advocandi 
 gratia. Artem ipfam Philoibphiaj rep«rifre. La?tSiant. lib. iii. 
 cap xvi. 
 
 Sed h^c eadem (Pra;cepta Moralia) num cenfes apud Eos ipfos 
 valere nil! admodum paiicos, a quihus inventa, difputata, confcripta 
 funt ? Quotus enim quifque Philofophorum invenitur qui iit ita nio- 
 ratus, ita animo ac vita conftitutus ut ratio poilulat ; quidifcTplinaiji 
 iuam non often tationem fcientia?, fed legem vitae putct ; qui ob- 
 temperct ipfe fibi Sc decretis fuis pareat. Cicer. TufcuL ^ajh lib, 
 li. See alfo, an excellent Obfervation of Arijlotk to this Purpofe 
 In Ethic, ad Ricom. lib. ii, cap. iii. 
 
i8 1 'A Dicourfe concerning the 
 
 vindicated and allowed of the grofleft Idolatry m the 
 Worlhip of their Gods, but ajfo of the moft horrid 
 and barbarous Vices in Matters of Pradlice •, fuch as 
 that of expofing and dcftroying yo.mg Infants in 
 fome particular Cafes, Self- Murder, Fornication 
 (and that very frequently committed in the very Places 
 of ReHgious Worfnip) the Sacrificing of Men and 
 Women to their Gods, the Invafion of their Neigh- 
 bours, and innumerable other Things which deferve 
 the utmoft Abhorrence and Deteflation of all good 
 Men. And fuch vile and horrid Pradices were not 
 only approved of by many of the greateft and moft 
 eminent Philofophers, but alfo juftified and eftablifhed 
 by the Laws and Confent of many ISFations •, as hath 
 been fully fliewn by fome of theantient Fathers (jv), 
 (who have obferved, that they departed from thofe 
 Cuftoms upon their Reception of Chriftmiity) and 
 alfo by feveral Learned Moderns (z) \ who have 
 given us large Collections of the particular odious and 
 abominable Vices maintained and allowed of by them. 
 And indeed it is no wonder that the Pagan Moral 
 Ihould every where abound with fo much Corruption, 
 when miany of the greateft and moft fliameful Vices 
 
 ("which 
 
 (y) Vid. Terculhan ^poLget. cap. xxxix. Cyprian lib. ii. 
 Ep. ii. ad Donatum- La^Stant Jnflitur. lib. v. cap. x. Minut. Fcl, 
 dcldolorum vanitate ad fin. Eufeb. Pracp. Evang. lib. i. cap. iii. 
 lib. vi. cap. viii. Theodoret. de curand. Grsec. Aiteft. Serm ix. 
 de Lege. 
 
 (x) See Polydorc Virgil de Rerum Invent, lib. i cap iv. Bp. 
 Taylor'j Duflor Dubirantium, B< ok ii. chap, i p. 173 c^r. l3r 
 Ctf£/^'s Primitive Chriitianity, Part I. chap. iii. Grot. deVeritat. (cTc 
 lib. ii. § 12. cum Annotat in loc. Nicholls's Conference, Par; 
 ]I. p. i:;8, e^^. Puffendorf's Law of Namre and Nations lib. ii. 
 chap. iii. § 8. lib. vi. chap. ii. § 6. Galtruchius's Hiflory of 
 the Heathen Gods, p. 102, 293. Archbilhop Potter's Antiqui- 
 ties of Greece, Vol. f. p. ^8, 59, 218, Vol. II. took iv. chap, 
 xii. p. 298. Dr Fiddes*s Body of Divinity, Vol. \. p. 160, 161. 
 Vol. IT. p. ^9 to 43. Bifliop Gibjo7i\ Second Pailoral Letter, 
 p. 27. in which Authors th°re are very large Corcdions to this 
 Purpofe, made from the Geauine Works of /'/■7/(3, Ar'^jUtJe, Cicero^ 
 Sef:eca, Diogenes Laertius^ FiHtarebj and other cclcbr.ucd Hcaiben 
 W ri'.ers. 
 
Religious Obfirvafion of the Lord's Day. i?o 
 
 wliich cannot be mentioned with common Decency) 
 were not only pradlifed in imitation of their Gods^ 
 but were alfo made the Neceflary and Eflential Parts 
 of their Religion {a). Nay, there are many of the 
 mod monftrous Errours in Dcdlrine and Worfhip, 
 and of the mod exorbitant Vices in Pradlice, which 
 are found and difcovered in Heathen Nations to this 
 very Day {h\ All which, being duly confidered, 
 fhould methinks make it very pleafing and delightful 
 to us to read the Holy Scriptures •, fince therein we 
 are {c) furnifhed with a compleat Syftem of Moral 
 Precepts which are clearly and plainly delivered to 
 us, and that without the leaft Mixture of Corruption : 
 by which Means we may be eafily and perfedily in- 
 ftrudled in all the great Duties of Morality, which we 
 owe to God, our Neighbour and ourfelves. This 
 will be fo readily acknowledged by all thofe who 
 have read the Scriptures of the Old and New Tefta- 
 ment, and particularly that Divine and Excellent 
 Sermon of our Blefled Saviour upon the Moun- 
 tain (d) ; that I need not fpend any Time in 
 the Proof of it. Nay fo Excellent is the Holy 
 Scripture in' refpedb of it's Moral Precepts, that as 
 many good Critics (e) have obferved, the Writings 
 
 of 
 
 (a) See above, p. 104. 
 
 (I)) Vid. Lock\ Eflay on Human Undcrftanding, Book i. chap, 
 iii. ^9. Bifhop Gz^/i'/z's Second Letter, p. 33, &c. Stackhoufit 
 Body of Divinity J Part III. chap. viii. p. 512, ^c. 
 
 (c) See Mr Brotvti's Defenfe of the Religion of Nature, c^r. 
 chap. ii. p. 67, ^c. 
 
 [d) In our Blefled Saviour's plain but indruftive Difcourfe from 
 the Mountain, the Defe6ls of all former Morality are fo handfomely 
 touched and fo fully fupplied ; that a Man may form his whole 
 Moral Condudl upon the Plan of the Principles which are there 
 advanced, and may form it with more Advantage, than upon all 
 the Volumes of Human Learning without it. Dr Marihall j 
 Sertno7Uy Vol. L p. 429. 
 
 {e) See particularly Dr Cavt'% Primitive Chriflianity, Part f. 
 chap. iii. Dr Water/ana's Firfi: Charge to the Clergy, p. 3 2. 
 Dr S. Clarke % Sermons at Boyle ^ Ledlures, Part IJ. Prop, vii, 
 h 3- 
 
182 A Difcourfe concernmg the 
 
 of Seneca, Plutarch, Efuletus, M. Antoninus, and other 
 philofophers who lived after the Time of Chr'ifl^ have 
 been very much enriched and improved by thern. 
 And that Pythagoras, Plato, Ariftotle, and other antieni; 
 Philofophers, as well as the Poets, drew a great Part 
 of their Morality as well as Theology from the Old 
 Teftament, and that many of the moft confiderable 
 Laws of Minus, Licurgus, and Solon, were alfo taken 
 from thence, hath been fully (hewn by Jiijlin Martyr^ 
 ffertullian, Clem. Alex^ Eufehius, and others of the Pri- 
 mitive Fathers •, of whofe Tefti monies upon this Point 
 (with many wife and judicious Obfervatjons upon 
 them) a very Learned Writer hath lately given us a 
 large Colledtion (f). And yet tho' we fliould fuppofe 
 fwhich I am far from granting) that there was no Dif- 
 ference between the Pagan Scheme of Morality and the 
 Chriftiany as to the Subflance and Matter of them -, 
 fince the great Duties of Morality are not only more 
 clearly and fully delivered by our Bleffed Saviour and 
 the Apoftles, but alio carried to a much greater De- 
 gree of Perfection than ever they were by the bed 
 Heathen Philofophers] ('^) ; but however, I lay, fup- 
 pofmg there was no Difference between th? Pdgan 
 Scheme of Morality and the C/^ri/?w;/, as to the Sub- 
 flance and Matter of them •, yet the latter will always 
 
 have 
 
 (/) YixlVaterland^ Firfl Charge to the Cleigy, p. 7, &:. See 
 alfo Gror. de Jure Bejh & Fads, Jib. ii. cap. i. § 12 -ind Grot, 
 de Veritat. &c. lib. i. § 15;. cum Grot. & Ckrici Annotat. in loc. 
 In which there are fcveral Iiiilances given of Grecian Laws and 
 Inititutee, which were borrowed from the Jezvijh Scriptures. 
 Arid, that Plato's Commonwealth was in great Meafure drawn after 
 the Model of the Laws of Mofes, was obferved long ago by JoJ'e- 
 pbus in his Second Book againft Apio?i. 
 ^ [g) f^i^- Chriitianity as Old as the Creation, chap. xiii. p. 341, 
 &c. compared with Bilhop GibfoTTs Second ?aftora) Le ter, p. 29. 
 Mr .Br^w/s Defence of the Religion of Nature, ^c. p. 442 to 
 452. See alfo Mr J ackfonh K^m^rVs on LhriManiiV as Old as 
 the Creation, p. 13, &c. Jn which the Excellency of the 
 Mpfaic Laws above thofe of the beii P^.7a}j Syllems is dearly 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 183 
 
 have this Pre-eminence and Advantage above the 
 former, that whereas in the Pj^^;^ Scheme - the great 
 Truths of Morality lie fcattered up and down in the 
 feveral Writings of the Philoibphers, and are there 
 delivered with great Uncertainty and Contradidion 
 they are in the Chriftian Scheme brought together in 
 one View,- and digefted into one regular Syllem {h). 
 And moreover (which is a Matter in which the Pagan 
 Religion was entirely deficient) they are inforced upon 
 us by the greateft Authority, and recommended by 
 the moll perfect Example (i). For as the Jewi/.h Of- 
 ficers, when fpeaking of Chrift^ told the Pharifees that 
 Never Man /pake like this Man ^ John vii. 46. (com- 
 pare Matt, vii. 29 J fo St Peter truly faid of this 
 great Preacher of Moral Righteoufnefs, that in Him 
 there was no Sin, neither was Guile found in His Mouth. 
 I Pet. ii. 22. But, 
 
 Fourthly and- laftly^ There is a Superiour Strength 
 and Force of Realbning, and a much greater Majefty 
 and Sublimity of Thought, and more Powerful Ora- 
 tory to be found in the Holy Scriptures, than in any 
 other Writings whatfoever. And thefe are Qualifica- 
 tions which have been always highly efl:eemed and 
 
 valued 
 
 (h) dv-)^ oil ct^oreid igi to^ n?^e^T6>yQ- cfiJUyfAuJct tk 
 Xe/rS"? rfMc' tri tix. ^$7 'Wcli']» oiAoitt, Jcnr^p iJ^i to. <r^ a'XKuv, 
 ^m^t^Q- ;^ T/V krTTO (j.ip^^ qf^ cmipi^oLJDii ^da Koyn to avf'^i? 
 
 (pcuvo\!]ju \')^KiVdLf.. Jifi. Mart. Jpoiog. ll, cap. xiii. 
 
 Quod fi extitiflet aliquis qui veritatem fparfam per fingulos -per 
 fedafque difFuram, collip;cret in unum, ac rcdigeret in Corpus ; is 
 protedlo non difTcntiret a nobis. Sed Iiasc nemo fa'cere, nifi veri 
 peritus acfciens, potell. Verum non nifi ejus fcireeft, qui fit doftus 
 a Deo. Laclant. lib. vii. cap. vii. 
 
 (z) In fuppofmg an External Rtvelation, I take it for granted, 
 that tlicreis fuflicient Evidence of a Per'.bn being fent from God 
 to publifh it J nay I fuirher own, that this Divine Perfon by living 
 up to zvhnt He taught hath Jet us a noble Example. Chrijlianity 
 a\ Old ai the Creation., chap. i. p. 9. Sec the Excellency of our 
 BlefTed Saviour's Example admirably defcribed by Mr Nelfon in 
 his Feflivals, chap. v. p. 68, ^r. 
 
184 -^ Dijcourfe concerning the 
 
 valued in all Human Compofitions. As to the Firft^ 
 There is no one that reads the Holy Scriptures with. 
 Care and Attention, but he will ibon perceive the 
 prodigious Force of Reafoning which is ufed therein 
 upon feveral Occafions. But this is particularly to be 
 obferved in the "Writings of Mofes^ who was a very 
 great Mafter in this Faculty ; and well indeed might 
 he be fo, when as St Stephen takes notice, A5fs vii. 22. 
 he was learned in all the JVifdo?n of the Egyptians, who 
 were a very wife and underftanding People. Many 
 Inflances might be given of this from the Pentateuch^ 
 but for Example fake I fhall at prefent mention only 
 one, and that is in Beut. iv. in which Mofes exhorts 
 the Jeivs to the great Duty of Obedience to God 
 from feveral Confiderations -, as from the great Rea- 
 fonablenefs of the Thing, the rriany diftinguifliing 
 Favours and BlefTings which God had granted to 
 them, and the Regard to their own Dignity and Re- 
 putation, ^c, and lallly from the manifeft and dread- 
 ful Confequences of Difobedience, both to themfelves 
 and their Poflerity ; and all this carried on with fo 
 much Eafe and Smoothnefs, and yet with fuch a 
 mighty Strength and Force of Reafon and Argument^ 
 that I believe it will be hard to find any Thing like 
 it in the beft Philofophers of the Pagan World. The 
 fame Admirable Strength and Force of Reafoning 
 may likewife be plainly difcovered in St Paurs Epiffles^ 
 by all fuch who will read them diligently, and Gon- 
 fider the true Occafion and Defign upon which they 
 were written. In all which we find the Apoille not 
 only arguing irrefiftibly from the common Principles 
 of natural Reafon, but alfo proving inconteftably tb 
 the Jews from their own Scriptures, that Jefus was 
 the Chrifl. And by this means he cotifoiinded the Jews 
 which divelt at Darnafcus, Ads ix. 22. as Apollos 
 convinced tbofe at Ephefus^ chap, xviii. 28. And fo like, 
 wile did St Stephen in that moft Excellent Defenfe 
 niadeby himin /7if?j viij who fo clearly proved the 
 
 Truth 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's-Day 185 
 
 Truth of Chnfiianity from the Old Teftament, that we 
 find when the Jews heard thefe Things^ they were cut to 
 the Hearty ver. 54. and the true Reafon was, becaufe as 
 it is iliid, chap, vi, 10. they were not able torefjft the 
 JVifdom and the Spirit by which hefpake. The Apoftle 
 St Paul does alfo manifeft his remarkable Talent in 
 Argumentation, by proving that the Jewiflo Converts 
 were not under the Obligation of the Law of Mofes^ 
 as many of them imagined ; which any one may eafily 
 perceive, who will read his Epiftles to the Romans and 
 Galatians. Nay fo admirable was Sr PWs Sagacity 
 in this Matter, that he not only demonftrates this 
 Exemption from the Jewlfl) Rites from the Authority 
 of their own Scriptures •, but alfo from certain Princi- 
 ples of Reafoning allowed of among themfelves. Of 
 which we have a very particular Inftance in the Ar- 
 gument drawn from the Allegory of Abraham^ s two 
 Sons, Gal iv. 21, ^c, in which the Apoftle's Defign 
 is not to prove the Truth of Chrijiianity to unbelieving 
 Jews from the Old Teftament, as a late Author has 
 falfely reprefented (k) it *, but that the Jewijh Con- 
 verts were exempted from the Obligation of the Mo- 
 Jaic Rites *, which is fo plainly the Subjedl of this 
 Epiftle, that I wonder how it was pofTible for that- 
 Author not to (/) perceive it. And in this View the 
 Apoftle's Argument is not only very proper and per- 
 tinent, but ftrong and convincing ; as a moft Learned 
 Prelate of our Church well obferves {m). And his 
 great Skill in arguing this Way, he hath fhewn more 
 largely in his Epiftle to the Hebrews, And indeed fo 
 great and extraordinary were the Talents of this 
 Apoftle in Argumentation \ that as a very Learned 
 
 Writer 
 
 {k) Grounds and Reafons of the Chrijlian Religion, p. ii, 
 and 93. 
 
 (/) Vid. Dr C//jr/^^'s Praaical EfTay?, EfTay the TId, cap, iv. 
 
 \fn) Biihop Chandlers Defenfe of Chriftianity, p. 356. Sfe 
 the whole Se^iou. 
 
l86 A Difcoiirfe concerning the - 
 
 Writer truly (;?; remarks, " They have made hinj 
 *' the Wonder artd Admiration of the whole World." 
 But above all, the Inimitable Force and Strength of 
 Reafoning which we have in the Holy Scripture is to 
 be found in the Arguments and Diicourfes oi Out 
 BiefTed Saviour. For Fie not only proved the Truth 
 of His MiiTion and the Divinity of His Doctrine, by 
 the many Wonderful Miracles wrought by Him ; 
 but alf(3 argued fo fltdngly and convincingly upon 
 all Occafions, that we often read that the Jews 
 were amazed and aftonifhed upon this Account, 
 as well as the other (o). And this He did, not 
 only in the ufual Way of Reafoning, by drawing 
 Gonclufions from clear and evidefit Principles ; 
 but alfo in the mod admirable d.nd furprizing Manner 
 in His Parables, In which He not only frequently 
 entangled and confounded the Jews^ and obliged them 
 to give Judgment againft themfclves ( ) which could 
 hardly be done in any other Method) ; but alfo re- 
 prefented the Truth of His Dod:rine in fuch Hvely 
 and afFedling Colours, and Vv'ith fuch prodigious 
 Strength and Force of Reafon ; that 1 dm very fure 
 no Human Writings in the World can parallel. And 
 this makes me furprized to find that a Learned Au- 
 thor, who hath lately taken infinite Pains to prove the 
 Ohfcurity of the Holy Scriptures in .order to derogate 
 from their Authority and Perfe6liop, lliould ever 
 draw an Argument to that Purpofe from hence, that 
 the Ne'Cv Teftame?2t is full of Parables (o). For tho' 
 cur Bleffed Saviour might fometimes with good reafon 
 deliver Flimfelf obfcurely in Parables, for the jufb 
 Punifliment of tliofe whodefpifed His plain and clear 
 
 Inftrudions 
 
 {n) Bifigham''s Antiquities of the Chrijiian Church. Vol. fl, 
 8vo. Book VijChap. iii § 2. 
 
 [0) See KUtt. vii. 28, 29. Mark vL 2. Luke ii. 47. chap, 
 iv 32. Jokny\\:^6. 
 
 _ (/>} See particularly M«?//. xxi. 18 to 32. luke vii. 36 to the 
 End. 
 
 (?) Chrifli;niiy a? Old ss the Creation, chap. xIU p. 532.. 
 
Religious Ohfervatio77 of the Lord's Day. 193 
 
 Tnllrudions (rj ; fwhich is what is meant by tba^ 
 Text in Mark iv. 12, as cited by this Author, and 
 by Matt. xiii. 13, ^c. {}) ) And tho' in general Para- 
 Iks do require a greater Degree of Attention and Di- 
 Jigence, to find out the Senfe and Dcfign of themj 
 than that of plain and literal Precepts : yet with due 
 Care and Application the View and Defign of them 
 may be very eafily difcovered ; and when it is fo dif- 
 covered, it comes with double Force upon the Mind, 
 and makes a much ftronger I m predion, than plain 
 and literal Precepts could poffwly do (/J. And this is 
 
 6 the 
 
 (r) When Chrift fpeaks as a Legiflator, as in the Sermon ori the 
 Mount, He lays down His Rules in plain and direil Terms. But 
 when He fpeaks of fome of the Myfteries o^ Chripanity, or the 
 Rejeftion of the Jeivs, and the Preaching of the Gofpel to the 
 Gentiles^ or the like ; He then only makes Ufe of obfcure Similes^ 
 which fome of the Captious Jezvs. who followed Chriji out of no 
 good Defign, might nor underfland. And herein he did no other- 
 ways, than what Jamblichus fays Pythagoras did ; who faid 
 ' many things in a hidden and covertManner,which thofe who came 
 ' to learn of him with a pure Mind might underiknd; but others 
 * tho' they heard him, could not perceive his Meaning,' Dr Ni- 
 chollsV Conference^ Part 111. p. 148. 
 
 Our Saviour did not always apply himfelf to the Pharlfees in a 
 way of Inftruftion but rather cihofe to filence their Arrogance ; 
 He anfwered their Cavilling Qu eft ions with Queftions ; not fo 
 much to lead them into the Truth, againft which they were abfo- 
 Jute'y bent, as to check their Infolencc, and to leave them fpeech- 
 lefs. Matt. xxi. 7,3, &c. Matt. x\ii. 41, &c. But to the humble 
 and meek He always applied Himfelf, by taking all fit Occafions, 
 and ufmg all proper ways to inftru6l them. Dr Clage'tV Opera* 
 tions of the Holy Spirit, Pari II chap. ii. § 3,/). 78. 
 
 (s) Vid.Grot. & Hammond in loca. 
 
 [t) Servator ipfe nofter nulla fere nifi fub Parabolarum involucro 
 Judseis tradit Praecepta. Denique Tellis efl: S. Hicronymus hujus 
 modi Figuris Syros ^Palailinof, cum quibus tamdiu veriatus fuerat» 
 in famiiiari coniuetudine uti fuifle folitos, quo, inquit, Similitii- 
 dinum Sc Exemplorum Adminicuio Res clarius quarn per Praccpta 
 fimplicia <^ iiudas Exp'jftio?ies i?itelligerentur. Huetius de Orig. 
 Fabularum^ 8vo. p. 26. 
 
 Na!;ei Leffuiisand Precepts have nothing of the Force that 
 images and Parables have upon our Mindiand Aftcctior.s. Bcfides 
 
 rhat 
 
194 -^ Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 the Cafe of the Generality of our Blefled Saviour's 
 Parables, as they are fet forth to us in the Gofpels. 
 An ordinary Attention and Regard to the Matter of 
 them and the Occafion, upon which they were fpoken, 
 will enable any one to underftand theScope andMean- 
 ning of them. But moreover there are many of our 
 BlclTed Saviour's Parables, in which fuch Dodrines are 
 contained as are of the utmoft Confequence and Im- 
 portance in Religion, which are delivered in fo clear 
 and fenfible a Manner, and in which the Images and 
 Allufions are fo natural and agreeable, that His View 
 and Defign in them could not have been more evident 
 -and i-ntelligible, tho' it had been declared in fmiple 
 and literal Proportions. It wer^ eafy to give many 
 Inflances of this \ but at prefent I fhall mention only 
 thefe three -, viz. the Parable of the Lord and his Ser- 
 vant, in Matt, xviii. 21, &c. that of tlie good Sa7na- 
 r'ltan in Luke x. 25, ^c. and laftly, that of the Pro- 
 gal Son in chap, xv, 1 1,.^*:. which is the mod beautiful 
 of all {11). And I appeal to any Man of common 
 Senfe, whether the great Duties of Forgiving Injuries, 
 and of Charity to fuch as are in Diftrels,which are the 
 Subjcds of the two firil Parables, and the Infinite 
 Mercy and Goodnefs of God in forgiving the greateft 
 Sinners upon their true Repentance, which is the 
 Defign of the lafb, be not as clearly underftood and 
 as fully difplayed ; nay, whether thro' the great 
 -Strength of Reafoning, upon which thefe Truths are 
 .founded, and the lively afteding Manner in which 
 they are reprefented, they do not enter into our 
 Minds with more Convidion, and operate more 
 powerfully upon our PafTions, than if they had been 
 
 delivered 
 
 that the very Study to unriddle a Myflcry furnillies the Memory 
 M'ith more Tokens to remember it by ; a Tale in Emblem finks 
 deeper, where the Life and Spirit of it is infmuated by a kind of 
 Ei.iis and Surpri;ze. Lejinmgt^s Fables, ^o\. \. p. 124, 125. 
 ['lA 'nter omncs Chriiti Parabolas eximia, plcra affectuum^ & 
 ■ P'.jlcherrimis pifla Coloribus. Grot, in Luc. xv. 20. See alj9 
 B.ack wall's Sacred Claflics, 4to. Pare II. p. 303, c^r. 
 
'Religious Obfervaiion of the Lord*s Day. 19^ 
 
 delivered to us in bare and naked Precepts. 
 The Ufe of Parables therefore in Religion is lb 
 far from being a jail Objcdion againfi: the Gofpel, 
 that it is one very great Excellency and Perferfion 
 of it. And indeed the Ufe of Parables for the 
 cnlightning and iliuftrating of Moral Truths, ^nd 
 to make them enter into the Mind with greater Force 
 and Penetration, have been ever approved of and 
 efteemed by the v/ifeft Men in all Agts of the World 
 {x). And for this Reafon, the Writings of Mfop were 
 
 O 2 fo 
 
 {x) Apud antlquos nondum captabatur plaufibilis Oratio, Illi, 
 qui fimpliciter & probanda; rei caula loquebantur, Parabolis referti 
 erant ; quas exiftimo Deceflarias, non ex eadem Caufa qua Poetis, 
 fed ut Imbecillitatisnoftras adminicula fint, & differcntsin & audi- 
 entem in rem pra^fentem deducant. Senec. Epiji. 59. Tldv\ii ^v» 
 
 ^oiffj 'iiar Te^TToii ■na^S'iS'ioy^m' Clem. Alex. 'Strom, lib. v. 
 Familiare ell Syris & maxime Palfejlinis, ad omnem Sermonem 
 fuum Parabolas jungere : ut quod fimpiex Praeceptilm teneri ab 
 auditoiibus non poreft, per Similimdinem Exemplaque teneatur. 
 Hieron.inMatt.liivm. 23. 
 
 We that are accullonied to another Way of Learning think 
 thefe Things ftrange ; (c/z. Parabolical Narrations) but this 
 was a very common Way in the Elder Times, and it is to this Day 
 ruich ufed in the Eajfem Countries ^ to reprefent Duties to fome 
 under the Parables of Things as really done by others ; as may b^ 
 feen in Locman and Perzoes, befides what CLm. Alex, and others 
 have faid concerning the Antic^uity and common \J(t of this Para-- ^ 
 helical Way of Teaching. S tilling fleer s Letter to a DeijI. p. 132.' 
 See the Place. 
 
 Fables were the nril: Pieces of Wit that made their Appearance in 
 the World ; and have been ftill highly valued, not only in Times 
 of the greateft Simplicity, but amongthemod polite Ages of Man- 
 kind Jot'ani^ Fable of the Trees is the Oldeft that is extant, 
 and as beautiful as any which have been m.ade fince that Time. 
 Nathan'' z Fable of the Poor Man and his Lamb is like. vile more 
 .'lent than any that is extant, befides the abovementioncd ; and had 
 good an Y'SicSX as to convey Inftrudion to the E.^r o^' a King 
 iihout offending it, and to bring the Man after God'sown Heart 
 a right Senfe of his Guilt and his Duty. We f^nd Mjop in the 
 
 molt 
 
196 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 (o much read and ftudied by the bell Greek Philofo- 
 phers, and held in fuch prodigious Value and Eftima- 
 tion by them (y). But, 
 
 Secondly^ There is much greater Majefty and Subli- 
 mity of Thought, and more povv^erful and moving 
 Oratory to be tound in the Bible, than in any human 
 Compofitions whatfoever. This every one mull be 
 fenfible of, who is in any Meafure converflmt in the 
 Sacred Writings •, tho' fuch Perfons who are well 
 fkilled in the Original Languages of Holy Scripture 
 will more clearly perceive it : there being fo great a 
 Difference between the Oratory and SiibBne of the Ea- 
 ftern Nations, and that of Greece and Rome^ from 
 the latter of which mod of the E^r^/)*?^;^ Languages 
 are derived, that [as learned Men have obferved] 
 many of their greateft and mod fliining Beauties will 
 be very much obfcured and impaired by being tran- 
 flated into any other Tongue (z)* But however, 
 for Example Sake, it may not be amifs to fet before 
 the Reader fome peculiar Inftances of this Matter, 
 as they are to be found in our prefent Tranflation. 
 Now the fir ft that I Ihall take notice of at this Time 
 is the fourth Chapter of Bent, above-mentioned, 
 
 which 
 
 moft diftant Ages of Greece. And if we look into the very Begin- 
 ning of the Commonweakh of Rome^ wc fee a Mutiny among the 
 common People appeafed, by the Fable of the Belly and the 
 Limbs : which was indeed very proper to gain the Attention of 
 an incenfed Rabble, at a Time when perhaps they would have torn 
 to Pieces any Man who had preached the fame Doftrine to them, 
 in an open and direft Manner. As Fables took their Birth in the 
 very Infancy of Learning, they never flourifhed more than wheft 
 Learning was at it's greateft Height. To jullify this Aflertion, i 
 Jhall put my Re.der in Mind of Horace the greateft Wit and Critic 
 in the Atigujlun Age ; ^n'ioi'i Boileau the raoft corredl Poet among 
 the Moderns : not to mention /// F(?/;^w/^, who by this Way of 
 Writing is come more into vogue thdii any other Author of our 
 Times. Mr Addifoa in^ea^tor N° 183. 
 
 ( r) Vid. Dr CroxnU'^ Preface to his /Efop's Fables. 
 
 (2:) SecDriV/VM^sConfeience, Vol. IV. i?. 126, &c* 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 1 97 
 
 which is not more remarkable for the great Strength 
 of Reafoning which I before obferved, than for the, 
 mighty Force and Power of Oratory and Eloquence 
 which is difplayed therein (a). The Author's fjm- 
 ming up the many great Favours andBlefiings which 
 God had beflowed upon that People, in fuch a natu- 
 ral and beautiful Order ; His exhorting them to 
 Obedience from a due Regard to their Credit and Re- 
 putation in the fight of their JSeighhours ; at ver. 6. 
 and his appealing to the fuperiour Excellency and 
 Dignity of their Nation -, in ver. 7, 8. are extremely 
 moving and perfwafive. And above all, the pro- 
 digious Concern which he fhews for them throughout 
 the Chapter, and particularly at ver. 26, adds fuch a 
 commanding Power and Influence to his whole Dif- 
 courfe ; that I believe it will be hard to find any 
 Thing equal to it in the beft Pagan Authors, And the 
 like may eafily be oblerved in feveral other Parts of 
 Mofes^s, Writings, and particularly in his Defcription 
 of the Character of Abraham •, in which we fee not 
 only an uncommon Piety, Prudence, and Modera- 
 tion, the moft remarkable Generofity, Humility, and 
 Fortitude, with many other great and excellent 
 Endowments : but all thefe '' fet off with fuch 
 Light of Reafon, fuch Integrity of Heart, llich 
 Simplicity of Manners, and fuch Beauty and 
 Skill of Addrefs ; as enabled him to expoilulate 
 with his Maker ib)^ not only with a Decency, 
 but alfo with a Dignity not to be defcribed i" as an 
 Eminent Author well expreffes it {c), 
 
 O3 The 
 
 [a] If Mofes is not admitted to be a Writer infpired by God, yet 
 he muft be allowed upon many Accounts the greateft Genius this 
 World ever iavv. Rczelation Examined zvith CaiJoufy Vol. IJ. 
 p. 204. 
 
 {b) See Gen, xviii, 
 
 \c) Revelation examined with Candour^ Vol. II. p. 203. 
 
198 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 The fame Perfwafive Oratory and Eloquence we 
 often meet with in the Book of Job^ and particularly 
 in that Account which he gives of his Profperity •, 
 chap. xxix. xxx. and xxxi. which if it be confider'd 
 only as a Human Compofition, it is, fays an 
 Admirable Writer, " a finer Picture of a Cha- 
 " ritable and Good-natured Man, than is to be 
 '' met with in any other Author (^j." And the 
 Lament aiions of Jeremy are, as an excellent Critic 
 exprelTes it, "A Piece of fuperlative Beauty, and 
 " in one Thought [chapo, i. 12.) he compriles all 
 *^ the Eloquence of Mourning (^j," The fame 
 Force of Oratory and Eloquence we may often ob- 
 lerve in the Writings of St FauL His celebrated 
 xvth Chapter of i C^r, is a Mafter Piece in this 
 Kind, as all good Critics have acknowledged C/j, 
 And in the feveral Speeches and Defenfes made by 
 him in the AUs of the Apoftles ■ (^), he fhews 
 that he could not only talk pertinently to his 
 Subject ; but alfo that he underftood PI u man Na- 
 ture well, and could touch the PalTions with much 
 Art and Addrefs, as an Eminent Author well re- 
 marks {h). But the great Eloquence of this Apo- 
 llle is more particularly obfcrvable in his Epiftle 
 to Philemon ; which, as a great Critic intimates 
 (O5 is very much to be admired for it's mighty 
 
 Strength 
 
 id) yir Addifin in Speflator, No 177. See alfo, Blackwali's 
 Sacred C la ffics, 4:0. Part I. p. c, 6. 
 (e) Blackvvall. ibid. 
 (/) See particularly, BlackwalTz Sacred Claflics, 4to. Part II. 
 
 [g) See Chapters the xiiith, xviiih, jfxth, and xxivth. 
 
 {h} Brown's Defence, t^c. chap, iii; p. 149. 
 
 (;) Si quid in gencre Sualorio admiranduiii elt, certe hoc Epiflo- 
 lium eft. In ilta enim brevltatefingulis fere verbis fingula Argu- 
 nienta funt fubjeda. ScultH. in Prolegom. ad Epijf. See a/foy 
 Blackwairj Sacred Cla[ficu 4to. Part II. f. z-ji. Sec. Dr MarfliallV 
 Sermons, Vet. II. p. 329, 350, in which there are many ufeful 
 Oblervatjons co this Purpofe, 
 
Religions Obfe'rvation of the Lord's Day. 199 
 
 Strength and Force of Pcrfwation. But above all, 
 the lacred Hiftory gives us in one Circumflance 
 a convincing Proof of St Paur% Eloquence, 
 when the Men of Lyjlra called bim Mercury, hecaufe 
 he was the chief Speaker^ A5is xiv. 12, 13. and would 
 have paid Divine Woriliip to him, as to the God 
 who invented and prefided over Eloquence. " Which 
 " one Account of our Apoftle (as an Excellent Wri- 
 *' ter well {k) obferves) fetshis Charad:er, confidered 
 " as an Orator only, above all the celebrated Reln- 
 '' tions of the Skill and Influence of Bemofthenes and 
 '' his Cotemporaries. Their Power of fpeaking 
 *' was admired, but ftill was thought Human : Their 
 " Eloquence warmed and raviflied the Elearers, but 
 " flill it was thought the Voice of Man^ not the Voice 
 " of God" And what a noble Idea of that Cou- 
 rage and Joy, w^hich refults from ficferiKgfor Righ- 
 teoufnefs Sake^ is given to us in that Paflage of St Luke^ 
 (lately taken notice of by a very great Critic), where 
 fpeaking of St Stephen he obferves, " That the good- 
 " nefs of his Caufe, and the Sight of his Saviour at 
 ' ' the Right Hand of His Eternal Father, made him fo 
 " undaunted and fo full of Joy even in Expcdation 
 " of a cruel Sentence and bloody Execution," that 
 his Face appeared as it had been the Face of an Angela AMs 
 vi. 15. (/) ? Nay, there are many fingle Sentences in 
 the Bible which carry a much greater Force and Beauty 
 in them, than v/hoie Difcourfes of the befl Pagan 
 Writers. That remarkable Sayjng of Job in the Ac- 
 count of his Behaviour abovementioned, viz.. The 
 Blefjing of him that was ready to perifh came upon me. chap, 
 xxix. 13. hath been thought of this Kind. And of the 
 
 O 4 lame 
 
 (^) Spedlator, No. 633. /^^ the Pliice. Aid 77 )x) AvKciovzi 
 
 vuv ^^yivijo ctAA' duTTO n ^op<i. Chryfoft de Sacerdotio. Edit. 
 Cantab. 171Z, 8vo. lib. iv. p. 190. Vid. loc. in quo multa alia 
 de Jnfiejni S, Pauli Eloquentia diferte narrantur. 
 (/) Blackwall, Part. II. p. 187. 
 
2 c o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fame Nature are thofe Paflages in St Paur^ Eplftlesj^ 
 Rem. viii. 32. Eph. iii. 19. 2 Cor. iv. 17. which the 
 Reader may conficler at hisLeifure; and to which many 
 o'hers may be added without Number : in all which 
 there is fuch a Sublimity of Conception and Majefty 
 of Thought and Rapture of ExpreiTion, as infinitely 
 f jrpafTes the rnoft celebrated Produ6lions of Greece and 
 Roine, And it was a Remark of a very Learned Di- 
 vine (in) on that Sentence, in Prov. xlx. ij.He that hath 
 Pity upon the Poor lendeth unto the Lord \ that there is 
 more Rhetoric in that or^e Sentence, than in a Library 
 of Sermons. And yet as the excellent Mr Addifcn truly 
 fays {n)^ '■ the fime Thought is carried much farther 
 ' ' in the 'Se-iv Teftament^ where our Blefled Saviour tells 
 *« us in a moil pathetic Manner, that He {hall here- 
 *' after regard the Cloathing of the Naked, thepeed- 
 *' ing of the -Hungry, and the Vifiting of the Imprir 
 '' foned, as Offices done toHimfelf, and reward them 
 ^' accordingly." That God fhould be pleafed with our 
 Services to our poor Brethren performed by His Jufl 
 Authority and Command, is in Him very great and 
 undeferved Goodnefs : but that the Majefty of Hea- 
 ven and Earth ihould put Himfelf in thtir Jiead, and 
 accept of our Charity to them as done to Himfelf, and 
 thereby tell us in a Manner how we may lay an Ob- 
 ligation upon His own Perfon •, This is fo greal 
 and noble a Thought, as could fcarce ever enter into 
 any Human Mind, and fuch an Inftance of moving 
 and perfwafive Oratory, as I am well affur'd is not to 
 be found in the whole World. And indeed, we often 
 find ourBlelfed Saviour not only arguing with the mod 
 amazing Strength and Force of Reafoning, but alfo, 
 delivering Himfelf with fuch Beauty of Thought and 
 Expreflion, as no one among the Sons of Men can 
 imitate. This is very plainly to be feen in feveral Paf- 
 
 fages 
 
 fmj T>r Scott's ChriixhnUfe^ Vol IV p 17Q. 
 /a) Mr ^^^;/ff^, in Spedator, No. 177. 
 
Religious Obfervatton of the Lord's Day. 201 
 
 fiiges 'of the Go (pel (0)^ but chiefly in the Parables, 
 and particularly in thofe three abovementioned (p. 
 J 94.); in which, as I before obferved, the Images and 
 Allufions are fo natural and agreeable, fo lively and 
 affedling, and the Difcourfe which is grounded there- 
 upon fo moving and powerlul •, that tht like I am 
 confident is not to be met with in any Human Wri- 
 tings. And then in the laft Place, as to S.ublhne and 
 Majeftk Thoughts and Defcriptions ; there is nothing 
 of this Kind in the very bell Human Authors, that 
 comes any Thing near to what we find in Holy Scrip- 
 ture. This may be difcovered more or lefs through- 
 put the whole Sacred Volume, but particularly in the 
 Poetical Books ^ and chiefly in thofe Places, where 
 ihe Attributes and Pei-fe6lions of God are difplayed to 
 us. To give fome few Inllances of this Matter. Thus 
 when the Holy Scriptures fpeak ro r-s of the Omnipre- 
 fence, Power, Majefty, and other Perfedions of God, 
 they ^tt them forth to us in thefe and the like fublime 
 Defcriptions. IVhilher Jhall I go from thy Spirit ? or 
 whither JJjall Ifiee from thy Pre fence ?lfl afcend up into 
 Heaven^ I'hou art there : If I make my Bed in Hell, he^ 
 hold thou art there. If I take the Wings of the Mornings 
 and dwell in the uttermoft Parts of the Sea ; even there 
 Jhall thy Hand lead me^ and thy right Hand fhall hold me, 
 Pfal.cxxxix. 7, to 11. "The Lordlooketh to the Ends of 
 the Earthy andfeeth under the whole Heaven. Job xxviii, 
 24. At His Prefence the Mountains quake and the Hills 
 melt -, the Earth is burnt., yea the World and all that dwell 
 therein, Nahum, i. 5. At His E^eproof the Pillars of Hea- 
 ven tremble and are aftonijhed. Job, xxvi. 1 1 . Who fitteth 
 upon the Circle of the Earth, and the Inhabitants thereof 
 are as Graf shoppers. Who count eth the JSlations as a Drop 
 of the Bucket , and as the fmall Duft of the Balance, and the 
 Inhabitants of the Earth as Nothing, Who meafures the 
 
 Waters 
 
 (0) If the Reader hath a Mind to fee particular Iiiftances of this 
 MaMer, let him confult Mr BiackzvnlPs Sacred Clajp.cs, Part IL 
 where he will iind many that ai-emoll Excellent and Admirable, 
 
202. A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Waters in the Hollow of His Hand, and meteth out Heaven 
 with a Span^ and comprehends the Buft of the Earth in a 
 Meafure \ 'who weighs the Mountains in Scales^ and the 
 Hills in' a Balance, Ifa. xl.22, 15, 17, 12. IVho covers 
 Hir/ifelf with Light as with a Garment, and firetcheth out 
 the Heavens like a Curtain ; who layeth the Beams of -His 
 ■ Chambers in the IVaters, and maketh the Clouds His Cha- 
 riot, and zmlketh upon the fFij7gs of the Wind, Pfal. civ. 
 2, 3. Thefe are the Defcriptions which the Holy 
 Scriptures give us of the Attributes and Perfedions 
 of God ; and to the Inilances here produced many 
 others might be added without Number. And now 
 may we not challenge the Adverlaries of our Faith, 
 who are ever expreffing a mean and contemptible Opi- 
 nion of the Sacred Writings, to fhew any Thing in 
 the mofl: celebrated Authors, Ancient or Modern, that 
 comes any ways near to the Sublimity and Majelf y of 
 thefe Scriptural Defcripdons, as well as to the other 
 Excellencies and Perfedlions abovementioned ? And 
 indeed, tho' it was not the Defign of God in Holy 
 Scripture to allure Men to the BeHef and Pradlice of 
 Religion by the Force of Words and the Power of 
 Eloquence •, but to deliver His Mind in all Eflential 
 Points with great Plainnefs and Perfpicuity, and to 
 confirm them with the mofl abundant Evidence-, and. 
 therefore as St Paul obferves, the Gofpel was not preached 
 with the enticing Words of Man^s Wifdom, hut in Demon- 
 firation of the Spirit and of Power : i Cor. ii. 4. Yet on 
 the other fide it is certain, that in the Befcriptive Parts 
 (where there is Room for it) there is no Oratory and 
 Eloquence that can be compared to that of the Holy 
 Scripture, neither are there any where to be found fuch 
 Sublime and Majeflic Defcriptions as we meet with 
 therein •, and that with refpec5l to many Particulars, 
 but chiefly to the Divine Attributes and Perfections. 
 And I think it could not well be otherwife -, fince when 
 God Almighty fpeaks of His own Perfe6lions, ic is 
 fcarce poflible, but that he muft fpeak like Himfelf\ and 
 
 that 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 203 
 
 that mud needs be in fuch a Manner, as no Created 
 Beings can imitate. , And thus much concerning the 
 Superiour Excellency of the Holy Scripture to that of 
 any Human Wridngs. By obferving which, it is 
 not my Defign to caft the leaft Difparagement and 
 Reflediion upon any Authors either of the former or 
 latter Times-, in many of which, there are v;ith re- 
 gard to the great Strength of Reafoning, the Sublimity 
 of Thought and Eloquence of ExprelTion, the Ufeful- 
 nefs of Precepts and Entertainments of Hiftory , m.any 
 Things to be found that are truly noble and admirable, 
 and very worthy of our Enquiry and Efteem. The 
 Excellencies and Perfedions of thefe Writers I can 
 compare to nothing better than to the Stars in the Fir- 
 mament, They fhine forth with a peculiar and diflin- 
 guifhing Brightnefs ; but' bring the Holy Scriptures 
 into View, and the Sun immediately rifes in his full 
 Majefly and Strength, and all the lefTer Lights vanilh 
 and difappear, and are not able to ftand before him. 
 And thus having fhewn the great Benefits and Advan- 
 tages of reading the Holy Scriptures, and that with 
 refped to the prefent Delight and Satisfadlion which 
 we may receive thereby, as well as to our Inflrudion 
 and Corifirmation in Religion , I proceed in the 
 
 mrd Place^ to conlider the great Sin and Danger 
 of neglefting this Duty. But becaufe this mud needs 
 be very eafily perceived from what hath been already 
 laid down in this Chapter, concerning the NecefTity of 
 this Duty, and the many great Benefits and Advan- 
 tages of it ; I fhall therefore be very fhort upon this 
 Head. Now the great Sin and Danger of negleding 
 to read the Holy Scriptures will be very plain and evi- 
 dent from thefe three Confideradons. 
 
 Firfl. The Holy Scriptures are a Revelation of 
 God's Will to Mankind, and as fuch are defigned to 
 inftrud us in our Duty : they are therefore in the Na- 
 ture of a Talent^ which God hath put into our Hands, 
 and for the Ufe of which we mud give a flrid Account 
 
 to 
 
2G4 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 to Him at the Great Day. If therefore we negledl to 
 read them and apply them to that Purpofe for which 
 they were given to us ; v/e abufe the Talent, which 
 God has entrufted us with ; and not only fo, but we 
 do alfo defpife the Gift of God, and render it contemp- 
 tible. And how great an Affront that is to God, will 
 appear not only from the Excellency of the Scriptures. 
 themfelves, which are nothing lefs than the Words of 
 Eternal Life^ John vi. 68. but alfo in the 
 
 Second Place ^ From the Dignity of That Perfon, 
 v;ho is the Meflenger of this Bleffed Revelation. And 
 this is Jefiis Chrift^ the Son of the Living God. God hath 
 at fiindry Times and in diverfe Manners f poke unto the Fa- 
 thers by the Prophets^ hut in thefe Laft Days He hath 
 fpoken unto us hy His Son. Heh. i. i. And therefore a 
 Negled of This Divine Meflenger will encreafe and 
 inflame our Guilt, in proportion to the Dignity and 
 Excellerice of His Perfon^ as I before obferved {p). 
 But moreover, in the 
 
 Third and laft Place., The Negle6l of reading the 
 Holy Scriptures is not only an Abufe and Contempt 
 of the Gift of God, and our Bleffed Saviour the Di- 
 fpenfer of it ; but it is alfo of the utmoft Damage and 
 Prejudice to our own felves. For by this Means we 
 are kept in Ignorance of that Duty, which is of Ne- 
 ceflity to be done in order to our Salvation. And this 
 is fuch an Ignorance as will not admit of the lead 
 Excufe ♦, fince it is altogether owing to our own Fault 
 and Negligence. The Scriptures do indeed plainly 
 intimate that Men's Crimes fhail be differently pu- 
 nifhed, in Proportion to the Light and Knowledge 
 which they enjoy. And our Blcfled Saviour Himfelf 
 tells us, that That Servant zvhicb knew not his Lord's 
 Will fhall he heat en with few Stripes^ in com pari fon of 
 him that did know iu Luke xii. 48. But then, this is 
 always to be underilood of fuch Ignorance, as it is not 
 
 i% 
 
 (/) Vid. p, 135, 136. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day, 205 
 
 in a Man's Power eafily to avoid, 'this is made by 
 St Paul the Excufe for the yf/y^m^/^'s Miftake in their 
 Divine Worlhip, viz. that they lived in the Tmes of 
 Ignorance, AEls xvii. 30. But the Scripture in many 
 Places informs us, that God will not fojudgeof Men, 
 now that Ught is come into the World, If Men will not 
 be guided and diredted by it, but lo've Darknefs rather 
 than Lights our BlelTed Saviour fays, itJJjall he to their 
 Condejnnation. Johnm, 19. God will make all reafon- 
 able Allowance for the Miltakes and Weaknefs of 
 Men ; and provided they will but fmcerely endeavour 
 to difcharge their Duty, He will accept of diem, not- 
 withftanding their many Frailties and Imperfedlions. 
 But if Men will be idle, and fquander away their pre- 
 cious Time in Vanity and Sin -, He will deal with them 
 as they deferve. If when He hath put a noble and ex - 
 cellent Talent into their Hands, which they may im- 
 prove to the Purchafe of Immortal Life, they will yet 
 be llothful with it, and bury it in the Earth ; He hath 
 told them beforehand what fliall be their Doom, Cafi 
 ye the Unprofitable Servants into outer Darknefs^ there Jhall 
 he Weeping andGnajhing ofl'eeth. Matt. xxv. 30. And 
 thus I have confidered the NeceiTary and Indifpenfable 
 Duty of reading the Holy Scriptures and the great 
 Benefits and Advantages thereof, together with the Sin 
 and Danger of Negleding it. I fhould now, in the 
 Fourth and laft Place ^ apply what hath been laid down 
 upon this Head to the Subjed; of this Difcourfe, by 
 fhewing the Necefiity of difcharging this Duty of read- 
 ing the Holy Scriptures upon the Lord's Day. But 
 I fhall firft treat of the other Relic-ions Duties of the 
 Day, and then nuke an. Application of them altoge- 
 ther. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
^o6 A Difcourfe concerning floe 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Concerning the Duty of Divine Meditation, 
 
 THAT God in the Creation of Man hath endued 
 him with aRational and Immortal Soul, capable 
 of thinking and refltding upon Him and the many and 
 great Dudes which he owes to Him ; and that in the 
 due and proper Exercif^ of hisUnderilanding not only 
 the Dignity and Excellency of his Nature above that 
 •of the Brutes^ but alfo his true and real Happinefs and 
 Perfe6lion confifts {a) •, is a Matter that has been largely 
 fliewn by many ancient Philofophers {h)^ as well as 
 what frequently occurs in Modern Writers. And in- 
 deed it is fo very clear and plain in itfelf, that there is 
 no NerplTity of ufing many Arguments in Proof of it. 
 But however, it is not my Defign at prefent to treat 
 of this Particular, but to fhew the abfolute Neceflity 
 of a ferious and frequent Meditation upon the great 
 Points of Religion, in order to enable us to lead a truly 
 Cbrifiian Life and Converfation -, fuchas will make us 
 like toGodhere, and eternally happy with Him here- 
 after. Thefe Points are what every one may foon be 
 made fenfible of •, Would to God they could be as 
 eafily perfwaded to a due Confideration of them! They 
 are chiefly and principally thefe following, viz, the 
 Being and Attributes of God -, His Providence and 
 
 Govern- 
 
 [a) Pronaque cu;n fpeftcnt Aninialiacaetera Terram, 
 Os Homini fublime dedit ; caeJumque tueri 
 JufTit, & credos ad fidera tcllere Vultus. 
 
 O'uid. Metafnor-ph, lib. i. Fab. 2. 
 [h) See particularly, Ariftot. Ethic, ad Nicom. lib. 3:. cap. viii. 
 Ad ian in Epiflct. lib. ii. cap. viii. 
 
 Man alone of all Animals liath Underdanding to know his God ; 
 what availeth this Knowledge, u-ulefs it be to enoble Man, and to 
 raife him to an Imitation and Participation of the Divinity ? Mi- 
 nute Pbilofopher, Vol. I. p. 328, 
 
Religtous Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 207 
 Government of the World ; His Infinite Goodnefs 
 and Love to Mankind manifefted in our Creation 
 and in the innumerable BlelTings which we enjoy, but 
 above all, in the fending His only Begotten Son into 
 theWorld for our Redemption -, the Shortnefs and Un- 
 certainty of this prefent Life -, the Vanity of all Earthly 
 Enioyments •, th.^ great Delight and Pleafure of Reli- 
 g-ion and a good Confcience 5 the Uneafinefs and 1 or- 
 ment of a guilty Mind •, the great Evil and Danger of 
 Sin ' the NecefTity and Terrour of Death ; the Con- 
 fiderations of a Future Judgment, and Eternal Hap- 
 pinefs and Mifery in the World to come. Theie are 
 what I call the great Points of Religion. And if a 
 Man would really defire to lead the truly Chrifttan Life 
 and Converfition, it is abfolutely neceffary not only 
 that- he believes and is perfwaded of the Truth of thefe 
 Thino-s ; but alfo that he does fo frequently and {tn- 
 ouQy think of and revolve them in his Mind, that they 
 have a Conftant and Regular Effed and Influence upon 
 his Affedions: for otherwife (as will be fully fhewn 
 hereafter) he will never be able to maintain his Inte- 
 grity and preferve a good Confcience, againft the Force 
 and Power ot Temptation. He may indeed be very 
 much charmed with the Beauty of Virtue, and tran- 
 foorted with the Rewards that are annex'd to it, and 
 thereupon feem firmly refolved to obferve and praftice 
 in •, but unlefs his Refolutions are grounded upon a deep 
 Senfe and thorough Convidion of the ftrong Motives 
 of Religion, and by that means he has a much greater 
 Love for God and Heavenly Things, than tor the 
 Thino-s of this Life ; he will infallibly give way, when- 
 ever the Delights and Pleafures of the World (land in 
 Competition with his Duty (0 : and the Belief and 
 ^ Perlwa- 
 
 ^TTTO^iciam ad magnificas voces cxcitantur & tranleunt in aftec- 
 
 reram pulcluitudo. - Juvat protmus qu^ auduis. fa.ere. Athci 
 untur ilii& fantquaksjubentur, fi ilh ammo forrna permanea^ fi 
 no^imretum infignem protmus populus horeai d.Tuafor excpiat. 
 Pauciilla-T. quam conceperant Mentein, domum perferre potuerunt. 
 Senec* Epiji. io8. 
 
2o8 ADifcourfe concerning the 
 
 Perfwafion of another World will have no Effect, if 
 his Heart and AfFedlions are wholly fet upon this. We 
 fee this made good by every Days Experience. Men 
 believe and profefs Religion, and talk of and defend 
 it with great Earneflnefs and Zeal, and are many times 
 infinitely nice and fcrupulous in performing theRite3 
 and Ceremonies of it ; and yet for want of duly confi- 
 dering the Nature and Confequences of Things, the 
 Sin which fo eafily hcfets them commonly gets the Vidory 
 over them; and with the Natural Man defer ibed by St 
 PauU i^^;;z. vii. they find, that the good that they would 
 they do not^ hut the Evil which they would not that they 
 do. And that tho' they delight in the Law of God 
 after the inward Aian^ yet they fee another Law in their 
 Members warring againfl the Law of their Mind, and 
 hinging them into Captivity to the Law of Sin. ver. 19^ 
 &c. It is therefore abfolutely neceffary to the Pradice 
 of Piety and Virtue, that the great Motives of Religion 
 be frequently thought upon, and duly imprinted upon 
 the Minds of Men •, and that they allow themfelves 
 fome fixed and fiated Seafons and Opportunities for a 
 more than ordinary Refledion and Meditation upon 
 Divine Things. And as an eminent Divine {d) well 
 expreffes this Matter, " It will not be enough to give 
 " the Belief of thofe Things a cold Entertainment in 
 '' the Underftanding ; it mufl be warmly received 
 *' into the Heart ; it mufl be habitually fixed and 
 " deeply impreffed there; it muft be confirmed by 
 ** repeated A^ts and enlivened by frequent Recollec- 
 *' tion ; it mud be called in at all Turns in Aid of 
 " our weak Reafon and wavering Affedlions, and 
 " laid home to the Confcience, whenever we are befet 
 " with any prefling Temptation." The NecefTity of 
 this I might eafily fhew wich Refpe(5i: to all the Mo- 
 rives of Religion beforementioned. But becaufe many 
 of thefe are very plain and obvious to common Appre- 
 
 henfioHj 
 
 (itj Dr M(?/73 Sermons, Vol VI. p. 254. 255, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 209 
 
 henfion, and the Force and Power of them in fom^ 
 Meafure perceived by every ones Experience; I fhal^ 
 therefore at prefent fay but little of them, but fhaU 
 infift more largely on three or f?^ur of thofe Motives ? 
 which are of the utmoft Confequence and Importance* 
 and to which, tho' in themfelves very plain and eafy 
 to be apprehended, yet thro* extreme CareielTnefs and 
 Stupidity, and the many Cavils and Obje(5i:ions of the 
 Adverfaries of our Faith, Men are apt to give but 
 little Heed and Attention, or to fall into fatal Er- 
 rours and Miftakes about them ; by which Means 
 they have little or no Effed and Influence upon their, 
 Minds. Now concerning many of thofe Confidera- 
 tions before mentioned, fuch as the Shortnels and Un- 
 certainty of this Life, the great Evil and Danger of 
 Sin, the extreme Uneafinefs of a guilty Confcience, 
 and the like, there will be no Occafion to fay much ; 
 fince every Man by his own Senfe and Experience mud 
 in a good Meafure be acquainted with thefe Things. 
 But neverthelefs it will be of great Service to Man- 
 kind, both to fecure them againlt the Power of Temp- 
 tation, and to confirm them in the Practice of Virtue, 
 frequently to think and meditate upon them. If Men 
 are really defirous to get above this World, and all 
 the alluring Pleafures of it, and to have their Conver- 
 fation in Heaven^ as the Apoftle expreifes it ; Phil. iii. 
 20. it will be highly proper and neceflary to this End, 
 that they often fit down and confider ferioufly with 
 themfelves, how Ihort and uncertain the Life of Man 
 is (*) *, that he fleet h as a Shadow and continue tb 
 not. Job, xiv. 2. That his Days are fwifter than a 
 Poji, chap, ix 25. That his Ltfe is even as a Vapour 
 
 P that 
 
 (*} Fugit irreparabile Tempus. ^irg. Georg. lib. iii. 
 
 Vitae fumma brcvis fpem nos vetat inchoare longam. 
 
 Horat. lib. i. Od. 4. 
 Non eft, crede mihi, fapientis dicere, vivam ; 
 Sera nimis vita eit Craftina, vive hodie. 
 
 MarfiaL lib. i. Epig. i^i 
 
2IO A DifcGiirfe concerning the 
 
 tK^t appeareth for a little 'Time and then vanijheth a^way. 
 Jam. iv. 14. And that as David faid in another 
 Cafe, there is hut a Step between every one of us and Death. 
 iSam.xx. g.Thatthey often confidertheVanity of their 
 pYcfi^ni Condmon^ how every Man zvalketh in a vain 
 Shadow^ and difquieteth hi?nfelf in vain. Pfalm xxxix. 6. 
 And how little Profit he hath of all his Labour which he 
 taketh, and of the Vexation of his Heart wherein he hath 
 laboured wider the Sun. Eccl. \. 3. chap. n. 22. How 
 different Things appear in the Enjoyment from what 
 they did in Expedlation (e). How htde true and fin- 
 cere Pleafure (/) there is in this Life, and how foon 
 it paffes away (^), and Sicknefs, Old Age, and Death 
 come upon us. And when we have obtained thofe 
 Things which we eagerly fought after, how prefently 
 we become nred of them, and think every other State 
 and Condition of Life better than our own (/:?), with 
 many other Confiderations which fully manifeft the 
 Weaknefs and Infufficiency of our prefent Condition ; 
 and that when we have looked upon all the Works 
 which we have laboured to do, behold all is Vanity 
 and Vexation of Spirit. Ecclef. ii. i i.That they often con- 
 fider the great Happinefs and Security of Virtue 
 and a good Confcience. ^hat the Ways of Reli-^ 
 gion are Ways of Pleafantnefs, and thai all her 
 Paths are Peace. Prov. iii. 1 7. And that the Work 
 
 of 
 
 {e) See this very beautifully defcribed by ZoloiKoiiy in Ecclef, ii, 
 to 12. 
 
 ^yj Nulla eft fmcera voluptas, 
 
 Soili:itumque aliquid lactus inter venit. 
 
 Ov'id. Metamorph. lib. vii; I. 453-4, 
 {g) Optima quxque dies miferis Mortalibus 2evi 
 
 Prima f'ugit : fubeunt Morbi triilifque fene6tus : 
 
 Et Labor, & dune rapit inclementia Mortis. Virg.ibid* 
 
 [h] Qui fit, Maecenas, ut Nemo, quam fiSi fortem 
 Sou Ratio dedcrit, feu Fors objecerit, iJla 
 Contentus vivat; laudet divcrlk Tequeatcs. 
 
 iiovdt^ lib, ij Sat. I. 
 
tleliglous Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 211 
 
 bf Righteoufnefs [hall he Peace, and the Effe5i of Righte- 
 oufnefs ^ietnefs and (J) Affurance for ever. If a, xxxii. 17* 
 and on the other Side confider the extreme Unea- 
 finefs and Torment of a Guilty' Mind (k). 'That the 
 Wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot refi ; and 
 that there is no Peace (faith my God) to the IVicked (I). 
 Ifa. Ivii. 20, 21. And further yet, confider the great 
 and manifeft Danger of Sin and Wickedneis ; fince 
 the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven againfl all 
 Ungodlinefs and Unrighteoufnefs of Men. Rem. i. 18. 
 And that Death will foon come upon us all without 
 
 P 2 Exception 
 
 (/) Integer vitae fcelerifque purus 
 
 Non eget Mauri Jaculis neque arcu. 
 Nee venenatis gravida iagittis, 
 
 Fufce, pharetra. Uorat. lib. i. Od. 22. 
 
 Juflura & tenacem propofiti viriim 
 Non Civium ardor prava Jubentium, 
 Non vultus inftantis Tyranni, 
 Mente quatit folida ; neque Auller 
 Dux inquieti turbidus Adrian : 
 Nee fulminantis magna Jovis Manus. 
 Si fi-aftus illabatur Orbis, 
 Impavidum ferient ruinse. Id. lib. iii. Od. 3. 
 
 O vitae Philofophia Dux ! O virtutum Indagatrix, expulrrixque 
 Vitiorum ! Unus dies bene, & ex Prsceptis tuis a6lus, peccanti 
 Immortalitati anteponendus eft. OV. Tufc. ^aft, lib. v. 
 
 [k) See Archbifhop Dawes" ^ Sermon on a wounded Spirit, 
 p. 13, 14. and Bp. ^//^r/^tvrj/'s Sermons, Vol. IV. Sermon IV. 
 in wliich there are many ufeful Obiervations, and leveral remark- 
 able Initances given of tliii Matter. 
 
 (/) __ Hie murus aheneus efto. 
 Nil confcire fibi, nuJla paHefcere culpa. 
 
 Hor.lih i.Epift. I. 
 Exemplo quodcunque malo committitur, ipli 
 Difpiicet Audori. Juvenal Sat. xiii. 
 
 Poena autem vehemens, ac malto fsevior illi5, 
 Quas & Cnsditius gravis invenit aut Rhadamanthus, 
 No6le dieque fuum, geftare, in Pedlore Teftem. Id. ibidi 
 
 '^PX^V^'*' HieroJ, in I'ythag. ^«r, CVw.^. 178. 
 
2 12 A Difcourfe concern'ptg the 
 
 Exception (m)^ and carry us to Judgment Heh. Ix. 27, 
 and that if we die in our Sins without Repentance, 
 we fall into the Hands of the Living Gc^tl, Heh, x. 3 1 
 who is a Jealous God, Exod. xx. 5. and a Confuining 
 Fire. Heh. xii. 29. I fay, if Men are really and hear- 
 tily defirous to get above this World, and to have 
 their Converfuion in Heaven, it will be highly ae- 
 celTary and expedient that they frequently entertain 
 their Minds with thefe and fach like Refledlions. And 
 it is fo far from being a Matter of great Uneafinefs 
 and Terror to meditate upon {n) Death and {0) 
 Judgment, as fome Men imagine ; that on the con- 
 trary the Beft and mod Effe6tual Means t6 deliver 
 ourfelvcs from the Fear and Dread of them is fre- 
 quently and habitually to confider and Refled upon 
 them. But thefe refledions will not of themfelves be 
 fufficient to fecure Men againft the Power of Temp- 
 tation, 
 
 {m) Pal]id;i mors a?quo pulfat pede Pauperum Tabernas 
 
 Regumciuc Turres. Horat, lib. i. Oj, /^, 
 
 Intadis opulentior 
 
 Thefauris Arabum & divitis Indiae, 
 
 Caementis licet occupcs 
 
 Tliyrrhenum omne tuis & mare Apulicum ; 
 
 Si figit adamantinos 
 
 Summis verticibus dira neceflitas 
 
 Clavos ; non animum metu, 
 
 Non Mortis laqueis expedies c^put. Ir/em lib. Hi. Od. 24. 
 [n) Tu tamen mortem, ut nunquam timeas, femper cogita. 
 Senec. Epijl. xxx. 
 
 {0) In like manner the future Judgment of Manldnd is in it- 
 felf far from being an Objedl of Tcrrour. For that wc are moral 
 accountable Creatures is owing to our Superior Cap:icities, which 
 are the Dill inguiihing Honour and Dignity of our Nature; and 
 nothing can be a more Comfortable Reflejcion to a well difpos'd 
 Mind, than that it's Integrity will be tried and rewarded by a 
 Being of Unerring Wifdom, Inflexible Juftice and Unlimited 
 
 Goodncfs. Tile Future Judgment is not revealed with a 
 
 view to alarm and confound the Mind; but to rellrain thofe 
 Inegular Practices which are the fureft Ground of MelanchoUy 
 Sufpicions, and ii^ward Horror; Fojleri Sermon?, Vol. I. 
 p. 21, 22. 
 
Religious Ohfervatlcn of the Lord's Day. 2 13 
 
 ration, and to preferve them in their Integrity. If 
 they defign to lead the truly Chriftian Life and fiich 
 as will render them acceptable to God, there are fe- 
 veral other important Points of Religion, which will 
 require a very ferious and frequent Confi deration ; 
 and particularly thefe following, viz. the Being and 
 Attributes of God \ His univerfal Providence and 
 Government of the World ; His Infinite Love and 
 Goodnefs to Mankind, manifefted in the Redemption 
 of the World by the Death of his Son -, and laft of 
 all, the Everlafting Blifs and Happinefs which fhall 
 be conferred on Righteous and Good Men, and the 
 Everlafting and unfpeakable Torments which iliall 
 be inflided on the Wicked in a Future State. The 
 abfolute Neceflity of frequendy thinking and reflecfl- 
 ing upon which Points I fliall now proceed diltindlly 
 to fhew, not only upon the account of the great In- 
 fluence which a due Confideration of them has upon 
 Religion, but alfo becaufe (tho' they are fufficiently 
 clear and evident in themfelves, yet as I before ob- 
 ferved) thro' the extreme Careleflhefs and Inadver- 
 tency of Mankind, and the crafty Infinuations and 
 Cavils of Infidels, many Perfons are apt to fall into 
 dangerous and fatal Errours, or at leaft into great 
 Doubts and, Sufpicions about them. But before I 
 proceed to the Confideration of thefe Points, there is 
 one Particular which muft never be forgot, when we 
 are treating of the Duty of Divine Meditation upon 
 the Lord's Day ; becaufe it is a necelTary and Efien- 
 tial Part of the Duty of that Day, and cannot admit 
 of any Relaxation and Indulgence, as many other 
 Particulars may fometimes do, as will be feen here* 
 after : and that is the Duty of refleding and medi- 
 tating upon the Ward of God which we have on /to 
 Day heard in His Holy Church. Now the Neceffity 
 of this Duty will very plainly appear from the End 
 and Defign for which the Word of God is preached 
 tQ us, which is exactly the fame as that for which the 
 
 P 3 Holy 
 
214 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Holy Scriptures were firft written •, viz to inftrucTc 
 us in the Knowledge of our Duty, and by proper 
 Motives and Arguments to ftir us up to the Prac- 
 tice of it. And therefore if we reft fatisfied with the 
 bare hearing o'iGo^'s Word, without duly thinking 
 and meditating upon it, and making an Application 
 of it to the true State and Condition of our Souls-, 
 we not only abufe this Noble and Excellent Talent, 
 by defeating the great End and Defign for which 
 God hath given it to us ; but we alfo entirely lofc the 
 Benefit and Advantage of what we have heard, and 
 render it unfruitful : • Since how judicious and eloquent 
 foever the Difcourfes may be which are delivered to 
 us. they are nothing but a vain and idle Amufement, 
 if they are not carefully confidered and reflcded upon, 
 and a proper Ufe and Application be not made of 
 them. Jn Order to infpire us with a Senfe of which 
 Truth, the Holy Scriptures have in many Places ex- 
 horted us to a due and ferious Meditation upon the 
 Word of God, in order to the Pradice of it. Thus 
 fays Jojhua^ 'The Book of the Lazv Jhall not depart out of 
 thy Mouth •, but thou Jhalt meditate therein Day and 
 Night. Jojh. i. 8, and St Paul, zve ought to give the 
 more earneft heed to the Things which we have heard^ left 
 at any Time we fhould let them flip. Heh, ii. i. And 
 again, what the fame Apoftle enjoined Timothy may 
 in a good Meafure be applied to all Cbriftians, viz. 
 Give Attendance to Readings to Exhortation, to Do^rine -, 
 Meditate upon thefe Things, give thyfelf wholly to them, 
 I Tim. \v. 13, 15. And in the Praftice of this 
 great Duty, the Pfalmifi fets before us his own Ex- 
 ample, Thy Word, Lord, have I hid in my Heart, 
 that I might not fin againfi Thee. I will meditate in thy 
 Precepts, and have Refpe^l unto thy Ways. I will delight 
 tnyfelfin Thy Statuses, Twill not forget Thy Word. Thy 
 Teftimonies alfo are my Delight and my Coimfellors. Afid 
 Thy Commandments are ever with me. PfaL cxix. 11, 
 ic,^ 16^ 24, <^^* And farther, our BleiTed, Saviour 
 
 has 
 
Religious Obfervatio?i of the Lord's Day. 215 
 has given us a very ej^prefs Caution in this Matter, 
 ^ake heed^ fays He, how ye hear \ i.e. not only with 
 what Attention, but with what Profit (-p). For vcho- 
 foever hath^ i. e. who conftantiy and ftedfaftly retains 
 my Dodtrine (^J, to him /hall he given (r); and zvho- 
 foever hath not^ from hirnjhall he taken even that which 
 he feerneth to have. LukeVm. 18. The Meaning is, 
 that in Proportion to the Diligence and AfTedion 
 with which Men hear the Word of God, and the Ufe 
 and Improvement which they make of It, fhall the 
 Knowledge and Advantage be which they fhall re- 
 ceive therefrom. And that Men cannot make a jufl 
 and proper Improvement of God's Word without 
 duly confidering and meditating upon it, our BlefTed 
 Saviour fliews very fully in a diftind Parable, upon 
 which that Text is grounded : in which he obferves, 
 that the true Reafon why the Preaching of God's 
 Word hath fo little EfFed upon the Generality of 
 Mankind, is, becaufe they fatisry themfelves with the 
 bare ^^^n>^ of it without ferioufly rf/Jcf/^i/T^^ upon it, 
 and making an Application thereof to the State and 
 Condition of their Souls. For, fays He, when the 
 Seed isfown^ which is the Word of God^ the Devil cometh 
 and taketh away the Word out of the Hearts of fome^ lejl 
 they fhould helieve and he faved. And others when they 
 have heard go forth^ and are choaked with Cares, and 
 Riches^ and Pleafures of this Life^ and hring no Fruit 
 to Perfe^ion. ver. 11, 12 14.. i. e. Tho' Men do at- 
 tend to the Word of God when preached to them, 
 P 4 yet 
 
 {p) Videte ergo quomodo audiatU^ i e. quo afFe6lu & quo frudu 
 Bez.. in loc 
 
 (q) ^d enim hnbet, i. e. qui conllanter retinet Dodrinam me- 
 am. V/itabl i?i loc. 
 
