^I#^ LECTt ^IK- CHRiS s ^3- vBBATH ^S ^ i^fe i m 7-*- :% FEB 16 im ' ^J ■"<'!^Wi««lSevv x\^ BV 110 — rT47 1822 Thorn, William, 1794-1870. Eight lectures on the Christian Sabbath 5c^ '■% EXTRACTS PROM THE REVIEWS. '* There is scarcely a mode of violating the sabbath, a motive for keeping it, or a benefit to be derived from it, which has escaped the preacher's notice. In many parts there is a degree of origi- nality which we should not have expected to find on a topic, which, in a certain view, may be considered as trite. The anecdotes introduced are quite a propos, and some of them are new to us, and highly interesting. We can therefore conscientiously re- commend the work, on the ground of its own merits, irrespective of the authors particular object in publishing : but when the religious public are in- formed, tlmt its profits are devoted towards the erection of a much-needed place of worship, in a populous town in the north, that tvill doubtless be considered as an additional inducement to promote the sale of a volume, good in itself, and designed for so valuable an end" — Evangelical Mag. " The pious and intelligent author of the work before us, has brought into a small compass ivhat we take to be, in the main, a very accurate, as ivell as a very comprehensive, view of the whole subject of the sabbath. There is scarcely any question of doctrinal interest, or of practical importance, connected with this great topic, which he has omitted. We cor- dially recommend the volume to the purchase and perusal of all classes of our readers. Theological A 11 EXTRACTS FROM THE REVIEWS. students may profitably refer to it as a text-book, in which the argument of more elaborate treatises is condensed and methodized; while, at the same time, it is so intermixed with pious exhortation, and occa- sionally enlivened by appropriate anecdotes, as to be excellently adapted for popular iiseJ' — Methodist Magazine. " We cannot but express our cordial approbation of the conduct of Mr. Thorn and his friends, and our fervent ivishes, that, actuated by motives so disinterested and honorable, their efforts may be crowned with success. He has produced an ex- ceedingly interesting volume, rich in evangelical sentiment ; and, by his numerous and appropriate extracts from many of our best writers in prose and verse, he has rendered it uncommonly instructive and entertaining. We venture to pledge ourselves that, independent of the excellent object which they will be forwarding by the purchase, it is a book in itself ivorthy of the notice of our readers.'' — New Evangelical Magazine. " It is, upon the whole, a ivell- executed per- formance, and may be read with jjleasure and advantage. The design of the author in pjinting it is singularly ingenious ^ and affords another proof of the various ivays in which * the liberal deviseth liberal things' By an advertisement we find, that the profits arising from the sale of these lectures, will be appropriated towards the erection of a new place of ivorship at Penrith, the town where they ivere first delivered. We cordially wish success may attend the azithor's personal application, for the EXTRACTS FROM THE REVIEWS. iii purpose of selling his work, to accomplish so impor- tant an object in that dark part of the kingdom." — Baptist Magazine. " The object of the tvorthy author of this small work is as novel as it is laudable: a spirit of genuine piety pervades the volume ; and those of our readers who are acquainted with Dr. Owen and the old divines, will be gratified to observe the liberal use which Mr. Thorn has made of them. We heartily wish that the sale of the work may meet the author's expectations, and enable him to accomplish his dis- interested purpose'' — Congregational Maga- zine. ** For popular use, the work before us is excel- lently adapted; the industrious research which the author has made, the ardent piety and christian simplicity which he displays, and the interesting manner in which he brings his various topics to bear upon the great point under consideration, entitle him to our cordial thanks, and well deserve our recommendation of his work to the religious public.'' — Eclectic Review. {[^ In addition to the above unquestionable tes- timonies, the following lectures have been warmly recommended from the pulpit and the press, by many of the most respectable ministers of different denominations in this country. EIGHT LECTURES ON THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY WILLIAM VhOKN, MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT PENRITH, CUMBERLAND. FOURTH EDITION, ENLARGED. LONDON : Printed by R. Clay, Devonshire-st. Bishopsgate : SOLD BY F. WESTLEY, STATIONERS' COURT; AND J. ALLISON, PENRITH. 1822. ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. TO THE REVEREND GEORGE COLLISON, PASTOR OF THE INDEPENDENT CONGREGATION, WALTHAMSTOW, AND TUTOR OF THE DISSENTING ACADEMY, HACKNEY, THIS FOURTH EDITION OF THE FOLLOWING IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, RY HIS HIGHLY OBLIGED AND AFFECTIONATE PUPIL, WILLIAM THORN. ^tibtvtinmmu As the profits arising from the sale of the ensuing lectures will he devoted to the erection of a new -place of christian worship at Penrith, in Cumberland, where it is greatly needed, and which principally depends on the sale of this publication; it is humbly requested, that every friend of the gospel, who has it in his poiver, will purchase a copy; by which means he may not only benefit himself, and others around him, but will also be assisting tJie friends of Christ properly to execute those plans which, according to the advice of several London and country ministers, they have adopted only for the glory of God, and the good of mankind. PREFACE, In presenting the following LECTURES to the christian public, it may not be deemed im- proper, briefly to state the author's motives for publishing, and the methods which he has adopted in the execution, of the work. His motives for publishing : — The increasing profanation of the Lord's day in almost every part of the kingdom, to arrest the alarming progress of which this publication is particu- larly designed ; — -The request of several pious and respectable friends in London and in the country, whose kind and urgent solicitations he was neither able nor disposed to resist; — The poverty of the christian interest at Penrith, for whose best and growing prosperity he is parti- cularly anxious, and for the benefit of which, the profits of these lectures will be faithfully applied : — And the paucity of modern, practical, Xll PREFACE. and distinct publications on the subject already before the public; and which is so great that scarcely one bookseller in twenty throughout the metropolis, could furnish him with a single volume of any description. The methods adopted: — In composing the following lectures, the writer has availed him- self of all the assistance in his power, either from his friends or from books, to render them as judicious and complete as possible. — He has endeavoured to circumscribe the ground on which the institution of the sabbath is esta- blished ; feeling persuaded, that until rules are founded on reasons, and practice is regulated by principle, the Lord's day will never be sanc- tified as it ought to be. — He has laboured faithfully to delineate a striking portraiture of sabbath impiety, and so to develop its perni- cious properties, that all may see its deformity, and learn the evils to which they are conti- nually giving birth. — He has used great plain- ness of speech, has frequently introduced common and colloquial expressions, and has so arranged the various parts of his discourses, that the weakest capacity might comprehend PREFACE. xm his meaning without much exertion of thought ; — Lastly, he has introduced an unusual number of anecdotes into the work, to make it both interesting and impressive ; has occasionally referred the reader to other books for a further illustration of his sentiments, and has generally acknowledged his obligations to those whose works he has cited ; — in a word, he has spared neither pains nor expense to render this pub- lication as acceptable and useful to the public as he was able. With a trembling hand he now presents the lectures to the serious attention of a kind and candid public ; hoping that the magnitude and difficulty of his subject — the vital importance of his undertaking — and the disinterestedness of his motives, will serve as a mantle to cover any defects that may be discovered in this unassuming production. And that God in his mercy may make this little work a general and a lasting blessing to the British nation and the church of Christ, is the ardent prayer of THE AUTHOR. ^ontmH< LECTURE I. THE SPECIALITY, AUTHORITY, AND SANCTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. LECTURE II. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. LECTURE III. THE PROFANATION OF THE LORD's DAY, BY THE NATION IN GENERAL, AND BY INDIVIDUALS IN PARTICULAR. LECTURE IV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. LECTURE V. THE NON-ADVANTAGE AND EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SABBATH-BREAKING. LECTURE VI. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. LECTURE VII. MEANS AND MOTIVES FOR THE BETTER OBSERVANCE OF THE lord's day. LECTURE VIII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED, LECTURE I. THE SPECIALITY, AUTHORITY, AND SANCTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. Nehem. xiii. 15 — 22. Iti those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sahbath, and bringing itt sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day ; and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the no- bles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath dayl Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city ? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel, by profaning the sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark be- fore the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should 16 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. not he opened till after the sabbath : and some of my servants set I at the gates^ that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants, and sellers of all kinds of ware, lodged without Jeru- salem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them. Why lodge ye about the wall ? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I com- manded the Levites, that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me, according to the great- ness of thy mercy. Our nation, with great propriety, has often been denominated ' the british Israel ; ' there being a striking resemblance between the an- tient Jews of Palestine, and the modern chris- tians of England. Like that peculiar people, we have been long pre-eminently blessed, and have as often abused our blessings. Like them, we have been frequently corrected for our faults, and have as continually increased our sins. Like theirs, our vices ripen for destruc- tion; and, if some gracious blast check not their rapid growth, and make them wither LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. it on the branches, both the tree and its fruit, like the Jew and his crimes, must, ere long, be cut down, and consumed together. For why should we experience more lenity from God than the people of David, his servant, or the children of Abraham, his friend ? But there was no sin which the Israelites committed that more provoked the Lord, or which drew down greater vengeance upon themselves, than that of sabbath - breaking. While God pardoned theft, murder, idolatry, and almost every other species of guilt, we seldom, if ever, read of his pardoning any notorious violation of his holy sabbaths. When these are profaned, * he whets his glittering sword, his hand takes hold on judgment, and he makes his arrows drunk with the blood of his enemies.' For the punishment of this sin, whole lands are desolated, cities are depopu- lated, and Jerusalem itself is burned with fire ; thousands are dragged in chains to distant regions, and those that are left at home, de- prived of every comfort, sit weeping over their numerous dead, and the ashes of their favourite country. Nor are we, as a people, at all behind the Jews in profaning that day, which God has graciously appointed for the moral improvement of our souls, and the glory of his holy name. We need only to look around — we need only B 3 18 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. to look at home, to see, that in keeping the sabbath, as well as in most other virtues, we are far exceeded by that profligate people, whose conduct we despise, and whose sufferings we deplore. And what are the direful effects of such daring impiety 1 Behold them in every shape, of every magnitude, on every side ! To avenge this crime — this very crime, ' the pesti- lence is walking in darkness, and destruction wasteth at noon day ; a thousand fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand.' Let us feel for our neighbours ! — Let us fear for ourselves ! And what shall we do 1 Like Aaron of old, let us take fire from the altar of God ; and, shedding on it, as incense, our tears, let us run, with our censer, between the dead and the living, that the plague may be stayed, and that we and our country may be spared the judg- ments of an angry and avenging God. In every station in which, by providence, we are placed, let us use our utmost exertions to ar- rest, and, if possible, to annihilate, a contagion, which threatens a general destruction. In order, therefore, to do what we can, and what becomes our province, towards promoting the sanctification of the Lord's day, and, conse- quently, the happiness of ourselves, and those around us, we will lay before you, in the best manner we are able, the claims of the christian LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 19 sabbath on the attention of the christian world. In doing- which we shall observe the following- order : — We shall consider — I. The speciality, authority, and SANCTITY, OF THE CHRISTIAN SAB- BATH. II. The profanation of the lord's DAY, BY the nation IN GENERAL, AND BY INDIVIDUALS IN PARTI- CULAR, III. The non-advantage, and evil con- sequences OF SABBATH BREAKING. And, IV. The means and motives for its BETTER OBSERVANCE.* While we are descanting on these particu- lars, we intreat you to pay that serious and candid attention, which your own welfare and the Importance of our subject demand. And may the Lord of the sabbath be present, by his spirit, to enlighten, enliven, and otherwise to assist, the speaker; and to impress on your hearts what may be spoken according to his will. * Attaching but little importance to words, which are merely the signs of our sentiments, I have emploj^ed the terms Lord's day, first day of tlie week, seventh day, sunday, and sabbath, indifferently ; unless the sense of a passage required a more definite form of expression. 20 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. I. We shall direct your attention to the SPECIALITY, AUTHORITY, and SANCTITY, of the christian sabbath. — In discussing a topic that has long engaged the attention, and em- ployed the talent, of many a learned and pious divine, and of which such various and contra- dictory opinions have been profusely and zea- lously promulgated from the pulpit and the press ; it will be unnecessary to answer all the frivolous objections which have been brought against what we conceive to be the scriptural doctrine of the sabbath, or at length to amplify the arguments which may be adduced in sup- port of our sentiments. We purpose, however, not to overlook any considerable objection to our view of the subject, or to neglect adducing any material argument in its defence ; leaving it with your reflections to pursue and employ the evidence given, in the hours of leisure and retirement. In a word, we design to afford you such a concise, plain, and scriptural state- ment of the doctrine, as shall lay a solid and ample foundation for those practical remarks that will occupy the subsequent discourses. And— First, — The speciality of the christian sabbath : in which we shall notice — (1.) Tlie division of time into iveeks of seven days each. — ' We find, from time immemorial,' LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 21 says the learned President Goguet, ' the use of this period among all nations [where the dim light of nature has not been entirely extin- guished], without any variation in its form. The Israelites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Indians Arabians, and, in a word, all nations of the east, have, in all ages, made use of a week consisting of seven days. We find the same custom among the antient Romans, Gauls, Britons, Germans, the nations of the north, and of America. The months of the antient Scandinavians were divided into weeks of seven days; a division which has prevailed among almost all the nations we have any knowledge of, from the extremity of Asia to that of Eu- rope.'^ ' This division of time, also, and a great reverence for the seventh day,' writes Mr. Townsend, * have been traced in Persia, Hindostan, Tartary, Japan, Peru, and Chili, as also in every part of Europe; and if we may credit M. de Gebelin, they existed for- merly in China, where the seventh was called the great day.'^ * Many vain conjectures have been formed concerning the reasons and motives which de- termined nearly all mankind to agree in this * Parkhurst's Heb. Lex. in loc. Poole's Synopsis on Gen. xxiii. ; and Calmet's Diet, in loc, " Character of Moses as an Historian, c. xi. sub. ii. p. 59. See also Voltaire's History of the Chinese. 22 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. primitive division of their time. Nothing, however, but tradition concerning the space of time employed in the formation of the world could have given rise to this almost universal and immemorial practice.'*^ * For the knowledge of the transactions of the creation, though much perverted, was never entirely ost among the pagan nations.'*^ ' Days and nights, lunar months and solar years, are dis- tinctions of nature f and therefore are, in the general appearance and succession of them, evident to all men, by the sun, moon*, and stars ; but how the weekly period of just seven days should make its entrance, can hardly be well accounted for, but by the tradition of a sabbath.'*^ From the same source, and through a similar medium, it is possible, that in antient times the number seven derived its important significa- tion, and became so generally employed by c Parkhurst's Heb. Lex. in loc. ^ Encyc. Brit, in loc. e Gen. i. 14 — 16 ; and Ps. civ. 19. * Mr. Tailor supposes, that a long observance of the regular changes of the moon, as when new and full, or half its orbical size, in waxing and waning, induced the early inhabitants of the earth to divide the lunar month into four equal parts ; or, at least, that the division of time observed in creation, was, in a general way, regulated by the phases of our satellite ; which answered the end of a slow-going seven-day clock, to the artless people of elder times. ' Dr. Watts's Works, vol. iii. p. 129. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 23 most authors in the eastern world. To this number the heathen frequently attached the ideas of mysteriousness, sanctity, and perfec- tion; and the fathers of the christian church have not uncommonly connected it with similar notions. The scriptures also appear to encou- rage the sentiment, having often employed it as a perfect, sacred, and mysterious number.^ ' Also, in the sacred books, and in the reli- gion of the Jews, a great number of events and mysterious circumstances are set before us by the number seven. Pharaoh's dream repre- sented seven fat oxen, and seven lean ones ; seven full ears of corn, and seven that were blasted. The golden candlestick had seven branches. — There were seven trumpets, and seven priests to sound them. — Seven days were to be occupied in surrounding the walls of Jericho, &c. In the Revelation there are seven churches, seven candlesticks, seven spirits, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven angels, seven vials, seven plagues, &c.'^ Thus much for the division of time into weeks of seven days each. We shall notice — (2.) The hallowing of a seventh-day sabbath from Adam to Moses.andfrom Moses to Christ. 5 Sea Bownd's Sabbath of the Old and New Testament, and Chambers' Cyclop, in loc. ^ Cruden's Concordance on the word Seven. 24 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. From Adam to Moses. — It has been con- tended,^ that when the children of Israel left the land of Egypt, either through some chrono- logical mistake, or in order to commemorate their wonderful deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh, which, in the revolution of time from the creation, happened on the sixth day of the week, the day preceding their antient sabbath, the season of religious worship was moved back- ward twenty-four hours, and that the sixth day of the week continued to be the Jewish sabbath till the resurrection of Christ, when it was again moved forward twenty- four hours to comme- morate that marvellous event, thereby bringing it a second time on the antient seventh day of the week; so that the Jewish sabbath was ob- served on the sixth day of the week, and the patriarchal and christian sabbaths have been observed on the seventh day. But as several powerful objections have been adduced against this position, J and as the de- cision of it any way would not materially affect our present design, (which is to establish the antiquity of the sabbath as an argument in fa- vour of its perpetuity); therefore, not to involve our subject in needless difficulties, we have taken for granted, that if there were a weekly ' By the Rev. J. Mede, the Rev. Dr. Jennings, and the Rev. H. Jones. J See Doddridge's Lectures, Lect. cxcix. § 11.; and Baptist Mag. vol. x. p. 439. LECT. I. OF THE LORD'S DAY. 25 rest from Adam to Moses, it was enjoyed, as after, on every seventh day, in order, from the creation. To prove the reality of such an in- stitution and observance, we remark — First, — That lue have several scripture intimations of it. — It appears, then, from the early and incidental mention of seven days — yet seven days — other seven days — yet other seven days — fulfil her week, namely, of seven days — seven days were fulfilled — and they sat upon the ground seven days'' — principally alluding to acts of religion ; that the sabbath was never totally neglected, or, at least, never lost sight of, in the antediluvian world, throughout the patriarchal ages, nor by the Hebrews during the Egyptian captivity. It appears also to have been ' the end of days,' or, the end of labouring days, when Cain and Abel ofi^ered sacrifices ; and likewise ' the days,' or the particular davs mentioned in Job, when the sons of God, or pious people, met together for religious worship.' The sanctification of a patriarchal sabbath will be further manifest, if we consider that in those early ages the people had their appointed places of public worship™ — that they exercised ^ Gen. i. 10. vii. 4. viii. 10. viii. 12. xxix. 27. comp. Judges XIV. 12. Exod. vii. 25. Job ii. 13. ' Gen. iv. 3. Heb. .Tob i. 6. and ii. 1. Heb. '" Gen. xii. 8. comp. xiii, 3. xxi. S3. Gen. xxviii. 19. comp. xxxv. 7. 26 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. 1. themselves in social and public devotion" — that they had their respective ministers of religion^, supported by the tithe of the public produce p — and that certain beasts of the iield and fowls of the air were appointed as sacrifices for the Lord.^ — Connecting these statements with those just now adduced, who can suppose that the patriarchs and their immediate progeny should have places of worship, public devotion, ministers of religion, tithes for their support, and sacrifices for God, and yet have no appointed day on which to as- semble for divine service ; especially when we find their progenitors sacrificing on the end of days, and their immediate posterity assembled together, and before God, on some particular day of the week, to do him homage, and to ask his blessing? And if there were a stated day, who will suppose that it occurred more or less frequently than in every week, when we find this division of time so often mentioned, in con- nection with religious exercises, throughout the brief narrative of the patriarchal ages?' To this it may be subjoined that all the other nine commandments in the decalogue were as generally known, and as piously regarded, prior n See above. o Gen. xiv. 18. xli. 45. and xlvii. 22, 26. comp. xii. 18, 19. xxxix. 9. p Gen. xiv. 2.- xxviii. 22. xlvii. 22. 1 Gen. vii. 2. viii. 2. comp. ix. 3. *■ See J. S.'s Doctrine of the Church of England concerning the Lord's Day. LECT. 1.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 27 to the dispensation of the law on Sinai, as after that memorable event. The declaration which God gave of himself to the father of the faithful, embraces the Jirst,^ Jacob's cleansing his house from idols and images, is a practical observance of the second.^ The covenants made between Abraham and Abimelech, and Jacob and Laban, manifest a general know- ledge of the third.^ A beautiful exemplification of the jftfth is seen in the circumstances of Isaac's son soliciting the hand of his uncle's daughter.^ In the reproof of Jacob to Levi and Simeon, for slaying the Shechemites, we discover the spirit of the sixth.^ The conduct of Joseph towards his mistress, and of God towards the king of Gerar, prove the existence of the seventh.^ The story of Laban's house- hold deities, and of Joseph's silver cup, assures us that the eighth commandment was known and regarded. *' And Pharaoh's reproof of Abraham's prevarication, and the plagues of Pharaoh's person and property, for coveting the patriarch's wife, are practical demonstra- tions that, in those early times, the ninth and tenth were duly and devoutly observed.^ From this early existence aud observance of ' Gen. xvii. 2. * Gen. xxxv. 2. " Gen. xxi. 23. xxxi. 53. V Gen. xxviii. 2. ^ Gen. xlix. 5—7. * Gen. xxxix. 10. XX. 3. >' Gen. xxxi. 31. xliv. 5. ^ Gen. xii. 4—29. 28 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. the other nine commandments, and from the equally natural principles of the fourth, as also from their subsequent disposition and delivery, we naturally infer the prior promulgation and general knowledge of the whole. ^ We also conclude that the renewal and delivery of the fourth commandment in the wilderness, are no evidence that the patriarchs neglected to sanc- tify a sabbath, since this objection would apply equally to the whole decalogue ; the prior ob- servance of a great part of which is here indis- putably established.'^ We submit the fairness of these inferences to your candid considera- tion, and proceed to observe — Secondly, — TJiat we have express scrip- ture testimony for it. — ' And on the sixth day*^ God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it ; because that in it he had rested from all his work which he had made."^ Could any intelligent and un- prejudiced reader of the above verses ever suppose it to be meant, that the sanctification of the seventh day did not take place till five- ^ See Dr. Bownd's Sabbath of the Old and New Testament, p. 15. ^ See Archbishop Wake's Exposition of the Catechism,. ^ 'Z6. c Bos's Septuagint in loc. '^ Gen. ii. 2, 3. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 29 and-twenty hundred years afterward, when the law was delivered on mount Sinai? Yet such is the hypothesis of those who deny that it took place at the creation.'^ Those who contend that the historian here speaks of the sabbath proleptically, would do well to consider, that without a perfect solecism (which is seldom found in the pentateuch), he must have spoken of the first, second, and third days, by way of prolepsis too ; and, therefore, as there was no sabbath till after the public pro- mulgation of the law in the desert of Sinai, so, for the same reason, there could be no first, second, or third days, till after that memorable period : a sentiment which few, it is imagined, will be suflSciently weak to maintain. But, in reply to this remark, some^ have con- tended, that the third verse in the above cita- tion should be read as if written in parentheses, it being perfectly extraneous from the regular narrative of the creation, which the sacred historian was carefully composing ; and that it alludes to a rest neither appointed nor observed at the beginning of the world, but to a sabbath instituted in the wilderness, and afterwards enjoyed by the children of Israel. Against this interpretation of the text, e See Rev. T. Scott's Sermon on the Sabbath. ^ Dean Paley, Dr. Gill, &c. &c. c3 30 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. however, several objections may be raised. In the first place, we will suppose, what is generally admitted, that Moses wrote the book of Genesis while a shepherd in the land of Midian. In this case he must have spoken of a sabbath as then existing, or as only about to exist, or the passage must have been a subsequent interpo- lation in the original text. If it were then in existence, our antagonists are foiled, and the con- troversy closes. But if it were merely about to exist, why did not the author, as at other times, render his sentiments intelligible, by employing the language of prediction instead of historical narrative? Or if it were an after insertion, why, with assurance we ask, is it so circum- scribed as to lead, at least the majority of readers, into perplexity and error? In the next place, let us suppose this book to have been penned posterior to the delivery of the law in Horeb. Our opponents must then concede that, according to their principles, the historian has synchronized events, or classed occurrences as transpiring at the same moment, which, in truth, were separated by the wide chasm of 2500 years. A case in our esteem extremely improbable. Again, for the sake of illustration, we will admit, as established, the sentiment we are la- bouring to destroy, and the following is a natural exposition of the verse in its present LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 31 connection : * And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made ; and God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made ; (that is, the day after finishing the work of creation.) (And therefore 2500 years after this period) God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it (not that seventh day on which at first he rested, but a seventh day which, in the revolution of time, fell out so long after, and which had not been blessed nor sanctified before ;) because that in it (2500 years ago) he had rested from all his work which God had created and made !' An inconsistency, surely, not of divine original. The truth is, that no interpretation can be given to the passage accordant with sound criticism, but such as renders it referable to the institution of a sabbath in the morning of the world : nor, in fact, have our opponents attempted the task ; but, instead, have em- ployed assertion for argument, and inauspicious suppositions against indubitable realities.^ Admitting, then, that the above verses were written as recording an act which passed at the creation, it may be reasonably enquired, if they do not contain, as some contend, the institution of the sabbath, what can possibly be intended by the phrase, * he sanctified the seventh day V 6 See Dr. Owen's Exercitations on the Sabbath. 32 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. To sanctify any thing is to make it intrinsically better, as the souls of men ; to publish its purity, as the name of God ; or to set it apart from a common to a sacred purpose, as the vessels of the sanctuary. But seeing that time cannot be rendered more holy in itself; and that a decla- ration of its excellence presupposes its purity, therefore, to bless or sanctify a day, must mean, to set it apart from a common to a sacred pur- pose ; that is, as a day on which works unusually holy are to be performed. It then follows that God set apart a seventh day either for himself, on which to perform works unusually holy ; or for his rational crea- tures, whereon they should be peculiarly devout in the performance of their religious duty towards him. To suppose the first, is absurd ; and to concede the latter, is all that we contend for. And this argument is confirmed by the Saviour, who declared, ' that the sabbath was made for man.' Nor can it be supposed that a gracious God, who adapts his mercies to his creatures' miseries, would sanctify the first seventh day for the benefit of mankind, and not the following, and every ensuing seventh day; seeing that the sabbath was much more necessary after the fall than before it.'^ ^ See Cornthwaite's Tracts, p. 8. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 33 Thirdly, — That we have clear corrobo- rative evidence of it. — Before the giving of fhe law on Sinai, and soon after the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, the sabbath is spoken of as being well known to the people, and its duties religiously observed. * Then said the Lord unto Moses, behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you ; and the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate every day ; that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in ; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much breacl, two omers for one man : and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, this is that which the Lord hath said, to-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord ; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that which ye will seethe to-day; and that which remaineth over lay up for you, to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade ; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, eat that to-day ; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord : to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but on the seventh 34 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.'* Now, if the sabbath was not instituted at the creation, when, we ask, was it instituted ? To reply, at the encampment in Marah, or else- where in the wilderness, as some,J from certain texts of scripture,'^ have contended, is a fiction long ago amply exposed : ' and to say at the giving of the law, is not to the point ; for, as above, we find it mentioned, at least, some weeks before that time. ' And the incidental manner in which it is there spoken of, is a convincing proof that the Israelites were no strangers to the institution ; for, had it been a new one, it must have been enjoined in a positive and particular manner, and the nature of it must have been laid open and explained, otherwise the term * sabbath' would have con- veyed no definite meaning whatever.'"^ Fourthly, — That we have collateral proof of it. — The observance of a sabbath was not unfrequently urged by the Almighty, as obligatory on the Jews ; because, that, on this day he had rested, after creating the heavens ' Exod. xvi. 4, 5, 22—26. j The learned Selden, kc. " Exod. XX. 10, 11. Neh. ix. 14. ' See Dr. Owen on the Sabbath. ^ Encyc. Brit, in loc. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 35 and the earth." Now, the reason of this obli- gation must have commenced as soon as one sabbath had been hallowed ; and it must have been as much a plea for Adam's sanctifying it, as it was for David's. It is, therefore, extremely improbable that such a ground of obligation should have existed upwards of 2000 years, without having ever been pleaded or even revealed to mankind. In fact, the peculiar manner in which this commandment is introduced, * remember the sabbath day,'® plainly intimates, that the obliga- tion to observe it existed, in all its force, before the delivery of this formal and explicit injunc- tion. Nor is there any ground of such an institution discoverable, prior to the giving of the law ; except what we read in the second chapter of Genesis, whereon, it appears, it really was founded. Fifthly, — It is what might have been expected. — When we consider that God com- municated many spiritual favours to our first parents and their posterity, before the giving of the law, there being an interval of 2500 years ; it appears very improbable, that he should have withheld from them the blessing of a sabbath for n Exod. XX. 11. xxi. 17. o Ezek, xx. 8. comip. Deut, v. la. 86 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. social worship ; without which many of their mercies could never have been properly enjoyed. And when, in addition to this, we reflect on the great piety of some of the antediluvians, from Adam to Moses ; their amazing longevity ; and even the natural morality of a sabbath, or of some stated time for devotion, we may reason- ably suppose, that if any such day had been appointed, it was, as far as practicable, regularly and piously consecrated to religious worship. Indeed, it is expressly said of Abraham, that ' he obeyed the voice of the Lord, and kept his charge, his commandments, his statutes, and his laws :'P and if a sabbath had been previously instituted, no reason can be assigned why a man, so obsequious to the heavenly will, should not have observed it. Sixthly, — That it has been the general sentiment of mankind. — That the sabbath re- ceived its origin at the creation, TertuUian in- forms us, was the common opinion among the Jews in his day. Joseplms, Philo, Manasseh Ben Israel, Maimonides, Eben Ezra, Juda, Jorchi, Kimchi, Solomon, and many other celebrated Israelites, express themselves to the same effect. Abarbanel observes, * that the P Cien. XX vi. 5. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 37 Almighty sanctified and separated the seventh day unto glory and honour; because on its approach the work of heaven and earth was perfected: even as a man, when he has per- formed an honourable work, and perfected it, maketh a banquet and a day of feasting.' That it was the sentiment of the apostles may be seen by their writings.^ A slight acquaintance with ecclesiastical history will convince you, that it was the opinion of the principal fathers of the christian church. "" It was likewise the senti- ment of the greatest divines at the reformation from popery.^ And it is the opinion of most writers on the subject in the present day. ' And whereas it is said by Justin Martyr, TertuUian, Eusebius, and many other antient writers of the church, that the patriarchs did not observe the sabbath day : this is not to be under- stood of their holding religious assemblies on the seventh day of the week ; but of their keeping the sabbath as ?i Jewish festival, or of a strict and rigid resting on that day, after the manner of the Jews:' as will be fully evident to any who will undertake the trouble of examining the writings of these fathers for themselves.* Lastly, — That it may he established against q .See Dr. Owen on Heb. iv. 1—11. r Morer on the Lord's day, p. 98, and West's Discourse, p, 31. * Horn. Place and Time of Prayer, t Jephson's Christian Sabbath Explained, p. 19. D 38 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. objections.^ — It has been argued (1) that, as the sabbath is not expressly said to have been hal- lowed from the beginning of the world till the descent of the manna, we have no sufficient reason to conclude that it was. We reply, that as one truth cannot contradict another, so no material objection can be deduced from this silence, since we have produced probable, and, to the unprejudiced mind, positive, proof to the contrary. Besides, the silence of the historian, who details but a few of those occurrences which transpired during the period of which he was writing, is no proof that the sabbath was not observed all the time. He mentions the insti- tution of it, and then says neither that it was or was not regularly kept, nor any thing directly about it, until a particular circumstance rendered it necessary, when he introduces this festival as an ordinance perfectly known to himself, and familiar to his readers. Observe, also, that the sabbath is not spoken of from the republication of the law, till by David to Solomon, "■" more than 450 years afterwards : during which inter- val all must allow it to have been universally considered of divine appointment; and, as such, attended to by the israelitish nation.* V Of Dr. Paley, Dr. Gill, David Primrose, &C- w 1 Cliron. xxiii. 31. * There are but five passages in Avhich the sabbath is mentioned in the Jewish writings from the time of Moses to the return of the captivity, 1000 years. — Dr. Dwight. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD's DAY. 39 ' Circumcision, which was, without any dis- pute, continued all through the Jewish polity, is never mentioned, from the settlement of the Israelites, to the circumcision of Christ ; a period of 1500 years : and hence the silence of history, with respect to the continuance of a rite or custom well known to have been instituted or adopted, is no argument against such con- tinuance ; provided the reason on which the institution was originally grounded remains the same : hence it can by no means be concluded, that because there is no express mention of the observance of the sabbath in the patriarchal history, that therefore no sabbath was observed on those days.''' It is said (2) that, while the early inhabitants of the earth were commended for many virtues, and reproved for many vices, they were never commended for observing the sabbath, nor reproved for breaking it: whence it is con- cluded, there was no sabbath to be either kept or broken. This objection, however, is founded on the supposition, that God respectively and specifically reproved every vice and commended every virtue in the patriarchal times, and that we ought to possess historical evidence of such correction or reproof, before we accredit the * Dr. Jennings's Jewish Antiq. book iii. Sue also Christian Observer, vol. i. pp. 489 and 559. 40 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. existence of any particular vice or virtue, how- ever established by other credentials. That this reasoning is fallacious, will be clear, if you con- consider that polygamy, though contrary to the order of nature, the peace of society, and, con- sequently, to the opinion of pious men and the pleasure of God, was commonly practised by the patriarchs and others, up to and after the days of Moses ; and that in no instance do we tind any person commended for having only one wife, nor reproved for having many. And if such be the fact with regard to polygamy, who will contend that similar silence might not have attended the observance or violation of the sabbath day? It has been pleaded (3) that, as we possess no account of the sabbath being instituted among the patriarchs, we have no reason to believe that the patriarchs observed it. For the sake of argument, let us admit, however untenable, the ground of this objection, and proceed to expose the futility of the inference. The objector takes it for granted, that no sa- crament should be deemed divine, unless loe are acquainted with the institution of it. Now would not the same mode of reasoning tend to reduce the offering of sacrifices in the begin- ning of the world, to the nature of either mere will-worship, or iniquitous presumption ? for we have no account of its divine appointment. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 41 And might not the same be affirmed respecting the Jewish synagogues ? since we possess no direct evidence of God's commanding the Jews either to build or to use them. But, notwith- standing this, few doubt that both originated in an expression of the divine pleasure. Hence, on the same principles, the sabbath might have been instituted and observed among the patri- archs, though we had received no intimation of such an establishment. It is objected (4) that, during the patriarchal dispensation, no necessity existed for the ob- servance of a weekly sabbath, and that, there- fore, it was then neither instituted nor observed. — We reply, it is evident, that, if a sabbath were not requisite before the days of Moses, it must have arisen from the moral state, the mental capacity, or the physical circumstances of the people. Their moral state must have been either so good, that the means of grace were unnecessary, or so bad, as to render them unavailing — or their mental capacity must have enabled them, amidst the bustle of life, to wor- ship God without either distraction of thought, or deprivation of happiness — or their physical circumstances must have been so favourable, that labour was either unknown, or fatigue un- felt. But of these the scriptures afford us no information. In fact, all the reasons that can be assigned for the observance of a sabbath, in D 3 42 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. the present day, hold equally valid in supporting^ a sabbath among the first inhabitants of the globe. — A seventh- day sabbath was observed also — From Moses to Christ. — And, first, by the Jews. — From the delivery of the law to the death of the Saviour, there is every reason to conclude, that the seventh day was invariably hallowed as the divinely-appointed sabbath of the Hebrews ; a powerful proof of which, among a thousand others that could be men- tioned, is, its continuance to the present time among the Jews, who, as far as they know, and are able, ever adhere to their antient ritual and observances. And if any doubt on this subject can possibly be felt, the language of the apostle James is calculated to remove it entirely; for he declares, * that Moses of old time hath, in every city, them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.'y But this being a truth so universally admitted, it would be improper to occupy your valuable time in attempting to establish it. And, secondly, by the Gentiles. — The se- venth day was always considered as sacred by y Acts XV. 21- LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 43 the heathens in general, some of whom actually attributed its sanctity to the finishing of crea- tion in the beginning of the world/ The fol- lowing citations will establish our proposition : — Hesiod, Homer, Callimachus, and Aristo- bulus, denominate the seventh ' the holy day.' — Theophilus of Antioch calls it ' the day which all mankind celebrate.' — Porphyry says, ' the Phoenicians consecrated one day in seven as holy.' Linus says, ' one day in seven is ob- served among holy people.' — Lucian says, ' the seventh day is given to school-boys as a holy day.' — Eusebius says, ' almost all the philoso- phers and poets acknowledge the seventh day to be holy.' — Clement of Alexandria says, ' the Greeks, as well as the Hebrews, observed the seventh day as holy.' — Josephus, in his treatise against Apion, says, * nor is there any city what- ever, whether Greek or barbarian, nor a single nation, whither the custom of the sabbath, on which we rest, has not passed.' — Philo also, speaking of the seventh-day sabbath, says, ' this is a feast, not of one city or country, but of all.' — And Lampridius tells us, that Alexander Severus usually went to the capitol to offer sacrifices to the gods on the seventh day.'' This 2 See Poole's Synopsis in Gen. ii. 3. * See Dr. Ridgely's Works, vol. ii. p. 266 ; and Dr. Dwight's Works, vol. iv. pp. 47, 48. 