 (r) Menfura Carnis & Sanguinis haec eft, vas vacuum recipft, 
 plenum non recipit amplius. At Menfura Dei haec ell, Denum 
 recipit, vacuum non recipit Deus non dat Sapieniiam, nifi Ei 
 cui eft fapienLJa. Lightfoot ex Rahb'v.is in Hor. Hebr. 
 
2i6 A Dtfcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 yet they do not ferioufiy confider and meditate upon 
 it, nor fufFer it to gain upon their Hearts and 
 Affections ; but they content themfelves with the bare 
 hearing of tlie Word, and immediately b;^take them- 
 felves to the Riches and Pleafures of this Life ; by 
 which Means it becomes unfruitful, and hath not the 
 lead Effect and Influence upon them. This is a very 
 fatal and dangerous Errour •, and yet it was what Men 
 have been too apt to fall into in all Ages of the World. 
 The antient Philofophers do frequently and bitterly 
 complain upon this Head •, that the Generality of their 
 Difciples came to their Schools rather to pleafe and 
 gratify their Curiofity, and to furnifh themfelves with 
 Matter for Difpute, than ferioufiy to regard and di- 
 ligently to pra6life the Inftru6lions and Precepts there 
 delivered to them (j). Which Conduct Artftotle ele- 
 gantly compares to that of fick Men, who Ihould 
 expert to be healed of their Diftempers by hearing 
 their Phyficians difcourfe to them, tho' they fhould 
 obferve none of their Diredions : and without Doubt, 
 fays he, the Minds of the Difciples were as much im- 
 proved by fuch Kind of Philofophy, as the Health 
 of the others Bodies by fuch Phyfick. And the lame 
 Complaint has been continually made by all Chriftian 
 Writers in all Ages of the Church. St Chryfoftom has 
 a very fine Homily upon this Subjedt (/) j in which he 
 tells 
 
 {s) 'Aaa' c/ tjdaao* Tau-iu, fj^ K 'a^.T\i<nV' ^ </^' r \6-^v 
 
 70" 1700 fxt. tTdf ^ipctTTiv'of^.ivor icT' ^Tot tLlv -vj-u v«r V7W (piKb!;y^'^v%s.. 
 Arift. Echic, ad Nic. lib. ii. chap. iii. 
 
 Non novimus quofdamqui multis apud Philofophiam annis per- 
 
 federint, & ne colorem quidem duxerint ? Quidam veniunt ut 
 
 audiant, non utdifcant-. iicut in Thpatmm voluptatis Caufa ad de- 
 Icftandas aures Oratione vel Voce vel Fabulis ducimur. Magnam 
 hanc Auditorum t^artem videbis, cui Philofophi fcliola Diverfo- 
 rium otii fit. Non id agunt ut a) -qua illic viua depoiiant, ut ali- 
 quam I'gem viis accipiant, ad quain mores fuos exigant, fed utob- 
 Jpclanientoauriumperfruaniur, Senec^EpiJ, iqZ» 
 
 {i\ Horn, V. in Matt. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 217 
 
 tells the People of his Time, that tho' they carefully 
 and diligently attended to tht Word of God when 
 preached to them ; yet as foon 2 s rhey were departed 
 from the Congregation, with the Change of Place they 
 did many of them immediately change their Minds, 
 and quite cxtinguifh that Fii e of D.^votion which the 
 Word of God had kindled in their Hearts. The 
 Caufe of which this eloquent Preacher afcribes to their 
 betaking themlelves immediately to the Cares and Plea- 
 fures of this Life, and the perrdcious Converfation of 
 corrupt and wicked Men. And therefore to prevent 
 this great Mifchief, he earneftly advifes them, when the 
 Service of the Church is over, to retire home and to 
 read the Holy Scriptures with their Families, and di- 
 ligently compare what they have heard at Church with 
 them •, that by this Means it may be the more deeply 
 imprinted on their Minds, and that they may make 
 the Preacher's Mfcourfes their own hy a due and care- 
 ful Meditation^ The abfolute Neceflity of which, in 
 order to receive any Benefit and Advantage by hear- 
 ing of the Word, he lliews at large in that Homily, 
 and confirms it by feveral excellent Arguments and 
 Similitudes, which thofe who have a Mind to it 
 may fee at their Leifure. If therefore we are 
 really defirous to reap any Profit from the Preaching 
 of God's Word, we muft be infinitely careful, that 
 we attend upon it with due and proper Qualification^ 
 of Mind ; that we do not come to Church to gratify 
 our Curiofity, nor to make Obfervations upon the 
 Gifts and Qualifications of the Preacher -, but with 
 the fole View of being indrufted in ^.the Will of God 
 in order to our Salvation. To this End, as our 
 BlefTed Saviour advifes us, Z.«^^ viii. 18. we muft 
 take heed how we hear. And as St Paul obferved of 
 the lljeJ[alo?iians^ when the Word of God is preached - 
 to us, we muft receive It not as the Word of Men^ 
 hit {as It is in "Truth) the Word of God, i ''Tbef. ii. 13, 
 and v/hen we haye devputly attended upon the 
 
 hearing 
 
1^ 1 8 A Dicour/e concern ing the 
 
 hearing of God's Word, we muft not think that 
 we have fufficiently difcharged our Duty in this Par- 
 ticular •, but we muft diligently refled: and meditate 
 upon it, and make a due Application of it to the 
 State and Condition of our Souls. Thus, if any 
 Point of Chriftian Do(5lrine has in the Preacher's Dif- 
 courfe been enlarged upon, we muft confider with 
 ourfelves whether we really believe that Dodrine as 
 it h revealed in Holy Scripture •, and if we do, whe- 
 ther the Belief of it has it's proper Effed; and Influ- 
 ence upon our Lives and Converfations. If not, 
 we muft never give over thinking and meditating 
 thereupon, till it has gained this Effed upon our 
 Minds : fince otherwife, the moft zealous Profeffion 
 of any Part of Chrift's Do6lrine will be of no Ufe 
 or Service to us *, For Faith without fVorks is dead. 
 Jam. ii. 20. And in Chrift Jefus no Faith availeth 
 any Thing, but that which worketh hy Love. Gal. v. 6. 
 And Love., faith the Apoftle, is the fulfilling of the 
 Law., Rom. xiii. 10. And fo likewife, if any Pra6ti- 
 cal Point of Religion is difcourfed upon, any Chrif 
 tian Virtue recommended . to our Obfervation ; we 
 muft diligently examine ourfelves, whether we are 
 endued with it *, and if not, we muft never give over 
 our Endeavours, till we have attained to it : or if 
 we are poffefied of that Qualification, we muft en- 
 quire whether we are not wanting in fome others, 
 which are equally neceffary to procure God's Love and 
 Favour : fince whofoever fhall break o?ie of the leaft of 
 His Comniandments., he fhall he called the leafl in the 
 Kingdom cf Heaven., Matt, v, 19. Or, if the 
 Preacher's Difcourfe be levelled againft any particu- 
 lar Kind of Sin and Wickednefs, we muft look into 
 our Hearts and fee whether we are guilty of that Vice; 
 or if not, of any other which will as furely expofe 
 us to the Anger and Judgment of God, For the 
 Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven againft all Un- 
 gcdlinefs and Unrighteoufnefs of Men , Rom<, i. 18. And 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 219 
 
 Jf any Manjhall keep the whole Law^ and yet offend m 
 one Pointy he is guilty of all. Jap?, ii. 10. And when we 
 have thus found out the Corruption and Iniquity of 
 our Manners, we mufl continually watch over our- 
 felves, 'till we have fubdued and reformed it. And 
 particularly we mull attack the Sin which does mojl 
 eafily lefet us^ Heb, x\u i. with the utinoft Vigour and 
 Refolution •, and in that Cafe efpecially put on the 
 whole Armour of God ^ that we may he able tofland againft 
 the Wiles of the Devil Ephy'i. 1 1. And to fay no more, 
 if the great Motives to a Religious Life be laid before 
 us, particularly thofe drawn from the Confideration of 
 a Future Judgment, and the Everlafting Happinels 
 and Miferies of another World •, we mufl carefully 
 examine ourfelves and fee, whether we do really be- 
 lieve this Do6trine. If not, we mufb with theutmoft 
 Serioufnefs and Diligence weigh and confider the 
 Proofs and Evidences v/hich both Natural and Re- 
 vealed Religion give us of a Future State ; 'till we 
 come to be throughly and firmly perfwaded of the 
 Truth of it. And if we do believe this great Article 
 of our Faith, we muft enquire into the Sincerity and 
 Reality of this Belief, by feeing whether we \\:^^ and 
 behave in fuch a Manner as thofe Perfons may in all 
 Reafon be expedted to do, who are pofTefTed with 
 this Perfwafion, vix. that as it is appinted unto all Men 
 once to die^ fo after Death will co7ne the Judgment, Heh, 
 ix. 27. And that when the Great Judge of the 
 World ihall appear, all that are in the Graves JJoall 
 hear His Voice and come forth •, they that have done Good 
 to the Re fur region of Life^ and they that have done 
 Evil to the Refurre5lion of Damnation, JohuY, 28, 29. 
 And whether in Expedation of that Glorious Re- 
 ward which God hath promifed, fuch as Eye hath not 
 feen^ nor Ear heard, neither hath it ever entered into the 
 Heart of Man to conceive, i Cor. ii. 9. we become 
 indifferent and unconcerned for the Things of this 
 World, and demean ourfelves here as Strangers and 
 
 Sojourners 
 
220 A Difccurfe concerning the 
 
 Sojourners before the Lord, i Cbron. xxix. 15. Who, 
 b:^caufe we have here no continuing City^ do therefore 
 feek one ijhich h to come. Hch, xiii. 14. Anid as the 
 neceflary Means of doing fo, do fel our AffeBions on 
 things above, not on things on the Earth. Col. iii. 2. And 
 have our Converfation in Heaven. Phil. iii. 20. And 
 whether we are refolved upon this Account to obferve 
 not only the eafy and delightful Precepts of Religion, 
 but alfo fuch as are mod uneafy and ungrateful to 
 Flefli and Blood •, to fight the good Fight, to fimftj our 
 Coiirfe and to keep the Faith ; hecaufe there is laid.up 
 for us a Crown of Right ecu fnefs, 'which the Lord the Righ- 
 teous Judge fhall give us at that Bay • 2 7im. iv, 7, 8. 
 And fo on the other Side, we muft carefully examine 
 ourfelves, whether the Apprehenfion of thofe terrible 
 Punifliments which ihall be inllided upon the Wicked, 
 when the Lord Jefus fhall he revealed from Heaven with 
 His mighty Angels in Flaming Fire, taking Vengeance of 
 them that know not God, and that obey not the Gofpel of 
 cur Lord Jefus Chri/i : who fhall bepunifhed with Ever- 
 lafling DeflruBion from the Prefence of the Lord, and 
 from the Gloiy of His Power. 2 Theff. i. 7, 8, 9. 
 And who fhall be caft into the Lake of Fire and Brim- 
 ft one, where theyjhall have no Reft Day nor Night, but 
 the Smoak of their Torment afcendeth up for ever and ever. 
 Rev. xxi. S.^chap. xiv. n. I fay, we muft care- 
 fully examine ourfelves, whether the Apprehenfion 
 of this dreadful Mifcry does conftantly deter us from 
 all Sin and Wickednefs ; and whether upon this Ac- 
 count we be infinitely lefs concerned to difpleafe the 
 Greateft among the Sons of Men, who have only Power 
 to kill the Bodj^ and after that have no more that they can 
 do, than to offend Him, who after He hath killed hath 
 Pozver to caft bo lb Soul and Body into Hell fire. Luke x'lU 
 
 This is the Ufe and Application which we fhould 
 'T.ake of the Do6lrine of a Future Judgment and 
 ^vcrlafting Retributions, when delivered to us by the 
 
 Minifters 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 221 
 
 Minifters of the Gofpel ; fince otherwife, how much 
 foever we may be moved and affefted by it, evea 
 tho* at the Hearing thereof we fhoiild fall into a Fit 
 of 'Tremblings as Felix did when St P^^/difcourfed to 
 him upon that Subie(5l, Aofs xxiv. 25. it would 
 not be of the leaft Ufe and Service to us : It be- 
 ing not fufficient to the Purpofes of Religion barely 
 to difcover the Truth of thefe Points, unlefs, as a 
 Learned Author well exp relies {ti) it, we do by fre- 
 quentMeditation "render them familiar to our Minds 
 '' when difcoverd, purfue them thro' all their proper 
 " Confequences, and fufFer them to have fuch an 
 * * Effed: upon our Condud and Behaviour, as they 
 *' have a dired: Tendency to produce." And in this 
 Manner we fhould well confider and obferve the View 
 and Defign of every Difcourfe we hear, and make 
 a due Application and Improvement of it. And 
 when we have received Inftru6lions from God's Word , 
 we mufl, as a m.oft Excelle;]tWriterobferves (a*), " lay 
 " them up in our Memory ; and that not (o loofily 
 '' and carelef sly t\\2itt\\Qy fhall prefently drop out again, 
 *' but we muft fo faflen them there by often thinking 
 *' and meditating on them, that we may have them 
 ** ready for our Ufe." For as a mofl judicious Divine 
 very well remarks, (y) *' No Man ever became a 
 *' good Chrijfia?!, merely becaufe he cnce knew why 
 " he fhould befo -, but becaufe he oflen confidered it. 
 " And it is by fuch Meditation that good Men grow 
 " better ♦, and therefore they muft often converfe with 
 *' the fame Divine Truths." Otherwife, the Gofpel 
 is preached to us abfolutely in vain, and we manifeft as 
 great a Contempt of Chrift (if not greater) in not 
 duly confidering and obferving the Gracious Words 
 
 delivered 
 
 (//) Dr Cone'ibeare\ Defenfe of Revcard Religion, cap. i. p. lo. 
 
 (x) Whole Duty of Man, chap. ii. § 23. 
 
 ()) Dr Clagett's Operations of the Holy Spirit, Part IT. chap, 
 vii. § 4. See alfo a moil Excellent PalBge to this Furpofe in Dr 
 Scott\ Chrtjlian life, '6z'0. Vol. 1. ghap. iv. § 3. 
 
222 A Jbifcourfe concerning the 
 
 delivered by Him, as if we had not heard 
 them at all. And indeed, to fay no more upon this 
 Head, if, as a very Learned Prelate juftlyobferves (z)^ 
 *' Men Will goto Church merely for Form, and hear 
 ^*' Sermons only as fet Difcourfes, which they will 
 '' cenfure or commend as they think they fee Caufe, 
 *' but arerefolved never to be the better for them, 
 *' all the Preaching in the World fignifies nothing." 
 I would to God that were the Worft of it, and that 
 Men did not by this Means entail upon themfelves a 
 very heavy Degree of Guilt, by negledling and 
 defpifing one of the Nobleft Inflitutions, which the 
 Wifdom of God has contrived for the Salvation of 
 Mankind. And thus having fliewn the NecefTity of 
 this Duty of Meditating upon God's Word, whenfo- 
 ever we have heard it preached to us in His Holy 
 Church, I proceed to confider the abfolute Neceflity of 
 a due and ferious Meditation upon the Chief and Prin- 
 cipal Points of Religion above-mentioned, in order 
 to the leading fuch a truly Chriftia7i and Virtuous Life, 
 as will recommend us to the Love and Favour of 
 God. 
 
 And Fif'Jl^ concerning a due Meditation upon the 
 Being of God and His Divine Perfedtions. Now 
 this is abfolutely neceffary to be done upon thefe two 
 Accounts. Firft^ To guard us againft the dangerous 
 ImprefTions of Jthsifniy which entirely fubverts the 
 Ground and Foundation of all Religion. 
 
 And Secondly^ To prefer ve in our Minds fuch a 
 quick and lively Senfe of thefe great Truths, as may 
 conftantly engage us to the Pradlice of Piety and 
 Virtue. And, 
 
 Ftrft^ A due Meditation upon the Being of God 
 and His Divine Perfedlions is abfolutely neceflary to 
 guard us againit the Dangerous ImprelTions oi Alheifm, 
 
 this 
 
 {u) Bp. Burnit 'n th? Preface to his Hillory of the Reformation? 
 Svo p. 10, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s-Day 223 
 
 This one would think fliould be a very needlefs Ob- 
 fervation •, fince the Exiftencc and Perfedions of God 
 are Notions which are naturally ingrafted in the Minds 
 of all Men, as fome conceive \ or if not, the Proofs 
 and Evidences of this Great Article of our Faith are 
 fo very clear and eafy, that one would think it almoft 
 impoflible that any one Ihould entertain the lead 
 Doubt and Sufpicion of it. But yet, if we confider with 
 what Zeal and Diligence many Perfons of confiderable 
 Parts and Learning, both ancient and modern, have 
 propagated their pernicious Schemes of Atheifm 
 and Infidelity, which are ftill read and fludied by 
 great Numbers with Delight and Pleafure, and 
 that there are too many Men among us, who go 
 into the fame Meafures thro' the Vanity and AfFedta- 
 tion of Wit, and are continually breaking their bold 
 and impious Jefts upon God and Religion, to the Ap- 
 parent Mifchief and Corruption of all they converfe 
 with (x). Nay, if we confider further that not only 
 the Atheifts themfelves boaft of their Numbers 5 but 
 alfo that many of the moft Learned Advocates and 
 Defenders of Religion do heavily complain, that 
 " Atheiffn and Impiety are daily gaining Ground, not 
 " only among us, but indeed all Europe (y) over." 
 I fay, if we duly refledlupon all this, we muft needs 
 be fully convinced, that it is a Matter of the utmofl: 
 Confequence to every Chrtfiian^ to be v/ell forti- 
 fied and guarded againil fuch dangerous Impref- 
 fions. Or if we fhould fuppofe, that there are not 
 fo many Atheifls in the World upon fixed and 
 fettled Principles, as fome think, but thaj; Learned 
 Men have complained more upon this Head than 
 there is juft Occafion for (which for my Part \ 
 
 own 
 
 [,<) Vid. Scotfs Chriltian Life, Vol. U. 8vo, chap, iii, § 5. 
 
 p. 99' ^'•• 
 
 [y] Bifliop Burnet in the Preface to his Pafloral Care, p. 15. 
 See alfo Nichols 'i ConfeiCn-.e, iart /. in V\x^. l)<iVaterlana"i 
 fecond Charge to the Clergy, p. 2, c^r. Tillotfouy Vol. Wl.. p. /j.64, 
 3cqU\ Cbrijlian Life, Sz'o, FqI. II. p. 109, 117. 
 
224 ^'^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 own I am ir. great Meafare ready to (r) believe) yet 
 what a V ry pious and excellent Autlrof lays down 
 upon thi Point, is certainly true and to be depended 
 upon, viz. "" that the Generality of Men, who are 
 *' ever intent on Bufmefs or Pleafure, and little uled 
 *' to fix or open the Eye of their Mind, have not 
 " all that Convidtion and Evidence of the Being of 
 *' God, which might be expe&d in Reafonable 
 ^' Creatures. And that it is to be feared that too 
 *' many of Parts and Leifure, who live in Cbrifiian 
 *' Countries, are merely thro' a fupine and dreadful 
 *'- Negligence lunk into a Sort of Demi-Atheifm : 
 *' They cannot fay there is not a God, but neither 
 ** are they convinced that there is (d)" Now fince 
 flich a Doubtfulnefs and Irrefolution in the Belief of 
 this Capital Dodrine mutt needs be very fatal and 
 (0 deflrudive to Religion, as well as fixed and fettled 
 
 Atheifm ^ 
 
 (f) Health chiefly keeps an Atheljl in the Dark; 
 A Fever argues better than a Clerk ; 
 Let bur the Logic in his Pulfe decay, 
 The Gr£cian heM renounce, and learn to pray ; 
 While C mourns with an unfeigned Zeal 
 
 Th* Apoftate Youth who reafon'd once fo well. 
 C ~ who makes To merry with the Creed, 
 
 He almoft thinks he dilhelieves indeed'. 
 But only thinks fo ; to give both their due,- 
 iiatan, zwdLhe, Believe and Tremble too. 
 
 Love of Fame, Sec, S^t. iv. p. 66. 67. 
 
 Turn maxime Deus ex Memoria hominum elabitur, cum Benen- 
 
 ciis fruentes Honorem dare Divin^.^ Indulgentiic deberent ; at vero 
 
 fiqua Necffitas gravis prefferit, tum Deum recordantur, &e. hail. 
 
 Irijiit. lib. ii. cap. i. 
 
 Many Lifiances might be given of this from the Hiftories of all 
 Ages ; but I fhall at prefent only mention thofe of Metrodorusy 
 Caligula and Bio7j Bory/Ibeutus \ Of all which Perfons it was ob- 
 ferved, that they were remarkable for their Impiety and Contempt 
 of God, and yet in Times of Sicknefs and Danger, the moftfenfibly 
 afraid of Him. Fid. Cic de Nat. Deorum lib. i. Sueton. in Calig. 
 cap. li. l^ing. Liiert. i?i Fit. Bio?dsjuxtafr,em. 
 
 id) Bifliop " Berkeley^i Principles of Human Knowledge, 
 
 {e) Sec an Excellent PaHisge to this purpofe in Vllotfon, Vol. HL 
 p. 462. 
 
Religions ObJe7^vaiim qfthehord's Day. ii^ 
 
 Alhdfm ; it mufb certainly be highly beneficial and 
 advantageous to all Men to be freed from thefe Doubts, 
 ixnd to have a lively and effe6lual Senfe of God and His 
 Perfections conftanrly imprinted upon their Minds But 
 this cannot otherwile be gained than by a frequent 
 and fcrious Meditation upon thefe great Truths 
 and confidering the Proofs and Evidences of them, 
 Thofe thei'efore, who v/oiild live under a conltant and 
 prevailing Senf- of God and His PerfeiSlions, muit 
 often employ themfelves in this Exercife, And be- 
 caafe the Generality of Men have not fufficient Par?s 
 and Abilities of themielves to difcover thefe Impor- 
 tant Principles of Religion (at leaft not fo coiii- 
 p.leatly and perfedly as is necefTary to give them 
 their full Force and Influence upon their Affeftions) 
 therefore they fnould be careful to affift theit- Medi- 
 tations by reading the Holy Scriptures, in which 
 the Being and Attributes of God are largely difco- 
 vcred and beautifully difplayed to us, and alfo 
 foine of the beft Books that have been written 
 upon that S.ibjecl : fmce^ as an eminent Author 
 well remarks (rj, " He that wants the proper Ma- 
 " terials of Thought niay think and meditate 
 '' for ever to no Purpofe.*' And I believe all 
 Perfons v/ill readily own, that any Man (efpecially 
 one of common Education) will have quite difie- 
 rent Notions and Sentiments of God and His Per- 
 fec5lions, by carefully reading the Holy Scriptures, 
 and by attending to thofe noble Difcoveries which 
 have been made upon thofe Poirits by fuch Men as 
 Cudwo7'th^ Stilling fleet, Tillotfcn^ Boyle, Bent ley, Ray^ 
 Clarke, Derha?n, Gurdon, JVoolafton, (kc. than he 
 could ever pofTibly have attained to by the bare unaf- 
 fifced Thoughts and Reafonings of his own Mind. It 
 is therefore incumbent upon all Men in their Medita- 
 tions upon this Subjed", to aflift their Meditations by 
 
 Q. 
 
 Ic } Minnie Philofoyhcr, Vol. I- p. 35' 
 
226 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 reading the Holy Scriptures and other good Books 
 which are written thereupon. And what I here ob- 
 ferve of this Particular, I would be underftood to 
 extend to all the other Points of Divine Meditation 
 mentioned in this Treatife, viz. that Men fliould not 
 only think and conteniplate upon thefe Things of 
 themfelves, but fhould alfo enlarge and improve their 
 Thoughts by reading the Scriptures, and the beft 
 Books which are publiHied on thofe Subjeds, ac- 
 cording to their feveral Capacities and Oppor- 
 tunities. 
 
 Now the Proofs and Evidences of the Being and 
 -Attributes of God are of two Sorts. Firft^ Such as 
 are purely Intelledual and Metaphyfical. And Se- 
 condly^ Such as arife from a Contemplation of the vi- 
 fible Works of Nature. As to the Firft^ Tliofe, who 
 are able to go thro' the Depths of Metaphyfical En- 
 quiries, will find the Being and Attributes of God 
 clearly and fully proved this Way by feveral of our 
 learned Writers ; and particularly by Dr Samuel 
 Clarke in the firft Part of his Bcyle^s Lectures, in 
 which they are ftriclly demonfirated. And what 
 Mr Gurdon and Mr Woolafton have fince offered 
 upon that Subje(5l is admirable and excellent, and 
 highly worthy of any one's Reading. If any Man 
 •will iludy thefe Books with due Care and Attention, 
 it will be impolTible for him to entertain any Doubts 
 concerning the Being of God and His Perfcdlions, 
 imlefs his Judgment is byafied and corrupted by 
 vicious Aflcdtions •, and then all the Evidence in 
 the World would not prevail with him.. But be- 
 caufe there are but very few Perfons fat lealt of 
 thofe into whofe Hands this Difcourfe is likely to 
 fall) who are able to attain to fuch Metaphyfical Dif- 
 coverics, therefore I fhall pafs them by, and proceed 
 to the 
 
 Second PFdy^ By which the Being and Attributes of 
 God may be proved ard made known to, us; And 
 
 that 
 
Religious Ohfervatio/2 of the Lord's Day. 227 
 
 that is, by a Contemplation of the Vifible Works of 
 
 Nature. Now there are fuch plain and evident 
 Marks of Wifdom, Power and Goodnels to be feen 
 in all Parts of the vifible^ Creation, that a Man of 
 ordinary Capacity, who will duly and carefully attend 
 to them, may eafily dilcern that this World did not 
 exift of itfeif, nor was made by Chance ; but that it 
 is the Produd of an Intelligent Being of Infinite Per- 
 fection. For as the Pfahnijl well obferves, xix i. 
 The Heavens declare the Glory of God, and the Firma- 
 ment Jhe we th His Handy-zvork, And fays the Apoftle, 
 7he Invifible Things of Him from the Creation of the 
 World are clearly feen, being underflood by the Things 
 that are made^ even His Eternal Power and Godhead, 
 Rom. i. 20. It is therefore a Matter of great Ne- 
 ceffity and Advantage, in order to confirm us the 
 more ftedfadly in the Acknowledgment of the Being 
 and Perfections of God, frequently to ftudy and con- 
 template upon the Works of Nature. And fuch Per- 
 fons, who are not able to procure Books written upon 
 that Subject, or have not fufficient Capacity to read 
 them, muft be fo much the more diligent in employ- 
 ing their Minds upon thefe Points, and improving 
 their Thoughts by the reading of the Holy Scriptures. 
 But as for others of greater A^bility and Ap- 
 prehenfion, it will be of the utmoft Service to 
 them in this Enquiry, to perufe fome of the many 
 Excellent Treatifes upon this Point, which are pub- 
 lilhed among us. For the Being and Attributes of 
 God have not only been fufficiently proved by the 
 Authors of thofe Books, but they have moreover 
 made fo many Noble Difcoveries to this Purpofe 
 from Natural Philofophy^ Anatomy and Aflronomy ; 
 that by this Means Men vvill not only be freed 
 from the leaft Doubt concerning thefe Necef^ary 
 and Important Truths, but they will alfo make a 
 much deeper ImpreiTion upon them, and enter into 
 their Minds with the ilrongcft Convidlion. And 
 0^2 whofocver 
 
228 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 whofoever will be careful and diligent in the Study of 
 thefe Books, will foon be made fenfible, not only 
 that the World is the E&ed: of an Intelligent 
 and Wife Being ; bat alfo that there is a moft 
 exadt Harmony and Correfpondence between the 
 feveral Parts of it, and that all the Works of 
 Nature are made with pardcularFzWw and Deftgnsy 
 and contrived and adapted to thofe Dcfigns v/ith 
 the moft flirprizing Beauty and Perfedion. I ^iiiW 
 not at prefent give any Inftances of this Matter. 
 They who will carefully perufe fome of the Many 
 Excellent Treatiies, which are written upon that (d) 
 Subjccl, will loon be convinced of it, and will 
 hereby have fuch a firong and lively Idea of God's 
 Wifdom, Power and Goodnefs imprinted upon 
 their Minds, as nothing will be ever able to efface 
 and oblitenit:^. This is an Argument, of the Strength 
 of which Atheiftic Writers have been ever fenfible ; 
 and they could find no other Way to evade the Force of 
 it, but by confidently afferting that there are no fuch 
 Things as Enrd Caiifcs^ nor any Thing in Nature that 
 was made for Particular Ends and Defigns *, but that 
 all Things happened by Chance, or exifled of them- 
 fehes i« the Manner we now obferve them, and that 
 their feveral and refpediveUfes were afterwards found 
 out and difcovered. This was the Opinion of the Epi- 
 cureans, (e) which they borrowed from the Old 
 Atheiftic Philofophers (f). And in Confequence of 
 
 this 
 
 [d) There are fo many excellent Books pubjiflicd upon this Sub- 
 jedl in our own Language, that it will be no great Difficulty for 
 any one to make a good Choice ; yet I humbly conceive that thefe 
 fol'lon-ing are the moil: fit and proper for general Ufe, viz. Boyle 
 of Final Cciufesy RayV Wifdom of Lod in /i?^ Creation, and Der- 
 ham'o Phyfico and Jjiro-Theology . 
 
 {e) Nil idco natum ell in Corporc, ut uti 
 
 PolTcmus, fed quod natum eil, id procreat ufum. 
 
 Lucret. lib. iv. 
 
 (/) F;V. C/<'^i:ci'/-/-^'3 Intellciluul Syilcm, p. 670, 671. 
 
Religious Oifervafzon of tie Lord's Day. 229 
 
 this, xhty exprefsly aflert, that the Eyes were not made 
 to fee with^ nor the Tongue tQ'fpeak zvith, nor the 
 Feet for ^i^alkhig^ nor the Sun to fhine, &c. (g). 
 And herein they are followed by S/wo/a the mofl 
 l>earned of all our Modern Jlheifts^ who in direcl 
 Words affirms the liime {b). But now that this Sup- 
 pofition is infinitely abfurd and ridiculous, every Man 
 of common Senfe muft readily allow : and indeed that 
 there are not only fuch Things as Final Caufcs in Na- 
 ture, but that all Parts of the Creation are contrived 
 and adapted to their refpedive Ufes and Defigns, 
 with the mofl aftonifhing and furprizmg Beauty, 
 and thereby give us a clear Proof and Evidence 
 of the Being of God and His Divine Perfedions, 
 hath been fully demonllratcd by feveral of our 
 Learned Writers, particularly by Cudworth, Eoyle^ 
 Bemley, Ray and Derham, to the everlafting Sham.e 
 and Confufion of all Atbetjh. And this is the first 
 Benefit and Advantage which Men receive from a 
 lerious and diligent Meditation upon the Being 
 and Perfedions of God, viz. that they are here- 
 by effectually guarded and fecured againft the 
 dangerous and deftrucftive Impreflions of Aiheifm 
 and Infidelity. 
 
 The fecond life and Defign of fuch Meditation, is 
 to preferve in the Minds of Men fuch a quick and 
 
 lively 
 
 ( g\ Nee fuit ante, videre, Oculoruni lamina nata. 
 Nee diftis orare, prius, quam Lingua creata eil ; 
 Sed potius longe Linguae prseccfiit origo 
 Sermonem, muhoque creatx lunc prius aures 
 Quam Tonus eft Auditus ; & omnia deniquc Membra, 
 Ante fuerc, ut opinor, eorum quam fuit ufus 
 Haud igitur potuere Utendi crefcere caufa. 
 
 Lucret. ibid. 
 {h) Thus in the Appendix to his Thirty Sixth Fropofirion of 
 his Ethics, Part I, he lay^ it down as a iVIaxim, vix. Ndturam finem 
 nullum fibi prafixum habere \ & omnei caufa s Finale , nihil mfi 
 hiimana ejje Figme^:ta. And then he proceeds to laugh at thole 
 who were fo childifh, as to imagine that the Eyes were made to fee 
 with ; the Teeth for chewing ; Food for Nouriiliment > the Sun lo 
 Hiine, ^c. Vid. loci 
 
230 ^ Difcoiirfe. concerning the 
 
 lively Senfe of thefe Great Truths, as may conftantly 
 prevail upon them to the Pra6lice of Piety and Vir- 
 tue. If we cpafidcr the Nature of God and His Di- 
 vine Perfections, particularly His Infinite Power and 
 Goodiiefs to the Sons of Men, one would l)e apt to 
 think that there fnould be a certain and infallible Con- 
 nection between the Beltef of thofe Perfections, and 
 t\\ii Practice of Pieey and Virtue. But if v/e look 
 abroad into the World, we fhall find the Cafe to be 
 quite otherwife •, and that there are many Perfons who 
 really acknowledge the Being and Attributes of God, 
 and earncllly difpute and contend for the Certainty 
 thereof; and yet are extremely carelefs and negligent 
 of their Duty and Behaviour to Him. And the 
 Reafonof this is very plain, vh. becaufe tho' they 
 do really believe in God and His Perfections, yet 
 their Belief is only fpeculative, and they do not at- 
 rend to the proper Confequences of it ; neither do 
 they fo ferioudy and frequently meditate upon thefe 
 Points, as to let them have their due Force and Influ- 
 ence upon their Minds (ij. And therefore it is no 
 Wonder at all, that their Faith fliould be barren and 
 unfruitful -, fince the Truths of Religion do not ope» 
 rate upon the Mind Mecbamcally, but Morally^ i, e. 
 Men do not become Religious, by barely believing 
 that fuch and fuch DoCtrines of Religion are true, but 
 by being made duly fenfible of the Weight and Im- 
 portance of them. But this is what they can never be, 
 unlefs they will allow themfelves Time ferioufly and 
 throughly to refleCl upon them. For as a great 
 Writer (k) well obferves, " A Man is never entirely 
 *' reformed, till a new Principle governs hisThoughts ; 
 *' and nothing makes that Principle fo ftrong, as 
 '^ deep and frequent Meditations of God, — And 
 
 '' he 
 
 (/) Vid. DrM7r/^i//Vre;-mons, Vol. I. p. 4553 r^? 456. 
 ik) Bifhop Burnet's Lile of the Lord Rocheftery p. 53, 
 Edit. 6. 
 
Religious Obfervatlon of the Lord's Day. 231 
 
 " he that thinks often of God, and confiders Him 
 *' as governing the World, and as ever obferving 
 *' all his Adions, will feel a very fenfible Effed of 
 *' fuch Meditations, as they grov/ more lively and 
 
 *' frequent with him. And the frequent Re- 
 
 " turns of thefe are neceffary \ lead if we allow of 
 *' too long Intervals between them, thefe ImprefTi- 
 " ons may grow feeble, and other Suggefbions may 
 " come in their Room." And for this Reafon no 
 Doubt it is, that the Holy Scriptures are continually 
 reprefenting to our Minds the Wifdom, Power, Juf- 
 tice and Goodnefs of God ; and particularly (which 
 is neceflary to give all other Perfedlions their due 
 Forced His Omniprefence and Omnifcience •, as, Uat 
 He looketh to the Ends of the Earthy andfeeth under the 
 whole Heaven, Job, xxviii. 24. That the Eyes of the 
 Lord are iu every Place ^ beholding the Evil and the Good.. 
 Prov. XV. 3. That He knoweth our Downfttting and 
 our Uprifing^ and underftandetb cur 'Thoughts afar off.. 
 Pfa. cxxxix. 2. That all Things are naked and open to the 
 Eyes of Hiin with whom we have to do. Heb. iv. 1 3. 
 And that there is nothing covered^ thatJJjall not be revealed^ 
 and hid J that f hall not be known (I). Matt, x, 26. 
 That a Senfe of thefe Perfedlions may engage us to 
 fet the Lord always before US' Pfal. xvi. 8. and to be 
 perfect in every good Work, to do His Will, working 
 that which is well pleafing in His Sight, Heb. xiii. 2im 
 
 0^4 And 
 
 (/ ) Sed enim Deus a^um hominis ig;norat, & in (ah cor.ftitutus 
 non potejl aut omnes obire aut fingulos nojfe. Erras, 6 homo, & 
 falleris ; unde cnim Deus longe eft, cum omnia coelellia terrena- 
 que & qu2e extra iftam orbis provinciam funt, Deo cognita, plena 
 lunt ? Ubique, non tantum nobis proximus, ied infufus eft. In So- 
 lem adeo rurfus intende, Calo affixus, fed cerris omnibus fparlus 
 eft : pariter praefens ubique intcreft & mifcetur omnibus ; nulquam 
 ejiim Claritudo violatur. Quanco magis Deus, auftor omnium ac 
 Speculator omnium, a quo nullum poteft efle Secretum, tenebri* 
 intereft, intereft cogitationibus noftris, quafi alteris tenebris ? Nou 
 tantum fub Illo agimus. fed & cum Illo, ut prope dixerim, vivimus, 
 Mnut. Felix dt Idol, Vanitat. p. 96, 
 
232 A DifcGurfe concerning the 
 
 And the like we find done by the Heathen Philofo- 
 phers. They are frequently putting us in Mind that 
 God is infinitely Wife, Holy, Juft and Good, and 
 particularly that he is every where prelent, and 
 knoweth all Things [m) % that in Virtue of thefc great 
 Attributes, we might be prevailed upon to obey and 
 imitate Him in the conllant Practice of Religion and 
 Virtue, If then we really defireto lead the truly Cbrx- 
 fitan Life, and to attain to that Perfection of Piety 
 and Goodnefs which God requires of us, it v/ill not 
 be fufticient to this Purpofe, that we really believe 
 there is a God, and that He is endued vvith all polnble 
 perfections , unlefs we do fo frequently a !id ferioufly 
 think and contemplate upon thefe Perfctftions, tha£ 
 they have gained their due E.Tecl and Influence upon 
 our Minds, and we live under a Conftant and Habi- 
 tual Senfe of them. The Devils belie-ve^ and treinhle^ 
 as the Apo.fth^ obferves, Jam. ih 19. And miany 
 Men, who do not deny the Being and Attributes of- 
 God, do yet continually abound in all Manner of Im^ 
 piety and Wickednefs. And the Reafon of this 
 is, becaufe, as 1 juft no'^^ obferved, tlio' they do 
 really believe thefe Truths, yet they never re- 
 flect in their Thoughts how and in v/hat Manner they 
 Qught to be aftedled by them ; nor confider ferioufly 
 with thenifelves fince there is a God infinitely Wife, 
 Knowing, Jytl and Holy, wbozmllhring c^-jcryJFork 
 
 into 
 
 (m) Homines exiilj mare oportcrc Deos omnia cernere, Deorum 
 cmuia efie plena. Cic.de Legib- Hh. ii. Ubiquc Sc omnibus pi-ccicu 
 eic (Deus), ^ei'.Ep'iJf. 95. Quocunque te fkxens, ibi lyum vide^ 
 bis occurrentem tibi. Nil ab illo vacat, • opus luum ipie implet. 
 Ide7n. de Belief, lib. iv. cap. viii, 
 
 fM^S'i-TToli^ Kiyc-tv 077 ^vKo/ k<c- ciXK 0zh hSbv 6?r, it) Du4i 
 t,i^c( JlaJy.MV^ 'CiJ- i{j tk TfcTc/f yj^'^ %^oi-, £^i i^ /SaW^;; 71 
 TiXic^Ti ; Anian in Kpidlct. ]ib. i. cap. xiv. 
 
 isimplicius in Epiclct. cap. xx^iviii. pag. 2\6. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 233 
 
 into Judpnent with every Secret Things whether it he goody 
 cr whether it he evil Eccl. xii. 14. and will then render 
 to every Man according to his Teedi^ Rom. ii. 6. What 
 Manner of Perfons they ought to he in all Holy Converfa- 
 tion and Godlinefs. 2 Per, iii. 11. And thus much 
 coiicerniijg the IN^ecefllty of frequent andferious Me- 
 ciiration upon the Being and Pertedlions of God, in 
 order to fecure us agi\i;'lL the D.mgercus Imprcflions of 
 Atheifm, and to confirm us in the iledfaft and habitual 
 Fradice of ChriJIian Virtue. Before I proceed to the 
 next Particular, it will be very proper to take Notice 
 of one Thing, which m.uft never be forgot when we 
 •are contemplating upon the Infinite Pcrfedions of 
 God, and particularly upon His Wifdom, Power and 
 Goodncfs manifefted in the "Works of the Creation, 
 (and indeed it is a necefTary Part of the Bufinefs (71) 
 of tht Sahhath Day, and one main End and Defign for 
 which it was firft (0) inftituted) and that is the Duty 
 of returning Praife and Thankfgiving both publickly 
 and privately to God, who hy Wifdom hath foimaed tJ:>€ 
 ^arth, a7id hy Underfiajiding hath eftahUJhed the Heavens^ 
 Pnv. iii. 19. When v^e conlider the Works of God, 
 and furvey the Exquifite Beauty and Magnificence 
 which fhines forth in every Part of the vifible Crea- 
 tion, and call to mind how Good the Lordisto all Men^ 
 and that He giveth us richly all 'things to enjoy ; i ^im, 
 vi. 17, we fhould raife up our Hearts to the higheft 
 Strains of Gratitude and Devotion, and fhould cry 
 
 out 
 
 (n) It may be for ought I know (and feme Divines have 
 thought) Part of our Bufinefs and Employment in Eternity, to con- 
 template the Works of God, and give Him the Glory of His 
 "Wifdom, Power and Goodncfs manifefled in the Creation of them; 
 I am fure it is Pare of the Bufmefs of a Sabbath Day ; and the 
 Sabbath is a Type of that Eternal Reft; For the Sabbath feems 
 to have been firft inftituted for a Commemoration of the Works of 
 the Creation, from which God is faid to have refted upon tlxe 
 feventh Day. Ray's Wifdom of God in the Creation, Part J.p.iyo, 
 Mdit. 9. 
 
 (0) See ?hap. i, of this Treatife in the Beginning. 
 
234 -^ Difcourfe co7icerning the 
 
 out with the Pfalmift^ O Lord how manifold are T'hy 
 Works I in Wifdom haft 'Thou made them all. 77je Earth 
 is full of Thy Riches., &c. Pfahn civ, 24. And we fhoulci 
 never contemplate upon any of the wonderful Works 
 of Nature, but our Affec^lions fhould immediately 
 kindle in us, and we fhould take Occafion from them 
 to afcribe due Fraile and Glory to God, the Great 
 Author of them •,' as wc find the Pfah?iiftdoQS at large 
 in the cxlviii Pfalm. And we fhould fay with him 
 in ver 1 3. Let them fraife the Na?ne of the Lord : for 
 His JSIajne alo72e is Excellent^ and His Glory above the Earth 
 md Heaven, And thus an Eminent Poet of our own 
 Nation in a moft Ravifhing Strain of Poefy (^as a 
 great (p) Critic juftly ftylesit) introduces Adam under 
 the Joyful Surprize of his firft Exiftence, calling upon 
 the more early Natures with which he was encom- 
 pafTed to inform him of his Original, and to diredi; 
 his Gratitude and Worfhip. And what he here puts 
 into the Mouth of our firft Progenitor, ought to be 
 the conftant Language and Sentiment of ourfelves and 
 all Mankind, whenfoever we are taking a View of 
 the Glories of the Creation. 
 
 -Thou Sun fair Light, 
 
 And thou enlightened E.arth^ fofrefh and gay \ 
 Te Hills and Dales ^ ye Rivers, Woods and Plains ; 
 And ye that live and fjiove^ fair Creatures telly 
 Tell., if ye faWy how came I thus., hczvheref 
 Islot of inyfelf \ hy feme great Maker then^ 
 In Goodnefs and in Pow'r Pre-eminent, 
 Tell me., how may I know Him., how adore ; 
 From whom I have that thus I move andlive^ 
 And feel that I am happier than I know. 
 
 Milton's Paradife Loft, Book viii. 
 
 But, Secondly : Another Principal Point of Religion, 
 upon which it is abfolutejy necefTary for us frequently 
 
 to 
 
 (/>) Dr B<ijil Kennefi Introdadion to Puffindorf p. 9; 
 
Religmis Obfervatton of /^^ Lord's Day. 255 
 
 to think and meditate in Order to the truly Chrifiian 
 Life and Converfation, is that concerning die Wif^ 
 dom and Goodnefs -of Divine Providence. Now a 
 due Meditation upon the Wifdom and Goodnefs of 
 God's Providence is neceffary to confirm us in the 
 Belief thereof ; upon which our Prefent Comfort in 
 Life, and our Future Hopes in Death entirely depend. 
 And then. Secondly^ It is likewife necefiary to furnifh 
 us with Patience and Submifiion to the Will of God 
 under the Calamities and Afflidions of this Life, to 
 which all Men are in a greater or lefs Degree expofed. 
 And Firffy A due Meditation upon the Wifdom and 
 Goodnefs of God's Providence is necelTary to confirm 
 us in the Belief thereof; upon which our Prefent 
 Comfort in Life, and our Future Hopes in Death en- 
 tirely depend. That the Comfort of Man's Life 
 relies wholly upon the Providence of God, isfuch a 
 clear and certain Truth ; that none but the moft hard- 
 ned InfJels can pofiibly deny it. For Man of himfelf 
 is abfolutely infufficient for his own Happinels. He is, 
 as an Excellent Prelate admirably ('^) exprefles it, *' li- 
 " able to many Evils and Miferies, which he can nei- 
 ^' ther prevent nor redrels : He is full of Wants which 
 " he cannot fupply, and compafTed about with Infir- 
 '' mities which he cannot remove, and obnoxious to 
 ** Dangers which he can never fufficiently provide 
 " againlt : He is fecure of nodiing that he enjoys 
 *' in this World, and uncertain of every thing 
 *' that he hopes for: He is apt to grieve for what he 
 *' cannot help, and eagerly to defire what he is never 
 " likely to obtain." In which miferable and forlorn 
 Condition it is impofTible for him in any Meafure to 
 fupport himfeJf, without the Providence of God 
 watching over him. For without this he cannot 
 know what is good for him in this Life, Eccl. vi. 12. 
 but muft continually walk in a vain Shadow^ and difquiet 
 
 himfelf 
 
 {q)Tillotfon, Vol I, p. 22 > 
 
236 >^ DicGurfe concerniiig the 
 
 himfelf in vain. Pfal. xxKix, 6. Nay, and fo far would 
 Life itfelf be from being a BJefJing in thefe Circum- 
 ilances (r), that it would only be the Foundation of 
 perpetual Mifery and Trouble. And then, that all 
 our Hopes of Happinefs after Death depend upon 
 the Truth of God's Providence, is very clear and cer- 
 tain ; fince Providence 3,nd:i Future Stale donecelTarily 
 pind or fall together. And if God does not govern 
 the World at prefent, and obferve and regard the 
 Anions of Men (s) ; it is impoffible that he fhould 
 judge them hereafter, and reward Men for them. 
 And therefore we find that the Epicureans and all other 
 Infidels after them, who have denied a Providence, 
 have conftantly denied a Future State. Now it being 
 one Main and Principal Part of our Duty to God, 
 to truft in Htm 'with all our Hearty and at all Times^ 
 Prcv, iii. 5. Pfi^l. Ixii. 8. to he careful for Nothing. 
 Phil. iv. 6. but to caft all our Care upon Him ^ who<aretb 
 for us. I Pet. V. 7. to acquiefce in all the Difpenf\tions 
 of His Providence, to think that always the beil for 
 us which happens, and to fay in all Cafes with the 
 Difciples concerning St Paul., Aols xxi. 14. the Will of 
 the Lor die done \ it will be impoflfible for us ever to 
 bring ourfelves to this fubmiflive Temper and Difpo- 
 (ition, unlefs we areftedfiitly confirmed in the Belief 
 of a Wife and Good Providence over the World by 
 frequent and ferious Meditation. And the Reafon of 
 it is very evident •, becaufe there are fcarcely to be found 
 in any one Point of Religion Greater Difficulties, and 
 
 Things 
 
 Ti fiot (7}V h Koufji^ Kivb) ©iuTj', ii (ST^vci^i KZvco i Marc. Anton, 
 de Seipto, lib. ii. § 8. Si maxime talis eil Deus,iit nulla gratia, nulla 
 hominum clraitate tcneiitur, valcat : quid enim dicam, propitius fit? 
 Cic. de Nat. Veoruvi, lib. i. 
 
 (;) Prope eit a te Deus tecum eft, intus eft. Ita dico, Lucili, Sacer 
 intra nos Spiritus jedet malorum bonorumqtie no'^roriim Obfervator & 
 Cuflos : Hie prout a nobis traftatiis elt, ita nos Iple tradtat. ^^mc. 
 Bpjl \u 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's-Day ^37 
 
 Things more unaccountable to our Natural Reafon, 
 than in this Article of Divine Providence. The 
 Government of God over Mankind, both with relpecl 
 to public Societies and private Perfons, is in m.any 
 Particulars nothing elfe but Myftery and ^Fonder. And 
 the Hiftory of the Fall of our firitParents, the Extreme 
 and Univerfal Corruption v/hich enfued, the Redemp- 
 tion of Mankind which was grounded upon the Fall, 
 the many Ages which palled before the promifed Mef- 
 fiah came, and the many Nations which are ftill \t(i 
 in Pagan Darknefs fince His Coming, are Matters, 
 which (tho' there is fufficient to be faid upon every 
 one of them to filence the Cavils and Obje6lions of 
 (/) Infidels) muft be allowed to carry great Difficuly in 
 them, and fuch as the mod Learned Men will per- 
 haps never be able fully to clear up and explain in this 
 World. And particularly, the great Impiety and 
 Wickednefs of the Generality of Chriftians under the 
 Afliftance of an Infinite and All-Powerful Spirit (//), 
 the Innumerable Evils and Afflidiions of this prelent 
 {x) Life, and alx)ve all the Extreme Sufferings of 
 the bed and moil righteous Men in this World, and 
 that oftennmes for the fike of their Piety and Virtue, 
 whilft many of the m.oft profligate and abandoned 
 Sinners have flourifhed and abounded in all Man- 
 ner of Worldly Happinefs and Profperity (>-)» 
 
 are 
 
 (/) See Dr Coneykare*s and Mr Brotvti'^ Anfwers to Chrifiianity as 
 old as the' Creation, in which all that Author*s Objeilions againft 
 Revelation under thefe Heads are fully aniwered and confuted. And 
 as to the main Objedlion of that Author concerning the Chriftiaa 
 Revelation not being in faft univerfal, fee particularly Dr Clarke'*s 
 Sermons at Boyle\ Ledlures, Part II. Prop. 7. § 4. Gurdojps 
 Sermons at igi'y/^'s Leftures, p. 412, &€. I>r Coney beare''sDefenfe, 
 chap, viii, Sherlock on Providence, cliap. iv. p. 133. 4to. 
 
 {u) Vid. Ti-'Otfon, Vol. II. pag. 469, &c. 
 
 [x] See this Matter \\d\ delcribed by Mr Woolajlon in Religion 
 of Nature delineated, p. 201, ^c. 
 
 fy)Nec hie tcmpora noftra querimur, ut folent infaeliccs, aut fae- 
 culum hodiernum prae aliis Ferrsum dicimus : Antijuum obtinet 
 
 Mandu» 
 
238 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 are Things which have raifed great Doubts and Suf- 
 picions in thd Minds of Men, and have made them 
 entertain hard Thoughts of God and His Good Pro- 
 vidence. And indeed " The Management of Pro- 
 " vidence fin the Government of the Moral Worldj 
 " is, as an Eminent Author rightly judges, fuch 
 " as requires much Thought and Obfervation to clear 
 " up Difficulties *, and to fhew that, upon the Whole, 
 " it is really better to ad virtuoufly in every Inftance 
 *' than other wife (z)." And fmce many Important 
 Adions of God's Providence, in the Government of 
 Mankind in this Life, do plainly refer to and are 
 manifellly grounded upon His Diilributions in the 
 next i it is therefore unavoidable, that there muft be 
 
 fuch 
 
 Mundus. Confule omnium temporum, omnium gentium Faftos, Ro- 
 manes, Grascos, quofcunque velis : ubique reperies Socratas & 
 Catonesy vires eximios, moribus animique dotibus & indole iingu- 
 lares, iniqua forte oppreffos. Hos odit vulgus prophanum & ©bftre- 
 perum : Calumniis infeflantur invidi : Nee facile patiuntur liberalc 
 ingenium, virtutis & veiitatis tenax, rerum potentes & Tyranni. 
 Hie rerum nollrarum llatus. Burnet de Statu Mortuorum & Re/ur- 
 ge?itium, chap. ii. p. 4. 
 
 Dies deficiat, fi velim numerarc quibus bonis male evenerit ; nee 
 minus, ii commemorem, quibus improbis optime. Cic. de Nat. 
 Deor. lib, iii. 
 
 Of this vvc find the Pfalmi/i complaining heavily in the feventy 
 t\nvdi Pfalm. And though this Dillribution of Providence is a ve- 
 ry ftrong Argument from Natural Reafon for a future State (Fid, 
 WoolaftoTiy p. 204.) yet we find it hath too often given occafion 
 to Men to call in queftion the Truth of God's Providence. 
 
 'V - — 
 
 t^jV cti0r/.'.^ -arit^cr^^. iLi»chyja:i i.a^^C)ii,^ eo^ vcfxt^voty, Ik- 
 J)K(iai(i)<;, &c. bimpliciuo in Epidtet. cap. xxxviii. p. 212; 
 Vid. loc: 
 
 (z) Dr Cc?^?y^^,?r^'o Defenfe^ chap. vii. p. 384* 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 239 
 
 fuch Difficulties, as we can give no Account of with- 
 out another Life, as Dean Sherlock well obferves {a). 
 And indeed, as a very Learned Perfon well exprefTes 
 it, " The Governing of Moral Agents in a Way 
 *' fuitable to their Liberty, and to God's unfpotted 
 " Holinefs, Wifdom and Purity, is one of the 
 " fined and mod Myflerious Parts of the Divine 
 '' Condu6t, and will be the Admiration both of 
 " Men and Angels to all Eternity f^)." Since then, 
 there are iuch Difficulties in God's Government of the 
 World, which we fhall never be able to Account for 
 in this Life -, it is therefore abfolutely NecefTary to a 
 due Submiffion to the Wifdom and Goodnefs of Di- 
 vine Providence, that we be ftedfaftly confirmed in 
 the Belief and Acknowledgment thereof : Otherwife 
 every great Difficulty in the Management of Things 
 will Ihock and confound us, and bring us in great 
 Hazard and Danger of Infidelity. Now the Truth 
 and Certainty of Divine Providence may be clearly 
 proved and eftablifhed thefe three Ways. Firft^ By 
 Abftradt and Metaphyfical Reafoning from the Being 
 and Perfedlions of God. For if there be a God exifting 
 in Nature, Intelligent and Omniprefent, of Infinite 
 Wifdom, Power and Goodnefs, as 1 have already 
 proved, -it is abfolutely impoffible, but that as His 
 Knowledge is Infinite, He muft know in all Cafes 
 what is moil conducive to the Happinefs of the World 
 in general, and to the Good of every Particular Per- 
 fon ; and fince He is Infinite in Power, and all 
 Things depend entirely upon Him, it is impoffible 
 but that Fie mull be able to accompli fh all thofe 
 Things, which He knows to be for the Benefit and Ad- 
 vantage of Mankind. And then fince He is Infinite 
 in Goodnefs, He mufl confequendy be willing to 
 
 make 
 
 (/?) Difcourfe on Divine Providence, chap. iv. p. iig, ^to. Sec 
 alfo Sherlock on Deaths %vOy chap. iii. $ 4, p. 159, c^r. 
 {b) Scripture Vindicated Part I. p. 21. 
 
2j{.o a Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 make all His Creatures as Happy as their Refpeftivb 
 Natures, Capacities and Stations, and the Genenil 
 Good of the Univerfe confidered together, will admit- 
 For to uie the Words of a very Judicious {c\ Writer 
 upon this Occafion, " Either thefe Perfedions of 
 •' God are adlive where-evcr there are proper Objecis 
 " to employ them, or they are nothing but ernpty 
 " Sounds; fo that if God cannot be conceived with- 
 *' out them, they muil every where have their proper 
 *' Energy and Influence, and all the Creation miift 
 *' be replenifhed with them {d)^ This Reafoning is 
 fo very clear and llrong, that we find that the Hea- 
 thens themfelves did readily infer and conclude, that 
 there was a Wife and Good Providence over the Af- 
 fairs of this World, from a Confideration of the 
 Being of God and HisPerfe6lions ye). And they not 
 only thought it reafonable upon this Account to ac- 
 quiefce in the Difpenfations of Providence in the 
 Government of the World, but alfo to fubmit pa- 
 tiently to the Will and Pleafure of God under the 
 Affli^lions and Calamities of this prefent Life (/). And 
 it was owing to nothing elfe than a Miftake of the Na- 
 ture and Perfedions of God, in Epicurus and his Fol- 
 lowers, when they thought it was inconfiftent with 
 
 His 
 
 {e) Dr MarJhalPs Sermons, Vol. I. p. i 5. 
 
 (J) This Matter has been clearly and fully demonftratcd by fe- 
 veral of our Learned Writers. See particularly, "Dy Clarke's Ser- 
 mofis at Boyle''s LcBures. Parti. Prop. xii. Part II, in the Intro- 
 duftion. IV CO I aJlojH Religion of 'Nature, Sec. §5. 18. 
 
 fej Quo concefib (Deos elle) conlitendum eft Eorum Confilio 
 Mundum Adminiftrari Cie. de Nat. Deor. lib. ii. Deorum Pro- 
 videntia Mundiis adminiftratur, iidemque confulunt rebus humanis, 
 ncque fohim univcrfis, verum etiam fingulis. Cic. de Diz'inat. lib. i. 
 
 Anton, de Seipfo lib. ii. $ 8. See alfo Simplicius in Epi6let. chap, 
 x^xviii. /;/ which there are many Excellent things faid uj^on this 
 Head of God'^s Providence. 
 
 (f) Vid. Senec. Confolat. ad Polybium. cap. xxi^". Marc. Anton, 
 lib i. § ult. lib. V. § 25. lib. vi, § 8. lib. xiii. § ult. Arrian. in 
 Epidct. lib. iii. cap. xxvi. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 241 
 
 His perfedt Eafe and Happinefs to concern Himfelf 
 with the Affiiirs of Mankind (g). And indeed the 
 Argument for a Providence drawn from the Being 
 and Perfedlions of God is fo very ftrong and cogent, 
 that we don't find that any of the Philofophers fex- 
 CQi^ttht Epicureans) who owned the Being of God, 
 did ever deny His Providence. And Cicero obferves 
 of Epicurus^ that however in Words he acknow-^ 
 ledged a God, yet in Truth and Fa6l he denied Him 
 (b). But, 
 
 Secondly^ Becaufe all Perfons are not able to difcover 
 a Providence this way, therefore I fhall mention an- 
 other Proof and Evidence thereof, which is more 
 plain and fenfible : And this arifes from a View and 
 Contemplation of the vifible Works of the Creation. 
 For as the amazing Beauties and Perfedtions in Nature 
 do clearly prove, that the World was made by an in- 
 finitely Wife and Perfed Being (f) ; fo the continu- 
 ing the World in that Order, Beauty and Regularity, 
 in which we obferve it, is a manifeft Indication that it 
 is managed by His Providence (k). The Diurnal and 
 Annual Motion of the Earth, by which the Revolu- 
 
 R tions 
 
 [g] Omnis enim per fe Divum natura necefTe eft, 
 Immortali a;vo fumma cum pace fruatur, 
 Semota a noftris rebus, fejundaque Jonge. 
 Nam privata dolore omni, privata periclis, 
 Ipla iuis pollens opibus, nihil indiga noftri. 
 Nee bene promcritis capitur, nee tangitur ira. 
 
 Lucret. lib. i. 
 [h] Epicurum ne in offenTionem Athenienfium caderet, verbis 
 reliquiffe Decs, re luftulifle. Cic. de Nnt. Deor. lib i. Quo fit, 
 ut nihil ab Epicuro abfurdius dici poflit ; fi enim Deus talis eft, ut 
 ait, non urique Deus appellandus cll, fed immane Monftrum : qua- 
 propter ex animis hominum xadicitus Religioncm extraxit. Polydore 
 Virgil de Rerum Invent, lib. i. cap. i. 
 
 (/) Vid. Woolajloriy § i;. Prop. xiv. p. 79. ^c, 
 i^k) Ccrlcftcm ergo admirabilcm ordinem incredibllemquc con- 
 ftantiam ex qua Confervatio & lalus omnium oritur, qui vacarc 
 Mente putat, is ipie Mentis expers habendus eft Cic de Nat, Deor\ 
 lib. ii. 
 
242 ^A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 tions of Night and Day (/), and the VIciffitudes of 
 the Seafons are regularly brought about ; The Gene- 
 ration of Mankind, Animals and Plants -, The propor- 
 tioning the Number of the different Sexes to each o- 
 ther, in order for the better Propagation of the feveral 
 Species •, the Plentiful Provifion which is made for 
 all Creatures in the World according to their kind ; 
 Pfal, cxlv. 15, 16. cx'vi. 8, 9. i ^inu v\. 17 {771) 
 and to fay no more, th:^ Increafing or Withdrawing 
 the Bleflings of Life in order to reward or punifh 
 the Nations of the World according to their Deferts 
 {n) Pfal cvii. 34, i^c, Thefe,widi many other things 
 which might be named, are fuch plain and clear Proofs 
 and Evidences of a Wife and Good Providence over 
 the World •, that a Man muft be utterly void of Com- 
 mon Si^nfe, who can withlland them. And then, 
 
 "Thirdly^ andlaftly^ We may be fully affured of the 
 Truth and Certainty of God's Providence from the 
 Teftimony of Divine Revelation. The Government 
 of the Jewifh Nation furnifheth us with a Demonitra- 
 tion of this, as I have already obferved, (p. 175, 
 i^c.) and the fame is alfo very Evident from the 
 Whole Bible. And all thofe Arguments whether 
 they are drawn from Propbtcy^ Miracles^ or any other 
 Confiderations, which prove the Divine Authority of 
 
 the 
 
 (/j fani DIci Notlifque viciffitudo confervat animmtcs, tribucns 
 aliud agendi tenipus, aliud quicfccndi. Sic iindique omni ratlone 
 conduditiir mcnte confilioqne diA'ino omnia in hoc miindo ad fa- 
 lutem omnium, coafciYationcmque admirabiliier adminiilrari. C/V. 
 {ie AW. Deor. tib. ii. 
 
 (w) ' ee Ecduf xliii. 
 
 [n] We Ice ihHt Nature hath always conrpired with Providence as 
 it's Aflbciate and Confederate, and that the Natural World does To 
 incline to and anfvvcr to the Moial. that the one appears to be the 
 Scrvaniand MinilLcrot" the other, z'iz. to execute the Vengeance of 
 the Wrath of God upon a fmful Age, or to proclaim His Blcffing 
 upon a Virtuous One. Dr Thomas Bur ret of the Faith a?td Duties 
 cj Chrijlians chfip. viii p. 21?. See alfo a very Excellent and 
 Judicious Difcourfe on this Point, in l^x Fiddes''^ Sermons, Voli H. 
 lef.'.on XiV. 
 