4-1 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. universal practice most likely arose in conse- quence of tradition from Noah, who, by pre- cept or example, taught his children, the fathers of the second world, all the information which he had obtained from experience, his progeni- tors, or Jehovah himself. Should it be here objected, that the heathen nations observed this division in their time, in consequence of the promulgation of the mosaic history ; we reply, that such a division is spoken of by gentile writers of distant regions; as Hesiod, Homer, Callimachus, &c., several hundred years before the writings of the sacred historian were committed to the pagan world. ' For the law of Moses was not known or read by the heathens, till the translation of it by the seventy elders, in the days of Ptolemy II. king of Egypt, about 300 years before Christ.''^ (3.) The change of the sahhath, from the seventh to the first clay of the week. And — First, — We contend for it from scripture testimony. — The work of creation by the Father, and the work of redemption by the Son, are represented as parallel labours : new heavens and a new earth are made — another spirit broods over the moral chaos — another sun arises on the benighted world — another fruitful, ^ Dr. Wright on the Sabbath, c. i. $ 5. LECT. 1.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 45 enchanting paradise is planted — man is created anew — a new law is delivered — a new sabbati- cal rest is observed by the Saviour — and, that men should honour the Son as they honour the Father, a new sabbath is appointed for man. ^ — And that this sabbath should be held on the first day of the week, may be fairly inferred from the following details: — It was on the first day of the week that our Saviour, after abolishing death — bursting asun- der the gates of the grave — and triumphing over every spiritual adversary, arose from the dead — opened a way for his followers through the regions of the tomb to the mansions of joy, and brought a glorious life and immortality to light.* On the first day of the week he ap- peared to Mary Magdalene, and other pious women — then he discovered himself unto two of his disciples, in their way to Emmaus — on the c Is. Ixv. 17, 18. comp. 2 Pet. iii. 13. John xvi. 7—14. Mai. iv. 2. Matt. xiii. 23. John v. 25. Rom. iii. 29. Heb. iv. 11. John v. 23. Rev. i. 10. * ' Auspicious morn ! thy blissful rays Bright seraphs hail in songs of praise : At thy approaching dawn. Reluctant death resign'd The glorious prince of life, In dark domains confin'd : The angelic host around him bends, And, 'mid their shouts, the God ascends.' 46 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. same day he met with his disconsolate followers, and demonstrated to them the identity of his person — on the first day he removed the incre- dulity of Thomas — and on that day also he blessed his disciples, bestowed on them the gift of the Holy Ghost, and signed their commis- sion to preach the gospel of peace to a guilty world/ Indeed, it is supposed by many, that on every first day of the week, while Christ remained upon earth, after his resurrection, he met with his disciples, to communicate to them that knowledge, which, as his ambassadors, they would constantly need ; for, on one of those days, we find them assembled, waiting his ar- rival, as if his coming was a matter of course.^ On this day, also, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the apostles and people ; inspiring the former with divine knowledge, and a power to communicate it in every language ; and turning the latter from foes to friends, from folly to wisdom, and from Satan to God/ On the first day of the week Paul preached at Troas, and raised the dead ; where it is observable, that the apostle waited six whole days to preach on the first; and that then the people came ^ Matt, xxviii. 1. Mark xvi. 1. Luke xxiv. 1. John xx. 1. comp. Luke xxiii. 44, 53; and John ii. 18, 19. Luke xxiv. 10. 13, 36—48. John xx. 19, 23, 26. e John xx. 26, See Jephson's Christian Sabbath Explained, p. 47. ^ Acts ii 1. comp. Lev. XXV. 8 — 13. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY 47 together, not in consequence of any particular notice, but apparently from custom.^ The following remarkable events took place also on the first day of the week: — then, in various and distant churches, collections were made for the indigent saints, which, according to Justin Martyr, ^^ was done, as at present, when the people met together to break the sacramental bread. John was in the Spirit, on what, without inventing a name, or speaking unintelligibly, he denominates the Lord's day, by which, as Ignatius, his disciple, informs us,' he intended the first day of the week ; and then were communicated to him some of the most wonderful revelations that were ever vouchsafed to the offspring of Adam.'' Then also the Saviour was declared to be the Son of God, with power — it was on this day that man was virtually begotten to a lively hope of everlasting- life — this day was predicted as the eighth in the Old Testament — while of this day the royal Psalmist sang — and of its glories Isaiah pro- phesied. ^ Augustine contends, that the Lord's day was pre-signified by the eighth, appointed for Jewish ^ Acts XX. 7. ^ Apology ii. ' Epist. ad Magnes. p. 35. ^ Acts xxi. 28—31. xxiv. 17. Rom. xv. 26. 1 Cor. xvi. 2. xi. 20. Gal. ii. 10. Rev. i. 10. ' Rom. i. 4. 1 Pet. i. 3. Lev. xxiii. 31 — 39. Ps. cxviii. 24. comp. Acts iv. 10, 11. Is. Ivi. 2—8 ; also, Ixvi. 23. 48 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. circumcision ; and that the antient rabbies, some of whom he cites, knew the seventh-day sabbath would be changed to the first on the establish- ment of the kingdom of Messiah. Paul tells us, also, that the antient sabbath, as held on the seventh day of the week, was merely a type of the Saviour; and which, as far as it was a shadow, when the substance came, was, of course, to vanish with the other types of the ceremonial dispensation.™ Secondly, — We contend for it, from the evidence of history. — Of this we are furnished with abundance ; and which, while it establishes the antiquity of the Lord's day, manifests the attention with which it was regarded by the antient friends of Christ. Barnabas y who flourished about the middle of the first century, says, * we celebrate the eighth^ [or first] day with gladness.' Ignatius, who lived in the early part of the second century, advises every lover of Christ ' to celebrate the Lord's day, consecrated to his resurrection ; and he calls it the queen and chief of all days.' Justin Martyr, who flourished about 130 years after the birth of Christ, says, that * on "^ Col. ii. 16, 17. Gal. iv. 10. Acts xv. 24. * This, in primitive times, was a common mode of designating the Lord's day. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S-DAY. 49 Sundays they all made a public assembly, be- cause on the first clay Jesus Christ our Saviour arose from the dead/ Dionysius, who lived in the time of Justin, in his letter to the church at Rome, says, ' to-day we celebrate the Lord's day, when we read your epistle to us.' Ire7icBus, a disciple of Polycarp — a disciple of St. John himself, and who lived in the same century, says, * on the Lord's day every one of us, christians, keeps the sabbath, meditating in the law, and rejoicing in the works of God.' About the middle of the third century, Origen admonishes his people ' to pray to God, espe- cially on the Lord's day ; which, he says, is a commemoration of Christ's passion : for the re- surrection of Christ is not only celebrated once a year, but every seven days.' About the year 300, Athanasius writes, * even as at first it was commanded that the sabbath should be observed in memory of the creation, so do we celebrate the Lord's day, as a memorial of the beginning of the new creation.' About the middle of the fourth century, Chrysostom writes : * on the first day death was destroyed, the curse was dissolved, sin vanquished, and the gates of hell broken to pieces : therefore, if we honour our birth-days, how much more ought we to honour this day, E 50 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. which may well be called the birth-day of all mankind ? ' In the same century, Augustine, when writing to the Manichees, says, * on a day called sun- day, you worship the sun ; but we call it the Lord's day, because we therein honour not the sun, but the Lord's resurrection.' A council held at Laodicea, in the year 370, required christians not to judaize in keeping the sabbath ; but to prefer the Lord's day be- fore it, and thereon to rest from all their labours. In the year 470, Leo the Great sent out an edict to the following effect : — ' We decree the Lord's day to be venerable ; and, therefore, free it from all citations, executions, pleadings, and the like ; neither let the circus nor theatre be opened, nor combating with wild beasts be seen on it.' In the year 590, a synod, held at Auxerre, decreed, * that no man should be allowed to plough, or cart, or do any such thing, on the Lord's day.' A general council, held at Constantinople, about a hundred years after, declared, * that if any bishop, or clergyman, or any of the laity, absented himself from the church three Lord's days together, except in cases of urgent neces- sity ; if a clergyman, he was to be deposed ; and if a layman, to be excommunicated.' LECT. I.] OP THE LORD'S DAY. 51 About a century after this, Charles the Great, king of France, published the following edict : < We do ordain, as it is required in the law of God, that no man shall do any servile work on the Lord's day ; namely, that they employ not themselves in works of husbandry : making- hay, fencing or hedging, grubbing and felling trees, digging in the mines, building houses, planting orchards; and that they go not a hunt- ing in the fields, or plead in courts of justice ; that women weave not, or dress cloth ; do no needle-work, or card wool, or beat hemp, or wash linen openly, or shear sheep; but that they all come to church, to magnify the Lord their God, for those good things which, on this day, he bestowed upon them.' About the year 850, Theodosius, king of Bavaria, made a law, ' that if any person, on the Lord's day, yoked his oxen, or drove his wain, his right-side ox should be immediately forfeit- ed ; or if he made hay and carried it in, he was to be twice admonished to desist ; and if he did not, he was to receive no less than fifty stripes.' We could lengthen the list of evidence con- siderably, but we will close with the following edict of the emperor Leo, commonly called the Philosopher, published about the close of the ninth century: ' It is our will and pleasure,' says he, ' according to the true meaning of the 52 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. Holy Ghost, and of the apostles by him di- rected, that on the sacred day, on which we were restored to our integ-rity, all men should cease from labour; neither the husbandman, nor others, putting their hands to prohibited work. For if the Jews did so much reverence the shadow, ought not we to honour the sub- stance ? I mean the day which the Lord honoured, by rescuing us from the captivity of death. Are not we bound to keep it inviolable, and to be contented with the liberal grant we have of all the rest, without encroaching on this one, which he has named for his service ?'° Thirdly, — We contend for it for several reasons. — When the change of the day took place, whether gradually or at once, it must have been well known to the public; and had it not been considered by divine appointment, it would have been immediately and persever- ingly opposed by every friend and foe of the Saviour; and especially by the converted Jews, who, it appears, were uncommonly attached to their old times and modes of worship. But since it was never called in question by any of the antients, either pious or pagan, the use of ° See Morer on the Lord's day, Dialogue iii. The Hon. Lord King's Hist, of the First Three Centuriesj Dr. Dwight's Works> vol. iv. p. 28 J and Warren on the Lord's Day. LKCT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 53 the first day is now an irrefragable evidence of its antiquity, and, consequently, of its divine appointment. It may be also remarked, that ' if the insti- tution of the antient sabbath be yet in force, because there was an express command for keeping it, the manner of keeping must be in force also ; because the manner of keeping was as much the subject of an express command, as the sabbath itself was ; but the law of keeping is no more expressly [or in direct and positive terms] abrogated by the gospel, than the law of the sabbath ; therefore, both must be a law of the sabbath,'^ unless both are abrogated by the gospel. — Sabbatarians necessarily concede the one, and we as legitimately claim the other. It is likewise worthy of consideration, that the change of the day does in no wise affect either the spirit or the letter of the fourth com- mandment. The design of this institution was evidently and only to appoint a seventh portion of our time, on which to commemorate the works of creation, and to seek the divine fa- vour ; for which the seventh day has no more inherent adaptation than any other. Neither does the language of the fourth commandment bind us to observe any one specific day of the week. It certainly says, ' the seventh day is o Fleming's Letter to Cornthwaite, p. 37. E 3 54 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. the sabbath;' but then it does not determine whether the first, second, or third may not be the seventh * ; nor does it say whether this seventh day is to be reckoned from the crea- tion, or the dekige, or the coming out of Egypt, or the falling of the manna, or after six days of labour ;i' nor does it command us to remem- ber the seventh day, but the sabbath ; and God blessed the sabbath day, and not the seventh, on which it was observed. For * the sabbath being a thing entirely distinct from the day on which it is kept, may be a perpetual institution, and yet be kept, if God should so order it, on any, or successively, on all the days of the week.'q Again, if the alteration of the sabbath was not according to the will of God, it would have been only in agreement with his general proce- dure, for him, by some means, to have intimated his will to his faithful and ingenuous worshippers ; but this, it appears, was never the case : God saw that the people were about to change it, and he said nothing to prevent it : it was changed, * ' The tithe or tenth of the land is the Lord's. (Lev.xxvii. 30.) Here it is not necessary to devote to the Lord the tenth m order, but any one part of the ten : so the seventh day mentioned in the fourth commandment does not necessarily signify the seventh in order, but may signify a seventh da3'^, or any one day in seven.' — See Cawdry and Palmer on the Sabbath, vol. ii. p. 260. P Dr. Wright on the Lord's day, c. i. $ 3; also, c. ii. § 3. q Dr. Dwight's works, vol. iv. p. 17. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 55 and he has since been equally silent respecting it, which is another strong proof, if not of the divine appointment, yet of the divine approval, vrhich nearly amounts to the same thing. But to carry the argument still further: ' God has been blessing the first day of the week as a means for the conversion and happiness of man- kind, and totally neglecting the antient seventh- day sabbath. Now, if God did not abrogate the latter, and institute the former in its place, then has he neglected a positive and important institution of his own, and has been blessing a human device, for the support and extension of his spiritual kingdom.'"^ * This change, moreover, must have been appointed by human or divine authority: — by human authority it could not ; for there was no general council in the first ages that met to alter it ; and hence it must have been of divine original.'® Further, that the primitive believers, for cer- tain religious purposes, did assemble on the first day of the week ; that this assembling of the disciples was countenanced and encouraged by the Saviour ; and that the apostles sanctioned and commended a similar practice among the laity, we have already clearly established. But it is well known, that this observance of the first day of the week, by many thousands of *■ Dr. Dwight's Works, vol. iv. p. 31. s Encyc. Brit, in loc. 56 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. people in Judea, must have been attended with considerable inconvenience, and that the first christians met together in fear of the Jews, and at the peril of their lives. It is also equally evident, that had the early converts to Christi- anity united in social service at any time, in any place, or under any circumstances, during- the seventh day, they would have prevented all confusion, and might have remained unmolested by the Jews, whose scrupulous regard for the antient sabbath would have restrained them from acts of hostility, and almost from every effort of self-defence. What, then, is the fair and legitimate inference from these premises ? unquestionably this — that the apostles would not have created confusion in the country, nor exposed themselves and their followers to the fury of a hebrew rabble, by assembling together on the first day of the week, instead of the seventh, had they not been fully 'assured of its divine appointment. Nor can we discover any thing in the alte- ration that can, in the smallest degree, derogate from the honour of him, who is sole Lord of the sabbath ; and who changes the times and the seasons according to his pleasure, for the ad- vancement of his glory, and the promotion of piety among his people. *^ t Luke vi. 5. Dan. ii. 21, LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 57 Lastly, — We contend for it against ob- jections. — It is argued, (1), that there is no express or positive precept in the new testa- ment for keeping the first day of the week, and that therefore its observance is not obligatory on lis. — We reply, that this ground of objection is rather untenable." However, an express or positive precept is not necessary. If it can be clearly shewn to have been the practice of the first christians, or, in other words, that it was a custom, (and custom in these matters was then considered a law "), when Christianity was least encumbered with human inventions, and when the mind of its founder could not be easily mis- understood, for people to hallow the first day of the week instead of the seventh, the point at issue is determined ; for men may be divinely influenced to do the will of God, as well as to speak it ; and we are as justifiable in copying a good man's example, as in obeying his com- mands."^ Further, ' the mind and will of God concern- ing any duty to be performed by us, may be sufiiciently revealed in his word, without a particular precept, in so many express terms, enjoining it. The human understanding is the ear to which the word of God is spoken ; and if it be so spoken, that that ear may plainly hear u Acts XX. 7. comp. Heb. x. 25. ^ i Cor. xi. 16. ^1 Tim. iv. 12. 58 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. it, it is enough. God is sovereign as to the manner of speaking his mind, whether he will speak in express terms, or whether he will speak it by saying several other things which imply it, and from which we may, by comparing them together, plainly perceive it. If the mind of God be but revealed — if there be but suffi- cient means for the communication of his mind to our minds, that is sufficient; whether we hear so many express words with our ears, or see them in writing with our eyes, or whether we see the thing that he would signify to us, by the eye of reason and understanding.'^ So that if the change of the sabbath can be fairly deduced from indirect scripture evidence, our observing the first day of the week is as righteously justi- fied, as if we had an express unequivocal com- mandment for the practice. Besides, we have no precept in the new testament for keeping the seventh day : nor is there any proof that the apostles particularly regarded or observed it ; but merely that some of them then embraced the favourable oppor- tunity of preaching to the antichristian, or partially- converted Israelites. And if the prac- tice of keeping the first day of the week be as antient as the time of the apostles, as few will deny, it is more than probable, that it com- X President Edwards's Works, vol. vii. p. 457. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 59 meuced in obedience to their command ; since, like Moses, they were invested with full autho- rity to settle the affairs of the church. Aud if it was ordained by them, it doubtless originated with the Saviour, as they positively tell us, that they delivered nothing to others but what they received from their heavenly master.^ Hence Athanasius justly observes, that * the Lord himself changed the day ;' no person or body of people having authority to alter the time of religious worship, or to institute a binding fes- tival, any more than to renew circumcision and sacrifice with any and every other Jewish, and even heathenish observance.^ It is contended (2), that from the subjugated state of the primitive christians, the Lord's day could not have been sanctified generally to the service of God ; and that, therefore, the argu- ments adduced in support of the change of the sabbath, drawn from the practice of the first believers, are not at all conclusive. — In answer, we remark, that this objection is founded on the supposition, that the antient church was composed only of people in a menial capacity ; which can, by no means, be established; it being fully contradicted by the express testimony of the new testament, and the authentic history of the first ages after Christ. Men and women y Matt, xviii. 18. 1 Cor. xi. 23. ^ Hee 1 Kings xii, 23. 60 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. of known wealth/ illustrious name,'' consider- able authority,'' and great erudition/ Avere early and firmly attached to the cause of the Redeemer/ Besides, if some of the first pro- fessors of the gospel had been so situated, as to be unable publicly to hallow the Lord's day, it does not argue that this time was not universally esteemed sacred to devotion, and that in suffer- able circumstances it would not have been de- voted to the service of God. It is objected (3), that the first believers at- tended on religious worship early on the Lord's day morning, and late in the evening, and followed their worldly employments during the rest of the day, and that, therefore, they could not have considered it a substitution for the antient seventh- day sabbath, which was to be entirely employed in the service of God. — But, even admitting the ground of this objection, the inference drawn is far from conclusive. It is evident that these primitive christians must have observed the Lord's day in this manner, through either choice or necessity. If it were through choice merely, then they must have considered a Matt xxvii. 57. 1 Tim. ii. 9. 1 Pet. iii. 3. ^ Acts xvii. 4. 1 Cor. i. 26. c John iii. 1, 2. Actsx. 1. Phil. iv. 22. d 1 Tim. vi. 2, Col. ii. 8. e vide Blondell de Episcopis et Presbyteris, p. 235 ; and Wetstein's Preface to Origen's Dialogue contra Marcionitas, p. 13. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 61 this either not the proper day for divine worship, or that a part of it only was to be observed : if it were not esteemed the right day, then they should not have observed it at all ; at least no more than every common day ; and the objec- tion falls to the ground. But, if they considered it the true sabbath, and that a part of it only was to be sanctified, they acted on principles in direct contradiction to the word of God — prin- ciples that our opponents would condemn in common with ourselves, and on which we shall have to animadvert in the following lecture. But, if some of the early christians attended their usual avocations during any part of the day, through fear or necessity, it is no more than many do at the present time ; and which can by no means invalidate the authority of the chris- tian sabbath. It is asserted (4) that the primitive believers observed both the Jewish and christian sabbaths;^ and that, therefore, they could not be fully in- structed to observe the first day of the week ; but which must have been the case had the alte- ration originated in the commandment of God. — We reply that, admitting the truth of this statement, (which, however, some of our best theologians are disposed to deny),^ the objection ^ Hall's Encjclopasdia, on the word Sunday. ^ D^, Dwight's Works, vol. iv. p. 29. F 62 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. plainly suggests its own refutation. It concedes that while the converted Jews cherished their accustomed respect for the seventh day of the week, as commemorating the close of creation, and the deliverance of their forefathers from bondage ; at the same time they had an equal, and, indeed, a much greater respect for the first, ^ as a memorial of their redemption by the Son of God. Their motives for observing the seventh day by no means affect their reasons for sanctifying the first. It is evident that they were fully persuaded of the divine appointment of the latter (for otherwise they certainly would not have observed it), though their prejudices might not suffer them totally and at once to disregard the former. ' But as neither the law nor the gospel commanded them, nor enjoins on us, to consecrate two whole days in seven to the exercises of devotion, we naturally conclude, that the appointment of the first day of the week for public worship is a perfect abrogation of the seventh.*" It is said (5) that as our Saviour, who gave us an example that we should follow his ^- See Bingham's Antiquities, vol. ix. 1. 20. c. iii. § 3. ' Dr. Dwight's Works, vol. iv. p. 5S. * ' Constantine the Great enacted a law, that all christians in his dominions should weekly keep holy both sunday and friday, the Sunday, because of Christ's resurrection ; and the friday, because of his passion.'— Dr. Boivnd's Treatise, p. 80. i LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 63 steps, prior to his death, invariably hallowed the seventh -day sabbath, and no where expressly commanded his disciples to observe any other, we ought to copy that example, and not to sanctify the first. — We rejoin, that according to this reasoning, as Christ was circumcised — kept the passover — attended the Jewish synagogues, &c., we ought to do the same ; for he has no more, in express and positive terms, abrogated the law which enjoins these ceremonies, than he has the institution of the seventh-day sab- bath. But no christian, though a Sabbatarian in sentiment, would for a moment maintain, or even tolerate, the former ; and to act consis- tently, he ought not, on such a ground, to plead for the latter. This simple reply, we presume, is both clear and conclusive. It has been enquired (6), why the day of the Redeemer's birth, or the day of his death, should not have been set apart, rather than the day when he arose from the dead ? — To this presumptuous query, we might, in brief, have replied, secret things belong to God, v^ho giveth no account to man of any of his ways. An answer, however, is at hand ; a sabbath to com- memorate the rest of the Saviour from the work of redemption, is more analogous to the sabbath appointed to commemorate the rest of the Father from the works of creation; and in the new testament more importance is attached to the 64 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. doctrine of Christ's resurrection than to any other.*^ (4.) The exact time for heginning and ending the christian sabbath. — 'And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath.' From which passage, and others of a similar form of expression, many people infer that the Jewish sabbath commenced in the evening of the sixth day; and then conclude that the Lord's day should commence at the same time. Biit, admitting the premises, the inference is unne- cessary ; we, however, deny both of them, and as the words of our text are decidedly ambi- guous, we must look elsewhere for a more definite doctrine on the subject. In discussing this particular portion of our discourse, it may be deemed proper to inform you that a day is variously understood, and that it begins and ends at different times in different parts of the world. A day is said to be artificial or horizontal, when we reckon from the rising to the setting of the sun. It is called natural or solar, when we count from midnight to mid- night; and astronomical, when we reckon from " See Fleming's Tracts, p. 37. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 65 noon to noon. The commencement and close of the day are as varied as its appellations. The antient Athenians, Austrians, Bohemians, Mar- comans, Silesians, Arabians, Gauls, &c. begun their day at the setting of the sun : — the Maho- metans begin it at the evening twilight, — and the Italians a little after. — The antient Babylo- nians, Syrians, Indians, Persians, Nurember- gians, Greeks, &c. commenced their day at the rising of the sun. — The antient Umbri made use of an astronomical day. — And the antient inhabitants of Italy, Egypt, China, &c. reck- oned their day from midnight to midnight — which practice prevails throughout most nations of modern Europe.* The Hebrews, it appears, had their civil and sacred years ; the former beginning at the au- tumnal and the latter at the vernal equinoxes.'"* They had also their artificial, ceremonial, and solar days ; the first beginning in the morning,'* the second in the evening," and the last, we presume, at midnight.»* Respecting the com- mencement and close of the natural day, the Jews themselves are divided in opinion. Some of them suppose that it was originally reckoned from noon to noon, many from evening to ' Calmet and Brown's Diet, in loc; and the Encyc Per- thensis, vol. v. p. 601. Monthly Magazine, vol. li. p. 594. "» Exod. xxiii. 16. xxxiv. 22. xii. 2. et seq. « Matt, xxviii. 1. o Lev. xxiii. 32. p Numb, xxxiii. 3. comp. Exod. xii. 6. F 3 66 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. evening, and others from one midnight to ano- ther : while certain christian writers imagine that it begun and ended at different times in different periods of the patriarchal and Jewish dispensations. *i As no definite inference, therefore, can be drawn from either the customs of the gentile or the traditions of the Jew, let us turn to the law and to the testimony. And here the sub- ject for our consideration is, whether the an- tient Israelites and the primitive believers, or either of them, reckoned their sabbath from evening to evening, or from midnight to mid- night ? We affirm the latter, which we will now proceed to establish. Those who contend, that the Jewish sabbath begun and ended in the evening, adduce the following passages of scripture in support of their opinion. ' The evening and the morning were the first day'"^ — ' from even unto even shall ye celebrate your sabbath^ ; '* — ' and on the sabbath, when the sun did set, they brought 1 Dr. Jennings's Jewish Antiq. vol. ii. b. 3, c. 1 . "■ Gen. i. 5. ^ Lev. xxiii. 32. * From this passage, some have supposed, that the Jews consecrated the night, as well as the day, to religious worship ; and hence it has been also inferred, that a similar practice was adopted by the first followers of Jesus Christ.— 5ee V^ells's Practical Sabbatarian, p. 40. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY (J7 unto Jesus all that were diseased, and he healed them'* — to which the testimony of Josephus and the practice of the modern Jews are subjoined." But, as it regards the first of these citations, it is evident that the historian has employed a figure of speech in expressing his idea, and has denominated the artificial day and night by the evening and the morning, not when they begun, but when both were respectively completed ;" — for no person can suppose, that when all had been previous darkness, the first day would commence with the departure of light. If this scripture prove any thing, it is that the first day begun either in the morning or at noon ; about which, at present, there is no contention. The second passage adduced plainly refers, not to the weekly sabbath mentioned in the decalogue, but to the great day of atonement, here called a sabbath of rest;^^ and hence the time when this begun and ended can never, with propriety, be adduced as a rule for the com- mencement and close of the seventh day. To the objection founded on the last cited scripture, several valid replies might be given : the following, however, will suffice: — First, as only one instance of the kind is said to have t Marki. 32, comp. Matt. viii. 16, and Luke iv. 40. " Allen's Modern Judaism, p. 330 ; also, Godwin's Moses and Aaron, b. iii. c. iii. v Lyra apud Poli. Synops. in loc. ^ Lev. xxiii. 26—32. 68 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. I. occurred during our Lord's ministry upon earth, the above might have arisen from the transpi- ration of circumstances peculiar to the time re- ferred to in the text. — Or, secondly, as several devout Jews, during the former part of the same day,^ made application to Christ to reco- ver their afflicted relative ; and as the evening assembly was composed of people belonging to Capernaum in Galilee of the gentiles,'^ it is probable, that the multitude mentioned by the evangelists was made up of infidels, and not of real believers. — Or, lastly, the warmth of the weather might have prevented the people from bringing their weak and afflicted relatives to be healed till the cooling breezes of the evening had fanned a burning sky, and rendered an exposure to the air neither dangerous nor un- comfortable. To the remarks of Josephus,^ in which he intimates that his countrymen begun and ended their sabbath about the evening twilight, we reply — that he has probably confounded the preparation of the sabbath with the sabbath it- self;* — or that he was an incompetent judge of the matters he presumed to determine^ — or, lastly, that these passages were early interpo- lated in his works by some careless or officious '' I Mark iv. 42—47. comp. chap.; i. 32; also, Luke xxiii. 55, 56 ; xxiv. 1. i Matt. ix. 31. comp. 1 Cor. xv. 4. 72 THE SPECIALITY [LECT. 1. That the early followers of Christ began and ended their sabbath at midnight, may be proved from the following citation: ' And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.'^ We, therefore, conclude that no part of the evening of the first day, even as late as midnight, was then considered a portion of the morrow or fol- lowing day.* Without further dilating on this topic, suffice it to say, that neither the old testament nor the new affords us the slightest evidence that the sabbath day was reckoned from any other period than midnight; and that no one is therein re- corded to have spoken of the then present or first ensuing evening, as a part of the morrow ; nor in the evening, either early or late, is any one said to have denominated the following morning a part of the same day : which must have been the case, had the day been reckoned from any other hour than at midnight as with us. It is worthy, however, of observation, that neither the word of God, nor the laws of our nature, require that the sabbath should begin ^ Acts XX. 1 /See ' The True Llniits of the Lord's day,' bv VV. Pynchon, Esq., Cawdry and Palmer on the Christian Sabbath, p. 3, c. 2, and Primrose's Treatise of tlie Sabbath, p. iii. c. iv. p. 210. LECT. I.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 73 and end all over the world at the same moment ; for then, from the globular form, and rotary motion of the earth, some would be hallowmg the seventh, some the first, and some the second days of the week at once. But scripture and reason certainly require, that all who live to- gether in one society, or in a single nation, should celebrate their sabbath, beginning and ending at the same particular time ; and, from the evidence adduced, you will perceive that the midnight is the specific hour. Finally, whether the preceding reasoning be viewed as conclusive, or rejected as invalid, we strenuously contend, that, in respect of time, our sabbath shotild be a civil, solar, or natural day, and that it should begin and end as a-U other days of the week; since otherwise we cannot properly attend to the true purport of the fourth commandment, which plainly enjoins the consecration of a seventh day, as long as any of the other six ; but we begin and end our com- mon days at midnight, therefore the Lord's day should begin and end at midnight also. And the advantages of measuring our sabbaths from midnight to midnight, instead of from evening to evening, must be clearly evident to every reflecting mind ; particularly to such as are acquainted with the manners of certain reli- gionists in our own land, and the conduct of G 74 THE SPECIALITY, &C. [LECT. I. continental nations, who, though thej^ com- mence not the sabbath on a Saturday evening, are very careful to concUide it soon after twelve o'clock on a Sunday : — ^ from such customs good Lord deliver us/ Amen. LECTURE II THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. In the progress of the preceding lecture, we proved, it is hoped, to your satisfaction, that time has invariably been divided into weeks of seven days each ; that there existed a seventh- day sabbath from the creation of the world till the resurrection of Christ : and that on the introduction of Christianity, this festival was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week, as now observed by nearly all christian churches. We proceed, in the next place, to consider more at large the divine authority of the christian sabbath, and, as a consequence, our obligations perpetually to keep it ; after which, we purpose to shew you how it should be observed by all professors of the christian religion. Before we proceed, however, we wish you clearly to understand, and constantly to bear in mind, that having so fully established the 76 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. speciality of the day appointed for religious worship, that you cannot, in this respect, easily mistake our meaning, or the purport of the holy writings, we shall for the most part, in future, speak of the sabbath indefinitely; considering any thing said respecting the antient seventh day (if not of a ceremonial or typical nature) as applicable to the present first day of the Aveek, and shall borrow any thing from it that will either illustrate our sentiments, or support our propositions. Secondly, — The authority of the chris- tian sabbath: for which v/e contend — (1.) From the majesty and conduct of God; by whom it was instituted. From the MAJESTY of God. — In addition to any natural principles which we may possess that urge our observance of a sabbath, of which we shall presently speak, we have received plain and positive commands from Jehovah himself to keep it holy : — from him who made us, whose we are, and whom we ought most promptly and cheerfully to serve ; — from him whom saints and angels acknowledge as their sacred head; who can make us unspeak- ably happy, or render our being insupportably wretched for ever ; — from him, ' who does ac- cording to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : whose hand none can stay, or say unto him, what doest thou?' LJfiCT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 77 From this great, this glorious, this awful being, we have received positive injunctions to keep the sabbath-day. * The Lord spake these words, and said, remember the sabbath-day, to keep it holy ; see, because the Lord hath given you the sabbath ; and says, ye shall keep my sabbaths, I am the Lord your God.'^ From the CONDUCT of God.— ¥or the sab- bath, our heavenly Father has shewn such uncommon regard, that they must be impious indeed who will not regard it also. On this day * he rested from all the works which he had created and made'— to-day the usual supplies of manna were withheld, a double portion of it being given the preceding day: and he has particularly honoured the sabbath, by the com- munication of spiritual blessings to his people.^ On the sabbath, also, Jesus Christ invariably attended the temple, the synagogue, or some private abode for religious exercises; — then, with unusual sympathy, he preached to the mul- titudes by which he was commonly surrounded ; — then he embraced every opportunity of con- founding the adversaries of truth ;^ — it was then he wrought many of his miracles of mercy ;— and then, on the mount of transfiguration, he made =• Exod. XX. 8. xvi. 29. Lev. xix. 3. " Gen. ii. 2. Exod. xvi. 27. Acts ii. 41. c See Dr. S. Clarke's Sermons, vol. x. Ser. 3, p. 64. G 3 78 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. li. the most wonderful display of his personal glory that was ever beheld by the offspring of Adam.^ On the sabbath, in every age and country where the gospel has been promulgated, the Holy Ghost also has been more especially en- gaged in turning men from the paths of impiety, and in conducting them toward that rest which remaineth to the people of God.*^ All of which are particular tokens of divine regard for the sabbath, and have stamped an honour and a dignity upon it. Nor (to digress a moment) are the angels ot God, and the spirits of just men made perfect, less observant of this sacred day. At the creation of the world, which, on the sabbath, we celebrate, ' the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy; — in hymns of congratulation, they announced the advent of Messiah, of whose glorious triumph this hallowed day is a bright memorial; — and, as on this day, more than others, men are con- verted unto God, the angels, who rejoice at the repentance even of one sinner, enjoy an unusual pleasure, and hail its frequent returns with augmented delight.^ (2.) From the natural reasons of such an institution. — That rational creatures should ** Luke iv. 16. xiv. 1—24. Matt. xvii. 1. e Acts ii. 41. ' Job xxxviii. 7. Luke ii. 13, 14. xv. 7. Rev. iv. 11. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S-DAY. 79 worship their Creator, or that man, made for the glory of God, should formally reverence his maker; the principles coeval with his being, and inseparable from his existence, whether upright or fallen, clearly inform us.s That particular stated times should be appointed, not only for solitary, but also for social religion, in order that one man's business might not interfere with another man's devotions, we learn from the general consent of mankind: all of whom have public sanctuaries and social services of reli- gion.* That one portion of time for divine worship is better than another, every reasonable person must allow — a month would be too long, and a minute would be too short. It is equally evident, that one space of time between the recurrence of those seasons for devotion is pre- ferable to another — service once a year would be too seldom, and every hour would be too frequent. ** Aware, also, that no created being ever pos- sessed a power of apportioning to men the time s See Dr. Owen on the Sabbath, Exer. Ter. * ' I believe we may challenge all the histories in the world, of any credit, to name any civilized people, where there was not always some form or other of religious worship, and some public place or other, either temple, or grove, or mountain, or altar, used and appointed for the performance of it.' — Bishop Leng's Sermons at Boyle's Led. p. 108. ^ See President Edwards, Rev. Job Orton, and Dr. Wright, on the Lord's day. 80 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. to be employed in worshipping God, it seems reasonable that, to prevent mistake, he himself would have appointed the season, told them how long it was to last, and how frequently it should recur. And all this he has done, by saying, ' six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work ; but the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God.' ' Nor can we perceive the reason why the Almighty employed six days in creating the world, when he could as easily have accom- plished the work in an hour, unless it was done for our imitation. And his resting and being refreshed^ on the seventh day, were, doubtless, for a similar purpose. Nor could the widely- extended heathen population, to whom, from age to age, the traditionary accounts of crea- tion descended, ever rationally come to any other conclusion. Now, the same natural basis which supported a weekly sabbath among the Jews, will always uphold it among christians. We surely ought to worship God as well as they, and certain ap- pointed times for such worship are now as necessary as ever. And, if such an observance of the seventh day were formerly urged upon the Israelites, because of their relation to God, we can claim as close an alliance to the Lord of * Exod. XX. 9, 10. J Exod. xxxi. 17. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 81 the sabbath as they. Seeing, also, that we are freed from all other religious festivals with which the antient dispensation abounded, and that we enjoy more substantial mercies, for which to be thankful, than the people who lived in that shadowy age ; it is but reasonable that our stated periods for worship should be full as long, and return quite as often as those before the coming of Christ. Moreover, if the sabbath was appointed for the glory of God, and the happiness of man, it is very likely that it would be handed down to us, since God is equally tenacious of his glory, and man is in equal need of rest and religion. (3.) From the complex nature of all moral precepts. — Every moral precept is composed of primary and secondary principles. The pri- mary principles of a moral precept are those parts of it which may be designated its essence, and which, amidst the variations of age, dispen- sation, place, and circumstance, are immutable, and which, in fact, never can be changed, without materially affecting, and even totally destroying the morality, spirit, and design of the precept itself. The secondary principles of a moral precept are those parts of it which may be termed its accidents, and which may be changed with the age, dispensation, place, or circumstance, without, in the least degree. 82 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. affecting the morality, spirit, or desigu of the divine commandment. This distinction will be found perfectly ap- plicable to all moral precepts, whether in the decalogue or out of it ; and, if necessary, might be applied to every one of them, in illustration of our sentiments.'^ We shall merely notice its application to the fifth commandment. ' Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' The primary principles of this precept unquestionably are, that children should love and obey their parents, and that, in conse- quence of such love and obedience, the blessing of God should be conferred upon them; the abolition of which would entirely destroy the precept itself. Its secondary principles are, as unquestionably, the particular children ad- dressed, the specific modes of honouring their parents, and the precise promises made to such filial regard; all of which are undetermined, and without, in the least degree, affecting the spirit of this part of the decalogue, may and must vary with each successive generation, — according to the customs of different countries — and as it may regard the ever-varying condition of the dutiful and aff'ectionate offspring. By the same consistent mode of discrimi- nation, it may be remarked, that the primary ^ $ee Shepard's Doctrine of the Sabbath, p. o9. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 83 principles of the fourth commandment are, that there be a certain convenient time separated for religious worship — that this season be not a small portion of our time, but a whole day, and that the return of this day be not indefinite, but after every seven days ; all of which are irrevo- cably determined by the precept, and must ever remain unaltered, without the interdiction of that being, by whose authority it was at first established. The secondary principles of this commandment are, the specific day of the week for religious worship — the particular people to whom it was addressed — and the manner in which it should be observed ; none of which are determined by the letter of the law ; but many varying with the varying circumstances of the church of Christ, without at all thwarting the design of the great legislator, in establishing such an advantageous festival. From which we fairly infer, that the change of the sabbath by no means affects its morality, and that our obligations, to observe the first day of the week, are equal to those of the Jews, to sanctify the seventh. (4.) From the perpetual force of the fourth commandment. — We shall here endeavour to establish the following proposition : ' The fourth commandment, in all its essential parts, is as much binding upon christians now, as it was 84 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. formerly upon the Jews, or as any other part of the moral law.' This portion of the decalogue, viewed, as delivered to the Hebrews, and especially as repeated to them by Moses, a little before his death,^ is of a mixed nature : it is partly natural, partly moral, and partly cere- monial.* To worship God, in some way, at certain times, is the natural part of it ; — to worship him, one day in seven, by a cessation from labour, with the spirit and the understand- ing, is its moral part; — and to worship him every seventh day, in order, from the deliver- ance of the Israelites from Egypt, as a memorial of that marvellous event, is its ceremonial part. That a part of this commandment is really natural, its eminent situation among natural principles, and our preceding remarks, will con- vince you. That a part of it is moral, must be admitted, since we cannot resolve the exact proportion of time required of us for divine worship into any natural principles ; and to prove that a part of it, as repeated to the children of Israel on the banks of Jordan, is 1 Deut. V. 15. * The reader will perceive, that I have here employed the term natural laiv, to expi'ess that sense of duty towards God which arises simply from the principles of our nature. For want of a better word, the phrase moral laic is used to point out a perpetual duty, arising merely from the will of the law-giver. And the terra, ceremonial law, is adopted to express any com- mandment applicable only to the children of Israel. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 85 ceremonial, (as is also evidently the case with the fifth commandment*,) we have the autho- rity of Paul, who calls it a shadow of something to come."^ Now, as far as the fourth commandment is natural, it must, for that very reason, be in force as long as man continues in his present relation to God. As far as it is moral, it can be changed only by the authority of him who made it; and, as far as it is ceremonial, it must have vanished with the other shadows of the mosaic economy." Seeing, then, that the antient sabbath, as far as it was natural, must remain, and that the ceremonial part of it has long since vanished ; the question is, what is become of the moral part of it? or, in other words, are we still bound to worship God, by a cessation from labour, in spirit and in truth, one day in seven, or may it be one hour in a week, or one day in a month, or every other day, or is it left to every man's caprice to worship God when and as he pleases? To all this it is replied, that any law arising simply from the will of a sovereign, can be abrogated only by a sovereign will ; and that, * To those who honoured their father and mother, long life was promised in the land of Canaan; a circumstance relative only to the children of Israel, and therefore purely ceremonial. ™ Col. ii. 17. See Scott and Doddridge in loc, and Willison on the Lord's day, p. 49. o See Gal. iv. 10. comp. Acts xv. 24. H 86 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. therefore, since God has not publicly repealed this law, nor told us that he requires more or less time to be employed in his service, we must conclude, that it is still in force, and that the seventh part of our time belongs to God, and will ever belong to him, till he abandon his claim, and inform us of the contrary. But, further, the fourth commandment is not necessarily viewed in connexion with the Jewish economy, any more than the other precepts of the decalogue. All that is ceremonial here, arises not from the intrinsic nature of the law itself, but from the particular application of it to the israelitish people, under their levitical dis- pensation ; and even this application was not written on the tables of stone, as forming a component part of the precept; but was ap- pended by Moses nearly forty years afterwards. Because the Lord had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, therefore, without disannulling any anterior reasons for sanctifying the sabbath, the hebrew law-giver afresh enforces a due regard to this antient and honourable institution, as an expression of gratitude to God for so great a deliverance; as a perpetual commemoration of that singular event; (which probably happened on the seventh day of the week,o) and as a o See Bishop Patrick, on Deut. v. 15. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 87 suitable means for their temporal and eternal advantage.* The fourth commandment is no more cere- monial for requiring the Jews to consecrate a seventh portion of their time to the public ser- vice of God, than the third, which ordered them to venerate his holy name, or the eighth, which forbade them to purloin one another's property. Neither can it exclusively belong to the Jews because it was first formally delivered to them, since, by the same rule, no part of the decalogue, and, in fact, none of the scriptures, would be obligatory upon christians in modern times. Nor do the ceremonies elsewhere appointed, and which were regularly performed on the sabbath by the Jews, in any degree render it a ceremonial institution. These ceremonies are no part of the moral law ; they are not even mentioned in it. The fourth commandment enjoins no sacrifices nor offerings to God ; neither does it define the nature, the mode, nor the length of our devotions : all it said to the antient Hebrew, it says to the modern Englishman, neither more nor less. — * Remem- ber the sabbath-day to keep it holy,' is all it * • Hence we see, that the motive for observing one day in seven as a sabbath to the Lord, may be changed without any change in the commandment.* — Christian Observer, voh i. p. 490. 88 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. specifically enjoins; and this it requires of every people, in every age of the world. This distinction, which, in discussing- this subject, has been too commonly overlooked, clearly illustrates our doctrine, and establishes our proposition. It proves most decidedly, that as the fourth commandment in itself forms no part of the ceremonial law, but stands eminent among natural principles, and unabrogated precepts y so it belongs not to the Jew, any more than to the Gentile, nor to the earliest followers of Moses, more than to the latest disciples of Jesus Christ. We said this is an unabrogated precept, and therefore it is still in force, as much as any antient act of parliament not formally repealed is obligatory upon british subjects in the present day. So far, indeed, was the Redeemer (whose act alone will be pleaded) from abro- gating any part of the moral law, that he ex- pressly declared, ' heaven and earth should pass away, before one jot or tittle of it should in any wise fail.^' Also, when pre-signifying to his friends the fate of Jerusalem and its inha- bitants, he commands them to pray, that their ' flight might not be in the winter, nor on the sabbath-day:^ not in the winter, because of the inclemency of the weather ; and not on the p Matt. V. 17, 18. comp. Rom. iii. 13. q Matt. xxiv. 20, LECT. II.] OF THE LORD's DAY. 89 sabbath, because of the sanctity of the day ; or whatever exposition may be given to this pas- sage, it will never be doubted, that the Saviour foresaw this future festival, as clearly as the future winter, and for any thing said to the contrary, he as much approved of this institu- tion, with all its sacred and simple ordinances, which benefit the soul of man, as of the winter, with its frost and snow, which fertilize the soil of the earth. We therefore fairly infer it to have been the mind of Christ, that the seventh part of our time should be consecrated to the especial service of God; under the gospel, as well as under the law. We say the seventh part of our time belongs to God. For this expression, rather than every seventh day, or one day in seven, if not accor- dant with the letter and design of the law, or the consistent practice of people living in the temperate and torrid zones, is most agreeable with the universal application of the fourth commandment; since, in those regions, which lie near the poles, the whole year is divided not as with us, into nights and days of twelve hours each, but of six and twenty weeks. For the inhabitants of those parts, correctly speak- ing, have only one day and one night in the space of twelve months; and for them to inter- pret the commandment literally, or to observe it in any other sense than the above, would be h3 90 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II, to sanctify one sabbath in seven years, and for that to last full thirteen moons/ (5.) From the example of all good men. — We have worthy examples. — First, In the an- tient Isi^aelites. — Among them, on this day, peculiar rites were attended to, and extraor- dinary ceremonies were performed — then was there a holy convocation — Moses and the pro- phets were read in every synagogue — appro- priate psalms were sung — prayers were offered, and the people were blessed — then the Israelites repaired to the prophets — and then, says one, * I went with the multitude to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multi- tude that kept holy day' — while, at the same time, no needless meat was either to be baked or boiled — no ordinary work was to be done — no unnecessary fire was to be kindled — no pro- visions were to be sold — no burdens were to be borne — there was to be no idle wandering through the camp — a general cessation from secular concerns was to take place — and all was to be holiness to the Lord.* It is proper to observe, however, that either in obedience to the command of God, or in ' See Bishop White on the Sabbath, p. 177. ^ Numb, xxviii. 9, 10, 25, Actsxiii.27. Ps. xcii. title. 2 Kings iv, 23. Ps. xliii. 4. Exod.xvi. 23, 29. xxxv. 3. Nch. x. 31. Jer. xvii. 21. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 91 compliance with the pleas of absolute necessity, the rigid observance of the sabbath, even among the Israelites, was sometimes dispensed with ; as, in the case of killing and offering sacrifices — of throwing down the walls of Jericho — of circumcising children — and of feeding and pre- servings the beasts of the field.* While, on the other hand, it is equally notorious, that many of the latter Jews carried their observance of this day to an unpardonable excess. Their foolish traditions accumulated with their years, and the rites of their worship became more superstitious, impious, and burdensome, in every succeeding generation. Their pagan opponents took advantage of their credulity ; and the Saviour himself constantly discountenanced their human traditions, and unauthorized pro- cedure." Here an interesting question claims our re- gard. How did the Hebrews, who lived prior to th^ erection of synagogues,* and at a con- siderable distance from the temple, sanctify the seventh day ? In reply, we presume it will be readily acknowledged, that every pious Jew, t t Numb, xxviii. 9, 10. Josh. vi. 2 — 4. John vii. 22, 23. Luke xiv. 5. " See Maccab. ii. 32—38. Mark iii. 2—4. Josephus Hist. Wars, b. ii. c. 8. §. 9. Jewish Antiq. b. xii. c. 6. $. 2. Enc. Eng. vol. ix. p. 159. * See Dr. Prideaux's Connexion, vol. ii. p. 534—536 ; anri Reland's Antiq. Sacr. p. i. c. x. $. iii. p. 128. 92 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II- however unfavourably situated, would, in some way or other, observe the fourth commandment. It will also be as readily conceded, that in those days many teachers were in Israel : hence we read of the sons, the company, and the schools of the prophets ; and hence also we find 50 of them at one time, and 400 at another, collected tog-ether in a very little while. ^' That these men filled offices distinct from the priesthood, and in various parts of Judea, will be easily discovered. And that certain suitable places and seasonable times were consecrated for social and public worship, in which these prophets presided, seems equally admissible. And finally, that one of these seasons was the sabbath day, the following circumstance evidently indicates: — A certain Shunamite, on a particular occasion, was preparing to visit Elisha, the man of God, on business, unknown to her husband ; who made the following enquiry, * Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day ? It is neither new moon nor sabbath."^ Thereby intimating, that on the new moon and sabbath she was accustomed to see this venerable man. Such opportunities, indeed, though sometimes neglected,'' were quite indispensible ; since, without them, old men and women, invalids, and V 1 Sam. X. 10. 2 Kings ii. 3. 7. 2 Chron. xviii. 5. "* 2 Kings iv. 23. " 2 Kings xxii. 8. comp. 2 Chron. xvii. 9. Dr. Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, vol. ii p. 50. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 93 females with large families, would never have enjoyed the advantages of public worship ; the rising generation would have grown up in a total ignorance of moral and ceremonial exer- cises, and the most privileged of the people would only have had the benefit of social devotion three times a year.y Secondly, — In the Apostles and primitive believers. — The first followers of Christ hailed the return of the day with delight ; and, though subject to the ridicule of the vain, the control of the great, and the cruelty of a furious and misguided rabble, with pleasure they com- menced its sacred services.* On this day they regularly assembled for religious worship — then they preached the gospel of Christ — adminis- tered the sacraments — entered into the spirit of religion, and often continued their devotions a considerable time ; — they also made collections for the poor — healed the sick and wounded — and many other pious works in connexion with y Exod. xxxii. 17. xxxiv. 23. * ' A virtuous race, to godliness devote, — With them each day was holy ; every hour They stood prepared to die, a people doomed To death ; — old men, and youths, and simple maids. With them each day was holy; but the morn On which the angel said. See lohere the Lord Was laid, joyous arose ; to die that day. Was bliss.' Grahame's Sabbath. 94 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. these, must they have done, which are uot written in this book.^ Nor were the primitive believers less attentive to this sabbatical rest. As an example, it is recorded that the pious women, who followed the body of Christ to the sepulchre, deferred anointing it for more than a day, that they might not appear to profane the sabbath by doing it then ; — ' and they rested thereon according to the commandment.''^ That the apostles and primitive believers did, in verity and invariably, consecrate the seventh part of their time to the duties of public worship, at least, as public as circumstances would suffer, will never be questioned by any who read the sacred writings in the exercise of those intel- lectual faculties with which God has furnished his creatures, in order to comprehend his will by the words of his mouth. If you reflect that in those days, various places were appointed for the public and social service of God^ — that a certain specific order of religious worship was adopted^ — that ministers were formerly desig- nated to conduct the devotions of the churches'^ — that these men were to engage in nothing but their ministry^ — and that their maintenance was to be derived from the people, among whom ^ Acts xvi. 13. XX. 7—12. Rev. i. 10. Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 2. XX. 10. ^ Luke xxiii. 56. " 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20. c Ibid. V. 29, 31. ^ 1 Tim. v. 18. e g Tim. ii. 4. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 95 they exercised their pastoral functions f: you will not hesitate a moment in deciding, that the early christians duly observed the sabbath of the Lord. Indeed, had they not done it, the un- converted Jews, ever ready to find fault with this new religion, would have charged them with infidelity, and even with atheism itself.^^ Thirdly, — In the antient churches. — The younger P/iwy, who flourished near the end of the first century, tells the emperor Trajan, that the christians of his time * were accustomed, on a stated day, to assemble before sun-rise, and to join together in singing hymns to Christ as to a deity ; binding themselves, as with a solemn oath, not to commit any kind of wickedness; to be guilty neither of theft, robbery, nor adultery ; never to break a promise, or to keep back a deposit when called upon. Their worship being concluded, it was their custom to separate, and meet together again for a repast, promiscuous, indeed, and without any distinction of rank or sex ; but perfectly harmless.'^ Justi?i Martyr, who flourished about the middle of the second century, says, that on this day, which heathens call Sunday, all who live in cities and villages meet together in the same 1 Cor. ix. 9. 14. 2 See Evanson's Arguments, p. 36—80. Jones's History of the Waldenses, p. 119. 96 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. place, where the writings of the apostles and pro- phets are read : and we all assemble ; it being the day when God finished the work of creation, and Jesus Christ, our Saviour, arose from the dead.'' The venerable Bede, speaking of bishop Tuda, says, that * in his time, on the sabbath, the people flocked together by multitudes in the church or monastery, not to refresh their bodies, but to learn the word of God. And if a preacher happened to come into any village, the people presently assembled, and anxiously sought from him the word of God.'J And in the third century, when persecution raged so much against the church, it is well known that christians distinguished themselves by observing devoutly the Lord's day ; and which all men then considered an unerring badge of Christianity. '^ For a more ample detail of testimony illus- trating the observance of the Lord's day in the early and succeeding ages of the christian church, we refer you to that portion of the preceding lecture which was devoted to the establishment of the change of the sabbath from the evidence of ecclesiastical history. And, in ' Dr. Ridgely's Works, vol. ii. p, 266. j Turner on Divine Providence. ^ Dr. Ridgely's Body of Divinity, vol. ii. p. 268. ♦ In the primitive times, when the question was asked, Hast thou kept the Lord's day ? The answer was, — I am a christian — I may not do otherwise.' — Trap. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 97 fact, it may be here remarked, that all the proofs which have been, or that can be adduced in support of the change of the sabbath, are at the same time equal arguments in favour of its perpetuity. If, upon the whole, then, any thing becomes venerable for its age, illustrious from the dignity of its advocates, or sacred through the sanctity of its friends ; or, if long established custom is ever construed into law; if immemorial pos- session entitle to inheritance, or irreproachable character to antient patrimony and honours; we must, without hesitation, conclude the sab- bath to be venerable, illustrious, and holy, and to have descended to us encircled with right- eousness, immortality, and glory ; and demand- ing the kindest regards of every friend of his fellows, his country, and his God, (6.) From the designs of its appointment. — ■ And, FIRST, the sabbath was appointed for the glory of God} The antediluvian, patriarchal, and Jewish sabbaths, commemorated the mar- vellous exploits of creation and providence."* They brought to mind a series of events, the remembrance of which aroused the admiration, excited the affection, and inspired the song of many an illustrious Jew; and which still awakens the astonishment, warms the heart, ' Isaiah Iviii. 13. »" Exod. xx. 11. Deut. v. 15. I 98 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. and tunes the lyre of every pious and contem- plative disciple of the Lord Jesus. The christian sabbath was ordained to cele- brate the signal and glorious triumph of the Son of God over satan, sin, and the grave ; to be a perpetual memorial of the Spirit's descent ; and to call our attention regularly to the various pleasing, pious, and improving ordinances of the christian church. ' This is the day which the Lord hath made, whereon to be exalted among the people, and glorified by all his works. — Praise ye the Lord.' Secondly. — The sabhath was appointed for the good of mankind." — For his tem- poral WELFARE. — For the rest of his body. — It is ordained, in the fourth commandment, that during six days men shall be diligent in their business, in order to provide for themselves and their families. Now, as labour naturally wearies the man, and weakens his constitution, God has, in the same commandment, mercifully counteracted the evil, by appointing every seventh day for recruiting his strength, and reanimating his spirits for his next week's en- gagements. Nor is this rest to be confined to man, but is also to be afforded to the beasts of draught and burden, since they are exhausted with too much exercise as well as ourselves ;•' n Mark ii. 27. <> Exod. xx. 10. xxiii. 13. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 99 * for amidst the mighty movements of the uni- verse, which the Lord influences by his power, he careth for oxen.' ' And the toil-worn horse set free, Unheedful of the pasture roams at large ; And, as liis stiff unwieldly bulk he rolls, His iron-armed hoofs gleam in the morning ray.' For domestic happiness. — The man who, by his particular calling, is separated from his friends duripg the week, now returns to the bosom of his family, to enjoy the pleasures of domestic life, and to obtain that comfort at home, which the world denied him abroad. To-day, in the well-regulated family, every thing is clean and neat ; the people have little to do but to enjoy each other's society. Every child, with its sabbath dress, puts on its sabbath looks and sabbath deportment ; and a joy per- vades the good man's cottage, which makes it inviting when away, and happy when there.* * * Hail, Sabbath! thee I hail, the poor man's day. On other days the man of toil is doomed To eat his joyless bread, lonely ; the ground Both seat and board ; screened from the winter's cold, And summer's heat, by neighbouring hedge or tree j But on this day, embosomed in his home. He shares his frugal meal with those he loves; With those he loves he shares his heart-felt joy Of giving thanks to God, — not thanks of form, A word and a grimace, but reverently'. With covered face and upward eye.' Guahame's Sabbath Dau. 100 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. To elevate the human mind. — The man whose usual thoughts seldom aspired higher thau the neighbouring mountain, or expanded beyond his native village, when ascending the sacred hill of Zion, and entering the awful temple of God, feels himself arising far above his ordinary sphere, and treading even on celestial ground. Here, often associating with men in higher life, and of greater attainments than himself, listening to truths of grave and personal impor- tance, and viewing prospects of unlimited extent and unsullied glory, he finds his mind sublimated, and feels that he possesses powers to which he had hitherto been a stranger. Here first the vast ideas of infinitude and eternity distend his once -contracted capacity. The value of his soul, and the destiny of mortals now engage that attention, once solely directed towards the trifles of the day. He is astonished at his former folly, and descends into the vale of common life, as a being that belongs to a higher world. For national advantage. — Judge Black- 8T0NE remarks, ' that the keeping of one day in seven holy, as a relaxation and refreshment, as well as for public worship, is of admirable service to a state, considered merely as a civil institution. It humanizes, by the help of society and conversation, the manners of the lower classes, which would otherwise degenerate LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 101 into a sordid ferocity, and savage selfishness of spirit ; it enables the industrious workman to pursue his occupation in the ensuing week, with health and cheerfulness; it imprints on the minds of the people that sense of their duty to God, so necessary to make them good citizens ; but yet which would be worn out and defaced by an unremitting continuance of labour, with- out any stated times for recalling them to the worship of their maker.' p To remove the burden of time. — If there were neither breaks nor periods in the great circle of our existence, on which the attention might fasten and repose, except what are an- nual or accidental, our life would be extremely wretched. For example, could a traveller see a hundred miles of straight road before him, without either turning or variation, he would almost despair of ever reaching the end of it. So it is in the long journey of life ; its changes are often its charms, and its variation of scenery and pursuit makes it tolerable. Now, this pleasing variety, the sabbath often and regu- larly introduces. Through all the week men fix their thoughts on the change, which they know cannot be very distant : and thus the man who hates the divinely appointed exercises of the Lord's day, is, to a certain degree, made happy ^ Commentaries, B. iv. c. iv. §. 9. See also Bishop Leng's Sermons, p. 75. 1 3 102 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II, by its regular returns ; and the burden of time, or the too great sameness of engagement, which would otherwise rest so uncomfortably on the shoulders of the strongest and the best of men, is wisely and kindly removed. For his spiritual advantage. — For public ivorshij). — It was an admonition of Paul to the Hebrews, * not to forsake the assembling of themselves together :' and of those God- fearing people, who often spake one to another, and, consequently, often met together for their spiritual benefit ; ' they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.' ^ To enable us to comply with this admonition, and to obtain this blessing, God has appointed the seventh part of our time for social religion. For the conversion of sinners. — This is the day on which thousands are reclaimed from their vices, recalled from their wanderings, and brought, in penitence and prayer, to a gracious Redeemer. At this very time, the angels of God are flying through the midst of heaven, with the everlasting gospel, to preach to the nations. To-day, the towers of the mystical Babylon totter, and the peaceful kingdom of a q Heb. X. 2. Mai. iii. 17. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 103 gracious Saviour succeeds the tyrannizing domi- nation of satan and sin. For insti^ucting the ignorant. — Now, the poor mechanic, whose unhappy circumstances in youth deprived him of religious education, or whose constant engagements in the week may prevent him then from making any considerable improvement, can hear the word of God, can learn to read and understand it, and may be made wise to salvation, * through the know- ledge of him who hath called us to glory and virtue.' For comforting the afflicted. — To-day, the christian, who has been tossed on the waves of tribulation and woe through the week, is led to the rock that is higher than himself; where he * smiles at the tempest, and enjoys the storm.' Now let the north winds rage, above, beneath, around, he sits at rest, and is quiet ; yea, * though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof; he will not fear, for the Lord of hosts is with him, the God of Jacob is his refuge.' For attesting our christian character. — Every class of mankind has some characteristic feature by which it is distinguished from all other classes. The servants of God, and the worshippers of the Beast, had their respective marks in their foreheads ; the Mahometans, as a badge of their religion, hallow the sixth day 104 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. of the week ; the Jews, as a sign of Judaism, sanctify the seventh day : "^ and we shall mani- fest our attachment to Christianity by keeping the first. To ivean us from the world. — Man, by nature, is attached to the earth ; almost every temporal object has a growing interest in his heart ; and if no moments ever returned, when his affections were diverted from below, and set on things above, to part at last would be distressing indeed. Therefore, to make our final departure more easy, the sabbath was ap- pointed. Then, like the new-fledged bird, we try our feeble pinions — tempt the spiritual atmosphere — gaze with indifference upon the world beneath — and find our attempts more easy every time; till, at length, 'flushed for flight,' expert from experience, and attracted by heaven, ' we shall fly away and be at rest.' As an emhlem of heaven. — And were it duly observed, how appropriate the emblem would be.* As in heaven there is neither labour "■ Exod. xxxi. 13, 16, 17. Ezek. xii. 20. * No more fatigue, no more distress. Nor sin nor hell, shall reach the place ; No groans to mingle with the songs. Which warble from immortal tongues. No rude alarms of raging foes ; No cares to break the long repose ; No midnight shade, no clouded sun, But sacred, high, eternal noon. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 105 nor traffic, ungodly amusements, nor criminal indolence, so, to-day, there would be none upon earth. As heaven is a place of religious exer- cise and spiritual joy, so would be our sanc- tuaries on the sabbath, were it properly hallowed. We should have glory below, and with pleasure might anticipate the rest, or the keeping of a sabbath, that remaineth to the people of God ;* concluding in praise, what our Saviour taught us in prayer : O Lord ! thy will is done upon earth, even as it is done in heaven. If, then, such were really the designs of the Almighty, in setting apart a seventh portion of our time as a sabbath day (and scripture and reason support our statements), surely it must appear quite inconsistent with the plans of divine providence, for God to have instituted a seventh-day sabbath merely for the Jews, to begin and end with their political economy ; and that for 2500 years before their existence as a nation, and for ever after, the institution should have been either unknown or abolished ; when the general reasons of its foundation apply alike to every people, and to every age of the world.* (7.) Frotn the weakness of all objections. — Two scriptures are adduced, as apparently countenancing a system contrary to that we ^ Heb. iv. 9. Greek. t See Cornthwaite's Tracts, p. 42. 106 THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. have been endeavouring to establish. ' One man,' says Paul, ' esteemeth one day above another ; another esteemeth every day alike ; let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind : he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day to the Lord, he doth not regard it' " Again, ' Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.' ^ In the interpretation of these scriptures, it may be remarked generally, that as the lan- guage is confessedly ambiguous, and its import, viewed in connexion with our subject, very uncertain — -as we have already adduced indu- bitable evidence from reason and revelation in support of our sentiments — and as the fairest way of explaining any particular text, is to ren- der it in accordance with the common tenor of divine truth — so a clear and consistent illustra- tion of these passages cannot invalidate the doctrine we have so fairly and firmly established. But to descend to particulars. It is evident, then, that the former passage of the above quotation alludes neither to the seventh nor to the first day of the week. It appears that certain converts at Rome, whom the apostle stiles ' weak in the faith,' paid extraordinary attention " Rom. xiv. 5, 6. ^ Col. ii. 16. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 107 to various days, either not of divine appointment, or abolished by the coming of Jesus Christ. The converted Jew, perhaps, regarded especial seasons of ceremonial institution as innocent and useful, even in apostolic times : and the converted gentile probably celebrated others of heathen origin, or of his own creation; to please his prejudices, or to commemorate some re- markable events connected with the gospel dispensation, as equally innocent and useful. Now it seems that both parties condemned the conduct of each other, and were both, perhaps, in return censured by others, who, freed from the shackles of ceremony, and asserting their chris- tian liberty, esteemed every day alike ; while, to complete the fray, the supposed laxity of the latter did not long escape animadversion. These mutual recriminations reaching the ears of the apostle, he sends them the advice above recited, to enforce the exercise of kind- ness, forbearance, and charity; at once the basis and the beauty of the christian church. * Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind ; he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord ; and he that regardeth not the day to the Lord, he doth not regard it.' As the subject was of little importance to any one ; and as both acted from pious and conscientious motives, all, save the self-constituted censor, were kindly and justly spared. "^ ^ Vide Biblia Magna in loc. 108 ' THE AUTHORITY [LECT. II. Thus much for the first passage: the latter is easily illustrated. It is simply as if the apostle had said ; * since, therefore, the ceremonial law is now abolished, let not any who is in a bigoted manner attached to it, judge and condemn any of you, gentile christians, in regard to the use of meat and drink forbidden by it, or in respect to a feast which is appointed ; or to a new moon or sabbath ordained as times of sacred rest; and solemn worship, according to that ritual ; but not, therefore, by any consequences holy to us."" That the above are fair interpretations of the fore-cited texts, and that in the first the sabbath was not intended, nor the Lord's day in the second, we presume will be readily admitted by every person who remembers the attentive regard paid to a weekly rest, by the apostle and the early converts to Christianity, w hich we have abundantly established in the former parts of this lecture ; and which sentiment accords with the general opinion of our orthodox divines. It devolves on our opponents to give us an illustration more consistent with the holy writings in general, with the practice of the church of Christ, and with the interest of the people of God. Till this be done, we shall consider our positions fairly and fully main- tained. * See Dr. Doddridge on this passage. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 109 Those who contend that all times are alike holy, and should be equally devoted to the purposes of piety, or, in other words, that every day should be a sabbath, (probably to make every sabbath as ordinary days,) in the first place, have adduced no proof for their asser- tions — in the next, they are inconsistent with themselves, for they make more of the sabbath than of any other day — they oppose the real intention of the fourth commandment, which was evidently given to make a distinction be- tween common and sacred time — they contend against the common sense of mankind — they would reduce the ten commandments to nine — produce confusion in all human affairs — diminish the glory of God — and abridge the comfort of those people who keep, with delight, the sab- bath of the Lord, and reverence his sanctuary. Nor, in fact, will any such doctrine be long advocated by those who have attained a proper knowledge of the depravity of their own hearts — of the arduous task of suddenly abstracting their attention from the cares of life — of the entire surrender of the mind which God re- quires in every act of worship (for is the Al- mighty to receive no adoration but such as might ascend from amidst the bustle of a market — the debates of a forum — and the business of a tavern or shop!) and of that perfect renovation of soul, which only can meeten it for heaven. K 110 THE SANCTITY [LF.CT. II. For should as long a portion of every other clay be consecrated to the improvement of the mind, as the business of most men would permit — should we, by piety in thought and practice, render it as much like the sabbath as possible ; yet, such is the condition of men, and such their relations to God, that they will find the whole weekly sabbath observed in the most devotional manner, not only profitable but absolutely ne- cessary. In concluding this important section of our subject, we contend, from the premises herein, we presimie, indisputably established, that the observance of the weekly sabbath is not to be considered merely as beneficial to the lower orders of society, by affording them a suitable season for bodily repose and mental cultiva- tion ; but as positively and peremptorily enjoined upon every christian in the present day as it was upon the Jews antiently; and that the fourth commandment, in the decalogue, is as much a law to us as those other parts of it which prohibit idolatry, theft, adultery, or murder. If, however, the notion of propriety, pleasure, or improvement, induce objectors to the perpetual force of this precept, duly and devoutly to sanc- tify the Lord*s day, we feel no disposition to investigate or condemn the motives of their conduct ; though we can but subjoin that we believe men will neither long nor scrupulously LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY 111 keep the Lord's day, when they are in no de- gree influenced by the principles of obligation and duty. Thirdly, — The sanctity of the CHRISTIAN SABBATH. — In treating this branch of our subject, we purpose to discuss it only in a general point of view ; leaving the specific and minute modes of observing it to be inferred from our remarks on its frequent and varied violation : of which we shall treat in the two subsequent discourses. — We have, (1.) A FEW THINGS TO PREMISE. — FiRST, The scriptures afford us ample rules for the regulation of our conduct TOWARDS GoD on the Lord's day, — For though we have com- paratively few precepts concerning the sabbath in the new testament, yet we have abundance in the old ; since all the laws, rules and regu- lations, respecting the sanctification of this day, found in the old testament, not of a typical nature, nor peculiar to the Hebrews during their levitical economy, but which are of a natural or moral import, are as binding on us now as they were on the Jews formerly, or as any other law contained in the decalogue, or discovered in the sacred volume. Secondly, — The laws of our country either do, or should, afford ample rules for the 112 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. regulation of our conduct towards man on the Lord's day. — God having resigned that por- tion of his earthly and temporal government, which respects our civil deportment, to duly elected magistrates of every nation, who are to embody his laws in their civil codes ; so our English statutes either do or should contain proper rules for the regulation of our moral de- meanour on the sabbath day. And these laws either are, or ought to be, enforced by such penalties as should ensure their constant and due observance. Thirdly, — Those rules which are given to us for the regulation of our conduct towards God and man on the Lord's day are rather general and particidar. — In regulating divine worship among the Jews, God treated with them as with an infant church ; and their forms of worship, for the most part, being typical of something to come, and which must exactly correspond with their respective antitypes, their modes of worship were specified, even to the posture of the body or the motion of the finger. But now the church having risen to greater maturity, and our forms of worship not being typical of any thing to come, we are allowed a much greater freedom in the length of our devotions, and the modes of our wor- ship. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 113 Fourthly, — A perfect correspondence be- tween the modes of worship adopted hy dif^ ferent christian communities on the Lord's day, is neither practical nor requisite. — If any thin^ of this nature be left to the judgment of one man, it must be left to the judgment of all ; for who, in religion, shall imperiously dictate to another? And to procure perfect conformity to a human standing rule, it is necessary that all men should be brought either to think alike, which will never be the case, or be constrained to act contrary to their judgment, and, conse- quently, to their inclination; which would be worshipping God in a way altogether incom- patible with his requisitions. But should perfect conformity ever be found practicable, it does not appear either, what advantage religion at large would obtain from it, or what additional glory would redound to that God, who has been studious of variety in all his works. Fifthly, — A rigid, superstitious, or pain- ful observance of the Lord's day, is neither profitable to man, nor acceptable to God J — This is an error into which not only the catholic and the Jew, but even many protestant profes- sors are frequently running. Instead of making the sabbath a delight, they render it irksome to y Sea Dr. Wottou's ' Shabbath and Eruvin.' k3 114 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. themselves, and a burden to all their connexions. Religious services are stretched so long — prayers become so tedious — such rigid and useless restrictions are laid on their children and servants, that they are induced to hate the very name of the day. That such sancti- monious services are not necessary, we have sufficient proof from the lips of the Saviour himself, by whom they were frequently exposed and condemned/ Works of piety, necessity, and mercy — such as refreshing our bodies, feeding our cattle, visiting the afflicted,* instructing the ignorant, and preaching the gospel, are to be done : and those who best understand, and most venerate the word of God, will feel least scrupulous about doing them. * Is it such a fast that 1 have chosen ? a day for a man to afflict his soul I is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and « Matt. xxii. 1—13. * ' Ye bless'd with tvealth, (another name for power Of doing good,) O would ye but devote A little portion of each seventh day. To acts of justice to your fellow men ! The house of mourning sileutly invites. Shun not the crowded alley ; prompt descend Into the half-sunk cell, darksome and damp: Nor seem impatient to begone : enquire, Console, instruct, encourage, soothe, assist ; Read, pray, and sing a new song to the Lord ; Make tears of joy down grief-worn furrows flow.' Grahame's Sabbath. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 115 to spread sackcloth and ashes upon him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?'^ Sixthly, — Though God has strictly en- joined private devotion,^ as absolutely requisite for the ivell-being of his church, yet he has shown a manifest preference for public wor- shij). — For thus he spake by the mouth of his servant David : ' give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness ; bring an offering and come into his courts : O come, let us worship and bow down ; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker : enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise ; be thankful unto him and bless his name ; let them exalt the Lord in the congregation, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.'*^ All professors, therefore, who, without urgent necessity, substitute private de- votion for public worship, act contrary to the revealed pleasure of God, and in doing which cannot reasonably expect his blessing. Lastly, — No person can properly sanc- tify the sabbath, who can misemploy, without ^ Isaiah Iviii. 5. '' Matt. vi. 6. Acts x. 9, 30. « Psalm xcvi. 8, 9. xcv. 6. c. 4. cvii. 32. See also Matt, xviii. 20. Acts ii. 42. Heb. x. 25. 116 THE SANCTITY [LECT. 11. remorse, the rest of the iveek. — God hates hypocrisy, and is always angry with those who act out of character when they draw near to him. He requires consistency in our conduct, and a suitableness in our general demeanour. There must be a habit of holiness in the week, or there will be no real religion on the sabbath. To-day, indeed, a man may assume the tire of devotion ; may shake his head, lift up his eyes, clasp his hands, and utter a hundred amens ; but if in the week, as is often the case, he can neglect to embrace those religious opportunities with which he is favoured ; if he can forget his soul and his God ; or if he can run to places of banquettings and revellings — can sit round the card-board — join in the dance — mingle with the vain, and be as vain as any ; or if he can curse, and lie, and steal, or wallow in intoxica- tion, and ridicule the religion of Christ, he cannot possibly hallow the Lord's day; — he is at best a hypocrite — he merely mimics the saint — has the form of devotion, but is entirely destitute of its feeling. (2.) We have a few things to propose. — In order that the sabbath may be duly sanctified, it is required, First,— That, if p>ossihIe, no ordinary work should he done on it. — Those employments which, during the week, engross the attention and fill our hands, now, like LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 117 Abraham's young men, abiding at the foot of the mountain while he ascended to sacrifice to the Lord, should neither occupy our time nor engage our thoughts. ' Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work ; but the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt not do any work ; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. "^ To-day no business should be transacted, nor bargains made ; no accounts should be examined, nor any books, not truly pious, should be read ; no secular engagements should be made, nor property surveyed. It is a day on which we should shut out the world with all its obtruding appendages. That was an excellent rule among the Jewish doctors, and which should be attended to by all christian professors, namely, ' that whatever could pos- sibly be done the day before, or might be deferred till the day following, ought not to drive away the sabbath.' Secondly, — No unhallowed pleasure should he enjoyed on it. — To-day there should be no gambolling on the green, nor strolling through the fields ; no posting to distant places, nor " Exod. XX. 8—10. 118 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. parties in the family ; no manoeuvres on the water, nor amusements on the shore ; no diver- sions abroad, nor frolics at home ; no worldly discourse should be permitted, nor an unhallow- ed thought indulged. The pleasures of the sabbath should flow from engagements in the duties of religion and communion with God ; from a devout regard to every thing of a hea- venly nature ; from an unshaken confidence in the promise of a wise and powerful deity — from faith in the Saviour — and from converse with those who proceed in the same holy course of piety with ourselves. To-day we should drink only of the rivers of Jehovah's pleasure, and be satisfied only with the fatness of his house. ' And thou shalt honour the Lord thy God on this day, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'^ Thirdly, — No religious duty should he neglected on it. — This is a day of rest, but not of idleness. It is like the rest of heaven, which admits of * rest neither day nor night.' It calls us regularly to attend the means of grace ; to hear the word of God, to join in the prayers of the people, and to assist in singing the Saviour's e Isaiah Iviii, 13, 14. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 119 praises;* then, the sacraments should be ad- ministered, and collections made for the saints. *^ — ^Then the civil magistrate, as far as becomes his civil capacity, like good Nehemiah, should mark, and, if needful, correct the manners of his people. — Then the preacher of the gospel should exert himself to convert the depraved, and reclaim the backslider ; to instruct the ig- norant, and reprove the refractory ; to comfort the afflicted, and to guide his hearers in * the way of peace.' — It becomes masters and heads of families to engage in prayer with their chil- dren and domestics; to instruct the younger branches of the family in the principles of re- ligion, and to promote every thing calculated, spiritually, to improve their friends and depen- dents. — It becomes every person to read his * The following is a beautiful picture of the praises of the first sabbath : ' God from work Now resting, blessed and hallowed the seventh day, As resting on that day from all his work. But not in silence holy kept ; the harp Had work and rested not, the solemn pipe And dulcimer, all organs of sweet stop, All sounds on fret, by string or golden wire. Tempered soft tunings, intermixt with voice Choral or unison So sung they, and the empyrean rung With hallelujahs ; thus was sabbath kept ! •" Paradise Lost, b. vii. ^ Rev. iv. 8. Deut. xxxii. 46. Acts i. 14. Psalm cvii. 32. 120 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. bible, and other good books, and to store his mind with useful knowledge ; likewise to medi- tate on the goodness of God — his redemption by Christ — how he stands for another world — on the awful moments of death — and on his everlasting destination. Fourthly, — It must be observed sjm^i- tually, — Even the law of nature will tell you that if we worship a God spiritual in his being, and infinite in his perfections, something more than a mere form of devotion will be required from us. Indeed, no man is pleased with a respect which, he knows, comes not from the heart. How much less then will the eternal be satisfied with those hypocrites, * who draw nigh to him with their mouth, and honour him with their lips, while their heart is far from him!' Such people have never yet worshipped the Lord acceptably, and without a material im- provement they never will. ' Be not deceived, God is not mocked.' You may attend his house here with his people, and conform to every minutia of external order ; and yet be ' in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.' ' My son, give me thy heart,' is the request of the father of spirits, and, if that be denied, our offering, however costly, is vain. It is recorded by John, that * he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day ;' and then he saw the LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 121 vision of the Lamb ; and if we would behold the king in his beauty, we must see him with the eye of a devotional mind. To-day, especially when engaged in the service of the sanctuary, bending around the family altar, or retired in the chamber ; our minds should be detached from earthly things, our affections excited, and our thoughts absorbed in pious contemplation. * They that will worship the Father, must wor- ship him in spirit and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.'s^ ' All who read the gospel know, or may know, perfectly, that sin may be as easily and as extensively committed in thought, as in word or action ; and that the real seat of sin is in the heart. With the reformation of our hearts, then, we are always to begin our duty. We may as easily and as grossly profane the sab- bath, as far as we ourselves are concerned, by thoughts which are unsuited to its nature, as we can by any actions whatever. If our minds are intent on our business or our pleasures ; if our affections wander after them ; if we are cold or luke-warm with respect to our religious duties ; if we are negligent of a serious and cordial attention to them ; if we regard with impa- tience, the interruption occasioned to our secular concerns ; if we wish the institution had not been appointed, or the time in which it is kept, * John iv. 24. L 122 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. lessened; then, plainly, we do not esteem the sabbath a delight, nor abstain from finding our own pleasure. So long as this is the state of our thoughts, all our outward conformity to this precept^ will be merely hypocritical. Every oblation from such a mind will be vain, and all its incense an abomination. The sabbaths and the callings of assemblies, among persons who act in this manner, will be such as God cannot away with, and their solemn meetings will be iniquity.'* Be ye therefore fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. (3) We have a few things to add. — We cannot better describe the manner in which we ought to observe the christian sabbath, than by making the following citations : — First, The directory of pai'liament pub- lished in 1644, for the proper sanctification of the sabbath. ' The Lord's day,' it reads, ' ought to be so remembered before-hand^ as that all worldly business, of our ordinary callings, may be so ordered, and so timely and seasonably laid aside, as that they may not be impediments to the due sanctifying of the day when it comes. ' The whole day is to be celebrated as holy to the Lord, both in public and private, as being the christian sabbath : to which end it is requisite •"' Isaiah Iviii. 13,14. ' Dr. Dwight's Works, vol. iv. p. 56. LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 123 that there be a holy cessation, or resting all the day, from all unnecessary labours; and not only an abstaining from all sports and pastimes, but also from all worldly words and thoughts. * That the diet of that day be so ordered, as that neither servants be unnecessarily detained from the public worship of God, nor any other persons hindered from the sanctifying of that day. * That there be private preparation of every person or family, by prayer for themselves, and for God's assistance of the minister ; and by such other holy exercises, as may farther dis- pose them to a more comfortable communion with God in his public ordinances. * That all the people meet so timely for public worship, that the whole congregation be present at the beginning; and, with one heart, solemnly join together in all the parts of public worship, and not depart till after the blessing. * That what time is vacant between or after the solemn meeting of the congregation in public, be spent in reading, meditation, repe- tition of sermons, especially by calling their families to an account of what they have heard, and catechising them; holy conferences, singing of psalms, visiting the sick, relieving the poor ; and suchlike duties of piety, charity, and mercy; accounting the sabbath a delight.'^ ^ See Morer on the Lord's day, Dial. iii. 124 THE SANCTITY [LECT. II. Second, Acts of parliament still in force — It is enacted — For enforcing relig-ious prac- tices, * that all and every person and persons whatsoever, shall, on every Lord's day, apply themselves to the observance of the same ; by exercising themselves thereon, in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly and privately.' Against sports and pastimes ; — ' that there shall be no meetings, assemblies, or concourse of people, on the Lord's day, for any sports or pastimes whatsoever. Every person or persons offending in the premises, shall forfeit three shillings and four-pence for every such oifence, or be set in the stocks for the space of three hours.' Against ordinary labour ; — * that no trades- man, artificer, workman, labourer, or other person whatsoever, shall do or exercise any worldly labour, business, or work of their or- dinary callings upon the Lord's day, or any part thereof (works of necessity and charity only excepted) ; and that every person, being of the age of fourteen, or upwards, offending in the premises, shall, for every such offence, forfeit the sum oi five shillings.'' Against sales ; — ' that no person or persons whatsoever shall publicly cry, shew forth, or expose to sale, any wares, merchandize, fruit, herbs, goods, or chattels whatsoever, upon the Lord's day, or any part thereof, under pain LECT. II.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 125 that every person so offending, shall forfeit the same goods so cried or shewed forth, or exposed to sale : excepting milk and mackerel*, which may be cried and sold before nine o'clock in the morning, or after four in the afternoon.' Against travelling by land ; — ' that no drover, horse- courser, waggoner, butcher, higgler; their, or any of their servants, sjiall travel, or come into his or their inn, or lodging, upon the Lord's day, or any part thereof; upon pain that each and every such offender shall forfeit twenty shillings for every such offence.' Against travelling by water ; — ' that no per- son or persons shall use, employ, or travel upon the Lord's day, with any boat, wherry, lighter, or barge ; except it be upon extraordinary occasions, to be allowed by some justice of the peace, upon pain that every person, so offend- ing, shall forfeit and lose the sum of Jive skil- lings, &c.'' Respecting London bakers ; — * that no person exercising or employed in the calling of a baker, in the city of London, or within twelve miles thereof, shall make, bake, or expose to sale, or sell any household or other bread, rolls, or cakes of any kind, on the Lord's day, or any part * There appears no more necessity for selling mackerel on the sabbath, than any other fish whatever ; and, therefore, the licence for doing it ought certainly and soon to be withdrawn. ' Burne's Justice in loc. l3 126 THE SANCTITY [LECT. H. thereof (except between the hours of nine in the morning, and two in the afternoon) or bake or deliver any meat, pudding, pie, tart, or victuals, at any time after half-past two o'clock of that day ; on pain of forfeiting ten shillings for the first, twenty for the second, and forty for the third and every subsequent offence, &c.'°^ Respecting country bakers ; — * that no person exercising or employed in the trade or calling of a baker, beyond the city of London, or the liberties thereof, shall, on the Lord's day, or any part thereof, except between the hours of ten in the morning, and half-past one in the afternoon, sell, or expose to sale, any bread or cake whatsoever ; or deliver any meat, pudding, pie, or victuals of any kind, under the penalty of five shillings for the first offence, ten for the second, and fifteen for the third,' &c." Third, TJie advice of Baxter. — ' Spend the Lord's day but according to the common prin- ciples of Christianity and reason, and it shall suffice. Spend it as one that loveth God better than any thing in the world; and that taketh more pleasure in him than in sin and vanity. Spend it but as the necessities of thy own soul, and thy family's require ; as one that is glad of '^ Acts 53 Geo. III. c. 99. " Acts 50 Geo. Ill, c. 73. LECT. 11.] OF THE LORD's DAY. 127 SO honourable, gainful, and delightful employ- ment, as the public and private worship of God, and the serious contemplation of the life to come ; as one that knows the need and be- nefit of stated times for the worship of God ; (and what would become of religion, if the time were left to each one's will * Spend it^ as men that put a just difiference between the common business of this world, and the things that concern our endless state ; and that have considered the proportion of one day in seven, in reference to this different con- sequence of the work. Spend it as men that have lost so much time as you have done, and who have need to make the best of the little that is left; and that are behind-hand in the matters of your salvation ; and that have need to work with all your might, and who should be gladder of the helps of such a day, than of thousands of gold and silver. Spend it as those who believe they owe God as much as the Jews did. Spend it as the antient chris- tians spent it ; that were wont to stay together almost from morning till night in public worship and communion.'" Finally, Spend it, we add, as the laws of your country and your God require you. Spend it as a day for which you must be more parti- cularly accountable*^ to your Judge, at his grand o Baxter's Works, vol. iii. p. 764. LonH. ed. 1707. l28 THE SANCTITY, &C. [LECT. II. tribunal. Spend it, in the strength of God, as the chief time to ward off present and future misery, and to ensure temporal and eternal happiness ; as the season on which your ever- lasting destiny more especially depends ; and it shall suffice ; we will ask no more ; we will applaud your conduct; we will say, ' go on, go on, that is well done. Blessed is that ser- vant, whom, when his Lord cometh, he shall find so doing ! ' LECTURE III, THE PROFANATION OF THE LORDS DAY BY THE NATION IN GENERAL, AND BY INDIVI- DUALS IN PARTICULAR. We enter on the subject, designed for our present consideration, with no small degree of reluctance ; and gladly would we have trans- ferred it to some one, whose superior judgment would have handled it better, and whose ve- nerable age might have given pathos to every sentence that he uttered: but having put our hand to the plough, we dare not look back till our work be accomplished. We have, then, the very unpleasant task of charging our congregation, our neighbours, and our nation in general, with egregious breaches of the Lord's day. We have to expose those traits of immorality, which stain some of your characters, and render your Christianity doubt- ful ; to reprove that practice, which we have 130 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. observed with pain, and contemplated even with tears. We have to bring our remarks to bear on the conduct of our neighbours, whose profli- gacy and negligence of religion render them unworthy of the christian name ; to compare the standard of sacred truth with the model of fashionable piety ; to reprehend the miscon- duct of men, in every stage and station of life ; to speak regardless of friend or foe, professor or profligate, or of any thing that might arise to arrest our impeachments. We have to extend our observations still wider, and to represent the maxims and manners of the nation, in contrast with the morality of the gospel; to notice the imperfection of some of our laws, and the unhappy tendency of others ; and to expose the criminal negligence of many of our acting and subordinate magistrates, as far as it conduces to the profanation of the Lord's day: ' This is work, this is labour.' By some we shall be considered assuming ; by others unnecessarily rigorous ; and, by many, disaffected towards our country : but to such we reply, destroy our propositions, refute our reasonings, or disprove our inferences ; and if this be impracticable, we enquire with the apostle, ' are we become your enemy because we tell you the truth V Is faithfulness a mark of disaffection ; or shall we be considered LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 131 inimical to your interest, and ill-disposed to- wards our country, by developing those evils, which unnoticed and unreformed, will prove our inevitable ruin ? Must we prophesy smooth things, and deliver a falsehood to obtain your favour? Oh, no! ' Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee : I speak as unto wise men, judge ye what I say.' We remark, however, that as we aim only at convincing the heart by a faithful detail of notorious facts, or by a correct delineation of common and corrupted manners ; it will be proper, sometimes, to employ the usual phrase- ology of the day, and the language peculiar to the lower orders of society: let this be an apology for any common expressions that may occur, which might otherwise appear beneath the dignity of this place, or unworthy of so solemn and sublime a subject. If, also, we should drop any expressions which may savour of harshness, irony, or contempt, you will ascribe them to the same motive — a holy and ardent desire to affect the heart, by a faithful exposure of human folly. You will also bear in mind, that no part of the following discourse is directed, exclusively, to any particular indi- viduals or parties of mankind ; but to sabbath- breakers in general, of every place, of every rank, and of every name. We now proceed to consider — 132 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. II. The profanation of the lord's day, by the nation in general, and by individuals in particular. and, First, The sabbath is profaned by the nation in general: (1.) By tolerating the sale of goods on it. — ' There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath.' The vending of articles of every description on the Lord's day, is a custom as common as it is pernicious to civil and religious order. In walking through some of the streets of our large towns, and especially of the metropolis, on the sabbath, we are accosted from every quarter by mercenary people, who seek to make us sharers in their guilt, by purchasing their goods. In fact, there is scarcely a village or hamlet in England, where this detestable traffic is not fully tolerated, and even warmly encouraged, by those who ought strenuously to suppress it. The manner in which the Lord's day is pro- faned in this town, by the sale of goods, is truly distressing. The custom is much more common than many imagine. Where is the street — where is the lane — whea'e are a hundred yards of ground, not shamefully disgraced, every sabbath, by every kind of traffic? It is observable, also, that the more populous the place, the more LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 133 common is the practice, and the less obnoxious are the traders to penalty or punishment of any description. We conceive it will not be ex- ceeding the truth, if we affirm, that within the bills of mortality of London, the seat of royalty, and the resort of our rulers, there are more than ten thousand shops and stalls set out in * Sunday style,^ where you may purchase articles of every description, on the christian sabbath.* And it is well known, that many petty shop-keepers, in country places, dispose of more commodities on this day, than during all the week besides. How customary is it to see the * shop- window half shut, and a godless shop-keeper staring * Even in the religious city of Bristol and its vicinity, no fewer than 806 shops were recently kept open on the Lord's day. By the exertions, however, of the society formed for promoting a due observance of the sabbath, the number is already diminished to 605. To shut up which, the magistrates have circulated the following advertisement, which we will insert for the ex- ample of others : — ' It being represented to the mayor and alder- men of this city, that many persons carrying on trade, and especially persons licensed to retail spirituous liquors within this city, do keep open their shops, and expose articles for sale, on the liOrd's day, commonly called Sunday: — notice is hereby given to all such persons, that upon information being exhibited against them, the full penalties for such offences will, upon con- viction, be inflicted : and all constables, and all other persons who shall see such offences committed, are requested to give information to the magistrates. — By order of the ma^'or and aldermen. (Signed.) Ludlow.' M 134 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. across the counter, anxious to serve any one's boy with a half- penny cake, or a farthing candle !' Others, ashamed of their conduct, yet unwilling to reform their morals, will admit you into their shop through a back door, and serve you by candle-light, amidst the blaze of noon. Some proceed on the superstitious principle, that, if they sell nothing while the people are at church, they may vend as much as possible before and after. Many, in piteous strains, will tell you, how exceedingly sorry they feel that the people should come to their shop on the Lord's day; but you know, they will add, our bread depends on their custom, and we are obliged to serve them, or starve : while, at the same time, thousands are so desperately auda- cious as to make no scruple about carrying on this ill-timed traffic, in the most public manner, and to the fullest extent of their power. ' To buy, and sell, and get gain,' are all that these slaves of appetite, or dupes of mammon, seem concerned about. What a favourable opportunity is here furnish- ed for the idle and the profligate to profane the day of the Lord, by domestic bustle, to squander upon trash their weekly wages, and to attend their rounds of dissipation and riot ! Yet this, by a suppression of sales on the sabbath, might be partially, if not entirely done away. Another painful consequence of tolerating LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 135 sales on the sabbath must not be passed over unobserved. We refer to the conduct of gardi- ners, resident in the vicinity of our towns and cities ; who, in the summer season, in order to supply the regular fruiterers or their numerous visitants with * grapes and figs,' and other new plucked articles ; employ, in the aggregate, an incredible number of people all the day long in gathering them. It requires only a very super- ficial survey of the subject to perceive in this procedure a very great evil strenuously to be counteracted, or deeply to be deplored. By the prohibition of this practice, thousands, who now issue forth on every Lord's day to the stall, the fruit-shop, and the public gardens — frolicking in the weakness and vanity of their hearts; and the poor, employed to gratify their desires, might be occupied in learning what now they do not understand — their duty to themselves, to their kindred, their country, and their God. Nor can we but notice, that the more con- scientious shop-keeper, frequently seeing his customers laying out that money with others, which, were it not for sabbath-breaking, would be expended with him ; is induced, though re- luctantly, to follow the example ; and, by custom, becomes hardened in the wickedness, and proves, in his turn, a tempter of others : so that nothing but a total suppression of the practice, will secure to the conscientious subject his 136 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. rights, or be radically advantageous to the cause of the gospel, or the good of the nation. (2.) By suffering so much liquor to be sold on it. — Selling liquor, * as also wine,' on the Lord's day, is a custom which prevails to a very alarming degree in every part of our country. Every man, of a truly philanthropic spirit, can- not but be distressed at the constant and rapid increase of those various inns, which, though originally established for the necessary accom- modation of man, are now converted into haunts of vice, and nurseries of mischief. Nearly the smallest town you can enter, will afford you the choice of a very considerable number : and many of these are kept by men, who have no principles, but such as are secular and selfish ; and no manners, but such as deceive the simple and deprave the good. Yet these very men are more engaged on the Lord's day, and then receive more money, than during all the rest of the week. Probably there is not one inn out of ten in the kingdom, Avhere this nefarious practice is not carried on, 'to the dishonour of God, and the scandal of our holy religion.' These inns, ale-houses, gin-shops, brothels, or whatever they may be called, particularly in large places, are commonly the resort of the debauched and infamous, where works of dark- ness are carried on in open day. LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 137 At the Sunday tavern, the man loses his senses, and ruins his constitution ; injures his character, and wastes his property ; beggars his family, which, in addition, he learns to abuse; disturbs his neighbourhood, and pollutes so- ciety ; and often barters his soul for a pint of ale, after he has drunk an insupportable quan- tity; and, in fact, does, or is capable of doing, every kind and degree of vice, in the power of satan to invent, or a fiend upon earth to perform. Here, the female, too, intoxicated with spirits, and forgetting the delicacy of her sex, rolls on the floor, and wallows on the dunghill. Here, disregarding her state and station, her accountableness to God, and her character in the world ; the peace of her conscience, and the prosperity of her family ; she drinks till either frantic or stupid; and, by her nonsense or insensibility, collects the now leisureable mob ; who either enjoy the sport, or pity the abandoned wretch. In the ale-house, to-day, even children, also, free from restraint, and anxious to swell with the importance which a few glasses of spirits infuse, are encouraged to spend their little cash, and to associate with the vilest companions. Here, they see the basest crimes approved of and applauded. Here, they vitiate their youth- ful bosoms; sow the seeds of every sin in the soil of their infant minds; and which, fostered m3 138 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. by depravity, and ripened by habit, soon bear fruit to perfection; and, as is often the conse- quence, they are induced to become robbers, and at last downright murderers. Thus, the Sunday ale-house is but a lodge to Tyburn : and, hence, the negligence of our magistrates, in not duly suppressing the sale of liquor on the sabbath, is the occasion of nu- merous executions. They tolerate one crime, which they know will infallibly lead to another ; for doing the latter of which, however, the man shall lose his life : whereas, if the former had been prevented, he had lived and brightened the domestic circle ; had still been a useful member of society, and a dutiful subject of the british realm. And, suffer us to add, that the man who, consistently with his duty, might have prevented his neighbour's death, and did not prevent it, is, to all intents and purposes, in the eye of hu- manity, of reason, and of God, guilty of his neighbour's blood.* (3.) By permitting so much travelling on it. — Though few men are so weak as to fancy it a sin for a man, through urgent necessity, to use his beast on the Lord's day, particularly such as are kept for pleasure, or that would not be abused by a little employment on the * See £zek. xxxiii. 1 — 10. LECT. III.] OF THE LORD's DAY. 139 sabbath ; yet the sacred oracles condemn, and most good people are decidedly against, the usual practice of then driving horses in mail, stage, or hackney coaches, or in common carts and waggons, or of riding them on rounds of ordi- nary business or pleasure, so common throughout the kingdom.* According to the lowest calculation that we can make, there are, in Great Britain and Ire- land, more than two hundred thousand persons travelling every sabbath ; that these employ upwards of two hundred thousand horses to convey them from place to place ; and that their attendants, coachmen, guards, footmen, ostlers, shoeboys, waiters, cooks, house-maids. * Forth from their haunts, arraj'd in sunday dress, Through every avenue the thousands press : Some, in equestrian pomp, bestride the backs Of broken-knee'd or broken-winded hacks ; While thro* each gate a lengthen'd train departs. Of coaches, gigs, and curricles, and carts ; Where, closely wedg'd, and jostling side by side, The sweltering gentry take their sunday ride, Impatient longing for the cheap regale Of village beef and pudding, punch and ale ; Where, round the common-table, strangers join. Once in a week, like gentlefolks, to dine. Thither a few short miles impell'd along, By many a fretful stamp and lashing thong, With feeble step the jaded cattle creep. And their sad day of rest in labour keep !' Age of Frivolity. 140 THE PROFAxNATION [LECT. III. hair-dressers, turnpike-gate-keepers, with all the round of servants, are no fewer than two hun- dred thousand people more. The greater part of the latter are so occupied on the Lord's day, that to attend a place of worship, were they ever so desirous, is utterly impossible. What a lamentable thing is it, that in a coun- try professedly christian, such practices should be permitted; and that thereby, so many people, who might otherwise have been good members of society, should be deprived of religious in- struction ; and be made, as they too generally are, the nuisance of our towns, and the pests of our public roads. In consequence of the tnails' travelling on the sabbath, multitudes of letters, papers, and parcels, are delivered in every town throughout the kingdom ; and which necessarily occupy the attention, and often unfit the minds of those who receive them, for any religious engage- ments. Hence, also, on evei7 sabbath, you may see an uneasy group of all orders around the post- office window, waiting for their packet, as if the news of salvation were coming per post ! Besides, the post-masters and letter-carriers, of whom there are several thousands in this country, are now as fully employed as on any other day of the week. Such, indeed, is their office, that few people, properly concerned LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 141 about another world, would enter upon it; though their pecuniary circumstances might render it desirable. Again, passing through our towns on the Lord's day, you may see the carriages mostly surrounded by crowds of people, who, with all the impoliteness of the ignorant and the rude, stare at the passengers as if they were beings of another order, and examine the cattle as if they had never seen a horse before ! These carriages, moreover, whirling through our streets every hour of the day, greatly disturb the devotions of all those, who are so unfortu- nate as to have their place of worship near the public road. With what daring effrontery, likewise, do the common cartei^s travel on our public roads to- day ! If you admonish them respecting the im- propriety of their conduct, you get nothing but abuse for your kindness ; and to apply to a ma- gistrate, is, in many cases, to set the culprit in the seat of judgment, and ever after to be branded as a malicious informer. To the list of travelling coaches may be added, those boats, barges, packets, &c. which are constantly running up and down our navi- gable rivers and canals on the sabbath. Here the gay and the giddy are to be found. Hither the young especially resort ; forming tumultuous parties, and producing confusion wherever they 142 THE PROFANATJON [LECT. III. go. Here they crowd the groaning vessel, and sail to the neighbouring rendezvous; where they hold their meetings of dissipation and riot, spending their hard-earned wages; and then return home, with wearied, and sometimes wounded limbs, to starve, or beg, or cheat, or steal, for the necessaries of life, till sunday come again. (4.) By allowing so many cattle to he driven on it. — Upon our public roads, on the Lord's day, it is usual to see from ten to thirty Irish- men or Scotch Highlanders, driving from two hundred to a thousand head of black cattle, either from one northern fair to another, or from Ireland and Scotland up to the markets in the south. If you question them why they drive on the sabbath, they will plead necessity — the want of fodder. But is it not strange that this should always be the case ? Is it not more probable that such pleas are formed merely as cloaks of their selfish and sinister designs ? There is an act against this evil, but it is rarely enforced, and if enforced, is not suffi- cient to prevent the recurrence of the crime, or even to displace the contemptuous smile from the jobber's countenance. A fine of twenty shillings, as we recently shewed you, is incur- red by driving cattle on the Lord's day ; but, observe, the drover, by driving forward about LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 143 five hundred beasts, saves upwards of ten pounds in expenses, besides the advantage of getting a day earlier to the market, which may, for the moment, be a hundred pounds more in his pocket. What, then, avails a penalty so trifling, when the inducement to incur it is so considerable? As for the necessity, which is commonly pleaded, would it not be advisable for the magistrates to examine the business, and to see what was real necessity, and what was only feigned or fancied? A respectable cattle-merchant, however, very lately declared, ' that it seldom or never happened, that a plenty of provender could not be obtained, if the drovers wished to procure it. To all this may be added, tbe evil of driving great numbers of sheep, hogs, horses, cows, calves, &c. on the Lord's day, to reach mon- day fairs and markets, which are so general in our nation. Indeed, it can hardly be imagined, how this very impolitic practice of holding monday fairs and markets for cattle, or even for any thing, should be continued in a country professedly christian ; when it invariably, and almost necessarily, makes such work for the preceding sabbath. The fairs and markets of Saturday too, are equally exceptionable ; since they have a similar influence on profaning the following day. 144 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. Is it not very desirable, then, that the fairs and markets which fall on those days, or on any day, which necessarily occasions bustle or travelling on the sabbath, should be speedily altered ? And might not some general arrange- ment be easily made, that would enable the merchant, drover, farmer, or poor people, to do all their business without infringing on the sacred hours and the religious duties of the Lord's day ? But to proceed further : as a specimen of sabbath profanation, hear the following account irom a neighbouring periodical paper : — ' Being in the habit of attending a country church, not far from this place,' says a writer in the Cum- berland Pacqviet, ' I was a little surprised, on Sunday last, to find the congregation much less than usual; and on enquiry into the cause of it, to my great astonishment, was informed, that it was occasioned by an annual tup fair, being held on that day at *^**. I was also told,' pro- ceeds the writer, ' by a person of unquestion- able veracity, that it has, for a number of years, been invariably held on a Sunday! The evil tendency,' he adds, ' of so shameful a profana- tion of the sabbath, is obvious ; and, one would suppose, that a practice so contrary to civil and religious order, would only need consideration, to be ultimately relinquished.' LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 145 (5.) By tolerating the printing and sale of newspapers on it^ — While we cannot suffi- ciently admire the freedom of the press, and the liberty of circulation granted to every man's sen- timents, not hostile to civil order ; at the same time we heartily wish, that a clause were inserted in the act of parliament, prohibiting men from using the press on the sabbath, and from circu- lating the productions of Sunday printers. * No violation of this sacred day,' writes the editor of the Philanthropic Gazette, * is so shameful as that of the Sunday newspapers; the number of which is every year increasing, and now amounts, according to the Monthly Maga- zine, to twenty more than are published on any other day of the week, morning and evening papers both included. The shameful manner in which the venders cover their shutters with placards, announcing every exhibition of crime and folly, is, in the highest degree, insulting to the christian name. And while not a bible or prayer-book is to be purchased on this day, treason and infidelity are posted at every corner of the streets.' There are, then, at the lowest estimate, twenty Sunday newspapers ; and many of the editors boast of selling eight or ten thousand copies a week.*^ Hence, upwards of a thousand " Sue Christian Monitor, by the Rev. J. Owen, p. 164. <^ See Evangelical Magazine, vol. xxviii. p. 231. N 146 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. men are employed, as compositors, pressmen, venders, hawkers, &c., every Lord's day : and not fewer than between three and four hundred thousand are more or less engaged in reading them. Also, when a second edition is published on the monday morning, which is the case with some of the papers, the work of the Lord's day evening is considerably increased. These papers are profusely spread in every tavern, coffee-room, ale-house, gin-shop, tea- gardens, or other place of rendezvous, to attract thither the idle and the vain. And the god of this world, as an inspiring spirit, is very careful in choosing the topics to be discussed, and in dictating the language in which these infernal scriptures shall make their appearance. Thus, saving a few scraps of mongrel divinity, now and then stuck in a corner of a few of them, to be a little in Sunday fashion, they are crammed with all kinds of advertisements, with informa- tion of battles fought and won, with criticisms on theatrical performances, pugilistic details, pedestrian exploits, the most indecent debates ; and, in fact, with every thing that can poison the minds, and vitiate the morals of our popu- lation. '^ If such, then, be the criminal nature and per- nicious results of this ungodly system, how weak ^ See Observations upon Sunday Newspapers, p. 69 — 100. LECT. HI.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 147 are any pleas in its favour, on the ground of finance ! Suppose it did increase the revenue ten times more than its warmest advocates pretend ; does it not, at the same time, increase dissatisfaction, disloyalty, and death? Read some of our sunday papers ; and then say, if the government could have adopted a more speedy and effectual method of self-castigation, than to permit them to be circulated on the sabbath. It is, in effect, fostering a serpent, ■which every now and then recoils with en- venomed rage upon the person whose attentions preserve its existence. Every sunday paper produces a moral inebriation, and every drunkard pushes round the bowl, till first the family, then his neighbours, and at last the nation, become intoxicated, quarrelsome, and mad ; till alarm is spread over the land, and thousands are ex- pended, and incalculable trouble experienced, in reducing the people to sobriety and order.^ Is not this then an evil, for the reformation of which, all the tender feelings of humanity, and the nobler principles of the christian reli- gion, combine in ardent supplication? Is it not alarming to see so many manufactories of moral poison, (if we may so speak,) thundering on- ward during the Lord's day, supplying the stupid multitude with passports to the regions of hell, « See Christian Observer, vol. xv. p. 290. Also, Monthly j^agazine, vol. li. p. 259. 148 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. and prompting them thither faster than the devil could otherwise conduct them? (6.) By drilling our military on it. — Thou- sands of our soldiers, especially of our young regiments, and volunteers, on the sabbath day, when they should retire from the world, and prepare for those disasters, and that death, to which they are so peculiarly liable, are generally at parade in the field, serving their king, but neglecting their God. And this exercise is usually accompanied by a martial band, playing (from association of ideas) the most ludicrous and indecent airs. This, moreover, is constantly attended by a gazing crowd, who are better pleased with the field than the church, with the soldiers than the preachers, and with the foolish rant of a few trumpeters, than the heaven-inspired songs of Zion. In fact, it is a common thing to see multitudes of people, of all ages and stations in life, pressing to see the wonderful feats of our troops, rather than to attend the duties of reli- gion, or to secure an interest in the favour of God. These are proceedings which cry aloud for reform. Oh ! may their voice be heard and heeded by every rank of society.^ ^ Sez Essays and Observations upon Sunday Drilling, by A Lord of Parliament, — The Rev. Edward Cooper, — and Thomas Gisborne, A. M. LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 149 To the arguments usually adduced in support of drilling on the sabbath, refutations shall be given in a following lecture. We will there- fore close this particular, in the words of an eminent writer, on a similar occasion : ' God has, it is true, at this time given us peace; it is another trial; it is another call ; we, indeed, may make it a great and a lasting blessing. But, alas ! unless a reformation follow, peace does but skin our wounds ; we bleed inwardly, and our very vitals waste. What will it avail us to repair our losses, if, at the same time, we pursue and multiply our sins? What will it signify that we are delivered from the fear of a mortal enemy, when, on this supposal, God must still have a controversy with our land I A reformation, then, you will acknowledge necessary; if you neglect it, certainly your honour and prosperity will be very little, or of short duration. For this is the word of God in a much like case : ' them that honour me, I will honour: and they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed.'^ (7.) By occupying so many people on it. — Who that looks into the concerns of our nume- rous ports, will doubt whether the employment of so many petty officers, such as dock-masters, 2 Lucas's Sermon before the Magistrates of London. n3 150 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. pilots, porters, tide-waiters, clerks, lock-up-men, halliers, and others, too numerous to name; who are usually employed in them on a Lord's day, is absolutely requisite for securing- the dues of the crown? or that some plan might not be adopted for the renovation of a system so in- jurious to the best interests of many of our fellow- subjects ? or who that knows any thing respecting the management of business on an extensive scale can suppose, that if, during the week, the conductors or overseers of our pa- rochial, civil, or national operations, felt a christian concern for the souls of men, and studied the sanctity of the sabbath, a great many, who are now continually employed in secular affairs, might not be enabled to enjoy, at least in turn, the repose and privileges of the Lords day? or who need be told, that our magistrates, by tolerating one man to violate the sabbath, in many instances virtually oblige others to violate it likewise ? The maltster, sugar-baker, tanner, leather- cutter, distiller, soap-boiler, candle-maker, &c,, are allowed (not, it is true, by the letter or spirit of the law, but by the laxity of its enforcement,) to attend to their respective avocations on the Lord's day ; and what is the result I why, the poor exciseman must dance attendance on them as long as they please to detain him. Merchant-ships and vessels of war, also, are LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 151 permitted to leave our docks on this day ; and what is the result? why, pilots, porters, boatmen, clerks, dockmen, and a long train of custom- house officers, are obliged to attend to their ordinary occupation, the same as at other times. That these are evils deeply to be deplored, and zealously to be counteracted, no christian man, in his senses, will deny. View the con- sequences on society in a single instance. Observe the bustle occasioned in a sea-port town by a single man of war, or even a mer- chant-ship entering or leaving the docks on a Sunday. The employment of the crew is the least we deplore. Contemplate the hundreds on shore, that, overwhelmed with anxiety, hasten to receive or to part with their friends. And how many boatmen, porters, coach-drivers, and one knows not who, are actively occupied in their respective departments of life ! Nor is this all ; thousands of spectators are sometimes seen crowding our quays in the most tumultuous manner, and strolling heedlessly on the margin of the waves, that they may view, with greater accuracy, the passengers on board or the pro- gress of the vessel. Nor can we approach so near the deep, with- out casting a compassionate glance on the long — too long- neglected tar. To our sailors, under God, we are indebted for many of our com- forts, our liberty, and our lives ; to procure 152 THE PROFANATION [LECT. Ill, and to preserve which, they have relmquished the many endearments of home, committed the care of their lives to a treacherous sea, and faced, with a heroism only their own, the foe that threatened our shores. But, alas ! what in return has been done for the tar ? We have cared for the stranger, and neglected our coun- trymen; we have preached to the hottentot, and forgotten the sailor. Untaught, our tars have fallen by the side of our cannon; unpitied, they have sunk amidst the waves ; and unprepared, have been hurried before the bar of God. We hail, however, with gratulation and de- light, the several societies formed and forming in our sea-port towns, for their moral and spi- ritual improvement ; and we sincerely hope, that motives so pure, and efforts so divine, may be crowned with deserved success, and that the time will soon arrive when every seaman shall be a missionary, and a portion of his freight the seeds of salvation, to be sown in the dark and distant nations of the earth. (8.) By allowing vestries for business on it. — It appears quite incompatible with the principles of the gospel, and the happiness of the people, particularly of the poor, for church- wardens, overseers, or any other parish officers, to have their meetings for business on the evenings of the Lord's day. This practice invariably LECT. HI.