Relig:c7U Obfernjatmi of the Lord's Day. 243 
 
 the Holy Bible, do alfo prove the Truth of God's 
 Providence which is contained therein. And no Man 
 can poflibly evade thofe Proofs, efpecially that which is 
 drawn from the JVliracles of our Bleffed Saviour, wirh- 
 out giving up the Faith of all Hiftory : Since the Mi- 
 racles of Chrift were fuch plain inconteflable Fa61:s» 
 wrought publickly in the Face of the World and for 
 feveral Years together •, that the greateft Adveriaries 
 of our Faith, whether Jews or Gentiles, have not pre- 
 fumed to deny the Truth of them. Thefe are the Proofs 
 and Evidences which we have of a Wife and Good 
 Providence over the World -, and whofoever will 
 carefully attend to them, and frequently and feriouily 
 think and meditate upon them, will alTuredly be con- 
 vinced of this great Article of Religion, I do not 
 mean that he will by this Means be able to explain the 
 Difficulties of Providence, or to account for many 
 Parts of the Divine Condud: in the Government of the 
 World. For after our utmoft Study and' Enquiry 
 into this Matter, what the Apoftle obferves will ftill 
 hold good *, viz. that the Judgments of God are loifearch- 
 ahle^ and His Ways '^ aft finding out, Rom. yA. 33. And 
 indeed it would be very flrange, if the Counfels of 
 Infinite Wifdom could be fully underftood and com- 
 prehended by us ; and if fuch imperfedl fhortfighted 
 Creatures as we are Ihould by the wimo'^ fe arching he 
 Able to find out God., to find out the Almighty to PerfeBion* 
 Job xi. 7. For hardly do we guefs aright at things that 
 are upon Earth., and with labour do we find the ^hi?igs that 
 are before us : but the 'Things that are in Heaven., who 
 hath fear ched out ? IVifd. ix. 16. But what I mean is 
 this ; that a due and frequent Confideration of thefc 
 Arguments will give us fuch a ilrongand full Con- 
 vidion of a Wife and Good Providence over tlic 
 World, as will make us think it highly reafonable, 
 to commit our ways unto the Lcrd^ and to trufl in Hi?n^ 
 FfaL xxxvii. 5. to reft fatislied with all the Divine 
 Difpenfations, and in all Cafes to fubmit ourfclves to 
 
 R 2 His 
 
'244 ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 His BlefTed Will. It is for want of Underftanding 
 this matter right, that many Perfons do fo often 
 queftion and deny the Truth of God's Providence, 
 and are impatient under His Government and Difci- 
 pline. They iirfl lay down a certain Rule and Scheme 
 of Things, according to which, they vainly imagine 
 an Infinitely Wife and Good Being mud necejfarily a6t 
 and condud Himfelf-, and when they find Matters 
 happen in the World, in direcl Contradidion thereto, 
 then they are too apt to fufpedl {o) the Truth of God's 
 Providence, or at leait to conclude that fuch Things 
 cannot pofTibly be owing to God's Appointment and 
 Defignation. This hath been the fatal Errour of fome 
 late Writers againft Chrijiiamty, who might have 
 proved excellent Reafoners, if they had been en- 
 dued with more Humility. Notwithftanding thofe 
 Demonftrative Proofs and Evidences which God hath 
 given u% of the Truth of the Chriftian Religion ; yet 
 they are very pofitive and confident that it cannot be 
 a Divine Revelation ; becaufe it was not promulgated 
 fo foon, nor propagated to fuch an Extent, as in 
 their great Wifdom they conclude a Revelation from 
 God would certainly have been. And to the fame 
 Principle, of making our weak and fhallow Reafon 
 the Rule and Meafure oP the Divine Counfels, many 
 falfe and heretical Do6lrines which have rifen in 
 the Church have been entirely owing, as a very 
 
 Learned 
 
 [o) Which of us will not readily confefs that our Knowledge 
 is finite ? And yet, when we come to ufe it, we behave as if we 
 thought it infinite. Known unto us are all God's Counfels from 
 the Foundation of the World. We arraign and acquit His Provi- 
 dence as beft fuits with our own Schemes of Government ; and the. 
 fecrft Things which belong to him, we explain in fo clear a man-, 
 ner that they fcem to be no Secrets at all to us ! It is a Reflcftion 
 wc think upon our Underllandings, not to be able to give fome Ac- 
 count of tvcry thing. Solutions, Subtleties, and Diftindions are 
 found out to palliate our Ignorance ; and rather than renounce one 
 favourite Errour. we entrench ourfclves within a thoufand other?. 
 Vii Littletons StrmonSf Vol I. p; io8. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 245 
 
 Learned Writer truly remarks (/>). And the fame 
 mifchievous Principle has not only diicovered itfelf in 
 feme rare and extraordinary Difpenfations of Divine 
 Wifdom, but alfo in the common and ordinary E- 
 vents which happen in the World. The Mamchean 
 Herefy of two Independent Principles was founded in 
 this •, that fince God cannot pofiibly be the Author of 
 Evil, and it is plain in Fa6l that there are innumerable 
 Evils in the W^orld, both Natural and Moral, there 
 mud therefore be an Evil Principle in the Univerfe 
 as well as a Good one. And, as a Learned Divine 
 well obferves, there are too many Perfons to be found 
 among us, who quarrel with God's Providence on 
 the Account of the Evils and Afflidlionsof this pre- 
 fent Life. *' Could they, fayshe^ fee fuch a World, 
 '' in which there were no lamentable Sights nor dole- 
 " ful Complaints to move our Pity, nor to terrify 
 " us with the melancholy Prefages of our own Suf- 
 " ferings \ nor to make frightful ImprefTions on us 
 *' of a fevere and inexorable Deity •, they would then 
 " thankfully own the Divine Goodnefs, and rejoice 
 " in it : but, fay they, the World wherein we live 
 *' gives us a very different Prolped ; we fee a great 
 " many miferable People, and feel a great many Mife- 
 ** ries ourfelves, and many Times expedt and fear 
 '* a great many more *, and how unlike is this World 
 *' to what we fliould have imagined the World to 
 *' have been, had we never feen it, but only heard 
 " of a World made and governed by infinite and 
 ^« perfed Goodnefs (^)." And, as the fame Ex- 
 cellent Author elfewhere expreffes it, 'M cannot 
 without fome Indignation refledt upon the Bafenefs 
 and Ingratitude of Mankind, who live and move 
 R 3 and 
 
 \p) Scripture Vindicated. Part II. p. 67, 68. 
 
 \q) Sherlock on Divine Proviuencc, chap, vii, p. 217. 
 
 (,i 
 
246 A D'fcourfe concerning the 
 
 '* and have their Being in God-, who know how litde 
 *' they defecve of Him ; and feel every Day how 
 *' many Bleffings they receive from Him •, and yet 
 *' fcem never better pleafed than when they can find 
 *' or ignorant] y invent fome plaiifible Pretence to re- 
 *' proach HisGoodnefs (r)" Nov/ the only Remedy 
 that I know of in thefe Cafes, either to fecute our 
 Piety towards God under the hard and intricate Dif- 
 penfations of His Providence, or to furnifh us with 
 Patience and SubmilTion to His Will under fharp and 
 grievous Affliftions, is to confirm ourfelves in a (led- 
 fafl Belief of Divine Providence, by a frequent and 
 ferious Meditation upon the Proofs and Evidences 
 thereof. And when we are thus confirmed in this Be- 
 lief, to be peremptorily refolved to lay afide all our 
 Doubts, and to give up all Difficulties, upon the Ac- 
 count of God's Infinite Goodnefs and Unerring Wif- 
 dom. Otherwife, every great Difficulty which we 
 meet with in the Management of Things will fhock 
 our Faith, and endanger our Conflancy ; and we 
 fhall be too apt to murmur and complain of God and 
 His Providence, whenfoever any great Calamity and 
 Diilrefs fhall fall upon us. And this Judgment upon 
 the Point is I think highly juft and reafonable : for 
 fince we have abundant Demonftration in many Parti- 
 culars, that a V/ife and Good Providence governs the 
 World -, we may very flifely conclude that he does fo 
 in all (s). And fince we are fure that God made the 
 World for our Sakes, and hath put all Creatures there- 
 in under pur Dominion (/j, and hath enriched us on 
 
 every 
 
 (r) Sherlock, ibid. p. 267. 
 
 ei[j.i\iifjiivcoV) di'ctfKi) ^eifoi'u? nm ohov J'icLli^it^cu* Simplicius in 
 Epiv^e't. cap. xxxviii. p. '214. 
 (/■) Via. Pfal. viii. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 247 
 
 every fjde with the Bleflings of His Goodnefs ; it 
 would argue a great Want of Underllanding, as well 
 as Gratitude, if we fhould qu.-ftion his kind Provi- 
 dence towards us {ii) •, becaule He hath not granted 
 us every Particular Thing which we defire (;^j, or 
 hath fent fome Affli6lion upon us which is necelTIiry 
 for our Good. The Force of this Reafoning is ex- 
 ceedingly well expreffed by a very great Philolbphtr 
 in an excellent Similitude, applied by him to the Re- 
 futation of the Mamchean Herefy\ and it will hold e- 
 qually in the prefent Argument. '' If, fays he^ there 
 *' are Evils of which Men know not the true 
 *' Origin -, yet if they would but ferioufly rcficcf upon 
 *' the many Marks of Reafon, Wifdom and Good- 
 *' nefs, every where to be obferved in Inlhmces which 
 *' they do or may underftand, they could fcarce 
 " doubt but the fame Things prevailed in thofe 
 *' which they do not underitand. If I fliould meet 
 " with a Book, the Author of which I found had 
 " difpofed his Matter in beautiful Order, and treated 
 '' his Subjeds with Reafon and Exadnels •, but ac 
 " laft, as I read on, came to a few Leaves written 
 '' in a Language which I did not knov; ; in this Cafe 
 " I ihould clofe the Book with a full Perfwafion, that 
 '' the fame Vein of good Senfe, which (hewed itfelf 
 '* in the former and much greater Part of it, ran thro* 
 *' the other aifo 0)." But, 
 
 R 4 Secondly^ 
 
 (//) Quern vero Aflrorum ordines, quern Dicrum Noftiumqu*^ 
 viciffitudincs, qucm Menfium Tempcratio, quemque ea quae gig" 
 nuntur nobis ad fruendum, non Gratum efTe cogant, hunc Homi- 
 nem omnino numcrare qui dccct ? Cic de Legih, lib. ii, 
 
 (at) Bona fortuna; & fcelicitas externa non adha^rcnt Virtuti & 
 fapientinc in hac vita : His non minus gaudent ncc infrequcntius 
 iniulii pravique homines. Quod fi inhisfita eflct ultimo felicitai 
 huniana, & hie penirus terminanda, hunc perturbatum rcrum ordi- 
 nem minimc ferret fummus Mundi Rector , idemque judex [equif- 
 fiinus. Burnet de Statu Mortuorum & Refurgentiu?n. chap. ii. p. 3. 
 
 (\) ^Vy(?//z/?tf»'s Relig. of Nat. deliii. § v. 7. p. 72. See the 
 Seftion itfelf, in which there are many Excellent Things faid to 
 clear up the Difficulties of Di\ inc Providence. 
 
24S A DifcGurfe concerning the 
 
 Secondly, A due and ferious Meditation upon the 
 Proofs and Evidences of Divine Providence is ahfo- 
 lutely necefiary to furniih us with Patience and Sub- 
 mifllon to the Will of God, under the Calamities and 
 Afflictions of this prefent Life. There will be no 
 Neceflity of infilling long upon this ; fince what hath 
 been laid down under the former Head may very 
 eafiiy be applied to this. I fliall therefore only at 
 prefent obferve thus much, viz. that if the Common 
 Difficulties in the Management of Things, and the 
 Calamities of Life to which Mankind are generally 
 fijbjedl, do often tempt Men to fufpefl and queftion 
 the Truth of God's Providence-, they mud certainly 
 be in much greater Danger of this Temptation, when 
 they are exercifed themfelves with fuch Afflidlions, 
 as are moft grievous and terrible. And indeed there 
 are fome Affli6lions of this Lifefo heavy, and fome 
 Pains and Sufferings fo fharp and fevere, that there 
 muil be great Allowance made for the Weaknefs and 
 Infirmity of Men in their Complaints under them. 
 And we find in Fa(5l, that the very bell of Men, who 
 really and heartily believed the Providence of God, 
 could not forbear expoftulating with Him on the Ac- 
 count of their Sufferings. Thus the Pfalmift in Pfalm 
 Ixxii complains of the Frofperity of the Wicked, whilft 
 he fays that he himfelf waspumjhed all the Daylong, and 
 chajlened every Morning, ver, xiv. And Holy Job, 
 who wasfo eminent for his Patience, and in fuch em- 
 phatical Words exprefTed his SubmifTion to the Will 
 and Pleafure of God, chap, i, 2 1. ii. 10. yet was fo caft 
 down and deje6led by his extreme AfHi6lions, as to 
 curfe the Day of his Birth, to wilh that he had died 
 ever fince he was born, and to think the Continuance 
 of his Life a great Burthen and Misfortune to him, 
 as you may read at large in the Third Chapter. If 
 therefore fuch extraordinary Perfons, who firmly be- 
 lieved the Providence of God, and had the utmoil Re- 
 liance and Dependance thereupon, were apt to com- 
 plain 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 249 
 
 plain fo heavily under dieir Sufferings ; we mud needs 
 think thofe Men to be in a bad Condition, who when 
 they are caft into the Furnace of Afli^ton^ Ifa, xlviii. 
 10. are yet not endued with this Belief, or at lead 
 have confiderable Doubts in their Minds concerning 
 it. It is therefore of the utmoO: Neceffity in order to 
 fupport Men under the Troubles of this Life, that by 
 due and frequent Meditation upon the Proofs and 
 Evidences of Divine Providence they confirm them- 
 felves ftedfaftly in the Belief thereof: that fo when 
 any extraordinary Calamity and Affli6lion fhall fall 
 upon them, they may have Confidence and Comfort 
 in Him, who is a Strength to the Needy in their Biftrefsy 
 Ifa* XXV. 4. And whofe Eyes run to and fro in the Earth, 
 tojhew Hi?}ifelf ftrong in the Behalf of them whofe Heart 
 is perfe5i toward Him. 2 Chron. xvi. 9. For other- 
 wife there are many Condidons of this Life which 
 would beabfolutely intolerable, and it would be im- 
 pofTible for the braveft Men in the World to keep up 
 their Spirits under them. Nay, I fear, if Men are 
 not fup ported by a firm Belief of God's Wife and 
 Good Providence, they will not be able to bear the 
 common and ordinary Afflidlions of Life with due 
 Padence and Submifiion. And indeed it is only 
 owing to the Want of this Belief *, that we obferve 
 fo much Complaint and Murmuring in the Generality 
 of Mankind under them. The great Uneafinefs of 
 Men under their Sufferings the antient Philofophers 
 fully perceived, and therefore they invented many 
 flrange Arts and Devices to divert the Senfe and Ap- 
 prehenfion of them. To this End fome of them 
 afferted, that there was no fuch Thing as Pain and 
 Mifery, but that it was altogether owing to Fancy 
 and Imagination. But becaufe the Complaints of 
 thefe Men under their Afflidtions was a Demonftra- 
 tion of the Falfehood of this Suggeftion, therefore 
 others maintained, that tho' Pain was Real, yet it 
 was no Evil, and diat it was unbecoming a Wife 
 
250 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Man to be concerned about it, with many other No- 
 tions (z) which were too ridiculous to gain any con- 
 fiderable Reception : Since as a mofl Excellent Pre 
 late well exprefles it (^), '' all Philofophy that will 
 *' not acknowledge Lofs and Pain and Suffering to 
 «' be Evils, and troublefome and terrible, is either 
 *« obftinate Sullennefs or grofs Hypocrify." But thofe 
 'who were the beft and wifeft of them endeavoured 
 to perfwade Men to be patient under AfBidions, from 
 a Confideration of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of Di- 
 vine Providence •, as I have jull now obferved . And 
 Epicurus himfelf, tho' he denied a Providence, yet 
 was fo fenfible of the Neceflity of Providence to 
 fupport and comfort Men under their Afflidions, 
 that he could not help faying, that " he thought it 
 *' much better for Mankind to believe xht Fable itfelf 
 *' of the Heathen Gods, than that the World fhould 
 «' be governed by a blind Nccejfity'' And he gives 
 an admirable Reafon for it, viz. " becaufe, fays he^ 
 *' there is Hopes that the Gods may be prevailed upon 
 «' by vVorfhip and Prayer, but I^ecejfity is abfolutely 
 '* deaf 3.nd inexorable (b)" But, 
 
 "Thirdly, Another Point of Religion, which it is ne- 
 celTiiry for us frequently to think and meditate upon, 
 is That concerning the Infinite Love and Goodnefs of 
 God to Mankind, in the Redemption of the World 
 by the Death of Cbriji. Now I ihall not upon this 
 Head enquire whether the Death of Cbr'i/l was a True, 
 Real and Meritorious Sacrifice for the Sins of the 
 whole World •, for as this is exprefsly afferted in in- 
 numerable 
 
 {z) Vid. ri//ot/o;j. Vol. I, p. 65, 66. 
 
 {^; Tillotfof?, Vol. Ill, p. 402. 
 Epicuri Litera ad Menecaim apud Diog. Laert. in Vita Epicuri* 
 
Religious Obfervatio?! of the Lord's Day. 251 
 
 numerable Texts of Holy Scripture (r), fo it hath 
 been clearly proved and demonflrated by feveral Learn- 
 ed Writers beyond all Contradidlion {d). Neither 
 fhall I at prefent enter into the Qiieftion, whether 
 the Death of Cbrift was fo abfolutely necelTary to the 
 Redemption purchafed thereby, as that God could 
 not confidently with His Perfedions have, with- 
 out fuch Satisfaction, pardoned the Sins of Men 
 upon their true Repentance. For it does not become 
 us (neither do I believe it is in our Power) to deter- 
 mine in fuch a Cafe, what God abfolutely might or 
 might not do. But as the Holy Scriptures have plainly 
 told us, that it is upon the Account of Chrift's Death, 
 that God hath pardoned the Sins of Mankind, and 
 that it is only through His Blood that we have obtained 
 Redemption ; Ephef. i. 7. we may fafely venture to af- 
 fert thus much, that no other Method of Reconcilia- 
 tion, as far as we are able to conceive, could have been 
 fo fuitable to the Holinefs and Juflice (e) of God, as 
 well as neceffary to fupport the Honour and Dignity 
 of his Government ('/'J. But tho' we dare not prefume 
 to fay that Satisfadlion to God's Juftice was fo abfo- 
 lutely neceffary to the Pardon of Sin, that he could 
 
 not 
 
 {c) See a very large Colleftion of Texts to this Purpofe in Tit' 
 loifon^ Vol. Ill, p. 489. 
 
 {i) See particularly Grotius de SathfoBiove Chrijli. Ztillingfleet 
 on the Sufferings of Chrijl. Sherlock on the Immortality of the 
 Soul, &c. chap. V. § 4. Tillot/on, Vol. III. p. 490. 
 
 (e) Certamly next to cxadting the Punilhment due to our Sins 
 at our own Hands, the moll: dreadful Severity God could have ex- 
 prclTed, was to refolvc not to remit it upon any other Confidera- 
 tion, than that of His own Son's undergoing it in our Stead ; by 
 which He hath given us the greatell Reafon that Heaven and Earth 
 could afford to tremble at His Juilice, even whilft wc arc inclofed 
 in the Arms of His Mercy. Dr Scot's Chrijl ian Life, 8vo. Vol. I, 
 chap. iv. § I. p. 202, 203. 
 
 (/) Vid. Sherlock Md.. Ceneyt/earis'DtkTik, &e. p. 114, ^^ 
 Brown's Defenfe, p. 47 1 , 0*c, 
 
252 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 not poflibly {g) pardon Sin without it ; yet on the 
 other fide, we are very certain, that it can never be 
 proved from God's Perfedlions ('notwithilanding a late 
 Author is very pofitive (h) thereof) that God is ob- 
 liged without fuch Sadstadtion to forgive Men their 
 Sins immediately upon their Repentance. For, as a 
 great Prelate truly obferves, if our Obedience for the 
 Time to come were never fo perfedl, '' yet, fay^ he^ 
 *' Obedience for the future could make no Repara- 
 *' tion to the Juftice of God for our paft Sins and 
 '^ Tranfgreflions i and therefore we cannot hope for 
 *' our own Righteoufnefs to be juftified and accepted 
 " with God, and upon the Merit of it to have our 
 *' Sins pardoned, much lefs to be rewarded with E- 
 *' ternal Life (i)." To which I will beg Leave to 
 add the very Excellent Words of a late judicious 
 Writer : " The Relation between the Creator and the 
 *' Creature as fuch, continuing thro' all Parts of the 
 *' Creature's Exiftence the fame; it is clear, that ah 
 *' abfolute Obedience in every Particular muft be al- 
 *' ways due : Obedience therefore for the future mud 
 *' as really be due, as Obedience was in the paft, and 
 *' Repentance itlelf (compleat Repentance I mean) is 
 ** nothing elfe but a future Obedience fucceeding a 
 *' paft Tranfgreftion. This Obedience which would 
 *' have been his Duty on Sufpicion of paft Inno- 
 *' cence, can make no amends for paft TranfgrefTion : 
 '' The mere View of this cannot be a Reafon, why 
 *' fuch Tranfgreflion fhould be pardoned : It may re- 
 *' commend the prefent, but cannot excufe the paft 
 *' (z^)." And indeed, as a very learned Author 
 
 juftly 
 
 {g) See Archbifhop Syngis Gentleman's Religieny Part II, 
 
 {b) Chriilianity as Old as the Creation,[chap. xiv. p. 417, &(* 
 {i)fillotfQn, Vol. Ill, p. 175. 
 
 [k) Dr CoKey ^fare's Ddcncc, chap, ii, p. 117. Sec from p. tr4, 
 to 151. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 253 
 
 juftly remarks, " It cannot pofitively be proved from 
 *' any of God's Attributes, that He isahfolutely obliged 
 " to pardon all Creatures all their Sins at all Times, 
 *' barely and immediately upon their Repenting. 
 *« There arifes therefore from Nature no fufEcient 
 '" Comfort to Sinners, but an anxious and endlefs So- 
 *' licitiide about the Means of appeafmg the Deity. 
 *' Hence thofe diverfe ways of Sacrificing and number- 
 *' lefs Superftitions which overfpread the Face of the 
 '' Heathen World, &c. (/)." Since then the Necef- 
 fity of a Sacrifice in order to fatisfy the JufticeofGod, 
 as well as to maintain the Honour of His Government, 
 is very evident from Natural Reafon itfelf, and the 
 Senfe and Judgment of Mankind in all Ages of the 
 World (m) : We may therefore hence difcover the In- 
 finite Love and Goodnefs of God, in fending his only 
 Begotten Son into the World for our Redemption. 
 And we Ihould frequently and ferioufly think and me- 
 ditate upon it, as a mod ftrong and powerful Motive 
 of our Obedience and Gradtude towards Him. Upon 
 which Account the Holy Scriptures fo frequently re- 
 prefent this Matter to us, and afcribe our Redemp- 
 tion by our BlefTed Saviour's Death to the great Love 
 which God and Cbriji had for us. John iii. 16. i Joh/i 
 iv. 9. Rom, V. 8. Epbef. v. 2. John xv. 13. i John 
 iii. 16. And as the Holy Scriptures often put us in 
 Mind of the Love of God in this Difpenfation, as a 
 forcible Argument of our Love and Obedience to him, 
 fo likewife do they earneftly urge the fame Confide- 
 ration,to excite us to the great Duty of Love and Cha- 
 rity for one another. Thus fays St John, Beloved^ if 
 Godfo loved us, we ought alfo to love one another, i Ep. 
 iv. II. And St Faul lays it down as a very good 
 Reafon againft the Sin of giving Offence to others, 
 
 VIZ, 
 
 (/) Dr Samuel Clarke's Sermons at Boyle's Le£lures, Part I T, 
 Prop. 6. § iii 2. See the Place. 
 
 \^m) '^tzDv Marjhair^ Sermons Vol. I, p. 443, ^c. 
 
254 A I)ifcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 viz. JDeJlroy not him with thy Meat for whom Chrift d'lea. 
 Rom. xiv. 15. See alfo i Cor.y'm. 11. And for this 
 Caufe, no doubt, an:iong others the BlefTed Sacra- 
 ment of ChrijVs Body and Blood was inftituted, that 
 a Senfe and Remembrance of His Ineftimable Love 
 in dying for us might the more powerfully engage 
 us^ to have Love and Charity for one another. For 
 this is the Do6lrine in which our Bleffcd Saviour in- 
 ftruded His Difciples immediately before his Suffer- 
 ings, at the Time when this Holy Ordinance was ce- 
 lebrated and appointed by Him. Thus fays our Lord, 
 *This is my Commandment^ that ye love one another^ as I 
 have loved you. And then it immiCdiately follows. 
 Greater Love hath no Man than ihis^ that a Man lay 
 down his Life for his Fi lends. John xv, 12, 13. If 
 then we are defirous to attain to that Perfeftion of 
 Piety and Virtue, which our Holy Religion requires 
 of us, we rnuft often employ our Minds in a Devout 
 and Serious Meditation upon the Great Love of Chrifi 
 in dying for us. A Refledion upon the Being and 
 Attributes of God, His Wifdom and Goodnefs in crea- 
 ting this World, and preferving and governing it by 
 His Providence, will indeed furnifh us with fufficient 
 Arguments and Motives of our Obedience and Gra- 
 titude towards Him. But nothing can work fo power- 
 fully upon our Affedions, nor infpire us with luch an 
 exalted Senfe of God's Infinite Love and Goodnefs 
 towards us, as the Confideration of our Bleffed Savi- 
 our's Sufferings (n). Imagine then, kind Reader, 
 that thou now fecit thy Dear Saviour'sBody ilretched 
 upon the Crofs -, His Head crowned with Thorns ; 
 
 His 
 
 {n) 7'he great Points of the Incarnation and Sufferings of our 
 ^.aviour produce naturally fuch Habits of Virtue in the Mind of 
 Man, that fuppofing it were poffible for us to be milbken in them, 
 the Infidel himfelf muft at leail allow, that no other Syitem of Re- 
 ligion cpuld lb elFedlually contribute to the heightening of Morality. 
 )r, N^ 1^6. See the Place. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 255 
 
 His Hands and Feet nailed to the Wood -, His Side 
 pierced with a Spear ; His Flefh rent and torn with 
 Scourges ; and His Precious Body overwhelmed with 
 Blood ! Think that thou heareft Him now in an In- 
 tolerable Agony, under the Heavy Burthen of the 
 Sins of the whole World, tormented by all, and 
 even abandoned by His Father Himfclf, who did 
 withdra'v His Gracious Prefence from Him for a- 
 while, and fufpend thofe Comforts with which aJI His 
 other Servants are commonly fupported and refrefhed 
 in their Afflidions, which forced from Him that Me- 
 lancholy Complaint, My God, My God, why hafi 
 'Tfjou forfaken me. Couldfl thou, I fay, behold this 
 Difinal Sight, and hear this Mournful Voice without the 
 greateft Grief and Concern of Mind ; confidering 
 that Chrijl fuffered all this for thy Sake ? When our 
 Dear Saviour was hanging upon the Crols, Nature 
 was in Convulfions, and feemed to be approachino- 
 towards it's Dilfolution. The Su7i hid himfelf and 
 withdrew his Light, as if he could not behold fuch 
 a Prodigy of Wickednefs tranfaded -, Ue Veil 
 of the 'temple was^ rent in twain from the Top to the Bot- 
 tom -, the Earth did quake, and the Rocks rent, and the 
 Graves were opened, and many Bodies of Saints which 
 flept arofe. Matt, xxvii. 45, 51, 52. And furely 
 then we mufh be wholly ftupid and infenfible, and 
 our Hearts harder than the nether Milftone, Job xli. 24, 
 if we can ferioufly refled upon thefe Amazing Suffer- 
 ings of our Blefled Redeemer, and not be moved 
 and prevailed upon thereby to the moft Ardent and 
 Inflamed Love and Devotion towards Him. We' 
 fhall think nothing too much to be done tor Chrifl^s 
 Sake, no ; although we fhould lay down our Lives for 
 Him, if we will but call to mind His infinite Love 
 to us in dying for us : Efpecially if, befides the Un- 
 parallelled Barbarity and Indignity of His Sufferings, 
 we Hiall duly confider thefe three Things, which do 
 exceedingly enhance and increafe His Love* F/r/?, 
 
 Ihe 
 
2 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 The Excellency and Dignity of His Perfon. Yit 
 was no Common Ordinary Sufferer, not a mere 
 Man like ourfelves ; the Son of Man indeed, but at 
 the fame Time the Son of God -, the Bnghtnefs of His 
 Father's Glory ^ and the Exprefs hiage of His Perfon ; 
 One who was in the Form of God^ and thought it no 
 RoUery to he equal with God, and yet made Himfelf of 
 no Reputation, &c. Fhil, ii. 6, ^c, and to fay 
 no more, He is one who, as the fame Apoflle fpeaks, 
 is over all God Bleffed for ever, Rom. ix. 5. {0). 
 
 Secondly, It is a great Enhancement of our BlefTed 
 Saviour's Love to confider the Perfons for whom He 
 died. They were not Righteous and Good Men, fuch 
 as had deferved any Favour from Him ; but vile and 
 unworthy Wretches, Enemies to God, as the Apoftle 
 calls them, Rom, v. 10. And fo far from having 
 any Remains of Goodnefs in them, that they were 
 quite dead in Trefpaffes and Sins. Eph, ii. i. And yet 
 fo great and aflonifhing was the Love of Chrift, as 
 to be willing to lay down His Life for them. This 
 Argument the Holy Scriptures frequently take notice 
 of*, and particularly in Ro7n, v. 7, 8, where St Paul 
 
 obferves 
 
 {0) The Force of this Argument and the Neceffity of a Divine 
 Perfon to make Satisfaflion for the Sins of the World, is admirably 
 cxprefTed by our excellent Poet Milton^ in a Paffage ^vhere he in- 
 troduces God the Father, enquiring of the Holy Angels which fur- 
 rounded His Throne, whether any of them would undertake the 
 great Work of Man's Redemption, viz. 
 
 ** Say Heavenly Powers, where fhall we find fuch Love ? 
 
 " Which of you will be mortal to redeem 
 
 *' iM ail's mortal Crime, and juft th' Unjull to fave ? 
 
 " Dwells in all Heaven Charity fo dear ? 
 
 He afk'd, but all the Heavenly Choir ftood mute. 
 
 And Silence was in Heaven on Man's Behalf, 
 
 Patron or Intercefl'our none appeared ; 
 
 Much lef? that durlt upon his own Head draw 
 
 'I'hc deadly Forfeiture and Ranfom fet. 
 
 ^* Paradife Uft, Book III, 
 
tieligious Obfer'vation of the Lord*s Day. 257 
 
 oblerves, that fcarcely for a Righteous Man ivill one die^ 
 yet per adventure for a Good Man fome would even dare 
 to die ; but God cGjnmendeth His Love towards us, in that^ 
 while we were yet Sinners, Chrifl died for us {p). 
 
 And in the Third and laft Place, It mightily in- 
 creafes the Love of Chrifl in dying for us, to confider 
 the eafy Terms and Conditions which He requires on 
 our Part. So Tranfcendent is the Goodnefs of Chrifi 
 to us miferable Sinners, and fo many and great are our 
 Obligations to Him, that as the Servants of Naaman 
 fciid to him in another Cafe, if he had hid us do foms 
 Great 'Thijig, ought we not to do it? 2 Kings, v. i^. 
 Should he require the hardeft Things of us, to fpend 
 every Moment of our Lives in His Service, to be 
 continuc^lly expofcd to Labours and Perfecutions, and 
 at laft to fhed our Blood for the Benefit of His Church, 
 we ought to do it with the utmoft chearfulnefs. For as 
 the Apoftle Well argues. Hereby perceive we the Love 
 of God, becaufe He laid down His Life for us : and we 
 ought to lay down our Lives for the Brethren. 1 John 
 iii. 16. And it is very certain in fuch a Cafe, that after 
 all we could do, we fhould ftill be unprofitable Servants^ 
 and fhould never be able to compenfate the Infinite Va- 
 lue of C/?n7?'s Sufferings, nor to merit that Immenfe 
 and Glorious Reward which by His Death He hath 
 purchafed tor us. And yet fo Great is the Love artd 
 Goodnefs of our Redeemer, that he hath enjoined 
 us nothing in the general Courfe and Tenour of our 
 Duty, but what is eafy and delightful, as well as juft 
 and reafonable, and moft beneficial to ourfelves. He 
 hath in a Manner commanded us only to wafh and he 
 dean -, to repent us truly of our former Sins, and to 
 turn to Him in Newnefs of Life (^). And if all 
 
 S that 
 
 {p) Vid. Grot, inloc. 
 
 [q) Deus Summus per Filium Jefum Chriftum Dominum noftram 
 Vokntes liberat, & pjenitemibus libcGter ignoicit. Nee mulia exi- 
 
258 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 that He hath done and fuffered for our Sakes, cannot 
 prevail upon us to do this ; it mufi: furely be, either 
 becaufe we defpife His Death and Sufferings, or that 
 we do not allow ourfelves Time ferioufly to reftedl up- 
 on the Ineftimable Value and Merit of them. But, 
 
 Fourthly and lafty^ Another Principal Point of Re- 
 ligion upon which it is abfolutely neceflary for us fre- 
 quently to think and meditate, in order to the truly 
 Chriftian Life and Converfation, is That concerning 
 a Future Judgment, and the Everlafting Happinels 
 and Miferies of another World. Now the Neccfiity 
 of this will plainly appear, if we confider the State 
 and Condition of Mankind, and what are the main 
 and moft prevailing Principles of their A6lions. And 
 if we look upon them in this View, we fhall foon 
 perceive that the greateft Part of them are governed 
 by their PafTions, and by a clofe Regard to worldly 
 Intereft and Pleafures. There are indeed fome few 
 Perfons, who are regularly determined to the Prac- 
 tice of Virtue from the Flappinefs of their Temper, 
 and the Goodnefs of their Education. But with re- 
 fped to the Generality of Men the Cafe is quite 
 otherwife : They are too eagerly and violently bent 
 upon Prefent and Senfible Gratifications -, and even 
 thofe, who are the moft exa6t and regular in the Prac- 
 tice of Virtue, have their Peculiar Temptations, 
 which they fometimes find it very hard and difficult 
 to withftand- And many of the beft and moft pious 
 Men do not in many Cafes adt religioufly fo much, 
 becaufe their Reafon and Confcience require them to 
 do fo •, as becaufe they find a great Plcafure and Sa- 
 tisfaction in fuch Adlions at prefent, as well as hope 
 to be rewarded for them hereafter. Let the Stoic pre- 
 tend what he will, the Prefent State of Mankind is 
 
 plainly 
 
 git, ut igriofcat. Fide tantum &c Poenitentia poteltis redimere quic- 
 quid fceleratis Diaboli' pcrfuafionibus perdidifiis. JuL Firmic^ 
 .JeErrore Profa?i. Pvclig. -p, n, 12. 
 
Religious Obfervaiion of the Lord's Day. 2 59 
 
 plainly a State of Appetite and Paffion ; and there- 
 fore it is in vain to think that Men will ever be go- 
 verned in fach a State by Abftraded Rules of Rea- 
 fon, fach as are fuitable only to a State of P^ra<ii/(? 
 and Angelical Perfedtion. Every Man in the World 
 is naturally determined to his own Happinefs ; tho* 
 different Men purfue their Happinefs by different 
 Ways and Methods, But whatfoever any Man 
 pitches upon as the Objed of his Happinefs, he natu- 
 rally purfuesthofe Means which tend towards the En- 
 joyment of it. Bat now the firft Step to be Happy, is 
 not to be Milerable -, but this is what every Man thinks 
 himfelf to be, whenfoever he is debarred the Enjoyment 
 of thofe Things in which he places his chief Happi- 
 nefs. In fuch a Cafe he feels a great Uneafinefs and 
 Difquietude in his Mind, which nothing but the Enjoy- 
 ment of his Beloved Obje6l can poffibly rem.ove. And 
 therefore fince the Generality of Men have fo earneftly 
 fet their Affedions upon the Riches and Pleafures of 
 this preient Life •, it is no wonder that we fhould al- 
 ways find them fo uneafy and impatient whenfoever 
 they are deprived of them. Now the Cafe being fo ; 
 the Queftion is, How ll:iall a Man get rid of this In- 
 convenience? And when the Temptations of Interefl 
 and Worldly Pleafure exert their full Strength and 
 Force upon his Affedions •, by what means (liall he 
 be able to deliver himfelf from that Uneafinels of 
 Mind, which will certainly arife from not complying 
 with them ? Now I am well affured, this cannot pof- 
 fibly be done any other way but this, vi%. by having 
 his Affe6lions fo ftrongly engaged upon other Things 
 of greater Confequence and Importance to his Elappi- 
 nefs ; as that it fhall be a mucli greater Uneafinefs to 
 him to lofe and forfeit thofe Things, than to with- 
 ftand the utmoft Rage and Importunity of Tempta- 
 tions. For otherwife, he will certainly and infallibly 
 comply with them •, fmce every Man is determined 
 to remove the greateft Uneafinefs, as the Necefiary 
 S 2 Means 
 
26o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Means of making himfelf happy. And therefore if 
 a Man hath not a greater Value for the Favour of 
 God and Eternal Life, than he has for the Riches 
 and Pleafures of this World, and it be not a much 
 greater Trouble and Uneafinefs to him to relinquifh 
 his future Happinefs, than to refift the Temptations 
 and Allurements of Sin •, it will be impoflible to per- 
 fwade him for the Sake of that Happinefs to renounce 
 his fenfual Defires and Inclinations. And on the 
 other fide, if a Man hath, not a greater Dread and 
 Terror of Future Punifhment than of any Tem.poral 
 Sufferings, to which he may be expofed upon the 
 Account of Religion •, he will never in Order to avoid 
 that Punifhment fubmit himfelf to the prefent Suffer- 
 ings. , But now it is impoffible for a Man's Affedtions 
 to be thus engaged •, i, e. that he fhould have a greater 
 Efteem and Vakie for the Favour of God and the 
 Happinefs of Heaven, than for the Interefts and Plea- 
 fures of this prefent Life •, And on the other fide, 
 that he fjiould have a greater Dread and Terror of 
 Future Punifhment, than of any Temporal Sufferings 
 and Afflidions j unlefs he frequently and feriouQy 
 thinks and meditates upon them. For there are two 
 Conditions and Qualifications, abfolutely neceffary to 
 give the Things of the next Life a commanding 
 Power and Influence upon our Affections ♦, neither of 
 which can be obtained without frequent and ferious 
 Thought and Confideration of them. The Firjl is, 
 That we are firmly convinced of the Truth and 
 Certainty of them •, the Second, that we have a quick 
 and lively fenfe and Apprehenfion of the Nature and 
 Importance of them. And, 
 
 Firji^ That the Things of another Life may have 
 a Commanding Force and Influence upon our Af- 
 fcdions, it is neceffary that we be firmly convinced of 
 the Truth and Certainty of them. This is a Pofition 
 that will not Hand in need of any long Proof*, it being 
 fo plainly fupported by the Reafon and Experience of 
 
 all 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 261 
 
 all Mankind. For if thofe Perfons, who are firmly 
 polTelTed of the Belief of a Future Judgment and 
 Eternal Retributions, do yet in many Cafes find it 
 hard and difficult to refiit Temptations, and the 
 Things of this World do notwithftanding their Be- 
 lief take too great Hold of them ; we may eafily 
 imagine that they muft have a very ftrong and pow- 
 erful Effect upon thofe Men, whofe Faith and Belief 
 of future Things is weak and wavering, or who 
 have any Confiderable Doubts in their Minds con- 
 cerning them. And indeed one main Reafon, why 
 there is fo little Piety and Virtue to be found amiOng 
 us, and that the Generality of Mankind are fo vio- 
 lently attached to the Interelfs and Pleafures of. this 
 prefent Life •, is becaufe they are not firmly pofTeiTed 
 of the Belief of the Endlels and unfpeakable Rewards 
 and Punilliments in the Life to com.e. And truly 
 in fuch a Cafe it cannot be expeded that they fliould 
 ad otherwife : Since Men do not love to a6l upon 
 Hazards -, and much lefs then will they be willing to 
 relinquifh the prefent Enjoyment of fuch Things, as 
 are mod agreeable and delightful to them, for the 
 5ake of future Things that are precarious and uncer- 
 tain. And therefore it is of the utmofl Neceflity and 
 Importance to the Pradice of Piety, that Men con- 
 firm themfelves in a fix'd and ftedfaft Belief of this 
 Dodrine by ferious and frequent Meditation. For 
 tho' Men may imagine that they have not the leafl 
 doubt in their Minds concerning this main Article of 
 their Creeds efpeclally fince they contend and difpute 
 for it with fo much Earneftnefs and Zeal •, yet there 
 is nothing more eafy than to delude themfelves in this 
 matter. And the only Way to know the Strength 
 and Power of Religious Principles, is to put them to 
 the Trial. And therefore if Men fail in xht Hour of 
 Temptation (as many of the molt Zealous Defenders 
 of Religion too frequently do; it is a fure Sign that - 
 di^ir Faith and Belief of F'uture Things is vs^eak and 
 
 S 3 infirm. 
 
262 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 infirm, or (which will be confidered prefentlyj that 
 they have a greater Love and Affe6i:ioa for the 
 Thino;s of this Life than for thofe of the next. For 
 this is the Character and Property of True Failh, as 
 the Apoftle obferves, i JcL v. 4. that il overco7neth 
 the World. But efpecially, there is the greater Ne- 
 ceiTiry that Men fiiould confirm themfelv<:s ftedfiftly 
 in the Belief of Chriflian Principles, by duly confi- 
 dering and weighing the Proofs and Evidences of 
 them in thefe latter Times, when they are in the ut- 
 moft Hazard and Danger of Infidelity : And that 
 not only from the Innumerable Evil Examples 
 among us ("and thofe fometimes of very Knowing 
 and Learned Men, as well as fuch as are Weak and 
 IgnorantJ but alfo from the Craft and Subtilty of fe- 
 ducing Spirits, who are connnually fpreading their 
 Poifon throughout the whole Kingdom ; and who 
 with the utmoil Art and mioft indefatigable Induflry 
 have endeavoured to obfcure and perplex every Part 
 of the Chriftian Faith, and to invalidate and deftroy 
 all the Proofs and Evidences thereof. Which furely 
 muil render it a Matter of the utmofl Neceflity and 
 Importance to all Perfons among us, that they fre- 
 ^quently confider and examine thofe Proofs and Evir 
 dences according to their feveral Abilities and Op- 
 portunities. And indeed, there can be no other 
 Reafon afTigned, why fo many Men of good Natu- 
 ral Parts and Underftanding go into the Meafures of 
 Infidelity, and entertain a Mean and Contemptible 
 Opinion of the Chriftian Faith ; but bccaufe they 
 will not lludy both Sides of the QuelHon imparti- 
 ally, nor allow themfelves time feriouily and through- 
 ly to weigh and confider the many flrong and unan- 
 fwerable Arguments, which may be urged in Defenfe 
 of our Holy and Excellent Religion. But, 
 
 Secondly^ That the Things of another Life may 
 have a Commanding Force and Influence upon our 
 Afiedions j it is neceflary that we have a quick and 
 
 lively 
 
Religious Obfervation of the hoxd's'D&y. 263 
 
 lively Senfe and Apprehenfion of the Nature and 
 T ce of them -i e that we become fo duly 
 
 fSkand throughly ' '^'^f'^^'^,''^ '\^'^'V;'': 
 ference between Things Temporal and Thing £;.r- 
 nd ; that we take a much greater Pleafure m the 
 HoDes of God's Favour and the Happmefs of 
 gSn, than in the beft and choiceft Dehghts wh^h 
 this World affords: And on the other Side, that 
 we have a much greater Dread and Terror ot Future 
 Punifhments, than of the very worft Ev.ls and Cala- 
 mities which can befal us m this World. Unlefs we 
 are thus difpofed in our Minds it is ridiculous to 
 pretend to ^ny Religion •, ilnce the very Nature of 
 Religion confilb in being prevailed upon by the Su- 
 perior Motives and Confiderations of the next Life, 
 to P-et the better of the Temptations of this. And 
 unltfs we are thus affeded by the Belief of future 
 Things, whatever ProfefTions of Re igion we may 
 make, \ve have, in that Cafe, nothbig hut the Form of 
 GocUmefs, and at the fame time deny thePo^eroftt, 
 2 Tmm. 5. But now it is very difficult to ob- 
 tain this clofe Regard to the Things of another 
 T i fe and to give them the Preference in our 
 Eft ^m and v5ue before thofe of this Life, And 
 the Reafon of it is this-, becaufe the Things ot 
 this Life, are prefent with (rj us. and operate 
 ton.ly upon our Senfes ; we fee and tafte and 
 feel the^leafures of it: Whereas the Things of the 
 next Life are remote and diftant, and operate only 
 upon .\.. Imaginauon, which is a "uich weaker and 
 n-'ore ineffectual Principle. And upon this Account 
 1 know the Enemies of Religion boaft and triumph ; 
 
 S 4 
 
 ir) Self-LoveftUlftronger, as it's Objed s nigh, 
 Rcafon's at Diilancc, and in Prolpeft lye ; 
 That fees immediate Good by prelent benlc, 
 Rcalon the Future and the Co„i^>ae„ce.^^^ P.t II. p. 8. 
 
264 * A Dijcoiirfe concerning the » 
 
 and when we would perfwade Men to live a Heaven^ 
 ly and Divine Life from the Hopes of a Future 
 Immortal Inheritance, they look upon the Attempt 
 as Impra6licable, if not ImpofTible. And for this 
 they appeal not only to the Nature of Things, and 
 the Manifefl Difference between the Powers of Ap- 
 petite and Ferjwafion^ but alfo to the known Con- 
 duel and Example of the greateft Part of Chriftians ; 
 who tho' they do indeed talk much and often about 
 Religion, and their great Love of God and Hea- 
 venly Things, yet do vifibly and undeniably fet 
 their Flearts and Affedions almoft entirely upon 
 this World. But tho' the great Coldnefs and In- 
 differency of the Generality of Chrifiians^ with re- 
 fpe6l to the Things of the next Life, gives the 
 Enemies of Religion the utmoft Advantage againft 
 us, and it be indeed very difficult to get fuch a 
 Tafte and Relifh of Future Things, as to efteem 
 tjiem in all Cafes above Things prefent ; yet on 
 the other Side it is by no means Impradlicable, 
 {s) but may in Time and by Degrees be attained 
 
 to 
 
 ( s ) Thicker than Arguments Temptations throng. 
 
 At bcft more watchful this, but that more Ilrong ; 
 The Aft ion of the Stronger to fufpend, 
 Reafon flill ule, to Reafon fliJl attend. 
 Attention Habit and Experience gains. 
 Each ilrengthens Reafon, and Self-love reftrains. 
 
 EJJay on Man, ibid. 
 
 The Cail of Mind, which is natural to a difcrect Man, makes hini 
 look forward into Futurity ; and confider what will be his Condi- 
 tion Millions of Ages hence, as well as what it is at prefent. He 
 knows ihat the Mifcry or Happinefs, which are referved for him 
 in another World, lofc nothing of their Reality by being placed 
 at fo great a Diftancc from him. The Objedls dq not appear little 
 to him, becaufe they are remote. He cqnfiders that thofe Pleafures 
 and Pains, which lye hid in Eternity, approach nearer to him cvexy 
 IVIoment, and will be prefent with him in their full Weight and 
 Meafure 5 as much as tjiofe Pains and Pleafures which he feels at 
 
 this 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 26^ 
 
 to with due Care and Confideration. For if once 
 Men are throughly perfwaded of the Immortah- 
 ty of the Soul and a Future State, they muft 
 needs be fenfible that as they are to exjft for ever 
 in another World; fo they cannot poiTibly be faid 
 to be happy, unlefs they are made happy for ever. 
 But it is very plain that the Things of this Life 
 cannot make them fo ; becaufe in a little time 
 they will ceafe and come to an End. And tho' 
 the' Happinels of the Future State be in a great Mea- 
 fure unknown ; yet that is no Objedion at ail to die 
 Value and Importance of it. Many Things may be 
 very Excellent in themfelves, and adminifter the great- 
 efb Delight and Pleafure to us, tho' at prefent we are 
 unacquainted with them. A Man that is born blind 
 can never have the lead Senfe and Notion of Sight, 
 and of the exceeding Delight which the Ufe of that 
 Faculty affords to us ; and yet furely for all that, the 
 Light is fweet^ andapleafant "Thing it is for the Eyes to 
 behold the Sun, Eccl. xi. 7. and to take a View of all 
 the Glories of this Vifible Creation. We did not know 
 
 what 
 
 this very Inftant. For this Rca'bn he is careful to fecure to him- 
 felf that, which is the proper Happinefs of his Nature, and the 
 ultimate Defign of his Being, He carries his Thoughts to the 
 End of every Adlion, and confiders the moll dillant as well as the 
 moft immediate EfFeils of it. He fuperfedes every little Profpeft 
 of Gain and Advantage which offers itfelf here, if he does not 
 find it confident with his Views of an hereafter. In a Word, his 
 Hopes are full of Immortality, his Schemes large and glorious, 
 and his Conduct fuitable to one, who knows his true Intereft, and 
 how to purfue it by proper Methods. 
 
 Mr A<idifon in SpeHator, No. 225. 
 
 To a Wife and Confiderate Man a great Good or a great Evil 
 which he believes will certainly befal him according as he mana- 
 geth his Affairs well or ill, tho' it be at fomc diilance, is of 
 greater Force, than a far lefler Good or Evil which is prefent and 
 nearer at Hand. Tillotfon, Vol. Ill, p. 520. 
 
 See alfo a mod Excellent Pafiage to this purpofe in Mr LoclC^ 
 EJJay on Human Under/iandingy lib. ii. chap. xxi. § 70. too long to 
 be here infer ted. 
 
266 A Difcoiirfe coiicerjiing the 
 
 what the Pleafures of this Life were, before we enjoyed 
 them j and yet we muft all readily acknowledge, that 
 many of them are very agreeable and delightful to us. 
 And for the fame Reafon, the Things of the next Life 
 may give us an Infinitely greater Pleafure and Sa- 
 tisfaction than all other Things; tho' at prefent we 
 are not able to perceive and comprehend it. Nay to 
 fpeak properly, it is fo far from derogadng from the 
 Happinefs of the next Life, that it is in a great Mea- 
 fure unknown to us-, that this very Confideradon highly 
 raifes and encreafes the Value of it. For did we per- 
 fectly know what it is, and were it like to any Thing 
 which we enjoy in this World ; we might then be fure 
 that it could not be very great (t). For what the Wife 
 Man hath obferved of all the Pleafures of this Life is 
 certainly true, Vmjity of Vanities^ all is Vanity, Eccl. i. 2. 
 And for this Reafon the moft Sublime Account of the 
 Happinefs of Heaven, which is to be found in the 
 W^hoie Scripture, is fet forth in Negadve Chara6ters 
 and Defcriptions. Eye hath not feen (faith St Paul) 7ior 
 Ear heard,, neither have entred into the Heart of Man 
 the ^Things which God hath prepared for them that love 
 Him, I Cor. ii. 9. But tho' the Happinefs of the next 
 Life be in a great Meafure unknown to us, and there- 
 tore the more excellent (u) and defirable ; yet fince we 
 are too apt to form our Judgments of Things from 
 Scnfc and Experience, it hath plcafed God to conde- 
 Icend 10 far to our Vv'eaknefs, as to fet forth the Nature 
 of our Happinefs, by Charaders and Defcriptions taken 
 from fdch Things as are of the greateft Value and 
 
 Efteena 
 
 (/)See T>v Sherlock on Death, chap. i. Seft. 3. p 76, yy. %i'o. 
 
 {u) V/e are dazled indeed with the Glory and Grandeur ofThings 
 here below, becaufe v\e know no better ; but lam apt to think tha; 
 if we knew what it was to be an Angel tor one Hour, we fhould 
 jctarn to this World, tho' it were to fit on the brighteft Throne in 
 :;, with vaitly more loathing and reluctance, than we would now 
 ceicend into a loathfomc Dungeon or Sepulchre. Minute Phil ofa- 
 fhevy Vol. I. p. 260, 261. 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 267 
 
 Efteem with us. Thus the Happlnefs of Heaven is dc- 
 fcribed in Scripture by the Name of a Crown, i Cor, 
 ix. 25. Sometimes it is called a Kingdom., Matt. xxv. 
 34. and an Inheritance.^ and that Incorruptible and Vn- 
 defiled. I Pet. i. 4, and at other Times it is faid to be 
 Eternal Life .^ Matt. xxv. 46. than which furely nothing 
 can be more defirable. It is to 7^^ God the Great Au- 
 thor and Fountain of all Happinefs and Perfe(5lion ; 
 Matt. V. 8 . to live for ever in His Prefence •, Pfal. xvi. 1 1 . 
 J oh. xiv. 2,3; to enjoy the Blelled Converfation of 
 Jefus Chrifi our Dear Saviour and Redeemer ; to have 
 the delightful Company of the Holy Angels., and the 
 Spirits of Juft Men made (x) Perfect \ Heb. xii. 22, ^c, 
 and to be Kings and Priejls to God for ever. Rev. i. 6. 
 and to fay no more. It is to be in a State of abfolute 
 Eafe and perfed Freedom, where xhtrtjhallbe no more 
 Sorrow., nor crying., nor pain., Rev, xxi. 4. and where 
 we pall die no more., but fhall be equal unto the Angels., 
 andfhall be the Children of God., as being the Children of 
 the RefurreSfion. Lukexx. 36. Now tho' thefe Defcrip- 
 tions of our future Happinefs do no doubt come vaftly 
 fhort of the Perfedlion thereof; yet they are fufiicient 
 to ihew, that it is infinitely beyond any Thing Vv^hich 
 this World can afford. And by what we even at pre- 
 fent know of that Happinefs, and much more by the 
 Knowledge we ihall have thereof when we come to 
 have the Enjoyment of it (which God in His Mercy 
 grant we all may) I don't know how we fliall ever be 
 reconciled to ourfelves for that manifefl Negleft and 
 Contempt which we now exprefs towards it : unlefs it 
 may be fome Excule to every one of us to fay in that 
 Cafe, as St Paul did in another, when I was a Child I 
 fpake as a Child,, I underftood as a Child^ 1 thought as a 
 
 Child., 
 
 {x) O praedarum diem, cum ad illud divinorum concilium coetum- 
 que proficifcar ; cuiijque ex hac turba & colluvione difcedam, (isfc. 
 tic, d( Sene^ute. 
 
26^ A Difcoiufe concerning the 
 
 Child 5 hut ivhen I became a Man^ I put away childijh 
 'Things, . I Cor, xiii. 1 1 . 
 
 What is here obferved of the Happinels of the next 
 Life holds equally true of the Miferies thereof It is 
 no Encouragement to bad Men, faith an Eminent 
 Writer, (y) " That the Miferies of the other World 
 *' are unknown. For it is known, that God hath 
 " threatened very terrible Punifhments againft bad 
 *' Men; and that, v/hat thele Punifliments are, is un- 
 '' known, makes them a great deal more formidable. 
 " For who knows the Power of God's Wrath ? Who 
 *' knov/s how miferable God can make bad Men ? " 
 Since then the Things of the next Life cannot have 
 a Commanding Force and Influence upon our Minds, 
 unlefs we are not only firmly perlwaded of the Truth 
 of them, but alio have a due Senfe and Apprehenfion 
 of the Nature and Importance of them ; we may hence 
 clearly fee the abiblute Neceflity of frequently thinking 
 and meditating upon them ; for by this means only can 
 we be in any due Meafure afFe6led by them. For let 
 Things be of never fo great Confequence in themfelves, 
 yet they will feem to be but of little Value and Efteem 
 with us, if we do not employ our Thoughts and Minds 
 about them. Tho' we do not underftand the Nature 
 o^ thinking, nor in what Manner Thoughts arife in our 
 Minds -, yet this we all fully know by Experience, viz, 
 that the oftener we think upon any Objecls, the oftener 
 they come into our Minds, and we are in a greater 
 Meafure affecled by them. Whereas, when we negled 
 to think upon them, we do as it were remove them at a 
 Diilance from us, and then like all other Things in that 
 Condition they will appear light and inconfiderable. If 
 then we frequently and lerioully meditate upon the Joys 
 of Heaven, they will as frequently come into our Minds ; 
 and the oftener they come into our Minds, the more 
 we fhail be pleafed and delighted with them ; till at 
 
 length 
 
 ('r} Sberhck on Death, p. 77. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. z6g 
 
 length our Hearts and Affeftions will be entirely fet 
 upon them : And when once v/e have attained to this 
 Temper and Difpofition, we fhall fooa^/vTpife the 
 Temptations of worldly Riches and Pleafi.:?^ ; and fliall 
 fay of the greatefl Delights which this Life affords, 
 what the Apoftle did of the Prefent Sufferings, viz, 
 they are not worthy to he compared with the Glory that 
 Jhallhe revealed hi iis. Rom. viii. 1 8 . And on the other 
 fide, if we would often employ our Thoughts on the 
 Punifhments of the next World, and ferioufly reflect 
 upon the aftoniihing Miferies of the Damned -, they 
 would often arife in our Minds, and would raife fuch 
 a prodigious Dread and Terrour therein, as would 
 fufficiently outweigh the Force of any Temporal 
 Sufferings and Afflictions to which we may be expoied. 
 And we fhall think nothing in this Life {o dread- 
 fiil to us, as to fall into the Hands of the Living 
 God. Heh. X. 31. And as our Bleffed Saviour 
 dire6ls us, we fhall not fear them that can kill the Body^ 
 and after that have no more that they can do ; hut we 
 fhall fear Him who^ after He hath killed^ hath power to 
 caft into Hell. Luke xii. 4, 5. And thus much may be 
 fufficient to fhew the abfolute Neceffity of a frequent 
 and ferious Meditation upon the Everlafting Retribu- 
 tions in a future Srate ; in order to enable us to over- 
 come the Power of Temptadon, and to Hve as heccm- 
 eth the Gofpel of Chrifi. And that which will fully 
 confirm us in the Belief of this Neceffity, is the Confi- 
 deration of the Reftlefs and Unwearied Endeavours. of 
 the Enemies of Religion in all Ages to deftroy and 
 eradicate thefe Principles, or to weaken their Force and 
 Influence upon the Minds of Men. And to this pur- 
 pofe they have ufed feveral Methods, but I Ihall at 
 prefent mention only two which are of the molt dan- 
 gerous Confequence. The Firft is, Their ridicuhng 
 the Belief of Future Punifhments, or at leafl denying 
 the Eternal Duration of them •, notvvithftanding that 
 the Dodrine of Eternal Punillimentsisnct only plainly 
 
 delivered 
 
2JO A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 delivered in the Holy Scriptures, but has alfo beeri 
 held and maintained by many of the bell Philofophers 
 in the Heathen World ; as feveral of our Learned 
 "Writers have clearly fhewn (z). This was the great 
 Aim and View of Epicurus and his Followers, to re^ 
 move the fear of Future Punifhments, and particularly 
 of the Eternity of them ; well knovv'ing, as Lucretius 
 acknowledges (a)^ what a prodigious Influence the iled- 
 fad Belief of that Principle muft needs have upon the 
 Minds of Men. And a late noted \V riter among our- 
 felves hath gone into the lame Meafures, endeavouring 
 all that lies in him to confute and overthrow (b) it. 
 And the Author of the two Letters from a Deift to his 
 Friend ^as an Eminent Divine hath lately obferved 
 from (c) them) gives this Account of himfelf in deny- 
 ing this Do(5lrine, that he intends to *•' fave a Soul from 
 *' the Difmal Apprehenfions of Eternal Damnation % 
 '' or to relieve a Perfon from labouring under that 
 ** Uneafineis of Mind which he is often under, when 
 *' Pleafure and Chrijlianity come in Compedtion." 
 And it is well known, that the Do6lrineof Everlafting 
 Punidiments is the great Point, at which all our Mo- 
 dern Infidels are fo much offended, and which they 
 conflantly treat with the utmofl Contempt and Ridi- 
 cule. 
 
 Now it is not my Defign to offer any Arguments in 
 Vindicadon of this Doctrine ; for this hath been fuiii- 
 ciently confirmed and defended by feveral of our 
 
 Learned 
 
 [z] Vid. Dr Clark^s Sermons at Boyieh Lcdures, Part the lid. 
 Prop. xiii. Scft. 14. Minute FhiloJoPher, Vol II. p. 49. 
 (<j) Nam fi certum finem efTe viderent 
 
 -^rumnarum Homines, aliqua ratione valerent 
 
 Kelligionibus atque minis obfiflere vatum . 
 
 Nunc ratio nulla eft rdrandi, nulla facuitas, 
 
 ^ternas quoniam Pocnas in mortc timendum. Lucret. lib. i. 
 fi) ChriPcianiiy as old as the Crcanon, p. 42, 43. 
 \c) Saipturc Yindiiaied, Pa:: I. Introd. p. 5, 6. 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 271 
 
 Learned (d) Writers, from whom any one that wants 
 it may receive compleat Satisfaction in nhat Particu- 
 lar. And much leis Hiall I raife any curious Enquiries 
 concerning the Nature of Future Mifery , as whether 
 the Fire of Hell be material or immaterial ; and if it 
 fhould be material^ how the Bodies of the Damned can 
 poflibly for ever fubfift under it, and how the fallen 
 Angels and the Souls of impure and wicked Men can 
 be affected by it (e). Ail that I fhall obferve at pre- 
 fent is, that it muft be of the moft mifchievous Confe- 
 quence to the Souls of Men, to endeavour to remove 
 the Belief and Apprehenfion of Eternal Punifliment 
 out of their Minds -, fince, as hath been already fliewn, 
 it is impofTibleupon any other Principle to prevail widi 
 the Generality of Mankind to forlake their Sins, 
 and to attain to the Habits of Righteoufnefs and 
 
 Viraie. 
 
 {d) See particularly Dv Clark in the Place laft cited. Dr Nicholli's 
 Conference, Part III. p. 304, bV. Bifliop BunieCz XXXIX Ar- 
 ticles, p. 29, 30. 'DxScctt'^ Chriilian Life, %vo- Vol. V. p^ 91, 
 C^f. Dr Mo/s's Sermons, Vol. I. Sermon 14, and 15. Archbifhop 
 Daives^s Fourth and Sixth Sermons on Hell Torments, in which 
 Places there are many folid and judicious Things obferved upon this 
 Point. 
 
 [e) If the Reader defires to be fatisfied how Immaterial Beings can 
 be afFeded by the Pains of material Fire, let him confult St Jl'/H/i 
 de Civitate Dei, lib. xxi. cap. 10. And as t ) the other Particulars, 
 it will adminifter no Ground of Comfort to Sinners, if it could be 
 never fo clearly proved that Hell-Fire is not material. For on Sup- 
 pofition that tlie Words Tii e aiid Brimfloney which arc ufed in Scrip- 
 ture to dcfcribethe Nature of Future Punifhment, be Metaphorical, 
 vve fhould (in the Judgment of many Learned Divines) have great 
 reafon to conclude, tliat there is fomething more fe\eTc and terrible 
 than real adual Fire underftood and lignihed by them ! It not being 
 the Method of the Holy Spirit in Scripture (when fpeaking of Fu- 
 ture Things) to defcribe them by fuch Metaphors as are greater than 
 the Things themfelves which arc reprefcnted the.eby. See particu- 
 larly Sherlock on Death, 8t'<7. chsp i. Seel. 3. p. 77, 78. And a 
 late Author, who hath wrote upon this Subjed (and who I am fure 
 is not too ftri(ft and rigorous in his Notions of Religion) tho' he de- 
 nies the Fire of Hell to be Material, yet cxprefly allows that it will 
 be as pungent and afflifting to the Danmei as if it v.'erc Material. 
 S^e the Political Hijlory of the Devil, p. 211, &c. 
 
272 A Difcourfe coiicernmg the 
 
 Virtue. And if Men who are educated in the Belief 
 of this Doctrine, and make no Doubt of the Truth of 
 it, do yet find it fo hard to refill Temptations, and 
 are fo frequently drawn away by the Pieafures of Sin •, 
 what a Deluge of Profaneneis, Iniquity and Debau^ 
 chery would abound in the World, if Men were en- 
 tirely or in a great meafure freed and difcharged from 
 this Apprehenfion ? I am fenfible of indeed, and ac- 
 knowledge what the Roman Orator aflTerts (and it will 
 in great meafure hold in the Cafe we are upon, as well 
 as in that to which he applies it, viz.) thzt Shame zxid 
 Ingemdty have a greater Elfe6l and Reftraint upon good 
 Men, than Fear (f). But yet this will be but of little 
 Serv^ice towards reforming the World ; fince the greatefl 
 Part of Mankind are not good. And therefore what 
 Ariftotle (whom a late Eminent Writer (g) juftly flyles 
 the moft accurate Obferver of all Mankind) hath laid 
 down, is true, and to be depended upon ; i;/z, that 
 the Generality of Men are perfwaded to their Duty ; 
 not fo much from the Confideradons of Shame and 
 Difgrace, as of Fear and Puniiliment (h). And par- 
 ticularly the Argument drawn from the Eternal Mife- 
 ries of another World, is, to ufe the Words of an Ex- 
 cellent Prelate (/), that " which taketh the fafteft and 
 '' foreft hold upon Human Nature, and v/ill many 
 ' ' Times move and afFedl, when no other Confidera- 
 " tions will work upon us. Many Men that could 
 '' not be wrought upon by the Love of God and Good- 
 *' nefs, nor by the Plopes of Everlafting Happinels, 
 
 '*- have 
 
 (f) Validius bonos inhibet Pador, quain Met us, ^intilian. 
 Ivjlitut, Orator, lib. ix cap. ii. 
 
 (^) Revelation Examined, &c. Vol, I. p. 103. 
 
 ^f (p(w\ci)y J^tdio au-^pjycc»\ct cT/a Tii T7y.uejicti' Arij7ot, Ethic, 
 ad^icom. lib x cap x, Vid. loc. 
 
 (?) Tillotfon^ Vol. III. p. ^^2. Seealfo p. 647.^ in which there- 
 zii ni-iiiy excellent Thing- faid upon thiv Head, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 2j% 
 
 " have been affrighted and reclaimed from an Evil 
 " Courfe by the Fear of Hell and Damnation, and 
 " the Awe of a Judgment to come. To think of ly- 
 *' ing under the terrible Wrath and Difplcafure of Al- 
 " mighty God to Eternal Ages, of being extremely 
 *' and for ever Miferable, without Intermiflion and 
 *' without End, muft needs be a difmal Confideratioit 
 *' to any Man, that can think and confider : Forwho 
 " knoweth the Power of God's Anger f who can dwell 
 '' with everlafting Burnings ?'' And that this is a true 
 Judgment upon the Point is very clear from St Paul^ 
 who obferves that the Go/pel of Chrift is the Power of 
 God unto Salvation ; becaufe therein the Wrath of God fs 
 revealed from Heaven againji all Ungodlinefs and Unrigh- 
 teoufnefs of Men (k). Rom. I 16, il And therefore 
 when our Modern Infidels endeavour to difpirove, and 
 much more when they ridicule theDodrine of Eternal 
 Punifhments, this is not to confult the Comfort and 
 Happinefs of Mankind, as they vainly pretend •, but 
 (to ufe the Words of a very Learned (I) Writer) " It 
 " is to eafeeverv Libertine, if poflible, of hisjuftand 
 " well grounded Fears j and to fteel his Heart againft 
 " a Judgment to come. It is not to fecure him againft 
 " the Danger of Hell fthat is impradicable) but it 
 " is to tell him how to fence with Subtilttes or So^ 
 " phiftries againft the Z)//w^/4!?^^'^^^>«-^ ^f^f ' Noj 
 « to prelerve him from it, but to lead him blindfold 
 " into it." But, 
 
 Secondly, Another ArdBce, which the Adverfaries ot 
 Religion frequendy make Ufe of in order todeftroy or 
 weaken die Force of Future Confiderations, is their 
 recommending the Obfervadon of Virtue from the 
 
 X Beauty 
 
 (k) SeeDr Fi(t\Ws Sermons, Vol. II. p- 161, 162. 
 (IJ Scripture Vindicated. Part I. Introd. p. 6. 
 im) See this Notion ingenioufly defcribed by the Freethmkcr in 
 :.U;fuU Pbilofopbcr, Vol, I. p. i6i, 162- 
 
274 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Beauty (m) thereof, and the prcfent Rewards which are 
 annexed to the Pra6lice of it. This was the Opinion 
 of the Stoics and Epicureans ; and this they carried fo 
 far as to affert, that Virtue was fufficient to the Happi- 
 nefs of Men under the greateft Afflictions and Suffer- 
 ings (n). But the Stoics did not hereby defign to dif- 
 parage and weaken the Caufe of Virtue, as the Epicu- 
 reans did ; who came into this Notion only by way of 
 Refuge, and to fcreen themfelves from the popular 
 Odium and Cenfure, that when they had caft off the 
 Belief of a Providence and a Future State, they had 
 left no proper Incitement to Religion and Virtue (o). 
 For tho' the Stoics do indeed fometimes fpeak doubt- 
 fully of a Future State, (as the beft of the Philofophers 
 likewife did) and tho', as an Excellent Divine truly 
 obferves (p^ " their Style was often high above Truth 
 *' and Nmire-, yet it cannot be faid that they fo re- 
 " folved every Motive to a Virtuous Life into the fole 
 *' Beauty of Virtue, as to endeavour todeflroy theBe- 
 " hef of the Immortality of the Soul, and a dillributive 
 " Providence-," lince thefe two Points, as this Author 
 takes Nodce, are exprefly alTerted by them in their 
 Writings. But the Defign of our Modern Infidels^ in 
 fo earneftly recommending the Pradice of Virtue from 
 the forementioned Principles, is the fame with that of 
 the Ancient Epicureans •, as is evident from their urg- 
 ing tliem feparately from and exclufive of Future Re- 
 tributions. And for this Reafon it is that they are fo 
 fond of them (q). But now, allowing as much Beauty 
 as you pleale to the Pradice of Virtue (as it is certain, 
 
 that 
 
 (n) Sapicnf, inqiiit Epicurus, lemper heatus eft, ^' vel inclufus 
 In Phalaridls Tauro hanc vocem emittet, fuave ell & nihil euro. 
 lartai.t. -hijlitut. lib. iii.cap. xxvii. See alio Woolajion'^ Keligiori 
 of Nature, p. i8i. 
 
 [o] Sec Scripture Vindicated. Part II. p. 132, 133; 
 
 (p) Minute Philofophcr, Vol. 1. p. 195, 196. 
 
 {<l) See Dr Watf.rlnnSs Second Charge to the Clergy, p. 45 to 
 49. Scripture VindicateJ, Fartll. p. 133, 134. 
 
Religious Obfervaiioii of the Lord's Day. 275 
 
 that many excellent Things have been laid by ibme of 
 the beft Philofophers upon this (r) Head) and luppoling 
 that in all Cafes of Life it was of itfelf fufficient to it's 
 own Reward ; yet furely it mud give a great additional 
 Force to the Obligation of it, tiiat the bleiTed Effedus 
 thereof fhould extend to Futurity, and fliould not 
 only make us happy in this fhort Life, but alio for 
 ever fo in that which is to come {j) : unleis we could 
 be fo abfurd as to think, that " the Charms of Vir- 
 " tue would diminifli, as her Dowry increafeth" (as 
 an Eminent Writer beaudfully expreffes it (i) ;) or that 
 we could be fo flupid as to imagine, that there is no 
 Future State after this Life {u) -, or if there be, that 
 we could be more flupid in defpifing the glorious 
 Thought of being made happy for ever (x). But the 
 Principle itfelf is falfe and deceitful. For tho' there 
 is no doubt a great Beauty in Virtue, and much Plea- 
 fure and Delight does often arife from the Exercife of 
 T 2 it. 
 