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 153 banishes seriousness from the minds of the conductors of parochial affairs ; it gives a bad example to the poor, many of whom it obliges to attend the house of business, when otherwise they might have attended the house of prayer ; and it not seldom presents us with scenes of frivolity, profaneness, and oppression ; and that, too, often in the sanctuary of God. It would be superfluous to say, that these kinds of meet- ings are common : he that knows any thing of the moral state of our country, must be con- vinced that there are few parishes, compara- tively, where these vestries are held at any other time than the Lord's day evenings. If you speak to the managers respecting the impropriety of such proceedings, they will re- tort, ' that it is lawful on the sabbath days to do good.' This we admit; but the answer is vague. ' Treading wine -presses, bringing in sheaves, lading asses, bearing all manner of burdens, and selling all kinds of victuals,' are certainly good ; but are they proper for the sabbath ? Nehe- miah thought not. These vestries at best are about temporal matters ; and could, as conve- niently for rich and poor, be held on any other evening of the week as now. That worldly business can never be well done on the sabbath, that can be done as well at any other season. We wish, therefore, that the time of these meetings may be speedily altered, in order that 154 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. the poor may be enabled to attend the worship of God, or to employ the evening of the sab- bath in duties of christian piety. This day is nearly all the time they have to prepare for an endless state. Oh ! then, let not its sacred hours be infringed, nor the religious advantages of the poor abridged. Secondly. — The sabbath is profaned by individuals in particular. and, (1.) By professors of religion; who break it in various ways, as, Brj neglecting to prepare for its approach. — In the sacred scrip- tures we frequently read of a preparation for the sabbath ; in british history we learn, also, that in the year 966, king Edgar made a law, that the celebration of it should commence at nine o'clock on Saturday night ; and a convo- cation of the scotch clergy assembled at Perth, in 1180, ordained that its preparation should begin at twelve o'clock the preceding day. But, alas ! how little of this preparation do we perceive in the conduct of modern profes- sors. You make preparation for a journey ; you are greatly concerned to prepare for a re- spectable guest, before he arrive ; and you are ever attentive to improve an approaching o})- portunity for your temporal advantage : but to go a sabbath day's journey, to receive the LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 155 Redeemer, or to hear the word of salvation, you make no preparation at all. Instead of dispatching your business early in the week, you saunter away [the time in needless and unprofitable recreations, and your work is left till Saturday, when you have often more to do than on any other day ; and are kept employed later than on any evening of the week besides ; and it is to be feared, that not a little unneces- sary work is often deferred till the Lord's day morning. This is no moderate violation of the fourth commandment. By lying in bed too long in the morning.^ — Many of you, apparently, supposing that the sabbath was made more for natural repose than for spiritual rest, act up to your principles, and lie in bed so late in the morning, that you find it almost impossible to perform any religious duty, either in the closet or family, and to get * Falsely luxurious, will not man awake. And, springing from the bed of sloth, enjoy The cool, the fragrant, and the silent hour. To meditation due and sacred song ? For is there ought in sleep to charm the wise ? To lie in dead oblivion, losing half The fleeting moments of too short a life ; Total extinction of the enlightened soul I Or else to feverish vanity alive, Wildered and tossing through distempered dreams ? Who would in such a gloomy state remain Longer than nature craves ? • Thomson's Surmner. 156 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. in time to the house of God. You feel little difficulty in rising ever so early, when you have temporal affairs to transact, or worldly pleasures to enjoy ; but when eternal concerns demand your attention, in the language of Solomon's sluggard, you say, ' a little more sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.' Or should you attempt to go through the duties of the morning, they are performed in such a hurry, that the devil is better served than God, and bad principles more cherished than good ones. You sometimes hasten from the chamber to the church, as if there were no halt- ing place between the room of slumber, and the house of prayer. Certainly, you, who can hardly get time to break your fast, much less to encom- pass the domestic altar, cannot enter upon the public services of religion with that serious com- posure which their importance demands. By attending more to dress than to private devotion. — Though some of you may rise ever so early, yet, instead of spending the morning in exercises of piety, you are engaged only in decorating your persons, and setting yourselves off to the best advantage ; as if the great God would bless you according to the shape or the texture of your attire, or could see nothing of you but the outside. Indeed, many of you, and especially of the young, are so long at the LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 157 toilet and glass, and so anxiously engaged in primming your clothes, that one might imagine, instead of preparing for the house of God, you were going to some place of public resort, where fashion only was to be displayed, and where the distinguishing features of eminence were a fine coat or a well-trimmed mantua. Far are we from saying any thing against dress of any quality or fashion : true religion consists not in good or bad apparel ; and a per- son may worship God in the finest clothes as well as in the most common. What we aim at, is to expose that waste of time and that immo- derate concern about your dress, which make the duties of devotion give place to the em- ployments of decoration. By neglecting the forenoon services of the sanctuary. — The promise of God is, ' they that seek me early shall find me.' And the profession of the truly pious echoes the sentiment, * my voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and look up.' But is this the practice of all professors ? no, alas ! it is a well-known truth, that by far the greater part of country ministers of nearly every religious denomination, have to preach their morning sermons almost exclusively to sunday- school children and empty seats. Their people are elsewhere situated and otherwise employed. To contend that such persons neglect an o 158 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. incumbent duty, and lose a valuable blessing, would be to say only what every one knows, and what they themselves acknowledge. Con- template the consequence merely on the mind of your minister. For how will he feel in the study, when he reflects that he is preparing a discourse to which scarcely any will listen ; and, in the pulpit, when he sees little but pews to which he can address his exhortations. Alas 1 how chilling, how wretched, how distressing to a feeling mind, is the appearance of a con- gregation less in number than the pews of the place : he himself, his sermons, and, above all, his Saviour neglected. A careless preacher is not more calculated to thin a congregation, than a thin congregation is to make a preacher careless. If, therefore, you wish to render your minister happy, and to have good sermons from him, let him have something more than the wood and walls to preach to. By going to a 2^^^^^ of worship with un- concern. — If we follow some of you to the sanctuary, we perceive, that every step you take is a demonstrative evidence of unconcern about your souls, and of irreverence towards God. You hold foolish talk with every one you meet ; you make half-a-dozen calls in your way ; you loiter about, and, of necessity, enter the place of worship too late to engage in half the services. And, what is still worse, you LE€T. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 159 disturb all the congregation, as you make your noisy appearance ; advancing into the awful presence of God, with an indifference you dare not manifest in entering the mansion of a neighbouring esquire. One might think, indeed, that some of you attend so late, in order to attract the atten- tion of the audience, as you figure through the aisle ; or, at best, we must suppose, that you have little regard for the early parts of divine worship, such as singing and prayer ; and that you think, if you hear the sermon and remem- ber the text, you have performed the whole duty of man.* It is also remarkable that many of our re- ligious gentry, and particularly of our country esquires and their wives, attend divine ser- vice, not forsooth for any benefit that they themselves expect to receive ; but to give a * ' Some time attendance with well-iuanag'd care, To catch the sermon, but escape the prajerj These, deeply anxious not to be too soon. Begin their morning services at noon ; Steal into church, asham'd of being seen. Or rudely interrupt the solemn scene ; Heedless of what is passed, or what comes next, Content, if not too late, to hear the text. Constrain'd by conscience, or for custom's sake. They gulp instruction as they physic take; Think both may benefit disordered man, Yet take of each as little as they can.' Age of Frivolity. 160 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. good example to the poor, for whom religion is very beneficial, as it keeps them honest, and in order ! And, when in the house of God, they raise themselves so high, stand so firmly, and response the services so loudly, as to be seen and heard all over the place, and to shew that though they are rich, they are not ashamed of being thought religious ! By being mcUfferent about ivhat is said in the house of God. — How common is it to see one person stretching here, and another yawn- ing there ; one sleeping on this side, and another nodding on that, during divine ser- vice ! You pass away your time as if your pew were a pillow, and the house of God a bed-room. Others of you appear concerned to know only the fashions of the day : hence you are actively engaged in turning your heads from side to side, and looking around in every di- rection, to examine the cut of such a gentle- man's coat, or the ornaments of such a lady's head-dress. Many of you, while in the house of God, think of little but the singing, and of that attend more to the sound than the sense ; and, therefore, to such, an opera would be much more pleasing than the solemn worship of God. Some of you mind little more than the respect which your fellow worshippers pay you : the LEGT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 161 chief seat in the synagogue, the attention of a gentleman in handing you into it, and the stupid cringe of the congregation, are far more de- lightful than a clear gospel sermon, the most serious prayers, or the presence of a gracious Saviour. While others of you are engaged in forming schemes for the ensuing week, or diverting your attention by any nonsensical matter ; you regard not the salvation of your souls ; you are not affected by the finest descriptions of the Saviour's death; nor attracted by any exhibition of his delectable beauties. You feel uncon- . scious of your lost condition, and regardless of your future destiny. Sometimes, however, you hear for others ; and often fail not to make that pungent application of the discourse to them, which is too commonly more appropriate to yourselves. By rude behaviour in a place of worship. — We cannot too pointedly condemn another practice not less common than criminal ; we mean that of reading books in the sanctuary while the preacher is leading your devotions and admonishing your heart, or the rest of the congregation are offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord. Nor shall we be satisfied with the reply that you are reading a godly publication, or even the bible itself; seeing you violate the apostolic injunction of o3 162 THE PROFANATION [LECT. 111. •' doing all things decently and in order ;' you offer an insult to your minister by neglecting what he says to you; you can read in your family or closet ; and you are materially injuring your fellow worshippers, by either paining the minds of the more serious of them, or by giving a bad example to the young and un- converted ; teaching them to slight one part of divine service after another till they neglect the whole. What noise and bustle also do many create in the house of God ! The man with his * iron-armed ' shoes, and the woman with her steel-bottomed clogs, enter the sanctuary as if determined to be looked at by the whole congre- gation, or to outvie by the firmness of their step the voice of the preacher : and unhappily they too often succeed. — Now the creaking hinges and the crashing doors bespeak some zealous saint, though late, forth-coming to the worship of his maker: and all the congregation must look to see him! — Now the hats are pushed from their quiet possession, and umbrellas fall prostrate on the bounding floor; and again every head is turned to see the great occasion ! — Now a sys- tematic process of bustling, sneezing, hemming, and coughing, by an astonishing principle of sympathy, pervades the whole assembly ! — and thus they proceed from noise to noise, till the preacher, like Demosthenes declaiming by the LECT. III.] OF THE LORD's DAY. 163 murmuring waves, is bewildered in his way ; and the people know as little of the sermon as if they had heard only * the chattering of a crane or a swallow.' ' There is yet another piece of improper be- haviour, which frequently appears at the close of divine service. It is no uncommon thing for at least half the hearers to be altogether inatten- tive to the last prayer. When the preacher is imploring a blessing on what has been delivered, the people are often engaged, some in reaching down their hats, and buttoning their coats; others in adjusting their clothes and putting on their pattens ; and not a few have unfastened their pew doors, and even passed along the aisles : as if determined upon as speedy an escape as possible from their tedious confinement.' ^ By hearing the truth with a prejudiced mind. — Some of you attend the house of God under the influence of domineering prejudice, and feel determined, before you enter it, not to submit to the dictates of heaven. You will still think your own thoughts, and still do your own ways. You come, if not with argument, yet with rigid determination to favour and, if possible, to defend your own sad course of living. The strongest arguments, and the fairest deductions, although they convince, they will not convert you. ^ Christian Mirror. 164 THE PROFANATION [LECT. 111. Unwilling to acknowledge your former igno- rance, you will remain as you were ; preferring a wounded spirit to an honest heart. You come to listen, not to learn ; to spend an idle hour, not to make improvement. Should the preacher but describe your case, and touch your conscience, you are angry with him : you suppose that he improperly points at you, and unpolitely exposes your shameful conduct. On the same principle, Asa was wroth with the seer ; and Ahab thrust Micaiah, the prophet, into the dungeon. By listening as critics rather than as christ- ians. — Some of you, with the unfounded pre- tensions of the critic, instead of attending to the vast concerns of your souls, are often vaunting on your superior knowledge of the preacher's province ; and are frequently looking to see if the motion of his head, his hands, his eyes, come up to the standard of your, perhaps, vitiated ideas of pulpit gesture. Your chief engagement in the house of God is, to examine the minister's delivery, the various figures of his language, and the treatment he may afford your favourite tenets. Far are we from inculcating an implicit ap- proval of all that is said, or of bearing with the nonsensical rant of every pulpit declaimer. 'To take heed what you hear, and to judge how it is spoken,' are surely the hearer's province. LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'8 DAY. 165 What we condemn is, attending only, or principally, to the preacher's imperfections, and triumphing in your discernment, as if you were wiser than he. This is vain, base, and contemptible ; yet this is the mis-named devo- tion of some, generally of the ignorant, though highflying, professors of the day ; the seat of whose piety, if it may be allowed the name, is only in their eyes and ears. By attending public worship only once a-day. — Is it not a lamentable fact, that many of you, after attending the ordinances of reli- gion once on the sabbath, think that you have done your duty, and that God and your souls require no more I Is it not lamentable to see such indiff'erence about that, which our pious forefathers attended to at the peril of their lives ; to see that so few of you have religion really at heart ? — for at heart you cannot have it : a re- gard for duty, a respect for order, a love for your souls, would make you more diligent at the house of God. You, perhaps, are regular ; but it is only once a-day : you sleep too long to come in the morning ; you dine too late to go any where in the afternoon ; if you are in your seat at night it is enough ! Nor suppose we forget that we are address- ing professors of religion ; * we know that we speak, and whereof we affirm :' professors of re- ligion we address, and the conduct of professors 166 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. we describe. We do not, however, include the christian, who would attend the house of God more frequently if he had it in his power. Many attend not at all, and are blameless ; others attend once a-day, and are criminal for attending no more : circumstances alter cases. We reprehend the conduct of those only, who might attend, but who do not, merely because they will not. By wilfully forgetting what you have heard. — Doctrines are remembered in proportion to the attention and concern which they excite when at first delivered, and to the diligence of our minds, for some time after, in excluding other thoughts, and in reflecting on those we wish to retain.' But mark the majority of christian professors. Do they hear the gospel with attention? — do they ruminate over it with a diligent care ? The very contrary is the case. They appear anxious not to understand, at first, or to forget what they were obliged to under- stand, afterwards. Hence, the reputed scholar is often a child in religious knowledge. After you have left the house of God, you pay half- a-dozen visits before you get home ; exchange a hundred empty compliments with your neigh- bours ; or are all the while discoursing on tem- poral affairs ; paying no attention to what you have heard. i See Heb. ii. 1 . LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 167 You spend the intervals of worship and the evening of the day, in reading the newspaper, romances, profane history, books of science, and a world of trash ; ' every way calculated,' says a pious prelate, ' to carry you off from all serious thoughts of God and religion, and from the meditation of another world ; and to give the devil an advantage and an opportunity that he never fails to take, to steal the good seed, the word of God, which you have heard that day, out of your hearts, and to make it of none effect.' Nor could many misnamed professors of the gospel complain of being falsely accused, were they charged with going directly from the church, the chapel, or the meeting-house, to the hotel, tavern, or ale-house; and there amu- sing themselves with the tale of the times, the gambling apparatus, or the bottle of claret or beer. Hence, not seldom in the same day, may be seen the same person joining in the prayers, praises, and sacraments of the christian temple, like the devoutest saint, and tippling, quarrel- ling, and fighting in the public-house, like a fool or a madman. By strolling about with ungodly compa- nions. — Between the hours of divine service, and in the evening of the Lord's day, particu- larly in the summer season, you are seen en- joying your walk in the fields, the public ways. 168 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. and the common rendezvous of the vain ; where you can scarcely be distinguished, either by your gravity or conversation, from the surround- ing rabble. The idle chit-chat of the vulgar multitude, the vacant stare, and the wild un- meaning roar of the lowest wretch, are often seen and heard to-day among those who bear the christian name, and who ought, by their gravity, to be distinguished from the impious world, and ever scrupulously to avoid its vile and foolish maxims. Far be it from us to speak against a retired walk in the garden, the field, or any secluded situation ; or against walking with a few pious people for a pious purpose ; since it may tend to great advantage. But such walks as many of you take on the sabbath-day, are dishonour- able to God, unprofitable to yourselves, and prejudicial to the cause you profess to maintain. If we walk on this day, it should be, like Enoch and Noah, ' walking with God ;' or, at least, with people after his own heart, for his honour, the church's welfare, and our own spiritual improvement. By 7'unning about from one place of wor- ship to another.^ — There is a class of the * This is the day of sermons ; lience appears A tribe whose godliness h'es in their ears ; Mere sermon-hunters, roving here and there, Alike untaught, unsettled every where : LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 169 professing world which is usually denominated ' SERMON-HUNTERS,' from their habit of run- ning up and down to see fine congregations and to hear strange preachers. * They never continue in one stay.' This sabbath they will be here, the next will be there, and the follow- ing half a score miles from home ; answering the description of holy writ, ' beguiled unstable souls ; clouds without water, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine ; ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.' In conjunction with this is another evil, more peculiar to large towns — that of christian pro- fessors needlessly employing horses and servants to convey them from one place of worship to another: by which practice they violate the com- mands of heaven, in depriving the horses of rest, and in preventing the servants from attending the house of God, or ever learning how to inherit eternal life. Such people should remember, that their horses need rest as well as they ; and that their servants have souls as well as themselves.f For ever on the bustle to be wise. But, wanting patience, never reach the prize ; Despising oft the word within their reach, Then trudge ten miles to hear some fav'rite preach ; As stupid boys from school to school proceed. Try every book, but never learn to read.' Age of FnivoLiTy. t One sabbath morning a lady stepping into a hackney coach, in order to ride to a place of worship, asked the driver, if lie P 170 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. It is also worthy of notice, that a great many respectable people, who live in villages con- tiguous to large towns, instead of staying at home, and promoting, by their presence, the cause of Christ in their own neighbourhood, will drive off to join a more respectable audience, and to hear some fine looking parson, to the discouragement of the worthy village preacher, and the retarding of the gospel where it is most needed. Such people seek the orator more than the preacher of Christ ; and to please the eye and ear, more than to profit the heart or to benefit the christian interest. By neglecting the house of God altogether, — Strange as it may appear, there are many who call themselves christians, that make very little scruple about neglecting public worship for a whole sabbath, and some of them for a whole month together. The most trifling in- disposition will keep you away. When more disordered on the Saturday and monday, you can attend to your daily labour with little in- convenience ; but a slight indisposition confines ever went to church on the Lord's day ? and received the follow- ing reply : — No, madam; I am so occupied in taking others there, that I cannot possibly get time to go myself f If coach drivers are kept from attending a place of worship, and consequently are left ignorant of themselves, their God, and their eternal destiny, pray whom are we to blame? Let some of our fine christian professors ponder over this sentiment. LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 171 you to your room on the Lord's day. You apologize, * we were too poorly to venture out — or the day was cold — or the weather was rainy — our clothes were not fit to wear — or a friend called on us just as we were coming away — and we read our bibles at home, which is just as well as going to church or chapel.' Such, and various other excuses, will many professors make, to cloak their neglect of at- tending divine ordinances ; but all of them are weak, and some of them wicked. If you could attend to your business, you might brave the cold and rain to meet your God. As for your apparel, God will examine your hearts and not your garments. If a visitor call on you, bring him to the house of God with you, or bid him call again.* And, as for reading your bibles at home, as a substitute for attending the house of God, is it not acting on the sup- position that God and good people have been in an eternal mistake ; the former by instituting public worship, and the latter by preferring it to private ? There may be cases when we cannot attend : but we should never plead a necessity for staying at home when no such necessity existed. Consider the public worship of God a privilege as well as a duty, and you will not neglect it so often as you are accustomed to do. * This was the conduct of the Countess of Huntingdon. 172 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. By neglecting intimate communion with God. — It is possible for a man on the sabbath to be externally sober, to attend the means of grace regularly, and to observe every form of religion correctly, and yet sadly to misemploy the precious hours of this precious day. ^ To many of our precise, and, if possible, over- righteous professors, this admonition is awfully applicable : * remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy.' They read the word of God, but it is done with inconsideration, or only to strengthen their notions respecting some disputed, and per- haps unimportant points. They hear the gospel, but it is attended to in the same manner, or for a similar purpose. * Their fellowship is not with the Father, nor with his Son Jesus Christ,' but with the genius of unprofitable disputation ; a practice every way calculated to sour the temper, and to produce a malevolent feeling towards all who may differ from them in explain- ing the sacred scriptures. While the flame of devotion is kindled in every neighbouring breast, and glowing in every surrounding countenance, these individuals are as cold as the clay, and as pallid as death. They stand among the saints like withered trees in a blooming grove, and though reckoned with the righteous, like Judas, who was numbered with ^ See Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32. LECT. III.] OF TiHE LORd's DAY. 173 the twelve, are walking with Christ, and travel- ling to hell. They make no earnest and ardent application to God for mercy ; they hold not the majesty of heaven in profound veneration ; they exhibit no unfeigned expression of attach- ment to God, to his people, nor to his in- terest in the world ; they have not that nameless something, ' the secret of the Lord,' by the possession of which they would ascertain their favour with God, and manifest, that while they had the form of devotion, they also felt its hea- venly influences. By not observing it in an evangelical man- ner. — By observing the Lord's day evangelically, we mean, observing it in the name of the Son of God. No hymn of praise that we can pre- sent, though its melody exceed the song of angels ; no prayers that we can offer, though we were as importunate in them as the woman of Canaan, or wrestled for a blessing like the patriarch Jacob, will be heard with acceptance in heaven, or answered with advantage upon earth, unless they ascend to God in the Sa- viour's name. Nor will all our attendance on the means of mercy afford us the least satisfaction or support, except we present ourselves as the humble pleaders of a Saviour's blood. Yea, should we live from infancy till hoary age, like Samuel, in the sanctuary ; should we prefer it as our habitation, like David, and be as diligent p3 174 THE PROFANATION [LECT. III. in our duties as the venerable Paul ; still, if we do not all with a reference to the Lamb, we shall hear of ' vengeance beginning at the house of God,' and shall find that the temple of mercy to us is but a splendid corridor to the abodes of endless perdition. ' No man,' said Jesus, ' can come to the Father but hy ME.' Now, are there not many persons that pray, and sing, and appear very devout, who yet, through ignorance or pride, are little concerned about offering their praises and petitions in the name of Christ, and for his sake alone? Brethren, let your consciences determine whe- ther you have not attended a place of worship, sabbath after sabbath, without implicitly and totally relying on the mediation of Christ for acceptance with God. To some, perhaps, this doctrine may appear too humiliating. They say, have we nothing of our own to plead I We answer, you have nothing. On this sacred day you may offer to God all you possess ; you may sacrifice your property, your comforts, your- selves, and for want of doing it in the name of the Son of God, you will hear an oftended deity upbraid your devotions, saying, * bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abomination unto me ; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with, it is iniquity; even your solemn meeting ; your new moons, and your appointed feasts, my soul hateth : they LECT. III.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 175 are a trouble unto me; 1 am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.' ^ Isaiah i. 13, 14, 15. LECTURE IV. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. A HE most direct and, indeed, the only method that ministers can adopt to reform an immoral person, is, first, to exhibit the law by which his life should be regulated ; then, to shew him how he has broken it ; in the next place, to ex- plain the loss he is likely to sustain on account of his crimes ; and, finally, to catch the favour- able moment of impression, to enforce the necessity of becoming a better man. To the first of these particulars, in connexion with the subject under consideration, we for- merly attended. Our business, at present, is with the second ; namely, to make such an exhi- bition of your sabbath transgressions, before the eye of your recollection, that you may recognize them as your own, detest them for their enor- mity, and resolve, in the strength of God, to transgress no more. LECT. IV.] THE PROFANATION, &C. 177 This procedure is warranted, not only by the rules of reason, but also by the word of truth. This was God's method with the antient Israel- ites : ' to shew thee what was in thy heart.' This was the Saviour's method with the woman of Samaria : ' he told me all that ever I did.' And this was the method of the great apostle St. Paul : ' but if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all, and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest ; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.' In our last lecture, we directed your atten- tion to the profanation of the Lord's day, by the nation in general, and by professors of religion in particular. We shall now proceed to notice its violation by heads of families — by men of business, — and by people of pleasure. The sabbath is profaned — (2.) By heads of families: — In mis- employing the preceding night. — It is a very common practice for masters and heads of fa- milies to be engaged themselves, or to employ their children and servants, in cleaning their houses on a Saturday till a very late hour, and often till it ' begin to dawn towards the first day of the week.' When they lie down, they are uncommonly fatigued with labour; and, because 178 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. they have been deprived of rest half of the night, to make it up, they will sleep half of the following day ; or, if they rise as usually, they are quite unfitted for engaging in any of those lively services to which the christian sabbath invites them. To prepare for the sabbath is proper and necessary ; but when this prepara- tion tends to violate what it professes to sanctify, its end is entirely defeated. To prepare for the Lord's day is to do more than to clean your houses, and to set your temporal affairs in order ; — it is to prepare your heart, and so to dispose of your thoughts, that the sabbath may not be abused by ungodly thinking, any more than by ungodly acting.* Nor is it considered a phenomenon, by the observers of fashionable amusements, for some of our religious gentry to have their balls and card-parties on the Saturday evening, and to keep up their festive riots till one, two, or three o'clock in the morning ; and then, perhaps, on the sabbath, * like nocturnal birds awaked at noon,' to attend divine worship, or some other place of public resort, with blood-shot eyes, and other appearances evidently betraying the hurry and confusion of the preceding night. But, * * When six days of labour, each other succeeding, Have with hurry and toil my spirits oppress'd ; How pleasant to think, as the last is receding, To-morrow Avill be a sweet sabbath of rest ! ' LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 179 generally, the forenoon is passed away in pain- ful indolence ; and the minds of these modern epicures are engaged in reflecting on their foolish diversions, and their senses employed in absorbing the fumes of the preceding fes- tivity. In dispensing with the religious duties of the morning. — The manner in vs^hich some of you spend the early part of the christian sabbath is truly shameful. ' Single out, in your minds, a family which is not attentive to the concerns of the soul, and see how its members employ the Lord's day morning. Some of them are up, perhaps, early, and others are in bed very late ; some are cleaning their clothes, and others themselves; some are washing the house, and others are sweeping the street ; the parents are at breakfast, the children at play, and the ser- vants at work; some are quarrelling about this trifle, and others about that, aggravating one another in the most unfeeling manner. The whole house presents us with a scene of bustle, confusion, and impiety. Look around for the family altar; alas! it was never erected ; enquire for the sacrifice of thanksgiving, which should, on this morning especially, be off'ered to the Lord; and they will stare at your incomprehensible query ; ask for the bible — it is lost ; and if found, is co- vered with dust: try to discover those peculiar 180 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. traits which should distinguish this morning from others; but all you can find is, if possible, a greater indifference about divine things. This, though a homely, is a correct descrip- tion of many a house during the early part of the sabbath-day. Perhaps some present, while they look into this unpolished mirror, may dis- cover too striking a resemblance of themselves, and of their proceedings. ' Be ye not, then, like the man, who beholdeth his natural face in a glass ; and, going his way, forgetteth what manner of person he was.' In now neglecting the cultivation of your minds. — What little regard do some of you manifest on this day to improve its hallowed hours, in furnishing your minds with religious knowledge ! You meditate not on the things which make for your peace ; you converse not with your families about the works and ways of God ; and, should you read your bible, or any other good book for a few minutes, it is done in such a way, as neither to inform your judg- ment, nor to improve your disposition. Sab- baths come and go ; but your head is no wiser, nor your heart more devout. You live year after year, amidst the best means of instruction, with the scriptures in your own tongue, and in your own houses, and are still the dupes of ig- norance, and too often the slaves of hell. The simplest truth of the gospel you will not learn, LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 181 and the easiest command of heaven you will not obey. Nor are you less inattentive to the instruc- tion of your children and servants. Like their parents and employers, they are strangers to themselves, to the doctrines of Christianity, and to the place whither, as accountable creatures, they are constantly tending. They are never catechised, and seldom admonished; but, on the contrary, are suffered to grow up in moral ignorance, the spring of almost every immoral action. Is this training your children in the fear of the Lord I Is this leading them in the path from which they should never depart? You are travelling to the chambers of eternal death, and are taking your families with you ! In detaining so many from the house of God. — In some of your families the Lord's day is sauntered away in doing worse than nothing. The parents and masters, who ought to give an example of diligence on the means of grace, are often the slowest in attending them. You will visit any other place than the sanctuary, and do any thing rather than what God com- mands you. The language of such a parent seems to be : * as for me and my house, we will serve the devil.' The father must stay at home to smoke his pipe, and to refresh his wearied frame ; the mother, forsooth, must mind her family : and what from one cause or anotlier^ Q 182 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. there are now dwelling, even within the pre- cincts of many a tabernacle, heads of families, who have lived there several years, without once crossing its sacred threshold. And while they act thus themselves, they can, but with little propriety, command their chil- dren to do otherwise. Indeed there are many parents, who, having cleaned, dressed, and fed their little ones, send them adrift into the lanes and fields, merely to keep them out of the way. Others will attend the house of God themselves, while their children are running about, com- mitting, for aught they know, every kind of wickedness. Pray, is this christian conduct, parental affection, or common humanity? Nor is it with any less degree of sorrow, that we see so many servants now detained from the worship of God. In vain, for them, does the sabbath sun arise ; it calls them to their usual, or to augmented labours. In vain are the gates of the temple thrown open ; they, if ever so desirous, can seldom enter them. In vain, for them, does the preacher explain and apply the glorious gospel of the blessed God ; they can hear neither the thun- ders of Sinai, nor the whispers of Zion : they are deprived both of religion and of rest ; and, at night, sit or lie down, perhaps, more fatigued with domestic duties than at any other time. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 183 In having unusually fine and ill-timed meals on it. — It is customary, especially among the labouring classes of society, to have, if possible, a more bountiful and luxuriant dinner on the Lord's day than on any other. Every penny is saved, all their wits are engaged, and every hand is employed, to furnish the board with an excellent repast. Nothing, scarcely, is thought of all the morning, or perhaps for a day or tv^o before, but ' what they shall eat, and what they shall drink,' for dinner. Religion is quite out of the question ; at least, it cannot be thought of till the afternoon. We are far from thinking it criminal for a poor man to have something comfortable with his family on this day : yet the inordinate con- cern generally taken about it, which is often followed by a neglect of attending the house of God, and by starvation half of the remaining week, is not at all becoming either the christian sabbath, or the christian name. This is making your belly your God, and your devotions to consist in eating and drinking. Nor are ill-timed meals less obnoxious to reprehension ; since their consequences are equally pernicious. It is very usual, especially among the higher classes of the people, to have their meals at such times as prevent them from attending the house of God. When the bell tolls for morning service, they are just sitting 184 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. down to their breakfast; and in the afternoon and evening, when pious people are again re- pairing to the worship of their maker, they are commencing their dinner or tea. They must accommodate their appetite at the expense of their soul; and mind things temporal, to the neglect of things eternal. If our fine folks can get to a place of worship once in the day, they think it quite sufficient. During the latter services of the sabbath, they gorge over their plate, and dose over their bottle ; and suffer the priest and the poor to divide the feast of the gospel between them. Informing so many parties of pleasure on it, — Some of the most splendid parties that our country has witnessed, have been formed on the Lord's day. Every dainty that nature could furnish, that art could contrive, or that money could buy, has been served upon the board of our right honourable infidels, to charm the eye, and to gratify the taste. ' And the harp, and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts.' The best bands have played their loveliest airs, and the ladies have sung their sweetest lays. Oaths, for fashion sake, and to display the man of honour, have echoed through the festive hall. The frothy bowl has flown around, and these dupes of Bacchus have been as devout in serving this wine-swollen deity, as christians could be in worshipping LECT. IV.] OP THE LORD'S DAY. 185 Jesus Christ. This is sanctifying the sabbath according to the modes of the great ! * But as our inferior gentry always ape their superiors ; there are many parties, on the sab- bath, of the would'be-Jine, who sanctify the day as much like their betters as they can. Here, collected, you may see the grey-headed, the decrepit, the death-marked, part of our commu- nity, wasting their invaluable time in childish and sinful conversation ; and frequently the evening of the day is spent in the billiard-room, over the chess-board, or card-table. Here they are at home ; here they shine ; and here they contemn the infatuated few, who prefer an hour in the courts of God's house, to a thousand in the tents of wickedness. Oh, ye thoughtless souls ! how long will ye bow before the shrine of impiety, and worship the idol of the age ! What will ye do in the great antitype of the sabbath i will ye spend it in parties of sinful recreation, or will ye turn gamblers in heaven ? If not, let this day be employed in training your immortal minds for the duties of the world to come ! In connecting levity and excess with the observance of cet^tain solemn rites. — The cele- bration of marriage, baptism, and funerals, if accompanied, as it generally is, with sumptuous ^ See Evang. Mag. vol. xiii. p. 237. Also, Observations upon Sunday Newspapers, p. 40 — 44, 69. Q 3 186 THE PROFANATION [LECT, IV* entertainments, and, in many cases, with a great deal of frivolity, is not at all suitable to the sanctity of the christian sabbath. How often is marriage celebrated on the first day of the week ; and how generally do the company, on such an occasion, indulge in non- sense and impiety ^ ; and all this under the eye of the venerable parents of the wedded pair. To any thinking man, it must seem a very un- happy omen, if he saw the first day of wedlock, and that too the Lord's day, prostituted to irre- ligious festivity. Indeed, if marriage in itself be only a civil contract, which doubtless is true, it is as improper for the sabbath as contracting for an estate : religious appendages cannot alter the nature of the case, and should be attached to the bartering of our property, as well as to the disposal of our persons. On this principle, a synod of bishops, in 836, made a decree, ' that no marriage should be allowed on the Lord's day ;' but, alas I for our age, the dupes of ignorance were wiser and better than we. Nor have those who hy baptism on the sabbath, dedicate their children to God, and immedi- ately after devote themselves to the service of satan, which is too often the case, any tolerable reason to imagine that the blessing of God will rest on them or their offspring. Against ^ See Dr. Bownd's Sabbath of the 0!d and New Testament, p. 209. LECT. IV.] OP THE LORD'S DAY. 187 this ordinance simply considered, devoutly ad- ministered, and piously accompanied on the sabbath, we, of course, can have no reasonable objection. What we disapprove of is, the sab- batical abuse of this sacrament, and not its righteous administration. And burials, unless absolutely necessary, especially those accompanied with a sumptuous dinner, as is mostly the case in many country places, are far from becoming a christian people. Besides, at funerals in populous towns, how many undertakers, hearse-drivers and horses, grave-diggers, mutes, bearers, and others, are unnecessarily and laboriously engaged on this holy day. Bury not, at least in this way, on the sabbath ! for not all your sighs, your tears, nor your extorted ejaculations, at this solemn season, will, by any means, atone for the viola- tion of the day. By 2^aradinff the streets with your youthful dependants. — A man needs not be deeply read in the annals of domestic folly, to know that multitudes of parents stroll about in the streets and lanes, fields and woods, of our towns and their neighbourhood, for no other purpose than to kill this sacred time. They appear as fond of mirth as their children, and more expert at making it. The young, however, must be taught this useful science. Behold, then, the aged matron, with her 188 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. sprightly train, as if incognizable to the great searcher of hearts, and accountable neither to man nor to God, parading our places of com- mon resort ! See the husband and wife, each carrying a child, and two or three others walk- ing by their side, loitering about they know not whither, nor why, nor when to return ! What are their manners ? either rustically coarse, or effeminately soft. What is their conversation t at best nonsensical, and often profane. This their children must learn, and, in turn, will repeat in triumph what their parents taught them in fun. By this means, too, the house of God is neglected, serious thoughts are banished, and the parents themselves made more profane; for he that can run with the godless, and join hands with the wicked, will find little difficulty in ' sitting in the seat of the scornful,' and in madly defying the vengeance of the living God. In giving your children and servants too much libey^ty on it. — It is very common for masters and heads of families, to give their young people liberty to do as they please on the Lord's day evening. Hence, at this season, our streets are full of noise and tumult. As you pass, you are stopped by the throng, and almost buried in the crowd. You must see and hear, what cannot fail to shock every person that has the least regard either for modesty LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 189 or religion. These juvenile tribes pour from your houses on a sabbath evening, like bees from their hive, on a morning in June; as wild, as noisy, and as dangerous too. What man of feeling can view these victims of folly and infa- tuation without heaving a sigh, and praying to heaven for the reformation of their manners? Is there no season for recreation but this ? Is there no method of pleasing your dependants, but one that displeases your God ? * Let any one look abroad into our streets,' says a venerable clergyman, * and say, whether that be the season, when any head of a family, who has the least regard for the virtue and safety of his domestics, would choose to trust them abroad. We complain of the corrupt state of our female servants ; and no wonder, with such a practice as this in existence. More young women, probably, are ruined, first or last, by this one cause, than by any other that can be named.' In neglecting the duties of the Lord's day evening. — In many families this hallowed season — a season when every thing seems to invite devotion,* when the spirits are most * ' Low walks the sun, and broadens by degrees. Just o'er the verge of day. The shifting clouds Assembled gay, a richly-gorgeous train In all their pomp attend his setting throne. Air, earth, and ocean, smile immense. And now, 190 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. cheerful, and the mind most at ease, is spent in a way which neither pleases the Lord, nor profits the people. No bible is read, no hymn is sung, no prayers are offered, no parental knee presses the floor, nor infant hands, in precise position, are placed across the chair. The conversation is not of holiness nor of heaven. Every heart is set upon the world ; and their words and actions accord with their sentiments. What levity, what language, what tumult, do most families, on a sabbath evening, present you with! They are blessed with opportunities which they never embrace, and with favours for which they never are thankful. They rise and receive, they lie down and repose, regard- less of the friend that bestows their blessings, and of the hand which softens their bed. What reflection will a dying hour afl'ord you, ye pro- faners of God's holy sabbath I Will joy sparkle in your eyes, and triumph swell your bosoms, because you have thus wounded the feelings of the pious, and passed your sabbath evenings in neglecting your souls, your families, and the As if his weary chariot sought the bowers Of Amphitrite ; and her tending njmph, (So grecian fable sung) he dips his orb ; Now half immersed ; and now a golden curve Gives one bright glance, then total disappears.' Thomson. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 191 service of your God 1 — The christian sabbatli is profaned (3.) By men of business: of whom we shall select a few of the principal classes. And, first, it is profaned — By mechanics. — Under this term are com- prised multitudes of people, notorious for vio- lating the sabbath of the most high God. We will specify a few of them. — The builder now shuts his work-shop door, blinds the window, and labours at noon by a candle or a sky-light. If, however, he lay by his ordinary implements, yet his measuring-line, rule, and drawing in- struments are employed. He plans, he plots, he measures, and contrives ; and, probably, by this means, realizes more money, than during a week of laborious exertion. The miller drives his machinery, late in the morning, early at night, and often all the day long. For the most part living in the valley, and sequestered from the sight of men, he takes it for granted that he is unseen by his maker: and, to cover his mercenary actions with the cloak of kindness, he tells you, ' it is necessary, for the poor must have bread ! ' While not uncommonly the mountain- windmill spreads its ample sails, and whirls about the whole day through. The owner pleads the changing weather and the present breeze propitious; 192 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. and thinks that he may break the sabbath be- cause the wind permits him. The labourer does his little jobs at home; repairs his garden, improves his house, and sets in order what may have gone wrong during the week. In his humble circumstances, he sup- poses, that to labour for his family, can never offend a merciful God ; and that to attend the duties of religion, devolves on those who have little or nothing else to do. Shoe-makers and tailors, dress-makers and milliners, make little scruple about finishing their work on a sabbath morning, or about sending their apprentices with it through town and country. This necessarily breaks the sab- bath, and the servants' rest; teaches them a bad custom, which, of their own free will, in turn, they are likely to practise ; keeps them from the house of God ; and many other evils are necessarily attached to this open violation of the Lord's day. The weaver y also, on the least pretence, fixes himself in his loom, and drives his shuttle from dewy morn to dusky night ; as if the sabbath loses its claims, and he his obligation to keep it, when an opportunity offers itself to serve his secular purpose. This pratice is very pre- valent in many manufacturing districts ; and when you consider the multitudes thus employed in our country, a custom so pernicious among LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 193 them must be deprecated as no ordinary evil. By farmers. — It is a common practice with many farmers to pay their labourers, and to let their work, on the Lord's day morning ; or, at best, on the Saturday night; and often at the public house; where a great part of the poor man's wages is spent before he goes home. By this method, the farmer, in addition to beggaring his workmen, and breaking the sabbath himself, obliges his servants, the servants' wives, the butcher and shop-keeper, to break it also. The poor women are almost necessarily engaged all the Lord's day, in buying, baking, boiling, &c., to satisfy their own and their children's wants. As a natural consequence, shops and shambles are opened, and the sellers waiting to vend their respective articles. In addition to all this, the farmer walks over his estate, and examines his stock and premises, with as easy a conscience, as if he had neither soul nor superior. Particularly in the time of harvest, he is busily employed in * lading asses, and bringing in sheaves,' though contrary to an express prohibition of God, which says, * on the seventh day, in earing time and harvest, thou shalt rest.'* He tells us his labour is necessary, for it may rain to-morrow. Yes, oh. c Exodus xxxiv. 21. R 194 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. thou faithless man ! and it may be dry ; and, above all, thou raayest be dead. But durst thou break a positive precept on a bare supposition ? Pause a moment : perhaps thou art as ripe for destruction as the corn, that hangs its golden head over the thirsty land, is ripe for the sickle. It is a fact, that a farmer, in our own neigh- bourhood, very recently, was actively engaged in ploughing his ground on the Lord's day ! By haii'-dressers. — A great portion of this numerous class of the community openly vio- lates the Lord's day as duly as it comes.* The hair-dresser and barber are miserably deprived both of bodily rest and spiritual improvement, and that with scarce the least colour of necessity. For, in the name of conscience be it spoken, what necessity is there for a gentleman's face to be closely shaved, or for my lady's head to be so nicely dressed, on the Lord's day, that both might not be done on the preceding night; or, if absolutely necessary, by themselves in the morning ? * Is it not quite inconceivable,' says Mrs. Hannah More, * how a lady's conscience is able to make such nice distinctions, that she would be shocked at the idea of sending for her mantua-maker or milliner, her carpenter or mason, on the Sunday, while she makes no scruple regularly to employ a hair-dresser!' * Mr. Burder supposes that 10,000 hair-dressers are em- ployed in this country every sabbath day. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 195 From the known mischief arising from this custom, a council of divines at Anjou, in 1282, particularly forbade any barber to follow his employment on the Lord's day. Some of them, like many other people in a similar situation, tell us that they work against their will, and, that if they could dispense with it, without losing their customers, they certainly would. But where is the christian magnanimity of these people? And what are their ideas of divine providence? They court their temporal in- terest, and fear that the assertion of their religious privileges would be inimical to their temporal welfare. But to such we would say, if your souls are more valuable than your bodies ; if heaven is preferable to hell ; if you ought to obey God rather than man ; risk your temporal emoluments ; and know, that they who honour Ood, by sacrificing their comforts on the altar of affection, shall be honoured by heaven, in a way of which you can form no adequate idea.*" By travellers. — Needless travelling on the Lord's day, though very common, is a very ungodly practice. Like all other sins, it comes not alone ; but is necessarily attended by several others. Before the man sets off, there is a great deal of bustle in preparing himself, his horse, or his carriage ; by the way, every object detaches '^ See an interesting anecdote in the last lecture. 196 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. his mind from serious contemplation; at the end of his journey, the inn, or, more commonly, the private house, is all in confusion, by pre- paring to receive and to accommodate the honourable stranger. By this mode of pro- ceeding, the poor servants and hor 5es are kept at their labour all the day long. ' Visiting and travelling,' reads a popular work,® * are enormous profanations of this holy day. Families are thereby robbed of their time ; a loss for which no amends can ever be made them. Servants, instead of having leisure to improve themselves in spiritual knowledge, are burdened with additional labour. And, in a man of any humanity, it must excite many painful sensations, when he reflects how often the useful horse, on that day, experiences all the anguish of hunger, torn sides, and battered knees.' Nor can these travelling gentry at all compensate for this violation of the day, by attending a place of worship whither they go ; they are still guilty of travelling, because they might have heard the gospel at home. By manufacturers. There are not a few manufactories in this country, in which from five to five hundred people, both male and fe- male, from eight years old to eighty, are kept at work, from early in the morning, till late in e Encyclopaedia Britannica. LECT* IV.] OP THE LORD's DAY. 197 the evening; and from one month and year to another, with scarcely an hour's respite. And, as if this were not sufficient to oppress the poor, or to satisfy the employer's avarice, they are induced, and many of them against their better inclination, to work during the Lord's day, the same as in the week. Now, not to argue that there is no necessity, at least for this last practice, nor to expatiate on the inhumanity of enforcing it, which must be evident to the most careless observer ; let us contemplate the moral evils consequent on such a mode of proceeding. Hundreds, and even thousands of people, are de- prived of religious instruction, and the younger part of them are trained up in an acquaintance with all the mysteries of iniquity and crime ; and that merely because a little insignificant sinner, with a few pounds in his pocket, wishes to have his individual way, in opposition to the interest of the poor — the laws of the land — and the commandment of God. Perhaps this man goes to church himself, and breaks the sabbath by proxy, and is foolish enough to suppose that the consequences will be borne by proxy too ; but he is sadly mistaken : for the sin that he occa- sions, like the goods he manufactures, though actually committed by other hands, are all his own : and when he is called to give an account of his conduct, he doubtless will find it so to his cost and condemnation. r3 198 THE PROFANATION [lECT. IV. By fishermen. — The pilchard, herring, and other fisheries in this country are of uncommon magnitude ; as you will perceive, when you learn that in a single fishing cove in Cornwall, no less than forty pilchard seans, containing from between seven to eight hundred hands, are employed two or three months in the year ; and, that the people occupied on shore in cur- ing the fish, during a prosperous season, are little below three times that number. Now, it is well known, that fishermen in general make no distinction between common and sacred time ; and that they as regularly follow their avocations on the first day of the week as on the other six. Hence, in this single depart- ment of business, thousands of our fellow sub- jects are breaking the established order of things ; are depriving themselves of the privi- leges which they ought to value and embrace ; and are disobeying the commands of that God, whose path is in the sea, who holds the winds in his fists, and who, in an instant, could raise a storm, to the destruction of all those rebel- lious people. To these observations it will be confidently objected, that necessity often urges fishermen to sea on a sunday to procure those fish, which, before the morrow, might be for ever out of their reach. In answer, we reply, first, our objector takes it for granted that the fish LECT. [V.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 199 would not remain awhile in the channel ; which assumption he is unable fairly to establish. — In the next place, many seans are kept in their stations on the Lord's day, when there is not a single shoal in sight ; so that absolute necessity will be very ungracefully pleaded. — Again, the principle on which this objection is founded is common to every mercenary sabbath-breaker, who, for similar reasons, might now embrace some favourable opportunity of transacting that business which could not be done on the fol- lowing day, but this our laws very justly pro- hibit. Further, the tyrian traders, mentioned in the text, might have then, as consistently objected that their fish would spoil if kept till the morrow, as our fishermen can now, that if they do not procure them to-day they will make their eternal escape. — Finally, as pious and con- scientious proprietors of seans make a point never to send them to sea on the sabbath, we take it for granted, that there is no real neces- sity for doing it : for, if there exist no reasons to induce a good man to act contrary to the ex- press commandment of God ; surely there can be no necessity for permitting a bad one to do it. By merchants. — The merchant, the broker, or the common shop-keeper, is chargeable with the frequent and notorious violation of the Lord's day. He occupies a principal part of it 200 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. in the ware-room or office; he examines his accounts, marks his bales, posts his books, and prepares his work for a more speedy execution on the monday ; and is contracted in the dis- posal of his goods, only by the paucity of his customers, or the fewness of their wants. — Neither the commands of God, nor the laws of the land, will constrain him to desist. If the gospel invites him to its feast, he must mind his merchandise ; and therefore begs to be ex- cused. If the civil arm be lifted against him, he endeavours to withstand its force, or to evade the stroke. ' There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish and all manner of ware, and sold them on the sabbath.' And when the venerable ruler had driven these tyrian traders from the city, and shut the gates against them, they con- tinued with daring effrontery, to carry on their traffic in the suburbs. ' So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of ware, lodged without Jeru- salem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, why lodge ye about the walls ? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.' Sunday-sellers, like Ephraim of old, are tied to their idols ; and scarcely any thing, but the sword of divine wrath, wielded by an avenging God, can cut the threefold cord, and loose these infatuated wretches. Many merchants, also, who employ vessels in LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 201 the foreign trade, have a practice of sending them to sea on the sabbath, chiefly, we presume, on a principle of avarice — to save a day^; but sometimes, it is said, under the sage impression of enjoying the prayers of the church and se- curing a prosperous voyage. Now, overlooking the mercenary motive as common to most pro- fessions of life ; let us reflect on the fanaticism of the human mind in foreboding success from such a proceeding. We, indeed, should not have been greatly surprised in discovering such a superstitious and unholy custom among the heathen ; but to find it among Europeans and Englishmen, is somewhat extraordinary; and to find it among those who fancy themselves to be men of superior sense, of mental cultivation, and professors of the christian religion, is strange indeed ! With a much greater appearance of judgment, virtue, and piety, might they revive and follow the old pagan practice of marking ' the raven's croaking and the trembling entrails,' or any of those heathen prognostications, by which to regulate their conduct, rather than to make that a presage of success, which is in itself peremptorily forbidden in the word of God. By physicians. — This respectable body of men is formed of members, many of whom no- toriously violate the sacred hours of the christian ^ See Sailor's Magazine, vol. ii. p. 306. 202 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. sabbath. Their calling, it is admitted, will sometimes deprive them of attending the house of God. * For if a man ought straightway to pull out his ass or his ox, which falleth into a pit, on the sabbath day, how much more on this day ought the sons and daughters of men to be healed of their infirmities !' But while we make this concession, we are yet constrained to condemn much of their con- duct. Do not many medical gentlemen attend their patients on the sabbath -day at seasons which interfere with public worship, and com- monly more than occasion requires? And do not some of them make their profession a cloak for their almost total disregard of divine ordi- nances in the church, the family, and the closet.' They are admonished of their mortality in every house which they enter, and yet they live as if freed from the unfailing fate of the multitude. Against such individuals, we may well take up this proverb, * physician, heal thyself.' * It is lawful for physicians and apothecaries to visit the sick on the Lord's day. But their wisdom and piety will require that, if possible, they contrive their visits, so that they may have time to join in public worship. And care should be taken by them, that their visits on that day be acts of religion and charity, and not made merely as the common labour of their calling, and to get money. There have been LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 203 several instances of pious physicians, who, sen- sible of this, have devoted all the fees they received on the Lord's day to charitable uses.'s By lawyers. — The lawyer, too, often employs this holy day in ransacking the records and precedents of antient times. Perhaps he may muster sufficient modesty to blind his window and to bolt bis door; but it is a known fact, that he often spends the greater part of the day in examining and correcting the work of his clerks, posting his books, and managing his extensive correspondence. And while many practisers of the law are thus engaged themselves, they feel but little scrupulosity about engaging their clerks likewise, and sometimes they dismiss from their office even their most useful writers, who desire, in this respect, to obey God rather than man. All this, many attorneys will do with apparent ease of conscience, and as if they intended to evade every court superior to their own. * Then answered one of the lawyers and said unto him, thus saying, thou reproachest us also. And Jesus said, woe unto you, ye law- yers ! for ye make laws that ye will not observe, and bind burdens on the shoulders of others, that ye touch not with one of your fingers.' If search were made for all the lawyers, who ^ Orton's Six Discourses on the Sabbath, 204 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. religiously observe the christian sabbath, though there are some illustrious exceptions, they would be found almost as scarce as * grapes on the thorn, or figs on the thistle.' Such, indeed, is the conduct of many attorneys, that one might suppose they had a licence to live as they please, and to break the sabbath at will. It is really a source of lamentation, that a class of society so useful, and in general so respect- able, should not have the law of the Lord in their heart, as well as the laws of the land in their head; and that they should be, as they commonly are, the abettors of impiety, and the advocates of a cause so unworthy of their superior ability. By magistrates. — ' Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day V It is as true as divine veracity, that not one half of our magistrates properly discharge that office with which our country has invested them. On this day they suffer men to commit, with impunity, all sorts and degrees of wickedness. They smile at the impious career of the profligate ; and sometimes are seen even foremost in the race of the wicked. Why, on the Lord's day, are our streets filled with noise and confusion, and our fields with crowds of young people, at their unlawful diversions? — Because our magistrates are asleep, and know LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 205 not what is doing ; or, what is still worse, are the abettors of those practices which they ought to condemn. A good police would suppress the whole. If our magistrates were like those re- commended by Jethro to Moses, * able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covet- ousness; our country would this day be in a much better condition than it is. Surely, many of our magistrates must have either assumed an office, for which they are altogether unqualified, or have taken an oath which they too lightly regard. If the british state have enemies ; if any set of men render her a double portion of disgrace ; if there he any class of people more than others concerned in drawing down divine vengeance upon her; if any aid in perverting her laws, and defacing her unparalleled beauty; they are our acting and subordinate magistrates, — men, who prefer the easy gentleman to the active justice. Pleas of policy they pretend to frame, for the permission of certain moral evils ; but are they allowable either by the laws of God, or the codes of our country ? Do not common sense, and even infidelity itself, stand aghast at the shocking apology ? But it is made by men too fond of their ease, and who must necessarily condemn themselves by enforcing the laws on others. And, if ' righteousness only exalteth a nation,' these men can have no better claim to the title s 206 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. of loyalty, than to that of Christianity ; that is, a title to neither. ' Nor is it among the least of the public offences against the sabbath, that far too many judges of the land are in the habit of travelling upon that day, both in going to, and returning from, the assizes ; a practice which not only obliges other official persons connected with them to violate this day also, but operates ad- versely in the way of example upon the several barristers, solicitors, and witnesses, who have business on the different circuits ; while it is nothing less than a public scandal upon the religious profession of the land, in every town and village which is called to witness such an indecorous custom.'^ By ministers. — With respect to the divine, we can say, however unaccountable it may seem, that many a preacher profanes the sab- bath. Men break the Lord's day, not merely by committing notorious acts of wickedness, but also by then neglecting the opportunities they possess of benefiting others. And though it is hoped that few instances occur, wherein preachers of the gospel break the sabbath by positive acts of wickedness, yet who would have expected to read, in a recent newspaper, of a ^ Observations upon Sunday Newspapers, p. 38. Se& also. Christian Observer, vol. vi. p. 571. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 207 reverend gentleman being fined twenty pounds for snaring a hare on a Sunday ? yet this is a fact: nor is this a solitary instance of preachers publicly profaning it. Many of them indeed have gone so far as to write with infuriated zeal in favour of sports and pastimes on the Lord's day, and miserably to persecute those champions of the truth who endeavoured to suppress them.^ It does not appear quite consistent, more- over, with the ofiice of a minister of Christ, to suffer a number of idle boys, or drunken men, to gingle the parish bells half the day long, to the great annoyance of the neighbourhood, or to allow his clerk or sexton, or any other person, immediately after divine service, to stand up, if not in the church itself, yet in the adjoining yard, to vociferate notices of auctions, frolics, and fairs, to the spiritual injury of all the as- sembly, especially when he has it in his power, merely by wrinkling his brow, to abolish the whole. But we forbear to enlarge on this deli- cate subject; observing only how very applicable to the purpose is the language of the prophet : * her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things ; they have shewed no difference between the holy and profane : they J Neale's Hist, of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 250. Edit. Lpn- don, 1733. 208 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV* have hid their eyes from my sabbath, and I am profaned among them.'J Where, also, have been their examples of piety, their apostolic fire in the pulpit, and their pious deportment out of it? What are their sabbath addresses? often, alas! cold and formal harangues ; shewing more solicitude to display their talents, than to profit their hearers. And what can those ministers of religion advance in defence of their conduct, who preach only one short, cold, moral sermon on the Lord's day? Where is their zeal for the Lord? where is their love for souls? what are their ideas of ministerial responsibility? Their audiences sit, year after year, unreproved, uninformed, un- blessed.* — The christian sabbath is profaned — 3 Ezek. xxii. 26. * ' Would I describe a preacher such as Paul, Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own, Paul should himself direct me. I would trace His master-strokes, and draw from his design — I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain, And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste. And natural in gesture ; much impressed Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds May feel it too ; affectionate in look. And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men. — Behold the picture \—Is it like ? CowPEu's Tasi. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 209 (4.) By people of pleasure: under which appellation we shall include — The idle. — See, then, how the indolent per- son spends the sabbath ! more like a brute than a man. You may often find the farmer's servant lying in the meadow, or basking in the noon-day sun. — The labourer snores on his bed, stretches on his squab, or doses in the family chair ; and pleads that the sabbath was made for i^est! Others may be found sitting in their garden, or hanging on its walls, saying, ' Oh, what a wearisome time is it! — when will the sabbath be gone?' Some, in the winter time, sit round the fire or the table all the day long; and in the summer season, they draw their seat to the door, where they sit ; and according to the common saying, * smoke their pipe, and crack their joke,' till the shades of night bid them to retire. The people that can work unaccountably hard in the week, — that can rise early and lie down late, and do all with cheerfulness to support their body, — cannot go a hundred yards from home to hear the word of God on the sabbath ; nor can some of them fa- tigue their eyes by reading a chapter in the bible, or even a page in any religious publication. The active. — It is truly wonderful to con- template the numerous methods that mankind adopt to obtain forbidden delight. Even on the s3 210 THE PROFANATION [lECT. IV. sabbath day, one betakes himself to this, and another to that, course of dissipation. They differ in pursuit, but agree in their object. The cockney and the clown are alike pursuing what they term gratification ; but which the longer it is followed, the farther it flees from its breath- less pursuers. They run singly and together ; they ride in the chariot and on the ass ; they go by land and by sea; they exhaust tlieir property, impair their constitution, and endanger their souls, to catch this phantom, this ignis fatuus of the brain : they raise the hue and cry ; they collect the old and the young, and every man fool enough to give them his company, in order to aid them in hunting out, and in running down this singular animal — pleasure.* This is no exaggerated account of the conduct * ' Some poor pedestrians, whose means refuse All ways of riding, but upon their shoes. Still on the public roads in throngs repair. To see the world, and breathe the country air. Through clouds of dust, with weary steps and slow. They pant to Hackney, Islington, or Bowj And all around, if but a nook is seen Where poplars flourish, or the grass looks green. Here thirsty crowds the bustling ale-house fill. Quaff porter vile, or spirits viler still ; Then staggering home to sleep, they stupid wake. To keep St. Monday for St. Sunday's sake. Thus swarms of flies on tubs of treacle meet, Stick to the cask, and perish in the sweet.' Age of FRivoLiiy. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 211 of multitudes on the Lord's day. It is what we have seen times without number. If you interrogate these bustling gentry, why they thus spend the sabbath, instead of attending the means of grace — they will answer, as did a boy, in a similar situation, a short time since, ' that the sabbath was made for rest, and that they will enjoy it ! ' A very ridiculous, but a very common reply. It will be opportune in this place, to expose another description of sabbath impiety, which is frequently witnessed in the neighbourhood of our large towns and cities, and particularly of the metropolis; we refer to the too general practice of fishing and fowling in various forms, and for ends as various, on the Lord's day. This species of iniquity returns as regularly as the sabbath and the season. And to see the multitudes of people, and especially of the youthful part of our population, thus desecrat- ing this sacred day, would literally astonish you. Alas ! while these thoughtless folks are busily occupied in decoying and catching the creatures of providence, they themselves are decoyed and caught by that enemy of man, whose persevering purpose it is to ensnare and to destroy the unwary and the unwise. The rich. — Among people who break the sabbath in pursuit of forbidden delights, we may also enumerate the fashionable world. 212 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. Often have we seen the pampered proud post- ing for pleasure to distant villages, and making as free with the day as if they also were lords of the sabbath. To obtain the stare of the fool, and the cringe of the crowd, they will now and then visit the house of God. Here they feel like beings of a finer make, and of a supe- rior order. The place, they suppose, is graced by their presence, and the preacher obliged by their condescending attendance. To seek equa- lity with them in religious affairs, is a capital crime ; and to contradict their monstrous de- signs, is an unpardonable sin. But we deviate from our subject. These gentry plunge themselves into all that flood of mirth and revelry, where they often bathe their emaciated frame, and for which they are so deservedly notorious. Though they have six days to display their riches and accomplishments, yet on the Lord's day also they must make as august an exhibition of themselves and their retinue as possible. * The ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit,' — the manifestation of genuine piety, which would render them more pleasing to man, and more acceptable to God, — they have never worn, they have never sought, they have hardly ever heard of. Their whole life is a continued demonstration of the truth, ' that when people get rich, they forget God.' The poor. — It is a common opinion among LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 213 the poor, that a gracious God will not suffer any of his creatures to have trouble in this life, and misery in the next ; and that, act as they like, their poverty and present wretchedness will shield them from the wrath of heaven. Hence they give loose to all their passions, and live as though they had no affliction in this life, and could experience none in the life to come. Look at the lower orders on the Lord's day! How depraved their minds, how irreligious their morals ! Some of them scarcely ever attend the house of God, unless they conceive, that by so doing, they shall oblige some pious people, on whose bounty or kindness they in some mea- sure depend. In general, they reject the offers of mercy, and despise the calls of heaven. * They have not God in all their thoughts.' They banish every imposing sentiment of piety, and endeavour to copy the manners of the rich ; rejoicing in their dexterity, if they but imagine success. Nor should we omit to notice those yearly festivities, which are peculiar to the lower orders of the people, in our own immediate neighbour- hood. It has been a custom, through time out of mind, for people of all ages to repair to Clifton and other Wells, and to the Giant's Cave, on the first four sabbaths in May, and there to spend them in selling and buying, eating and drinking, playing and fighting; and, in fact, 214 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. in perpetrating all kinds and degrees of wick- edness of which they are capable. This is an open violation of the laws both of heaven and our country ; and is calculated to draw down the rod of the civil arm, and the vengeance of an angry God, upon their guilty heads.* And while we are contracting the application of our subject to local affairs, we feel it our duty to notice those annual feasts common in the county of Wiltshire and its neighbourhood, attended for the most part by the middle and lower classes, and which invariably commence on a Sunday, and commonly continue through- out the week. These festivals, though happily on the decline, are still very numerous in small towns and villages, and are associated with evils of various descriptions, and sometimes of great atrocity. To say the best of them, what primming, walking, riding, cooking, gossiping, eating, drinking, &c. must be witnessed on that day which ought to be devoted to the service of God, and the good of the soul. It is ear- nestly hoped, therefore, that the respectable and serious inhabitants of that part of our * In the Christian Observer for December, 1818, there is an article on Sunday Savings Banks. We, hope, however, that this practice, so pernicious to the morals of the poor, is not very prevalent, and that it will die in the hands of the person who first contrived and brought it into existence. For an exposure of its immoral tendency, the reader is referred to the above publication. LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 215 country, will discountenance, by every possible method, a system so dishonourable to God, and so pernicious to the community at large. The aged. — A wicked old man may lose a relish for his food, but he will not for his sinful amusements. His attachment to folly and wickedness grows with his years, becomes ingrafted in his nature, and forms a part of his venerable self. Now he will enjoy the relation of sabbath impiety, in which, through a burden of years, he can no longer engage. He collects the simple striplings around his chair, and to them relates his youthful follies, and seems to triumph in the recollection of his juvenile mis- deeds. Though trembling over the mouth of the tomb, he acts as if he had centuries to live in the world, or as if a long catalogue of crimes were the best passport to heaven. Now the decrepit also, too lame to go twenty yards to church, too deaf to hear a sermon, too blind to find his pew, and too ill to be confined an hour, is seen, with all his lameness, blindness, and other bodily diseases, engaging in the plea- sures of sin, half-a-dozen miles from home. And the aged matron, * whose grief-worn cheeks have been a channel to a flood of tears,' brightens up, and collecting the remnant of her strength, joins the giddy throng in their vain diversions ; and, perhaps on her last sabbath, forgetting her grey locks and near approach to another world, again and again plays over the follies of her 216 THE PROFANATION [LECT. IV. youthful days. Though these people have lived beyond the common age of man, in places where the gospel has been regularly, plainly, and faith- fully preached ; yet, through their criminal neg- ligence, they are as ignorant of the first principles of salvation, as if they had spent their days in a desert, or among the unchristianized part of mankind. The young. — Through the inexperience of your age, and the temptations to which you are so constantly exposed, you become choked with the gaieties of life, and run to every excess of riot, demonstrating yourselves to be ' lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God !' You sometimes attend the sanctuary, but it is often to meet your companions, not to improve your spirits ; to make sport, not to please your God. You act as if you had a licence to profane this day, or were not accountable to heaven for its violation. Glee and merriment are all that many of you appear to seek ; and if these be found, gospel blessings can be dispensed with. ' Our young men and maidens rejoice in their youth, and their hearts cheer them in the days of their youth ; they walk in the ways of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes, not knowing that for all these things, God will bring them into judgment' ' First of all, the young sabbath - breaker, treading under his feet the laws of his Creator, and the injunctions of pious parents, stifling the voice of conscience, gets into vicious company ; LECT. IV.] OF THE LORD'S DAY. 217 listens to their vain and foolish, their obscene and profane conversation : catches their impious and daring spirit; imagines it to be witty, clever, brave ; first he sips the intoxicating cup ; then drinks and drinks again, till reason is stupified and staggers ; conscience is laid asleep ; intox- icated imagination is full of evil ; passions and lusts are inflamed ; and he is ready to rush forth to every flagitious and abominable deed.'^ The Lord's day evening is witness to your ungodly deportment ; you couple together, form- ing amorous connexions ; you assemble in tu- multuous parties, and thereby become more daring in your irreligious procedure : — for the youth, modest and polite when alone, is inde- cent, and every way insulting, when he gets into bad company. Many young people on this day lose both their virtue and their character, and commence a life of profligacy, which is termi- nated only by death. Sabbath-breaking is an inlet to every other sin ; and when we see young people profaning this day, we prognosti- cate, that they will be bad members of society when they arrive to manhood. May God, in his goodness, reform your lives, and lead you for mercy to the foot of the cross, * beneath the droppings of that blood/ which cleanses the sinner from all his sins ! Amen. " Rev. W. Kingsbury. T LECTURE V. THE NON-ADVANTAGE AND EVIL-CONSEQUENCES OF SABBATH-BREAKING. Ihere are few people so excessively de- praved, as not sometimes to adopt the language of scripture, and to say, * woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him ; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.' The unbeliever, in the height of his merriment, or when attacked by the advocates of truth, may affect a disbelief of present and of future retribution ; yet in the hour of solitude, when conscience will be heard, and when truth rushes into view, he sighs, and rather wishes than believes the doctrine he openly advocates. He has a law written in his heart, which, in opposition to all his endeavours, will solemnly arraign him before the bar of a severe internal judge ; — a judge who extorts a confession, which few but himself is suffered to hear. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a man so much lost to religion, reason, and common LECT. v.] NON-ADVANTAGE, &C. 219 sense, as to affirm it to be his serious and settled opinion, that any one was better, even in this life, for breaking the commands of God. It is true, when you see the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous, you may foolishly conclude, that the ungodly have the advantage, and that pious people enjoy not the promise of the present life. The sorrows of the contrite may encourage the ungodly, and the glee of the sinner may stagger the saint; but a moment's consideration would correct the judgment of both : the sinner might have been happy had he been a saint, and the saint might have been miserable had he been a sinner : so that no bad man can reasonably say, his follies and vices make him better ; nor a good man, that his principles and piety make him worse. Vital godliness, in itself, can make no man unhappy : it is full of peace ; nor unsuccessful in life; it is a guide to eminence. And wickedness, in itself, can make no man happy : it is pregnant with horror; nor successful: it is the very high road to ruin. To assert otherwise, would be affirming, that a righteous and benevolent God has established a religion upon earth dishonour- able to himself, and injurious to the people for whom he designed it; an idea contrary to scripture, reason and experience ; and suffici- ently monstrous to startle and astonish all but 220 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. the stupid and the blind.* With these general remarks, we shall enter on the subject before us; namely — III. The non-advantage and evil CONSEQUENCES OF SABBATH-BREAKING. First, The non-advantage of sabbath- breaking : wherein we shall endeavour to prove, that nothing radically good or consider- ably advantageous can be obtained, either by the nation at large, or by any individual in particular, through any mode of violating the sabbath day. And — (1.) In reference to the naiio7i. — Here we may lay down, as an infallible maxim, the senti- ment of that celebrated statesman, Mr. Fox ' that which is morally wrong, can NEVER BE POLITICALLY RIGHT.' The pure principles of the christian religion are so con- sonant, and so closely connected, with the well organization, the lasting comfort, and the ad- vancing glory of a country, that the violation of the former is a sure presage of the latter's destruction ; and the disregard of evangelical rules, a certain excision of almost every thing that adorns society, and prospers a nation. * ' I know it so of a truth ; but how should man be just with God ? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength; who hath hardened himself, and hath prospered !' .Tob ix. 2 — 4. LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING 221 If there is an order in providence ; if there is a jealous God that regardeth human conduct ; if there is a superior Being, who will reward virtue, and punish iniquity; that national pro- ceeding- which militates against the genius of the gospel, will not, can not, be for the ad- vancement of any people whatsoever : it is so repugnant to common sense, and so contrary to the revelation of God, that we cannot for a moment admit it as a truth. The temporal blessings promised to the chil- dren of Israel were to be realized only by their sincere and constant regard to the equitable rules of God's moral government.^ And, to bring this sentiment to bear on the doctrine under consideration, we learn that the prosperity of the Jewish nation almost entirely depended on their keeping holy the sabbath of the Lord.