 %y ''EcajipQ- '^y *E<C©- »T^ ■^dujf/.'^^oj. Ar'iftct. Ethic, ud 
 
 Nicom. lib. v. cap. iii. Formam quidem ipfam ■ &tanquam fa- 
 
 cicm honefti vides ; quae fi oculis cerncrctur, mirabiles amorcs, iit ait 
 Plato, excitaret fapientise. Cicero deOficiis lib. i. in principio. 
 
 is) Etfi iatis in ipfa Confcicntia pulcherrimi fafti irudus erat, 
 tamen Mortali Immortalitatem non arbitror contemnendam. Cic, 
 Philip. Or at. 2. 
 
 (t) Minute Philofopher, Vol. I. p. 187. 
 
 (//) Praeclaram nelcio quid adepd iunt, qui didicerunt fe, cum tem- 
 
 .pus Mortis veniflet^ toros cfle pcrituros. Quid habet ilia 
 
 res aut Ixiabile aut glorioium ? Lie. Tufc. ^aji. lib. i. 
 
 Qui vero piaster Tellurem hodiernam (Atomuirij fi parvitatem 
 ipedles, fi fpurcitiam, iterquilinium) nullum agnoicunt mundum ha- 
 bitabilem, nullos incolas : nee quicquam futurum extindii hac vita : 
 nae illi Majeftati Divinse graviter officiunt ; & Deuin fibi fingunt 
 homine magnanimo minorem. Burnet de Statu Mortuorum & Re- 
 fur gentium, cap. ii. p. 5. 
 
 [x] led Nemo me de Immortalitate dcpellet. Cic. ibid. Quod n 
 in hoc erro, quod Animos hominum immor tales eile credam, ii bea- 
 ter erro J nee mihi hunc errorem, quo dckdor, dumvivo, extor- 
 querivolOi Idem deSer.e flute ad fr.. 
 
276 A Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 it, as the Holy Scriptures teftify in feveral Places (y)i 
 and tho' there is no queflion, but that upon xht whole ^ 
 it is much better for a Man even in this World to adb 
 Virtuoufly than Wickedly ; yet on the other fide it is 
 very certain, that Virtue is not fufficient to it's own 
 Reward (z), and that however the prefent Delightful- 
 neis and Pleafure of fome Virtues may engage Men to 
 the Obfervation of them •, yet they will never be indu- 
 ced from this Principle to pra6life the fevere and pain- 
 ful Duties of Religion ; nor will they difcoyer fo much 
 Beauty and Pleafure in Virtue, as upon that Account 
 to think themfelves happy in a State of great Poverty 
 {a) and Hardfhip, and much lefs to be willing to lufFer 
 Perfecution for God's Sake •, unlefs the Confiderations 
 of a Future State are taken in (J?), Whoever therefore 
 recommends the Pradtice of Virtue from the Beauty and 
 
 prefent 
 
 (y) See Prov. ili. 17. Jja- xxxii. 17. i Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 (2) Virtutem quis enim ampleftitur ipfam, 
 
 Praemia fi tollas. Juvenal. Sat, X.- 
 
 Nee facile invenias Multis e Millibusunum, 
 
 Virtutem pretium qui putet efle lui. 
 ipfc decor re6li, fa6li fi pismia defint^ 
 
 Non movet, & gratis pcsnitet efie probum, 
 
 OvU. dePont.o, lib. ii. Epift, 3. 
 
 Quae porro Pietas Ei debetur, a quo nihil acceperis ? aut quid 
 oniaino, cnjus nullum Meritum fit, Ei deberi poteil ? Cic. de Nat, 
 JDeor. lib. i, 
 
 Quis eft vel tarn ineptus vel tarn otiofus, ut aggrediatur aliquid 
 facere fruitra, ex quonulJam utilitatem, nullum commodum fpertt. 
 LaElant. hijlitut. lib. vii. cap. iv. 
 
 ifl) T})j tA' etpirUj) fx>} Hvau axi-mpv^ ^^ ivj'aufiovietv » *OfSi' 
 
 ovpl©- m (7P®a, KAv h,7iiva<; «, vAv hi^zn±^)^nnii ouQioti- Ariftot. 
 MDud Diog. Lacrt. in Vita Ariftotcli^. 
 
 (d) Altho' it be true, that as Things now {land, and as the Na- 
 ture of Man is framed, good Men do find a ftrange kind of inward 
 Pleafure and fee ret Satisfadlion of Mind in the Difcharge of their 
 Duty, and in doing what is Virtuous; yet every Man that looks 
 into himfclf andconfults his own Breaft, will fmd that this Delight 
 and Contentment fprinos clwcfly from the Hopes which Men con- 
 ceive 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 277 
 
 prefent Pleafure thereof, in exclufion of the Rewards 
 which God hath prepared for good Men in the next 
 Life, inftead of ferving and promoting the Caufe of 
 Virtue he fecretly undermines and betrays it. And, 
 as an Eminent Divine well obferves (r), " He, who fees 
 *^ not that the deftroying the Principles of good Acli- 
 *' ons mud dcilroy good Aclions, lees nothing : and 
 "*' he^ who feeing this fiiali yet periifl to do it, if he 
 " be not wicked, who is ? " And that this Thought 
 is not peculiar to the Cbriftian Priefts, as fome may 
 imagine, I ihall add an Excellent Obfervation which 
 the iame Writer makes from the Roman Authors ; vi:z. 
 *' That they themfelves often fugged, that even their 
 " Virtues and magnanimous Aclions rofe and fell with 
 ^* a Senfe of Providence and a Future State {i) : '* io 
 Neceflary have the Sandions of the next Life been ever 
 thought to the Eilablifliment of Virtue. And how 
 dangerous and defiruclive to the Caufe of Piety and 
 Virtue the other Principle we have been Ipeaking of is, 
 many Learned Men have particularly Remark'd in 
 the Cafe of the Sadducees ; upon which Point 1 will beg 
 Leave to iniert a moil excellent PalTage from an Emi- 
 T 3 ' nent 
 
 •c^ive, that a Holy and Virtuous Life fnall not be unrewarded : and 
 without thefe Hopes, Virtue is but a dead and empty Nsme. And 
 nptwithflanding the Reaibnablencfs of Virtuous Actions coi-rtparei. 
 with the contrary of them ; yet when Virtue came to be encunibred 
 with Difficulties, and to be attended with fuch Sufferings and Incon- 
 veniencies, as were grievous and intolerable to Human Nature, then 
 it would appear unreafonabic to clmfe that for a Happinefs wdiicli 
 would rob a Man of ail the FcHcity of his Life. For tho' a h/izn 
 were never fo much in Love with Virtue for ilie Native Beauty 
 and Comelinels of it, y > it would Itrangely cool his /\iTeclion to ir, 
 to confider that he iljouK. be undone by the Match; that when he 
 jiad it, he mult go a begging with it, and be in danger of Dcirh 
 fur the Sale of that, which he had chofen for the Felicity of hi>~ L'f;: 
 7Sl lot/on, Vol. HL p. 121. 
 
 (r) Minute Philofopher, Vol. L p. 273, ?.74.. 
 
 (cl) ^ Idem ibid- p. 293. See alio an excel'cnt Pafihge to tl.is P'^: - 
 pole in Bifhop Smalriage'^. Scrinon , fo'l.i^dil. 2. p. 4 0- 
 
278 A DlfcDiiffe concerning the 
 
 i^ent Prelate {e) of our Church. " The Confequence 
 '' of this dry Dodrine does fufficiently appear in die 
 '' Sed of the Saddticees^ which had it's Rife from this 
 '' Principle of Sadoc the Mailer of the Seel ; who out ' 
 ' ' of an indifcreet Zeal to teach Ibmething above others, 
 *' and indeed above the Pitch of Human Nature, in- 
 ^^ culcated this Doclrine upon his Scholars, that Reli- 
 " gion and Virtue ought to be loved for themfelves, 
 *' tho' there were no Reward of Virtue to be hoped, 
 *' nor PuniQiment of Vice to be feared in another 
 " World-, from which his Difciples inferred that it 
 ^' v/as not neceiTary to Religion to beheve a Future 
 *' State, and in procefs of Time peremptorily main- 
 *' tained that there was no Life after this. For diey 
 '' did not only deny the Refurreclion of the Body, but 
 ''* as Si Paul tells us, they faid, that there was neither 
 *' Angel nor Spirit \ that is, they denied that there 
 *' was any Thing of an Immortal Nature, that did 
 " remain after this Life. And what the Confequence 
 " of this was, we may fee in the Charadler which Jo- 
 *' fephtts gives of that Secl^ for he tells us that the 
 *' Commonalty of the Jews were of the Se6l of the 
 ^' Pharifces^ but moft of the great and rich Men were 
 " Sadducees \ which plainly fliews, that this dry Specu- 
 " lation of loving Religion and Virtue for themfelves, 
 *' witliout any Expectation of Future Rewards, did 
 " end in their giving over all ferious Purfuit of Reli- 
 *' gion; and becauie they hoped for nothing after this 
 ^ * Life, therefore laying afide all other Confiderations, 
 ^' they applied themfelves to the prefent Bufinefsof this 
 " Life, and grafped as much of the prefent Enjoyments 
 *' of it's Power and Riches, as they could by any means 
 " attain to." I fhail only add uj^i^n this Head, that 
 it is fo fir from being a mean and fervile Thing to act 
 
 Religioufly, 
 
 [e] Tillotfon, Vol. ill. p. 121. See alfo PnVf^z/^^'s Connexion, 
 Zz'Q. \'oL III. p, 95. Sub Anno ante Chrijiumi 263. 
 
Religious Ohfervafion of the Lord*s Day. 279 
 
 Religiouny, to avoid being punifloed, or in Hopes to he re- 
 warded hereafter (/), as Tome Writers have fuggtfled 
 {g ; that we find the very beft of Men in all Ages of 
 the World have been determined to the Praftice of 
 Virtue from thole very Confiderations. Innumerable 
 Inftances might be given of this, both from the Scrip- 
 ture and Ancient Hiftory •, but I flrall mention only 
 two or three which are very remarkable. Thus the 
 great Apoftle of the Gentiles gives this Account of him- 
 feif I Cor. ix. idt. I keep under my Body., and bring it 
 into Subjecfion •, left that by any Means., when I have 
 preached to others, I myfelf Jhould be a caft-a-way (h). 
 And what Effecl the glorious Reward of Eternal lite 
 had upon him, he tells us in another Place, / have 
 fought a good Fight, I have finijhed my Courfe, I have 
 kept the Faith -, henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown 
 of Righteoufnefs, &c. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. And we may 
 obferve of Mofes and Chrift, the two beft Men and 
 greateft Lawgivers that ever lived, in how great a 
 Meafure they were moved and influenced by the lame 
 Principle. Thus St Paul tells us of Mofes, that he 
 refufed to be called the Son of PharaohV Daughter \ 
 choofing rather to fuffer Affii5lion with the People of God, 
 than to enjoy the Pleafures of Sin for a Seafon, &c. For 
 he had refpe^l unto the Recompenfe of the Reward, Heb. 
 
 T 4 xi. 
 
 (/) However Sp'rits of fuperficia] Grcatnefs ir.ay dii^iain it firlt 
 fi^ht to do any Thing but from a noble Impulicin thenilclvcs, with- 
 out any future Rewards in this or another Being ; upon llriaer En- 
 quiry they will. find, that to aft Worthily and cxpcdl to be rewarded 
 only in another World, is as Heroic a Pitch of Virtue as human Na- 
 ture can arrive at. Spetfator No. 3^6. Sec alfo an excellent Pa(- 
 fage to this Purpofe in Dr Scott' i Chriftian Life, %z'o. Vol. 11. 
 chap. vi. p. 334. And Dr Z./V^/^/^?/' 3 Sermons, Vol I. Sermon 
 the Second, in which there are leveral very ingenious Oblcrvations 
 on this Head. 
 
 (jt) See Chriftianity as old as the Creation, p. 3-7. 
 
 (h) 'AJ)iyjuoi i/jcofjM.i. Abjiciar k damner tanquam reprobus 
 five fdlute indignus. Ejiius in he. internum damner, atque ua 
 rcprobus efle dcclaier. Fijcat. tn loc^ 
 
28o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 xi. 24, 25, 26. And the fame Apoftle obferves of 
 Chrijl^ that He endured the Crofs and dejpifed the Shame, 
 for the Joy that was Jet before Him. Heh. xii. 2. 
 
 And thus much concerning thofe Artifices and Me- 
 thods, which the Adversaries of our Faith makeUfe 
 pf, in order to deftroy and weaken the Force of Re- 
 ligious Principles : the great Danger and Deceitful- 
 nefs of which does more fully confirm the Necefllty 
 of fixing thofe Principles ftedfaflly in our Minds, by 
 ferious and frequent Meditation. 
 
 What has been laid down upon this Head, as evi- 
 dent from Reafon and the Nature of Things, every 
 Perfon will find to be true and certain from his own 
 Experience. Let any Man fay, whether, when he 
 hath retired for a while from the Bafinefs and Diver- 
 fions of this World, and fpent fome confiderable Time 
 in the Study of t;he Scriptures and other good Books, 
 and in a ferious Meditation upon the great Points of 
 Religion ; he has not a quite different Senfe and No- 
 tion of Matters, and a much greater Taite and Relifli 
 of Divine Things, than he had before ; and whether, 
 tht more he thinks upon the Joys of Heaven, they 
 do not gain the more upon his Heart and Affe6lions, 
 and render him more indiiTerent and unconcerned for 
 the Things of this Life. And on the contrary, when 
 he has employed little or no Time in thefe Exercifes, 
 but hath applied himfelf wholly to the RufinefTes and 
 Pleafuresof this World, and to the Entertainments 
 and Diverfions of Company *, whether he does not foon 
 find the Heavenly and Divine Life decay and languifh, 
 and his Affedion for Spiritual Things abate and de- 
 creafe in his Mind, and that the Temptations of Riches 
 and Worldly Pleafures gain the greater Power and 
 Dominion over him. And what may eafily be obfer- 
 ved of Men in general, we find more pardcularly 
 verified in the Cafe of fuch Perfons, who by the Mercy 
 pf God have been recovered from a dangerous Sick- 
 aefs, o; fome. Extraordinary Calamity and Affliction. 
 
 Such 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 281 
 
 Such Perfons are often by this Means brought to Re- 
 pentance, and to a perfed: Change and Reformation 
 in their Manners. Now this does not happen, becaufe 
 they were Sick or Affli6led ; for that rather difables 
 Men for Religious Exercifes, than contributes any 
 thing to the Performance of them. But it is, becaulc 
 Sicknefs and Affliftion bring Men to Conjideration ; 
 and Confideration makes the Things of another Life 
 •prefent to their Minds, and thereby gives them their 
 due Force and Influence upon their Affections. The 
 Primitive Chriftians are hkewife a Notorious and Me* 
 morable Inftance of this great Truth. For during the 
 three firft Centuries, whiki they chiefly employed their 
 Time in reading the Holy Scriptures, and in medi- 
 tating upon Divine Things, and met together in pri- 
 vate Aflemblies, not only for the Performance of Re- 
 ligious Offices, but alfo for the better Inftru6lion and 
 Confirmation of each other in the Chrijlian Faith (i) ; 
 we find that they arrived to fuch an eminent Degree of 
 Piety and Virtue, as hath been the Wonder and Ad- 
 miration of all fucceeding Ages. And fo great was 
 their Love of God and their Affed:ion for Heavenly 
 Things, that the utmofb Rage and Fury of Men and 
 Devils under the Ten Perfecutions could not draw 
 them from their Integrity \ but they padendy fubmit- 
 ted to the moft cruel Deaths and InexprefTible Suffer- 
 ings with the moft remarkable Courage and Conftancy, 
 and that in fuch great Numbers of all Ages and both 
 Sexes 5 that, as a Learned Prelate truly {k) obferves, 
 " We do not find in all Ages of the World fo many 
 " Inftances of Patience and conftant Suffering for Re- 
 *' ligion, as happened even in the firft Age after 
 *' Chrift." But when Chriftianity was taken into the 
 Protection of the State, and it became the Temporal 
 Intereft of Men to embrace theGofpel, and the Riches 
 
 and 
 
 (/) Vid. Piin, lib. X. Epift. 97. 
 (4) TilletM YohlH-p. «22,. 
 
282 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 and Honours of this World flowed into the Church ; 
 ChrijUans foon began to fet their Hearts and Affedions 
 upon them. And then, as by this means they neg- 
 ledled to read the Scriptures, and to meditate upon Di- 
 vine Things, the Cafe was quite other wife with them 
 than it had been with the Chriftians of the Three For- 
 mer Ages, and they foon degenerated from their Piety 
 and Perfedlion. This the Writers of the Fourth Age 
 frequently lament •, and particularly St Chryfoftom men- 
 tions it in feveral Places of his Homilies, andafcribes 
 it plainly to their negled of reading the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and of Meditating upon Divine Things (/) *, for 
 which he tells them he knew no other Reafon, but 
 that their Hearts were too much fet upon this World, 
 and they could not relifh the Things of God. And 
 the Famous Prefbyter of Marfeilles^ who flour ifhed 
 about Fifty Years after him, complains heavily upon 
 this Occafion ; and obferves that the greateft Part of 
 ChrijUans in his Time were funk into i\\t very iov/efl: 
 Degree of Corruption, and that they were grown worfe 
 and m.ore wicked than the worft oi Heathens (fn) and 
 Barbarians. All which is a clear Proof and Demon* 
 ftration of the Point we are now upon, viz. that a fe- 
 
 rious 
 
 {/) See particularly his Fifth Homily In Mritt. 
 
 (m) Ipfa Dei Ecclefia, quae in omnibus debet efTe placatrix Dei, 
 quid clt aliud quam cxacerbatrix Dei, aut practer pauciflimos quof- 
 dam qui mala fugiunt, quid eft aliud pene omnis ccetus Chriftiano- 
 rum quam fentina vitiorum ? Quoium enim qucmquc invenies in 
 Ecclefia non aut ebriofum aut helluonem, aut adultcrum, aut for- 
 nicatorcm, aut raptorem, aut ganeonem, aut latronem, aut homi- 
 cidam ? Et quod his omnibus pejus crt, prope hxc cuncia fmc fine 
 Sakian. de Gubernatione Dei^ lib. iii. p. 87. Ubi enim, aut in 
 quibus funt, nifi in Romania tantum hasc mala ? Quorum InjulHiia 
 tanta, nifi noftra ? Franci enim hoc fcclus ncfciunt, Hunni ab his 
 fceleribus immunes funt. Nihil horum el\ apud Vandalos, nihil 
 horum apud Gothos. Tarn longe enim eit, ut hxc inter Gothos 
 barbari tolerent, ut ne Romani quidem qui inter eos vivunt iita pa- 
 tiantur. ldem,Y\h.v. t^. 168. The .fame alfo this Author llicws 
 more largely in feveral other Places of thefe Books. 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day, 283 
 
 rious and frequent Meditation upon Divine Things 
 Is abfolutely necefTary to the very Being of Religion. 
 And thus I have finifhed all that I propofed to confi- 
 der upon this great Subjed of Divine Meditation. 
 It would be eafy to add Innumerable Paffages out of 
 our moft Learned Writers, in which they manifeft the 
 fame Senfe and Judgment of this Matter. But that I 
 may not be too tedious to the Reader, I fhall at prelcnt 
 produce only Two or Three from very Eminent and 
 Celebrated Divines. The Firfl Teftimony is that of 
 the Learned Bifliop Atterhury^ whofe Words are thefe. 
 " We are prone by Nature to engage ourfelves in too 
 " clofe and ilrid: an Acquaintance with the Things of 
 *' this World, which immediately and ftrongly flrike 
 " ourSenfes; with the Bufinefs, the Pleafures, and 
 " the Amufements of it ; we give ourfelves up too 
 '' greedily to the Purfuit, and immerfe ourfelves too 
 " deeply in the Enjoyment of them % and contrad at 
 '' lad fuch an Intimacy and Familiarity with them, as 
 " m.akes it difficult and irkfome for us to call off oirr 
 " Minds to a better Employment, and to tfiink in- 
 " tenfely on any Thing befides them. To check and 
 " corredl this ill Tendency, it is requifite that we 
 " fhould acquaint ourfelves with God, that we Ihould 
 " frequently difengageour Hearts from Earthly Pur- 
 '' fuits, and fix them on Divine Things ; that we 
 " fhould apply ourfelves to ftudy the BlefTed Nature 
 " and Perfections of God, and to procure lively and 
 " vigorous ImprefTions of His Perpetual Prefence with 
 " us, and Infpedion over us; that we fhould con- 
 " template earneftly and reverently the Works of Na- 
 *' ture and Grace, by which he manifeftsHimfelf to 
 *' us; the infcrutable Ways of His Providence, and 
 •' all the Wonderful Methods of His Dealings with 
 *' the Sons of Men ; that we fhould inure ourfelves 
 '' to fuch Thoughts, till they have worked up our 
 " Souls into that filial Awe and Love of Him, that 
 
 " humble 
 
184 A Difcourfe conceming the 
 
 *' humble and implicit Dependence upon Him, which 
 " is the Root and Principle of all manner of Good- 
 *' nefs ; till we have made our Duty in this refpedt 
 *' our Pleafure, and can addrefs ourfelves to Him on 
 ** all Occafions with Readinefs and Delight ; impart- 
 " ing all our "Wants, and exprefTing all our Fears, 
 " and opening all our Griefs to Him, with that holy 
 ** Freedom and Confidence, to which the Saints and 
 *' true Servants of God are entitled, having received 
 ** the Sprit of Adoption y whereby they cry Abba Father. 
 *' In this Senfe ought we to acquaint ourfelves with 
 *' God, to fet Him always before us y as the Scripture 
 *' elfewhere fpeaks, to draw near to Him^ and to delight 
 '' in approaching (n) Him." 
 
 The other Teftimony, which I fhall mention upon 
 this Occafion, is that of the Learned Dr Samuel Clarke^ 
 who exprefles himfelf very judicioufly in the Words 
 following, " Seeking any Thing heartily and efFeftu- 
 *'\ ally implies that we fix our Attention continually 
 " i. e, Jiabitually upon it. 'Tisnot fufiicient that our 
 *' Judgment be convinced of the Importance and 
 ** NecefTity of Religion, unlefs our PafTions and Af- 
 *' fedions likewife be in feme Meafure interefled ; 
 *^ nor is it enough that our Affections be moved once 
 *' or feldom, but our Zeal muft be renewed by fre- 
 " quent Meditation. We muft give earneft heed to the 
 * ' 'Things wlich we have heard, left at any Time we fhould 
 *' let them flip, Heb,\u i. For as in Matters of Senfe, 
 '' Objeds at a Diftance appear fmall and imperfed:, 
 " and nothing but Reafoning and Judgment can cor- 
 *' red: the Errours and Deceptions of our Sight-, fo 
 *' in Matters of Religion and of Spiritual Concern, 
 *^' nothing hut frequent Confideration and earneft and 
 '' ferious Meditation can reprefent thofe Things as pre- 
 ^' fent to us, fo as to caufe them to make vigorous 
 
 " and 
 
 (/?} Biiliop ^//^;-<5^rj'3 Sermons, VolTI. p. 187, 188, 189. 
 
cc 
 
 ic 
 
 Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 285 
 and lafting ImprefTions upon our Minds, which yet 
 " we all know cannot be very far dillant from (0) us '* 
 To which I Ihall add thofe Excellent Words (p) of 
 Archbifhop ri//(?/>;;, viz, *' Becaufe the Matters of 
 " Faith do not fall under our Senfes, and the Thinc^s 
 of another World are invifible and at a Diftance, 
 and confequently not {o apt to affed: us, as prefent 
 and fenfible Things ; we fhould take the more 
 pains wjth ourfelves, that by revolving frequently 
 in our Minds the Thoughts of God, and repre- 
 fenting to ourfelves the Happinefs and Mifery of 
 another World, they may have as great an Effedr 
 upon us, as if they were prefent to us, and wefaw 
 them with our bodily Eyes." 
 
 r (^)^^^^J'-'^^'s Sermons, Vol. II, p. 371, 372. Seealfoavery 
 Excellent PalTage to the fame purpofe in his Praaical EiTays onBap- 
 tiim, ^c. EiTay II. chap.ii. & 20. 21, 22. 
 W Works, Vol III, p. 467! ' ' 
 
 CHAP, 
 
^86 A D'ifcourfe coyicerning the 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Concerning the Duty ^SELF-EXAMI- 
 NATION. 
 
 THAT a due and careful Examination of our- 
 felves is one necefTary Means of Religion, is fo 
 frequendy afferted in the Holy Scriptures ^ that he 
 mult be an utter Stranger to them., who is ignorant 
 of this Point. I fhall therefore atprefent only obferve 
 the NecefTity thereof upon thefe two Accounts. Ftrft^ 
 In order to bring us to a true Repentance of our Sins. 
 And Secondly^ That we may thereby be enabled to 
 underfland the true State and Condition of our Souls. 
 And, 
 
 Firft^ A due and careful Examination ofourfelves 
 is necefTary to bring us to a true Repentance of our 
 Sins. This is very clear and evident at firft fight % 
 for unlefs we know our Sins, it is IrapofTible to repent 
 of them ; and we cannot know what our Sins and 
 Offences have been, if we do not carefully examine 
 our Hearts about them. If then we would defire to 
 repent of our Sins, in order to obtain the Pardon of 
 them, we muft earneflly ^<?/fe^ ourjehes^ i Kmgs^ viii. 
 • 47. and examine with holy Joh^ How many are our 
 Iniquities and our Sins F And pray with him to God, 
 that He would make us know our Tran/greJ/lon and our 
 Sin. Job xiii. 23. IVe 7nuft fearch and try our IVaySy that 
 we may turn again unto the Lord. Lam. iii. 40. We mult 
 enter into cur Chamkri andjhut our Doors about us, Ifa- 
 
 XX vL 
 
Religious Obfer^oation of the Lord*s-Day 287 
 
 xxvi. 20. We m\\i\ commune with our own Hearts, 
 Pfalm iv. 4. And let our Spirits make diligent fearchy 
 Pfalm Ixxvii. 6. that we may find out all our Iniquities^ 
 whereby we have finned^ and whereby we have tranfgref- 
 fed againft the Lord. Jer. xxxiii. 8. And this Exa- 
 mination of ourfelves, in order to the Difcovery and 
 Repentance of our Sins, is fo very ufeful and necef- 
 fary ; that upon this i^ccount we fhould not let a Day 
 pafs without difcharging this Duty in fome Meafure. 
 And this is what we are frequently exhorted to by the 
 beft Writers both Pagan and Chriftian. Thus Pytha- 
 goras (or whoever elfe was the Author of thofe Golden 
 Verfes afcribed to him) requires of his Difciples, that 
 they fhould every Night, before they went to fleep, 
 thrice recolledl every fmgle A6lion of the Day paft, 
 and enquire ofthemfelves v/hat Good they had done 
 that Day, or had negleded to do. Run over thefc 
 Things, faith he^ in your Minds, beginning from the 
 firft •, and then, if you have done Evil, be forry for 
 it •, if Good, rejoice (a). The like Pradice is alfo fre- 
 quently recommended to us by Seneca^ Epiofetus^ Mar- 
 cus Antoninus^ and others of the beft Philofophers. And 
 the Paflages, which might be produced out ofChriftian 
 Writers, which enjoin the fame as neceflary and pro- 
 per for all Chriftians^ are innumerable {b). We (liould 
 therefore duly and carefully exercife ourfelves in this 
 great Duty *, and by this Means wefliall attain to a 
 
 perfedt 
 
 (a) M»)c/^' vTTvQv uciXdi)ioi(nv iTr' QiMi.'i.(Tiy &.c. Pythag. Aur. 
 Carm. Vid. Hierocl. in loc. p. 206, 207'. 
 
 (b) Deinde complete die, antequam cubile fuum dormiturus af- 
 ccndat, diicuiiat Confcientiam luam, & rationem a leiplo peiat, an 
 Deum ofFenderit, cogitationc, locutione, operc, deliderio : k. fi 
 offenfionem aliquam Dei. proefcrtim lethaleminvcncrit; non auieat 
 oculos claadere ad nofturnam quietem captandam, nifi Deo primum 
 per veram pccnitentiam reconciliato, & vero ac certo pvopofito con- 
 ccpto de cullodiendis viis I'uis, ut non delinquat in lingua lua, nee in 
 operibas aut appetitionibus luis. BcUarmin, de Arte bene Moricridi 
 lib. i. cap. xvi. 
 
^88 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 perfedl and exad Knowledge of all our Tranfgrefllons ; 
 and ihall be allured, that no Sin which we have com- 
 mitted fhall, unrepented of, rife up in Judgment 
 againft us at the Great Day of Accounts. And more- 
 over by this careful and frequent Examination of our 
 felves we fhail reap this further Advantage ; viz. 
 that we fhall not only hereby be enabled to repent of 
 our Sins, but fhall alfo be more effedually preferved 
 and reftrained from the Commi/Tion of Sin for the 
 fliture. For we cannot call to Mind thofe Sins which 
 we have truly repented of without being made fenfible 
 at the fame Time of the great Uneafmefs and Torment 
 of a guilty Confcience, the terrible Hazard and Dan- 
 ger to which we had expofed ourfelves by our Offences, 
 and the infinite Mercy and Goodnefs of God in fo 
 freely forgiving us for Chrijl's Sake. And furely if 
 w^e have any Regard left for ourfelves, or any due 
 Senfe of the Love and Goodnefs of God towards us j 
 we fhall be more cautious and circumfped for the 
 future, and not readily engage again in fuch Courfes, 
 as we know by Experience were lb afflidling and dan- 
 gerous to ourfelves, as well as difpleafing and pro- 
 voking to God. Of this we have an Eminent Example 
 in Holy David ^ I thought on my PFays, fiith he, i, e, I 
 confidered the Sins and Iniquities of my pail Life, 
 together with their particular Circumflances and Ag- 
 gravations, and the great Evil and Danger of them ; 
 and then it follows, I turned my Feet unto thy 'TcftimO' 
 nies ; I made hafte and delayed not to keep thy Comtnandr 
 'ments, Pfal, cxix, 59, 60. And when we are thus 
 recounting and recolledling our Sins, in order to our 
 Repentance of them -, we muft moreefpecially examine 
 ourfelves and confider, what that Sin is which doth mofl 
 e^/ily hefet us, Heh. xii. i . and in what Refpeds either 
 by Nature or Cullom we are mofl; liable to Temp- 
 tation : fmce, as an excellent Writer well obferves (c)^ 
 
 " The 
 
 (/) Ne'fon on the Fealb and Fnils, p. 6i6, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 289 
 
 *' The Devil like a fkilfuJ General will attack us> 
 *' where we lie moil expofed ; hoping by gaining 
 " that Poll, to make the Town quickly furrender ; 
 ** therefore in furveying the State of our Minds we 
 * ' fhould have an Eye to thofe Places that will lead bear 
 *' an Allault, thofe Appetites or PafTions that moft 
 *' frequently occafion our Fall." And this clofe 
 Infpeftion into ourfelves will be of great Ufe and 
 Service to us, not only as thereby we fhall be the more 
 effedually fecured from the Danger of falling ; but 
 alfo as we fhall reap this great Comfort and Satis- 
 fa6lion of Mind from it, v'vz. that when we are con- 
 fcious to ourfelves, that we have watched diligently 
 againft our Favourite Vices, and done our beft En- 
 deavours to fubdue and overcome them ; we may be 
 the more fully fansfied and affured of our Sincerity 
 in all other Parts of Chriftian Duty. But, 
 
 Secondly, It is not fufficient to the Purpofes of Re- 
 ligion barely to enquire into ourfelves, in Order to 
 the Difcovery and Repentance of our Sins ; but it is 
 further incumbent upon Us frequendy and diligently 
 to examine our Hearts, that we may underftand the 
 true State and Difpolition of our Souls. For it is in 
 vain to repent of what is paft, unlefs we amend and 
 reform (i) our Lives for the future, and attain to the 
 Habits of Univerfal Righteoufnels and Holineis, with- 
 out which we cannot be faved. And the Examination 
 of our felves in this refped will require much more 
 Time and Pains, than in the former ; it being not fo 
 difficult to find out in what refpedls we have offended 
 againft the Laws of God, as it is to difcover the true 
 
 U Temper 
 
 (</} Scelerum fi bene poenitet, 
 Ersdenda Ciipidinis 
 Pravi funt Elementa : & teners nimis 
 Mentes afperioribus 
 Fonnandje Studiis. 
 
 Hifrat. Cam. lib, iii. Od. 24- 
 
2 go A Difcourfe cmicerriing the 
 
 Temper and Difpofition of our Minds, and upon what 
 Principles our Religious A6lions and Performances 
 are grounded. For to ufe the Words of the Prophet 
 on this Occafion, tho' they are undoubtedly applied 
 by him to another Purpofe (*), lloe Heart is deceitful 
 above (e) all things^ who can know it ? Jer. xvii. 9. 
 But neverthelefs, if we will fearch diligently into our 
 Hearts, we may attain to a true and exact Knowledge 
 of them. And there are feveral Rules to be obferved, 
 which will enable us to make this Difcovery. But the 
 chief and principal of them are thefe two. Firft^ If 
 upon Enquiry we can affure ourfelves that we have 
 no corrupt Ends nor worldly Defigns in any of our 
 Religious Adions •, but that we perform them out of 
 a fole view to the Glory of God, and our own Salva- 
 tion. And Secondly^ if our Love to God and a Re- 
 gard to His Authority be fuch, as determines us to a 
 Perfed: and Univerfal Obedience to His Command- 
 ments. Now upon thefe Principles we fliould care- 
 fully examine into the State and Condition of our 
 Souls; and fee whether our Performances in Religion 
 are grounded upon their true and proper Motives, 
 and whether our Lives and Mannei-s are perfe6lly 
 agreeable to the Laws of God. Thus in general W€ 
 fhould enquire of ourfelves, and fee whether our Con- 
 verfation is in Heaven ; PbiL iii. 20. whether our ^f- 
 f colons he fet on Things above, and not on 7'bings on the 
 Earth \ CoL iii. 2 . and whether our whole Behaviour 
 and Converfatlon he fuch as hecometh the Gofpel of Chrijl ? 
 Phil i. 27. And as we make Profeflion o^ Chrijl'' s 
 Gofpel, we fhould .epcamine ourfelves y whether we be in 
 the Faith ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5. and whether we have main- 
 tained the Chriftian Dodrine in all Parts thereof, in 
 
 it's 
 
 {*) See Archbifliop Sharp's ^txmons. Vol. III. Sermon xiv, in 
 which there are many excellent and judicious Obfervations upoR 
 Hus Head. 
 
 (f) See Dean I'ounfs Sexmons, yd. II. p. 99. &c. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day . 291 
 
 it's Purity and Perfe6lion : not only as by this means 
 wefhali beiecured from the Guilt and Danger of &- 
 refy^ GaL v. 20. butalfo upon the Account of that Ef- 
 fed and Influence, which a true and right Faith hath 
 upon our Lives and Adions {f). And as wefhould 
 thus examine ourfelves in general, fo we fhould extend 
 thi^ Examination to every Part and Branch of thatDu- 
 ty, which we owe to God, our Neighbour and ourfelves. 
 Firft^ Thus with refped to God, we fhould 
 carefully examine ourfelves, whether we have a fixed 
 and ftedfaft Belief of His Being and Attributes -, fince 
 without fuch Faith it is impojfibie to pleafe Him. Heh. xi. 6, 
 and particularly of His Omnifcience and Omniprefence^ 
 A^s XV. 18. Heh, iv. 13. Ffal cxxxix. 7, 6'r. and 
 the Righteoufnefs and Goodnefs of His Providence ; 
 Ffal cxlv. 17. Gen, xviii. 25. And whether upon 
 this Account we fubmit ourfelves to His Will in all 
 Things, and are patient under all thofe Sufferings and 
 Afflidions which he is pleafed to fend upon us. Job i. 
 21. Heh, xii. 5, i£c. Whether we duly reverence all 
 His Divine Excellencies and Perfedions; FfaL xxxlii. 
 8. Heh, xii. 2 8. and endeavour to imitate them in our 
 Lives and Converfations. Matt, v. 48. E-ph, v. i. and 
 whether in Virtue of His Right in creating us, Ifa. 
 xliii. 7, 21. and His fupreme Authority and Domi- 
 nion over US', Tian, iv. 17. 'Pfal. xxii. 28. we be care* 
 ful to obferve all the refpedive Dudes which we owe 
 to Him, and walk in all His Ordinances a?td Command- 
 7nents, hlamelefs^ Luke 1,6. Whtthtr wt love God above 
 all Things^ Matt, xxii, 37. and have a greater Fear of 
 His Difpleafure than of the word and mofl dreadful 
 Evils, Lzike xii. 4, 5. And when we are thus confi- 
 dering our Duty to God, we fhould more particularly 
 examine ourfelves, whether we have a due Regard to 
 the Honour and Majefty of God, in thefsJ Two Re- 
 
 U 2 fpeds. 
 
 (/) Male enim vivitur, fi dc Deo nou bene crditur. Aj. ^^ 
 Qivitate Pei, Hi;, v. (cp. x. 
 
292 A Difcourfe concernhig the 
 
 fpedls. Fxrfi^ In diligently and conftantly attending 
 unon His Public Worfliip at the Hated Times and 
 Seafons of it ; PM xcvi. 8. fince Piety towards God 
 is not only a Necefiary and Eflential Duty of Reli- 
 gion, but alfo the Principal and Foundation of all 
 Virtues (^) ; as hath been before fully fhewn (/■). And 
 in the Performance of this Duty of Public Worfliip 
 we fhould carefully examine ourfelves as to the Manner 
 of performing it, 'Pfal. Ix^xix- 7. and fee that we offer 
 up no corrupt Sacrifices unto Him, Mai. i. 14. and 
 that we do not pretend to honour Him with oiir Lips, 
 while our Hearts are far from Plim, Matt.w, 8. And 
 Secondly^ we fhould examine this our Regard to the 
 Majefly and Honour of God, by duly enquiring whe- 
 ther we have been inviolably true to all thofe Oaths 
 and Vows which we have made in His Name ; Numb, 
 XXX. 2. Matt.v, 33. and whether, as a powerful Means 
 Xo reftrain and prevent the Guilt of Perjury, we watch 
 diligently and conftantly over ourfelves, that we do 
 not profane the Holy Name of God by rafli and com- 
 mon Swearing (?). E:xod.xx. 7. Matt, y, 24.. And 
 
 Secondly^ with refped to our Neighbour, we fhould 
 diligendy examine ourfelves, whether we duly dii^ 
 charge all the Duties which we owe to him. More 
 particularly, we fliould enquire of ourfelves, whether 
 we fincerely love him, Ro7n. xii. 20. i John iv. 21. 
 and pay him that Honour and Refpecl which thro* 
 
 the 
 
 {g) Uacmv Twv ctpijcov i'yiy.eov igiv Iv^iCnct' Hierocl. in Pythag. 
 Aur Caim. p. 10. 
 
 {h) See above p. 100. 
 
 {ij '*0v7ti> yb av iti^tijeUfjSjJ 70 an €ycp)t«f, et* aim ;(a7*XP'^^*/^*'' 
 Bet 7uf opKO/i )y yd h lii (TVV^X'^f' '^ ofxVVHV, pctSico^ ctV 
 [jLi]a,7d(;vi 77V B< I'mofKiciV' Idem p. 34. And it is very remarkable, 
 that that fayf.ng of St J times ^ chap. v. 12. Swear not, left ye 
 fall i/ito Condemnation ; is in Ibmcofthcbcft Copies and feveral 
 of the oJd Verfions rendered thus; left ye fall into Hypocrif : 
 as if the Sin of frcouent and common Swearing naturally tend-^d 
 to involve Men in the Guilt of Lying and Perjury. Vid, Crct. Be::.- 
 & Efliim in loc. 
 
Religiotcs Olfirvation of the Lord*s Day. 293 
 
 the Superiority of his Age and Station is due to him ; 
 I Fet, V. 5. Rom. xii. 10. chap. xiii. 7. whether we live 
 inPeaceandFriendfhipwithhim, /^o;;z.xii. 18. whether 
 we are pundtually juft and honeft in all our Dealings 
 with him ; Matt, vii. 12. and not only abftain from the 
 groflcr kinds of Injuftice, as Murder, Adultery, and 
 the like, but alfo from all inferiour Inftances and De- 
 grees of it-, fuch as Theft and Damage, Exod.xr., 
 15. chap. xxii. 5. OpprelFion and Fraud, Lev. xxv. 
 17. Luke iii. 13. iTheJf. iv. 6. and every thing elfe 
 that approaches thereunto; ilheff. y.22. whether 
 we keep ourfelves from all Slander and falfe Witnefs, 
 Exod. >oc. 16. and inviolably obferve the Truth in all 
 our Aflertions and Declarations •, Eph. iv. 25, whe- 
 ther we have Charity in relieving his Wants, Rom, 
 xii. 20. Mercy in pitying his Misfortunes, Lukevi. 
 36, C^/. iii. 12, 13. and Candour in the Interpreta- 
 tion of his Adions; Matt, vii. 1,2. And whether we 
 contribute all that lies in our Power to u\t Happinefs 
 and Salvation of Mankind, by inftructing the Igno- 
 rant, 2 I'iiJi. ii. 25. by reproving the Wicked, Lev: 
 xix. 17. and by propounding to the Imitation of all 
 Men a bright and fliining Example of Piety and 
 Religion in our own Perfons. Matt. v. 16. And then. 
 
 In the 'Third 3,nd laft place, with refpect to ourfelves, 
 we fhould carefijlly enquire whether we have attained 
 to a perfe6b and compleat Vidtory over all our PafTions ; 
 more particularly, whether we are truly humble in 
 our Thoughts, Rom. xii. 3. meek in our Tempers, 
 Ahtt. v. 5. temperate in our Enjoyments, Lukexxu 
 -34. I Cor. ix. 25. chaflein our Hearts, Prov. iv. 23. 
 and modeft in our Language and Behaviour, Eph. iv. 
 29. I ^heff'. iv. 3. diligent in our Callings, Eph, iv. 
 28. and contented in our Condition. Heb. xiii. 5. And 
 whether we make a good Ufe and Improvement of all 
 the Talents which God liath committed to our Ma- 
 •nagement; fuch as Time, Healih, Riches, Learn- 
 ing, Power, i^c. Matt, xxv. 14. to 31. and employ 
 
 U ^ them 
 
294- ADifcourJe concerning the 
 
 them as far as we are able to the Honour of God, 
 I Cor, X. 31. and the Benefit of Mankind. Gal. vi. 10. 
 And laft of all ; we fhould examine ourfelves, whe- 
 ther, in order to the due Difcharge of all Chriftian 
 Duties, and that we may the better repent of what we 
 have done amifs, and encourage and comfort our- 
 felves when we have done well, we be careful to 
 improve our Minds in Divine Knowledge, by read- 
 ing of pious and good Books, and particularly by a 
 conftant and diligent Study of the Holy Scriptures. 
 Jo'hnv. 39. 2'Th/i, iii. 16, 17 (k). This is what the 
 great Duty of Self-examination requires of us ; and 
 we muft be fure that we perform it frequently and 
 diligendy, if we would underfland the true State 
 and Difpofition of our Souls. And to underfland this 
 is abfolutely necefTary upon thefe two Accounts. 
 
 Firft, In order to obtain the Peace and Tran- 
 quillity of our Minds, and a reafonable and 
 well grounded Hope of God's Favour. As to 
 the Peace of our Minds : This fo naturally de- 
 pends upon the Pradlice of Virtue, that it is 
 impofTible to fecure it upon any other Principle, 
 as hath been already obferved (/j. And fo ne- 
 celTary is the conftant Pradlice of Piety and Vir- 
 tue to obtain the Love and Favour of God, that 
 a Man cannot pofTibly fall into a greater Miftake 
 and Delufion than to expe6l it upon any other Terms. 
 For it is the Voice of Nature, as well as the Exprefs 
 Declaration of Holy Scripture, that without Holinefs 
 710 Man /hall fee the Lord, Hek xil 14. For, as a 
 
 Learned 
 
 VQ^^i TiVcif hdCoty y^9* af Kffi^a-riKet tUjj ^«oh ratTjcif, xj <!^( 
 
 Bvi'eiv tIv ohov Yifx(dv filov i Hierocl, in Pythag. Aur. Carm, 
 pag. 206. 
 
 U) Seep. 210, i^i. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 295 
 
 Learned Writer well {m) obferves, " The Expefta- 
 tion and Hope of any Man for Life and Im- 
 mortality and Glory, without previous FToli- 
 nefs, can be buiit on no other Foundation but 
 this, that God will refcind His Eternal De- 
 crees, and change His Purpofes, that is, ceafe 
 to be God, merely to comply with them in 
 their Sins •, and who knows not what will be 
 the End of fuch a curfed Hope and Expec- 
 tation ?" And to ufe the Words of an Excellent 
 Prelate, *' The Terms of our Happinefs are firmly 
 and immutably fixed, like the Foundation of the 
 Earthy which cannot he 7noved % Nay fooner may 
 Heaven and Earth pafs azmy than a wicked Man 
 enter into the Kingdom of Heaven {n). If then 
 we would upon good Grounds procure the Peace and 
 Tranquillity of our Minds, and afcertain our felves 
 of the Love and Favour of God ; we muft carefully 
 examine into the State and Difpofition of our Souls, 
 that we may fee whether we are entitled to thcfe great 
 Bleffings, by a fmcere Repentance of all our Sins, 
 and by the conftant Pradice of Religion and Virtue. 
 And, 
 
 Secondly^ To enquire into the State and Difpofition 
 of our Souls is abfolutely necefTary in order to difco- 
 ver our Growth in Grace, and Improvement in all 
 Chriftian Virtues. This is whau the Holy Scriptures 
 require of us in iBany Places. Thus lays the Apoftle, 
 Grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour y ejus Chrifi. 2 Pet. Wu 18. And St P^^/ com- 
 mands that 07{r Lovefhoidd abound yet more and more in 
 Knowledge and in all Judgment \ thai we may be filed 
 with the Fruits of Righteoufnefs, i^c. Phil. i. 9, 10, 11. 
 And again, fays he. Leaving the Principles of the Do^rine 
 of Chrifi let us go on to Perfeclion^ Heh. vi. i . In which 
 
 U 4 l^e 
 
 {m) "Dr Ozven's Pneumatologici, p, 521, 
 (n) TVIotfon, Vol. III. p. 199. 
 
296 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 he gives us his own Example, ForgeUwg thofe Things 
 which are behind, and reaching forth unto thofe things 
 'which aj-e before^ I prefs toward the Mark for the Prize 
 cf the high Calling of God in Chrift Jefus. Phil. iii. 13, 
 14. Now this Growth in Grace is abfolutely necefiary 
 upon thefe two Accounts. 
 
 Firft, In order to attain to that Perfe6lion of 
 Piety and Virtue which our Holy Religion re- 
 quires of us. Thus fays our BlefTed Lord, Be ye 
 therefore perfeB, even as your Father which is Tn Hea- 
 ven is Perfcoi. Matt. v. ////. And the Apoftle, as 
 He which hath called you is Holy, fo be ye Holy in all Man- 
 ner of Converfation, i Pet, i. 15. If we fliould confi- 
 der the Clearnefs and Plainnefs of thofe Precepts which 
 are laid down to us in the Scripture ; the mighty Aids 
 and AfTiftances of God's Grace and Holy Spirit -, and 
 the great Strength and Force of thofe Arguments which 
 are propounded to us in the Gofpel, particularly thofe 
 v/hich are taken from the Eternal Rewards and Punifh- 
 lanents of another World : We might be apt to think, 
 that in virtue of thefe great Motives and Confidera- 
 tions God might reafonably expedl, that v/e fhould 
 imm.ediately forfake all Manner of Sin and Wicked- 
 riefs, and at once attain to the perfedl Habits of Piety 
 and Virtue. And it is certain that the Chriftian Faith 
 had this EfFed upon many of the Primitive Converts, 
 who were at once reclaimed from a very wicked and 
 profligate Courfe of Living to a mod Eminent De- 
 gree of Holinefs and Piety (0). But the great Weak- 
 uefs and I m potency of our Nature fince the Fall, the 
 Univerfal Corruption which enfued thereupon, the 
 firong Prppenfipn and Inclination of all Men to Sin 
 
 and 
 
 {0) Da mihi virvim, qui fit iracundus, maledicus, effrrenatus ; pau- 
 c'llTimis Dei verbis tnm placidum quam ovem reddam. Da libidinoium, 
 ^c. Numquis h?cc Philofophorum aut unquam praeftitit, aut prae- 
 Itarc, fi velit, potcft ? La6ia?it. hijlitut. lib. iii. cap. xxvi. See 
 alfo Dr Scott V Chrijiian Ltfe., 8vo. ^0/. III. chap. vii. p. y^, 79. 
 /;/ zvhich there are fever a} remarkable P^Jfages (itedont.sf Sf Origen 
 to this Purpofe, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord*s-Day 297 
 
 and Wickednefs, and above all the mighty Power 
 •and Dominion of Evil Habits, under which the 
 greateft Part of Mankind are unhappily fallen, are 
 a fufncient Bar to this Expeclation. And therefore, 
 tho' in the firft Ages of Chriilianity, when the Faith 
 of Chriftians was fupported in it's full Vigour by daily 
 and conftant Miracles, and an uncommon Degree and 
 Meafure of God's Spirit was fhed abroad upon the 
 Church, fomething Extraordinary might be expetled ; 
 yet in the general State and Condition of the Church 
 the Cafe is quite otherwife. And God in His great 
 Mercy and Goodnefs is ready to make all reafonable 
 Allowances for our Frailties and Imperfedions. And 
 therefore He does not exped that we fliall at once get 
 the Victory over our fmful Habits, and advance to 
 the Perfedion of Chriftian Virtue. But He requires 
 only, that we diligently confider and attend to the 
 great Arguments and Motives of the Gofpel, and in 
 Virtue of them be determined to abftain from all 
 known Sin and Wickednefs ; that we carefally watch 
 over ourfelves to difcover our Infirmities and Cor- 
 ruptions ; that we ufe our bed Endeavours to reform 
 and amend our Lives, till by degrees we arrive at the 
 Height of Chnftian Perfe6lion : till we attain to the 
 Meafure of the Stature of the Fullnef of Chr'ift^ Eph. 
 IV, ig. and become ^^r/>i/, even as our Father which 
 is in Heaven is perfect. Matt. -v. 48. And, 
 
 Secondly^ Our Growth in Grace is abfolutely necefi-i- 
 ry to prevent our Apoftacy and Defedion from Piety 
 and Virtue. For Religion is a Frogreffive (p) Work, 
 
 and 
 
 (/>) A Man is never fo good as he ought to be. who doth not 
 heartily defire and defign to be as good as he can be, and breatlic and 
 pant after Perfeftion itfelf even in this Life, tho' lie be fatislied 
 that it is not fully attainable, but in another ; fmce withal- he h 
 ^atisHed, tiiat the more uniformly and vigoroafly he prelFes toward 
 rhe iVIarkof Perfe»^ion in this Life, the nearer {till he fh^ll approach 
 • it, tho' he fliall never reach it : and the nearer he is tovv?r<l 
 
 reaching 
 
298 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 and requires a continual Increafe and Improvement in 
 all Chnfiian Graces and Virtues. And it- is in vain to 
 think that we can attain tofuch Perfe6tion of Holinefs 
 and Virtue, as that we fhall have no Occafion to 
 proceed any further. For unlefs we move forward in 
 a Courfe of Piety and Religion, we fhall neceffariiy 
 go backward, till at length we fnall fall from our 
 Stedfaftnefs. And accordingly we find that the A- 
 poftle prefcribes this very thing, as the Means to pre- 
 vent our Apoltacy : '^ake heed^ fays he, left ye fall from 
 your own Stedfaftnefs \ and then follows the Remedy, 
 hut grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jefus Chrift. 2 Pet. iii. 17, 18. If then we have 
 any Regard to the Peace and Tranquillity of our 
 Minds, and to the Love and Favour of God, and 
 would know upon good Grounds whether we are 
 juftly entitled to thefe great BlefTings ; we mull dili- 
 gently examine our Hearts, and fee in what Manner 
 we have behaved ourfelves •, whether we have re- 
 conciled ourfelves to God by a true Repentance, 
 and have endeavoured to pleafe Him in all Things, 
 and to zvalk in all His Cofmnandments and Ordinances 
 hlanielefs \ and whether we have duly difcharged all 
 the Duties which we owe to our Neighbours and our- 
 felves. We muft carefully enquire into the Tempers 
 and Difpofitions of our Minds, whether our Affe- 
 (ftions 2i\'tfet on the Tbings that are above ^ and our Con* 
 
 verfation 
 
 reaching it here, the more glorious fhall be his Crown, and the 
 more exalted his StaPe of Perfcftion hereafter. And therefore if 
 any one find himfclf inclined to circumfcribe his Pradlice within 
 fuch or fuch Limits of Duty, beyond which he never intends nor 
 cxpefts to go, to hold fall the Pleafures of Life, and to enjoy as 
 much of them as ever he can confiflently with the Principles of Re- 
 ligion, arguing always for the utmoft Extent of his Chriftian Li- 
 berty, and defiring to make his Obligation as narrow as may be : 
 Such an one hath Reafon to conclude, that he is as yet fhort of 
 thofe Qualifications which are neceflary to recommend him to the 
 Judge of all Hearts and Difcerner of Spirits. 
 
 Bifhop Atterbury's Sermons ^ Vol. IlL />. 320-1. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 299 
 
 verfation he in Heaven ; and whether we die daily unto 
 Sin, and live unfo Righteoufnefs -, and whether 'the longer 
 we live in the World, we become more fenfible of 
 the Vanity thereof, and do more defpife the Riches, 
 Honours and Pleafures of it ; and whether as we 
 have received of the Lord, how we ought to walk and to 
 -pleafe God, fo we endeavour to ahomid more and more ; 
 I ^hejj, iv. I. till at length we arrive at that Per- 
 fedion of Piety and Virtue, which our Holy Reli- 
 gion requires of us. For this, as hath been fl^iewn, 
 is not only highly reafonable and neceflary, but is 
 moreover of the utmoft Benefit and Advantage to 
 ourfelves •, fmce as the Apoftleobferves, Rom. vi. 22. 
 If our Fruit he unto Holinefs, our End jhall he Everlafi- 
 ing Life, 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Concerning the Religious Education of Children. 
 
 IS H A L L not in treating upon this Point 
 fpend any Time in ihewing the Benefit and Ad- 
 vantage of a good Education, neither fhall I defcribe 
 at large the many and feveral Particulars, in which 
 the Religious Education of Children doth confift, 
 fuch as the bringing them to be bapdzed in the Con- 
 gregation of Chrift, and afterwards to be confirmed 
 by the Bifhop ; the having them publickly Catechized 
 in the Church ; the fetdng a pious and good Example 
 conftantly before them •, with other Things of the 
 like Nature, which, tho' they are very Neceflary 
 and Eflential Parts of C/^n)?f^« Education, yet he out 
 of my prefent Defign. For this hath been fully 
 done by many excellent Writers, from whom any one 
 ■^ may 
 
300 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 may recleve fufficient Information in this Matter {a). 
 But all that I fhall do at prefent is to obferve as 
 briefly as I can, wherein the Pious and Religious E- 
 ducation of Children doth chiefly and principally 
 confift. And then in the fecond Place, to conflder 
 'the abfolute Neceflity and unfpeakable Advantage 
 of fuch Education. And /r/. Wherein the Pious ^ 
 and lleligious Education of Children doth princi- 
 pally coniid. Now this in general confifts in Inftru- 
 citingthem early and fully in all the Dodrines and 
 Duties of the Chriftian Religion, and in ufing all . 
 poflible Means to ground and confirm them in the 
 Belief and Pra61:ice of them. And this is chiefly and 
 principally to be done thefe three Ways. Firft^ By 
 inftrucling them early in fome fhort Summary and 
 Catechifm, containing the Principles and Duties of 
 Chrijl^s Gofpel. Secondly , By often inculcating the 
 fame Points upon them by Word of Mouth, and in 
 their Difcourfe and Converfation. And 'Thirdly^ 
 By obliging them frequently to read pious and good 
 Books, and efpecially the Holy Scriptures. ' 
 
 And Firft then. The Religious Education of Chil- 
 dren impiiesthe intruding them early in fome fhort 
 Summary and Catechifm, containing thePrinciples and 
 Duties of Cbrift's Gofpel. And of this kind there 
 are feveral to be found in the Nation -, but that which 
 is appointed for this purpofe by our own Church, is of 
 all others the befl: and mofl: excellent. And in this 
 Catechifm all Parents fhould early and diligently in- 
 fLru61: their Children, and make them get it all by 
 heart and remember it exadly. And in order to 
 their better underftanding of it, they fhould make 
 them read it with fome fliort and plain Expofition -, 
 in which tht Senfe and Meaning thereof is explained, 
 and every Part iliuilrated and conflrmed by Proofs 
 
 from 
 
 {^) See particularly Archhidiop Ti//cf/or!, Biihop Flee ftocody and 
 M^ Led upon this Subjccl. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 301 
 
 from Holy Scripture, of which there are fo many Ex^ 
 cellent ones publifhed in our Language, that a Man 
 may eafily make a good Choice. And in the Ufe of 
 thefe Expofitions a Parent ihould aflift the Weaknefs 
 of his Chikirens Judgment, by explaining every Pait 
 to them, as far as their Capacities will admit, and 
 making them underftand it perfedly. And more 
 particularly, they ihould make them fully acquainted 
 with the true Senfe and Meaning ot every Petition 
 in the Lor(^s Prayer^ and of every Article in the Creed ^ 
 and fhould let them know diftindly the View and 
 Defign of them, and what Effed and Influence the 
 Ufe of thofe Petitions and the Belief of thofe Arti- 
 cles ought to have upon their Lives and Converfli- 
 tions : and This, becaufe the Lord's Prayer and the 
 Creed are by every Member of our Church conftant- 
 ly recited in our Public Worfhip, and therefore ought 
 not to be ufed and offered up to God by any one by 
 Rote only, and as a mere Cuftomary Form of 
 Vv^ords (as it is m.uch to be feared it is the Pradticeof 
 too many Perfons to do) but with due Underftanding 
 and proper A ffedions : fince otherwife, his offering up 
 thofe Pedtions to God, and making ProfefTion of his 
 Faith in Him, will be fo far from being well plea- 
 fmg and acceptable to God, that it muft rather be 
 offenfive and difpleafing to Him. And fo likewife 
 when ' they proceed to the Chrifiian Sacraments ot 
 Baptifm and the Lord^s Supper^ they muft be careful to 
 explain to them the true Nature and Defign of them ; 
 and muft let them knov/, that they are not mere 
 Forms and Ceremonies, as too many Perfons now 
 falfely reprefent them, but Matters of theutmoft Con- 
 fequence and Importance to the truly Chriftian Life 
 and Converfation (h). That Baptifm is the Great 
 3acrament of Initiation into theGofpel, as Circumdfion 
 
 was 
 
 {b) See above p. 12I; izz- 
 
302 A Difcoujje concerning the 
 
 was into the 7^zc;i/^ Difpenfation. And as every Per- 
 fon that was circumcifed did thereby become a Debtor to 
 do the whole Law •, Galat. v. 3. So whofoever is bap- 
 tized into the Chriftian Religion, does thereby lay 
 himfelf under a moltfolemn Obligation to obferve all 
 the Terms and Conditions of the Gofpel- Covenant. 
 Ronu vi. 3, 4. (and for this Reafon the Clrcumcifion of 
 Chr'ifl^ mentioned by SiPaul^ CoL ii. 11. is by fome 
 good Interpreters (c) underftood of the Chriftian Bap- 
 tifm). And that Baptifm does not fave us by putting 
 away the Filth of the FleJJo^ hit by the Anfwer of a good 
 Confcience towards God -^ i Pet. iii. 21. and confequently 
 if they do not anfwer the End and Defign of their 
 Baptifm, by fulfilling the Terms of the Gofpel -Cove- 
 nant, and living in Univerfal Holinefs and Goodnels, 
 their Baptifm will be fo far from being a BlefTing and 
 Advantage to them, that on the Contrary it will prove 
 the greateft Infelicity and Curfe which could pofTibly 
 have befallen them : Since it would have been better for 
 them not to have known the Way of Righteoufnefs^ than 
 after they had known it to turn from the Holy Cofnmand- 
 ment delivered unto the?n* 2 Pet, ii. 21. And fo with 
 regard to the Lord's Supper^ it fhould be well and fre- 
 quently imprinted on their Minds, that the receiving 
 this Holy Sacrament is not a bare eanng of Bread 
 and drinking of Wine in Remembrance of Chrift's 
 Death, but a moft Solemn and Sacred Inftitution ; 
 in which the Infinite Love of our Dear Saviour in 
 dying for us is in a moft lively Manner difplayed and 
 reprefented to our Minds, and by which all the Bene- 
 fits of His Death and Pafiion are conveyed and ad- 
 miniflred to us. For the Sacramental Bread and 
 Wine is the Communion of the Body and Blood of Chrifty 
 as St Paul obfcrvcs, 1 Cor. x, 16 (i) and therefore 
 
 they 
 
 '-) See 
 
 uuus in loc. A^^/J/^;? on the Feltivals, p. nc, 
 Hurnet, Artie. XXVIII. d. 316, 317, 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 303 
 
 they Ihould not only regularly and conftantly receive 
 this Blefled Sacrament, in Virtue of Chrtft'% Com- 
 mand requiring them todofo, butalfo with the high- 
 eft Gratitude and moft Inflamed Afl-edions towards 
 Him, and from a due Senfe of His Amazing Love 
 in dying for us, with a True and Perfe6l: Love and 
 Charity for all Mankind. And in like Manner when 
 Parents are Catechizing their Children in the Moral 
 Precepts of Religion, they muft make them fully fen- 
 fible that they are not only ftridly bound to pradice 
 all Moral Duties, becaufeGod hath exprefsly enjoined 
 them, but alfo becaufe they are Abfolute Neceffary 
 Qualiiicadons, without which the Happinefs of Hea- 
 ven cannot polTibly be enjoyed {e). Nay, and moreo- 
 ver, that they are Indifpenfably requifite to their Peace, 
 Comfort, and True Happinefs even in this prefenc 
 Life (f). And therefore as they have any Regard to 
 their true Intereft and Happinefs in this World, and 
 to the Salvation of their Souls in the World to come, 
 they muft be exceedingly careful, that they regularly 
 and conftantly live in the Univerfal Praftice of Moral 
 Virtue, In this Manner fhould Chriftian Parents in- 
 ftrud their Children in their Catechifm •, fince if they 
 only make them learn it by Rote (as the General Cut 
 torn is to do) without explaining the Senfe and Mean- 
 ing thereof to them, and acquainting them with the 
 View and Defign of every Part, and deeply im- 
 printing it upon their Minds and Underftandings, 
 they might to all the Intents and Purpofes of Reli- 
 ligion, as well not inftru6l and catechize them at 
 all. But, 
 
 Secondly, Becaufe the Underftandings of Young 
 Perfons are weak, and their Apprehenfions of Things 
 very imperfedl and obfcure ; it is further Neceffary to 
 the Religious Education of Children, that Parents 
 
 inftrudt 
 
 {e) See Tillotfon, Vol. I. p. 96. 
 (/) See above p. z 10, 211. 
 
'^04 A I) ifcourfe concerning' the 
 
 inftru^t them in the great Points of Chnjiian Know- 
 ledge ig) by Word of Mouth, and in their Difcourfe 
 and Converfition. And this muft be done frequently 
 and carefully, upon all proper Occafions and Oppor- 
 tunities. For, as an Eminent Writer hath well obfer- 
 ved (/-?J, " The I mpreffions of Piety and Virtue on 
 *' the Minds of Men mqft be in Proportion to the 
 *' fignal Force with which thofe ImprelTionS are made, 
 "'*' and the Frequency with which they are repeated."' 
 And therefore if Parents heartily defire that their 
 Children fhould be duly improved in Chnjiian Know- 
 ledge, they muft ufe all pofiible Diligence, and lay 
 hold of every Opportunity to inftrucl them in every 
 Part of it. Moreelpecially, they fhould be care- 
 ful frequently to inftrucl them in the Three Gene- 
 ral Heads of Chnjiian Duty, viz. their Duty to 
 God, their Neighbour, and Themfelves-, for thefe 
 will naturally and by Degrees lead them to the 
 Pra6tice of all the Pardcular Duties, which are de- 
 rived therefrom. 
 
 As to the Firji^ They fhould frequently put them 
 in Mind, that God not only created them out of 
 nothing, but that He alfo fupports them continually 
 by his Good Providence, and fupplys them with 
 all the Neceffaries and Conveniencies of Life ; and 
 which is infinitely beyond this, that He hath prepa- 
 red a State of Eternal and Inconceivable Happin^fs 
 for them, when this Life fhall be at an End j and hath 
 
 fent 
 
 {£) The Difficulty of keeping young and hot Blood in order 
 does mightily enforce the Ncccflity of an early Care for the Train- 
 ing up of Children, and giving them a Tinclure, before it be too 
 late, of thofe Doftrines and Principles, by which they are after- 
 wards to govern the whole Frame of their Lives. For in their 
 Jelider Years they are more fufceptible of profitable and virtuous 
 Lnpreflions than afterwards, when they come to be folicited by the • 
 Impu':fe of common and vulgar Inclinations.' UE/lrange's Fables, 
 8vo. Vol. I. Fab. 184./). 198. . 
 
 {b) Revelation examined with Candour, Vol. II, p. 165-; 
 
Religious Obfervationofjhe Lord's Day. 305 
 
 • fent His only Begotten Son into the World to afTure 
 them of it, who hath (hed His moft Precious Blood 
 to redeem them from Death, and to purchafe Eternal 
 Life for^ them : and confequently that they ought in 
 the higheft Degree to Love, Honour, and Adore {o 
 Good and Excellent a Being (i), and to manifeft their 
 continual Dependance upon Him by Hearty and 
 Conftant Prayer and Devotion, both Public and 
 Private. And that they may better difcharge this 
 NecefTary Duty, they fhould furnifh them with 
 fome fit and proper Form of Private Devotion, and 
 fee that they Regularly make ufe of it ; and fhould 
 from the Beginning inftrud and train them up under 
 a Due Senfe of the Abfolute NecefTity of attending 
 upon the Public Worfhip. And if they are hearty 
 and fincere in this InftruCtion, they muft be extreme- 
 Jy careful, that they {ti before their Children a Good 
 Example in this Particular •, and that they never neg- 
 led: the Public Worfhip Themfelves for the Sake of 
 any Company or Worldly Pleafure, but only in Cafe 
 of Sicknefs or unavoidable NecefHty. And further, 
 when they are thus inftrucling their Children in their 
 Duty to God, they muft not only make them fenfi- 
 ble of His Being, but alfo of all His Excellencies 
 and Perfedions ; and muft diftindtly fhew them what 
 Effed and Influence the Belief of thefe Divine Per- 
 fedlions ought to have upon their Lives and Manners* 
 More particularly, they fhould frequently put them 
 in Mind, tliat God is every where pre[ent^ PfaL cxxxix. 
 7, &c. and knoweth all 'Thing s^ ver, 2, 3. Heb. iv. 13; 
 even the fecret Thoughts of the Heart, t Chron, xxviii^ 
 9. And therefore in all their A6lions they fhould fet 
 the Lord always he fore them, and behave themfelves as 
 being ever under His immediate Eye and Infpedlion. 
 FfaL xvij 8. And this more efpecially, becaufe as 
 
 X God 
 
 fe') Sec above Part I, Intrody(J^i9r, p. i ^i4 t-. 
 
5 6 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 God fees and difcovers all their Adlions, fo He is of 
 abfolute Holineis and inflexible Juftice, and will not 
 Vil all acquit the PFicked, Nakmi. i. 3. nor hy any means 
 clear the Guilty \ Exod, xxxiv. 7. and for the more 
 folemn Manifeftation of His Juftice batb appoi}2ted a 
 Da)\ in 'which He will judge the World in Right eoufnefi^ 
 A3s xvii. 3 1 . and will bring every Work into Judg- 
 ment ^ with every fecret 'thing, whether it he good or evil •, 
 Eccl xii. ult. a Day, when all Men fhall be fentenced to 
 a State of everlafting and inconceivable Happinefs or 
 Mifery according to their Deferts. Matt. xxv. 
 46. And becaule the Dodrine of a Future Judg- 
 ment and Eternal Retributions is of the utmoft 
 Confequence to Religion, without a Firm and Sted- 
 faft Belief of which the Pradice of Piety and Vir- 
 tue cannot pofTibly be fupported and maintained, as 
 was before oblerved (() ; for this Reafon all Parents 
 fhould endeavour early to inftil this Great Principle 
 into their Children •, fhould frequently talk and dif- 
 eourfe to them of Heaven and Hell, and by the moft 
 lively Images and fenfible Defcriptions fhould repre- 
 fent to them, as far as they are able, the exceeding 
 Happinefs of the Righteous, and the aftonifhing Mi- 
 feries of the Damned : fince a ftrong and deep Im- 
 preflion of this Great Truth muft needs be of unfpeak- 
 abJe Benefit and Advantage to them throughout their 
 whole Lives, as it will the moft powerfully reftrain 
 themi from Wickednefs and Vice, and encourage them 
 to the Pradice of Piety and Virtue. And, 
 
 'Secondly, As to their Duty towards their Neigh- 
 bour, Parents fhould not only barely inform their 
 Children that they ought to be juft. Righteous, and 
 Charitable to their Fellow-Creatures, but they ought 
 alfo to make them acquainted with the true Ground 
 and Foundation of theie Duties , as, viz, that every 
 
 Man 
 
 i^) Seep. 258, &c. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the. Lord's Day. 307 
 
 Man is born a Member of a large Society, the Hap- 
 pinefs of which he is as truly and fincerely bound to 
 confult as that of his own ; and confequently fmce the 
 Happinefs of Human Society (which is infeparable 
 from that of private Perfons) entirely depends up- 
 on the due Performance of all focial Duties, every 
 Man fhould think himfelf fcridlly oblig'd to the Dis- 
 charge of thofe Duties •, and fliould not look upon 
 himfelf as born only for his own Sake, to ple^ife and 
 delight himfelf, but for the Sake of all Mankind, 
 v/ho are Members of the fime Society with himfelf, 
 and to whom he fhould not only be jull and righte- 
 ous in his Dealings, but fliould alfo, as far as he is 
 able, extend all Inflances of Humanity, Charity, and 
 Benevolence ('). And when Parents are inti:ru6ling 
 their Children upon this Head of Righteoufnefs and 
 Charity, which all the Members of Society owe to 
 each other, they fhould not fail more efpecially to 
 caution them againft that odious and horrid Vice of 
 Calumny and Evil-fpeaking, which is now become 
 of general Falhion in all Parts of the Kingdom. 
 And they fhould not only fhew them, that this Sin is 
 exprefsly condemned by God in Holy Scripture, and 
 rank*d there with the very worfl of Crimes, which 
 will certainly exclude Men from the Kingdom of 
 Heaven : {See Matt. xii. 36. Tit. iii. 2* Jam. iV. 1 1, 
 Rom. i. 30. I Cor. vi. 10) (m), but they fhould 
 alfo make them fenfible that it is a moft bafe and vile 
 Practice in itfelf, unworthy of a Man, and fcandalous 
 
 X 2 in 
 
 (/) Homines Homifium caufa generati funt, ut ipfi intef fe alii 
 atiis prodejfe pojpnt. Cic. de Offic. lib. i. See alio ?uffer.dorf% 
 Law of Nature, Sec. lib. iii. chap. 3. §. i. in which there ar« 
 many excellent Paflages to this Purpofe cited out of ancient Authors. 
 
 (/«) Maledici (inquit Sermo Divinas, i Cor. vi. 10). P^egnum 
 Lei Jion pcjpdcbu7it ; hinc intelligere polTumus quam gravis lit & 
 pcrniciola Malediftio, quando, ctiamfi alia bona adfuerint, ibla exclu' 
 ditaCalo, Salvian deGubertwtione) Dei. lib.m. p. 81. 
 
3o8 A T>ifcourfe concerning the 
 
 in a Chriftian. And this upon feveral Accounts, 
 which I fhall at prefent only briefly mention, leaving 
 all Parents to enlarge more fully upon them, as they 
 may find Occafion. As in the firft Place, becaule 
 this Sin of Evil-fpeaking is a monftrous Perverfion of 
 that noble Gift and Talent of Speech, with which 
 we are endued, and by which we are diftinguilh'd 
 from the Brutal World {n), idly,, Becaufe to facri- 
 fice the good Name and Reputation of our Neigh- 
 bours (which is many times dearer to them than their 
 LivesJ to the Mirth and Diverfion of Company, and 
 that, as is mod ufually done upon the fole Ground 
 and Principle of common Fame (which is in itfelf 
 a very uncertain and fallacious Rule whereby to judge 
 of Mens A6lions and {o) Condu6t) is fuch an In- 
 ftance of Injuftice and Cruelty, as will in the end 
 prove fatal and deibai6tivc to our Souls, i Cor. vi. 9. 
 3<^/y, Becaufe this Vice of Calumny is molt notori- i 
 oufly fubverfive of that great Duty of Chriftian Cha- 
 rity, which our Lord hath made the very Mark and ' 
 Chara6ler of his Difciples, Johnxm. ^^. and with- 
 out which all our Attainments in Religion will avail 
 nothing. Jam, i. 26. i Cor. xiii. 4/^/jy, Becaufe it 
 tends the moft of any Thing to break Love, and to 
 difiblve Friendfhip, and to promote Quarrels and 
 Contentions amongft Men. (See Prov. xvi. 28. chap, 
 xvii. 9. Eccluf. xix* 8, 9. chap. xxii. 21, 22.) And 
 
 ia 
 
 {n) Mutos nafci & egerc omni ratione fatius fuifTet, quam Provi- 
 dentiae munera in mutuam perniclcm convertcre. ^dntilian Infik. I 
 lib. xii. cap. i- 
 
 {(?) Nil fpcrnat Auris, nee tamcn credat ftatim, 
 
 Quandcxjttidem illi peccant, quos minime putcs, ^ 
 
 Ec qui non peccant, impugnantur fraudibus. 
 
 Hoc admonere fimpHccs etiam po'teft, 
 
 Opinions alterius ne quid pondercnt : 
 
 Ambitio namque difTidens mortalium 
 
 Aut Gratiae fubfcribit, aut odio fuo. 
 
 Eric ilJc notus, quern per te cognoveris. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord 's Day. 309 
 
 in the c^th and lad Place, becaufe there is this peculiar 
 Malignity in this Sin of Slander and Evil-fpeaking, 
 that tho' a Man fhould afterwards become fenfible 
 of the Guiit thereof, and bitterly repent of it, and 
 fincerely endeavour to repair the Injury which he 
 hath hereby done to his Neighbour ; yet he fhall for the 
 mod Part be unable to accomplilh it in any meafure, 
 to remove thofe Sufpicions out of Mens Minds, which 
 \yj this Means he hath rais'd therein {p\ And in the 
 ^hxrd Place, with Regard to themfelves, Children 
 Ihouid be early and fully inftruded that they 
 ought to prefer ve their Bodies in Temperance, So- 
 bernefs, and Chaftity ; not only, becaufe all Bodily 
 Excefies are very injurious and detrimental to Mens 
 Health, and deftrudive of their Fortunes (which 
 one would think fhould be fufficient to reftrain all 
 Men therefrom) but alfo, becaufe they do in a moft 
 horrid Manner efface and deftroy the Image of God 
 in which He created Mankind, and are a moft Ihame- 
 ful Abufe of and Affront to the Holy Spirit, which 
 God hath feat down into the Hearts of all Chriftians, 
 (See I Cor, iii. 16, 17J, and muft therefore be a high 
 Difhonour and Contempt caft upon Him ; and do 
 moreover render Men entirely unable to perform 
 many of thofe Duties which God hath in the ftrid- 
 eft Manner required of them {q) ; and as fuch, muft 
 
 X 3 be 
 
 (/) There is a moft beautiful Pallage to this Purpofe in the Wri- 
 tings oi Ovid', he tells us of one Claudia, a Virgin, who was falfely 
 accufed and luipedled of Unchaftity, and upon praying to the God- 
 defs CybeU was enabled to work a moft aftonifhing Miracle in Vin- 
 dication of her Innocence ; And yet the Poet wifely obferves, that 
 there were feveral Perfons who could not be induced to believe her 
 innocent, tho' Heaven itfelf had born Witncfs to and confirmed the 
 Truth of it. 
 
 Claudia p'sercdit laeto celeberrima vultu, 
 Credita vjX tandem Tefte pudica Dea. 
 
 FaJIor. lib. 4. /. 343, 344. 
 (') It is very rational to allow our felvcs a moderate Taile of 
 lawiul and innocent Pieafures, without fuffering them to overwhebn 
 
 And 
 
310 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 be extremely fatal and dangerous to their Salvation, 
 And therefore if they have any Regard to the Health 
 of their Bodies, and the Peace of their Minds •, if 
 they are defirous to fupport themfelves and Families 
 in Order and Decency, and to live in Efteem and 
 Reputation among their Neighbours •, if they would 
 nof degrade the Dignity of their Natures, by which 
 they are diftinguifhed from the Beads that perilli ; 
 and to fay no more, if they would not wilfully affront 
 Almighty God, and expofe themfelves to His 
 Wrath and Vengeance, by tranfgreffing His Com- 
 mands ; they are bound to forbear ;l11 Excefs of Bodi- 
 ly and Senfual Plealiires, and to live in the Practice 
 of Temperance and Moderation. In the next Place, 
 when Parents inltrudl their Children by way of Dif- 
 courfe and Converlation, they fhould earneilly and 
 frequently caution them againft thofe Sins and Vices, 
 to which Youth is generally fubjed ; and particularly 
 thofe of hard Drinking, Idlenefs, Lying, and Swear- 
 ing, all which are of the moit pernicious and de- 
 llruclive Confequence to them. 
 
 As to the ill Effe61:s of hard Drinking, I have juft 
 now touched upon them -, and therefore fhall only add 
 what a great Judge (rj hath obferved upon this Point, 
 viz. ''That Parents fhould carefully have their Eye 
 ^' upon this Pradlice, and reflrain it with all the Skill 
 *' and Induflry they can, there being nothing which 
 *' lays a furer Fouudation of Mifchief both to the Body 
 *' and Mind." 
 
 As to the fecond. Children fliould be frequently 
 and fully inftruded, that Men ought to be dili- 
 gent and induftrious in Bufinefs, not only by Vir- 
 tue of God's exprefs Command, Exod. xx. 9. Roin. 
 xii. II. and that they may confult the Benefit of 
 
 Human 
 
 ^nd drown us ; but this is to be fixed as an inviolable Ruk, that no 
 PJeafure mull be purchafed at {o dear a Rate as the Negleft or Tranf- 
 ereflion of our Duty. Puffendorf, lib. lu chr.p,\\\ §. U* 
 (r) Ud on Education, Sedl. 19. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 311 
 
 Human Society which they are bound to do ; but 
 alfo, becaufe God hath moft folemnly declared that 
 He will require of all Men a juft Improvement of 
 their Talents, and that Men fhall be condemned at 
 the laft Day and feverely puniflied for neglecting to 
 improve their Talents, as well as for mifapplying 
 and abufing them. Matt. xxv. 24 to 31. And to 
 make Men the more fenfible of this Duty, the Scrip- 
 ture repreients an Idle Perlbn to be in a State of Sleep ; 
 as if to be entirely bereaved of Senfe and Perception, 
 and to be Ufelels and Unadive, were the very fame 
 Thing. Frov. xix. 15. (j). And moreover Children 
 fhould be well and throughly informed, that Idlenels 
 not only of itlelf naturally leads Men into other Vices ; 
 Frov. xviii. 9. (/). But alfo, that without great Pains 
 and Induflry it is impofTible to attain to a due Skill 
 and Knowledge in any Art or Profeifion whatfoever. 
 And therefore if they do not diligently employ them- 
 feives in the proper ^Bufinefs of their Callings, they 
 will unavoidably fall into Poverty and Want. Frov, 
 vi. II. cha-p. xix. 15. And Poverty (when brouglit 
 upoa themlelves by their own Negligence i^nd Sloth) 
 will expofe them to the Reproach and Contempt of all 
 Mankind (*). And confequently as tliey are defirous 
 to avoid the great Mifcries and Hardfliips of Poverty ; 
 as they would not be juftly fcorned and defpifed by 
 all Men, as ufeiefs and dellruclive Members of Society \ 
 and above all, if they v/ould not willingly be call in- 
 tp outer Darknefs, Matt. xxv. 30. for negle6ling to 
 improve that noble and precious Talent of Time \ 
 X 4 they 
 
 (j) Mors nobis Tempus habetur iners. Ovid de Ponto^ Hk. i. 
 Ep. vi. 
 
 (/) Habetur ignavus ac fi perderet ipfe, quia multa perdit. Sz 
 dum non acquirit unde vivat, eo adigitur ut Scelus exerccat. Mer-, 
 csrus in loc. 
 
 (*) Nil habet Infelix Paupcrtas duiius in fc, 
 Quam quod ridicuios honiine^ facit. 
 
 Juyen^L $aU III. 
 
312 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 they are bound to employ their Days wifely and \ile- 
 fully, to the Honour of God and the Good of Man- 
 kind, and efpecially by being induftrious and diligent 
 in the proper Bufinefs of their ProfefTion. And, 
 
 'Thirdly^ As to the Sin of Lying, which as an Emi- 
 nent Writer obferves (*), " Is fo ill a Quality and 
 *' the Mother of fo many ill ones that fpawn from it, 
 *' and take fhelter under it ; that a Child Ihould be 
 *' brought up in the greateft Abhorrence of it imagin- 
 ^' able." I fay, as to this Vice, Children Ihould be 
 frequently put in Mind, that Lying is not only exprefiP- 
 ly forbidden by God in Scripture, Eph. iv. 25. and 
 ranked with the worft and moft heinous Vices, and 
 threatned with the fevereft and moil dreadful Punifh- 
 ment; Rev. xxl. 8. but alio, that it is very vile and 
 fcandalous in itfelf, an Argument of a mean and bale 
 Spirit, and accompanied with fo many bad Proper- 
 ties and Qualides •, that when a Man is once difcovered 
 to be guilty of this Vice, he is forever after fufpeded 
 and miftrulled, and becomes odious {x) and hateful 
 to all Mankind. And therefore if they would not be 
 expofed to the utmoft Abhorrence and Deteftation of 
 all Men, if they are defirous to be efteemed and re- 
 ceived vvith Truft and Confidence among their Neigh- 
 bours, and above all, as they would hope to efcape 
 the unlpeakable and everlafting Torments of Hell-fire ; 
 they muft diligently and carefully avoid and refrain 
 this bafe and evil Pra6lice of Lying and Falfhood, 
 and conftantly and refolutely Ipeak the Truth in all 
 their Aflertions and Declarations. And, 
 
 Fourthly and laftly^ With relped to the great and 
 horrid Sin of profane Swearing (which is one of the 
 reigning and crying Sins of the f^ation) Children 
 
 fliould 
 
 ^*) Z<?f/f on Education, ^e£i. 124. 
 
 [x) 'E)^Q^( '/^ fJLoi K^pQ- ofxcoi d'iS^Ad Tw^Uffiv, Sec. Wid Achil" 
 ia m Hmer^ Iliad, ix, /. e. Like Hell I Jiatc the Man ;hat lies. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 3 1 3 
 
 ihould be early and feverely cautioned againil this Vice* 
 not only becaufe the Sin of common Swearing natu- 
 rally and frequently leads Men into the Guilt of Per- 
 jury (y ), but aifo becaufe it is in itfelf a moft hei- 
 nous TrangrelTion, highly provoking to Almighty 
 God, and thrcatned in Scripture with the feverefi Pu- 
 nifhment. Exod. xx, y. (z). (See alfo, Ecciuf. xxiii. 9. 
 ^c). And indeed no Wonder, when it is a mod im- 
 pious degrading and vilifying the Sacred Majefty of 
 God's Name, a due and reverent Regard to which 
 is the main Foundation of Religion : Th a t N a m e , 
 which, as an Excellent Divine of our Church admira- 
 bly expreffes it (^), " All Heaven with the profound- 
 " eft Submiffion doth adore, which the Angelical 
 ^' Powers, the brighteft and pureft Seraphims, with- 
 *' out hiding their Faces and Reverential Horrourcan- 
 *' not utter or hear. Jfa. vi. 2." And moreover 
 Children fhould be well informed, that common 
 Swearing is a very rude and unmannerly Pradice, in- 
 afmuch as it is extremely otfenfive and difagreeable to 
 all pious and Ibber People with whom we happen 
 to converfe : and that it is fo far from adding any 
 Thing to the Weight and Force of our Words, that 
 
 on 
 
 (v) If the Devil himfclf was to ftudy and contrive a Way for 
 the difarming Mankind of that natural Reverence and Veneration 
 they have for Oaths, and bringing them without much Scruple of 
 Confcience to fvvear any Thing at any Time, whether true or hiHe, 
 as their own Interefls or the Importunity of others did tempt thcin 
 to it ; he could not in the World pitch upon a more cffedlual -one 
 than this, to make Oaths familiar to them upon all Occaiions, to 
 bring them into cuilomary Ufe in ordinary Convcrfation. 
 
 Archbijhop Sharp'/ Sermons, Vol. IV. p- 387, 388. 
 
 ^2) Will not hold him railtleji The Words are a Meiofts, i.e. 
 a Figure of Speech in which lefs is exprcfled than is meant and fig- 
 niiied ; and the Meamn^ of them is, he fhall be punillied feverely. 
 Grct. in loc. It is very uiual in Scripture to fpe?k after this Manner, 
 of which the Reader will hnd many Inllances, if he will confuit 
 Mr FooP^ SpTiopJis Criticorum on this Text. 
 . \a) Dr Barrow' s\-loik^, Vol. I. p, 210. 
 
314 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 on the contrary there is nothing which {o much im- 
 pairs and diminiiheth the Credit of our AfTertions; 
 and that the beft way for a Man to gain an eafy and 
 ready Behef to every Thing he fays, is to behave him- 
 felf with Inviolable Probity and Sincerity in all his 
 Converfation [h). And becaufe a due Reverence for 
 the Name of God is of the utmoft Confequence to Re- 
 ligion-, therefore Children fliould be early and fre- 
 quently inftnided to exprefs a fit and becoming Re- 
 fpefl to that Holy and Sacred Name, whenever it is 
 pronounced {c) by themfelves or others, and particu- 
 larly they fhould be diligently watched and caudoned, 
 that they do not mention the Venerable Name of Go d 
 or Lord in their common Difcourfe in a light and 
 idle Manner, as many fober and well-meaning Peo- 
 ple oftendmes inconsiderately do; efpecially if they 
 happen to be furprized or tranfported with Anger. For 
 this is not only of itfelf a manifeft Impiety {d) and Ir- 
 reverence, but will alio naturally and infenfibly lead 
 them into greater and more heinous {e) Profanations 
 
 of 
 
 \b) Of this, Hillory hath furnifhed us with a mofl: Eminent 
 Example (highly worthy of the Norice and Imitation of all Chnf- 
 tiaiis) in the Perfon of Xev.o crates the Flato'iiift ; a Man of no 
 great Parts, but of fuch abfolute Probity and Sincerity, that 
 the Atheniaju gave him this fuigular Privilege, that in all Cales, 
 where al! other Perfons were obliged to give their Tcftimony upon 
 Oath, he himfelf fhould be believed upon his bare Word. Vide 
 J)iog- Laert. in Vita Xenoeratts, 
 
 (r) Sec the Sfetlator, No. (531. in which there are fome very 
 Excellent Obfcrvations to this Purpofe. 
 
 (d) Sv/earing unncceflarily by God is bat profaning of His Name. 
 Jiobb\ Leviaih. Folio, Part i. chap, xiv. /. 71. And tho' this 
 Author adds^ (in the Words immediately following) '* that Swcar- 
 ** jng by other Thing?, as Men do in common Difcourfe, is not 
 ** Szvearing, but a Cullom which Men get by too much Vche- 
 " mencc of Talking," yet he exprefsly fays it is an impious Cuftom. 
 
 (e) Cultomary Swearing, befidc the ill Confcquenccs it has in 
 making Oaths cheap, CT'r. is a great Inilance of Difregard and Irre- 
 verence. For they, who ufe themfelves to it, do at leall make th« 
 
 Tremciid,oVia 
 
Religious Obfervation cf the Lord's Day. 3 1 5 
 
 of God's Name. And therefore as they would wil- 
 lingly be elleemed in the World as civilized and 
 well-bred Perfons •, as they would not be uneafy and 
 ofFenfive to every Pious and Devout Man they con- 
 verfe with j as they have any Regard to their Credit 
 and Reputation among Men ; and above all, as they 
 render the Honour and Reverence which is due to 
 God, and would not expofe themfelves to the Seve- 
 rity of his Wrath and Vengeance by the Abufe and 
 Profanation of His Holy Name -, they Ihould be very 
 careful and watch diligently over themfelves, that 
 they never ufe the Sacred Name of God but in a 
 grave and ferious and devout Manner ; lefb by degrees 
 tliey fhould fall into the great and heinous Sin of pro- 
 fane and common Swearing. 
 
 And as Parents Ihould thus admonifli and guard 
 their Children againft the common Sins and Vices of 
 Youth •, fo, as the beft and moil effe6lual Means to 
 preferve them from being ix-ifeded thereby, they fhould 
 earneftly caution them againfl keeping Company widi 
 lewd and dilTolute Perfons, than which there is nothing 
 which is of more Fatal and Pernicious Confequence to 
 Young Men (/). And they fhould more particularly 
 renew and inforce this Caution, when they are going 
 from them into the World in order to be educated 
 and inftru6led in their proper Trade or ProfefTion, 
 Then as they fliould diligently remind them of all 
 the pious and good Inftruflions which they have ever 
 given to them -, fo they fhould urge and prefs this 
 Point upon them with more than ordinary Fervency 
 
 and 
 
 Tremendous Name of God to ferve for an Explrtivc only, and^ 
 commonly to Rude, Paflionate, or Debauched Dilcourfe. (Ao'^cap 
 tlvdL'nK'^^co[/.et tt^Uuivoi i^ <iyiio-m]ov jtj 9«oy tvo^AA* Ph. Jud.) 
 iVoolaftQnh Relig. of Nat. delineated, p. 126. 
 
 (f) Nullum adolclccntia: gravius impendet Perlculum, quain 
 ab amicis Sc fodalibus ; qui lubricam iflam & ceream aetatem nimio 
 Ispius in vitia propelhmt, Littletcn. Pr^le^. de Juventut^^ 0x99, 
 f, 72. 
 
oi6 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 and Zeal *, and earneftly conjure them, as they tenders 
 the Eafe and Comfort of their Parents ; as they have 
 any Regard to their own Credit and Worldly Intereft, 
 or any Concern for their Virtue and their true Hap- 
 pinefs both in this Life and the next •, that they be ex- 
 tremely careful what Company they keep, and that 
 they fhun and avoid the Converlation of all lewd and 
 wicked, profane and debauched Perlbns, as they 
 would the moit loathfome and dangerous Difeafes, 
 And, as the beft Means to prevent this Fatal Mif- 
 chief, they fhould reprefent to them the neceflary Du- 
 ty of being diligent in their Studies, or minding their 
 Mailer's Bufinefs in Point of if rid Juflice as well as 
 Prudence ^ and fhould if it were pofFible fat leaft 
 for the two or three firft Years of their Time, in 
 which they are moil fubjed to Danger) bring them 
 to a fixed Refolution of going abroad a^ feldom (g) 
 as may be, and of never keeping any other Com- 
 pany, but what their Mailers and Tutors exprefsly 
 allow and approve of. Which Point, if it were fe- 
 rioufly confidered by all Parents and Maflers as it 
 pught to be, we fliould not have fb many lamenta- 
 ble Inftances of young Perfons, who by going abroad 
 too early into the World, and meeting with bad 
 Company, are ruined and undone beyond Recovery. 
 But, 
 
 Thirdly^ Another Thing, in which Parents fliould 
 frequently inftrucl their Children (and which is a 
 Matter of" th^ grcatefl Confequence to their Happinefs) 
 
 is 
 
 (g) They f Youth) fiiould be kept out of Dijlnnce of either • 
 feeing or hearing IH-Examplcs ; efpecially in an Age that is go- 
 verned more by Precedent than by Reaion. Lejlrange, ihid. Ill 
 E:xamples corrupt even the beft Difpofitioiis, . and above all 
 
 Things, Children ftiould not be betrayed into the Love and Praftice 
 of any Thing that is amifs, by fctting Evil Examples before them ; 
 for their Talent is only Imitation; and it is ill trailing methinks 
 in fuch a Cafe, without a Judgment to dil^inguiih. Lejiravge, Vol, 
 J. A 241. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 3 17 
 
 is the abfolilte indifpen fable NecefTity of Piety and 
 Virtue, in order to obtain die Favour of God in the 
 Life to come; for without Holinefs no Man Jhall fee the 
 Lord^ Heb. xii. 14. And the Reafon why I mention 
 this again, and that under a diftind Head, is not that 
 Parents may inform their Children of the Neceflity of 
 Religion, which I have before taken Notice of, 
 but that they may hereby reprefent to them that vaft 
 and ineftimable BlefTing which they have now in their 
 Hands, if they will hold faft to thofe pious and good 
 Principles in which they are Educated ; if they da 
 not leave their firfi Love^ Rev. ii. 4. nor defile their 
 Garments^ chap. iii. 4. but fhall be careful to preferve 
 that Innocence which they are now poflefTed of. That 
 Innocence •, which, as an Eminent Writer {h) well ex- 
 prelTes it, is a " Jewel, which no Man underftands 
 *' the Value of; and no Man knows what he does, 
 *' when he fir ft parts with it.'* For let Men pretend 
 what they will, there is a great Uneafineis and Dif- 
 quietude of Mind, and a fecret horrible Dread of 
 God's Wrath and Vengeance naturally arifing from 
 the Pradlice of Sin (/). This an extraordinary Peni- 
 tent of our Nation freely acknowledged of himfelf ; 
 " that tho' he fuffered extreme Pains in his Body, yet 
 " the Agonies of his Mind fomedmes fwallowed up 
 " the Senfe of v/hat he felt in his Body •, and declared, 
 ** that tho' there were nothing to come after this Life, 
 *' yet all the Pleafures he had ever known in Sin (and 
 *' perhaps he had known as many as any Man that 
 *' ever lived) were not worth that Torture which 
 " he felt in his Mind (^)." And therefore whenlb- 
 cver a Man engages in the Pradice of Sin and Wick- 
 ednefi, he inuft either (which is too (/) often done 
 
 in 
 
 {b) T>v Clark's Praaical Efiays, Pan II. chap. ix. ^. i. 
 
 (i) See above p. 211. 
 
 {k) Bifhop Burnett Life of the Lord Rochejier^ p. 98. 
 
 {0 Vi^^ I^r ^C9te% Chriftiau Life, 8vo. Vol. II. p. 375, ^c. 
 
5 18 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 in tills Cafe) have Recourfe to the Principles of Atheifin^ 
 Infidelity^ and Siiperfiition^ in order to reconcile his 
 Actions to his Opinions •, or elfe he mud bring him- 
 felf to Repentance, as the only Means to quiet his 
 Confcience, and to deliver his Mind from the Guilt 
 and Burden of his Sins. But now (as will be ktn 
 hereafter; it is oftentimes very hard and difficult for 
 Sinners to repent, tho' they ihould never io fincerely 
 defire to do io •, and in cafe Men do become Penitent, 
 yet they cannot attain to a true Repentance without 
 iiich Labour and Sorrow, fuch Grief and Trouble of 
 Mind, -as all the Pleafures of Sin can never compen- 
 fate. This every fincere Penitent will readily acknow- 
 ledge : and many pious and good Men, who have been 
 unhappily furprized into fome foul Tranfgreffions, 
 have wept bitterly upon this Occafion. (See Matt, 
 xxvi. 75.) And as fuch Perfons have a jufter Notion 
 of the Guilt of Sin, and more lively Apprehenfions 
 of God's Juftice and Goodnefs than other Men •, it 
 hath fometimes happened, that the Remembrance of 
 their Mifcarriages hath eaten up and deftroyed the 
 Senfe and Reliih of all their Virtues, and hath lain 
 fo heavy upon their Minds as to embitter the De- 
 lights and Comforts of their whole Lives. This was 
 remarkably the Cafe of Holy David after his Tranl- 
 greflion in the Matter of Uriahs as may be feen in 
 Pfalm li. which he com po fed upon this Occafion. / 
 acknowledge my Faults^ faith he, and my Sin is ever be- 
 fore me^ ver. 3. And in another Ffalm recounting 
 the Sins and Iniquities of his Life, he expreffes himfelf 
 thus, / am weaiy of my groaning^ every Night wafjj I 
 'my Bedy and water my Couch with my Tears -, Pfalm vi, 
 6. as much as to fay, " the Agonies of my Mind are 
 *' fo great, that the Confideration of my horrible 
 '' Sins, the Caufes of them, gives me not one Minute 
 *' of IntermifTion," as an Excellent Paraphraft (m) 
 
 upon 
 
 (n) Hammond in Ice. 
 
Religious Obfervation of, the Lord's Day. 3 19 
 
 upon the Text exprelTes it. But now young Perfons 
 may eafily prevent all this Trouble and Mifchief, if 
 they will abide by the Principles of their Education, 
 and go on in that pious and good Courfe which they 
 have been brought up in. They may by this Means 
 deliver themlelves from the Anxieties of Guilt and the 
 Trouble of Repentance, and purchafe to themfelves a 
 fettled Peace and Tranquillity of Mind ^ and they 
 will hereby be fo fecure of the Love and Favour of 
 God, that it will render any State and Condition of 
 Life eafy and pleafant to them. They will upon this 
 Account be always happy in themfelves, and may 
 labour with Delight, and live with Comfort, and die 
 with Joy. And moreover, they will gain this ineHi- 
 mable Advantage by a ftrifl and conffant Practice of 
 Virtue, that they lliall hereby be entitled to the 
 greatelt and moft ample Rewards in the Kingdom of 
 Heaven. For tho' Repentance of Sin and Reforma- 
 tion of Life will procure to a Man the Mercy and 
 Favour of God, if fuch Repentance be early and ef. 
 fedual ; yet as a learned Divine (n) obferves, " All 
 " that a Late Penitent 6an hope for, is to obtain For- 
 " given efs, and to be admitted into Heaven •, but 
 *^ the Bright Crowns will be referved for thofe, who 
 *' Yvxwt fought the good Fight ^ and overcome the JVorW* 
 And therefore as Parents fhould always duly inftruct 
 their Children in the indifpenfable NecefTity of Holi- 
 nefs and Virtue •, fo when they are going from them 
 into the World in order to be fixed in then- proper 
 Trade or ProfefTion, they fhould be more than ordi- 
 nary careful and diligent to imprint this Matter well 
 upon their Minds. Then they fliould moft earneftiy 
 exhort them, as they would efcape the intolerable 
 Pains and Agonies of a guilty Confcience, which no 
 one knows the Mifery of but they that feel it ; as 
 
 they' 
 
 [li] Clarke, ibid, i 4, 
 
3 20 A DifcGurfe concerning the 
 
 they would always be feciire and free from the -Fear 
 and Dread of God's Wradi and Vengeance i as they 
 would defire to enjoy a fettled Peace and Tranquillity 
 of Mind, which is the greateft BlelTing this World 
 affords ; and laftly, as they would be admitted to 
 any confiderable Share of that unfpeakable Happineis 
 and Glory, which is refer ved for Righteous and Good 
 Men in the Kingdom of Heaven ; that they would 
 be extremely watchful over themfelves, that they 
 do not f.verve from the pious and good Inftru6lions 
 which have been given to them, nor make them lofe 
 the EiTe6t and Benefit of all their Labours by plung- 
 ing themfelves into the Guilt of Sin ; but that they 
 proceed regularly and uniformly in the conflant 
 Practice of Religion and Virme. And, to ufe the 
 Words of the Excellent Author {o) laft mentioned. 
 They fhould mighdiy entreat and beg of their Chil- 
 dren " ferioufly to confider what a Prize they now 
 have in their Flands, and to be Zealous that no 
 Man take their Crown. To confider, that if God 
 and Angels rejoice at the Converfion of an old and 
 great Sinner, much more muil they be pleafed to 
 fee a Tomg Perfon amidil the alluring Glories 
 and Pleafures of the World bravely refifting all 
 it's Temptations. To confider, that that Time, 
 which a dying Sinner would, if it were poffible, 
 give Millions of Worlds to redeem, is now in their 
 Plands, and they may make a glorbus Ufe of it. 
 To confider, that they are yet cloached with the 
 white Robe of Innocence ; and if they be careful 
 never to defile that Garment., they may attain to a 
 Portion among thofe few, who jhall walk with 
 Chrift in white \ for they are worthy .^ Rev. iii. 4. 
 To confider, that if they Zealoufly continue to 
 maintain their Innocence and their good Works for 
 
 a 
 
 {0) Clark, i!.:a. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 3 i2 1 
 
 *^ a few Years, they will loon be almofl out of the 
 " Danger of Temptation ; they will efcape the bit- 
 *' ter Pangs of Remorfe and Repentance ; they will 
 *' bj vvholly above that greateft of human Miferies, 
 *' the Dread and Horror of Death ; and may not 
 " only without Fear, but even with exceeding Joy, 
 '^ expedl the Appearance of our Lord Jefus Chrifi 
 *' at the Judgment of the Great Day, and in the 
 " Glory of the World to come. . And lafily, to 
 *' confider that if they hold faft the^ Confidence and 
 " Rejoicing of their Hope^ fwm unto the End^ Heb, 
 " iii. 6. they fhall^be intitled to all thole great and 
 " inconceivable Promifes, which our Saviour has made 
 " to thofe who fliall overcome. Rev. ii. 7, 11. c-^'^^p, 
 " iii. 5, 12, 21." 
 
 In this or the like Manner fhculd all Pare-^.ts in 
 ftrucl their Children by way of Difcourfe arivi Ccn- 
 verfation. And here I would have finifhed what I 
 had to fay upon this Head, and proceeded no fur- 
 ther, if there were not Two Things of the Greatett 
 Confequence and Importance to Religion, about which 
 the Growing Profanenefs and Impiety of the Age 
 fhould lender all of us deeply concerned, and which 
 fliould more Particularly engage all Parents to ufe an 
 Uncommon Diligence and Induflry, in duly inftrud- 
 ing and firmly grounding dieir Children in the Know- 
 ledge and Pra6lice of them -, and therefore I hope die 
 Reader will the more readily excufe me in putting 
 him in Mind of them. 
 
 The Firft is. Concerning the Duty of attending dL 
 ligcntly and conilantly upon thePublicWorfhip of God 
 at all the ftated Times and Seafons, but efpecially 
 upon the Lord^s Bay, which ii: Dedicated to this Pur- 
 pofe. The abfolute Indifpenfable NecefTity of this 
 Duty, the Ineftimable Benehts and Advantages of ob- 
 ferving it, the great Sin and Danger of negledling it, 
 together with the Wcaknefs and Folly of thole Realbnu 
 which are urged for fuch Negled, 1 have before con- 
 
 Y fidcred 
 
322 A Difcourfe concentwg the y 
 
 fidered at large in this Difcourfe {p) -, and therefore 
 Ihall not mention any thing of them at prefent, but 
 refer the Reader to what hath been there dehvered. 
 And the Shameful Manner in which the Public 
 Worfliip on the Lord's Day is now neglecled by- 
 all Orders and Degrees of Men, efpecially by Per- 
 fons of Fafhion and Diftin6lion, by applying that 
 Holy Seafon to the paying of Vilits, to the keep- 
 ing of Company, and to Worldly Pleafure, is too 
 Vifible to be deny'd ; and is a Matter which 
 deeply fhocks and confounds the Ignorant, and 
 forely grieves all that are Pious. And therefore, 
 if Parents are heartily defirous that their Children 
 fhould not fall into this Snare, nor fplit upon this 
 Rock, whereon they will furely m.ake Siiipwreck 
 of their Immortal Souls, they fhould be more 
 than Ordinarily Diligent and Induftrious to in- 
 ftrud them well and throughly in this Point ; and 
 efpecially, when they are a goii-g irom them into 
 the World, they fhould give them mofl ftricSlly 
 in Charge, that they keep conRandy to their Church, 
 and never once omit the Public Worfhip upon 
 the Lord's Bay^ unlefs it be on Account of Sick- 
 nefs, or abfolute Neceflity. And in Cafe any of 
 their Companions fhould entice them to negledt 
 the Public Worfhip at that Time, for the Sake of 
 Company or Worldly Pleafure •, th^y fhould Peremp- 
 torily refufe to comply with them, and look upon 
 fuch Perfons as the moll Dangerous iinemies they 
 have in the World, and avoid their Acquaintance and 
 Converfation, as they would the rlague. And in 
 order to confirm them in the^Pradlice ot this Necef- 
 fary Duty they fliould not only fufficijntly inform 
 them, that the Public Worfhip of God is an Ejjential 
 Part of Religion, but they fhould alfo make them 
 
 perfectly 
 
 (/>) See ibovc. Part the II. chap, i. 
 
Religions Obfervaiion of ike Lord's Day . 3 2 ;1 
 
 perfeflly acquainted and convinced diat the Laws of 
 God are ablblutely Indifpenfable, and that we cannot 
 Willfully break the leaft of His Commandments but at 
 the Peril of our Salvation, that we mud Love God with 
 all our Hearts and all our Souls ^ and in all Cafes prefer 
 His Worlhip and the Service we owe to Him before 
 any Temporal Authority, Relation, Interefl and 
 Worldly Pleafure. And Confequendy, unlefs we ad- 
 drefs ourfelves to Him with this Sincerity of Heart 
 and Purity of Intention, our Prayers and Services and 
 every Thing we do in Religion will be fo far from ren- 
 dering us well pleafing in His Sight, that they will be 
 an Abomination to Him : all which the Reader will 
 ealily perceive, who will confult the PafTages of Scrip- 
 ture cited in the Margin {q). And becaufe it often hap- 
 pens that Men are drawn into this Impious Pradlice, 
 not fo much thro' any Vicious Inclinations of their 
 own, as becaufe they have not Courage and Refolu- 
 tion enough to withftand the Importunity and Ex- 
 ample of their Friends and Acquaintance, left they 
 ftiould be thought to affront them, and to be Preciie 
 and Singular in their Opinions ; therefore Children 
 fhould be earneftly cautioned againft this Dangerous 
 Compliance, and fhould be frequently put in Mind of 
 that Wife and Excellent Law of God, Thou /halt not 
 follow a Multitude to do Evil j Eviod. xxiii. 2. (r) 
 
 Y 2 and 
 
 [q] Pfal. ciii. 19. 1 Tim. vi. 15. Jam. iv. 12. Matt v. 19. 
 Jam. ii 10. Matt, x^^ii. 37. 38. Luk. x. 42. Pfal xxvii. 4. 
 Matt xvi. 24. Ikid. x. 33, 37. Luk. xiv. 26. iCor.x. 31. 
 Luk. xi. 34, 35. Prov. >v. 8, 9. chap, xxviii. 9. 
 
 [x) Let us again and again afliire ouiiclves of this great Truth 
 and always keep it in Mind, vi::.. that no Cuibm or Fafnion, no 
 common Prafticc or even Authority in the Whole Wo'ld, can 
 render any thing innocent, or be a jult Excufe for it» if it bo 
 found to be contrary unto any Part of that Law (rightly ur.d^r- 
 ftood) which God hath given us as a Conilant Rule to \va,k by, 
 ArchbiJIjop Synge's Rule of Self- Eyariivrticu , &c. />. 27. 
 
324 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 and how fokmnly our Lord hath declared, that ivho- 
 (oever Jhall he ajhamed of Him in this Adulterous and 
 'sinful Ge7terationy of him alfo Jhall the Son of Man hea- 
 JJjamed^ zvhen he cometh in the Glory of His Father with 
 the Holy Angels \ Mar. viii. 38. and alfo that in the 
 Dreadful Account,which the Apoftle gives us of Future 
 Punilhment, xh^ Fearful (i. e, thofe who renounce the 
 Chriftian Faith, or decline any Neceflary and Eflential 
 Part of their Duty, thro' fear of human Punilhment, 
 Cenfure and Difgrace) are ranked firfl in the Black 
 and Difmal Catalogue of the Damned. Rev, xxi. 8. 
 And to fay no more, fince the main Artifice and De- 
 vice, by which the Devil draws Men into this Negle6i:, 
 is the Pretence that God does not want our Prayers, 
 and that the Difcharge of Moral and Social Duties will 
 Efficiently recommend us to His Favour •, therefore 
 they fhould fhew their Children the great Weaknefs 
 of this Pretence, and that it comes with an 111 Grace 
 from thofe who habitually negled: God's Public Wor- 
 fliip, v;ho are fo far from being entitled to a Greater 
 Perfedlion in Moral Dudes than their Neighbours, that 
 for tlie mofi: Part they are moil fhamefully and noto- 
 rioufiy Wandng and Deficient in them {s). And 
 moreover it fliould be well and deeply imprinted upon 
 their Minds, that Piety or the Worihip of God is 
 
 an 
 
 [s) Thofe wlio have ncgle6\cd all External Religion have been 
 fo fiir from improving (as^might realbnably be cxpcclcd, fmce rhey 
 profcfs to have nothing el!e to mind) that, except in a few In^ 
 llanccs, they rather decline in their Zeal ibr the Pradice of that 
 M(/7v?/ Virtue, which they are fo forward to magnify to the itter 
 Difparagement of every thing elfe ; they have, 1 iay, rather de- 
 clined in their Zeal for the Pracftice even of A/(?r^/ Virtue in Fro- 
 poriiun as they ha\e grown cold and rcmifs with refpecl to the 
 ix^kiitn V/oifhipof their Maker, and the Inilrumcntal Duties of 
 Piay. FoJit:r''h Sermo'is, Vol. 1. p. 153, 154. See alfo p. 122, 123. 
 of thi. Treatije. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 325 
 
 an Eflential Part of Religion as well as Morality ; 
 nay, to fpeak more properly, is a Chief and Principal 
 Point of Morality itfelf. And therefore how great fo- 
 ever their Attainments may be in Temperance and 
 Sobriety, and in all Social Dudes, yet without a 
 Conftant and Regular Attendance upon the Public 
 Worfliip they will be utterly in vain, and Ineffcclual 
 to their Salvarion (/). Innumerable Pail'igcs migiit be 
 produced out of our molt Learned Writers to this 
 Purpofe ; but I will not trouble the Reader with them 
 at prefent, having faid enough of this Matter already. 
 I Ihall only mention the Excellent Words of a moft 
 Eminent and Judicious Divine upon this Occalion ; 
 who (with fome others of his Time) was thought to 
 infill and enlarge upon the Neceffity and Importance 
 of Moral Dudes, to the Difidvantage of the peculiar 
 Do6lrines and Dudes of the Holy Golpel. And after 
 having in a moil: lively Manner delcribed the Necef- 
 fity and Excellency of Moral Dudes, he proceeds' 
 thus \ " The pofitive Parts of Religion are our 
 *' Duty, as well as thefe ; and God by His Sove^ 
 " reign Authority exads them at our Hands, and 
 " unlels when Jefiis Chrift hath been fufficiently pro- 
 
 '^ poled to us, we fincerely believe in Him -, 
 
 " Unlels we flrike Covenant with Him by Bnpttfm^ 
 " and frequently renew tliat Covenant in the Li?ri*s 
 " Supper-, — Unlefs we diligendy attend on the Pub- 
 
 *' lie Aflemblies of His Worfliip j there is no 
 
 " Pretence of Morality will bear us out, when wc 
 " appear before His Dread Tribunal (//)." 
 
 Secojtdly^ The nextPardcular, in which the Growing 
 Profanenefs and Impiety of the Age renders it highly 
 NecelTary for all Parents widi more than Ordinary 
 
 Care 
 
 (t) See above, p. in, is'c. 
 
 [u) Dr Scones Chriilian Life, Vol. 11. p. 63. Sef a'/h Bijl'- 
 Gil/fin" i Second Pato^l Leuer, p. 64, to 68. 
 
326 ADifcourfe concerning the 
 
 Care and Diligence to inflru6l their Children, is the 
 Honour and Reverence which they owe to the Minir 
 flers of God's Word. This is a Point which all Na-^ 
 tions in the World both Jews and Heathens did for 
 many Ages obferve ; there being nothing in which 
 they more univerfally agreed, than in having the 
 Priefts in great Eftimation {x) ; and this out of a 
 Due Regard and Reverence to God Himfeif, accord- 
 ing to that Wife Inilruclion of the Son of Sir achy 
 Fear the Lord^ and Honour the Prieft^ Ecdufyii. 3 1 . And 
 this God hath exprefsly required and well provided 
 for, both under the Old and New Teftament {y). Now 
 the Reafons, upon which we are to pay this Honour 
 and Reverence to the Minifters of God's Word, are 
 chiefly thefe two. Firft^ The Confideration of that 
 great Mafter to whom they belong. Thus lays St Paul^ 
 Let a Man fo account of us^ as of the Msnifters of Chrifl^ 
 and Stewards of the Myfleries of God, i Cor. iv. i . 
 And our BlefTed Saviour obferves upon this Account, 
 that God will take thofe Affronts andlnjuries, which are 
 offered to His Minifters, and as heinoufly refent them, 
 as if they were immediately put upon Himfeif ; He 
 that defpifeth you., defpifeth Me \ and he that defpifeth Mr, 
 defpifeth Him thatfent Me. Luke x. 1 6. And the Pro-. 
 phet Jeremy long before, lamendng the heavy Anger 
 of God againft the Jews., mentions this as one great 
 Caufe of it, viz. that they Refpe^ed not the Perfons 
 of the Priejls^ nor favoured the Elders (z). Lam. iv. 
 1 6. But, 
 
 Secondfyy 
 
 {x) If the Reader wants any Information in this Matter, let hjm 
 confukDr Hickes's Excellent Treatife on the Chriilian Priefthoi^d, 
 ^f. Ssou'fi Chriftian Life, Vol. III. chap. vii. § 3. p. 1^0, &c. 
 Ne/fon on the Feafts and Falb, p. 550, &c. in which there arc 
 many good Colleftions out of Holy Scripture and antient Authors 
 to this Purpofe. 
 
 ( v) See Nel/on, ibid. 
 
 (z) HaDc Gentes exprobrabant Hebraeis ; nulla, dicebant, fpes dk 
 illis reditiis : Etiam in bones faccrdotes fsevierunt. Grot^ in loc. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 327 
 
 Secondly^ The other Ground and Reafon of honour- 
 ing and reverencing the Minifters of God's Word is 
 the Confideration of that Glorious and BlefTed Office 
 which they are employed in. Thus St Faul requires 
 the T^ejjalonians to eftecm their Minifters very highly in 
 Love for their Works Sake^ i 'Thejf, v. 13. and tells 
 timothy ^ that the Elders that rule welljhould he accounted 
 worthy of double Honour^ efpecially they who labour in the 
 Word and BoBrine. 1 Him. v. 17. And the fame 
 Apoflle exhorting the Philippians to receive Epaphrodi- 
 tus^ on the Account of his Extraordinary Zeal and 
 Diligence in the Chriftian Miniftry, diredls them at 
 the lame time to hold fuch in Reputation, Phil. ii. 29, 
 30. And this is the true Reafon why I take No- 
 tice of this Matter at prefent, and earneftly recom- 
 mend it to the Thoughts and Confideration of all 
 Parents : fince, if they cannot bring their Children to 
 have a due Eileem and Reverence for the Perfons of the 
 Clergy, they will infallibly defpife their Infl:ru6lions, 
 and lofe all the Benefit of their Labours. The Con- 
 nexion between Reverence to Mens Perfons and a Re- 
 gard to their Advice and Counfel is fo very obvious 
 and manifeft, that we find it hath been the Senfe 
 and Judgment of all Nations to demand an un- 
 common Degree of Refpecl ev'n to the Teachers of 
 Human {a) Learning, in order to give the greater 
 
 Y 4 Force 
 
 [a) Dii Major am umbris tenuem & fine pondere terrain, 
 Spirantefque crocos & in urna perpetuum Ver, 
 Qui prasceptorem Sandli volu ere parentis 
 EiTe loco. 
 
 Juvenal Sat. VII. I. 206, &c. Vid. Luhinl Ammtat i?i loe. 
 All Perfons in the happy Ages of Rome had the lame Honour 
 and Refpeft for their Teachers, as Perftus had for his Maftcr Cor- 
 nutuz the Stoic ; to whom addreffing himfelf in his Fifth Satyr, lie 
 thus admirably deicribes his own Love and Piety to his Governour, 
 and the itrift Friendlhip that was between them. Cumque iHr 
 tiinbiguumeJl,<S'c, 1. 3410 53. Seethe Place. Kenneths f^j en 
 Roman Education, prciixed to \ii^ Antiquities , p. 19. 
 
328 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Force and Weight to their Inftru6lions. And the Rea- 
 fon holds more Orongly in the Affiiir of Religion, ■ 
 on accp.unt of the mighty Oppofition which is made to 
 the Infiuence of it's Precepts both from the Corrupt 
 Inclinations of Nature, and from bad Example. And 
 the true Reafon- of that great Contempt which is call 
 upon the Clergy by the Libeitines of the Prefcnt 
 Age (and it is none of the leaft of Satan's Devices to 
 inlpire them with fuch Meafures) is that hereby they 
 may defeat the Succefsand Efficacy of thofe good In- 
 flrudions, which their People may receive from them : 
 Well knowing, that if Men can once be prevailed upon 
 to refped their Minifters and to be guided by their 
 Counfel, tliey will loon be brought over to fuch a 
 fteady and regular Pradice of Virtue, as will be an 
 Infinite Difparagement and Reproach to themfelvcs (b). 
 And therefore if Parents would liave their Children re- 
 ^.eive any Benefit and Advantage from the Preaching 
 • tf God's Word ; if they would not have them drawn 
 afide into the Fatal Deftruclive Paths of Vice and 
 Wickednefs ♦, if they defire that they may efcapc 
 the Heavy. Anger and Difpleafure of God for defpi- 
 finsand riC2:ledinp:an Inftitudon, which Infinite Wil^ 
 dom hath contrived for the Salvation of Mankind •, let 
 them train them up from the Beginning in a gre^t Re- 
 fpedt and Reverence for the Minifters of Rc-.gion, 
 and be more than ordinarily careful to fet before their 
 Children a good Example of this Matter in their own 
 Perfons. Let them fhew them frequently how much 
 God infills upon this Duty in Holy Scripture, and 
 how necefiary it is to render the Public Initru6lions 
 ufeful and beneficial to them ; and moreover, that it 
 has been duly and conftantly obferved by wife and 
 good Men in all Ages of the World : and therefore 
 tnat it will not only be of the utmoft Prejudice and 
 
 Damage 
 
 {h) Se: W.Tdom, ii. 1 2, &c- 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 329 
 
 Damage to their Souls, but will alfo bring their good 
 S^afe and Judgment highly intoQueilion, if they are 
 found wanting and deficient therein. 
 
 I am fenfible indeed, notwithflanding the manifeft 
 NecefTity and Advantage of this Duty, that great 
 Modefty hath for the moll Part reitrained the Clergy 
 from treating upon it, left they fhould be thought 
 hereby to preach for themfelves ^ v/hich is the injurious 
 Turn which too many Perfons would be apt to give to 
 their Inllru6lions upon this Point. But ncverthelels 
 as Refpefl and Reverence to the Clergy is an Eflential 
 Duty of the Chrijlian Religion, and of great Confe- 
 quence to the Pradlice of Virtue, I think it fliould not 
 be altogether palTed over in Silence-, but that the People 
 jQiould now and then be put in Mind thereof, and that 
 Parents more particularly fhould be exhorted to edu- 
 cate their Children in the Obfervation of it. And 
 whereas Parents and Magiftrates are not blamed for 
 requiring Refpedt and Obedience from their Subjeds 
 and Children, if Men will cenfure the Minifters of 
 Cbriji, and falfly interpret their pious Defign in the 
 inculcating a plain Gofpel Duty upon their People •, 
 their Injurious Mifreprefentations are to themfelves, 
 and no one Ihould be in he lealt uneafy and difturbed 
 at them. And yet methinks if the Clergy of this 
 Kingdom had fome fmall View and Regard to them- 
 felves in their Demands of Refpedl from their People, 
 they would not claim any more than juftly belongs to 
 them : fince the infinite Service which they have done 
 to this Nation in feveral Refpedts ; the many noble 
 Foundations of Pietv <ind Charity which have been 
 eftablilhed by them -, the innumerable and excellent 
 Books which they have publifhed in all Parts of Ufe- 
 ful Learning, as well ClafTical and Hiftorical, Phi- 
 lofophical and Mathematical, as Theological and 
 Moral ; the reftlefs and unwearied Labours and 
 Endeavours of many of them for the Good «f 
 Souls i and particularly, the brave and ge:--^rou3 
 
 Stand 
 
330 A Dtfcourfe coJicerning the 
 
 Stand which they made by their Immortal Writings 
 ^r.d Invincible Courage and Patience in a late Cri- 
 tical JunEiure^ when our Religion^ Laws^ and Liberties 
 were \.\ extreme Danger, Ihould be mofl gratefully re- 
 membv:r'd by the People of this Land, and for ever 
 endear and recommend that Sacred Order to the 
 Love and Efteem, the Honour and Veneration of 
 all true Prcteftants and Englijhmen. And fo 1 pro- 
 ceed to the 
 
 T^/W Way and Method which Parents fhould make 
 Ufe of in the Religious Education of Children ; and 
 t ja' is, by obliging them frequently to read pious and 
 good Books, and efpecially the Holy Scriptures. And 
 the Advantages of this Method are great and unfpeak- 
 able, not only on the Account of thole early Inftrudions 
 which Children will receive from fuch Books, which 
 will make a deeper and more lafting ImprefTion upon 
 them j bat alio, inafmuch as being from the Beginning 
 accufomed to read them, and being made fenfible of 
 the Benefit and Delight in fo doing, they will be na- 
 turally diipofed and inclined to read them for ever 
 afterwards ; for the want of which, feveral Perfons 
 who employ many Hours in reading have con traded 
 an Averiion to fuch Books, as thinking them to be of 
 fmall Moment and Importance, and can never be 
 brought throughout their whole Lives to fpend any 
 confiderable Time in the Perufal of them. And that 
 Children may reap the greater Profit and Advantage 
 from reading the Holy Scriptures, Parents Ihould 
 oblige -their Children as often as may be to read the 
 bed and moft ufeful Portions thereof in their own 
 Prefence, and as far as they are able lliould explain 
 the Senfe and Meaning thereof to them, and raife 
 proper and fuitable Thoughts and Obfervations from 
 every Part of them. Thus when they read the Hif- 
 tory of the Creation in Gen. i, they fhould briefly re- 
 prelent to them the Infinite Wifdom, Power and 
 Goodnefs of God, in making tb s Excellent Frame 
 
 of 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 331 
 
 of Tilings out of Nothing, in the Enriching it every 
 where with His. BlefTings, and in adapting all the 
 Parts thereof to their relpedlive and noble Ufes and 
 Defigns i and thereby they fhould put them in Mind 
 how much they ought to love and fear and adore fo 
 Great and Excellent a Being. When they read the 
 dreadful Account of God's Wrath and Vengeance a- 
 gainft Sin, in drowning the Old World with the Flood 
 Gen. vii, in the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with 
 Brimftone and Fire from Eeaven, Gen, xix, and in the 
 terrible Deftrudion of Jerufalem predided and de- 
 fcribed by our Saviour in Matt. xxiv. and in Luke 
 xxi, they Ihould make them fenfible of the great 
 Danger of Sin, and that without a fpeedy and effe- 
 £lual Repentance it is impofTible for Wicked Men to 
 efcape the Severity of God's Juflice. When they 
 read the Account of the llrange Deliverance of the 
 Ifraelites out of Egypt^ their wonderful Paflage thro* 
 the Red Sea, and the many and great Miracles which 
 God wrought for them in the Wildernefs, as they 
 are recorded in Exodus and the following Books of 
 Scripture ; they fhould put them in Mind of the great 
 Power and Goodnefs of God in protecting and fup- 
 porting them that ferve and fear Him : and confe- 
 quently that if they will conllantly depend upon His 
 Good Providence in a Faithful Difcharge of their 
 Duty, there is no State and Condition of this Life fo 
 adverfe and calamitous, but God will for the prefent 
 comfort them under it, and in His ov/n good Time 
 deliver them out of it ; for He hath never once failed 
 them that feek Him. Pfalm ix. 10. When they read of 
 Abraham^ ^ great and ready Faith in going out of his 
 own Country at God^s Appointment., tho' he knew 
 not whither he went ; Gen. xii. Heb. xi. 8. they fhould 
 well inform them of God's Supreme Wifdom as well 
 as Sovereignty and Dominion ^ and that it is not only 
 our bounden Duty to obey God always without Re- 
 
 ferve 
 
332 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 ferve, but in all Cafes to think that to be beft for us 
 which he appoints, tho' we may not be able to difcover 
 the Rcafons and Fitnefs of it. And from the furpriz- 
 ing Faith and Piety of the fame Perfon in chearfully 
 offering up his only Son at God's Command Gen. xxii, 
 they Ihould not only inftru6l them in the indilpenfable 
 Duty of Obedience to the Commands of God, but alfo 
 that they fliould be at all Times ready and wil- 
 ling to lacrifice their deareft Interefts in this World 
 to His Will and Pleafure. When they read the Hi- 
 ftory of Jofeph's being fold into a Foreign Country, 
 his hard Fate and cruel Treatment there in the Prifon, 
 and his future glorious Advancement in the Kingdom 
 of E^ypt^ defcribed in Gen. xxxvii. and the follow- 
 ino- Chapters •, they fhould well difplay and reprefent 
 to their Minds the Wifdom. and Goodnels of Divine 
 Providence in the Protection and Blefling of Righ- 
 teous and Good Men, and in bringing Good out of 
 Evil j and they fhould more pardcularly jfhew them 
 from this remarkable Inftance, that many times in 
 thofe Things, which feem to Men to be mofl unfortu- 
 nate and caiamatous, the truefl and greateil Happinefs 
 does confiil. And from the firm and fledfafl Refolu- 
 tion of this Excellent Perfon in withflanding the Temp- 
 tation of his Miftrefs chap, xxxix, and the Heroic 
 inflexible Courage of the Three Worthies of Babylon 
 'Dan. iii, they fhould let them fee the abfolute Necef- 
 fity and Wifdom of trufling in God in thegreatetl Ex- 
 tremities, and that it is the Height of Folly and Mad- 
 nefs to have Recourfe to any Sinful Compliances, in 
 order to deliver themfelves from the Fear and Power 
 of Men. And as Parents fliould from thefe and 
 ftch like Paflliges in Scripture-Hiftory inflru6l their 
 Children in the NecefTity and Wifdom of ferving God 
 and depending upon His Providence, and living in the 
 Practice of Religion and Virtue, fo from the feveral 
 and remarkable Examples of God's Wrath and Ven- 
 
 geance 
 
Religious Obfervaticn of the LordVDay 333 
 
 geance againft Sinners they fliould caution them a- 
 gainft thofe particular Sins and Vices, which they ob- 
 ferve there to be fo vifibly and feverely punilhed. 
 Thus from the terrible Punifliment infli6led upon the 
 Man xh-M gathered Sticks on the Sabbath Day ^ Numb, x^. 
 32, i^c. they Ihould reprefent to them the muclf^ 
 greater Guilt and Danger of profaning the Lord's 
 Day (as it is now too commonly done) by the Ne- 
 gledl of God's Worfhip, and by the Plealures of Sin. 
 From the heavy Judgment executed upon Corah and 
 his Accomplices Numb, xvi, and the remarkable 
 Punifliment of Uzziah King of Judah for invading 
 the Prieil's Office, 2 Chro7u xxvi. 1 6, i^c. they fhould 
 fhew them the great Sin and Danger of Ufurping the 
 Sacred Offices and Functions without Divine Warrant 
 and Authority. When they read the Hiflory of Ahah 
 in defiring iV^^^/i?'s Vineyard 1 Kings xxi, they fliould 
 fhew them the great Sni and Danger of Coveting 
 their Neighbour's Goods. And from the remarkable 
 and fignal Manner of his Punifhment ver. 19, and 
 that of Jdonibezek^ Judges i. 5, c^c. they Ihould 
 manifeft to them the Righteoufnels and Juftice of 
 God in the Retaliation of Evil. From the Example*? 
 of Achan., Jojhua vii, and Ananias and Sapphira., AEls 
 V, they fhould make them fcnfible of the heinous Sin 
 of Sacrilege. And from the exemplary Judgment of 
 Beljhazzar^ King of Babylon., for ufing the Veflels of 
 the Temple at a Common Feall Ban. v, they Ihould 
 fhew them the great Sin and Danger of profaning 
 Holy Things. And becaufe it is thro' the Want 
 of Divine Grace and Affiftance, that Men are ex- 
 pofed to the Power of Temptadon •, therefore from 
 the Fatal Example of P^/^r's Fall, and the bitter Re- 
 pentance it cod him to be recovered from it Malt. 
 xxvi, they fliould earneftly reprefent to them the great 
 Folly and Danger of trufting to their own Strength, 
 without a coixllant and hun^ble Dependence. upon God, 
 
 and 
 
224- -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 and the Grace of His Holy and Blefled Spirit. It 
 would be an endlefs Thing to fet before the Reader 
 the many great and famous Examples of God's Love 
 and Favour to good Men, and His Severe and Ex- 
 emplary Punifhment of the Wicked, which are re^ 
 corded in the Sacred Writings for our Inftru6lion and 
 Admonition. From what hath been here obferved 
 all Parents may clearly perceive in what Manner they 
 Ihould inftrud their Children in the Knowledge of 
 Holy Scripture, viz. not only by obliging them barely 
 to read the Bible in their Preience (which is alj that is 
 commonly done in this Cafej but alfo by raifing 
 proper and fuitable Inferences and' Obfervations from 
 the chief and principal Parts of them. And of how 
 great Service and Benefit to Youth thefe early Inftru- 
 clions muft be^ is evident to every one : What an 
 Eminent Writer {c) hath obferved upon one particular 
 Inftanceof Scripture-Hiftory being juftly applicable to 
 every Part of it. " Theferious Reader (faith he) will 
 *' refled how obvious it is to infer upon this Oc- 
 *' cafion (the Hiftory of Sodom) the great Wif- 
 '' dom of early inftrucling and enuring Children 
 '' to read the Scriptures •, efpccially thole Hiftori- 
 '' cal Parts of them, which render the Examples 
 *' of Piety and Virtue fo very amiable, and the 
 *' Examples of Vice and Irreligion fo deteftable ; 
 " that whilft they are delighting their Hearts with the 
 " moil pleafmg, the moil engaging Hiilories that ever 
 *' were penned, they are at the lame Time filling them 
 " with the Love of every Virtue, and the Abhor^ 
 " rence of every Vice, they are at the fame Time 
 *' enlarging and ennobling their Souls.'* And thus 
 Parents fliould duly and carefully inilrudl their Chil- 
 dren 
 
 (c) Revelation Examined wich Candour, Vol. II. p. 213^ 
 214. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 335 
 
 dren in the Knowledge of Religion by way of Ca- 
 techizing them, and by frequent Difcourfe and 
 Converfation with them, and by obliging them dili- 
 gently to read the Holy Scriptures. I Ihall only, be- 
 fore I proceed to Ihew the NecelTity and Advantage of 
 fuch Inilrudion, briefly take Notice of one Particular, 
 which Parents fhould be exceedingly careful to Infcill 
 into their Children by all Manner of Ways pollible, 
 and which they fiiould deeply imprint upon their 
 Minds ; becaule it is EfTendal and Fundamental to the 
 Chriftian Religion, and becaufe their Ignorance and 
 Miflake in this Matter will be- Fatal, and render all 
 their Inftrudlions in other Points of Chriftian Know- 
 iege of no Ufe and Service to them ; and that is, the 
 Dodrine of our BlefTed Saviour's Mediation, which 
 confifls in this, that He is the Surety or Mediatour 
 of the New Covenant Heb, xii. 24, by which He 
 hath obtained of His Father the Pardon of our Sins, 
 the Grace of» the Holy Spirit, and Eternal Life J5fs 
 iii. 19. Luke xi. 13. Rev, ii. 10. on Condition of 
 our Repentance, Faith, and Rncere Obedience : and 
 that this Gracious Covenant (o obtained of God for 
 us He hath purchafed with His own mod precious 
 Blood. ASfs XX. 28. Heb. ix. 15 (d). I fhall not at 
 prefent enlarge upon thefe Points, having before fhewn 
 the Neceflity (e) ofChrift's Death for the Atonement 
 and Expiation, of Sin and to fupport the Honour 
 and Dignity of God's Government •, and alfo briefly 
 intimated how forcibly the Inefl:imable Value of His 
 Sufferings, (they being the Sufteringsof one, who was 
 as truly God as He was truly Man, j^^sxx. 28. i John 
 iii. 16,) reprefents to us the great Heinoufnels and 
 Danger of Sin (/), as well as the amazing Love 
 
 of 
 
 {d)rid, .9f<?//'s Chriftian Life, Vol. III. p. 19. 
 (:?) 5^/ abcve, Part II. chap, iii p. 250, &c, 
 (f) If the Relation between Sin and PuniOiment had not been 
 llrid and indiilbliifcie j one of our Suvioat'i Ccnfcquence^ the 
 
 Brishtneis 
 
3^6 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 ofCbrifi in dying for us. And the Great Bleflings bf this 
 Covenant which Chrift hath purchafed with His Blood, 
 and the unfpeakable Advantages (^) of His Intercef- 
 fion which is grcMided thereupon, Rom. viii. 34. 
 Heb. ix. II, 12. are fovery evident and manifefi, 
 that no Man who beheves the Holy Scriptures and is 
 in any Meaiiire acquainted with them, Can pofTibly be 
 infenfible thereof. All therefore that I fliall obferve 
 upon thisOccafion is the abfolute Neceflity of early 
 inftruding Children, and throughly grounding them 
 in the Belief of this Do6Vrine of Ci^rf/^'s" Mediation ; 
 and that upon the Account of fome Dangerous Do6lrines 
 and Principles lately advanced and induftrioufly fpread 
 throuo;hout the Kingdom, which place the wlJole of 
 Religion in Morality^ and which reprefeht our BlefTed 
 Saviour to be no more than a Prophet, who was fent 
 to reform the Errours and Corrupdons of the Jezvsy 
 
 and 
 
 ^rightnefs of the Father's Glory and the exprefs Image of his 
 Terfony had never in all likelihood been made a Sacrifice. If a lit- 
 tle Matter would have made up the Breach between Heaven and 
 Earth, fome one among the Sons of Men, diitinguillied for Wifdonl 
 and Virtue, might have been employed in the A//;///?rv of Recon- 
 ciliation : but fmce {c. the Pfalmljl fpeaks, xlix. 7 ) none of them can 
 redeem his Brother, 1. or give unto Cod a Ranfom for him ; the Ter- 
 rours of Guilt are greatly magnified by the prcfent Method of ror- 
 givcnefs. Or however at leaft, if the Sons of Men were all tod 
 much Partakers of their common Corruption, to be duly qualified 
 for this Mighty Office of Mediation and Atonement ; yet fomft 
 of thofe Miniftring Spirits, thofe Sons of the Morning, who Ihmd 
 round about the Throne of God continually, might one would 
 imagine have engaged with Succefs in it. But in admitting a 
 PI carious Satis fa^ion, the Wifdomof God fmgled out for Himlclf 
 an Oftering of the very purell Sort, the Firil in Rank and Dignity 
 within His Court, and one whom all His Angtls worjkip. Wiicre- 
 forc tho' with refpc6l to any Payment made by us or by our Pro- 
 curement we were Redeemed without Money i yet the Price of oar 
 Redemption, as paid by the Saviour of the World, fliould mightily 
 enhance to us both the Ma ignity of Sin, and the Holincfs of God 
 it's Avenger. Dr MarflialPj Sermons Vol. Ill, p. 43, 44. 
 
 [g) See 6"ri?//'s Chriiiian Life, Vol. III. p. 33, 34, in which 
 theie is an Excellent Pa flage to thisPurpofe. 
 