^ If, then, God is the same now as formerly ; if he regards the christian sabbath as much as he did the Jewish ; which none but the ignorant will doubt ; we may very reasonably infer, that the prosperity of our land depends more on the sanctification of the Lord's day, than upon the bravery of our soldiers, the wisdom of our rulers, the extent of our territories, or the rich- ness of our mercantile traffic. For the truth of the doctrine we maintain. '' Deut. xi. 26. Josh, v, 6. " Jeremiah xvii. 19—27 t3 222 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. we can appeal to the reason and common sense of mankind. Let the ' nobles' of Britain say, what national advantage can possibly arise from any mode of breaking the christian sabbath. Is our land more honourable and flourishing ; is our government more sound in its constitution ; are our senators more wise, our warriors more brave, our arts more refined, or our commerce more beneficial ; are our peasantry more indus- trious, our fields more fertile, or our flocks more productive ; does providence smile more upon us, and are our efforts crowned with greater success ; because we violate the Lord's day at any time, or in any form whatsoever I Is there any extra ease obtained by any rank in society; are we furnished with more of the necessaries or luxuries of life ; or is there any real or lasting good obtained in any way, or by any part of our country, through the profanation of the sabbath ? Assuredly to these inquiries, every virtuous noble, and every pious and sensible person, throughout all the gradations of society, would promptly answer in the negative. If, then, vice is not temporally advantageous ; or, if virtue be as beneficial as its opposite principles ; certainly every one should prefer walking in the plain and peaceful paths of virtue. And, if these sentiments are correct, why is there not an immediate suppression of every evil of LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 223 this nature, which it becomes the civil arm to suppress ? But, it is to be feared, that many of our countrymen and magistrates labour under the mistaken idea, that certain modes of sabbath- breaking are, in some way or other, productive of considerable good to the nation. Let us, then, descend to particulars ; and see whether their judgment or ours be more agreeable, not only with christian principles, but also with ster- ling sense and consistent policy. And we ap- prehend, that the following brief statements will in general be found correct, and will prove all that is incumbent on us at present; namely, that no considerable pecuniary advantage can by any means arise to our country through the sufferance of any of those moral evils that were recently enumerated. Let us ever recollect, then, when we speak of a well-organized kingdom, such as our own, that it forms, as it were, a perfect body of itself; and is so constituted, and one part of it is so dependent on another, or so connected with it ; that any act of kindness which it does, is done to itself; and every injury which it does, is done to itself; every wound, even in its numerous extremities, is felt by all the more vital parts; and every kindness done to the heart, is diffused through all the members of this political body. 224 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. Seeing, also, that the poorer orders, and the working classes of society, are by far the ma- jority of oar population, and that the tide of national happiness will always ebb or flow as they shall rise or fall in the scale of fortune ; it is evident, that as their aff"airs prosper or de- cline, our country may be designated successful or unhappy ; and that whatever conduces to their distress or prosperity, may be justly denomi- nated a national curse or a national blessing. If, therefore, any form of sabbath-breaking can be proved of no advantage to the poor, it can be proved of no advantage to the country at large; and if it can be proved detrimental to their wel- fare, it must be considered a national evil. Observe, again, that in estimating the evil or benefit of an action, we are not to consider merely its immediate result, but every conse- quence that is likely to ensue ; and to follow the chain of dependency as far as it will con- duct us. For example: — if, by any mode of breaking the sabbath, the shop-keeper, the land- lord, or the farmer, should reap a considerable immediate advantage ; yet, if through this evil, a dozen poor families were reduced to poverty, and thrown on the parish, which those people have to uphold : so far from being gainers, they would, in the end, be considerable losers. And, if we expand the sentiment, and embrace the nation, it will be found equally LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 225 consistent ; for though, in consequence of buy- ing and selling on the sabbath, the revenue could be increased for the moment ; yet, if our peasantry become idle, turn robbers, fill our prisons, and put our country to a vast expense in their prosecution ; or, if our factories should be injured for want of sales, so that the em- ployers should not be able to pay the duty laid on their goods ; or, if the farmer were unable to vend his corn and cattle, and consequently unable to pay his taxes ; our country, so far from being a gainer, would lose considerably by this moral evil; our whole system would be shaken and unnerved, and the bonds that should bind every part in its place would be slackened ; and, instead of being enabled to act with ease and vigour, it would be, like Samson without his hair, both feeble and foolish.* It may be proper still further to premise respecting the providence of heaven over the nations of the earth. We have assumed as * ' Old Egypt, Tyre, and Greece, and Rome, have felt How Luxury's flame can public virtues melt. First private worth gives way, and feebly falls : Then bold corruption saps the city walls. Thus nations rise, grow rich, grow proud and vain, Then sink to want and ignorance again. May England, timely warn'd, the ruin shun. Preserve her rank, nor be by fools undone.' Age of Frivolity. 226 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. acknowledged, the superintendance of God over every national, domestic, and personal concern: and though few will openly deny our premises, yet the majority of mankind conduct their affairs in such a manner, as if the Almighty had nothing to do either with the world, or with them. Hence follow the greater part of those evils, which we witness, suffer, or deplore. Hence, among a certain class of society, there is so much religion in public, and so little in the privacy of family retirement and personal solitude. Hence, the omission of a thousand religious actions — we shall be righteous unob- served. ' Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; wherefore have we afflicted our souls, and thou takest no knowledge ^''^ Hence, the perpetration of numberless crimes — we may rebel with impunity. * How doth God know ? can he judge through the dark cloud V '^ To the want of a thorough belief in the pro- vidence of God, we may trace our national crimes and our national calamities. And from the same source flow those streams of folly and affliction, which corrupt and embitter do- mestic life. Were the rulers of our land fully persuaded that whatever they enforce or suffer, contrary to the revealed will of God, must, in the end, be injurious to that cause they aim to c Isaiah Iviii. 3. ^ Job xxii. 13. LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 227 advance; we should not have to establish the non-advantage of violating the fourth command- ment. And, if less communities and indivi- duals were conscious that they are always acting under the eye of the great God, and that whatsoever tends to displease him, will terminate in their own confusion, and to their own disadvantage ; we should not have had the unpleasant task of developing the follies enu- merated in the preceding part of our subject. But, to convince you on general principles, and from the uniform conduct of God, that na- tional sins, however speciously committed ; and personal crimes, however secretly perpetrated, will be of no advantage to the nation, or to any individual concerned ; permit us to raise and to establish the following propositions : — National sins, unless universally deplored, and generally reformed, will certainly be followed by some public and general calamity. — Such was the case with the Antediluvians, the Ca- naanites, and the Chaldeans. * The nation and kingdom that will not serve him shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.'* There is a possibility that a people the most wealthy, the most wise, the most powerful, and the best organized, may sink into poverty, weakness, ignorance, and contempt — as was e Isaiah Ix. 12. 228. THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. the case with the Egyptians, Grecians, Romans, and others. No kingdom or community of people, how- ever beloved of God, and peculiarly blessed with mercies, will be suffered to break his com- mandments, or to abuse his favours with im- punity. — Witness the kingdom of Israel in its numerous sins and calamities, and the eastern churches in their corruptions and chastisements. * The kingdom of God shall be taken' from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.' ^ The judgments brought upon any nation for its iniquities, however fortuitous in their ap- pearance, or by whatever hand they may be inflicted, are all from the Lord. — This you will perceive by referring to the following scriptures : Exod. xxi. 31. Prov. xix. 21. xxi. 1. Amos iii. 6. et passim.^ God has nowhere intimated that he will be more favourable to one sinful people than to ' Matt. xxi. 43. * ' If a man lie not in ^vait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.' — ' There are many devices in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand.' — ' The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water ; he turneth it whithersoever he will.' — • Shall a trumpet be blown in a city and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath riot done it ? LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 229 another, when their advantages and their crimes are alike. It has never been proved by all that has been written or said, that the violation of any one of the ten commandments, in any manner, or to any extent, has rendered any people, considered either in a social or solitary capacity, more rich, more powerful, more wise, or more happy, than they would have been had they observed it. It devolves on those who assert the contrary to establish it. We shall leave the application of these positions to the judgment of our re- spective hearers. After these preliminary observations, we pro- ceed to examine the several particulars before us. We will commence with the vending of goods on the Lord's day. And here, we affirm it as our serious and settled opinion, that no considerable extra advantage, or revenue, can by any means arise to the government, in consequence of any articles being sold on the sabbath. For, first, we do not imagine that any individual takes out a licence for selling on Sundays, who, if then prohibited from so doing, would not take it out for the rest of the week : nor does it cost him more, because he then takes the advantage of acting under it : so that nothing at all can arise through any extra number, or any greater price of licences. Again, goods u 230 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LEGT. V. sold on the Lord's day pay no more duty to government than similar goods sold in the week ; hence, there is no advantage arising from greater duties. And if the articles usually sold on the Lord's day, were not then disposed of, they would have a much brisker sale in the ensuing week. Or should these goods lie unsold for a while, yet other commodities would be disposed of during the six days, that would add equally to the public purse. For, observe, that the people who are most, and, we may say, only accustomed to purchase things of any description on the sabbath, are the poor and the working classes of society, who have but a certain small quantity of money to spend during the seven days ; and if they cannot lay it out on the Lord's day, they will certainly do it on the other six. And, if the money earned in a week be expended in a week, it is of no matter to the country, whether it be laid out on the first, or any other day. But if, in consequence of a prohibition of sales on the sabbath, any individuals should save a certain portion of their income, usually expended on that holy day ; yet what would become of the money thus accumulated ? The possessors would probably put it into a savings bank, or lend it to their neighbour to extend his business, or give it to objects of charity; in all which cases it would be kept in rapid circulation, and LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 231 as, Id some way or other, every article of goods is taxed, would be making its way to the head of affairs. For, in a mercantile country like this, few people will lay by their money in coffers, when they can obtain five pounds per centum per annum for keeping it in circulation. But to suppose the worst that can take place. Should any individuals, (and their number will always be very inconsiderable,) in consequence of not being able on the Lord's day to expend their money in goods subject to duty, hoard up, for a few years, the trifling sums now usually expended ; yet, what would be the baneful con- sequences? \yhy, in a little time, this sum might save them and their family from poverty and the parish, which would be a great and a general blessing ; or voluptuous heirs might squander it away in such a manner, as to send the major part of it to the fountain of affairs, with considerable velocity ; or frugal legatees might so manage its expenditure, as to bless the nation at large, by benefiting their neighbour- hood in particular. Hence it is clear, that upon the whole, our government can reap but little emolument, in consequence of tolerating the sale of any kind of goods on the sabbath day. The arguments which establish the non- advantage of vending common articles on the sabbath, will apply with equal force to the sale 232 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. of liquor^ and the circulation of neiospapers ; seeing similar people are, for the most part, the purchasers: and government cannot be worse off by receiving any sums of money, as duty for the common necessaries of life sold in the week, than if the same had accrued as the tax of spirits, which injure the body, and of news- papers, which poison the mind ; sold and cir- culated on the Lord's day. But since the sale and circulation of Sunday newspapers have recently been advocated in the House of Commons, on the principle of finance, it may not be altogether useless to give the sub- ject a little further investigation. * The whole revenue derived from Sunday newspapers,' says a recent writer, ' may be put at the average of 2700/. per annum ; a sum surely of incon- siderable amount, when placed in competition v/ith the advantages of being without it. If it could even be proved, that this sum were so much clear profit, and that no deduction ought to be made from it, on account of the pecu- niary outgoings which are consequent upon the system from which it is derived ; it would even then appear, that a tax which is drawn from such a polluted source, could not be de- fended, either upon principles of religion or policy, since the encouragement thus offered by a government to the violation of its own laws, as well as of the law of God, would be no better LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 2SS than an act of political suicide, unworthy at once of a nation professing Christianity, and prefer- ring any claims to the pursuit of a wise and enlightened policy. It must, however, be clear to any one who will be at the pains to look at all below the surface of the question, that a very considerable portion of this amount of 2700Z. never eventually benefits the public treasury. If it be true, that the violation of the sabbath is the high road to public crimes, and that prose- cutions for such crimes are a source of con- siderable expense to the nation, then, whatever reduces the quantity of crime, must, of course, reduce the expenses of punishing it. * That public crime has progressively increased, more especially in the city of London, and county of Middlesex, of late years, is certain. The Old Bailey sessions, of which there are eight in the year, and which always commence on a Wednes- day, almost invariably terminated, until lately, in the week of their commencement; being three or four days of trial. At present these sessions commonly last ten days or a fortnight, and often longer ; nor does the increase of the population by any means afford an adequate or satisfactory solution of the increase of crime, as many would have us believe. This cause is mainly to be found in the increased and increasing profanation of the sabbath; and it has fallen to the lot of the writer of these pages, u 3 234 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. from having been for several years officially connected with the metropolitan prisons, to ascertain, from the repeated confessions of prisoners, more particularly of those condemned to die, that they referred the first cause of their acquaintance with vicious companions, and their instruction and progress in crime, to the neglect of the christian sabbath. Melancholy and affect- ing, indeed, have been the recitals which he has heard from the old and young of both sexes: the illiterate house-breaker, and the educated forger, the offender who has been convicted for the first time, and the criminal who has proved old in vice ; all tending to shew the universal sense entertained by these different culprits of the consequences of profaning this sacred day, and neglecting the appointed institutions of religion. * Now, let the saving which would accrue to the state, from the extinction of a large portion of public crime, be taken into the calculation, and I am persuaded, that, even upon the lower ground of human policy, this question might not be unsuccessfully argued. Let a due de- duction be made from the revenue produced by Sunday newspapers, in respect of the expendi- ture occasioned by criminal prosecutions ; the expenses attending the administration of justice; the cost of the imprisonment of offenders in and about the metropolis ; their confinement in the hulks, and their transportation beyond LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 235 the seas. Let the original charge of the new penitentiary, the annual expense of this esta- blishment for some years past, and the more recent charge of the increase of buildings lately added to it: [for which several purposes, during the year 1820, the House of Commons voted 329,756/. :] let these considerations be suffered to have their proper weight, and the question of revenue will perhaps be found to possess less importance than many are disposed to attach to it.'^ With regard to driving cattle, and holding vestries, on the sabbath, it would be superfluous and even ridiculous to contend, that the nation is not in the least degree benefited by them. No person, we conceive, ever contended to the contrary. If there were any advantage, itmust arise to the drover, in the diminution of travel- ling expenses ; or to the parish officers, in the saving of time. We shall, therefore, concisely examine and reply to the plea usually adduced in favour of employing revenue officers, ordi- nary travelling, and drilling our military on the christian sabbath. That the nation is not benefited by employing so many people on the sabbath, will be evident from the following consideration. It must, then, be clearly understood, that the professed ^ Observations upon Sunday Newspapers, p. 60 — 66. 236 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. and real object of our magistrates, in employing subordinate officers in our inland towns and commercial sea-ports, as well in the week, as on the Lord's day, is to preserve the revenues of the crown ; we say, to preserve the revenue, not to increase them ; to prevent fraud, not to augment the funds. This distinction should not be overlooked, because it is just, and of general application. Every man has a right to preserve his property on the sabbath, but no man has a right to increase it : to deny the first assertion, might be fatal to our secular enjoyments ; and to question the second, would be to destroy the sabbath altogether. For if it must have been so rigidly regarded, as that a christian man might not have preserved his property from thievxjs, the infidel robber might have taken advantage of his defenceless position, and de- prived him of all. If, on the other hand, man bad been permitted to accumulate the smallest portion of property on this day, and no line to bound his avarice having been drawn, he might have grasped at more, and still more on the sabbath, till, as far as he was concerned, the institution itself had sunk beneath the pressure of temporal business*. * This sentiment, however scriptural and correct, is liable to perversion and abuse. Men may fear, when no fear cometh ; and, consequently, may neglect the means of grace, to guard property which is either not in danger, or unworthy of sucJi LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 237 But to the question, which is simply this ; — Can the government be in any measure benefited by employing so many people during the Lord's day, in preserving the revenues of the crown ? This question will be best answered by proposing another. Does or does not government occupy more men on the sabbath, in securing the dues of the nation, than are absolutely requisite ? if no more are employed than are perfectly neces- sary, the sabbath is not violated, since, accord- ing to our preceding remarks, the preservation of property on this day is not a violation of the fourth commandment. But if more men are employed than will answer this purpose, which elsewhere we have proved to be the case, then the sabbath is violated without any national advantage ; for if five men can do all that is designed or required to be done, the employ- ment of fifty would be useless; it would be causing five and forty to break the sabbath with- out any benefit arising either to master or men. The evil we deplore is not the simple act of employing people on the Lord's day, but the anxious solicitude. But woe to that man who takes advantage of the kind and tolerant spirit of the gospel, to violate known and established precepts. It may be remarked, that the pre- serving of property on the sabbath, in the New Testament (as if anticipating the evil against which I am solicitous to guard the reader), is always associated with acts of humanity ; it is to lead the beast from the stall to the watering; or to pull the ox and the ass out of the pit into which they may have fallen. 238 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. employment of too maay. Nor are we disposed to dictate to our governors how many people they shall employ in our ports on a sabbath, or what shall be their respective departments ; that would be assuming an office which v/e have neither authority nor competence to fill. Yet that there might be a considerable alteration for the better, we feel no hesitation in asserting. And whatever arrangement might be made in our police on the sabbath, provided the reve- nues were preserved, government would never lose a single farthing by it. Nay, so far from losing by the non-employment of half or two- thirds of those at present engaged in various parts and ports of this country, the govern- ment might save a considerable sum by it every year. The emoluments also, arising to the nation, in consequence of coaches, curricles, and carts, packets, boats, and barges, running and rowing on this holy day, appear to us very inconsidera- ble. Now, as no person, it is presumed, will take out a licence for a servant, horse, coach, &c. the more because he is suffered to use them on the sabbath ; as all the king's horses and chariots ; all private cattle in government coaches ; all horses and carriages kept for private use ; and all boats, barges, packets, &c. may travel on the Lord's day, without paying any extra duty for it; seeing, also, that the LECT. v.] OF SABBATH BREAKING. 239 horses and carriages which travel on the sabbath, subject to mile duty, (which only can be pleaded), are mostly supported by the lower or workincr classes of society, who would otherwise expend all their money in the ensuing week, on the necessaries or luxuries of life, all subject to duty : seeing, moreover, that no extra taxed servants, horses, or carriages, are required for travelling seven days than for six : it may be fairly inferred, that government can increase its revenues but very little from the toleration of any thing of this sort on the Lord's day. It may be urged, that the permission of these practices is very accommodating to the public. To an ungodly public it may be ac- commodating ; but it is so merely in the same manner as poison is accommodating to a man who wishes to terminate his own existence ; but with which no man of even common humanity would, knowingly, furnish him. Yet, to a religious public, these coaches, &c. are not so accommodating as many suppose. The pious man who is obliged to commence a long journey on the latter part of the week, and who would thankfully rest any where on the road, rather than travel on the sabbath, is often necessitated to go forward, and to spend the Lord's day, amidst the foolish jargon of the passengers, and the oaths of drunken guards and besotted coachmen. 2^0 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. It is again pleaded, that by suffering mail coaches to travel on the sabbath, the business of a numerous class of society is forwarded a whole day ; and which, in many cases, may be of considerable importance to the individuals concerned. To such we reply; if your letters, bills, parcels, &c. were always detained on the road during the Lord's day, you would feel no more inconvenience from any delay in the re- ception of letters, &c. than you do at present. Every man of business would be under a similar restraint; and a general embargo would remove any burden that might otherwise rest on a restrained individual. Besides, your correspon- dents would send off your papers, parcels, &c. a day earlier ; or you would quietly account on receiving them a day later ; and all without the least stagnation of trade, or loss in your business. The last practice against which we contend, as being of no benefit to the nation, is drilling our military on the sabbath. Here we remark, that no pecuniary advantage can by any means arise to the country in consequence of any thing of this sort carried on during the sabbath-day, seeing that the soldiers are paid for their at- tendance then, the same as for any other time. And, surely, no person will betray his ignorance so grossly as to argue, that there is any na- tional advantage in playing the band through the streets, and in collecting an insufferable LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 241 concourse of people to hear it with astonishment on the sabbath of the Lord. It is, however, contended, first, ' that those soldiers are regularly marched to church every Lord's day morning; and that the spectators are usually drawn after them.' But what are the soldiers prepared to hear, after several hours of parade ; or what are the rabble likely to learn, who go merely to see the soldiers, and to accompany the music ? Both must be totally unfitted for any serious contemplation whatever. Again, say others, * if these men had not been engaged in the field, they might have spent the day as badly in the public house.' True, this might have been the case ; and it might not ; and are we, therefore, to make men really sin, because there exists a probability of their doing it without our assistance — or are we to lead men into one sin to keep them out of another — or to do evil that good may come — or to sin ourselves to keep others from sinning? — How absurd! even supposing the objection to be well founded : but it is not. Drilling does not prevent the soldiers from getting drunk on the sabbath ; and that too at the worst hour of the day. And, indeed, they are more likely to be intoxicated after a drill than without it, as observation too well establishes. It is further objected, * that the circumstances of the nation may require it.' If so, go on ; be X 242 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V, loyal, save your country! works of necessity are to be done at any time. This necessity, however, has seldom occurred ; and, therefore, cannot be pleaded to support a general practice. Three days in a week, says the legislature, are suflficient to train men to their duty; hence there exists no occasion for drilling on the sabbath. It is urged, moreover, ' that the saving of time is a serious object to the nation.* And equally serious ought to be the salvation of our souls. But this saving of time is not quite so im- portant as our objectors imagine. In a country tolerably advanced in civilization and science, employment is scarcer than men ; and if a day in every week were taken from those appointed for labour, all our work would not fully occupy our population during the five that remained. Finally, it is said, ' that the law allows any man, upon pleading scruples of conscience, to withdraw from the field.' This privilege, how- ever, is a tacit acknowledgment, that no neces- sity exists for drilling on the sabbath. And observe, that the state, with all her maternal regard, not only suffers her children to break the law of God with impunity, but even demands a solemn oath, stating a religious disapproval before she will suffer them not to break it. Rather, should not human laws support the divine?^ And surely our country should hold forth no temptation to induce the subject to LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 243 violate the commands of heaven : but such in- citements certainly exist. The man who, from religious scruples, leaves his comrades, will in- variably incur their ridicule ; and his officers, often, alas! irreligious striplings, condemned by his superior sanctity, will, one way or other, make him pay well for his puritanical piety. Upon the whole, it must be evident, thcit no considerable pecuniary profit can possibly arise to our government, through any mode of vio- lating the sabbath. And as for any advantage, in any other way, there cannot be the most trifling. But, to press the argument still further, and to speak to your conscience as well as to your judgment. Suppose the nefarious practices, which we formerly exposed, did enrich our land ; and that in consequence of adhering to these ungodly maxims, our sovereign, like Solomon, could render silver and gold as plenteous as the stones in the street ; could he obtain the ho- mage of every earthly potentate, and sway his sceptre over the spacious globe ; or, if he could furnish our island with every luxury, and make it more lovely than the garden of the Lord, would these temporal blessings compensate for the spiritual evils attending notorious breaches of the divine law ? And have civil rulers nothing to do with the spiritual good of the people I can christian legislators conscientiously tolerate 244 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. practices subversive of peace on earth and hap- piness for ever ; or could that be a well orga- nized constitution which involved no concern for the chief end of man, or for its own comfortable existence? These remarks have been occasioned by the observations of a respectable magistrate, (not singular in his sentiments,) who was recently talking of the expediency of suffering certain unchristian acts on the sabbath day ; and also to prove that those people, who wish to suppress moral evils in the nation, cannot consistently be considered inimical to the constitution, but that on the contrary, they are its best friends and most reasonable supporters. Nor let any one suppose that on this subject we are advocating opinions peculiar to our- selves. Whence, we ask, arose those acts of parliament which enforce a religious observance of the sabbath ; but from a firm conviction in the minds of our legislators that the commission of the crimes they prohibit would be of no ad- vantage to the nation over which they presided, and whose interest, in framing such laws, they studiously consulted? On what principles also do many of our most loyal, intelligent, and respectable magistrates^ at present proceed, when enforcing the laws of the land for promot- ing the sanctification of this day, if not on a full ^ See Evan. Mag. vol. xxvili. p. 262. LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 245 persuasion that the nation would not be bene- fited by profaning it ? And was it not for similar reasons that our sovereign, on ascending the british throne, avowed his righteous deter- mination to chastise, with the expression of his highest displeasure, all whose temerity should induce them to transgress the bounds prescribed to the movements of man on the Lord's day? And that our opinion accords with that of the sincerely pious part of our community, none acquainted with their sentiments and conduct will presume for a moment to question. Permit us here to pause, and make one or two reflections. Were the public and our go- vernors but aware how much they are indebted to God for the institution of the sabbath, they would be more concerned for its regular and due observance. Were men to esteem the sabbath for the mercies which it has afforded them, in proportion as they esteem even their dogs for some generous action, we should not now have to advance motives for its proper sanctification ; but rather might have to check, if possible, a too scrupulous attenton to its various avocations. Why are we not now, like our forefathers two thousand years ago, without the benefits of civil and social life ? Why are we not roaming through the wide-spreading forests, with painted skin and savage aspect, in quest of our foes, and x3 246 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. yet trembling for fear of them? — Why are not the caves our dwelling, the cliffs our refuge, and the rocks our defence? — Why are not our cities a wilderness — ^our meadows fields of war — our employment butchery — and our plea- sure drinking the blood, and feasting on the carcases of our slaughtered friends? — Why are we not without all those blessings which cheer us in trouble, support us in weakness, and supply us when in need? — Why are we not without the ' knowledge of God and of his Christ,' the means of grace, and the hope of glory? — Why? Because we have a sabbath. To the sabbath the poor are indebted for their peace, and the rich for their plenty. This institution has produced order in society, soft- ness in manners, and general tranquillity among our people: it has raised a peaceful cottage over the poor man's head, and furnished it with the necessaries of life ; it has afforded the middle ranks of our population the happiness of sitting at ease, neither sinking with wealth, nor en- feebled with poverty : it has erected a palace and a throne for the monarch : it has filled the former with all that could charm the senses or gratify desire ; and it has surrounded the latter with glories which rival in splendour the morn- ing sun shining through bespangled clouds : and now, without the sabbath, we should soon return to our primitive barbarity and our original LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 247 wretchedness. The poor man would lose his peace, the merchant his ease, and the monarch his authority; and in proportion as we mis- employ this sacred day, in the very same pro- portion shall we recede to former manners and to former miseries. And though this is almost universally known, and as generally acknowledged, yet, wonderful to think, we have to heap argument upon argu- ment, and motive upon motive, to induce man- kind to observe it at all ! We have to persuade them by all that is dear, and to urge them by all that is dreadful ; we have, in the name of God, to intreat and to threaten, to beseech and to command, a due observance of this holy day ; and after all that we can do, they will profane it themselves, and teach others to do the same. — But we must return to our arguments. (2.) In reference to individuals. — And here we shall be short. Let us interrogate the ungodly professor. — And pray, sir, is your inattention to the affairs of your soul on the sabbath, or the inconsistency of your conduct, in professing a religion which you consider divine, whose dictates you seldom obey, of any advantage to you as a christian or as a man ? Are you more like the Son of God ; more like his apostles ; more like the venerable re- formers of the christian church ; or more like 248 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. what you wish your neighbours to esteem you, through violating the sacred moments of the christian sabbath? Are you more versed in religious truths ; do you enjoy more of the consolations of the gos- pel ; are you more devout in the week ; more respected by the good, and rendered a greater blessing to the bad, through your criminal re- missness of duty on this blessed day ? Or, to look forward, are you better prepared to enjoy prosperity without elation ; or to sus- tain the afflictions of life with christian fortitude ; to walk through the valley of the shadow of death ; to stand before the tribunal of Christ, and to be with God for ever ; because, contrary to your pretensions, and to the dictates of your mind, you pay little regard to the Lord's day ? Ah ! what says conscience ? — let it be heard : * Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep ; an idle soul shall suffer hunger ; and woe to them that are at ease in Zion ! ' Question the irreligious head of a family . — And have your domestic frolics — your inatten- tion to the spiritual welfare of your family — your neglect of private and of public duties, on the Lord's day, been productive of personal or domestic benefit? Are you better yourself, and are your plea- sures, as a master and a parent, more numerous LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 249 and refined, because you misimprove the sacred hours of the christian sabbath ? Are your servants more faithful and obedient ; do they esteem you more, and serve you better ; are their obligations to you as a master more righteously discharged, because you allow them to violate the sabbath, by running to every excess of riot, and by committing all manner of mischief?* Are your children more affectionate and docile ; do they grow up more like what you would wish to &ee them ; are they likely to sup- port you more tenderly and steadfastly, when you shall bow with weakness and tremble with age ; are they greater favourites of yourself and your friends, because you suffer them to break this holy day? Is your house more the retreat of peace, and the scene of prosperity ; more ' like the family of faith and the household of God ;' have you more of the divine presence, and a richer pro- fusion of his blessings within your domestic circle, because you keep not the sabbath from polluting it ? No ! you ingenuously reply, ' the Lord will pour out his fury upon the heathen that know him not, and upon the families that €all not on his name.' * It was an observation of bishop Reynolds, ' Take care that your servants do their duty to God, and God will take care that they do their duty to 3'ou.' 250 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. Examine the man of business. — Does he realize any extra emolument by any mode of sabbath -breaking which he may adopt? He doubts — he conceives it possible — he supposes he may. But to us it seems extremely impro- bable. For, in the first place it cannot be proved that any person ever did, all things considered, realize a single extra farthing by unnecessarily attending to his ordinary business on the sabbath. And while it continues a ques- tion whether any form of breaking the sabbath be attended with pecuniary advantage, surely the high and righteous commands of God and our governors should be obeyed before the calls of avarice and sensuality. Though individuals of this description may have accumulated handsome fortunes, and even have rolled in luxury ; yet who can say that they might not have obtained an equal portion of this world's goods, and even a larger one, had they not laboured on the Lord's day 1 Men of simi- lar professions, and with less favourable pros- pects in life, who have hallowed the sabbath, have increased in riches as much, and more than they. And hence, their gathering of wealth is not necessarily ascribed to their transactions of worldly business on the christian sabbath. In the next place, to suppose that sabbath- breakers have the advantage of men who con- scientiously keep the day, and to whom the LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 251 promise of the present life is made, is contrary to our ideas of the divine goodness, and to the tenor of God's holy word. For though the sun shines alike upon the just and upon the unjust ; yet, who ever supposed that its rays were more advantageous to the wicked, because of their wickedness, than to the righteous, because of their righteousness ! Examine the history of the Jewish and christian churches, and the con- trary will every where be manifest. You believe that all things are under the ruling providence of heaven ; and surely it is diametrically opposed to your ideas of provi- dence, that men should be rewarded with real blessings for their egregious wickedness. To him, says the scripture, that keepeth God's com- mandments, ' there is a great reward ;' and to those who keep them not, it says, * cursed shall they be in their basket, and in their store.' And, finally, the supposition is disproved by experience. It has been found, after a minute and impartial investigation of the business, that those people who make a practice of breaking the fourth commandment, by either toil or traffic, do not get forward in the world so com- fortably nor so speedily as the conscientious man, who on the Lord's day refrains from all kinds of ordinary business. For if the sabbath - breaker, by his labour, realizes some considerable sums for the moment. 252 THE NON-ADVANTAGE [LECT. V. yet it has been almost invariably observed, that they have been lost nearly as soon as obtained. For instance, he has become a drunkard or a glutton, and so has spent his money ; or he has had a rebellious and prodigal family, who have wasted it ' among harlots in riotous living ;' or some stagnation in business has peculiarly affected him, and he has fallen from the summit of plenty; or he has contracted some evil habit, which has deprived him of his all, and some- times even of his liberty and life, and left him to the wrath of an angry God. So that, as observation fully demonstrates, nothing valuable can be procured, nor any thing good retained, by breaking the fourth com- mandment. * Who has hardened himself against the Lord and has prospered I ' if any such peo- ple are to be found ; * the prosperity of fools shall destroy them/ Notice the pleasure taker. — Tell us, also, O thou man of pleasure ! if any of thy sabbath rounds of dissipation, if any of thy frantic sports, if any of thy banquetings and revellings, have added to the stock of thy felicity. After a sabbath desecrated by such amusements, hast thou reclined upon thy pillow, and felt a con- science more easy, and more void of offence towards God and man, than if thou hadst passed the day in innocence and devotion, and in train- ing thy untutored soul for a better world ? LECT. v.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 253 Yea, we may ask thee, if in the height of thy recreations, thou hast felt as comfortable as when seated in the sanctuary, and listening to the word of life? Thy faithful conscience must give a negative reply to all these en- quiries. ' The ways of wisdom only are ways of pleasantness ; and the paths of piety only are the paths of peace.' We have thus briefly, and, it is hoped, satis- factorily proved, that no considerable pecuniary benefit, nor any other kind of advantage, can possibly arise to the nation, or to any indivi- duals, through any mode of violating the Lord's day. May the sentiments adduced, have such an influence upon your minds and manners, that for the future you may so ' remember the sabbath-day, as to keep it eminently holy !' Amen. LECTURE VI. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. -In our last discourse, we endeavoured to put to silence the igiiorauce of those foolish men, who contend that certain modes of sabbath- breaking are productive of national or indivi- dual advantage. Our object, at present, is to shew that violating the Lord's day, so far from being advantageous, is highly injurious, as the w ords of our text fully demonstrate : * Did not your fathers thus ; and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath-day.' As in the following discourse, for the better elucidation of our subject, and the more firm establishment of our several positions, we in- tend to produce practical proof of the fatal consequences of sabbath impiety, by narrating several calamitous events ; it may be proper here to remark, that though innumerable in- stances are daily occurring, every way appli- cable to our purpose ; yet, for reasons easily LECT.VI.] EVIL CONSEQUENCES, &C. 255 conceived, we shall not meddle with modern disasters; but shall direct your attention to some striking, though hackneyed, accounts of an earlier date. As it is possible that some present may be disposed to question the veracity of the follow- ing anecdotes, or to ascribe their occurrence to causes foreign to our subject ; we now assure you, that they are selected from authors of the first distinction, and are as worthy of our be- lief, as any historical fact whatever ; and that many great and good men, believing in the superintending providence of God, and per- suaded that nothing occurs without some special design, have referred them to the causes to which they will be ascribed in the present lecture.* But not to detain you with any further preamble ; we proceed to consider — Secondly, — THE evil consequences of SABBATH BREAKING : and these are visible — Howsoe'er We revel in oui' guilt, or careless scan Our present warfare, and our future weal ; There is a God, who will not, cannot, still Bear with our follies ; but (with awful signs. Preface of retribution) will step forth And claim regard ; make manifest his power ; Declare his lasting enmity to sin, And vindicate each tittle of his word.' Cochin's Rural Sabbath, b. iv. 256 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. (1.) In our injured country. — Britons, by their christian benevolence towards idolatrous nations, are, by the recipients of their bounty, considered a virtuous and godly people. We are sending the bible and our missionaries to almost every part of the globe. Now this, by the heathens in general, is considered a national work; and doubtless, the idea which they form of us is, that we are the most religious people under heaven ; and that, among other evidences of our piety, the Lord's day, of which we say so much to them, is properly observed by ourselves. But at length, either on business or pleasure, they pay oin* country a visit; and, like Moses approaching the burning bush, first step on british ground with the most profound reve- rence. They mark our manners; they watch every motion of the multitude ; and are greatly surprised. But they say within themselves, their sabbath is a holy day, and on that their superior piety will be visible ; they, therefore, again look about on the sabbath ; but they are again disappointed ; and, if possible, are still more surprised. Soon, however, they are led to correct their ill-formed judgment. And, doubt- less, they conceive that our nation, generally considered, is as much pagan as their own, and that the sins, which they saw in embryo at home, are to be found in perfection here. LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 257 With these unfavourable impressions, they return ; they tell their countrymen what they have seen and heard ; they despise us as a land of hypocrites ; our bibles and our missionaries are treated with contempt ; and by these means our sabbath impiety impedes the progress of our pious elForts to save the world. What was once said of Jerusalem, may now be said of Britain : * the adversary saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.' Again, if sound morals are conducive to a country's happiness; if ' private virtue is A PUBLIC GOOD ; if the genius of the gospel is really adapted to advance our national welfare ; surely it is the greatest impolicy to suffer the Lord's day to be so notoriously profaned.* By neglecting religion, men render themselves not only unable, but likewise unwilling, to discharge the duties which they owe to their king and their country. The scriptures have united reli- gion and loyalty : — * fear God, and honour the king.' Industry and devotion : — six days shalt thou labour, but on the seventh shalt thou rest ; and that which separates them, will materially * ' One of the kings of France (but which I do not now re- collect,) issued an edict, that any one who refused, in a certain particular, to break the ensuing sabbath, should be iramediatejj dismissed the king's service. The consequence was, that all his dependents (excepting three) were found at the amusement. On the morrow, he dismissed those hirelings who violated the Lord's day, saying, that those who will serve their God most conscientiously, will serve me most faithfully.