Religious Obfei^atioii of the Lord's Day. 337 
 
 and to inftrud Mankind more fully and perfe6lly in 
 Moral and Social Duties. The great Danger and 
 Mifchief of which Scheme of Religion confifts in 
 thefe three Things. Firft^ That hereby we deftroy 
 one of the moft powerful and prevailing Motives to the 
 Pra6lice of Virtue, which is drawn from th Dignity 
 of (i?) Ch'ift^s Perfon, and'the InelHmable Value and 
 Merit of his Sufferings (/), together with the Necef- 
 fity and Advantage of His Death and Interceifion ; 
 the. Force and Efficacy of which Motives have been 
 before confidered. Secondly^ In the placing the whole 
 of Religion in Moral diudi Social Duties j V/hereas it 
 is very clear and plain from Holy Scripture, that Faith 
 in Chrift and in the Doctrines which He hath reveal- 
 ed is as necefiary to (k) Salvation, as the Performance 
 of Moral Duties ; and moreover that Men are not only 
 unable to difcharge their Duty without the Grace and 
 AfTiflance of C^ri/?, Johnxv, 5. PhiL iv. 13, but alfo, 
 that fince God hath made a new Covenant with Man- 
 kind by aMediatour of His own Appointment, A5is ii. 
 36. V. 31. PhiL ii. 9, ^c. in which He hath heightened 
 the Pra6lice of Moral Virtue, and eflabliHied our 
 Duty upon new Principles and Motives thereto •, there 
 is no other Obedience will be acceptable to God (from 
 fuch I mean, to v/hom the Goipel of Chrift is duly 
 preached) but what is grounded upon and derived 
 from thefe Motives and Principles, and is offered up 
 to God thro' Faith in Chrift^ and in an humble and 
 grateful Reliance upon the Merits of his Death and 
 Z Paffion 
 
 [h) Tho' the Condition of the Perfon alters not the Nature of 
 the Authority he is veiled with ; yet in the Eitimation of Men 
 the fame Authority is more or lefs venerable, according a.s the 
 Quality and Condition of the i'^r/tf/zj cloathed with it is more or 
 Mscoiffiderabh. Z)r Scott' j Chriilian Life T^/. ///. p. 26. 
 
 (/■/Sec Rom. xlv. 15. Pi-//, ii. 5. &c. 
 
 {k) See M^.it. x. 32, 33. Mark viii. 38. J<^i>nm. 16. i Jo.b^ 
 V. 10. Ji'ls iv. 12 to 21. 
 
^38 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 PafTion (/). ^"d ^^^"9 i'^ ^^ "Third Place ^ There is 
 this o-reat and fatal Mifchief attends this Scheme of 
 Relio-ion, 'viz. that fuppofing the Difcharge of Moral 
 Duties would of itfelf recommend us to the Love and 
 Favour of God, yet we cannot perform thofe Duties 
 in fuch Perfedion, as the Law of God requires of us. 
 The Obedience of thebeft Men is accompanied with 
 many Failings and Infirmities, and fometimes with 
 great Sins and Tranfgreffions : it being in fome 
 Meafure true of the moil Virtuous Men, that their ] 
 Rio-hteoufnefs in God's Sight isbutasj?/^^jyi^<^^j,as the 
 Prophet fpeaks ; Ifa. Ixiv. 6. and as the Wife Man 
 obferves, there is not a juft Man upon Earth that doth 
 good and finneth not. Ecclef. vii. 20 (m). And 
 therefore their beft Performances cannot entitle them 
 to God's Favour upon any other Principle than 
 That perfed and compleat Obedience, which Chrifi 
 paid to the Law of God : Which perfed Obedience 
 fhall be imputed unto all Men, who ftncerely and 
 faithfully endeavour to ferve God, and to keep His 
 Commandments. For thus the Apoftle obferves. As 
 hy one Man^s Difohedience many were made Sinners^ fo 
 hy the Obedience of one fhall many be made Righteous. 
 Rom. V. 19. By which Obedience is not only meant 
 the Death of Chrifi^ v/hich the Apoftle elfewhere 
 calls by this T(?r/^, Phil. ii. 8, and by the Merits of 
 which we are abfolved from the Guilt of our Sins ; 
 but alfo the abfolute Righteoufnefs of Chrijly His a^fual 
 ^ndperfe^ Obedience to the Divine Law, for the Sake 
 of ^vhich God will accept of our weak and imperfect 
 
 Obedience, 
 
 (/) Vid. Scotrs Chriftian Life, Vol III. f« 2, 3. Ellhop 
 Glbfon'^ Second Palloral Letter, p. 64. to 68. 
 
 (';//) Quanquam peccatuni eil'e non poteft nifi quod libere fit, ab 
 omni tanicn omnino peccato & femper abftincre fupra hiimanam 
 eft conditionem ; unde cognatum homini eflepeccarc, inter Philofo- 
 phos Sopater, Hierocles,Scneca, inter Jud<Tos Philo, inter Hiftoricos 
 "Tbucydides, inter Chriliianos plurimi prodidcrunt. Grot, de Jure 
 h.Ui & V acts, lib. ii. cap. xx. § 19. Vid. loc. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 339 
 
 Obedience, if it is offered up to Him in Faithfulnefs 
 and Sincerity (;/). For otherwife it would be but of 
 little Service to us to be abfolved from our Sins, and 
 to have them wajhed away in the Blood of Chrift^ Rev^ 
 i. 5, if afterwards God ihould rigoroujly m^iik. upon 
 that FerfeB Obedience which the Law requires, and 
 fhouldnot upon the Account ofCbrift's ahfolute Righ- 
 teoufnefs connive at our Failings, and accept of our 
 fincere tho' impcrfe^l Obedience. And therefore, if 
 Parents heardly defire that their Children Ihould re- 
 ceive any true Benefit and Advantage from their Re- 
 ligious Education of them, they muft not content 
 themfelves with barely exhorting them to be honefl 
 and good Men in their Dealings with the World ; 
 but muft alfo inftrud them throughly and ground 
 them deeply in the Belief of the Dodrine of ChrijVs 
 Mediation ; and let them know, that as they ever 
 hope to obtain the Pardon of their Sins, and the 
 Grace of the Holy Spirit, and to have their weak and 
 imperfe5l Endeavours accepted by God and rewarded 
 by Him, they muft firmly believe in Chrift the Sa- 
 viour of the World, and offer up all their Prayers, 
 Services and Obedience to God through Faith in Him, 
 and in the Infinite Merits of His Death and Paflion * 
 and that becaufe there is no- other Name under Heaven 
 (0) given among Men^ whereby we muft befaved. A5ls iv. 
 12. And thus much concerning the firft Particular, 
 
 Z 2 viz 
 
 {ri\ See Bifhop Bet'eridgis Thoughts on Religion, Part I. Ar- 
 ticle VIII. 
 
 [0) If it be true that the Blefied Jefus is the Son of God, and the 
 Saviour of Mankind (^and wo to us Men, if it fnould be otherwife) 
 then to deny this Truth, is to deny our God, and to renounce our 
 Salvation ; a Crime of fo high a Nature, aiall our evil Works can- 
 not equal, and all our good Vv'orks cannot cxcuie. For all other 
 Faults may be expiated by Virtue of our Saviour's Blood ; bun 
 to deny the Merits of his Blood is a Fault for which there' can hz 
 iio Probability of Expiation. Bilhop Hickman'^ Sermons^ 'F^L IL 
 S^rnon, //, pag, 70. 
 
340 A Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 liz. wherein the Religious Education of Children 
 doth confift. I proceed in the 
 
 Second Place^ To iliew the abfolute Neceflity and 
 unfpeakable Advantage of fuch Education. Now 
 the great Benefit and Advantage of a Religious Edu- 
 cation of Youth is in general very evident and mani- 
 fell ; fince hereby they are brought up in that 
 good Way which they Ihould walk in, and inilru6l- 
 ed in thofe good Principles, and trained up in thoie 
 Habits of Virtue, upon which their Happinefs endrely 
 depends. But this we ihall the more fully and clearly 
 perceive, if we confider the Advantage of fuch Edu- 
 cadon in thefe three pardcular Refpeds. 
 
 Firft^ In that the Knowledge and Learning, which 
 is ufually conveyed to Children by a good Educadon, 
 does very much ftrengthen {p) and improve the Na- 
 tural Talents and Faculties of the Mind, which God 
 hath planted there for our Diredion and Proficiency in 
 Moral Virtue. And how great foever our Natural 
 Capacides aijd Abilities may be, yet unlefs they are 
 duly improved and enlarged by good Education and 
 Exercife, they will enable us to make but very few 
 Difcoveries which are of any Ufe and Importance to us. 
 And tho' the Natural Inclinations ofMento Vice are 
 ftrong and powerful, infomuch that it is a Matter of 
 feme Difficulty to inilrud; and exercife Youth in Moral 
 Virtue, and render the Pradice of it delightful to 
 them (q^) \ yet this Difficulty is mainly owing to a 
 bad Education, and to the Strength and Force of 
 
 Vicious 
 
 {/>) Doftrina fed vim promovet infitam, 
 Rcdtiqiic cultus peflora roborant: 
 Utciinque defccere mores. 
 Dedecorant bene nata culpa?. Horat. lib. w,Od. iv. 
 
 i^vt vrn TOtHi-Ji Tp^(piilA vL^oir li jS azo^foyu^i 'CnV 'A xct?- 
 lieuic^ i:X v\'f^ Toli TTzi^M^y dh},coi li }t^ v'^ci- Aiiibt. £chic. 
 lib. X. c;ip. 10. 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 341 
 
 Vicious Habits, which are the greateft Obflacle and 
 Impediment to the Succefs and Efficacy of good 
 Counfel. And notwithftanding the melancholy Com- 
 plaint of the great Number of Vicious and Profligate 
 Youth in the Nation ; yet I verily believe the greateil 
 Part of them are grown bad for want of well know- 
 ing how to behave better, and have contraded flrong 
 and powerful Habits of Sin and Wickednels thro* 
 their Parents Negledl of early and duly inflrufting 
 them in the NecefTity and Advantage of Moral Virtue. 
 And tho' the Corruptions of Nature are indeed 
 great and vifible, yet " More People are loft for 
 " want of good Education and Inftitution, than for 
 *' want of honeft and honourable Inclinations," as an 
 Eminent Writer (r) hath well obferved. And tliere- 
 fore it muft be of the greateft Importance and Advan- 
 tage to Youth to be early acquainted with all thofe 
 Parts of Knowledge, which are neceflary for the future 
 Conduct and Government of their Lives and Actions, 
 Efpecially, if we confider in the 
 
 Second P/^r^,That the Inftrudtions, which are given 
 to Men in their Youth, are apt to abide the longeft 
 with and to be the moft carefully obferved and re- 
 member'd by them. For this is the Time moft luf~ 
 ceptible of lafting Impreffions, as a great Judge (s) in 
 this Matter hath truly remarked. And that mighty 
 Earnejlnefs and Zeal^ v/hich all Se5fs and Partks mani- 
 feftfor their Opinions (how ai^fard. md 7nonftrQp:s {ooYtv) 
 is by thefamous f/j Author juftly afcribed jto the Force 
 and Prejudice of Education, and to the deep Imprel- 
 fion which is made of thofe Errours upon their Minds 
 in the Time of Youth Ui). And a Man muft have 
 Z 3 bur 
 
 (r) V Efirange'% Fables, 8vo. Vol, I. p. 1 86. 
 (s) \^oq\. on Human Uiiderjl&ndingy Book I L chap, xxxill. $. 8.. 
 \t) Lock ibid. § i8. 
 
 {u) Cum vcro Parentiliis redditi, id eft, Magiftiis tradi, ti rinnus 
 
 tum. 
 
342 A JDifcotirfe concerning the 
 
 but little Experience of the World, who does not fee 
 that there is nothing more hard and difficult than to 
 root out the fixed and fettled Opinions and Per- 
 fwafions of Mens Minds, and to divert them from 
 thofe Courfes, to which they have been long ufed and 
 ftrongly inclined. And therefore it mull be highly 
 ferviccabie and beneficial to Youth to have the No- 
 tions of Religion and Virtue deeply and (*) early 
 imprinted upon their Minds, and to be educated from 
 the Beginning in the Pra61:ice of Piety and Goodnefs : 
 fmce Men are naturally prone to think and aA, as they 
 have been for fome Time accuftomed to do. And to 
 ufe the Words of a late noted Author (x)^ " Educa- 
 ^' rion is iufcly eileemed a Second Nature, and it*s 
 '^^ Force fo ftrong, that few can wholly flmke off it's 
 *' Prejudices, even in Things unreafonable and unna> 
 *^ tural : and muft it not have the greateft Efficacy in 
 ^'^ Things agreeable to Reafon, and fuitable to Human 
 " Nature ? And then, 
 
 T/b/>^/y and Iqflly, The Religious Education of Chil- 
 dren is not only of the moft Eminent Service and Ad^ 
 vantage to them, as hereby their Minds are (lored with 
 NeccfTary and Ufeful Knowledge, and they are trained 
 up from the Beginning in the Practice of Virtue ; but 
 alfo, as by tlus Means they are effectually preferved 
 from the Contagion and Mifchief of bad Habits, v/hich 
 (as will be feen prefcntly ) is the greateft Danger (y) to 
 
 which 
 
 turn ita vaiiis inibuimur Erroiibu.% ut vanitati verkas, & opinioni 
 confirinatx Natura iplaccdat. Cic. Tufc\ ^U£j}. lib. Hi. cap. ii, 
 
 (* ) Quo femel dl imbuta recens fervabit O'dorem 
 
 Tclta diu. Horat. lib, i. Epijl. ii. 
 
 {x) Chriftianitj^ m old as the Crentioiu chap xi. p. 1 66. 
 
 (y) NatLira nobis parvulos dedit igniculos, quos celeriter malis 
 Moribus opinionibufque depravatis fic reilinguimus, ut nulquam Na- 
 ture Jumen apparcat ; lunt cnim ingeniis nollris Semina innata vir- 
 rutum, qu?J li adolcfccre licerct, ipfa nos cd bcatam vitam natura 
 pcrduceret. Nunc autem fimul acinluccm editi fumus, in omni 
 continuo pravitate & in flimma opinionum perverfitate verfamur, 
 Cic. Tu/c. ^aji, lib. Hi. (ap. ii. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 3 43 
 
 which Youth is expofed, and from the Power ofwhich 
 very few Perfons ever perfedly recover themfelves. 
 And moreover, as by this good Inftruclion they are 
 timely enured and gradually exercifed in the Praftice 
 of Religion, they will reap this double Advantage 
 thereby, viz, that it will not only be eafy (z) andde- 
 lio-htful to them to difcharge their Duty ( as it is to 
 Men in all other Cafes to ad according to fetded Plabits 
 and Cuftoms; but they will alfo promote and advance 
 their true Happinefs and Pleafure in a greater Meafure 
 and Degree. For that Religion naturally tends to 
 make Men happy even in this prefent Life, and that 
 much greater and truer Pleafures arife from the Pra- 
 6lice of Virtue than from any Senfual and Sinful (^) 
 Enjoyments whatfoever, is not only very evident from 
 the Nature of Things and the Teftimony of all Mi- 
 ilory, both Sacred and Profane, but alio from the 
 Judo-ment of thofe Perfons, who have had the Tryal 
 and'Experiment of both of them, and who have been 
 reclaimed from a Courfeof Vice and Wickednefs to 
 the conftant and regular Obfervation of Religion and 
 Virtue : all which Perfons have readily acknowledg- 
 ed, that it was not only more wife and reafonable in 
 itfelf to a6l virtiwujly than vitmjly\ butaifo that it 
 adminiftred an infinitely greater Comfort and Delight 
 to them. Nay many wicked Men will themlelves 
 freely own, that they have been much better pleafed, 
 when they have difcharged a fingle Inftance of their 
 Duty, than ever they were by any Sinful Compliance ; 
 and have therefore earneftly wifhed that they could at- 
 
 Z 4 ta^n 
 
 (,;) O Vitic Philofophia Dux imus dies bene & ex Prscep- 
 
 tistuisaftus peccand Immorcalitati anteponendus eft. CicSufc, 
 ^nefl. lib. i\ 
 
34+ ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 tain to the Blefiednefs and Perfection of good Chriftians ', 
 but being long accuftomed and enflaved to vicious 
 Habits, they have found all Attempts in vain to deli- 
 ver themfelves from the Strength and Dominion of 
 them. From all which Confidcrations the great Be- 
 nefit and Advantage, which accrues to Children from 
 a Religious and Virtuous Education of them, does 
 very plainly appear. And hence we may fee the Wif- 
 dom of that Obfervation of King Solomon ( which 
 like other Proverbial Sentences is to be undcrftood to 
 hold true only in theGeneral ) 'Train up a Child in the 
 Way hejhotildgo^ and when he is Old he will not depart 
 from it. Fro. xxii. 6. And, 
 
 Secondly., As a Religious Education of Children Is 
 of the utmoft Benefit and Advantage to them, fo like- 
 wife it is abfolutely and indifpenlably neceflfary to their 
 true Happinefs. And that upon thefe four Accounts: 
 Firft't Becaufe without fuch Religious Education of 
 Youth they cannot- pofliblybe endued with that 
 Knowledge and Learning, which is necefifary to their 
 Inftrudion and Direclionin Moral Virtue. And to 
 the want of t'lis Knowledge the bitter Complaints 
 of the Many vicious and Profligate Youth in the Na- 
 tion are in great Meafure owing, as was juft now 
 obferved. Inlomuch that the heavy Charge, which God 
 made againft the Jewijh Prieils by the Prophet Hofea.^ 
 may too juftly be applied to the Generality of Parents 
 with regard to their Negle6t in the Education of their 
 Children •, My People are dejlroyedfor lack of Knowledge, 
 chap, iv 6. And indeed, if young Perfons are not made 
 acquaintcdwith their Duty, it is impofiible they Ihould 
 put it in Pradice •, neither can it in reafon be expeded 
 but that they fliould foon abandon themfelves to all 
 manner of Vice and Wickednefs, unlefs they are early 
 and duly inllru6led in the Neceflity and Advantage 
 of Piety and Virtue. And this upon account of the 
 /^r^,»^^ Thing, which renders the Religious Education 
 of Children abfolutely neceffary, 1^/2;. the Natural Dif- 
 
 pofitions 
 
Religious Ohjervation of the Lord's Day. 34 j 
 
 j poritionsand'Propenfions of the Mind, which all Men 
 ' bring into the World with them, and which very 
 rtroiigly inchne and folicite them to evil. This the 
 P/?/;??i/? acknowledges of himfelf, Behold^ fays he, / 
 was jhapcn in V/kkednefs^ and in Sin hath my Mother 
 conceived me. Pfal. li. 5. And this every Man finds to 
 be true, more or lels by his own Experience (b). This 
 the ancient Philofophersclcarly perceived and frequent- 
 ly complained of j tho' they were notable to o-ive 
 any other Account of it, but that the Souls of Men 
 had formerly contra6led thisCorruption (-fj, and were 
 therefore fent down into thefe grois and earthly Bodies 
 by way of Punifliment for Sins committed by them in 
 a State of Pre-exiftence. And tho' this Corruption be not 
 follrongfas Infidels and Libertines reprefent {c) it to be) 
 but that it may thro' the Grace of God be eifedually 
 fubdued and overcome by Difcipline and good Habits ; 
 yet unlefs timely Care be taken to reftrain the Influence 
 ^nd Effedlsof this Corruption by Religious Infbrudion 
 and by the Exercife of Virtue, it will fbon grow Ex- 
 orbitant and Irreliftible, and will by degrees bring a 
 
 Man 
 
 (^) - video meliora, proboque, 
 
 Deteriora fequor. Ovid. Metainorph. lib. vii. Fab. I. 
 
 Quid eft hoc, Lucili, quod nos alio tendentes alio trahit? & ej 
 
 unde recederecupimus impellit ? quid colludatur cum animo noftro, 
 
 nee permittit nobis quicquam fcmel vellc? flufluam us inter varia con- 
 
 filia,nihi]]ibere volumiis,nihil abrolute,nihil lempcr. ^enec.Epift.^z, 
 
 (f) ^zzabovf, fa%.\ 178. 
 
 {c) The celebrated Verfesof a late Noble Poet of this Nation are 
 very remarkable to this Pur^ofe, zvkich as Archbijhop Tillotlbn ob- 
 fervcs are frequently in the Mouths of many ^ who are thought to hear 
 no good Will to Religion. 
 
 O wearilbme Condition of Humanity, 
 
 Born under one Law, to another bound ; 
 Vainly begot, and yet forbidden Vanity ; 
 Created fick, commanded to be found. 
 If Nature did not take delight in Blood, 
 She would have made more eafy ways to Good. 
 
 Tillotfo%y Vol. \. pag, 329. See tjbe place , 
 
246 A Difcotirfe concerning the 
 
 Man into fuch a miferable State and Condition, that 
 he fliall have but littje Power to do good, tho' he 
 Ihould defire it never fo earneftly ; and will fay with 
 the natural Man defcribed by St Paul^ Rom, vii. That 
 which I do I allow not \for what I would that I do not\ 
 hut what I hate thai do /. ^ver. 15. And then //:?/W/)', 
 That wliich will add very much to the Force and 
 Strength of Mens natural Inclinations, and give them 
 the greateft Opportunity and Advantage to exert and 
 difcover their evil Propenfions (and does therefore fiir- 
 thei; fhew the abfolute NecefTity of Religious Educa- 
 tion : is the Multitude of vicious and corrupt Examples, 
 which prevails in the World •, and to the Fatal In- 
 fluence and Power of which all young Perfcns muft 
 unavoidably be in fome Meafqre expofed. And how 
 dangerous fuch Patterns are to Youth by realon of 
 their being fo very prone and liable to Imitation, hath 
 been already obferved [a). And fince bad Examples 
 become dangerous to Youth chiefly thro' the want 
 of good Judgment to condudl themfelves (upon which 
 iVccount they have oftentimes too pernicious an In- 
 fluence upon grown Perfons, as St P/^/^/obferves, i Cor, 
 XV." 33. ) we miay hence perceive the abfolute NecefTi- 
 ty of early inculcating upon them the ftri6l Obliga- 
 tions and ineftimable Advantages of Religion, and 
 training them up in the Pradice of Virtue •, fince o- 
 therwiie thro' the evil Inclinations and Propenfions 
 of Nature they will infallibly be drawn afide and 
 corrupted by bad and vicious Examples. ^\\i^ fourth- 
 h cind hfily^ That which will more clevU"ly and fully 
 fhew us the indifpenfable NecefTity of this Religious 
 Education of Youdi, is this Confidcration, viz. that 
 unlefs they are early inftruded in their Duty, and 
 trained up in the Regular Practice of it, all Attempts 
 afterwards to make them fenfible of the Importance 
 
 and 
 
 [d] Vid. psg. 315, 516, 
 
I Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 347 
 
 and Advantage of Religion and Virtue will be in 
 vain and ineffectual. For if thro' the want of good 
 Judgment in the Condu6l of themfelves their evil 
 Inclinations and Propenfions are indulged, and the 
 Power of them be increafed and ftrengthened by Pra- 
 dice and by corrupt Converfation ; they will foon 
 lofe all Senfe of Religion and Virtue, and delight 
 themfelves only in fenfual Pleafures, till by degrees 
 I they will be entirely accullomed and habituated to 
 I Vice and Wickednefs. And when once they are fet- 
 tled and confirmed in Habits of Vice, it will be the 
 mod difficult Thing in the World to deliver them 
 from the Dominion of them, and to recover them to 
 fober Thought and ferious Confideration. This every 
 one hath fully experienced, who hath been concerned 
 in the Care and Management of fuch Perfons -, and 
 the Holy Scriptures reprefent the Converfion of Ha- 
 bitual Sinners to be fo very difficult, that they defcribe 
 it by the Terms of a Natural ImpofTibility. Thus 
 fays the Prophet, Can the Ethiopian change his Skin^ 
 and the Leopard his Spots ? then may ye alfo do good^ wh9 
 are accufiomed to do evil^ Jer.xm. i^. Not, that the 
 Prophet means, that it is impoffMe for habitual Sinners 
 to be converted and become good Men ; for that is 
 contrary to Reafon, and fometimes, God be prailed, 
 to Experience ; but only that it is a very hard Matter 
 to be accomplilhed. And it is ufual in Scripture {e) 
 and profane Authors to (/) fpeak in this Manner, and 
 to fignify and exprefs great Difficulties by Terms 
 
 and 
 
 ie) See Mark x. 23 to 28. 
 . If) Sic Ariftot, Impoflibile, inquit, dicitur, aut quod omnino 
 fieri non potell, aut iion facile, nee cito, nee bene. Sic Jurifcon- 
 luki impofTibile voeant, quod juxta communem legem aut ufuni 
 fieri non poteft, etiamfi privilegio vel voluntate Frincipis fieri queat. 
 Sic in Moribus impoffibile dicitur, quod ulum communem egredi- 
 tur. Ribera in Heb. vi. 4. 
 
 Aj)jvetjov. Hie intelligitur, admodum difiicile, nee fine infolito 
 Pivinae gratiae auxilio poffibilc. £r. & Rih?\ ibia. 
 
34^ A Difcoiirfe concerning the ■ 
 
 and Defcriptions of Things that are impoffthk. And 
 indeed fuch Expreflions are very properly ufed, 
 fince of all Things that are poflible to be done the 
 Converfion of habitual Sinners is the mod Difficult ; 
 and efpecially of fuch Sinners, who have been long 
 and early enured to Vice and Wickednefs, and are 
 deftitute of any Meafure of Knowledge and Judg- 
 ment to difcover the Deceitful nefs and Danger of 
 Sin. For to ufe the Words of an Eminent Writer 
 (g)^ " When Vicious Inclinations are brought once 
 " by Cuftom and Pradlice to be habitual, the Evil 
 '' is defperate ; for Nature will be true to herfelf 
 *' through all Forms and Difguifes : And Cuftom is a 
 *' fecond Nature.'* And as another Ingenious (h) 
 Perfon hath obferved, "It is a molt certain 'Trutb^. 
 *' that without a particular AJfiftance from Heaven 
 '' the Vices of Youth follow a Man to his Grave." 
 
 And thus much concerning the Duty of a Religious 
 Education of Children, together with the abfolute 
 Neceffity and great Advantages thereof. I have no- 
 thing farther to add upon this Head but to exhort 
 all Parents ferioufly to confider this Matter, and ear- 
 neftly to entreat them, as they tender the Welfare 
 and Happinefs of their Children, as they defire that 
 the Fruit of their own Bodies fhould not perifli and 
 come to Deftru6lion (f), nor the Blood of their 
 Children cry out at the laft Day for Vengeance againft 
 them, that they be very careful and diligent in the 
 Religious Education of them, and that they early 
 and duly inftrud: them in the Neceffity and Advan- 
 tage of Piety and Virtue, and train them up regularly 
 in the Habit and Pradice of it. And indeed it is 
 
 apparently 
 
 {g) VEftravge, Vol. 1. Fr.b. i88. p. 202. 
 
 {h) See the Enquiry concerning Virtue, in Anfwer to the Fable 
 9/ the Bees, p. zib. 
 
 , (z) Quid prodeft homini iilium habere, nutrire, amare, li aDter- 
 ni cum nutriat torinentis? JuguJ. ds Temp. Serm.2^(}. 
 
Religious Objervation of the Lord's Day. 349 
 
 apparently owing to the Negled of Parents in this 
 Particular, that Vice and Wickednefs does k> much 
 abound in the Nation, and that we have {o many de- 
 plorable Inftanccs of young Perfons utterly abandoned 
 to Lewdnefs and Debauchery, and at their lirft letting 
 out into the World undone and ruined beyond all 
 Recovery. And fo great and fhameful is this Neg- 
 led, that to ufe the Words of a mofl Pious (k) and 
 Excellent Prelate of our Church, " When I feri- 
 " oufly confider how fupinely remifs and unconcern- 
 *' ed many Parents are, as to the Religious Educa- 
 '« tion of their Children; I cannot but think of that 
 *' Saying of Augiiftus concerning Herod ^ Better be his 
 " Hog than his Child . I think it was fpoken to ano- 
 " ther Purpofe f/), but it is true like wife to the Pur- 
 " pofe I am fpeaking of: Better to be fome Mens 
 " Dogs^ or Hawks, or Horfes^ than their Children : 
 *' For they take a greater Care to breed and train up 
 '^ thefe to their feveral Ends and Ufes, than to breed 
 '' up their Children for Eternal Happinefs." And 
 yet furely there is nothing more aftonilhing, than that 
 the Generality of Parents fhould adl in this Manner; 
 and fhould take fo much Care and Pains in having 
 their Children well acquainted with the proper Skill 
 and Knowledge of the feveral Profeffions for which 
 they are defigned, and think no Expence of Time or 
 Money too great to inftrudi them in a httle Lati^i^ 
 
 Greeky 
 
 {k) Archbifhop Tillotfon, Vol. I. p. 636. 
 
 f"/) The Occafion of thefe Words oi Auguftus was this ; When 
 he heard that among the Infants under two Years Old, whom 
 Herod the King had commanded to be flain, Herod'^s own Son 
 was killed ; he faid, it was better to have been Herod''s Hog than his 
 Son. This Relation is given to us by a Pa^^an Writer, who 
 lived towards the End of the IVth Century. Cum audifTet [Au- 
 gifftus) inter pueros, quos in Syria Herodes Rex Judaorum intra 
 bimatum jufiit intcrfid, iilium quoque ejus occifum ,- ait. Me- 
 lius dl Hcrcdis porcum cUc quam hliuin. Macrob. lib. ii. 
 <■<?/. iv. 
 
35© A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Greeks French^ Philofophy^ Mathematics^ Hijlory^ 
 MuftCy Dancings or any other Part of necefTary and 
 iifeful Knowledge ; and at the fame Time in the 
 Grand Affair of Religion, which is of all others the moft 
 Important^ fhould be fo ftupidly Carelefs and Incon- 
 fiderate •, as if they had no Regard for the Good of 
 their Children beyond this prefent, fhort and uncer- 
 tain Life, nor were in the leaft concerned what Hiall 
 become of them after Death, but it were a Matter 
 altogether indifferent to them, whether they be for 
 ever Happy, or for ever Miferable. 
 
 It is therefore highly fit and neceflliry, that Parents 
 fhould be frequently admonifhed and put in Mind 
 of this great Duty of the Religious Education of their 
 Children. And there are four Confiderations which 
 may be urged upon this Head of great Moment and 
 Confequence ; which I fhall only at prefent briefly 
 mention, leaving all Parents to think and refled more 
 fully upon them at their Leifure. And, 
 
 Firft^ The Religious Education of Children is a 
 Natural Duty. The firft Thing, which Nature dic- 
 tates to all Parents, is that they have a Tender Re- 
 gard to the Prefervation and Happinefs of their OfF- 
 fpringv and therefore fince Religion is abfolutely ne- 
 cefTary to the Happinefs of Mankind (as hath been 
 fliewn in the foregoing Part of this Chapter) it is a 
 natural Obligation upon all Parents to ufe their beft 
 Endeavours to inflru6l and educate their Children 
 therein. And when we confider that flrong Love 
 and Affe6lion which the very Brute Creatures have 
 for their Young, and what Care they take m bring- 
 ing them up till they are able to defend and provide 
 for themfelves (w), we may juflly think thole Men 
 to be worfe than Brutes, who are the Inflruments of 
 
 bringing 
 
 ^ [m) Quid dicam quantus amor beftiarum fit in educandis cufto- 
 diendifque iis qua; procreaverinr, ufque ad eum fin^m dum pollinc 
 fs ipfa defenders ? Ci(, de Nat, D.orui^y ii'?. \u 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 351 
 
 bringing Children into the World, and yet are entire- 
 ly Neghgent to inflrudl them in that, upon which 
 their Weil-Being and Felicity both in this World 
 and the next does abfolutely depend. 
 
 Secondly, If a Religious Life and Converfation be 
 abfolutely neceflary to the Happinefs of Children, 
 then the Religious Education of Children muft 
 be the Indiipenfable Duty of all Parents ; Since 
 without fach Education it will be impoflible for 
 them to attain to a due and competent Knowledge 
 of their Duty, or to be influenced and trained up in 
 the Pradice of it ; as I have already fully fiiewn in 
 this Chapter. 
 
 ^oirdly^ As the greatefl and trueft Happinefs of 
 Parents does commonly refult from the Happinefs of 
 their Children; I would therefore beg of them ear- 
 neftly to confider, that no Happinefs can pofTibly be 
 greater than that which is derived from a rational* and 
 well grounded Hope, that all their Children are in 
 the Favour of God at prefent, and fhall be eternally 
 rewarded by Him hereafter in His Glorious Kingdom. 
 Let them imagine they could be fully aflured, that 
 all their Children fliould die in the Lord ; and that 
 when they fhall appear with them before the Tribu- 
 nal of God, they could fay to the Great Judge con- 
 cerning their Children, as He Himfelf did to His 
 Father concerning His Difciples, Of thefu^ which Thoti 
 ^aveft Me^ have I loft none, John xviii. 9, there 
 would fpring up in their Minds fuch Rapturous Joy 
 and Delight, as no one can conceive, nor the Tongue 
 of Men and Angels exprefs. And therefore I hope, 
 that for their own Sake, as well as with Regard to 
 their Children, they will be careful to advance and 
 fecure their Eternal Happinefs and Salvation \ fince 
 they cannot pofTibly do any Thing that will prove 
 more advantageous and beneficial to themfelves, and 
 in the End adminifter fuch an unfpeukable Comfort 
 
 and Delight to their Minds 
 
 In 
 
352 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 In the Fourth and lajl Place, I et all Parents fre- 
 quently and ferioufly confider, that God v/ill demand 
 a ftrid Account from them in what Manner they have 
 ufed and employed all their Talents ; and particularly, 
 Vs^hether they have fpent their Time in doing Good, 
 and applied their Knowledge to the IvfiriiElion of the 
 Ignorant^ and them that are .out of the Way, Heh. v. 2 j 
 And much more then certainly will He require, that 
 they fpare a fev/ Hours from the purfuit ot Worldly 
 Interelt and Pleafure, and take fome reafonable Pains 
 in communicadng their Knowledge to their own 
 Children, and in the Inllrucfdng them in thofe Things, 
 which are abfolutely neceifary to their W ell-Being and 
 Happineis. Otherwife they may expecl, v;hen their 
 Great Lord fhall come to Judgment, to fall under the 
 heavy Sentence of the unprofitable Servant, to be caft into 
 cuter Darknefs, where there is weeping and Gnajhing of 
 Heeth, Matt. xxv. 30. And moreover I would have 
 them often think with themfelves, that the Religious 
 Education of Children is one of the Created and moil 
 important Trufts, which Providence hath ever com- 
 mitted to Mankind \ and therefore if Parents fhall be 
 found unfaithful to this Truit, they will render them- 
 felves guilty of the very worll Kind of Unrighteouf 
 nefs and Perfidy. And if no unrighteous Man fhall 
 inherit the Kingdom of God, as the Apoitle obferves, 
 I Cor. vi. 9. furely thofe Perfons Ihail be removed 
 at the greateft Diflance from thence, who are un- 
 righteous and unfaithful towards their own Children. 
 And fince all Chriflians are bound to feek after the 
 Benefit and Advantage of all Mankind, i Cor. x. 24, 
 and every one in particular to pleafe his Neighbour for 
 his Good to Edification, Rom. xv. 2. there mull cer- 
 tainly be a much higher and flronger Obligation upon 
 all Parents, to have a tender Regard to the Weltare 
 of their own Offspring •, and to be careful and diligent 
 to inflrud them in the Knowledge of thofe Things, 
 which are ncceiidry and elTential to their Happineis. 
 
 And 
 
* HeVgioiis Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 353 
 
 And in Cafe any Parent fhall negle6l to do this, we 
 may very juftl y apply to him thoic Words of St Faul, 
 which were fpoken widi ReJadon to the Tciiiporal Pro- 
 vifion for Mers Families ; If any provide not for his own^ 
 and efpecially for thofe of his own Houfe^ be hath denied 
 the Faith ^ and is worfethan an Infidel^ i ^im, v. 8. 
 
 And thus I have finifhed what I have to fay 
 upon this Point of the Inilrudion and Educadon of 
 Children ; and thereby have confidered thofe Re- 
 ligious Duties, in the Obfervation of which the Lord^^ 
 Day ought to be employed. Before I proceed any 
 fiirther, it will be proper and neceflary to make an 
 Application of what hath been laid down in this and 
 the foregoing Chapters to the Subjedt of this Difcourfe ; 
 and to prove that Men are bound to difcharge thefe 
 Duties upon the Lord's Bay^ and alfo to fliew in 
 what Mealure and Proportion they ought to perform 
 them at this holy Seafon : And this becaufe, as was 
 before taken notice of, tho' they are all EfTential Du- 
 ties of Religion, yet they are not all of them of 
 equal Neceifity to be obferved at any particular Time, 
 but do fome of them admit of more Relaxation and 
 Indulgence in the Difcharge thereof than odiers. I 
 fhall therefore endeavour to itate tnis Matter as plain- 
 ly and clearly as I can, and as I have before proved 
 that the Attendance upon the Public Worihip, the 
 Reading of the Scriptures, the Meditation upon 
 Divine Things, ^c. are neceffary Duties of Religion, 
 I fhall now proceed to enquire how far Men are obliged 
 to the Practice of thefe Duties upon the Lord's Day^ 
 and in what Degree and Meafure they fhould ob- 
 iferve them. But this fliall be done in the following 
 Chapter. 
 
 A a CHAP. 
 
5 r4 A Dijcourje concerning 
 
 CHAR VI. 
 
 Behtg an Application of ivhat has been laid 
 down in the Five foregoing Chapters to the 
 Subjed; of this Difcourje, and in which is 
 conjidered how far, and in what Mea- 
 fiire. Men are bound to difcharge the Reli- 
 gious Duties abovementioned upon theluiOxd's 
 Day. 
 
 HAVING in the foregoing Chapters laid 
 before the Reader the Obhgation of attend- 
 ing upon the PubHc Worfhip, of Reading the 
 Holy Scriptures, of. Meditating upon Divine Things, 
 of Examining into our Lives and Adlions, and 
 the Religious Education of Children : in order to 
 apply what hath^been therein delivered to the Sub- 
 ject of this Difcourle, and to fhew the NecelTity of 
 difcharging thefe Duties upon the Lord's Day, and in 
 what Degree and Meafure Men are bound to difcharge 
 them, we muft confider Mankind under thefe two 
 Eleads and Diftindlions. Firfl^ Such as being obliged 
 to attend all the Week upon the Labours of their 
 Callings, for the Maintenance and Support of them- 
 felves and Families, have little or no other Time 
 
 but 
 
Religious Obfervafion of the Lord's Day. 35^ 
 
 but upon the Lord's Day for the Exercife of thefe 
 Religious Duties. And Secondly^ Such as being ex- 
 empt from the Neceffity of weekly Labour, have their 
 Time more entirely at their own Command ; and con- 
 fequently have more Leifure and Opportunity for the 
 Difcharge of thefe Duties at other Seafons. For the 
 'Obligation of performing thefe Duties upon the Lord's 
 Day, and the Meafure and Degree in which they are 
 to be performed, will in fome Refpeds vary and dif- 
 fer, according as we apply them to Men under thefe 
 Diftindions. And, 
 
 Firftthen^ Let us confider the Obligation of difcharg- 
 ing thefe Religious Duties upon the Lord's Day with 
 Regard to thofe Perfons, who are ordinarily bound 
 throughout the whole Week to attend upon the proper 
 Works and Labours of their Callings. Now with 
 Refped: to the two firft Religious Duties before-men- 
 tioned, viz. the Attendance upon the Public Worjhip cf 
 God, and a due RefleElion and Meditation upon the 
 Word which hath been preached to us at this T'ime^ 
 there is no difference, as to the Obligation of theie 
 Duties upon the Lord^s Bay^ between the Pooreft 
 and the Greatefb Man living : but all Men are e- 
 qually obliged to obferve thefe Duties at this Sea- 
 fon (unlefs fome Ad: of Necefiity or Charity inter- 
 vene) from the Prince that fits upon the l^hrone^ to 
 the Beggar that is on the Dunghil, as the Scripture 
 fpeaks, I Sam. ii. 8. For fmce the Public Wor- 
 Ihip and Service of God is a neceffary and effential 
 Duty of Religion, and God hath appointed a Parti- 
 cular Day in every Week for the Performance there- 
 of •, fmce the pofitive Laws of God are indifpenfable ; 
 and God requires us to ferve Him with all our 
 Hearts., and to prefer our Duty to Him before all 
 Temporal Confiderations whatlbever *, and hath 
 exprefsly declared, that unlefs we ftrve Him witli 
 this Sincerity and Purity of Intention, all our Re- 
 ligious Performances will be unacceptable and difpleaf- 
 
 A a 7- ii'g 
 
356 A Difcourfe ^concernmg the 
 
 ing to Him : (all which Things have been clearly and -*■ 
 fully proved in the foregoing Difcourfe (/) ) 1 fay, 
 fince God doth fo ftridlly require us to ferve and wor- 
 fhip Him on the LcrJ's Z)^j^; it muft therefore cer- 
 tainly be the neceffary and indifpenfable Duty of all 
 Men (of what Quality and Station foever they be^ to 
 attend diligently and conftantly at this Time upon the 
 Public Worfhip ; and it cannot be negledled by any 
 Man for the Sake of Company^ Inter eft, or Worldly 
 Pleafiire^ without the manifeft Hazard and Danger of 
 his Salvation. And the like may be faid with regard 
 to the Duty of Meditating upon God's Word, and of 
 making a due and careful Application of it to the 
 State and Condition of our Souls. For fince our 
 Blefled Saviour hath plainly required this Duty of us, 
 as hath been before ohkrvtdifm) ; if we do not take 
 heed how we hear^ and for want of the proper Quali- 
 fications and Difpofitions of Mind fhall choak the 
 Word and render it unfruitful \ we fhall be chargeable 
 before God with all the Effedts and Confequences of 
 fuch Negled. And thus far the Condition of all Men 
 is alike, and they are all equally bound to the Per- 
 formance of thefe Duties at this Holy Seafon. And 
 then, 
 
 Secondly, With refpedl to the other Duties above- 
 men tiond, VIZ. the Reading the Holy Scriptures, the 
 Meditation upon Divine 'Things, Self- Examination, and the 
 Education of Children, as I have before proved that 
 they are all of them neceffary 'and effential Duties of 
 Religion, they mull needs require Ibme Time and 
 Seafon to be fet apart for the due and proper Exer- 
 cife of them. And this Exercife is, as will be (t^xi 
 prefently, not only a very fit and proper Employ- 
 ment for the Lord^s Day^ but it is alio the neceffary 
 
 and 
 
 (/) See Part I. chap. i. Part II. chap. i. and chap. v. p. 
 [m) See Part II. chap. iii. p. 213, ^c. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 3 $y 
 
 and indifpenilible Duty of fuch Perfons to perform 
 it at this Seafon, who are intent all the Week long 
 upon the Works and Labours of their Callings ; be- 
 caufe they have ordinarily no other Time but this, in 
 which they can perform thefe great Duties to any 
 good Purpofe •, and therefore, if they negled the Per- 
 formance of them upon the Lord's Bay^ they mufb 
 negleft it altogether, to the Eternal Ruin and Deftru- 
 6lion of their Souls. And I am apt to think that theie 
 Perfons will find by Experience, that to difcharge 
 thefe Religious Duties in the Manner they ought to be 
 done, u e. to read the Holy Scriptures Efficiently to 
 their Inftru6tion and Edification in Chriftian Know- 
 ledge ', to meditate fo frequently and throughly upon 
 the great Points of Religion, that they may gain a 
 due and regular Influence upon their Affedions •, to ex- 
 amine fo carefully into their Lives and A6lions, as to 
 underftand the true State and Condition of their Souls, 
 and to be afcertained of their fincere Repentance, and 
 their Progrefs and Improvement in Piety and Virtue; 
 and fo perfedly to Inllrud and Educate their Chil- 
 dren, as to make them fully fenfible of the abfolute 
 NecelTity and Advantage of Religion, and habitually 
 prepared and difpofed to the Practice of it : I fay, 
 that fuch Perfons, who are confined all the Week long 
 to the Labours of their Callings, will find by Ex- 
 perience, that to perform thefe Religious Duties in 
 that Manner which they ought to do will at leail re- 
 quire, that fome confiderable Part of every Lord's Bay 
 be ordinarily employed to this Purpofe. And becaufe 
 the due Performance of thefe Duties is of the utmofh 
 NecefTity and Confequence to Religion, as hath been 
 before fhewn ; therefore fuch Perfons as have litde or 
 no Opportunity but upon the Lord's Bay for Readini^ 
 the Holy Scriptures, and Meditating upon Divine 
 Things, i^c. fhould be extremely careful and folicitous 
 to apply themfelvcs to thefe Divine Exercifes at this 
 Time •, and as a mod pious and excellent Prelate hath 
 A a 3 well 
 
358 A D'lfcourfe concerning the I 
 
 wellobferved (n)^ '' The lels LeifureMen have upon 
 " other Days for this Purpofe, xht more entirely ^\o\x\d. 
 '' they confecrate thisDay to the Purpofesand Duties 
 ** of Religion." {0) And thus much concerning the 
 Manner in which fuch Perfons ought to fpend their 
 Time upon the Lcrcfs Day^ who are bound to' attend 
 all the Week long "upon the Labours of their Cal- 
 lings. I proceed. 
 
 Secondly^ To apply the Argument to thofe, who by 
 not being obliged to Work and Labour for their Liv- 
 ing have more Leifure at other Ssafons for the Pra- 
 6i:icc of thcfe Religious Duties, and have their Time 
 •and Opportunity more entirely at their Command. 
 Now in thtfirft Place, with refpecl to the Duties of 
 Gttendirig upon the Puhlk Worjhip and of Meditating upon 
 the Word of God ivhen preached to them, there is no 
 Difference in this Matter between the Greateft and the 
 Pooreft Men living ; but they are all equally bound 
 
 to 
 
 (n) nilctjon Vol . 1 1 . p . 2 7 7 . 
 
 (0) Doft Thou require of me, O Lord, but one Day in feven for 
 Thy more efpecial Service, when as all my Time, all my Days 
 are Thy due Tribute, and fhall I grudge Thee that one Day ? Have 
 1 but one Day in the Week, a peculiar 'Seaf;.n of nurturing and 
 t'aining up my Soul for Heavenly Happinefs, and fliall I think the 
 Whole of this too much, and judge my Duties at an End, when 
 the public Offices o'i the Church are only ended ? Ah ! where in 
 fuch a Cafe is my Zeal, my Sincerity, my Conflancy and Perle- 
 \'erance of Holy Obedience ? Where my Love unto, my Delight 
 and RcHfh in pious Performances ? Would thofe that are thus but 
 iulf-Chriilians be content t(3 be half-faved ? Would thofe, who are 
 thus not far from the Kingdom of Heaven, be willing to be ut- 
 terly excluded thence for arriving no nearer to a due Oblervance 
 oi the Lord'-s Day ? Am [ fo afraid o'i Sabbatizing with the JezvSy 
 th.at I cnrelcfdy omit keeping the Day as a good Chrillian ? Where 
 pan be the Harm of overdoing in God's Worfliip, fuppofe I could 
 overdo I But when my Saviour has told me, after I have done all, 
 I am ftill an unprofitable Servant, where is the Hazard, where the 
 Follibility of doing too much ? Whereas in doing too litde, in tai- 
 ling fhort of performing a due Obedience on ih^Sabi/nth, I may 
 alfo fall fliort of Eternal Life. SuppJsmcnt to Archbijhop Dawes' j 
 Duties of the Clofet in bis ^Forks^ Vol. HL p. 44, 45. 
 
Religions Objervation of the Lord*s Day. 359 
 
 'to the Performan.ee of thefe Duties upon the hordes 
 Day^ as was juft now obferved. And all the Diffe- 
 rence between fome Men and others, with regard to 
 the Religious ObTervation of the Lord's Day^ relates 
 entirely to the Private Duties of the Day, and con- 
 filts in this, that the more Leifure and Opportunity 
 Men have at other Times for thefe Relig-ious Exercifes, 
 if they faithfully and honeflly employ it to this good 
 Purpofe, they will have Occafionto ipend lefs of their 
 Time in thefe necefTary Duties upon the Lord's Day ; 
 but not that they can fafely omit them altogether at 
 this Holy Seafon, or that it is lawful for the Greateft 
 among the Sons of Men to fpepd the remaining Part 
 of the Lord's Day when Divine Service is ended (as is 
 now too commonly and fhamefully done) in Drinking 
 and Gaming^ and in keeping of Company^ and in fVorldly 
 Pleafure* For fince, as hath been before fully proved, 
 God hath appropriated the Seventh Day to His Wor- 
 fhip and Service, and commanded us to keep it 
 holy ; the Command muft certainly extend to all 
 Mankind, and there is no one v^ho is exempt from 
 the Force and Obligation of it : and therefore how 
 great foever any Man's Station or Quality may be, 
 if he fhall profane the Lord's Day by the Negle6l of 
 God's Public Worfhip, or by dedicating this Floly 
 Seafon to Mirth, and Company, and Worldly Plea- 
 fures, he fhall be highly anfv/erable to God for fuch 
 Tranfgreffion. And it will benoExcufe at all toalledge, 
 that he may read good Books, and fufiiciently medi- 
 tate upon Divine Things, and inftruct his Children, 
 at other Times ; fince, as the Lord's Day is appointed 
 of God Himfelf for thefe Purpofes, it ought to be 
 obferved and employed accordingly in fome Meafure 
 and Degree by all Mankind ; and it can never be 
 " "jchoily negledled without Indevotion, or even with- 
 '' out Scandal,'* as an Eminent Writer truly obferves 
 (p). And tho' the Perfons v/e are now fpeakinr:. 
 A a 4 of, 
 
 (p) Rifliop ^iterhfy^ Sermons, Vol. I. p. 352. 
 
'^ 6o A Dlfcourfe concerning the 
 
 of, if they frequently and ^':riouQy apply themfelves 
 to thefe Exercifes of Religion at other Opportunities, 
 may not be required to fpend [o many or iheir Hours 
 upon the hordes Day in this Employment, as (. ther 
 Men-, yet they cannot at tliis Time fifely omit and 
 neglect them altogether: But they are flri^tly bound, 
 as to attend duly and conflantly upon the Public 
 Worfliip ; fo, after the Service of the Church is end- 
 ed, to employ fome Part of the remaining Time 
 in Reading of Good Books, in Meditadng upon Di- 
 vine Things, and in the other Offices of Piety and 
 Religion, according to their different Station, Cir- 
 cumilances and Condition. And this they are ob- 
 liged to do upon thefe two Account?. 
 
 jF/r/?, On the Account of their Families. And, 
 Secondly^ With Regard to their own proper and 
 perfonal Obligations. And, 
 
 Firfiy On the Account of their Families. Now 
 t\\t{c are under the Care of their Mailers, and com- 
 mitted by God to their Charge ; and they have a 
 dire<fl: and immediate Authority over them. And, 
 as a mcfl: Excellent Prelate well remarks, " All 
 ' Authority over others is a Talent, intrufted 
 ' with us by God for the Good and Benefit of o- 
 ' thers, and for which we are accountable, if we 
 ' do not improve it and make ufe of it to that End. 
 ' We are obliged by all lawful Means to provide 
 ' for the temporal Welfare of our Family, to feed 
 ' and cloath their jS^J/Vj, and to give theiai a Com- 
 ^ fortabie Subfiftence here in this World •, and furely 
 ' much more we are obliged to take Care of their 
 ^ Souls^ and to confult their Eternal Happinefs in an- 
 • other Life, in Comparifon of which all temporal 
 ' Concernments and Confiderations are as nothing {q). 
 And moreover, God exprefsly requires all Mafters to 
 
 give 
 
 (q) tilhtfon Vol. I. p. 599, 
 
^ Religiota Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 361 
 
 give unto-their Servants that which is EquaU Col. iv. i: 
 And that this extends to Spiritual Things and to the 
 Mafters Care and Concern about Family Religion, as 
 well as to Matters of temporal Provifion, is evident 
 not only from what was juft now obferved concerning 
 the Nature of thisTrufb, but alfo from thofe Exam- 
 ples which we find in Holy Scripture recorded to 
 this Purpofe. Thus JoJIma declares to the Ifradites, that 
 whom foe ver they fhould choofe to ferve, it was his 
 firm Refclution, that be himfelf and his Hoiifs would 
 ferve the Lord, JoJIj. xxiv. 15. Which Words, as the 
 Excellent Prelate laffc mentioned rightly judges, do 
 imply " The pious Care of a good Mafierand Fa- 
 '' ther of a Family, to train up thofe under his 
 " Charge in the Worfliip and Service of the true 
 " God ("r)." And the fame pious Regard to the 
 Spiritual Welfare of his Family was before remark'd 
 of faithful Abraham Cand for this Reafon God Al- 
 mighty declared that He would difcover to him His 
 Defign concerning the Deflru6lion of Sodom) : For I 
 know him, faith God, that he will command his Children 
 and Ms Hoiifehold afier him^ and they fl: all keep the Wa^ 
 of the Lord to do Jufiice and Judgment. Gen, xviii. 17, 
 19. It is therefore incumbent upon all Mailers of 
 Families to take Care of the Religious Inftrudioii 
 and Spiritual Welfare of them, as well as to provide 
 for their temporal Support and Maintenance. And 
 this clearly Ihews the Obligation that lies upon all 
 Mafters to obferve the Lord's Bay, and keep it religi- 
 oujly -, not only becaufe it is the Indifpenfable Duty 
 of all Servants to keep this Day holy as well as their 
 Mafters, and that, by attending upon the Public Wor- 
 fliip, 
 
 (r) Tiilotfo7i, ibid, p, 595. Ego ^ domus mea. Sec, Effica- 
 ciflimum arg.umentum erat Exemplum Imperatoris, prasfertim 
 prudentiffimi, fan6liilimi, & feliciffiimi. Exemplum hie proponitur 
 gubernandae familiae nollrae. Maftui in loc. 
 
362 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fhip, and by reading the Scriptures and performing 
 the other Exercifes of Religion, when they are not 
 otherwife detained by fuch Services as are abfolutely 
 7iecejjary ; but alfo, becaufe whatever Leifare their 
 Mailers may have at other Times for the Difcharge 
 of thcfe Religious Duties, it is very certain that the 
 Generality of Servants have little or no Time and 
 Opportunity but this, in which they can perform 
 them in due Meafure and to any good Purpofe : And 
 therefore, if they negledl them at this holy Seafon, 
 they mud negled: them altogether, to the apparent 
 Hazard and Ruin of their Souls. For if all Servants 
 are bound, not only to attend upon the Public Wor- 
 Ihip, but alfo to read the Scriptures, and to mind the 
 other Duties of Religion upon the Lord'^s Bay^ when 
 Divine Service is ended ; it mud certainly be the In- 
 difpenfable Duty of all Mafters to be prefent in their 
 Families at this Time, to watch carefully over them, 
 and fee that they be well inftruded, and that all the 
 Religious Duties of the Day be duly and regularly 
 performed by them. But this is abfolutely impofTible 
 for them to do ; if at this very Time ('as the too 
 General Cuftom now i>) Servants fhall be required 
 to wait upon their Mailers in Public Houfes, or other 
 Places, where they are engaged in Drinking, Gam- 
 ing, Company or worldly Pleafure. Neither can 
 it reafonably b^ expefed, if at this Seafon Men's 
 Families are left to themfelves, that any confiderable 
 Number of Servants will employ thefe precious 
 Hours in reading of the Scriptures, or in the other 
 Fieceflliry Exercifes of Religion, if they are not 
 earneftly exhorted and induced thereto by their 
 Mailers Counfel and Authority, and encouraged and 
 animated by his Prefence and Example. I fhall 
 not fpend any Time in deicribing, neither would 
 I willingly difplay the exceedmg Guilt of many 
 Mailers in this Refped, and what a manifell Injury 
 :'i hereby done to their Servants in thus neglcding 
 
 the 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 363 
 
 the Care of their Souls, and defrauding them of 
 that Time which by the Law of God does juftly 
 belong to them, and what a Heavy and Dreadful 
 Account they muft give to God at the laft Day for 
 this great Crime. I fhall only obferveat prefrnt, that 
 it is in a great Meafure owing to the Negled: of 
 Mailers in this Particular, that we have fo m.any 
 Complaints every where of idle^ wicked and unfcivlhful 
 Servants. And unlefs Matters will more carefully 
 execute their Charge in this Particular, they fhould 
 ceafe to complain upon this Head, and would do well 
 to confider how much of this Blame may juftly be 
 laid upon themfelves, by their fhamefiil Negled: 
 of this Necefiary Duty of Family Inflruction. For 
 fince it is impoffible that Men can be honeil in their 
 Dealings and faithful to their Trufts, unlefs they are 
 endued with a good Confcience •, (and it is ridiculous 
 fo much as to talk of a good Confcience^ that is not 
 grounded upon and lijpported by the Principles of 
 Religion) {s) it is therefore in vain for Mailers to ex- 
 pc6l, that the Behaviour of their Servants fhould be 
 influenced by a good Confcience 3,nd govern'd by Religious 
 Principles^ if at the fame Time the Servants fhall 
 difcern that there is little or no Religion in them- 
 felves ^ and particularly, that they can be guilty of 
 fo great Impiety, as to neglecft the Public Worfhipof 
 God upon the Lord's Bay, and fpend that Holy Sea- 
 
 fon 
 
 (j) If moral Virtues are acknowledged necefTary to focial Felicity, 
 Religion muft be fb too ; becaufc no other Principle can offer an 
 equal Inducement to the Praftice of them, or equally rellrain 
 Men from the oppolite Vicesj 'Tis vain to imagine that the Fear 
 of the Magiftrate or political Laws can effedlually govern the 
 Adlions of Men without the Aid of Religion ; for the Duty of 
 obeying thofe Laws muft be derived from a Superior Principle : 
 And he ^vho looks no higher for the Motives of his Condudl than 
 the Refentment of Human Juftice, whenever he can prefume him- 
 fclf cunning enough to relift it, will be under no Reftraint from any 
 Acflion of Treachery, or Luft, or Violence which his PaiSons 
 fuggeft:. Dr Ko%zi-:i's Sermons. Vol. II. p. 360 i. 
 
364 ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 fon in journey injr about ^ in paying of Viftts^ in keeping of 
 Company^ in 'Drinking or Gaj7iing^ and in Mirth and 
 Worldly Diverfwns ; as is now notorioufly and frequently 
 done fevery Day more and more) by almoft all Or- 
 ders and Degrees of Men among us throughout the 
 whole Kingdom. As bad and untaithful therefore 
 as many Servants are found to be ; yet it would 
 become all Mailers before they pafs Sentence 
 on them to examine themfelves throughly, and fee 
 whether they have not contributed to this great 
 Evil, by negledting this Duty of Family Inftru- 
 6tion. And if they have -, they have too much 
 Reafon to fear, that the Providence of God may 
 punilli them for this grofs NegleQ in the Plague 
 and Torment, the Uneafmefs and Vexation, which 
 the Unfaithfulnefs and Mifbehaviour of Servants 
 adminiflers to their Minds. I will not urge this 
 Matter any farther, but will rather conclude this 
 Head with an E^xcellent PaiTage of Archbifhop Ttl- 
 lotfon, relating to this Duty of Family Religion ; 
 which, becaufe it comes from fo wife and good 
 a Man, will therefore I hope have the greater Effeft 
 and Influence upon my Readers. " When the Pub- 
 *' lie Worfhip flaith he) of the Lord's Day is over, 
 " our Families fhould be infl:ru6i:ed at Home by hav- 
 " ing the Scriptures and other good Books read to 
 " them, and Care likewife fhould betaken that they 
 *' do this themfelves i this being the Chief Oppor- 
 " tunity that moft of them, efpecially thofe that are 
 "■^ Servants, have of minding the Bufinefs of Religi- 
 " on, and thinking ferioufly of another World. 
 '' And therefore I cannot but think it of very great 
 *' Confequence to the Maintaining and keep- 
 *' ing alive of Religion in the World, that this 
 '' Day be Religioufly obfcrved, and fpent as much 
 ^' as may be in the Exercifes of Piety and in the 
 " Care of our Souls. For furely every one that 
 •^ hath -a true Senfe of Religion will grant, that it 
 
 "is 
 
Religious Obfervatton of the Lofd's Day. 365 
 
 *' is necefikry that fome Time fhoiild be Solemnly 
 *' fet apart for this Purpofe, which is of all other our 
 *' greateftConcernment ; and they, who negledl this fo 
 *' proper Seafon andOpportunityjWill hardly find any 
 *' other Time for it ; efpecially thofe who are under 
 *' the Government and Command of others, asChil- 
 " dren and Servants, who are feldom upon any other 
 " Day allowed to be fo much Maftersof their Time, 
 " as upon this Day (/)." To which I will add an 
 Excellent Obfervation of another very Pious and 
 Learned {u) Writer. " Whereas God (faith he) re- 
 *' quired of thtjews fuch a Portion of Time to be 
 *' folemnly dedicated to Religion and Mercy ; we 
 " who are under greater Obligations fhould think our 
 " felves bound to confecrate as much or more Time 
 *' to the fame Intents, fliould be content to withdraw 
 *' ourfelves more frequently from the Purfuit of our 
 '' own Profits and Pleafures to the Remembrance 
 " and Celebration of His Favours, and to allow a 
 ^' greater Relaxation to our Dependents, that in fome 
 " Proportion we may exceed the Jews in Piety and 
 " Gratitude, as we furpafs i':hem in the Matter and 
 *' Caufes thereof." And as Rich and Great Men are 
 obliged to obferve the Lord's, Day, and keep it Re- 
 ligioufly for the Sake of their Families j fo likewife 
 are they obliged to do the flime with Regard to 
 their own Perfons. And that upon thefe three 
 Accounts. 
 
 Firft, Becaufe God hath commanded all Men to 
 obferve the Lord's Day, and to keep it holy ; as hath 
 been clearly fhewn. And the keeping this Day holy 
 implies not only the Separation of it from Bodily 
 Works and Labours ; but alfo the Dedicadon there- 
 of to the Public Worlliip of God, and to the Offices 
 
 and 
 
 (/) Tillotjon, Vol. I. p. 598. 
 
 {u) Di Barrow^sWoiks, Vol. I. p. 529, 
 
5 66 A DifcGiirfe concerning the 
 
 and Duties of Religion. This I have before fuftici- 
 ently proved {x) \ and Y)v Heylin (^^Nhoit Notions upon 
 this Siibje6l are I am fure not too rigid) does in fome 
 Meafure allow the fame : for he faith, " the Word 
 '' Sabbath is ufed in Scripture to.fignify fome felecled 
 " Time, by God Himfelf deputed unto Holinefs as 
 *' well as Reft (y)" And this Acknowledgment is 
 alfo made by the Learned Dr Spencer, who warmly 
 efpoufes the Notions of Eeylin on this Subjedl •, who 
 declares it to be highly commendable in any one to 
 reft on the Lord's Day from all worldly Thoughts 
 and Labours, and to dedicate it wholly to Divine 
 Things {z). And tho' thefe Authors earneftly 
 contend, that the Sabbath was not inftituted from the 
 Creation of the World, but was firft appointed to the 
 Jews at the Giving of the Law (in which Pofition 
 they have been fufficiently confuted by many Learned 
 Men) (a) yet they exprefsly allow that God appointed 
 it for this Reafon, that '' after His Example they 
 *' might learn to Reft from their Worldly Labours, 
 " and be the better fitted to Meditate on the Works 
 *' of God, and to Commemorate His Goodnefs mani-- 
 '*• fefted in the World's Creation {b)" And therefore 
 tho' fuch Perfons, as have their Time entirely at their 
 Command, may not, if they apply themfelves dili- 
 gently at other Seafons to the Private Exercifes of 
 Religion, be bound to employ yc> 7nany of their Hours 
 therein upon the Lord's Day as others, who are con- 
 fined all the Week long to the Labours of their Cal- 
 lings ; yet they cannot be wholly excufed from them, 
 
 but 
 
 {x) See above, Part I. p. 9. 
 
 (y) Hiftory of the Sabbath, Part I. p. SG. 
 
 [z) In fumma quidem laude ponendiim eft, die Septimanae pri- 
 ir.o divinis tantum vacare. & a)^ omni tcrreftrium ^lludio feriari. 
 Spe/2C. de Leg. Hebr. Vol. I. p. 96. 
 
 \a) See above. Part I. ch:ip. i. p. 9, (^c. 
 
 {b) Hey tin, ibid. p. 28. Spenc, de Leg, Hebr. lib, i. cap. v. § 
 10. p. oOj 8 1, S/, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 367 
 
 but 'are obliged to fpend fome confiderable Part of 
 that Day in Reading and Meditation, and the other 
 Duties of Religion ; which the very Nature and 
 Defign of the Chrifiian Sabbath^ and the Obligation 
 of keeping it Holy plainly demands and requires 
 of them. And in cafe they fiiall negle6t to do i'o (as 
 it is now too common for rich and great Men to do) 
 they Ihall anfwer as feverely to God at the Lail Day 
 for this Neglect, as the pooreft and meaneft amongil 
 Men. And, 
 
 Secondly, They are obliged to this Duty of Reli- 
 gioufly obferving the Lord's Day^ that they may itt a 
 good Example of Piety andGoodnefs to the World. 
 This is indeed what all Chriftians are bound to do ; 
 fince it will be in vain to inftruct Men by Advice and 
 good Counfel, if at the fame Time we fet a bad Copy 
 and Pattern before them. For, as a moll Judicious 
 and Learned Prelate truly obferves,"(r) Men fpeak 
 *' to each other by their A6lions, as well as by their 
 '' Words : There is a kind of Language in what we 
 " do in die Sight of each other, as well as in v/ha-t we 
 *' fpeak in the Hearing of each other." But it is more 
 efpecially the Duty of all thole Perfons who are of 
 Eminent Station and Dignity ; inafmuch as their 
 Example is apt to have the greatefl Influence and Ef- 
 fedl upon the Reft of Mankind. And therefore how 
 perfectly foever fuch Perfons fhould be inflru^led in 
 their Duty, and tho' they fhould apply themfelves diX- 
 ligendy at other Times to the Reading of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, the Meditation upon Divine Things, the Educa- 
 tion of their Cliildren, and the other Exercifes of Re- 
 ligion ', yet they ought to fpend fome Part of the 
 Lord's Day in the fame Holy Employment, that they 
 may fet a good Pattern before them, who have for 
 the motf Part no other Opportunities for the difcharg- 
 ing thefe Religious Duties, and as much as lies in 
 
 them 
 
 {c) Bifhop Smalridge's Sermons, Fol. p. 533. 
 
3°^ ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 And how great the Danger of thi<! Sin i. ™ r T ^ J 
 
 ftandetb^ 
 
ReligtOtis Obfervation of the Lord's Day . 38^ 
 
 fiandeth^ left I make 7ny Brother offend. And therefore if 
 the Religious Obfervation of the Lo7'(fs Bay were in 
 itfelf Indifferent (the contrary to which has been fuJly 
 and clearly proved) yet all Men ought to forbear the 
 open Profanation of this Day ; left they ifhould give 
 Offence and Scandal to others. And whofoever fliall 
 profane this Holy Day, either by the Negled of 
 God's Public Worjhip^ or by fpending the remaining 
 Time in Vifitlng of Friends^ in Drinking^ Gaming^ and 
 Wordly Pleafures and Diver/tons^ and tl"tereby fhall 
 caiife the Weak and Ignorant to fall into Sin, and to 
 negled the Religious Duties of the Seafon^ That Man 
 fhall be juftly chargeable with the Crime here con- 
 demned by the Apoftle ; he wounds the weak Confcience 
 tf his Brethren^ and thereby fins againft Chrift, z\ 12. 
 and is guilty of the Sin of deftroying thofe for whom 
 Chrift died, Rom. xiv. 15. I am fenfible indeed that 
 Men are apt to complain very much upon this Head, 
 and think it very hard that they muft be debarred of 
 what they account their Jult Liberties •, left the Minds 
 of ignorant and fuperftitious Perfons ftiould be difturb- 
 ed thereby. But I do not know how to find any 
 Relief for them under this Hardftiip. And tho' I 
 freely own there may at fometimes be fome Inconve- 
 nience in a6ling according to this Rule ; yet on the o- 
 ther Side it is certain, that much greater Miichief and 
 Inconvenience would enfue, if this Reftraint upon the 
 Minds of Men were wholly taken away, and Men 
 . were in all Cafes left to themfelves, to ad according 
 to what they efteem their Juft Liberties. All that I 
 am concerned about at prefent is to ftiew that the net 
 giving Offence to others, even in Things indifferent 
 (and much more then furely in ftich as are neceffary 
 and effenlial) is the true Dodrine of the Holy Scrip- 
 ture : and let thofe Men look to themfelves, who will 
 not be guided and direded by it. And this I have 
 fully and clearly done irom thole feveral Paflagfs of 
 Scripture I have now mentioned. And from hence 
 
 Bb it 
 
386 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 it is very plain and evident, that tho* in fuch Cafes 
 where we have the Warrant of God's Authority, or 
 the exprefs Injundlions of our Super! ours, we not only 
 may but are bound to a6t as we are commanded, 
 let Men be never fo much offended and difpleafed with 
 us for fo doing •, and tho' in fuch Refpe(5ls, which are 
 of great Importance and Confequence to ourfelves or 
 to the Public, and which are fo plain and obvious, 
 that Men cannot but perceive the Lawfulnefs of our 
 Adions, if they be not grofly wanting to themfelves, 
 we may (land faft in and contend for our Liberty, 
 tho' other Men Ihould be uneafy and difquieted there- 
 at: Yet in fuch Cafes as are doubtful and obfcure, and 
 in which wife and good Men may eafily differ one 
 from another ; in fuch Cafes where Men are led into 
 Errours and Miilakes by the ftrong Prejudices of 
 Education, and in which we may eafily comply with 
 them without any great Inconvenience and Damage to 
 ourfelves, it is certain that we ought to have a Regard 
 to the Peace and Quiet of other Men in cur Moral 
 Adlions, and fhould forbear the Ufe even of juft Li- 
 berties, rather than give any Offence and Scandal to 
 others, and be the Means of drawing them into Sin. 
 And tho' I have often heard this Do6trine mifrepre- 
 fented and ridiculed Cand efpecially when apply'd to 
 the Religious Obfervation of the Sahhath) as the Idle 
 Dreams only and Suggeftions of Fanatical Men, yet 
 I am fully affured it hath been the conilant Senfe and 
 Judgment of the beft and greateft Divines, which 
 our Church hath had fmce it was in Being. It would 
 be eafy to produce innumerable Citations from our 
 moft Learned Writers to this Purpofe •, but it will be 
 needlefs to trouble the Reader with them. I fhall 
 therefore only mention two Paffages from two noted 
 Divines, whofe great Zeal and Affedion for the 
 Eftabliihed Church was never doubted or called in 
 Quedion. The firfl is the Teftimony of a very 
 Learned and Pic us Prelate, and Angularly Emi- 
 nent 
 
Religious Obfervaiion of th€ Lord's Day. 387 
 
 hent for his great Skill and Knowledge in Cafuiftical 
 Divinity. This excellent Author, when fpeaking of 
 the Ways by which we may abufe our Liberty, hath 
 thefe Words : " When we ufe our Liberty, fo as to 
 *' fiiimUe the weak Confclevces of our Brethren thereby ^ 
 *' I Cor. viii. 9. and will iioi remit in any Thing 
 *' the Extremity of that Ri^ht and Power we have in 
 *' Things of an indifferent Nature to '^leafe our Neigh^ 
 *' hour for his Good to Edification ^ Rom. xv. 2. at lead 
 *' fo far as we may do it without greater Inconve- 
 '' nience, we walk not charitably^ Rom. xiv. 15, 
 ** and if not Charitably , then not thrijlianlyh— — ' 
 ' ' This I fay, that where without great Inconvenience 
 " we may do it, it is not enough for us to fleafe our^ 
 *' felves^ Rom, xv. i, and to fatisfy our own Confciences^ 
 " that we do but what we lawfidly may •, but we ought 
 ^' alfo to bear one another s Burthens .^ Gal, vi. 2, and to 
 '* forbear for one anothers Sakes what otherwife we 
 
 " m.ight do, and fo to fulfil the Law of Cbrijl: * 
 
 *' It was an excellent Saying of L«/^(?r (in G^/. v.) 
 ** Omnia libera per Fidem^ omnia ferva per Charitatem, 
 " We fhould know and be fully perfwaded with the 
 " Perfwafions of Faith ^ that all things are lawful ; 
 '' and yet withal we fhould purpofe and be fully re- 
 *' folved for Charitfs Sake to forbear the Ule of 
 *' many Things, if we find them inet>cpedient. He 
 *' that will have his own Way in every Thing he 
 * * hath a Liberty unto, whofoever fhall take Offence 
 ' at itj maketh his Liberty but a Cloak of MaliciouJ" 
 *' nefs by ufing it Uncharitably (J)." Thus far that 
 Learned Prelate. The next Teftimony, which I 
 fhall produce on this Occafion, is that of a late 
 Divine, whofe Charader and Zeal for the Ciiurch 
 is well known to every one •, and fpeaking of this 
 Matter he expreffeth himfelf thus j " We may 
 B b 2 *' partake 
 
 {d) Bp. S4/?</^r/&«'s Sermons, Fol. Part, I. p. 300, 301. 
 
388 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 '' partake of other Men's Sins by giving Of- 
 *' fence or fcandalous Example. As Men are Mem- 
 " hers of Society y they ftand refponfihle not only for 
 " the Pofitive Legality o^ their Actions, as confidered 
 " in themfelves and their own Natures^ folely with 
 '' refpe6b to the Suhje^ Matter of them ; but alfo for 
 " xhdx relative CorifeqiienceSy as they may affedl the 
 *' Confciences of others •, to which we are bound by 
 ** the Laws of Charity to give no Violation ^ Li- 
 '' Jlurhance^ or Occafion of Tranfgrefring ; and in all 
 " our Deportment to confult not only it's Lawfulnefsy 
 " but it's Decency and i^xpediency with regard to our 
 " Brethren ; againft whom we may Sin, (as St Paul 
 *' Hiys in the admirable State of this Cafe i Cor, 
 " viii. 12 J and wound their weak Confciences^ and Sin 
 " againji' Chrift. Thus the Abufe even of an Inno- 
 ** cent Liberty cannot be juitified by a goodlntention ; 
 " and we are liable to anfwer for the Fall of thole, 
 •' to whom we become a Stumhling- Block and a Rock 
 " 0/ Offence {ey From all which it clearly appears^ 
 that Men are to confult the Peace and Quiet and Edi- 
 fication of others in all their Moral Actions •, and to 
 forbear even the Ufe of their juft Liberties, rather 
 than give any Scandal and Offence to their Neigh- 
 bours. And therefore if the Religious Obfervation of 
 thit Lord's Day were in itfelf Indifferent, yet all Per- 
 fons would be obliged to avoid the Profanation of this 
 Day, out of a Principle of Tendernefs and Charity to 
 other Men -, and much more then certainly are they 
 bound to do fo, when, as hath been clearly fhewn, 
 the Religious Obfervation of this Holy Day, and 
 that both publickly and privately, is the abfolute in- 
 difpenfible Duty of all Chrifiians, And I have in- 
 filled the longer upon this, in Hopes that if Men 
 cannot be perfwaded of the Neceffuy of this Duty, 
 
 en 
 
 [e) Dr Sachevereli'i Sermon at the Alfize? at Derby j 1 709. p. 1 2. 
 
Religious Observation of ^/..Lord's Day. 389 
 -. ,n. of their own Perfonal Obligations -, they 
 
 out of regard to the .^^le ai ^ ^^ -^^e^ 
 
 feaa„<iM»ceup.heMoral of* NM|^^^ 
 b, *>"»;•■" fsS of Compn, and Wo.dly 
 
 D,„ge, ^?S^f^^^:l^t^:-^S:^b. This 
 
 Kingdom. For, Perfops, who frequently 
 
 'fl th: ?S D.; b dSiSn'g it to Clpany 
 
 fore they partake of their ^"ff'^l^^,^"^^^ ^Yord : it 
 
 to join in God's f-'^^^^^^^ahe ! ,' n'^ neceflary 
 happens on tbs Account, tharther ^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 ^^r'^SHfrthS^^^ 
 
 isdi!-regaraed,anaiotn .^^ into the Heart 
 
 and Afte&onsoiMer, an^Quiy it' ^^^^^ 
 
390 -^ Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 State and Condition of their Souls, but on the contrary 
 being choaked with the Cares and Riches and Pleafiires &f 
 thij Life^ hecomes unfruitfuU Luk viii. 14. And this 
 proves fatal and deftrudive to Men in a double Ref- 
 pe6l, not only as through the want of Meditation 
 the Preaching of the Word hath no Effedl and Influ- 
 tTiCt upon them •, but alfo as by this means they 
 fruftrate and defeat the End and Defign of one of the 
 Eeft and moil Excellent Inftitutions, which infinite 
 Wifdom hath contrived for the Salvation of Mankind. 
 And, 
 
 Secondly^ Upon the fame Account alfo the great 
 Duty of Reading the Holy Scriptures is almoft en- 
 tirely neglected : By which means not only many- 
 Children and Servants are unacquainted with their 
 Puty, but Parents and Mailers themfelves are often kept 
 ifi extreme Ignorance of it, and fo are like to be de^ 
 firoyedfor lack of Knowledge^ Hof, iv. 6. And indeed 
 the Ignorance of the Generality of the Common Peor 
 pie in Scripture Knowledge and in the Effential Doc- 
 trines of the C^ri/?f^;^ Religion is fuch (and I would to. 
 God that many of the better Fafhion might not be 
 taken into the Account) that no one, who is not ob- 
 liged to know it, can polTibly apprehend it. I will 
 not enter into a more particular Deicription of 
 diis Matter, left I fliould give the Jews and other 
 Adverfaries of our Faith too great a Handle of Re- 
 proach againft us. I Ihall rather lay before the 
 Reader the Words of a very pious and learned Di- 
 vine of our Church upon this Occafion, who com- 
 plaining of the great Negledl of this Duty of read- 
 ing the Scriptures expreffes hirnfelf thus, " God 
 *^' knows a great many very ignorant People there arc 
 *' among us, who know little more of God than the 
 *' Heathens did ; who fit in Darknefs and in the Valley 
 *' of the Shadow of 'Deaths in the very Regions of Light ^ 
 *,' when the Bay faring from on high hath ^vifited USy to 
 
 y ^fve Light to them that fit in Dqrknefs and to guide 
 
 •' cur 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 391 
 
 " our Feet into the Ways of Peace J* And how great 
 the Danger of this Negled will be, the fame 
 excellent Author welj defcribes in the Words im- 
 mediately following. '' Will it not '(faith he) be 
 '' an Impudent Thing for fuch Men to plead Igno- 
 *' ranee at the Day of Judgment, who would not look 
 *' into the Bible, nor attend public Inftrudions to 
 ** learn their Duty ; who had the Means and Oppor- 
 *' tunities of Knowledge, but would not ufe them ; 
 *' who took a great deal of Pains to be ignorant, and 
 ** to keep out of the way of Knowledge, which fo 
 " often crofTed them, that they had much ado to 
 *' efcape it ? Whatever may be pleaded in excule of 
 *' the Ignorance of Heathens^ there can be no Excufe 
 *' for Cbriflians, who have the moll perfcdt Revela- 
 " tion of the Will of God, and will not look into it, 
 '* This is a great Contempt of God ; it is in Efred 
 *' to fay to God, Depart from us, for ive defire net the 
 " Knowledge of thy Ways^ Job, xxi. 14. And it is 
 «' hard to fay which is the moft provoking Sin, to 
 " defpife the Knowledge of God, or to break his 
 " Laws : Not to think it worth our while to know 
 ' ' the Will of God, or through the Power of Temp- 
 " tation to tranfgrefs our Duty (/J." Thus far this 
 Excellent Writer, And it is apparendy owing to the 
 Negledl of Reading the Scriptures, of which this Au- 
 thor fojuilly complains, that the Generality of C/^W/^ 
 tiayis receive fo little Improvement and Advantage 
 from the Preaching of the Gofpcl. For being almoft 
 wholly unacquainted with the Scriptures, and in 
 great Meafure ignorant of the very Principles of the 
 Chrifiian Dodrine ; they are unable to difcern the 
 Force and Strength of thofc Reaibns and Arguments 
 which are grounded upon them, and thereby to be 
 inftruded and (Irengthened in the Chrifiian Faith, and 
 
 B b 4 influenced 
 
 (/) Dean Sherlock on a Future Judgment, p. 282. 
 
392 ADifcourfe concerning the 
 
 influenced to the Pra6lice of Religion and Virtui?. 
 And this is one great Mifchief, which the Profanation 
 of the Lord's Day hath brought upon us, I'iz. that 
 thro' the Negled of reading the Holy Scriptures and 
 other good Books at this Time many Chriftians be- 
 come Utterly unqualified for the hearing of God's 
 Word, and are by that means kept in great Igno- 
 rance of thc'T Duty, to the manifeft Hazard and 
 Danger of their Salvation. And how heavy and 
 dreadful the Account will be, which thofe Men fhall 
 give to God at the laft Day, who thus contribute 
 to the Eternal Ruin and Deilru6lion of Mankind by 
 profaning the Lord's Day for the Sake of a Httle Sen- 
 luril Pleailire and wordly Diverfion, I profefs I tremble 
 to think. And, 
 
 Thirdly,^ It happens alfo upon the fame Account, 
 that That great and neceffiry (g) Duty of Religion, 
 Divine Medilalion, is almoft v/holly omitted. And 
 this proves of the mod Pernicious and Peflru6tive 
 Confcqaerc^ to the Souls of Men •, and that in thefe 
 three Rcfpedls, 
 
 Firjl, In that by this Means the Things of another 
 Life, tho' of infinite Moment and Im.portance in 
 themfclves, have little or no Eftc6t and Influence upon 
 the Minds of Men, and are rendered Infufficient to 
 enable them to overcome Temptations, and to over- 
 balance the Force and Power of prefent Things. And 
 hence it comes to pafs, that the Generality of Cbrif- 
 tians^ notwithftanding their ProfelTion of Religion 
 
 and 
 
 (^) Very few Pcrfons I doubt are fufficiently fenfible how 
 much ThoLightancl Confideration, liow much Care and Vigilancy, 
 liow firm a Relblution and carnelt Contention of Mind is neceffary 
 
 to the Bufmcfs of Religion. Few I fear confider, how 
 
 much Pains is necefTary to the ftoring of our Minds with good 
 Principles, and to the fixing and riveting in our Souls all the proper 
 Motives and Confiderations to engage us to Virtue, that in all Ot-, 
 cafions of our Lives they may have their due Force and Influ- 
 ence upon us. Tilloifori, Vol. III. p. 383. 
 
. Religious Ohfervation of the Lord's Day. 393 
 
 and Belief of anotlier Life, have their Hearts and Af- 
 fections too much fet upon the prefent World, and 
 are almoft entirely given up to the Riches, Honours, 
 and Pleafures of it. And tho' many times they will 
 talk much about Religion, and zealoufly perform the 
 External Duties thereof ; yet have really but little 
 more in them than the Form of Godlinefi^ at the fame 
 Time that they deny the Poivcr of it, as the Apoftle 
 fpeaks. 2 Tim. iii. 5. And how fatal this is to Religion, 
 and how deftruftive to Mens Souls, is fo very clear 
 and evident to every one, that there is no Need to 
 fpend any Time in Proof of it. And that it is a 
 certain and necellary Effed of the Negled of this 
 Duty 'of Divine Meditaticn. hath been before fully 
 fhewn in the Chaprer upon drat S'.ibje(5l, And, 
 
 Secondly^ The Negleft of meditating upon Divine 
 Things on the Lordh Day is alio extremely Perni- 
 cious and Fatal to the Generality of Mankind, inaf- 
 much as through the want of this they are not 
 throughly grounded in the Faith and Acknow- 
 ledgment of Divine Providence *, a due and ftedfaft 
 Belief of which is abfolutely neceffary to the very 
 Life and Being of Religion, and to render Men Con- 
 tented in their Stations, and Patient under thofe Cala- 
 mities and Afflidions which it fhall pleafe God to fend 
 upon them. For, as was before fally (/) oblerved, there 
 are many and great Difficulties in the Adminiftration 
 of Providence, which the wifeft of Men cannot poffibly 
 clear up and explain ; and it requires a more than 
 ordinary Attennon to the Proofs and Evidences of a 
 Pivine Providence, to be throughly perfwaded and 
 deeply grounded in the Belief thereof And unlefs 
 Men are thus firmly convinced of this Important 
 Truth (which as I there ihiewed they cannot be with- 
 out a frequent and ferious Confideration of the Proofs 
 
 of 
 
 (?) Seenbcve, Part II, chap, iii, p. 236, &c. 
 
394 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 of it) every Difficulty which they meet with in the 
 Government of the World will Ihock and confound 
 their Faith, and every uncommon Afflidion and 
 Misfortune which befalls them will unavoidably fill 
 their Minds with Uneafmels and Impatience under 
 it. And it is apparently owing to the want of a feri- 
 ous and frequent Meditation upon this great Point of 
 Religion (and this is another Mifchief which the Pro- 
 fanation of the Lord^s Bay hath brought upon us j that 
 the Generality of Chriftians^ notwithilanding their 
 Profeffion of Faith in God and Acknowledgment of 
 a Future State, are yet many Times fo very difcon- 
 tented in their Condition, and fo much difturbed at 
 the Inequalities of Fortune •, and particularly are very 
 apt to murmur and complain, and to be extremely 
 impadent under Sicknels and Pain, or any other Cala- 
 mity and Vexation which happens to them. All 
 which Evils would in a great Meafure be prevented, 
 if Men were firmly convinced and fatisfied by due 
 and careful Meditation, that all the Affairs of this 
 World are managed and condu6led by an Infinitely 
 Wife and Good Providence. For this would make 
 them fully fenfible, that that State and Condition of 
 Life is bell for them in which God hath placed them ; 
 and in Cafe it fhould pleafe God to lay his afflifting 
 Hand upon them, they would fubmit thereto with 
 Chearfiilnefs and Patience, as well knowing that 
 Affli^ion Cometh not forth of the Biifi^ neither doth 
 Trouble fpring out of the Ground \ Job. v. 6. but that 
 all Things work together for good to them that Love God ; 
 Rom. viii. 28. ajid that their light Jffii^ion^ which is 
 hut for a Moment^ worketh for them a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of Glory ^ 2. Cor, iv. 
 17. And, 
 
 In the Third andlaft Place ^ l*he Neglea of Medita- 
 ting upon Divine Things on the Lord's Day hath far- 
 ther this pernicious and deftructive Eifecl and In- 
 fluence upon too many Perfons amon^ us j that for 
 
 want 
 
Religions Obf^' ^^^^^^ ^fthe Lord's Day. 395 
 want of being well grounded in die Principles of the 
 Chriftian Religion, and lufficiently inflru^led in the 
 Demonilrations of it's Divine Authority they are at- 
 moil continually fubj^d to great Doubts and Sufpicions 
 concerning the Truth and Certainty of it. That this 
 is in Fa5f the Cale of many Chriftians^ no one who 
 hath theleaft Converfation with the World can poflibly 
 deny. And it is in great Meafure .owing to the Na- 
 ture of that Difcourfe, which now too generally prevails 
 among us, viz. the Ridiculing and Refieding upon 
 Religion, and raifmg all manner of Objections againft 
 the Truth of it. By which means it very frequently 
 happens, that many Chriftians^ who for want of dili- 
 gently reading the Holy Scriptures and other good 
 Books which are wrote in Confirmation of their Re- 
 ligion, are not well acquainted with the Proofs and 
 Evidences of it, and are therefore very much fhocked 
 and difturbed in their Faith and ProfefTion : Infomuch 
 that tho' llich Refledlions upon and Objedions againft 
 the Chriftian Religion are not fufficient to convince 
 them that it is falfe ; yet they manifeftly hinder them 
 from being firmly perfwaded that it is true, and fill 
 their Minds with continual Doubts and Sufpicions con- 
 cerning the Truth and Certainty of it. And hov/ 
 fatal fuch Doubts and Sufpicions are to the Caufe of Re- 
 ligion, any one may eafily judge *, fince, as the 
 Apoftle obferves, a double-minded Man is unftable in 
 all his JVays^ Jam. i. 8. And as the greateft Part of 
 Mankind are violently bent upon the Interefts and 
 Pleafures of this prefent Life, it will be abfolutely 
 impolTible ever to divert them from the Purfuit of thele 
 Things, unlels their Affedions are flrongly pre-en- 
 gaged with the Things of another Life •, which it is 
 as much ImpofTible for them to be, if they are not 
 firmly and beyond ail doubt perfwaded and con- 
 vinced of the Truth thereof And this is another 
 great Mifchief which the Profanation of the Lord's 
 Day hath brought upon us, viz. that by debarring Men 
 
 of 
 
396 A T>ifccurfe conct, ,.i.,Q fjjg ,^ 
 
 of this glorious Opportunity of reading the Scriptures 
 and other good Books, which would fledfaftly fix and 
 ground them in the Chriftian Profefiion, they are fub- 
 je6l to perpetual Doubts and Sufpicions concerning the 
 Truth of their ReUgion, which are of the moft danger- 
 ous and deftrucli veConfequence to theirPiety and Virtue. 
 Fourthly and laftl)\ It is alfo owing to the Pro- 
 fanation of the Lord's Day^ that the Great Duty of 
 the Rdigious Education of Children is almoft entirely 
 negledled by the Generality of Chriftians. The abfolute 
 and indifpenfable Neceffity of this Duty, and the 
 many and ineftimable Advantages which redound from 
 it to the Children themfelves, have been ihewn at 
 large in the foregoing Chapter. And confidering how 
 much Time will Necefiarily be required for a due and 
 faithful Performance of this Duty ; it is evident at firfl 
 light, that the Greateft Part of Chriftians^ who are 
 bound to attend all the Week long upon the Labours 
 of their Callings, have no other Seafon and Opportunity 
 but this^ in which they can difcharge it to any good 
 Furpofe ; and therefore if they neglecl to perform 
 it at this Time, they mult negled it altogether. 
 And that this Negled is of the molt pernicious Con- 
 fequence to Young Perfons, I need notfpend any Time 
 to prove. For by this Means they are not only unac- 
 quainted with the Principles and Doftrines of the 
 Gofpel (a due Knowledge of which is abfolutely ne- 
 ceffary to the Practice of Chriftian Piety and Virtue ) 
 but are alio not made in any Meafure feniible of the 
 Obligation and Advantage of Moral Dudes. And fo 
 for want of being early inftrufted in Religion and 
 trained up in the Pradice of it. they are fuffered to 
 contra6l Habits and Cuftoms of Sin and Wicked- 
 nefs, which for ever ftick by and remain with them. 
 And hence it comes to pafs, that when they go abroad 
 into the World, before they are well fixed and fetded 
 in their proper Bufinefs and Profeflion, they are too 
 gllen made a Prey to Crafty Seducers ^ and drawn away 
 
 into 
 
 t < 
 
Religious Obfirvatioi of the Lord's Day. 3 97 
 
 into all the Excefifes and Extravagancies of the Age 5 
 till by Degrees they are fo hardened and confirmed in 
 Impiety and Debauchery, that it is impoffible by any 
 Human Art and Means to recover them from it: an 
 Irreparable Damage this to human Society, as well as 
 Matter of the greateft Grief and Vexation to many 
 Parents and Families. And this is another great Mif- 
 chief which is derived from the Profanadon of the 
 Lord's I)ay\ viz. that thro' the Negledl of Inllrufting 
 Children at thi-- Time in Chriftian Knowledge many 
 Young Perfons are brought up in extreme and Ihiame- 
 ful Ignorance of their Duty *, and by that Means, for 
 want of good Senfe and Condu61: in the Government 
 of themfelves, are endrely abandoned and given up 
 to wicked Habits, to the utter Ruin and Deilru6tion 
 both of Body and Soul. Which great Evil, with 
 all the others before-mentioned, might be in great 
 Meafure prevented •, if Men could once be perfwaded 
 to obferve the Lord's Day Religioufly^ by a regular and 
 conftant Attendance upon the public Worlhip, and 
 by a diligent Reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the 
 Meditation upon Divine Things, and by difcharging 
 the great Duty of Family Inflrudion. And That 
 Man mull bealtogether llupid and infenfible, who does 
 not difcern that the Devout and Religious Obfervadon 
 of this Day (if once it was become of general Prac- 
 tice and Cuftom) would apparently tend not only to 
 the Benefit and Advantage of private Perfons, but alfo 
 to the Public Good and Happinefs of Society, as it 
 would be a moil powerful Means to amend and recti- 
 fy the Morals of the Nadon, and to improve all 
 Orders and Degrees of Men in true Piety and VirUie. 
 And indeed when I ferioufiy confider the many and 
 ineftimable Advantages, which would manifeftly ari lb 
 from the Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Dny ; 
 I am ailonillied to find, that there Ihould be fo many 
 Perfons among us of good Senfe and Judgment, and 
 in no wife prejudiced againflC.6r//?/^;::;>, who ihould 
 
 edeem 
 
^ 9 8 A t)ifcourfe concerning the 
 
 efleem it to be a light and trwial Matter to profane 
 this Holy Bay, by frequently negledting the Public 
 Worfhip ; or when they do attend upon it, by 
 dedicating the re?nainmg Time to Company and Drmk- 
 ing and Worldly Pleafure, to the great Offence and 
 Prejudice of Mankind. And it is lamentable to 
 think how horribly the Lord's Bay hath been for a 
 long Time and is at prefent profaned, not only among 
 ourlelves, but almoft throughout all Europe, In 
 Foreign Countries, Frotefiant as well as P^?^ i/^, it is 
 the general Cuftom every Lord's Bay to have their 
 public Sports, Plays and PajUmes, in the Houfes and 
 the Fields, immediately after Divine Service. And 
 it was fo in this Nation in the Beginning of the laft 
 Century, when it was publickly ordered by King 
 James I. and afterwards by King Charles I. that every 
 one, who was not a Recufant, and could prove his At- 
 tendance upon his Parifh Church on the Lord's Bay, 
 piould have free Liberty after Evening Service to 
 join in any of the common Sports and Paftimes 
 which were allowed by Authority. And many .godly 
 Minifters, for refufing to read the Beclarations publifh- 
 ed by thofe Princes for fuch Liberty of Sports, were 
 fufpended from their Offices and Benefices^ and others 
 feverely treated in the Court of High Commiffton (k)i 
 It is not my Defign in the Mention of this to de* 
 trad in the lead from the Goodnefs and Piety of either 
 of thefe Princes. For tho' I am far from thinking 
 with Dr Heylin, that the publifhing of this Declaration 
 by King Charles I. (and the fame may be applied to 
 that of King James) was in Him '' a Pious and Princely 
 *' /f^, nothing inferiour to that of Conftantine or any 
 '* other King or Emperor, ^c, (/)." or, as he elle- 
 
 where 
 
 {k) Vid. Echardh^W^ory o^ Er.gla?:d^ Vol. I. p. 944. Rapins , 
 Hiftory, 8vo. Vol. XI. p. 70. Ecbard Vol. II. p. 109. Collier'^ 
 Eccl. Hiftory, Vol. II. p. 7t;8-9. 
 
 (/) Hiftory of ih'^^abbafhf Part IL p- 269. 
 
Religious Obfer^vatiGn of the Lord's-Day 399 
 
 whereexprelTes himfelf (w?), " that it juflly deferves 
 *' to be recorded among the Principal Monuments 
 *' of his Zeal and Piety •," fince I verily believe that 
 the .Publication of them both was highly improper 
 and unbecoming, and not only exprefsly contrary to 
 the True Dodrine (ji) of the Chriftian Sahhath^ but 
 alfo fuch as gave the greateft Offence {0) and Difplea- 
 fure to many Pious and Religious People, and was 
 of the mod fatal and pernicious Confequence to the 
 Peace and Security of King Charles the Firft's Go- 
 vernment (p), I fay, tho' I am far from being able to 
 difcover any great Piety in this A6t of King Charles I. 
 
 yet 
 
 {m) Dedication to his Hiftory of the Sabbath, p. 2. 
 
 \n) This New Encroachment ^upon the Sabbath gave both King 
 and People more Liberty to profane the Day, tho' the Archbifhop 
 and feveral of the Billiops took the Liberty to declare againft fuch 
 Praftices. Echard, Vol. L p. 944. 
 
 {0) Mr Echard fpeaking of King James's Declaration, and 'the 
 Penalties which many Perfons incurred by refuhng to read it, fays, 
 ** All which gave great Offence to many pious and confcicntious 
 '* Perfons.'* ibid. And fpeaking of the Declaration of Kling 
 Charles L heexpreffes himfelf thus, '* The Publication of this, 
 " however piouily intended, {?neaning to withjiand by this Means 
 the Notions of the Puritans, as he had obferved in the Words 
 immediately foregoing) gave Offence to many of no fmall De- 
 votion, by reafon of the Minillers being fufpended, (^r '* This 
 *' one Thing caufed more fpecious Grounds of Complaint againlt 
 *' the King and the Archbifliop, than any other Part of the 
 ** public Adminiibation ; as having fuch outward Appearance of 
 ** Irreligion and Profanenefs. For thoMuch Liberties may be fo 
 " limited in the Notions of Learned Men as to make them law- 
 ** fu], yet it is hardly practicable fo to confine them to the Actions 
 ** of the People^ as to keep them from degenerating into Licen- 
 ** tioufnefs ; fo that the King's Declaration after a while died of 
 ** itfelf, and it was wilhed by many wife and Ibber Men that it 
 " had never been revived." Echard, Vol. IF. p. 109. 
 
 ( p) This (the Declaration of King James I.) was one Caufe of 
 the many Mifchiefs in \h.^fucceediiig Reign. Echard, Vol. L p. 94i^i 
 And now [A. D ^63 3^ as if the L'efinieshad. confpired agalnj} the 
 King and the Peace cf the Reahn, his Majelly was perl waded to 
 renew his Father's Declaration about Sports on the Lord's Ony^ 
 &-C. Hijlory of Rnglaiid in 2 V0I5. 8vo. \'ol, f. p, 471. 
 
400 ADifcourfe conceiming the 
 
 yet on the other Side I freely acknowledge that 
 neither this Declaration of King Charles nor that of 
 his Royal Father were defigned in the leaft to difcou- 
 rage and difcountenance the Pious and Religious 
 Obfervation of the Lord's Bay •, but only to obviate 
 and refute the falfe Notions of the Puritans^ who 
 YtsAly judaized very much in that Point, and exten- 
 ded the Obligation of the Sahhath a great deal too far 
 (q). And I verily believe that fuch Perfons even in 
 thofe TijneSy who kept ibis Day Religioufly widiout 
 Affedation and without Superilition, were always 
 bed thought of and moft eftecriied by both thofe 
 Princes. But however Zealous and miftaken the 
 Puritans might be in this Matter, yet flill the pub- 
 lifhing of thefe Declarations was extremely impru- 
 dent ; and it would have been much better to have 
 born the too great Slriotnefs of thofe Men, which 
 Time and Experience would by Degrees have worn 
 off, than by relaxing that to detradb and derogate 
 from the Veneration of the Sabbath, which hath fo 
 great an Influence upon the Morals of the Nation. 
 For from this Time the pious Obfervation of the 
 Lord's Day hath declined in this Kingdom, and is at 
 prefent refolved into little more than a bare formal 
 Attendance upon the Church at the Stated Seafons fand 
 
 this 
 
 (^) Vid. Rapin's Hiftory of England^ 8vo. Vol. IX. p. 403. 
 Echard Vol. II. p. 109. Hiftory of England, 8vo. Vol. I. ibid. 
 And what is alTerted in thofe Places by thefe Hirtorians. is not 
 only laid to the Charge of the Puritans by Dr Bey/in (Hiftory 
 of the Subbatb, Part II. p. 253, &c.) but alfo is generally to 
 be obferved in the Puritan Writers, and even in Dr Bound 
 himfelf, who is one of the moft Learned and Judicious of them 
 all ; and who not only frequently argues from fuch Texts of 
 Scripture as relate folely to the "Jews, but alfo contends for fuch a 
 Stridnefs and Severity in the Obfervation of the Sabb^ithy as cannot 
 be fupportedandjuftified by the Gofpcl of Chrijl -■> and the Reader 
 will plainly perceive, if he will confult his Difcourfe, de Sabbato 
 Vet, df Nov. T^eftamenti. lib. i. p. 124, 245, 247. lib. ii. p. 
 366. 
 
ReUgidiis Obfervatlon of the Lord's Day. 385 
 
 this itfelf very often neglcded by great Numbers) 
 without any other Appearance of Order and Devo- 
 tion. And inftead of that good Provifion for the 
 Souls of Men, which pious Parents and iVTaflers of 
 Families ufcd formerly to make, by reading the Holy 
 Scriptures on tiie Lord's Bay by meditating upon and 
 difcourfing of Divine 'Things^ and by inftruBing their 
 Children and Servants in Chriftian Knowledge ', it is 
 now become the too general Cuftom to ^pend theie 
 precious Flours in vifittng of Friends ^ in keeping of Com- 
 pany^ and drinking^ and Worldly Pleafiire. And (forry 
 I am to fiy it) That, which was obferved by a very 
 Pious and Learned Prelate of his T^imes as a remark- 
 able Inftance of the fcandalous and immoral Lives of 
 the IrifJd Papifis^ is now too frequently exempli- 
 fied in the Practice and Behaviour of too many Per- 
 fons of great Quality and Di{lin6lion among us, viz. 
 " If they had {fiys he) any fignal Entertainment to 
 *' make, any Journey or weighty Bufinefs to begin, 
 '' they commonly chofe the Lord's Day for it (r)." 
 And indeed la^o fhameful and horrible a Manner is the 
 Lord^s Day now profaned by all Orders and Degrees of 
 Men among us, and that by negle6ling the Public 
 JVorfJoip itfelf, as well as the other Religious Duties of 
 this^(?/v Seafon^ that unlefs {Qm.t fpeedy Stop be put to 
 this wicked Pra&ice by thofe that are in Authority^ the 
 CJn-iftian Religion will be in great Danger of being 
 loft in this Kingdom ; and we Jihall foon be reduced 
 to f ich a ftupid and infenftble State and Condidon, 
 that nothing but the dreadful and terrible Judgments 
 of God will be able to awaken us out of it. And 
 fure it is a melancholy Confideration of any Man 
 to refled: upon the prefent State of Religion in this 
 Narion, to obferve how laft Atbeifm and Infidelity are 
 breaking in upon us, and what a Deluge q{ Profanenefs^ 
 
 G c Impiety 
 
 (r) Archbifhop King*^ Sute of heltvd \xviif: Kin? Jam^: 'ht 
 Second, p. 233. 
 
386 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Impiety and Debauchery abounds among us ; and how 
 few there are in comparifon, whofe Converfation is fuch 
 as hecometb the Gofpelof Chrift^ Phil. i. 27, and who 
 in any Meafure live up to thofe Heavenly and Divine 
 Principles v/hich they profels : and on the other Ude 
 to call to mind how folenmly God Almighty hath 
 declared in Scripture, that without Holinefs no Man 
 Jhall ever fee Him^ Heh, xii. 14, and that in the Words 
 of an excellent Prelate before remembred^ " Sooner 
 " may Heaven and Earth pafs away^ than a Wicked 
 " Man enter into the Kingdom {s) of Heaven : " and 
 Confequently that there cannot be the leaft Hopes 
 entertained upon Gofpel Principles., but that the great- 
 efi Part of Mankind will be finally doomed to E- 
 ternal Perdidon (/). This, I fay, is a very Melan- 
 choly Confideration ; and it is enough to make the 
 Heart of any good Man bleed ferioufly to think and 
 refle6t upon it. And fure that Man mull be utterly 
 void of all Humanity (not to fay any dm Senfe of 
 God and Religion) who can fee fo many of his Fel- 
 low-Creatures going on headlong to everlafting De- 
 ftru6lion, and will not do what lies in him, and 
 much more will not deny himfelf a little trifling Plea- 
 fure (which yet he might freely enjoy at any other 
 Opportunity) in Order to prevent it. And this Coi>- 
 fideradon ihould methinks engage all Perlbns, who are 
 well affeded to Religion, to ufe their beft Endea- 
 vours to revive a true Spirit of Chrijlianity among us, 
 
 by- 
 
 (/) TillotfoM, Vol. III. p. 199. 
 
 (t) See Miit. vii. 13, 14. It is a fad Thing to confider what 
 a Multitude of Soulr, for which the Blood of Chriji wa? fhed, nre 
 continually loll for want of that Knowledge, which it was the Bu- 
 fmefs of His Life to teach. . How can our Charity be exerted bet- 
 ter than by copying the Example of our Lord and Mailer, m 
 fcaitering and difpelling thoic Clouds of Ignorance which over- 
 caft the Minils of Mzn ; giving Light to them that ft in Darknefs- 
 and in the Sh,ido70 of Death, a fid guiding their Feet into the IVa^ nf 
 Peace ? ///-Littleton's Sermons, Vol. 11. p. 224, 225- 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord^s Day. 3S7 
 
 by all Ways pofTible, and efpecially by a Religious 
 Obfervation of the Lord's Bay ; which of itfelf would 
 be a mo^ powerful 2inA effe^ual Mt2ins and Inftrument 
 to this good Purpofe : And from a Senfe of the 
 pre/em' State and Pofture of Religion fhould incline all 
 wife Men to the Extreme of obferving this Bay with a 
 litde more Stridlnefs than they may perhaps be {u) ob-^ 
 liged to, rather than to contribute to the Infidelity, Im- 
 piety and Debauchery of the i\ge by the Profanadon 
 of it. But however there is no Neceffity of ninning 
 into any Extremes : All that we defire of any Man is, 
 that he would obferve the Dudes of the Day within 
 the juft Bounds of Sobriety and Moderadon. And 
 I am fenfible that many well difpofed Chriftians will 
 not without the greateft Difficulty be perfwaded even 
 to this ; left they fhould be defpifed and ridiculed for 
 fo doing, and incur the Cenfure and Reproach of Fa- 
 naticifm or Enthufiafm, But yet on the other Side I 
 would earneftly beg of fuch Perfons to confider^ that 
 where the Honour of God and the Salvation of Mens 
 Souls lie at Stake^ every good Chriftian ought to be 
 endued with fo much Courage as to be above Con- 
 tempt, and upon no Account whatfoever to /^//o-k; ^ 
 Multitude to do Evil ^ Excd-ysmx. 2. And particularly 
 upon this Occafion I would recommend to them that 
 
 C G 2 W ife 
 
 {u) A la'c Learned Prelate, who was far from being over ftrift 
 and r'gid in his Notions of the Sakbutb and L^r^'j Day, fecms to be 
 entirely of this Opinion ; and what liis Grace obierved in his Days, 
 will 1 am lure 'hold much more iirongly with Regard to ours. 
 " Though, faith he, there are Mathematical and other Arguments 
 ** (v^hich truly 1 could wifh were well anlV/ered) againlt xhtMora- 
 *' //■/>', there can be none agalnil ihtOJfices, the Pidy, and Charity 
 ** of the Lord's Day ; and thefe certamly render our Perfons more 
 *' acceptable, tho' performed on Suprfiitioui Grounds^ than theO- 
 •' miflion of them can do ; efpecially if the Duty be fliut out by any 
 *' Sciu/ar Employment or Recreation, unkfs Mercyhn\\% the Dil- 
 " pcnfation for the Want o'l Sacrifice*' Archb'ijhop of'XwxMii 
 Life of Primate Bramhall, prefixed to his Works, P- 33- A-iid the 
 Pinnate himfelf feems to manifcft the fame Senfe and judgment ia 
 this Matter, as she Reader will perceive in his WqiI-^, p. 934* 
 
388 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Wife and Excellent Obfervation of an Ingenious 
 "Writer, viz. that how Ridiculous foever a Pretence 
 and mere Oilentation of Religion may be, yet " Care 
 " mufc be taken however not to let the Scandals of 
 '" 'Theatrical Appearances divert or deter us from the 
 •'' Pradice of Holy Offices within the Bounds of 
 " Piety and good Confcience\ after the Example of 
 " thofe who let up for Atheifts., for fear they fhould be 
 " taken for Enthufiafts (;^\" And v/hat I have jull 
 now obferved concerning the Deplorable Effe6ls and 
 Confequences of profaning the Lord's Day, will I 
 hope be a fufficient Apology with all my Readers for 
 my firil undertaking this Work, and for infilling lb 
 much upon the abfolute Neceffity and Ineftimable Ad- 
 vantages of a Religious Obfervadon of this Holy 
 Seafon. And yet God forbid, that I fhould in the 
 leall endeavour to lay a heavy and unneceflary Burthen 
 upon my Fdlov/ -Cbrijlians and Brethren, or to debar 
 them of anyof thofe juft Liberties which are indulged 
 them by the Go/pel. And therefore the better to qualify 
 the feeming Severity of the Dodrine which hath been 
 advapxed upon this Subjed, and to prevent any Cen- 
 fure and Mifreprefentation to which. it may be liable, 
 1 defire that it may be received and underftood with, 
 thef^ following Reftridions and Limitations. A.s, 
 
 Firjl, When a Man hath duly and devoutly attend- 
 ed upon the public Worlhip of the Lord's Day, I do 
 not think it will be any Sin and TranfgrelTion m him 
 to call upon a Neighbour at his Return from Church, 
 to pay a decent Civility and Refpe6l for a litde Tim.e; 
 Provided he docs not Itay too long, and by that 
 Means negle6l the necefiary Affairs of Family-Inftruc- 
 tion and Divine Medit ition. Neither, 
 
 Secondly, Do I elteem it to be unlawful for a Man 
 that hath no Charge upon him to repair at this Time 
 to fome fober and difcreet Family, where he may 
 
 have 
 
 (x) L'Ej?ra;/^e^5 Fables, Vol. I. p. 262, 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord*s Day, 385 
 
 have the Opporti:T)iry of fpending fome Part of the 
 Evening in pious and good Converfation ; Provided 
 he does not by this Means negled: the Duties of Read- 
 ing the Scriptures and of Divine Meditation himfelf, 
 nor hinder the Family where he goes from difcharging 
 of theirs. Neitiier, 
 
 Wirdly^ Do I think That Man is to be blamed, who 
 upon an' extraordinary Occafion fwhen he has no o- 
 ther Opportunity of meeting with him) fhalj go at 
 this Time to fee a Particular Relation or Friend ; Pro- 
 vided that upon this Account he does notnegled the 
 Public Worlhip either in his own or in the Neigh- 
 bouring Church where he goes, nor be the Means of 
 detaining and hindering any other Perfons from at- 
 tending thereupon. Nay I will not condemn that 
 Perfon, who upon a very Urgent Neceffity fhall abfent 
 himfelf- for the whole i)ay from the Service of the 
 Church, and alfo employ little or none of the Re- 
 maining Time in private Reading and Meditation ; 
 Provided the Cafe is abfolutely NecefUvry and of 
 fuch importance, that all wife and reafonable Men 
 v/ill juftify his Condu6l and Behaviour therein. And, 
 
 In tbeFaiirtb Place ^ When Men have diligently at- 
 tended upon the Public Worfliip, and in due Meafure 
 refledled and medicated upon the Word of God 
 preached to them (which I have before lliewn to be 
 the abfoluteand bounden Duty of all Men) tho' they 
 cannot be. excufed from the Private Religious Duties 
 of the Lonfs Day^ fuch as Reading, Meditation, and 
 the like ; yet they mult in great Meafure be left to 
 their ov/n Liberty, in what Manner and what Pro- 
 portion and Degree they fliall praclife them. And no 
 Man in this Cafe is to tie up another to thofe Rules 
 and Methods which he thinks fit to prefcribe to himfelf. 
 And after all that hath or can be faid upon this Sub- 
 jedt, the Obfervadon of a very pious and Excellent 
 Prelate hereupon will hold good, viz, "^ That the 
 " Laws both of God and Man have in this matter 
 
 Cc 3 ''left 
 
390 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 '* left a great deal to Men's own Difcretion, and the 
 *' Circumftances they are infjy)." And if Men will 
 have a due Regard for God's Public Worfhip, and 
 fufficiently difcharge the other Duties oi Religion, 
 f-ich as Reading the Holy Scriptures^ Meditation iipn 
 'D'vjine 'Things ^ Self-Exumi/mtiGn^ and the Education of 
 their Children, we will not in the kaft contend with 
 them concerning the-Sealbn and Manner in which 
 they fliail difcharge them •, but tiie more they employ 
 themfelves in thtfe Religious Exercifes on the Week 
 Days, the lefs they may apply themfelves to them on 
 l\-\t Lord'sBay^tind may then perform them in liich 
 Manner and' with fuch Variety, as is mofc proper 
 ^nd expedient for them. And even as to fuch Perfons, 
 vvho being confined ail the Week long to the Labours 
 of their Callings have no Opportunity but that of 
 the Lord's 'Day for the JLxtiCi^o: of thele Reli- 
 gious Duties, they alfo mult be partly left to 
 themfelves as to the Degree and Manner in which 
 they ihall obferve them. They may read the Scrip- 
 tures and other good Books more upon one Lord's 
 Day than they do upon another : They may fpend 
 more of their Time on one of thefe Holy Seafons in 
 Self-Examination, Meditation on Divine Things, and 
 the Inftrudion of their Children, than they do on 
 another. And Provided they difcharge thefe Du- 
 ties in fuch Meafure as the Nature and Defign of 
 Religion requires of them, i, e, if they read the 
 Scriptures and other good Books, fo as to be fully 
 confirmed in the Belief of C^rf/^i^w/)?, and fufficiendy 
 inftrn6ted in the Duties of it ; if they meditate fo much 
 and often upon the greatPoints of our Faith, and parti- 
 cularly that of a Future Judgment and Everlafting Re- 
 tributions, that they have a due and regular EfTeft and 
 Influence upon their Minds, by convincing theni of 
 
 the 
 
 (>•) Archbiihpp Sharp'z Sermons. Vol. I. p. 302. 
 
Religious Obfer'vatioji of the Lord's Day. 391 
 
 the great Danger of Sin, the Vanity of all Earthly En- 
 joyments, and the Neceflity of letting their Hearts 
 and Affedlionsiipon Heavenly Things \ if they exa- 
 mine themfelves fo much as to undcrlland the true 
 State and Condition of their Souls, and to be the more 
 efFedually excited thereby to Repentance of their Sins, 
 and the Reformation of their Lives ; if they fpend fo 
 much of their Time in the Religious Education of 
 their Children, as that they are fufficiently inftruded in 
 C/:?rf/?/^;? Knowledge, and confirmed in the Pra6i:ice of 
 Religion and Virtue : I fay, if Men wiil thus per- 
 form thefe Duties of Religion, fo as to anfwcr the End 
 and Defign for v/hich they were appointed-, they may 
 be affured that tliey perform them in fuch a Manner as 
 will be well pleafing and acceptable unto God. And 
 when Men have thus obferved the hordes Day R.eligi- 
 cujl}\ by a due and regular Attendance upon the Of- 
 fices of the Church, and by difcharging the private 
 Exercifes of Religion ; they may reafonably apply to 
 themfelves thofe Words of our Saviour concerning 
 the Chnfiian Sahhath^ which were fpoken by Him 
 concerning the Jewi/h^ viz. the Sabbath was made for 
 Man^ and not Man for the Sabbath^ Mark 11. ly. And 
 particularly what an excellent Prelate remarks with 
 Regard to the Generality of Mankind, is very Juft and 
 Pertinent, viz. " That they, who on all other Days 
 *' are confined to hard Labour, or are otherwlfe ob- 
 '' hged to a clofe Attendance on their Wordly Af- 
 " fairs, mud be allowed in fome Mcafure to conli- 
 '' der this as a Day of Eafe and Relaxation from 
 " Thought and Labour, as well as a Day of Devo- 
 " tion •, provided it be in a Way that is innocent and 
 *' ino(fcnfive, and that the publick Offices of Reli- 
 " gion be duly attended, and the Duties of a more 
 ' • private Nature be not negle&d {z)J* And what 
 Cc 4 his 
 
 {%) Bp. Gibfun'h fird Paftorai Letter, p. 46. 
 
392 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 his Lordfhip hereobferves of the Chnfiian Sabbath, was 
 formerly applied by the beft Paga?7 Writers to the 
 Heathen Feflivals, I e. they thought they were not only 
 inftituted and appointed for the Hcnour and WorJJjip of 
 their Gods, but alfo for the Eafe and Comfcrt, the Re- 
 frejhment and Delight o^ Mankind {a). And therefore if 
 Men will be careful and diligent in the Religious Ob- 
 ferva^ion of the Lord's Day, both with Refpedl to the 
 Public and Private Duties "'of it, they are at full Li- 
 berty to fpend the Remainder of this Day as they 
 think fit, either by walking in their Gardens or the 
 Fields, or by converfing with their Friends, or in any 
 other Way which is moft pleafing and agreeable 
 to them {b) ; Provided they be careful not to a- 
 bufe xhQir Liberty by turning it into Licenticiifnefs ; and 
 that they do not indulge themlelves in fuch Pleafures, 
 nor partake of fuch Diverfions, as are inconfiftent 
 with the Dignity of the Seafon, the Piety and Gra- 
 vity oi good Chriftians, and afford juft Matter of 
 Offence and Scandal to good Men (0. And I think 
 
 no 
 
 }ivb<, ai'etmv^cti Ti eivjoii tSv 7r!vu\> ird^ctjof ^j lopTwV ctfjiot- 
 CcL<; 7c7^ QsoK- Plato de Legibus. lib. ii. 
 
 Nafcitur ex Affiduitate Jaborum, anittiorum hebetatio quoedam 
 
 h languor. ^ Legum Conditores Feilos inilituerunt dies, ut ad 
 
 Hilaritatem homines publice cogerentur, tanquam Neceflarium La- 
 boribus interponentes Tcmperamentum . Senec. de Tranquil. Animi. 
 
 (pp. XV. 
 
 (b) Ncque tarn en omn is corporis recreatio hie omninoprohibctur, 
 ut qu3c etiam inter fines Sabbathi eft ; Icilicet quse divinum cultum 
 non impedit, & facris peradis, honelle, decenter, moderate, & 
 fmc Offcnfione & Scandalo fit. S'^i^opfis purioris TheologU Difputat. 
 xxi. $. 58,. 
 
 {c) Nothing at all fhould be admitted (on the Lcrd^s Day) which 
 is direx-^Iv an Enemy to Religion, or no Friend to it ; not only 
 bccaufe Natural Rcafon does abhor all Irreligious Anions,' efpecially 
 upon a Day of Religion, but becaufc all the pious Men and Law- 
 V givers of the Cbrijlian Church have made Complaints and Rc- 
 ilraints refpedively of all Criminal or Scandalous Atbons upon that^ 
 Day I witnefs St Ignatiui, Tertullian, St Gregory^ St Aufiin, &c.' 
 
 all 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 393 
 
 r>o one, wlio hath any true Regard and Concern for 
 the Honour of God and Religion, can poffibly elleem 
 it a hard and fevere Burthen to- obicrve the Lord^s 
 Day in the Mc-vnner which hath been laid down, by 
 performing the Religious Duties thereof both public 
 ^nd private ; when at the fame Time all due Allow- 
 ance is made for the Eafe and Relaxation from 
 Thought and Labour, and for the modeptite R::irefh- 
 rnent and Recreation of Mankind. If indeed we 
 fhould require Men to turn HennitSy and to fequefter 
 themfelves altogether from the Converfation of the 
 World, that tlTcy might give themfelves up wholly to 
 Devotion and Prayer, and to Divine Study and Me- 
 ditation (as hath been done for many Ages in the 
 Church of Rome) they would have ilifficient Caufe 
 and Ground of Complaint againft us. But fuch a 
 State as this is not only unfuitable to Human Na- 
 ture {d) (being compatible only to a Being that is 
 abfolutely perfe6t, and as fuch is beyond the want 
 and need of Converfation ; or to a Brutal Creature 
 which is utterly infenfible of the Benefits (e) thereof) 
 but it is moreover entirely inconfiftent with the Trial 
 
 and 
 
 all which complain of and forbid the evil Ufagcs of the Profaner 
 Men, who fpend the Lord's Day (which by the Church of God 
 in Imitation of God Himfelf, and in Celebration of the greateil 
 Myflery of our Redemption, was appointed for the folcnin Service 
 of God) in- riotous Earing and immoderate Drinking, vain Fealts 
 and wanton Dancings, Enterludcs and Songs. Bijhop TaylorV 
 Du^or Dubitanthm, Bock II, chap. ii. /. 278. 
 
 Graviter incfjpmus Dominicse dici prophanatores, qui non modo 
 ron neifjpiriis & allenis a6tionihus, tit fpf^acnlis, ludis, fcenif- 
 que, fed ^ Internperantia, LuxUy cmraque. gen ere fiagitiorum^ earn 
 violar.U in irreparabile Irifinnorum fcundalum, ^ horrendum de- 
 dccus Chrijliani Nominis. Synopfis purioris Theologise, ibid. §*. 60. 
 
 (d) Ut aliarum nobis reruni innata dulcedo eft, fic Amicitiae. 
 Quomodo Solitudo in odio ell, fic in dulcedine appetitio Socie- 
 tatis. Quomodo hominem honiini Natura conciliat, fic incft huic 
 quoque rei- llimuiu.s, qui nos amdcitiarum appetentes faciat. Senec. 
 £piii. ix. vid. loc. ^ 
 
 [e) '0,A" (Jiv. Suvctd{:(Q- yjaivsove.v, J) UJ^i^v Ao/z^©- // cw- 
 IcipKeiAi', iiJiv f^i^i Trihiu^, (0^ ti ^^oy J) QiQ-- Arijtot. Polit. 
 lib. i. cap. 2. 
 
394 ^ Difcourfe concerjiing the 
 
 and Probation of Men, and with the Nature and Condi- 
 tion of Moral Virtue (not to fay the exprefs Precepts and 
 Example of cur Blelled Saviour and his Apoiiles. See 
 Ma:t. V. i6. j^asx. ^2. Rom. xii. 17. i Pet. n. 12.) 
 which does not conCift in being placed out of the Reach 
 of the Temptations of the World, and being wholly in- 
 fer fible of the Intereftsand Pleafures of it ; but in con- 
 veriing with Maukind,and living in the World, and yet 
 g::tting the Vii^ory and Maflery over it (/). But fince 
 we do not require of any in'^ an, with Regard to tht Lord's 
 D^y^i^Tij more than what the Holy Scriptures plainly de- 
 mand oi' :i\\ChnJl{anSyd.nd which (as hath been clearly 
 ihewn in the foregoing Difcourfe) is not only their in- 
 difpenfr.bie and bounden Duty, but is moreover abfolute- 
 fy necelTary to their trueFIappinefs: I hope they wilUdl 
 be induced and prevailed upon by thefe Confiderations 
 taadueand regular Oblervation thereof. And thus much 
 concerning the Manner in v/hich the Lord's Day ought 
 to be observed, as appears from the Nature and Reafon 
 of the Thing itfelf, and the plain Teflimony of God's 
 Word. Nothing now remains but that in the laft Place I 
 proceed to fhew, that what hath been delivered upon this 
 Subjcd, as the clear Suggeftions of Natural Realbn and 
 the Evident Teifimony of Holy Scripture , is farther 
 fupported and conhrmed by theSenfe and Judgment of 
 thoie Perfons, who muft be allowed to be the beft and 
 moil competent Judges in this Matter. And this 1 Ihall 
 endeavour to do in the following Chapter. CHAP 
 
 f'.yihvTlV f^'Sii r^S 7rjt\i7tf>\f lirlbl'Co'y' fJbV^V Tnic^HV-, (o/'^^V yJTVfiiTQ- 
 
 Col.hu ef'vl^v, dTTcKcLVayvy '7t'et'J]ct t £«Ms6 'TTCt^.^itt •7TU.^^.fy<Ly&c. 
 Jri flat. Mag. Nhr^I. lib. i.cap.zz. 
 
 He that renounces the V/orld and retires from the Convcrfation 
 cf Men in order to preferve his liolincfs, gives it but a very in- 
 diiierent Commendation ; he /hews that his K.erirement is not the 
 V&'tdi of his Faitl), but his Diffidence : He dares not venture his 
 Virtue abroad, dares net depend upon his Relieion^ but like a 
 covetous diftruilful Mifer bclis a]i his Trc^fures up, aftd io m 
 EfFeft he lofes them indeed for Fear they fliould be loft. iJr/flAHick- 
 sian'i SermQUs, FoL I. Seym. V- />^. 134* 
 
Religious Ohjervation of the Lord'sDay. 395 
 
 CHAP. VII, 
 
 Containing the I'eftimonies of Pious and Learned 
 Men^ both in the former and latter ^ges of the 
 Churchy co7icerning the Manner of religion fly 
 cbferving the Lora s Day. 
 
 T N the foregoing Chapters I have fhewn the Manner 
 \ in which the Lord^s Day ought to be obferved, 
 both with refpefl to the piibhc and private Duties of 
 it j and that from the Nature and Reafon of the 
 Thing, and from the Teftimony of Holy Scripture. 
 I proceed now, in the Iqft Place ^ to fhev/ that what 
 hath been dehvered upon this Head, is fupported 
 and countenanced by the Authority and Judgment 
 of thofe Peribns, who muft be allowed to be the 
 beft and mott competent Judges in this Matter, 
 And this I think very necelTary to be done at this 
 Time; becaufe the Religious Obfervation of this Day 
 in the Manner which hath been laid down is now 
 confidently alTerted to be a great Errour and Miftake 
 of fome Over-Zealous and Superjiitious Men *, who 
 without any juft Grounds and Reaibns would fain ob- 
 trude their own Notions upon others, and lay a heavy 
 and unneceflary Burthen upon their Chriftian Brethren. 
 But from what has been confidered already, and from 
 the Teftimonies which I fhall nov/ produce, I believe 
 it will be very eafy to determine on which fide the 
 Errour and Ignorance lies ; whether on the fide of 
 thofe who contend for the Pious and Religious Obfer- 
 vation of the Lord's Day, or of fuch who accufe them 
 of too much Zeal and Superftition upon that Account. 
 And indeed there are fo many Teftimonies to be found 
 
396 A Difcoin'fe concerniitg the 
 
 to this Parpofe in all Ages of the Chriftian Church, 
 and that amongft Divines of all Communions and 
 Perfv/afions, that it would be an endlels Thing to re- 
 cite them all. I fhail therefore only mention fuch of 
 them as are the Chief and Principal, and which ought 
 to have a more efpecial Effect and Influence upon us. 
 Now not no mention the many wife and excellent 
 Laws, which have been made in this Kingdom to 
 prevent all Worldly Labour and Bufinefs (^), and to 
 prohibit all vain Sports and Paftimes &c. upon the 
 Lord^s Da)\ in order that it might be the more Reli- 
 gioufly obferved both publickly and privately : And 
 many of thefe Laws are to be found as early as the 
 Saxon Kings., both in the Civil and Ecclefiaftical Con- 
 llitutions (?). And many Excellent Laws there are 
 to the lame Purpofe made lince the Reign of King 
 James I. to our Times (r), which upon certain Fines 
 and Penalties therein mentioned forbid all manner of 
 Bodily Works and Labour on the Lord's Day (Works 
 of NecefTity and Charity only excepted j all Sale of 
 Goods on this Day funlefs in one or two particular 
 Cafes where the NecefTity of the Thing makes it 
 reafonable) all driving of Cattle on this Day, all En- 
 teriudes. Common Sports and Paftimes, and refort- 
 
 ing 
 
 {a) They (the Saxon Princes) prohibited by an exprcfs Law, 
 not only to exercife any Calling, but to do or tranfaft any World- 
 ly Bafinefs on the Sabbath Day ; and this Law not being ever 
 repealed that wc know of, nor (as it is to be hoped) ever grown into 
 fuch Univcrial Difufe, as to induce a Probability of a Repeal ; why 
 fliould it not^bc the Common Law of Engia^id? So ftrid were our 
 pious Anceilours in keeping this Day holy , drr . Ju^'ge FortcfcueV 
 Pref'Jce to Chancellor Fortcfcue'j ^reaiife of Ah fo lute and Limited 
 Monarchy, p. ^^. See the Place. 
 
 {b) Vid. Spelman Condi. Sec. Vol. I. f. 183, 195, 249,269, 
 377,404.44?, 556. 
 
 [c] If the Reader hath a mind, he may fee thefe Laws coHc(n:ed 
 together in one View in 'Di: Prideatix's DirePiion to Church War- 
 deriiy^. 12, 13. and in Dr drsy^ Syjfctn of Ejclejujlical Laz^, 
 'Tit. 10. p. ()by&c. 
 
Religions Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 197 
 
 ing to Public Houfes of Entertainment, and the like. 
 Which Inftances I do not here alledge to fhew what 
 the Laws of our Land have enacted upon this Occa- 
 fion (for that is foreign to my prefent Defign) but only 
 to Aew v/hat hath been the Senfe and Judgment of 
 the wifeil and greateft Men both in Church and State, 
 who made up thofe Councils and Affemblies in which 
 thefe Laws were eftabliftied •, and that how great a 
 Conceit foever any Perfons among us may have of 
 their own Knowledge and Judgment, there is yet 
 lurely fo much Regard and Reverence due to the Legif- 
 lators of the Land, as Ihould render us extremely 
 careful how we charge them with Ignorance and Super- 
 jiition. But I will not pals over this Matter without 
 taking Notice of a moil Excellent PaiTage in the 
 Speaker of the Houfe of Comm§ns^s Speech to King 
 Charles II. when he prefented the Bills to him for his 
 Royal AfTent in the third S(^iGn of the Second Par- 
 liament, ^' The Foundations, faith he^ of true Hap- 
 '' pinefs are from above. We have therefore in the ^i^ 
 *' Place perufed the Laws which enjoin the Obfer- 
 *' vation of the hordes Day.^ and where we found any 
 *' Defeat, either in Rules or Penalties^ v/e have with 
 " great Care fupplied them ; well knowing, that he 
 '' who doth not remember on the firft Day of the Week 
 *' to observe a Chriflian Sabbath, will hazard before the 
 " Week comes round to forget that he is a Chriftian (^)." 
 Rut, I lay, not to mention the many Wife and 
 Excellent Laws which have been enabled in this Land 
 for the more devout and relidous Cblervation of the 
 Lord's Day^ I Ihall only at prefent in Confirmation of 
 
 this 
 
 (J) EcharcVi VA^oxj q^ England, Vol. III. p. loS. The5'tf^- 
 hath, if it were duly obieivcd and kept with as much Reverence as 
 it ought, would have an Influence on the Whole following Week, 
 and tend to keep at all Times and Places that awful Regard for the 
 Mcijrjfy of God, in which the Life of uli Piety conliits. Pr Uuli- 
 tQii^ CiimohSf Vol, II. p. 184. 
 
398 -^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 this Matter, Firjl Diy before the Reader the Senfe 
 ^d Judgment of the Primitive Church in the pureft 
 Ages of m And Secondly, I ftall produce the Teft 
 monies of fome of the mofl Pious and Learned Wri 
 ters of our own Church. And if it can ^clearV 
 Ihewn, not on Jy that the Laws of the Land (wS 
 ought to be the Rule of our Obedience) are fSed 
 upon that Notion of the Religious Obfervition of the 
 L^dsDay, which I am now contending for- /of 
 which I have taken Notice already) but affo th.'t the 
 
 ?1^ i A 7 A ^^""'^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ exaclly ofthe 
 &me Mind and Judgment upon this Queflion, I think 
 
 KaihneJs of thofe Perfons, who charge this Notion 
 with Errour and Superftition. And 
 
 Ftrft then, I will lay before the Reader th'- S-nfe 
 and Judgnient of the Primitive Church of S 
 upon this Point. _ And an Eminent Wr ter on thh 
 Subjeft, who WP3 iar from being too flrift Ld rieo 
 rous m his Notion, hath laid k downfo aRukTn 
 his Matter, « That the beft Grounds that fw 
 Chr^Jl,,n can go upon to know what the Law o 
 Nature and the Evangelical Law do prefcribe as 
 necefl-ary for the right Obfcrvation of^he Sis 
 Day, IS the Pnvdice of the Primitive uncorrupted 
 Church, and the Examples of devout and dUbree 
 Chnfttans (e)." Now in reprefenting the Senfe 
 and Judgment of the ancient Church in° this Pan 
 cular It wi beneedlels to fpend much time i W 
 
 ZJsiTI '" ^"^"'^'"g ."Pon the Church on the 
 L^rd s i3^j, in order to join in God's public WorflMp 
 to hear his Ho y Word orearheH i/r^ .r. . '"''.P' 
 "Kt'Cr A c / """J prcacnea, and to receive the 
 
 Bleffcd Sacrament, and the like ; for this many Per! 
 
 U) ArchbiJliop Bramhairs, Worb, p. 93, 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 399 
 fons among us will not deny, but will readily ac- 
 knowledge the Neceifity of this Duty, who are yet 
 very loofe and corrupt in their Opinions and Senti- 
 ments concerning the Religious Obfervadon of this 
 Day. But becaufe there are too many others (who 
 yet profefs themfelves Chriftians) who are fo far from 
 being fenfible of the Obligation of this Duty, that 
 they rather make a Jell and Ridicule thereof ; it 
 may not be amils once again to put them in Mind, that 
 the Duty of attending upon the public Worlhip at the 
 ftated Scafons is not only expreOy required by God 
 in Holy Scripture, as being of the utmoll Importance 
 and Confequence to Religion, and recommended by 
 all wile Lav/givers and good Men in all Ages of the 
 World, but is alio farther enforced upon us by the 
 conilant and univerfal Example of the Primitive 
 Chriftians ; as hath been before fhewn at large (/). 
 And therefore I earneftly beg of fuch Perfons to con- 
 fider, how they can reconcile it with the Name and 
 Charader of Chriftians to aft (and efpecially in a 
 Cafe of kt great a Moment) contrary to the con- 
 ftant Judgment and Practice of all good Chriftians^ 
 and parncularly thofe of the belt and purcfh Ages 
 of the Church. But becaufe the greateft Part of thofe, 
 v^ho are lax and remifs in their Behaviour upon this 
 Day, do not (it is to be hoped) objedt againft the 
 Neceflity of God's public Worfhip, therefore I fhall 
 fay no more of it at prefent j but ihall proceed to ihew 
 the great Regard which the Primitive Chriftians liad 
 to the Pious and Religious Obfervation of the Lord's 
 Day in Performance of the private Dudes thereof. 
 And indeed lb eminent and remarkable were the 
 Primitive Chriftians for the Religious Obfervation of 
 this HolySeafon, that, as a very good Judge (^) in tlm 
 
 Matter 
 
 { f) Ses. above Part II. chap. i. 
 
 (g) Biihop of Cloghi^ri Scriiio:is at ^unbrid^s Welh, i/i-i, p 
 
4o6 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 Matter truly remarks, '^ The Lord's Bay was among 
 ^'^ them moft fokmnly obferved ; and not only private 
 " and public Devotion, and a conftant Attendance 
 '' upon the Houfe of the Lord, but alio the Exer- 
 '' ciie of every Chriftian Virtue., Vv^ere the whole }i\r\- 
 " ployment of it." And to ufe the Words of our 
 moft learned Antiquary^ " The Lord's Day was obfer- 
 *^ ved in the ancient Church from the very Time of 
 '' the Apoilles with great Veneradon (b).'' But that 
 the Reader may the more fully perceive the great Zeal 
 and Care which the Primitive Chriftians manifefted 
 for the Religious Obfervation of this Holy Day ^ it may 
 not be improper to reprefent it to him under thefe 
 three feveral Heads and Diftindlions. Firft^ The 
 many Wife and Excellent Laws and Canons which 
 were made by them to this good Purpofe. Secondly^ 
 The pious and ufeful Inftruclions, which are given to 
 the iame End by the Fathers of the Church, both by 
 Precept and Example. And Thirdly^ The great and 
 uncommon Piety and Goodnels of the firft Chriftian 
 Emperours in this Particular. And Firft ^ The great 
 Zeal and Care, which the Primitive Chriftians mani- 
 fefted for the Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day^ 
 will appear from the many Wife and excellent Laws 
 and Canons which were made by them to this good 
 Purpofe. And many of thefe Laws are ftill preferved 
 in the Tbeodojian and Juftinian Codes ^ and the Canons 
 of the Church are to be leen in the Kiftory of the 
 Councils. And out of both of them there are many 
 good Collections made by Dr Cave (i), Mr Bingham 
 (k), and feveral other Learned Writers. It may not 
 be improper to fet before the Reader fome of the Chief 
 and Principal of them. Thus, in the Firft Place, that 
 
 the 
 
 (b) Bingham^s Antiquities, Vol. JX. lib. xx. cap. ii. ■§. i. 
 (?) Primitive C iriltianitv. Part I. chap. vii. 
 [k) Anrionities of the Chnlliaii Church, Vol. IX. lik xx. 
 (ha '. ii. 
 
Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 40 1 
 
 the Lord's Day might be obferved with the greater So- 
 lemnity and Veneration the lirft C/^r^/^;^ Emperours 
 ordered all ihtHeathenCouns to befhutup, and forbad 
 all Judicial Proceedings at this Time, except in fome 
 Cafes of great NcceiTity and Charity (I). 
 
 Secondly^ They prohibited all Secular and Servile 
 (}n) Works and Labours, except in Cafes of the like 
 Nature. And whereas it was allowed by Conjiantine 
 the Great ^ that Country-men might at this Time follow 
 their Works of Hufbandry, elpecially in the Seafons 
 of Earing and Harveft ; yet this was afterwards in a 
 great Meafure reftrained, and condemned by many of 
 the Fathers C;;^, and alfo by feveral of the ancient 
 Councils. 
 
 'Thirdly^ All public Shews and Spe5iacles'wttQ on this 
 Day forbidden by the ancient Chriftian Emperours^ Fa- 
 thers and Councils j and all Ludicrous Sports^ Games. 
 and Recreations were reftrained by them. And where- 
 as many of the Jews of their Times did ufe to fpend 
 ihoix Sabbath m^ngmg ^nd dancings and in fenfual Plea- 
 fures ^iuch. as drinking^ bajiquet ting, and the like, (0) in- 
 ftead of fpending it in Sobriety and Modefty and hear- 
 ing of the Word -, there are many Paflages of the an- 
 cient Fathers, in which they are levcrely reproved for fo 
 doing (p): And this I choole to obferve at this Time, 
 not only as an Eminent ExpreiTion of the Zeal and 
 
 D d Piety 
 
 (/) Cave il'id. Bingham /^/V. §.2. 
 
 (///) Bingham zW. §. 3. 
 
 (;;) A z'efpera diei Sabbati Ufque adFefrCrcrh did Domini ci fe^ 
 quejlrati a Ruraii opere & ab omni negotioy foli ctiltui divino vacemui* 
 Aug. de Tempore, Serm, 251. See alfo Bingham, ibid, in which 
 there arc many other Citations out of the Ancients to this Pur- 
 
 poCs. 
 
 {0) Vid. Spem. de Leg. Hcbr: Lib. i. cap. v. §. 10. mP'ol.l. 
 p. 79. 
 
 [p] Vid. Ignat. Ep. ad MagneftatmSy and Bingham ibid, in which 
 the Reader may find many Paffages (quoted by him on this Occa- 
 fion. 
 
402 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Piety of the antient Chrtftiansy but alfo becaufe it will 
 inconteftably refute an abfurd and pernicious Pofition 
 of Dr Hcylin (in which I beheve there are very few 
 Perfons of the leaft Degree and Meafure of Piety and 
 Devotion who will join with l-iim) viz. xh^x whatever 
 thing is fit for any Day^ is of itfelf as fit for Sunday (([), 
 For certainly Public Sports^ Games, Spe^iacles, Singings 
 Dancing, and the like, may be in themfelves very law- 
 ful and innocent, though they may not be proper and 
 feafonable on the Lord's Day •, not only as they would 
 too frequendy interrupt the Religious Dudes of the 
 Day, but alfo as by the very Nature of them 
 they are " too apt to dilTolve the Minds of Men 
 *' into Mirth and Pleafure, and to carry them 
 *' off from all ferious Thoughts of God and Re- 
 '^ ligion, and from the Meditation of another 
 *' World," as a very pious Prelate has juflly obfer- 
 ved (r). And the Ancient Writers of the Church 
 did not only condemn fuch Public Sports, Games, 
 Spe6tacles, Paflimes, ^c. upon the Lord's Day, on 
 the Account of their Excefs and Extravagancy, and 
 the indecent and JhamefulM^Lnn^Y in which they were 
 too often reprefented, as Dr Heylin fuggefls (s) ; but 
 alfo as they were fubverfive of the Religious Duties 
 of the Day, and manifeftly inconfiftent with that Spi- 
 ritual and Divine Manner in which It ought to be ce- 
 lebrated •, as the Reader will fully perceive, if he will 
 confult the Pafiages cited by Dr Heylin himfelf, and 
 thofe produced by Mr Bingham (t) on this Occafion. 
 And what that Manner was, the fame very Learned and 
 Pious Writer hath truly informed us in his Account 
 of the Behaviour of the Primitive Chrifiians upon this 
 
 Day : 
 
 (q) Fey lift on the Sabbath, Part II, p, f 2l 
 (r) Tifhtfon Vol.1, p 460. 
 {s) Heylin ibid. p. %j. 
 \i) Biifgham ibia. §. 3.- 
 
Religious Obfervatlon of the Lord's Day. 403 
 
 Day: " They, faith he^ paid a ready and conflant 
 *' Attendance upon all the Offices and Solemnities of 
 " public Worfliip ^ and did not only reft from Bodi- 
 '* ly Labour and Secular Bufmefs, but fpent the Day 
 *' in fuch Employments as were proper to fet forth 
 " the Glory of the Lord, to v/hofe Honour the Day 
 '' was dedicated (?■/)." And as the Primitive C/^r^/^z/j 
 did manifell their great Regard to the Lord's Bay by 
 the many Excellent I^aws and Canons made by them 
 for the Religious Obfervadon of it. So in the, 
 
 Second Place^ There are many pious and ufeful In- 
 flruclions given to the lame Purpofe by the Fathers 6i 
 the Churchy both by way of Precept and Example 5 
 Ibme few of which it may not be amifs to fet before 
 the Reader. Thus Ignatius (or whoever {x) elfe be 
 the Author of the Epiftle to the Magnefians^ which by 
 Eufebius and Jerom and fome Learned Modern Critics 
 (y)^ is reckoned among the Genuine Works of this 
 Apoftolical Father) having cenfured the Manner in 
 which many of the Jews (z) kept their Sabbath (which ^ 
 
 Dd 2 as 
 
 {u) Bingham ibid. §. iilt. 
 
 [x) M)]K,kTt TttCCdLTt^ovV'i ^US'ctUu;. &c. Nee hie quicquam 
 quod non ihsculo Igr.atiano applicari poffir j Qi}o, fine dubio, uc 
 Judaica quiecis ^abbatique Mofaici Obiervatio abrogata rite credi 
 debuit; fic & Spirit ualis Sabbati'zandi ratio, Meditatio kgis, Crea- 
 tionis grata Cogitatio 6.\ti feptitno fatis confentanea opera vila lant 
 lit & Diei Dominieai (aliis omnihus, imo ipli Sabbato praeferenda!) 
 Fejiiva Celebratic, Relurrefiionis ChrijVt Commcmcratio nee triflis, 
 nee ingrata. Hammond, ad-j. Blonde!^ Divert. II. cap, iv. 
 
 ( y ) yid. Caze Hijf. Literar. Vol. I. />. z6. 
 {%) I fay man;^ of the Jews ; finee it eannot be thought that 
 thole PafTages oi Ignatius, J^fiii'i ymrtsr, MgnHin or other ancient 
 Fathers cf the Church, who accufe the Jews of {pending their 
 Sabbath in Drinking, and Banqueting, and Dancing, and other Tem- 
 poral Delights and Recreations, are (as ibme Perfons may imagine) 
 to be underitood of the whole Body of thatPeople,or the greatefl Part 
 of them For in the firlt Place there are ieveral of the Roman Writers 
 {V d.Suet. inOaai'.cap. 76. Per/. S.t. 5./. 184 Juji- lib. 36.) who 
 particularly obferve^ that it was cuUomary with the Jews to tali: 
 
 upon 
 
404 A Difcotirfc concerning the 
 
 as was before remember'd, was frequently obferved by 
 the firft Chriftians together with the horde's Day) viz, 
 by fpending the Time in Eating, and Drinking, and 
 Bodily Pleafures *, fhews them how and in what Man- 
 ner fuch a Holy Day, which is dedicated to God's 
 Honour and Worlliip, ought to be celebrated by them. 
 " Let every one of us (fays he) ktep tht Sabbath Spiri- 
 *' tually^ delighting in the Meditation of the L aw, not 
 '' in the Eafe of the Body, admiring the Works of 
 *' God, not indulging ourlelves in delicious Banquets, 
 *' in fofter Drinking and Dancings, which do not im- 
 *' prove the Underftanding {a)'^ So 'Ahjuftin Mar- 
 tyr tells us, that the Manner in which the Primitive 
 Chriftians celebrated the L^JriV 2)^3' was " in Aflem- 
 '' bling together, in reading the Holy Scriptures, in 
 '' preaching and hearing of the Word, in Divine 
 *' Meditation, in Praifes and Thankfgivings, and in 
 *' Charitable Colleddons for the Poor, according to 
 
 every 
 
 upon their ^ahhath. And tho' indeed a very learned Man and great 
 Critic [Caf<iuhon in Annot. in Suet, ihi.'i,) is of Opinion, that by 
 the Sabbath m thofe Pbces is not to be iinderllood the feventb 
 Day cf the Week, but the whole Week itfelf ; which in Luk, xviii, 
 12. and other Texts of Scripture is often called by that Name, 
 as was before obferved in p. 6, 7. (notwitliftandinglie acknowledges 
 that the Snbbath D^v was celebrated by the Jezifs with great \^ene- 
 ration) yet I fee no Reafon at all to be of his Mind, neither does 
 Dr Heyli7i himfclf underftand them fo, but thinks they relate to tha t 
 Cuftom of the Jews, which was to faft on their Sabbath DaySy. 
 until their Religious AfTcmblies were difmifled ; which as Jofe- 
 /li'/zi intimates, was ufually done about AW V. [Vid, Hifl, of Sabb» 
 Part. I. chap, v, §. 8.) And then Secondly^ It appears plainly 
 from theTellimony ot Agatharchidcs before cited (in p. 67.) that 
 it was the general Pradlice of the Jezvs to employ their Sabbath in 
 Devotion and Prayer. And Philo {in lib. 3. de Fit. Mojts] takes No- 
 tice, that the Cuftom received from their Anceitors of confecrating. 
 that Seafon to the Study and Contemplation of Heavenly Things 
 continued to his Days. And it does not fcem to me to be agree- 
 able to the Hiftory of that People to think othcrwife Qf them in 
 any Age of the World ever fmce that Time, 
 {a) EpiJ}. ad Magnefiaiios. 
 
Religious' Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 405 
 
 *' every ones ^Ability (^)." And in another PJace, 
 obferving the Errour of fome Jews in thinking that 
 they had fufficiently performed the Rehgion of their 
 Sabbath by fpending the whole Day in Idlenefs and 
 Rett ; he tells them, that '* they did not iinderfland 
 " the End and Defign for which the Sabbath was in- 
 '' ftituted and appointed (<:)." Clemens Alexandrinus 
 fhewing how a good Chriftian obferves the hordes 
 'Day according to Chrift's Gofpel, tells us it is by 
 calling out of his Mind all evil Thoughts, and enter- 
 taining all fuch as are good (d). And St Origen fpeak- 
 ing of the Manner in which the Chriflians fiiould keep 
 their Sabbath fays, " it is by abftaining from all 
 *' Worldly Works and Labours, and giving them- 
 " felves up to Spiritual Exercifes -, by repairing to 
 *' the Church, and attending to Divine Reading and 
 *' Inftruftion *, by thinking of Heavenly Things, and 
 " being concerned for their Future Happinefs ; and 
 " letting dieir Thoughts dwell earneftly and intently 
 *' upon a Future Judgment (^)." St Jerom com- 
 mends the Egyptian Monks ^ *' in that they had de- 
 " ligned the Lord's Day wholly to Prayer and the 
 '' Reading of the Scriptures (/).*• St ^^/;/ fpeak- 
 ing of the Loni's Day fays, " This Day is called 
 *' the Lord's Day, that in it Refraining from all 
 " Earthly Works and Worldly Pleafurcs we fhould 
 " only give up ourfelves to the Service of the Lord. 
 " Let us therefore, fer)is he^ Brethren, obferve the 
 " Lord's Day and fandcify it, as it was of Old com- 
 '* manded them concerning the 5^i'to/>(^-)-" -^"d 
 to fay no more, St Chyfojiom^ who is one of the belt 
 
 D d 3 and 
 
 (3) JpoUg. I. 
 
 [c) Dialog. £um Trypbo. Part L 
 
 (tt) Clem, Alex. Stnm. lib vii. 
 
 y) Ori^ei in Numer. cap. xxz'iii. BmuL XXI I h 
 
 (f) Hieronym ad Eupcb tim. 
 
 (g-) Jug, de Tempore. Serm. 251. 
 
4o6 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 and moft valuable of all the Fathers, exprefles him- 
 felf thus; " God hath from the Beginning given us 
 " this Inflru6lion, to feparate one whole Day in 
 *' every Week to Divine and Spiritual Exercifes (/??)." 
 And again , " Let us prefcribe this as an immoveable 
 " Law to ourfelves, our Wives and Children, to fet 
 " afide one Day in the Week to hearing and to the 
 ^' laying up of Things heard (/)." And in the fame 
 Homily (as was before taken Notice [k) of) he blames 
 the People of his Time very feverely for betaking 
 themfelves immediately, when Divine Service was end- 
 ed to Secular Cares and Worldly Pleafures ; inliead 
 of reading the Scriptures, and Meditating upon the 
 Word and comparing it with them, and making a 
 due Application thereof to the State and Condition 
 of their Souls. Thefe were the pious Thoughts and 
 Sentiments of the Ancient Fathers of the Church 
 concerning the Religious Oblervation o^tht Lord's Day -, 
 to which Teftimonies many more might be added, 
 if it were neceflary. And in the 
 
 'Third and lafi Place^ We Ihall find the fame Re« 
 gard and Veneration paid to this Day by the firfl 
 Chriftian Emperours. This may appear in fome 
 Meafure from what hath been juil now obferved, con- 
 cerning the many wife and good Laws made by them 
 for the more devout Celebradon of this Holy Seafon, 
 And to thefe I will only add an Obfervation or two 
 of our Learned DrC^'i;^(/), which he hath taken 
 from Eilfehius\ fourth Book of the Life of Conftan- 
 tine^ and from the Codes of Theodoftus and Juflinian, 
 Thus fays he, " No fooner was Conftantine the Great 
 " come over to the Church, but his Principal Care 
 ''' was about the Lord's Bay -, he commanded it to 
 •' be obferved y^/^;;7/7/y, and that by all Perfons what- 
 
 *' foever. 
 
 {b) Chnf. in Horn, II. ^ X. /// Gene/. 
 
 (/^ Horn. V. /'•/ ^fatt. 
 
 [k) Pan- n. p. 217, which fee, 
 
 (/; Cuviz Primitive Chrifliajiity, Part I. chap, vii. 
 
cc 
 
 Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 407 
 
 * * foever. He made it to all a Day of Reft ; that 
 '' Men might have nothing to do but to Worlhip 
 '^ God, and be better inftrLid:ed in the Chriflian 
 *' Faith, and to fpend dieir whole Time, without 
 *' anything to hinder them in Prayer and Devotion, 
 '' according to the Cuftom and Difcipline of tlie 
 '' Church. And becaufe, there were many in his 
 ^' Army who yet remained in Heathenifm^ he com- 
 '' manded them upon the hordes Day to go out into 
 *' the Fields and pray to God. And that they might 
 '^ not pretend they were unable to perform that Duty, 
 '' he himfelf compofed and gave them a ^.oxx: Form 
 " of Pw'fr, which he commanded them to ufe every 
 ^' Lorc^sDay : So careful was he that tbis Day fliould 
 " not hQ di/honoured or misemployed by thofe who were 
 " yet Strangers and Enemies to Chriftianity. He 
 likewife ordained, that there fhould be no Courts of 
 Judicature open on tbis Day (as they had ufed to 
 " be) nor any Suits and Trials at Law ; tho' for 
 '' Works of Mercy andNecefllty he made allow- 
 " ance, as feveral of the Antient Writers likewiie 
 " did. His Pious Example was herein followed by 
 " Tbeodojius the Great ^ Vv^ho exprefly by Law prohi- 
 '' bited all public Sbews upon the Lord^s Day •, diat 
 " the Worfhip of God might not be confounded with 
 ^' thofe Profane Solemnities. Which Law was a few 
 " Years after confirmed and enlarged by ^beodofius fhe 
 •' Younger ; who enacled, that on the hordes Day (and~ 
 ' on fome other FePcivals there mentioned) not only 
 '' Chriftians but even Jews and Heathens fliould be 
 '■ refcrained from the Pleafure of all Sights and Spc/fa- 
 ' des^ and that the Theatres fliould be ihut up in 
 ' every Place. And whereas it might fo happen, 
 ■' that the Birth-day or hianguration-day of th^e Empe- 
 ' ror might tall upon that Day •, therefore to let the 
 ' People know how infinitely he preferred the Llonpur 
 ' of God before the Concerns of his ov/n Majefty 
 ' and Greatnefs, he commanded that if it fliould lb 
 D d 4 kippen, 
 
4o8 A Difcoiirfe concerning the 
 
 ^' happen, that then the Imperial Solemnity fliould 
 '' be put off and deferred nil another Day ^ So crr^^it 
 *' a Regard had this and the other Chrifilan Fmpe- 
 '^ rcrs to the Honour and Worfliipof God, and the 
 '' Religious Obfervation of this Holy Sealbn." And 
 the iame Care, that the Lord's Bay fhould be duly cc- 
 -kbrated and m no wife profaned, either by iccu'ar 
 Bufinels or by vain Sports and Paftime3,was taken by 
 VaUntiraan, Arcadius^ and others, who fucceeded them 
 in the Empire, as may be feen in Codke dc Feriis. 
 
 And thus much concerning theSenfe and Judgment of 
 the VumimtChriftians in the firft and pureft Ages with 
 Relation to the Manner of obferving and celebratincr 
 the Lord's Bay. There is nothing more remaining 
 but to lay bebre the Reader the Thoughts and Scnti- 
 ments ot the Divines of our own Church upon the 
 fame Point. Now that which I think might be fuffi- 
 cient in this Cafe is one of the Canons of our Church, 
 (N^ 3.; which requires not only an '' Attendance upon 
 '^ the Church on all Sundays and other Holy Days 
 *' and receivii,'g the Sacra?nent ^N\icn adminiftred ;" but 
 alfo " the Private Exercife of Devotion, the acknow- 
 ^^ ledging of our Sms to God, and amendment .of the 
 '' fame -, the reconciling ourfelves charitably to thofe 
 '' whom we have ollended ; thevifidng the Sick and 
 ^' roor,and ufing all /^^^r ^W^^/^- ConverfationrAli 
 whicii Inftancesof Duty, whether they can polTibly be 
 confitccnt with the common Cuffom of jpending the 
 Ijprd[sBuy in Company, and Drinking, and Worldly 
 Pieaiurc, I leave it to any Man to judge. And that 
 which oiight m all Reafon to render diis Canon of 
 greater Force and Obliganon with us, is this Confi- 
 deration •, viz, that it is not the Sendments of a few 
 Divii.es only of a particular Se^ or Pany, but the 
 Judgment of the whole Reprefentative Body of the 
 Clergy afiembled in Convocadon, approved and con- 
 u^^ ^ ^^'^ ^"^^^^ Authority. But I will not leave 
 the leitimony of our Church wholly upon this Ca. 
 
 non 4 
 
Religious Obfervatio?! of the Lord's Day. 409 
 
 mn% but (hall proceed farther to obferve, that the beft 
 and moil Learned of our Writers have ever" mani- 
 fefted the lame Senfe and Judgment in this Mat- 
 fer. And here I could eafily fhew, if it were necefiTary 
 that many of thofe Learned Perfons, v/ho have been 
 thought to detrpu^ too much from the Divine Au- 
 thority and Inftitution of the Lord^s Day^ have yet 
 declared it to be very meet and proper that Chriftians 
 iliould on this Bay abandori their Worldly Affairs, 
 and dedicate it wholly to the } ionourof God ; and 
 that they who obferve the Lord's Day in that Manner 
 are highly to be elleemed and commended •, and that 
 iince the Church has commanded it to be kepi holy 
 in Imitation of the Apofcles, it ought therefore to 
 be fpent in pious Offices and in godly Converfation : 
 Vs/'hich is the Judgment of the Learned Brerewood, 
 Archbiihop Bramhall^ Bifhop 'Taylor and others. But 
 I will not' trouble the Reader with any PaiTages out; of 
 them at prefent. If he hath a Mind to know their 
 Opinion and Judgment upon this Point, let him con- 
 fult the Pallages cited in the Margin {m). I l]:iall only 
 produce the Tedimonies of fuch Learned Writers of 
 our Church, who acknowledge the Divine Authori- 
 ty and Inftitution of the Lord's Day^ and contend for 
 the Religious Obfervation of it in the Manner I have 
 laid down. And there are fo many Teflimonies to be 
 found in them to this Purpofe, that it would be an 
 endlefs Thing to recite them all. I fhall therefore 
 mendon only feme of the chief and principal of them, 
 and iiich as are taken from thofe Writers which are 
 mofl commonly knov/n and eiteemed among us. 
 
 I will begin with Dr Hammond^ a Perfon of the grea- 
 teft Piety as well as Learning. And this excellent Au- 
 thor after he had fliewn xkvtFitnefs of fetnng apart fome 
 Time for the due Celebration of Divine Offices, and 
 
 __^^ had 
 
 [m] Vid. Brcrcwood Trad. I. Bramhall's Works, p. 917, 934. 
 7aylor'i Dufi. Vubitant Book II. chap. ii. p. 276, &c, Spenc 
 • de Lc^. Uebr, Vol. I. p. g6. 
 
4 lo A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 had inanifelled the Obligation of the Lord''s Bay^ pro- 
 ceeds to enquire how this Day ought to be obferved ? 
 jAnd his Anfv/er is, " to the Pradlice and Advance- 
 *^ ment of Piety, not only in public Worfhip, but 
 *' alio in private Reading, Prayers, Thankfgiving and 
 *• Meditation (;/j, ^r." The next Author that I fhall 
 mention upon this Occafipn is the Pious and Learned 
 Dr H. More. After he had been fliewing the great 
 Benefit and Advantage of Retirement from the Bufi- 
 nefs of the World, and the Opportunity of fearching 
 more clofely into the State and Condition of Mens 
 SjuIs, he proceeds thus •, " And for this Purpoie the 
 " Obfervation of every Se^ueitthDay Ihould be invlola- 
 '' hle^ not to be profaned by either Secular Employ- 
 *' ments or Foolilh Paflimes •, but fpent in Religious 
 *' Exercifes either Public or Private : Not as pla- 
 *' cing any Sandlity in Bays^ but in laying hold of 
 *' fo good an Opportunity for the compleating the 
 ^' Work of Godlinefs in us, and Meditadng^upon 
 *' the Infinite Goodnefs of God in the Creation and 
 *' Redempticn of Mankind (^)." The next Tef- 
 timony that I fhall produce is that of the very Learned 
 and Pious Dr Barrow ; who not only obferves that it; 
 i<f fit that certain Times fhould be allotted for the pub- 
 1 c and folemn Performance of Religious Duties, but 
 alfo tells us in what Manner we fhould keep the Sab- 
 bath Day, viz. '' In frequently calling to mind and 
 " conlidering the great and glorious Works of God 
 " in the Creation of the World and the Redemption 
 *' of Mankind. In ref training ourfelves in theProle- 
 *' cudoii of Wordly Bufinefs, allowing ourfelves fuf- 
 " ficient Tiine for the Exercife of the Mind, ^r. 
 ^' In ufing the fame Indulgence towards our Children 
 
 " and 
 
 (Ji) Hammond's Praaical Catechifm, Book II. ^ 12 \\ 196. 
 See alfo, a Pafiage to the fame Purpofe in his DillbrLations againi!: 
 ^/<9'//^/ before cited, p. 403. 
 
 {0) Grand Myilery of Godlinefs^ Book x. chap. sIy. $ iS» 
 
Religious Obfervatio7i of the Lord's Day. 41 1 
 
 ^' and Servants, that their Lives may be eafy and 
 *' comfortable here, and that they may alfo have 
 ^' the Means of obtaining for themfelves a Happy 
 " Lnmortality hereafter. Nay, and even in being 
 " tender towards the dumb Beads -, for this Reafon 
 " among others, viz. becauic God m.ade them (/>), 
 " ^^." An excellent Obfervation indeed ! and v/hich 
 too many Perfons among us have the greateft Reafon 
 to take Notice of, on Account of their (hameful Barba- 
 rity and Cruelty towards the poor dumb Creatures, and 
 their expofing them frequently to unnecelTary Hard- 
 fhips and Scverides even upon the Lord's Day, The 
 next Teftimony that I Ihall urge is that of the very 
 pious and judicious Dr Scott ^ in his incomparable 
 Treadfe of the Chriftian Life •, who, after he had 
 fhewn the NecefTary Duty and Inefliimable Ad- 
 vantages of attending upon the public Worihip on 
 
 the Lord's Bay^ adds tl^efe Words " Ef- 
 
 ^' pecially, if when the public Ouices are over we 
 
 ^' would not let loofe ourfelves all the reft of the Day 
 
 *' (as we too frequently doj to our Secular Cares and 
 
 '' Diverfions, and thereby choak thofe good Inftru- 
 
 ^' d:ions we have heard, and ftifle thofe devout and 
 
 " pious Affections which have been raifed and ex- 
 
 ^' cited in us ; but inftead of fo doing we would de- 
 
 '' vote at leaft fopie good Portion of it to the Inftru- 
 
 " 5lion of our Families, and to the private Exercife 
 
 '^ of our Religion, to Meditation and Prayer^ to the 
 
 '' Examination of ourfelves concerning our paft Be- 
 
 *' haviour, and the re-inforcing our Refolution to be- 
 
 " have ourfelves better for the future •, If, I fay, we 
 
 *• would thus fpend our Lord's Day^ we fhould doubt- 
 
 '* lefs find our lelves better Men for it all the Week af^ 
 
 ^' ter\ we fhould go into the World again v/ith 
 
 *' much better AfFedions and fironger Refolutions^ 
 
 " with 
 
 (/)) Dr ^^rr^w's Works, Vol. 1. p. 527, kc. 
 
412 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 *' with our Graces more vigorous^ and our bad 
 *' Inclinations more reduced and tamed ; and whereas 
 " the Jews were to gather Manna enough on the Sixth 
 *' Day to feed their Bodies on the enfuing Sabbath 
 ^^ we fhould gather Manna enough upon our Sabbath^ 
 *' to feed and ftrengthen our Souls d\\ the Six Days af- 
 *' ter (^)." The next Author whom I fhall 
 cite on this Occafion is the great and renowned 
 Archbifhop ^illotfon^ whofe Exemplary Piety and 
 Learning are v/ell known. His Words are thefe : 
 ^' The Magiftrates of the Land are much to be 
 '* blamed for not putting the good and whole- 
 *' feme Laws made againft Vice in Execution ; as 
 '* againll the Profanation of the Lord's Day by fe- 
 *' cular Bafmefs, by vain Sports and Pallimes, 
 *^ which by the very Nature of them are apt to 
 *^' dilolve the Minds of Men into Mirth and Plea- 
 *' fare, and to carry them off from all fcrious 
 *^ Thoughts of God and Religion, and from the 
 *' Meditation of another World ; and to give the 
 *' Devil an Opportunity (which he never fails to 
 *^ take) to ileal the good Seed, the Word of God, 
 '^ which they have heard that Day, out of their 
 '^ Hearts, and to make it of none Effed ; and which 
 *' is yet worfe, by lewd and finfu] Practices, v.'hidi 
 '' are unlav/ful at any Time, but upon this Day are 
 *^ a double Breach and Violation of God's Law (r)" 
 In v;hicn Words you fee how juflly fevere this emi- 
 nently pious and good Man is againft the Sin of pro- 
 faning the Lonh Day, What Opinion he likewife had 
 of die (Iricl: Neceflity of a Religious Obfervation of 
 this Holy Day is evident from another PafTage of his 
 W^ritii.gs in thefe Words following. " Seeking the 
 *' Kingdom of God and the Righteoufnefs thereof 
 *' implies inceifant Care and Diligence that we make 
 *' Religion our Bufinels at all Times^ but efpecially 
 
 (^) Chriltjan Lilc, Vol. I. p. 203, 294, 
 (r) Tillod"on, Vol. I. P.46Q. 
 
(t 
 
 «:c 
 
 Religms Objervation of the Lord's Day. 413 
 
 *' on the Lord's Day •, which God liath taken to 
 *' Himlelf, and kt apart for the Duties of His 
 '' Worfliip and Service. Not that we are excufed 
 from minding Religion at other Times ; but that 
 thofe who are prefi; and ftraitned by the necel- 
 fary Cares of this Life may be fure to mind ' it 
 '■' then, and may have no Colour of Excufe for 
 *' die Negled of it at ibat Time, which God hark 
 allotted for that very Purpofe, and which it is un^ 
 lawful to employ about our Worldly AtFairs. God 
 " expecls that we fhould ferve Him at other Times, 
 ^' that we iliould live in an habitual Senfe of Him, 
 " and as 5<2te<?« expreffeth- it (Pr^i;. xxiii. 17) he in 
 " the fear of the Lord all the Day long •, fo as to be 
 " careful not to offend or tranfgrefs in any Thing, and 
 '' fo as to redeem all Opportunities for the Exerciie 
 *' of Piety and Devotion. But this Day He peremf- 
 '' torily challenges to ¥^iv!\{t\^ ', and expeds that we 
 '' fhould employ it in His Service, and dedicate it to 
 '' Religion, to the Contemplation of God and Hea- 
 '' venly Things, and the Care of our Immortal 
 '' Souls, with the fame Serioufnefs and Diligence, 
 '' as we do upon other Days Labour for the Bread 
 '' that perifheth ; and the lefs Leifure we have 
 *' upon other Days for this Purpofe, the more 
 '' entirely Ihould we conlecrate this Day to the 
 *• Purpofes and Dudes of Religion fij." The next 
 Author whofe Teftimony I fhall cite is that very Ex- 
 cellent and Judicious Prelate Archbifhop Sharps 
 whofe Words are thefe : " The Defign of fetting a- 
 " part i\it Lord' s Dny is, that all- Men fhould join ia 
 " the folemn Worfhip of God, that they fhould be in- 
 *' Itrucled in the Dotlrine of the Gofpel, that they 
 *' fliould be taught from God's Word what they are to 
 *' believe, and what they are to pradtice in order to their 
 '' Salvation. That they fhould have the Motives and 
 
 " Arguments 
 
 (;j TUlotfon. Vol.11, p. 277. See alfo Vol. I, p. 595' 
 
414 ^ Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 ' Arguments which the Gofpel offers for their Jiving 
 ' a Holy Chriftian Life fairly propofed to them, that 
 ' they fliould have an Opportunity of ferioufly think- 
 ' ing upon thefe Things, and examining the State 
 ' of their own Souls, and making new Refolutions of 
 ' living according to their Chriftian Profefiion, and 
 ' humbly imploring the Grace of God, that they 
 ' may pradice what they reiblve f/)." And a Iktle 
 lower, obferving the great Sin and Danger of fuch 
 Perfons who notorioufly violate and profane the Lord's 
 Bay^ he expreffes.himfelf thus ; " Thofe Perfons ' 
 *' that make no Confcience of obfefving the Lord's 
 *' T)a)\ as they rarely ever attain to a true Senfe of 
 '' Virtue and Piety, fo moft commonly they are given 
 " over to a Reprobate Mind, and do grow worie and 
 " worfe iu)'' The next Teflimony which I fhall 
 bring upon this Occafion is that of the moft Learned 
 and Judicious Primate Wake^ who in his Excellent Ex- 
 pofitionof our Church Catechifm to theQiieftion, 
 How are we to keep our Sabbath Day ? Returns 
 this Anfwer, " We are to confecrate it to 3. Religious 
 '' Reft^ by attending upon the Pz/Mr Service and 
 '* Prayers of the Church, and hearing God*s Word 
 •' read and preached there : By participating, as we 
 *' have the Opportunity, ofxhtHoly Sacrament : By 
 *' Private Prayer, Meditation, and Reading : By Works 
 " of Charity and IMercy : By taking ail the Care we 
 *' canto improve our own Piety, and to help other 
 " Men in the enlivening of theirs (x)J^ The next 
 Teftimony I ihall produce is that of that Learned and 
 Excellent Preacher Bifhop Atterhury, " No Man 
 " {faith he) ought to be {o deeply immerfed in the 
 •' Aff-iirs of this World, as not to be able to 
 " retire from them nozv and then into his Clofet, there 
 " to mind the Concerns of another* Every Day of 
 " his Life early or late fome Moments he may and 
 
 " muft 
 
 (/} Sharp's Sermons, Vol. IV. p- 317? i^'') ^'^^"^'^- P- 32 2' 
 
 (x) WakCi P- IG'4« 
 
Religious Ohfervation of the Lord*s Day. 4 r 5 
 
 *' mult find to beflow' this Way. The Lord's Day 
 " particularly is a Greal Opportunity of this Kind> 
 " which can never be wholly negledied without 
 *' Indevotion or even without Scandal (jy)." And how 
 abfolutely neceflary Divine Meditation is to a Religi- 
 ous Life in the Judgment of this Author, hath been 
 already fliewn in an Excellent Pafilige of his before 
 remembred (%). And that bethought the Religious 
 Obfervation of the Z.orJ*j D^jy does not only require 
 of every one perfonally to read the Scriptures, to me- 
 ditate on Divine Things and the like, but alfo to have 
 a due Regard to the great ' Duty of Family Lijiruc-^ 
 tion^ is evident from a Remarkable PafTage in his 
 Charader of the Lady Cutts^ with Relation to the 
 devout and religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day ; 
 an Example highly worthy of being followed by all 
 the Nobility 2iVid Gentry in Great-Britain. His Words 
 are thefe : " And in this Book of God ( the Bible ) 
 ' * llie was more particularly converfmt on God's Day ; 
 " a Day ever held facred by her, and v/hich there- 
 '' fore always in her Family wore a Face of D^vo- 
 •' tion Hiitable to the Dignity of it. It was truly a 
 " Djy of Reft to all under her Roof: her Sjrvants 
 " were then difmiffed from a good Part of their At- 
 " tendance upon her, that they might be at Liberty 
 *' to attend on their great Lord and Mafter, whom 
 " both fhe and they were equally bound to obey, 
 *' There was fuch a Silence and Solemnity 21 that Time 
 " obferved by all about her, as might have become 
 '' the Houfe of Mourning •, and yet fo much Eafs 
 " and Serenity vifible in their Looks ( at lead in her 
 *' Looks there was) that they who were in the Houfe of 
 " Feafting were not better fitisfied. Thus did Ihe 
 *' prepare and difpofe herfelf for the Enjoyment of 
 " that Perfed Relt, the Celebration of that Endlefs 
 
 " ^ahbatb 
 
 (y) Jfferl/ury^s Sermons, Vol. I. p. 351, 352, 
 (z) Sef ahve, Partll, «hap. iii. p. 283. 
 
4^6 A Difcourfe concerning 
 
 ** Sabbath flie is now entered upon (^J.'' The next Au- 
 thor, whofe Teftimony I ihall produce is the Learned 
 Dr Fiddes^ who having fhewn the Irjcifpenfabie 
 Neceflity of attending upon the Public Worlhip^ 
 with regard to the Private Religious Duties of the 
 Day, exprefTes himfeJf to this piirpofe •, " We ought 
 '' 2l\{o (faith he ) on thQ Lord's Day to employ our- 
 " felves conflantly in the' Pn'i;^// Exercifes of Re- 
 *' ligion ; in converfing with God by Prayer and 
 *' Meditation^ in r<?^J/V?^ good Books, and examining 
 *' into the 6*/^/^ of our Souls, and forming good Re- 
 *' folutions for our future Condud. And, 
 
 " Secondly, As xh^Lo'rd's Bay is a Day of Than kf- 
 ** giving for the Public or Private Mercies we have. 
 ** received from God •, it is a proper Exercife of it, 
 '* to perform A6ls of Mercy and Charity toothers, and 
 '' both with refped to their Souls and Bodies; To their 
 *' Souls, by teaching them the Fear of tl^e Lord, by 
 *' inftruding, by advifing, and admonilhing them. 5 
 *' efpecially fuch of them, as are under our more 
 *' Immediate Charge and Diredion. Tho' this indeed 
 *' is not to be confidered barely as an A61 of Charity, 
 " but as Matter of ftria and indifpenfable Duty, 
 '' which Parents and Mafters of Families can by no 
 '' means excufe them felves in the Breach or Omiflion 
 '' of. But I would on this Public Day of Joy and 
 ^' Thankfgiving to God for His Mani told Mercies, 
 " recommend to you alfo Ads of Mercy and 
 *' Benevolence to the Poor, ^c, 
 
 "' Thirdly, As the Lord's Day is a Day devoted to 
 '' the Service of God and Religion, let us take Care 
 to fandify it byaGodly andReligiousConverfation. 
 The Rule of the Apoftle, Eph, iv. 29. Let no cor- 
 rupt Cammunication come out of your Mouth, hut fuch 
 as may tend to the Ufe of edifying^ ought to be more 
 
 " carefully 
 
 {a) Atterburfs Sermon at the Funeral of the Lady C/////, ill 
 
 Vol. I. p.. 214, 215. 
 
 (6 
 
Religktis Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 417^ 
 
 '^ carefully obferved on a Solemnity (*} 5 one great 
 " End in the Inftitiition whereof was to free lis From 
 • '' the* Corruption which is in the IForld through Lufi,, and 
 *' to promote univerfal Piety and Happinefs. I do 
 *'' not hereby intend, that it is not incumbent on lis 
 " at all Times and in all our Difcourfe^ to keep 
 " with o;reat.Stricl:nefs- and Nicety to the Rules of 
 " our Holy Religiori, fo as never to offend by any 
 " idle JVord or Levity of Exp re (Ti on againft them : But 
 " my meaning is, that if we would fandiify this Holy 
 ". Day as we ought, and agreeably to the End of it's 
 " Inftitution •, we fhould not only avoid all Occafion 
 *' of Offence by a loofe or profane Convetfation, 
 *^ but endeavour to promote the San6lification of 
 " others, by making one proper and ufeful Truth of 
 " Religion or other the Subje6l of our Difcourfes, 
 i^c. {b) The next Teftimony I fhall produce is 
 that of the moft Learned and Excellent Dean Pri- 
 deaiix^ whofe Words are thefe *, *' Becaufe fuch Times, 
 '' as are devoted to the Service and Worfhip of God^ 
 " ought not to be profaned by being employed to any 
 '' other Work 5 but all ought the'fi to exercife them- 
 " felves in the Duties of Religion both ptMckly and 
 " privately ; the Church-Wardens are to fee that all 
 " fuch Times be duly obferved, efpecially the Z^r^*^- 
 " Bay^ which hath by God Himfelf been confecrated 
 '' to His Woriliip from the Beginning of the World. 
 " And becaufe many, indead of employing the Lord's 
 " Day in the Duties for which it was fet apart, are 
 " apt to fp^nd it in Idlenels and Loofenefs at Ale- 
 " }m{Jes:\.nd 'Taverns^ and other public Places of De- 
 E e *' bauchery . 
 
 (*) Verum non publice modo, fed (^ prk'fltim hunc ipfum { diem 
 dmihicum) f(in;:'is pietaiis exercitiis, Sec. l^ranftgendum cenfemus^ fe- 
 cundum illud Chmentis^ Neqiis Diebus Dominicis, qui lunt hilari- 
 tatis, prseter fanftitatem a'iquiJ dicers aut facere conccdimus, 
 B^nop. ^urior.Theolo^. Di/p. XXI. §. 58. 
 
 lb) Dr F:dJes'^ Sermons, 8vo, Vol. II. p. 116, wj^Seethi 
 Place. 
 
4i8 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 '' bauchery ; for the preventing hereof the Church- 
 '^ Wardens ought frequently on the faid hordes Days 
 *' to vifit fuch Houfes both in time of Divine Service 
 *' and alfo out of it. And if they find any tippling in 
 *' the fiid Houfes ,.rhey are to make them pay {c)^c^ 
 And then the Dodor proceeds to fhew the Legal For- 
 feitures and Penalties for fuch Tranfgreffions. The 
 next Author whom I fhall quote at prefentis that very 
 pious and excellent Perfon Mr Nelfon^ whofe ufeful 
 Book upon the Feafts and Fafts of our Church is de- 
 lervedly efteemed by every one. And to r^e Quef- 
 tion, Hoiv Chriftians ought to ohferve the Lorcl^s^ Bay? 
 this truly devout and pious Man returns Anfwer in 
 thefe Words. " It is not enough that we reil from 
 *' the Works of our Callings, but our Time muft 
 " be employed in all fuch Religious Exercifes as 
 '' tend to the Glory of God and the Salvation of our 
 *' Souls. We muft regularly frequent the Worfhip 
 *' of God in the Public AfTemblies, join in the Prayers 
 •' of the Church, hear His holy Word,, receive the 
 *' Blefled Sacrament when adminiftred, and contribute 
 *' to the Relief of the Poor, if there beany Colledion 
 '^ for their Support. In private we ought to enlarge 
 ** our Ordinary Devotions, and to make theSubjed of 
 ** them chiefly to confift in Thankfgiving for the 
 *^ Works of Creation and Redemption, withal con- 
 *^ fidcring all thofe particular Mercies wc have re- 
 *' ceive'd from the Bounty of Heaven through the 
 '' whole Courfe of our Lives ; To improve our 
 '' Knowledge by reading, and meditating on Di- 
 *' . vine Subjects •, to inftruft our Cliildren and Fami- 
 " lies •, to vifit the Sick and the Poor, comforting 
 *^ them by fome feafonable Afliftance. And if we 
 15 converfe with our Friends or Neighbours, to feafon 
 " our Difcourfe with prudent and profitable Hints for 
 •* the Advancement of Pietv, and to take Care that 
 
 (f) ?A/V^^iZA;'s Diredioiis to Church- Wardens, §. 12.13' 
 
Reiigioia 'Objer^oation of the Lord's Day. 419 
 
 ^* no Sournefs and Morofenefs mingle with our ferious 
 '' Frame of Mind {d)!*' The nextTeftimony which I 
 fhall produce is that of the very Learned Dr Samuel 
 Clarke^vf\'\o ipealiing of the Lord's Day exprefTcshimfelf 
 thus ; ■ '^ The Manner in which this Day ought to be 
 *' obferved among Chrifdans is, in attending the 
 *' Public V/orfhipof God, in hearing the Word, iri 
 " reading the Scriptures, in inlirudting and alTiiting 
 *' thofe over whom we have any Influence in the 
 " Knowledge and Pradice of their Duty. In a 
 " Word, It is to be fpent in Works of Neceffity 
 *' and in Works of Charity ; and in whatfo- 
 " ever tends without Superllition and without 
 *' Affe6t:ation to the Real Honour of God, and to the 
 " true Intereft and promoting of Religion and Virtue 
 
 " in the World. — The Extremes to be avoided 
 
 ** are on the one Hand (and which in the prefent Age 
 *' is by much the moft ufual and dangerous Extreme) 
 *' That Habit of fpending great Part of the Lord's. 
 *' Day in Gaming, and in other loofe and debauched 
 '' Practices -, which has been encouraged by Popery^ 
 *-' and vvhich has to numberlefs Perfons been the Cor- 
 " ruption of their Principles, and the entire Ruin of 
 *' their Morals, On the other Hand an afiecled Jti^ 
 *' dakal or Pharifaical Precifenefs, which ufuallypro- 
 '' ceeds from Hypocrify or from a want of under- 
 ^' Handing rightly the true Nature of Religion {e)'* 
 The nextTeftimony that I fhall cite isthatof the pre- 
 f rnt mod Learned and Pious Bifhop of London^ who in 
 his Paftoral Letter to the People of his Diooefe hath 
 given them a moft Ufeful and Excellent Diredion in 
 this Ma ten " T\it Lord" s Day (faith he) is to be ef^ 
 " tetmtd facred^ as being fandified and let apart for 
 *' ceafing from our Worldly Care and Labour, and 
 *' meditating upon G.:d3 and paying that Honour and 
 E e 2 '' Adoration, 
 
 !V) A'i?//?// on th? Feilivals, e^r. p. 20. 2 J. 
 e) Dr C/^M^'s iixp. of lije Cat:clurm, SvcJ p, 178, 179^ 
 
42 o A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 ' Adoration, which He requires of us, and which 
 
 * belongs to Him, as the Creator, Preferver and Re- 
 ' deemer of Mankind. The Devout and Serious 
 ' Obfervation of this Day is one of the mofl Effec- 
 ' tual Means to keepahve Rehgion in the World, 
 ' both in the outward Face of it and in the Hearts 
 ' and Lives of Chrijiians, And nothing is more cer- 
 ' tain, than that it would be quickly loft and extin- 
 ' guiflied among the Generality of Mankind, if it 
 ' were not kept alive by the Appointment of this 
 ' Day for reviving upon their Minds a Senfe of God 
 ' and their Duty. Wherefore let this be a Day not 
 ' only of Reft from Labour, but alio of Medita- 
 ' ting upon God and Heavenly Things ; partly in a 
 ' Devout Attendance upon the Public Offices of Reli- 
 ' gion, and partly by allowing a Reafonable Portion 
 ' of the Day to the private Dudes of reading the 
 ' Holy Scriptures and other good Books, and in- 
 ' ftruding your Children and Servants, and examin- 
 ' ing your own Lives, and praying to God for a 
 ' Supply of your own private Neceflldes, Spiritual 
 ' and Temporal. I fay, a Reafonable Pordon of the 
 ' Day, according to the Condition- of particular Per- 
 ' fons and Families. For they, who on all other Days 
 ' are confined to hard Labour, or are otherwife ob- 
 ' liged to aclofe Attendance on their Worldly Affairs, 
 ' muft be allowed in fome Meafure to conlider this^ as 
 ' a Day of Eafe and Relaxation from Thought and 
 ' Labour, as well as a Day of Devotion •, provided 
 
 * it be in a Way that is Innocent and Inoffenlive, and 
 ' that the Public OiRces of Religion be duly attended, 
 ^ and the Duties of a more Private Nature be not neg- 
 ' leded. But there are many others, whole Quality 
 ' and Condition have freed them from theNecelTity 
 
 * of a conftant Attendance upon Worldly Bufinefs, 
 ' and to whom all other Days are equally Days of 
 ' Eafe and Diverfion ; and from them it may well 
 ' be expeded, that they abftain from their Diverfions 
 
 '^ on 
 
'Religious Obfervation of the Lord's Day. 42 1 
 
 " on this Day, and employ it more ftri6lly in the Du- 
 " ties of Religion ; for which indeed they have greater 
 " Need than others to arm themfelves againil the 
 " manifold Temptations to which they are daily ex- 
 " pofed by Eafe and Plenty. And when they have 
 " better Opportunity and greater Need than the reft 
 '' of Mankind, to give a ftri6l Attendance upon the 
 " Dudes of Religion on this Day j if they do it not, 
 " it is much to be feared that they have a greater Re- 
 " lilh for the Delights and Bufinels of this World than 
 " for Exercifes of a Spiritual Nature (/)." The next 
 Teftimony I fliall mention is that of that Excellent 
 Preacher Dr hittleton ; who among other In llances of 
 the Reverence which we ought to fhew for Things 
 facred obferves, " That we fliould particularly pray 
 " to God, that He would erable us by His Grace to 
 " preferve an awful Regard to His Sabbath \ however 
 ''it is now proftituted and profaned by the Manage- 
 *' m^ent of our fecular Concerns, or by the no more 
 " innocent tho' lefs cenfiired Cufiom of employing it 
 "in idle and impertinent Vifits, and thereby fpending 
 " it in vain and unprofitable, if not wicked and un- 
 *' charitable Difcourfe (^)." The iaft Perlbn whofe 
 Teftimony I ftiall produce upon this Occafion (and 
 who indeed on Account of the Order of Time in. 
 which he lived, as well as the Peculiar Efteem and 
 Veneration which is due to him,, fliould have been men- 
 tioned among the P'irft, but whom I purpofely chofe 
 to referve to the Iaft Place, that what he lays may be 
 the more obferved and better remembt:r'd by the Rea- 
 der) is the moft Excellent and Pious Author of the 
 '£^c '^ Whole 
 
 (f) Firil Pafloral Letter, p. 45, 46, 
 
 (g) Sermons, Vol. II. p. igo. And what a mighty EiFcd the 
 Religious Obkrvation of the Sabbath would (in the jii'gment o 
 this Author^ have upon the Moral Bekivi.jur of Maukind, hath 
 been before obferved in an Excdlenc Paffage ciied out of him, 
 p, 197. 
 
422 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 Whole Duty of Man^ that kft of Books, ^s a very great 
 Critic (b) hath truly called it ; a Book that hath ever 
 been approved of by all good Judges, and univerfally 
 efteemed by all pious and good Chrijlians of what 
 Opinion or Perfwafion foever. And obferve now what 
 are the Thoughts and Sentiments of this very Excel- 
 lent Perfon concerning the Matter which I am now 
 fpeaking of. His Words are thefe ; " The horde's 
 ' Da}\ thus fet apart, is to be employed in the Wor- 
 ' ihip and Service of God •, and that, Firft, More 
 ' fqlemnly and publickly in the Congregation, from 
 ' which no Man muft then abfent himfclf without a 
 ' juil Gaufe. And, Secondly, Privately at Home, in 
 ' praying with and inftruding our Families, or elfe 
 ' in the yet more private Duties of the Clofet, a Man's 
 ' own Private Prayers, Reading, Meditation, and the 
 ' like. And that we may be at Leifure for tbefe, a Reft 
 ' from ail Worldly Bufmels is commanded -, there- 
 ' fore let no Man think that bare Relt from Labour is 
 ' all that is required of him on the Lord's Day, but 
 ' the Time which he faves from the Works of his 
 ' Calling he is to lay out in thofe Spiritual Dudes. 
 * For the Lord's Day was never ordained to give us a 
 ' Pretence oi Idlenefs, but only to change our Em- 
 ' ployment from Worldly to Heavenly ; much lefs was 
 ' it meant, that by our Reft from our Callings we ftiould 
 ' have more Time free to beftow upon our Sins, as 
 ' too many do who are more conftant on that Day at 
 ' the Alehoiife than at the Church : But this Reft was 
 ' commanded, Firfl, To fhadow out to us that Reft 
 ' from Sin, which we are bound to all the Days of 
 ' our Lives. And, Secondly, To take us off* from our 
 ^. Worldly Bufmels, and to give us Time to attend 
 ' the Service of God and the Need of our Souls (i)."' 
 Thus far the Author of the IVbole Duty of Man, And 
 ^ to, 
 
 [h] Till'Ajon, Vol. I. p. 26S. ^ 
 
 {•j Whole Duty of Man, chap. ii. § 17. 
 
Relkious Obfervationofthe Lord's Day. 423 ■ 
 ,0 the Temmonies here alledged o« of |^e Learned 
 Writers of «- ^hurcu mj o hem. § ^^^^^^,^^ 
 withoutNumber-, but^^iU n ^_^^ ^^^ 
 
 f N^TdTvery Srkable Paffage out o a 
 this Head a very ^ r ^^^^ partial to 
 
 late«.;.^ Wrter who am itu^^-^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^5^, 
 Religion •, and wh>ch w U be a great k p ^^^ ^^_ 
 
 Practice of many Thouiands mTiong m w ^^^._ 
 
 tentimes profeis a great Z^^1/"J- ^^^ f thus ; 
 
 " It i^ ^he f ^tn o^dTvI Service and Religious 
 « that IS fet aP^«/°^^^'J"„ from Bodily Labour; 
 " Exercifes, as well as reumo Maoiftrates to 
 
 <« and it is a Duty '"camb nt on all Ma ^^^^ 
 
 « take Particular Careot /^/P^J^^^^ ^^ 
 :: :K£ht Sf intet^^^^ and Af^noon 
 « £cS they have noTime on '^^^^^^Ji:^ 
 " cept and Example they ""S^^Ynfarcv Thf wilful 
 
 .. uffd to it /-\tto^raccitS/;.in and 
 " Negleft of It ought to be accountt j ^ j- 
 
 « allure or draw them ^--^'^ /' X, j p^opofed to con- 
 And thus I have gone thro f ^^^^P^^ewn the 
 fider upon this G««^ S«^J5.'?, and have tmg 
 
 perpetual Obligation °V>^'7„K in Memory oV 
 
 Week and k^epmg^it ^^^V' jf J'^'^ Vfled Savi- 
 the Creation of the World and ot o^ur ^^^^^^,^ 
 
 our'sRefurreftion trom the D^^^. A na ^ 
 
 the many and g-t Benefit and A<^ant^o^ ^^^, 
 Religious Oblervation ot the U>rA s u^y ^^^^^^^ 
 
 CC 
 
 Ee 4 
 
 a) EHay on Charity SCI.00IS, pubUil^cd wuh the fW. ^ 
 Bees, p, 35'- 
 
424 ^ Difccurfe concerning the 
 
 farther confidered the particular Manner, in which this 
 holy Day ought to be obferved and celebrated by all 
 Chriftians', and that from the Nature and Reaibn of the 
 Thing, and the plain Declarations of Holy Scripture •, 
 from the Tefiirnony and Practice of the Primidve 
 Chriftmis in the purefl: Ages ♦, from the particular 
 Appointment and Conftitution of our own Gover- 
 nours both in (?hurch and State •, and from the Senfe 
 and Judgment of many of the ijoifeft :i.nd great eft Men, 
 which our Church hath ever had fmce it v/as in Being. 
 All that I have now to add is to beg of all my Rea- 
 ders to take what hath been difcourfed of into their molt 
 ferious Confideration. And if there be any Truth in 
 Religion (as we are all at one Time or other ready to pro- 
 fcfs and acknowledge) I earnellly entreat them to re- 
 mem.ber, that the PrcfiJJion of Religion without the 
 Prague J the Form of Godlinefs without the Power of it, 
 will avail nothing. And fince, as hadi been clearly ancl 
 fully fhewn in the foregoing Lifcourfe, Religion ?^^^^- 
 rily requires fome CoyifideraMe Portion of our Time, not 
 only tor the Pubhc Worlhip of God, but alfo for tiie 
 Exercife of the Private Duties thereof-, therefore all 
 Perlbns, who are well difpofed and affeded to Reli- 
 gion, Ihould gladly lay hold of all Advantages and 
 Opportunities for thefe good Purpofes, and efpecially 
 that of the hordes Day, And moreover the horrible 
 and growirg Profanenels and Impiety of the prefent 
 Age ihould engage all fuch Perjons to ufe their ut- 
 moft Endeavours to put a Stop to it. And as nothing 
 will do this fo Effc5iiial!y^ nor tend fo much to am.end 
 and reform the Manners of Men, as fetdng them 
 a good Example, and letting their Light Jhine before 
 ihent', fo there is not any one Inilance, in which 
 their good Example will be of greater Benefit and 
 Service to the World than in the Conftant Re- 
 ligious Obfervation of the Lord's Day, both in the 
 Pubhc and Private Duties of it : efpecially if their 
 Lives and Converfations in all other Refpeds be 
 
 fuitabie 
 
Religious Obfervation of the LordVDay 425 
 
 iuiL-able to thoie, who make fueh an Outward and So- 
 lemn Prorclfior o( Religion and Piety. And fince 
 the Devait air.l Religions Ohfcrvatic): of this Day 
 would certaii ly have a Coniiderable Effed upon 
 the Morals oi the Nation and mighdly tend to xht 
 reclaiming of Sinners a.id bringing them, over to the 
 Pradlice of Virtue, if it were once encouraged and 
 countenanced by Numbers of Men, and c'pecially 
 thofc of Authority and Iniiuence ^ Methinks all Per- 
 fons Ihould be the more 1 eadily induced to fuch Re- 
 ligious Obiervation, not only as it is highly inftru- 
 mental and lubfervient to their own Improvement in 
 Piety and Virtue, but alio ao they will hereby be en- 
 titled, to that Exceeding and Immenie Reward, which 
 God hath promifed to thofe who turn many to Righte- 
 oufnefs, viT^, xhcy Jhalljhine like the Stars for ever and 
 ever. Dan. xii. 3. And as all Perfons among us 
 fhould be thus zealoufly concerned for the Religious 
 Obiervation of the Lordh Day for the Ends and Rea- ' 
 Ions before mentioned \ fo there are two Orders of 
 Men, • upon whom this Obligation is more efpecially 
 Incumbent, and who are more than ordinarily bound 
 to take Care, that thts Etoly Seafon be duly celebrated, 
 and that it be not in any wife profaned either hy 
 Secular Bufinels or Worldly Plealure. And I hope 
 they will not take it am.ifs, that I lay hold of this 
 Opportunity to put them in Mind of this great Du- 
 ty. And thefe are the Clergy^ and the Magiftrates of 
 the Land. And, 
 
 . F/r/?, As to the C/^r^^'. As they are the public Mi- 
 nifters of Chrift's Gofpel, they muft needs be fenfible, 
 that they are under the highed and flricleft Obliga- 
 tions to promote the Caule of Piety and Religion in 
 the World j and therefore fince the Devout and pious 
 Obiervation of the Lord's Day is fo great a Means 
 and Initrumcnt of Religion, that they ought more 
 particularly^ to take Care to initrucl their People in the 
 NccefTity of this Duty, and to let them a good Exam- 
 ple 
 
426 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 pie of it in their own Peribns. For otherwiie, if any 
 of that SacredOxA^x fhould be fo indifcreet and impru- 
 dent as to fpend this holy Day in keeping of Com- 
 pany and in Worldly Pleafare , it will be in vain 
 for them to expect, that it will ever be duly and reli- 
 gioufly oblerved by any Coniiderable Number of their 
 People. And for w-ant of this the Public Inftruclions 
 of the Cliurch will not only be entirely loft upon diem, 
 but they will debar themfelves of the glorious Oppor- 
 mnity of Reading the Scriptures, aiid Meditating upon 
 Divine Things, and other Religious Exercifes, to the 
 Apparent Ruin and Deft ru6lion of their Souls. - And 
 therefore fince tojanciify the Lord's D^y ^nd to keep it 
 devoutly is a Matter of fo great Importance and Confe- 
 quence to Religion {\i is to be hoped that the C/^r^j (and 
 efpeciallym this Degenerate and Licentious Age) will ufe 
 their utmofl Endeavours to perfuade all Men to^the Pious 
 and Religious Obiervation of it. And then, 
 
 Secondly ^A% to the Magillrates of the Land. As they 
 are entrufted with the Execution of the Laws made a- 
 gainii Profanenefs and Lmmorality; it may very rea- 
 Ibnably be expe6led, that in this Cafe efpecially ib.^y 
 ihould be more than ordinarily adive and vigilant, 
 where the Honour of God and the Intereft of Reli- 
 gion are fo deeply concerned. And indeed if the 
 Magiftrates of the Land vvould Refolutely in their feve- 
 ral Diflrids put in Execution the Laws againil pro- 
 faning the Lord's Day (v,^hich is now moft fliamehilly 
 and horribly violated in almoft every Town and Vil- 
 lage in the Kingdom) This would of itlelf go a very 
 great way towards retraining the Licendoufnefs and 
 Impiety of the Age, and amending and reforming the 
 Morals of the Nation. And therefore I fear they will 
 have a heavy Account to give to God at the kft Day, 
 if they negle61; to do it. A very Learned Writer (who 
 was as good a- Judge of the Obligation of Moral Dudes 
 as ever lived) hath laid it down for a Rtde and Maxim, 
 that they^ ivho have the Power of punijhing Vice^ are 
 
 wanting 
 
ReliglousObfervation of the Lord's Day. 427 
 
 rjoanting in their Duty^ if they only reprove it {I). If this 
 be true (as it certainly is in general) if Men become 
 guilty by only admonifhing of the Wicked, when they 
 have Authority to punilL them : Plow exceedingly 
 > great muft be the Guilt and Blame of many Perlons 
 among us of Eminent Authority and Station, who are 
 fo fir from ptinijhing or even cenfuring Men for their 
 heinous Crime in profaning the hordes Ikiy^ that they too 
 often fet them an Example of fo doing in dieir own 
 Perlons. But however Men may behave themfelves in 
 Public Stadons, fince, as the Apoitle fpeaks, every Man 
 muft hear his own Burthen -^ Gal. vi. 5. let this engage 
 us .all to be very careful and watchful over ourfelves, 
 that we do not injure our own Souls, nor contribute to 
 the Ruin and Deilru6lion of other Mens, by the Contempt 
 and Profanation of this Holy Seafon. 
 
 And fince the Obfervation of this Day is a Point, 
 in which the Honour of God and the very Life and 
 Being of Religion are fo nearly concerned ; there- 
 fore, kind Reader^ I beg of you to excufeme, if I 
 once more earneftly exhort you to confider this Matter 
 ferioufly; fince if what hath been delivered in the 
 foregoing Difcourfe, both from Scripture and Reafon, 
 and confirm'd by the Judgment of the wifeft Sindgreateft 
 Men,i}iould at lad prove Right and well founded; you 
 will not only render yourfelf highly Criminal by your 
 Profanation of this Day, but will alfo increafe and ag- 
 gravate your Guilt by giving Oifence and Scandal to 
 your Chriftian Bretheren ; the great Sin and Danger of 
 
 which 
 
 (/) Qi_n puniendi jus habent, ii moncncio tnntum, non defiin- 
 guntur Otiicio. Grot, in i Sam. ii. 23. To which \w\\\ add z 
 remarkable Saying of an ancient Writer of the Chnrch, viz.. Po- 
 telias magna &: potentiflima, qu^c inhibere fcclus maximum potell:, 
 qu^fi probat dcbere fieri, fi fciens patitur perpetrarf. In cujiis cnim 
 manu eft ut prohibeat, jubet agi, Ii non prohibet admitti. Sal- 
 vian de Gubernat. Dei, Lib, vii. p. zjz. 
 
428 A Difcourfe concerning the 
 
 which hath been before fully reprefented. Nay, if we 
 Ihould fuppofe the Cafe were Doubtful-, it would furely 
 be an Argument of greater Wifdom and Prudence, as 
 well as Piety, to err on the fafeft Side (;;/). And as for 
 thofe who are apt to be led into aNegled of this Z)///y, 
 in Contradi6lion to their own Opinion, merely thro' the 
 Cuftom ahdEvample of thofe they converfe with ♦, it 
 is highly necefTary to let fuch Men know, that it is an 
 Argument of a memt and bafe Spirit for a Man thro' 
 Cuftom and Complaifance to a6l contrary to the fettled 
 Periwafion and Judgment of his own Mind, and that it 
 is aplainTranfgreffion of that Wife and Excellent Law 
 which God hath given us, Exod. xxiii. 2. "Thoujhalt 
 not follow a Multitude to do Evil. And not only in this, 
 but in all other Inftances of fmfal Compliance, Men 
 fhould be put in Mind of that dreadful Obfervadon of 
 St John before remember'd, viz, that the E earful^ i. e. 
 they who thro' fear of human Punifhment, Cenfure, or 
 Contempt fhall tranfgrels any Part of God's Law, are 
 placed firft in the Difmal Catalogue of thofe who go 
 down to Perdition. Rev. xxi. 8. And to fay no more, 
 if Men were fure and certain, that they might lawfully 
 partake of their ufual Pleafures and Diverfions on the 
 Lord^j Day% yet fince fo many of the moil Pious and 
 Learned Men think otherwife, and not only the Con- 
 fdtutions of the Eitablifhed Church, but the Laws of 
 the Land alfo (which certainly ought to be the Rule of 
 their Obedience, Rom. xiii. 1,2. i Pet. ii. 13, l^c.) 
 have determined the Contrary; I think all Men ought 
 to {hew fo much Reverence and Regard for inch Public 
 Judgments ,,7\.'i to be content at fuch Time with the private 
 Enjoyment of their Pleafures in their own Houfes, and 
 to forbear the P//MV Exercife of them, left they fliould 
 give Offence, and their Example fhould prove of perni- 
 cious 
 
 [m) See akvfi p. 368,369. 
 
Religious Obfervaticn of the Lord's Day. 429 
 
 clon s Confequence to other Men . But however Men m ay 
 f4iink fit to ad in this Piirticular; the Time is foon co- 
 ming, when we fhall all be of one Mind and Judgment 
 in thisMatter. And tho' he, who now profanes the hordes 
 Bay in anyRefpe6l,will,I doubt not, repent of \x. fever ely 
 when he comes to die \ yet no Man will ever repent at 
 that Time that he obferved this Day too religioufy\ that 
 he went to Church too often •, that he fpent too much of 
 his Time \xiReadingx}iit Holy Scriptures, in thelnflruc- 
 tion of his Children and Family, in Meditating upon 
 Divine Things^ and [in preparing himfelf for Eternal 
 Life. 
 
 FINIS. 
 

 t V.o ] ' ■ -.^^' 
 
 A Jhort Prayef 'which may be ufed by any good 
 Chrifliaa on Sunday Marnitig, immediatel-.; 
 before he goes to Church. 
 
 OM O S T Gracious and Mercifol Lord God. 
 I befeech Thee pardon all my Sins, and 
 grant me Thy Grace fincerely to repent, and 
 to ferve and fear Thee in Newnefs of Life, through 
 Jefus Lhrijt our Lord. Amen. 
 
 And particularly at this Time I befeech Thee to -f- 
 fift me with Thy Holy Spirit, that I may behave my 
 felf acceptable m thy Sight. And now that I am 
 going to join in thy Worfhip, and to hear thy Holy 
 Word preached to me, grant thaf I rn;,Aeep my 
 Foot (a), when I enter into the Houfe of G<?^, and 
 confider in whofe Prefence I ftall appear ; and in a 
 juft Senfe of TJiy great Majefty and Perfections may 
 approach Thee with due and iuitable Affeftions, and 
 hear Thy Word with Attention and Reverence, and 
 prefentmyBody a livir^g Sacrifice holy and acceptable unto 
 fbee. Make all Orders of Men among us duly fen- 
 fible of the Obligation of tjiis Day, and grant that it 
 may no longer be profaned by Secular Bufinels and 
 Diverfions ; but that we may all make a Confcience 
 ct repairing at this Time to Thy Holy Church, and 
 may do our beft Endeavours to worfhip Thee widi 
 die utmoll Purity and Perfeclion., Grant me the 
 
 Grace 
 
 pi'i^lJ.'^'fA".' °*^^"^'ff '^-^ Foct figni.fe that R«'erence of 
 
 xvC ,1,™ ^''T" ^"'°"'' '''^'''^ "'"-^ '° P"= °^^'" Shoes, 
 ■ Vch >^''/'^ " ^'r~' i-nmoiiaie PreliiKe of Gci , of 
 
[43»1 
 
 Grace of thy Holy Spirit, to prelerve me at this time 
 from all wandering Thoughts and finfiil Imaginations, 
 and let not the Temptations of the Devil nor the In- 
 * firmity of my own Nature abate the Warmth and 
 Ferv^our of my Uevodons. Deliver me from all Care- 
 lefsnefs, Senfuality and Pride •, and grant that I may 
 give an humble and diligent Attendance upon thy 
 Holy Word. And that it may have the better Hffedt 
 upon me, grant, I bcfeech Thee, that I may have a 
 due Efleem and Reverence for it, and that I may trea- 
 fure it up in my Heart, and bring forth the good 
 Fruits of it in my Life and Converfation. And 
 when I have humbly offered up my Devotions to Thy 
 Divine Majeily, and been comforted widi the Hear- 
 ing of Thy Holy Word, grant that I may redre 
 from the World," and fpend the Remainder of the 
 Day in thinking upon Thee, and mediating upon 
 Eternity, and in forming in myfeff that blefied and 
 divine Temper, which alone will make' me well-plea- 
 fing and acceptable unto Thee j that fo, when I have 
 ended this fhort tranfitory Life, I may through thy 
 Mercy be received into Thy Heavenly Kingdom, for 
 the Sake and through the Merits of thy Dear Son Je- 
 jiis Chrifiy our Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 Our Father which art in Heaven ^ &c. 
 
 Afiort Prayer to be iifed on Sunday Evening im- 
 mediately ajter Divine Service, 
 
 OM O S T gracious and Merciful Lord God, I 
 befeech Thee pardon all my Sins, and grant me 
 Thy Grace fincerely to repent, and to lerve and fear 
 Thee in Newnels of Life, through Jefus Chfift our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 _ Make me duly thankful to Thee for all Thy Mer- 
 cies, but above all for Tliine Inellimable i-ove in the 
 
 Redempuon' 
 
[ 43^ ] 
 Redemption of the World by the Death and Paf- 
 fion of Thy Dear Son. And particularly at this time 
 I praife thy Name for the glorious Opportunity Thou 
 haft this Day afforded me of hearing Thy Holy Word, 
 and joining in the public Service of Thy Church. Par- 
 don, 1 beleecii Thee, my wandring Thoughts and 
 Imperfe(ft Devotions ; give a Blefiing to the Word 
 this Day preached to us, and grant that no Pride, nor 
 Careleisnefs, nor Senfuality may hinder the Succefs and 
 Efficacy of it; but that it may fmk deep into our Hearts, 
 and bring forth good Fruits in our ;_ ives and Conver- 
 fations. Make all Orders of Men among us duly fen- 
 fible of the Obligation of this Holy Day, and grant 
 that it may no longer be profaned by fecular Buiinefs 
 and Diver i:ons -, but that we may all make it a Con- 
 ftant Seafon of ferving Thee, and Meditating upon 
 the Concernments of the Life to come ; that io from 
 ferving and fearing Thee in this World we may be 
 tranOated to the praifing Thee Eternally in Thy Glo- 
 rious Kingdom ) through Jeftis Chrifl our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Our Father which art in Heaven^ &g. 
 
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