* — Upton. y3 258 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. injure them all. A neglect of religion will turn all our aims into channels of selfishness, and make us unfriendly both towards God and his creatures. He that fears the Lord will, for that very reason, obey magistrates; while the man that breaks his bonds of obligation to the former, will not be very scrupulous in observing his duty towards the latter. Besides, are we not, like the asiatic churches, in danger of becoming pagan ourselves ? Might not the Almighty easily effect such a change i Hear, ye rulers of the realms ! hear, ye loyal sabbath-breakers ! ' Hear this, O ye that say, when will the new moon be gone, and the sab- bath, that we may set forth wheat ? &c. Shall not the land tremble for this ? I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. I will send a famine in the land ; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water ; but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even unto the east ; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.' * * Was not this prediction recently fulfilled in a neighbouring nation I The French, prior to the revolution, awfully profaned the sabbath; and what was the result I Why, by a just reta- liation of divine providence they lost it !' * * Amos viii. 4 — 12. * ' In France the sabbath has become a day of greater LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 2o9 Have we, as Englishmen, any reason to ex- pect more favour from God than he shewed to his chosen people the Jews, when our sins are as aggravating as theirs ? and that such is the case at this time, none, acquainted with the bible and our country, can deny. Go then, in imagination, visit the wilderness, and see what the Hebrews felt, or what God threatened to inflict upon them for violating his holy days. ' My sabbaths they greatly polluted: then 1 said that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands ; that I would pour out my fury upon them, to accom- plish my anger against them in the wilderness ; that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries. I gave them also statutes which were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.'^ dissipation than any other. The play-houses then assume their most splendid appearance ; the opera and ball-room are crowded to excess ; and the god of this world seems to revel in the rich- ness of his altars and the number of his votaries, on that day which was especially set apart for the demolition of his kingdom and the establishment of that of our Redeemer upon earth. And without doubt it was this state of things that prepared men's minds for the utter overthrow of religion Avhich took place in that country, and for all the dreadful consequences which fol- lowed in the train of infidelity.' Christian Observer, vol. xix. p. 527. See also * a Sunday in Paris,' in the New Monthly izine, vol. xi. p. 471. " Ezekiel xx. 13—25. 260 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. And when the prophet Jeremiah was bewailing the desolation of his people, this was the burden of his lamentation : — * the Lord hath violently taken away his tabernacle as if it were of a gar- den ; he hath destroyed the places of his as- sembly ; the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion ; and hath despised in the indignation of his anger, the king and the priest.'^ Where is the british christian, whose affections kindle with his coun- try's love, that is not grieved for british guilt, and alarmed for Britain's safety ! Can you even imagine your nation disgraced, its population vitiated, and its churches empty, without the deepest sorrow and distress ? You love your country, you feel its happiness and its misery as your own : you can individually adopt the language of Cowper, ' England, witli all thj faults, I love thee still — My country ! and while yet a nook is left, Where English minds and manners may be found, Shall be constrained to love thee.' Many of you are descended from ancestors who bled to support its honours and to preserve its rights ; and you youi'selves have invariably professed the warmest attachment to your king and the constitution ; and your professions are sincere. Suffer us, then, to intreat you, by c Lamentations ii. 6. LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 261 your relation to the pious, loyal, and mighty dead; by all the happiness you enjoy as sub- jects of the british government; by all your patriotic feelings and professions, never to in- jure your country, never to invoke the wrath of heaven upon it, by profaning that day, the due observance of which, in any land, is a bul- wark around it, impregnable as the walls of heaven, and the happiness and the glory of its numerous population.* (2.) In afflicted families. — How many streams that damp the pleasures of domestic life, may be traced to the poisonous source of sabbath- breaking ! It may be laid down as a general maxim, that when the sabbath is profaned in a family, there will be but little happiness found among its members. When we enter a house, and see dirt, discord, and distress together, we commonly conclude, that the people are sabbath- breakers. We have found these evils so often * ' It is luy firm persuasion tliat to the decline of religion and morality our national difficulties must both directly and indi- rectly be chiefly ascribed; and my only solid hopes for the well being of my country depend not so much on her fleets and armies, not so much on the wisdom of her rulers or the spirit of her people, as on the persuasion that she still contains man^-^ who in a degenerate age love and obey the gospel of Christ ; on the humble trust that the intercession of these may still be pre- valent, and that for the sake of these heaven may still look upon us with an eye of favour.' Practical View of Christianity, by William Wilbeiforce, Esq. M.P. p. 306. 262 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. associated, in regard to persons of this descrip- tion, that we hesitate not to say, the above inference will generally be found correct. This observation has been confirmed by the testi- mony of several pious gentlemen in the metro- polis, who have made it their business to visit the poor, and to enquire into their conduct and circumstances. Indeed, it appears to be the determination of God, that they who deny him one day in seven, shall have but little enjoyment on the remaining six. The families that waste the morning in bed, that attend more to fashion than to religion, or more to this world than to the next, on the sabbath, will unavoidably ex- perience one of the following evils : they must either remain ignorant of religious truth, and consequently of social and relative obligations ; or must squander their property, and by that means, especially if their walk through life be of the humbler kind, become pennyless in the following week : and poverty, thus invited, will reluctantly leave the family, or suffer peace to have any part of its domains. Besides, the baneful influence of some pa- rents' irreligious example on the minds and manners of their children and domestics, is trulv aff'ecting. Their off^spring rise into life untutored and unfitted for any creditable station in society ; and, being unestablished in religious LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 263 principles, they yield to the force of temptation, and rush into evils which often hurry them to some tragic end, and * bring down the grey hairs of their parents with sorrow to the grave.' Moreover, by suffering your children and servants to have their swing of liberty on the Lord's day evenings, so many unhappy, and often so many unlawful, connexions are formed, which issue in floods of affliction to the youthful parties more immediately concerned, and entail evils on their posterity, from which many a generation cannot properly be freed. Oh, ye heads of families, suffer the word of exhortation. When the Lord gave you chil- dren, in effect he said, ' take these children, and nurse them for me ;' and to him you must be accountable for your conduct towards them. If you neglect their religious education, what will you say in your defence in the day of judgment? Can you plead that they were nothing to you — that it devolved on others to care for their souls — that more important con- cerns engaged your attention — or that you were ignorant of your duty ? You cannot, no, you cannot ! You must be aware also, that the future prosperity of your family depends on how you manage it now. You have it in your power, under the divine blessing, to make your children wise, and virtuous, and happy, — and will you not endeavour to do it? — 264 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. If care in guiding their infant steps into the paths of righteousness ; if affording them reli- gious instruction adapted to their age ; if even a seasonable frown, or a suitable smile, would be the means of preserving your children from profligacy, from the gallows, and from hell, (which, by the blessing of God, might be the case;) would you not guide them, would you not instruct them, would you not frown, or smile, or do any thing to accomplish ends so desirable? Why, then, are not these things attended to ? Why do so many parents break the sabbath themselves, and teach their children to do the same I (3.) In the chamber of sickness. — There are many evils resulting from sabbath-breaking, which are not immediate, but which are sure to follow in due time. Men in health, and at ease, like those who turn the wrong end of the telescope to their eye, fancy every evil dimi- nutive and distant, and suppose it unworthy of attention, or, at least, not serious enough to excite their concern. But soon the object is discovered to be not only great, but at hand, and excites a dread not before apprehended. Such are many evils that follow the profanation of the Lord's day. For example : a man on the sabbath-day engages in some laborious exercise, and, by this method, overheats his blood : this is followed by a cold, the cold by a consumption. LKCT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 265 and the consumption by death. Another, by feasting or gambling on this day, dissipates his property, and is reduced to poverty : poverty is attended by disease, and sickness by premature dissolution. Now what was the primary cause of his death : — and to its primary cause it must be ascribed ; — was it not violating the Lord's day^ Enquire of the sick, what laid the founda- tion of their sickness? — and you will hear many ascribe it to breaking the sabbath. Visit the hospital, go from ward to ward, and solicit information respecting the origin of the com- plicated diseases you may witness ; and you will frequently hear them ascribed to a similar cause. Some, through one Sunday vice, and some through another, are reduced to the weakest state, and to the lowest ebb of life, and present you with perfect spectacles of human woe. As a confirmation of what we have said, or as a comment on the doctrine advanced, hear the following quotations from Dr. Beard's Theatre of Divine Judgments; — 'At a place called Tidworth, on the sabbath day, many being met together at foot-ball in the church- yard, one had his leg broken, which presently mortified, and of which, shortly after, he died. — At Aulcester, in Warwickshire, upon the coming forth of the Declaration of Sports, a lusty young woman went, on the sabbath-day, z 266 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. on the green, where she said she would dance as long as she could stand ; but while she was dancing, she was smitten with a violent disease, whereof, within two or three days after, she died.' Alas ! how foolish the hearts, and how vain the attempts of those who smile at the notion of a righteous and vindictive providence, and fight against God, to manifest their prowess, and to amuse their fellows ! ' He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ; the Lord shall have them in derision.' Find a person, if you are able, who hath hardened himself against God, and hath prospered. Look among the sage in transgression, and the mighty in sin, and try to discover a man who has found the ways of error to be pleasant, or the paths of iniquity to be .peaceful, — and you would seek through eternity in vain. ' In the midst of their laughter there is sadness,' and the end of their folly is disap- pointment and death. Nor suppose, that because God is slow to anger, he will never be angry. The longer the clouds are gathering, the heavier will the rain descend. The sky that was blackening a hun- dred and twenty years, deluged the world. — Awful is the condition of that man, who lives long in a state of open transgression unchas- tised ! His sin, grown grey with age, — gigantic with nursing — monstrously deformed — terribly LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 267 armed, and flaming for vengeance, shall pre- sently pursue him ' through every lane of life,' and sink him into the tomb and the bottomless pit at a single blow. Crime, like the young adder, destroys its parent. — Ah, ye that on this holy day revel in unholy joy! suffer us to say as Moses, the man of God has said before, ' be sure your sin will find you out.' ' Hear and fear, and turn unto the Lord :' observe his sab- bath, attend his sanctuary, worship God, obey his word, and * sin shall have no dominion over you.' (4.) In numerous disasters. — ' There are,' writes the venerable author of the Village Sermons, * ten times more accidents on the Lord's day, than on any other days.' With him we most cordially agree. For though it may be objected, that accidents may occur on the sabbath, as well as on any other day ; yet, we reply, that most of the accidents which happen in the week-days are unavoidable, and arise from fulfilling those engagements which circum- stances make lawful and necessary ; but the accidents which happen on the sabbath might be avoided, since they arise from pursuing those ways which are unlawful, and performing those actions which are imnecessary ; and by which means any calamity is amply merited ; and we look with indignation on human misery so im- piously invoked. 268 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. \ 1. But to give you a specimen : ' some time ago,' writes Dr. Beard, ' when a number of people were assembled together in Paris Gar- dens, to witness a bear-baiting, the scaffold, on which many of them were standing, suddenly broke down, and scores of people fell headlong to the ground; eight were killed on the spot, and many more were so injured, that their days were considerably shortened.' ' A similar catastrophe,' says the same author, ' happened at Risley, in Bedfordshire, where a great number of people met together in a chamber to see a play, when the floor giving way, several of them fell down and expired immediately, and many others were severely wounded.' Finally, Dr. Twiss records, ' that as fourteen young men in the winter, on the Lord's day, were playing at foot-ball upon the ice, on the river Trent, near to Gainsborough, all meeting together in a scuffle, the ice suddenly broke, and every one of them sunk like lead, and perished in the water, no more to profane the sabbath of the Lord.'* * ' A melancholy accident occurred on the river Thames a few Sundays since. Eleven persons, all married men, engaged in a boat of the wherry kind. The wind, which had been very high, becoming more moderate in Sea-reach, they made fait the main-sail to the side of the boat, soon after which a sudden gust of wind upset the wherry, and six of the unfortunate men were LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 269 These are three disasters out of multitudes that might have been mentioned. But, ah! could you fancy half the horrors which even these presented ! See the people in Paris Gar- dens revelling in unbounded folly, and raising their impious curses to the skies ! But mark them, when they hear the scaffold crack! Be- hold their laughter turned suddenly to sadness ; see their hands extended in despair ; see scores of them covered with blood and wounds; see their bones and brains strewed on the ground ; hear the piercing cries, the dying groans ; see the last struggles ; see, ah, could you have seen their frantic spirits when driven from their shat- tered habitation ! — what spectres ! — how they sought, but sought in vain, to hide themselves from their incensed Creator ! Visit the play-chamber at Risley. The people are crowded in a room on the Lord's day ; but for what purpose ? To see an exhibition of a dying Saviour; to hear ' the truth as it is in Christ ;' to feel * his love shed abroad in their hearts ;' to form resolutions of piety ; to pray for a divine blessing; to celebrate the divine goodness ? Ah ! no ! no ! to see, and hear, and feel, what would almost disgust the foulest demon ; perhaps tacitly to resolve continued rebellion against God ; to sing the song of the drowned. Most of the deceased have left largefamilies.' — Evany. Mag. vol. XX. p. 351. See also vol. xiii. p. 238. z3 270 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. drunkard ! and, indirectly, to imprecate divine vengeance on themselves, and all their neigh- bours ! And now witness their end ; — sudden and dreadful: — 'they die, they waste away; yea, they give up the ghost, and where are fhey?' Lastly, behold those fourteen young men perish in the Trent! Here are the admired, the beautiful youths, the flower of their families, and the hope of their friends. — Here one mo- ment they glide, and every bosom bounds with delight, and the next they are sunk into an awful eternity ! Fancy their fond parents and relatives, with wringing hands and breaking hearts, run up and down the river's bank, to find the cold remains of their unfortunate friends ! see them carry home the lifeless clay; imagine the domestic misery ; then attend the funeral solemnities ; and, after all this, tell us candidly if you think sabbath-breaking produc- tive of any real or enduring happiness. (5.) In singular judgments. — That there were temporal judgments inflicted under the patri- archal and Jewish dispensations, the deluge of the world, the destruction of Sodom, the plagues of Egypt, the curse on Cain, the fate of Er, and the leprosy of Gehazi, fully assure us. That there have been temporal judgments un- der the gospel dispensation, may be proved by LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 271 referring to the end of Judas, the fate of Ananias and his wife, the death of Herod, and the blind- ness of Elymas. That there have been judg- ments since the apostolic age, the best of men have supposed. And that there are judgments in the present day, we can see no reason for doubting. But whether this or that particular providence be an express visitation from God, for any particular sin, it becomes not us, at least, incautiously to determine. By most present, tlie following occurrences will be considered divine judgments. However, we shall not con- tend with those who may be disposed to think differently. We shall mention — First, Judgments on individuals. — * And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day : and they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation ; and they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done unto him. And the Lord said unto Moses, the man shall surely be put to death ; and all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died, as the Lord commanded Moses.' ^ Numbers xv. 32—36. 272 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. Mr. Clarke tells us of a godly minister, * who was one day preaching against the profanation of the sabbath, and happening to mention the circumstance of the Israelite just recited, one of the congregation rose up and mocked him, and then hastened out of the church to try the experiment ; — but, alas ! it failed : for he was soon after found dead, with a bundle of sticks under his arm.' He informs us also, that ' at Burton-upon- Trent, a preacher taking occasion to reprove the people for breaking the sabbath, and parti- cularly for the common practice of selling and buying meat on the Lord's day morning, w hen a tailor, out of bravado, walked through the town with both his hands full ; but the poor fellow was arrested in his march, for he suddenly fell down, and expired in the open street.' Mr. Bailey gives an account of a woman, * who was accustomed to follow her business, namely, dressing of flax, on the Lord's day. It happened, however, on a certain sabbath, that sparks of fire appeared to issue from the flax, but which did no injury. On the next Lord's day the flax actually took fire, but was presently extinguished. But not taking warn- ing by this, on the ensuing Sunday it caught fire again, consumed the house, and so burnt the woman that she died on the following day.' Lastlv, * A number of people in Bedfordshire,' LEGT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 273 as Dr. Twiss relates, ' having agreed on a match at foot-ball on the Lord's day ; two men went into the belfry to call the people together by tolling the bell. While they were there, some persons, sitting in the church porch, heard a dreadful peal of thunder, and saw flames of fire approaching through a dark lane, and which flashed horribly in their faces ; it then passed into the belfry, killed the man tolling the bell, and so injured the other, that he survived but a very little while.' Secondly, Judgments on communities.* — We refer you to Jerusalem. * Thus saith the Lord, and it shall come to pass, that if ye will not hearken to me to hallow the sabbath day ; and not to bear a burden, entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day ; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.'" Such is the predic- tion ; hear its accomplishment : — -^ Now in the * ' Heaven marks our vices with offended eyes, And lifts its rod to humble or chastise ; Fierce blow his winds, and lo! contending waves. Plunge ships and wealth, and men to wat'ry graves. He speaks, and pestilence, at silent night, Steals to the couch, and breathes a mortal blight. Destruction walks abroad, and smites his prey. Unseen, uncheck'd, amidst the blaze of day.' Age of Frivolity. p Jeremiah xvii. 27. 274 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, and burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of the great men burnt he with fire.'^ You have seen the cala- mity; attend to the cause of it: — ' What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? did not your fathers thus, and did not our God [for this iniquity] bring all this evil upon us and upon this city?' We refer you to Edinburgh and London. — ' In Edinburgh,' writes Mr. Willison, ' where sabbath -breaking very much abounded, the fairest and stateliest of its buildings in the Parliament Close, and about it, were, on a cer- tain Lord's day morning, burnt down, and laid in ashes and ruins, in the space of a few hours: to the astonishment and terror of the sorrowful inhabitants.' He observes also, * that this vice reigned grie". ously in London : and on one Sunday morning a fire broke out, which burned so furiously for three successive days, that the greatest part of the city, with many beautiful churches and public buildings, were totally de- stroyed.' ? We refer you to Tiverton, in Devonshire. — Dr. Beard tells us, * that a godly minister ^ Jeremiah lii. 12, 13, ^ Willison on the Lord's day. ^ECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 275 having frequently forewarned the people of this place, that unless they reformed their man- ners on the sabbath, God would bring some signal judgment upon the town ; but to which they paying no regard, it actually took place ; for a little after the minister's death, a fire broke out, and a man might have seen a hun- dred houses all at once on fire ; and above fifty persons were consumed in the flames. This admonition proving ineffectual, another fire soon after consumed the whole town, except thirty poor dwelling houses, a school-room, and a few alms-houses.' No person, who believes in the superinten- dence of God in the v/orld, will feel at a loss to account for these calamities, though produced apparently by second causes. And here what a field for reflection arises in our view ! Had you been present at the stoning of the Israelite; had you first found the impious wretch that copied his example ; had you seen the tailor drop dead in the street ; had you witnessed the flax- dresser devoured in the self- enkindled flames; or had you beheld the lightning con- suming the man in the belfry in Bedfordshire ; trembling and astonished, you would have ex- claimed, surely profaning the sabbath is a great offfence to God, and a dreadful evil to mankind ! Nor would you have been less instructed and 276 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT.VI. alarmed, had you seen the overthrow of Jeru- salem, and the captivity of the people ; the conflagration in Edinburgh and in London ; and the double visitation of vengeance on the inhabitants of Tiverton. Believing them to be from God, and for the violation of this sacred day, you would have raised your hands toward heaven, and implored for yourselves, your neighbours, and the country at large, a spirit of holiness, and a serious concern for the sanctification of the christian sabbath. (6.) In the culprit's confession. — A simple violation of the sabbath, under the law, was to be punished with death. ' And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak thou unto the chil- dren of Israel, saying, verily my sabbaths shall ye keep ; for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore ; for it is holy unto you. Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death : for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off" from among the people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord : whosoever doeth work on the sabbath-day, he shall surely be put to death.' ^' Now, though we should not feel warranted in adhering to the letter of the ceremonial law, ^ Exod. xxxi. 12 — 15. LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 277 yet we very much regret, that our discipline on the sabbath is so lax, and that so few are chastised for the violation of those laws of our country, which are founded on the fourth com- mandment, and which enjoin a due observance of this holy day. Yet, we remark, that, not- withstanding men are seldom punished for this crime immediately, they are frequently punished for it remotely. For instance : a person on the sabbath contracts a habit of doing mischief, and this habit is the occasion of enormous crimes in the week, for which, in due season, he is brought to condign correction ; hence, sabbath breaking is deservedly punished among his other acts of iniquity : and we feel convinced, that as the Lord's day shall be more or less observed, our prisons will be more or less occupied, and exe- cutions more or less frequent. This sentiment will be confirmed by the following confessions : — Thomas Savage, a youth of about sixteen years of age, executed at Ratcliffe, confessed, at the place of execution, that the first sin he began with, was sabbath-breaking. Thomas Hollands, executed at Southwark for the murder of his wife, confessed, that, among other things, sabbath-breaking, and the neglect of prayer and public worship, had brought him to that untimely end. Margaret Clark, executed at Surry, declared that breaking the sabbath, and neglecting her A A 278 THE EVJL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. ^ I. duty towards God, had been the cause of bring- ing her into that condition ; and when on the gallows, she admonished the people in the fol- lowing words : * I desire you all not to spend the Lord's day idly ; for it was sabbath-breaking that was my first step to this wretchedness.' John Moors, twenty-two years of age, exe- cuted at Chester for burglary, when on the gallows, addressed the spectators to the follow- ing effect : * My friends, you are come to see a man die. I would advise you to take warning by me. The first beginning of ray ruin was sabbath-breaking : it led me into bad company ; and from bad company to robbing gardens and orchards ; and from gardens and orchards, to house-breaking; and that has brought me to this place. Many of you are young ; and I, in an especial manner, warn you to beware of sabbath-breaking.' Lastly, Mr. Smythys, formerly curate of St. Giles, Cripplegate, London, relating the con- fession of a condemned prisoner, says, * that it was the prisoners earnest desire, that all young men, especially, should take care not to mis- spend the Lord's day. And I do not know,' adds the curate, ' that ever I observed repent- ance in a condemned malefactor, who did not bitterly lament the neglect of his duty to God on this day.' > See Turner on Providence, Part I. chap. cvii. LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 279 Oh ! ye fathers and mothers, ye masters and mistresses, ye guardians and guides of the rising generation, we feel incapable of expressing our sentiments respecting your office and your re- sponsibility ; and therefore again appeal to your judgment and to your heart. To you is the fourth commandment particularly addressed, because on you its observance particularly de- pends. Had the parents, masters, or guardians oi the unhappy creatures, whose dying confes- sions you have heard, but curbed their licentious charge, when restraint was possible, these vic- tims of vice might have lived as blessings to society, and, in a good old age, might have died in the bosom of the church, and as en- couraging patterns of piety to their neighbours and friends. Be watchful, therefore, over your rising families. And to the youthful part of this audience we most affectionately say, beware of what some call little sins! The commencement of sin, like the beginning of strife, is ' as when one letteth out water:' first, the dam oozes drop by drop, then flows a very little stream, then a larger, then a torrent, and then stop it if you can. Little did these culprits think, when they were first making free with the Lord's day, that their little venial follies, as many term them, were almost inseparably connected with robbery, with murder, and with death! The youthful sabbath- 280 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. breaker should be shuoned as a ripening assas- sin, and pitied as a criminal in his way to the gallows ! (7.) In the regions of miserly. — After the declaration of our Saviour, that for not duly improving our talents, or for not feeding, cloth- ing, and visiting the poor saints, men are to be consigned to remediless woe; surely no one will pronounce us harsh in saying, that men may be sent to hell for breaking the fourth commandment. Indeed the nature of this sin is such, that, if persisted in to the end of your lives, it will necessarily exclude you from hap- piness ; for how can they arrive at heaven, who never walk but in a contrary direction ! Sab- bath-breaking is a parent evil, — it engenders almost every other ; it is, in fact, a despising of the only means which God has provided to effectuate man's salvation: it is a sin which, if practised till death (and to-morrow we may die,) will hurl headlong its ignorant victims into that sea of wrath, which is ever raging to de- vour the ungodly and the sinner, and which is so strikingly described in the sacred volume. Hear, then, ye men of pleasure, ye profaners of God's holy day ! hear of the horrors that await you, when ye shall not have a sabbath to desecrate to acts of sinful pleasure, or savage impiety ! In addition to a privation of heaven with all its blessedness, hell is represented, * as LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 281 a place whereon the Lord shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest — as a devouring fire, and everlasting burnings — as a land of weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth — as an everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels — as a station where the worm dieth not, and where the fire is not quenched — as a region beyond the bounds of mercy, and where even a drop of water cannot be obtained to cool the burning tongue — as a punishing with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power — as a land of blackness and darkness for ever — as a pit whence the smoke of the sinner's torment ascendeth up for ever and ever — and as a lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'^ Such is your place, and such your endless portion, O ye thoughtless souls, who violate the christian sabbath ! In the midst of your youth and the pleasures of life, you may contemn such old-fashioned tales, and fancy them framed by greedy parsons to gain a livelihood, or by angry nurses to frighten their children into a good humour; but remember, that the evil day is coming ; a day, ' when the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, shall be darkened ; when ^ Psalm xi. 6. Isaiah xxxiii. 14. Matt. vill. 12. xxv. 41. Mark ix. 44. Luke xvi. 24, 25. 2 Thess. i. 9. Jude 13. Rev. xiv. 11. xxi. 8. A A 2 282 THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES [LECT. VI. the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men bow themselves ; when the grinders shall cease, and those that look out of the win- dows be darkened ; when the doors shall be shut in the streets, and the sound of the grind- ing be low ; when ye shall rise at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low ; when the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper be a burden ; when the silver cord shall be loosed, and the golden bowl shall be broken ; when the pitcher shall be broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern.'' Then, O ye deluded souls, you will call for mercy ; and, dreadful to think, will call in vain ! then, like many a despiser of the gospel, will you fear a hell, which now you consider only the figment of a distracted fancy ; then will you seek to enter into heaven ; yet, alas ! may not be able ; but may hear a voice, full of majestic ter- ror, saying unto you, * because I have called, and ye refused : I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all my counsels, and would none of my re- proofs : I, also, will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh ; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruc- tion cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and 1 Eccles. xii. 2—7. LECT. VI.] OF SABBATH-BREAKING. 283 anguish come upon you ; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me ; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord : they would none of my counsel ; they despised all my reproof: therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.'™ * Oh, that they were wise, that they under- stood this ; that they would consider their latter end !' " Oh, that sabbath-breakers would con- sider what gracious opportunities they are neglecting, what present and future happiness they are losing, and what dreadful condemna- tion they are meriting, by their sabbath- impiety ! Such a reflection, under the divine blessing, might produce the most salutary and lasting advantages. It might soften the callous heart ; reform the immoral conduct ; and, at length, lead the sinner to the throne of grace — the refuge for afflicted souls — and, finally, to heaven itself. * Let the wicked then forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.' ° Amen. "^ Prov. J. 24—31. n Deut. xxxii. 29. «> Isaiah xW. 7. LKCTURE VII. MEANS AND MOTIVES FOR BETTER OBSERVING THE lord's day. tV HILE we look indignant at sin, and weep over the sinner, at the same time the most pleasing emotions, and the warmest affections, are excited in our minds, when we see th^ great and the good stepping forward, exerting their energies and influence to arrest the pro- gress of impiety, and to promote the prevalence and dominion of virtue. On this principle, what man of God can read of the pious zeal, the dauntless courage, and the constant care, of the prince of Judah, in reforming the abuses of the sabbath day ; and not revere the man, admire his motives, and feel ambitious to copy so good and so illustrious an example ! As a ruler he is not secluded in his palace all the year long ; nor does he view the affairs of the nation with the eyes of his ministers. Amidst the bustle of a court, the confusion of a new settlement, and the labours of repairing the desolated city ; he goes about the town on the sabbath day, and examines what is onward. LECT. VII.] MEANS, &C. 285 When he sees the day profaoed by ordiaary business, he passes not by with unconcern, but immediately reprimands even the nobles of the nation, and charges them with the commission of those sins, at which they had been wickedly conniving. Neither does he suffer the evil to drop here, nor will he leave it with inferior officers to enforce the law. He commands the gates to be shut early on the preceding evening; and because he suspects the fidelity of the com- mon porters, he puts some of his own well-tried servants in their places, to prevent any traffic on the holy day. After this he proceeds into the suburbs, and finding the merchants trading without the walls of the city, he summons his authority, and declares, ' that if they do so again, he will severely punish them for it,' And, to make all his efforts more effective, he commands the levites to watch the gates of the city, that nothing of the kind might be tolerated for the time to come. And, finally, he concludes the business with a fervent prayer to God to pardon the sins connected with his most holy services. Would to God, that our rulers and all ranks of men, as far as circumstances permitted, would copy this good man's example ! Nehemiah, for this single instance of piety, (had it been the only virtuous action of his life upon record,) will be remembered as long as the sabbath shall be called a delight by the people of God. 286 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. While the brave warrior, the deep politician, and the sage philosopher, of antient years, are sunk in oblivion, or live only in marble unob- served, or in pages unperused, this man has long lived and shall still live in the hearts of the wise and good. * Verily I say unto you, where- soever the gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall this, also, that this man hath done, be told for a memorial of him.' For, as the scripture declares, * the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance ; but the pame of the wicked shall rot.' The honours obtained by deeds of valour, or by acts of impiety, are like the crowns of the grecian conquerors, which, in a few hours, faded upon the hero's brow. — We now proceed to consider — IV. And lastly, the means and motives FOR better observing THE LORD'S DAY. And, First — the means. — In order, then, pro- perly, to sanctify the sabbath for the future — (1.) It requires you to observe it better yourselves. And to simplify the subject, we will address you — First, AS INDIVIDUALS; — to whom, as such, we say, you must repent of the past. — Let every man who desires to .observe the Lord's LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 287 day better for the time to come, commence by sincerely repenting of his past profanation of it. There will be little reformation without genuine repentance. No man will be very strenuous in pulling down that edifice, the erection of which has cost him little compunction of mind ; while, on the other hand, no person can easily rush to the fresh commission of those crimes, over which he has been recently sorrowing. To in- spire your hearts with grief, recollect that the best part of your time has been so badly em- ployed, as to have been rendered a curse to you, instead of a blessing. And if this consi- deration prove ineffectual, direct your cries to him, * who is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance unto Israel, as well as the forgiveness of sins.' You must resolve to amend. — Repentance alone will not be sufficient. You must come to a holy resolution to alter your lives. Multi- tudes are sorry for their past improprieties ; but then they seldom resolve to avoid them for the time to come. And while the devil can keep them parleying with their follies, he will have little trouble in making them plod onward in their old track of transgressing. Stand up like men, therefore, and resolve like christians, to keep the sabbath of the Lord, and to reverence his sanctuary. Determine to abandon your for- mer companions; to relinquish every bad practice; 288 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. to fight against every depraved principle within you ; and to live at all times, especially on the Lord's day, in the service of God, and in seek- ing that favour which is better than life. You must pray for assistance. — Repentance and resolution will do little without divine assistance. Our tears are soon dry, and our resolutions are easily broken. Go, therefore, to the strong for strength. Pray to be made mighty for the arduous work by God's almighty power. Seek to be properly equipped for your spiritual conflict from the well- stored armory of heaven. Apply to the captain of salvation to lead you forth in triumph over your spiritual enemies. Aided by the Saviour, you must suc- ceed : whereas your going to battle without him, will be imitating the infatuated Israelites, who, without their leader or his approbation, ran to the hill-top, and were cut down by the Canaanites of the land. You must begin to reform. — Prayers are valuable only as they lead to practice. How many people may be found that now and then weep over their follies, feebly resolve to reform, and sometimes pray for divine assistance, who never commence a holy course of living ! They are still procrastinating the work itself. Some trifle or other is ever coming in the way. They have such an engagement next Lord's day ; and after that they purpose to be better. The LECT. VII.] Trtii lord's DAY. 289 next sabbath arrives, and solicits their regard ; but they are again engaged, and are still deferring: the commencement of a better life. Thus many spend sabbath after sabbath, re- solving to amend without the least amendment. Now we seriously urge you to begin a new life immediately. The past sabbath is in eter- nity, the ensuing one is in eternity ; this only can be called your own. And while it is called ' to-day,' harden not your hearts against the Lord your God : postpone your conversion for a week, and, perhaps, you postpone it for ever.''^ If you wish so to observe the Lord's day that thereby God may be glorified, yourselves improved, and your neighbours instructed, allow us to add — You must observe it v)holly. — You will sanc- tify it wholly or not at all : indeed it is far easier to observe the sabbath wholly than to observe it in part. ' He who intends to divide it between earthly and spiritual pursuits, will never know where to draw the line of dis- tinction. Perpetually will he find himself wandering, now towards religion, and now towards the world; while his conscience will To-morrow It is a period no where to be found In all the hoary register of time. Unless perchance in the fool's calender.' Cotton. B B 290 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. be unceasingly embarrassed by fears that he has neglected his duty, and by doubts concerning what it is. There is no such thing as a half-way performance of our duty. If such a perform- ance had, in fact, been required, or allowed, we should have been distressed by unceasing perplexity. Happy is it for us that an ordinance of this nature cannot be found in scripture.'* You must observe if solemnly. — Consider what you this day commemorate — the creation of the world, and the redemption of mankind. Could you have seen the stupendous operations of Deity in the creation, of which we are every sabbath reminded ; or could you have seen the Son of God moving on in his awful career to save a ruined people, of the completion of which this day is a dear memorial, you would have been serious indeed. Consider also, before whom you are now assembled — ' before God,' before the Creator of all things, the Lord of nature, and the King of saints ; be ye therefore filled with holy awe, and bow before him with profound humility. Consider, likewise, for what purpose you are come into this place ; not to spend an idle hour, nor to gratify a mean desire, but to obtain that mercy, without which you must perish for ever ; and by ob- taining which you will be eternally and infinitely » Dr. Dwi^lit. LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 291 happy. May you, on the sabbath, and in the sanctuary, feel like Jacob, when he exclaimed, how dreadful is this place ! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!' You must observe it wisely. — There is a general complaining among serious people, that when hearing the word of God their attention is so little excited, and that they are able to trea- sure up in their memories so small a portion of what they hear. Now if hearing the gospel be especially designed for our religious improve- ment and spiritual happiness, how desirable is it that such an evil should be speedily and entirely removed ; and how cheaply would the blessings of an attentive mind and a retentive memory be purchased even at the greatest expense. In addition therefore to a remark on this subject in a preceding lecture,^ we notice that a due observance of the following simple rules in all practicable cases will be of consider- able assistance to the serious enquirer after divine knowledge. Endeavour then, by an association of ideas, to attach to every sentence that you particularly wish to recollect, some object with which vou are previously very familiar ; and by which the sentiments to be remembered will be brought to mind easily and regularly in conjunction with " See Evang. Mag. vol. xxviii. p. 186. 292 MEA>JS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. this familiar object. This practice has been recommended by some of our most able writers on the human mind, and has been found of con- siderable benefit to those who have carried it carefully into effect. — It will be of considerable advantage, also, in hearing the truth, to attach ideas to words ; or when you hear an action or object described, to imagine such an action or object, as if present to the eye of your mind ; or, if we may so speak, to localize the discourse, and so to exert the imagination, as to see every thing the preacher describes. If unaccustomed to such exercise of thought, you will find your first attempts somewhat arduous ; but perse- verance will soon surmount the difficulty, and a proper attainment of the object will more than a thousand times compensate for all your labo- rious application. Yoii must observe it gratefully. — 'All the benevolent things which God has done for us, this day brings before our eyes. Our being, our daily blessings, our redemption, our sal- vation, the resumed character of holiness, the title to endless life, the final escape from sin and misery, this heavenly season proclaims with an unceasing voice. At this season, God comes down to dwell among men, divested, with re- spect to all who are willing to receive him, of the awful frown of an off'ended judge, clothed with the smiles of an eternal benefactor, and LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 293 adorned with the unceasing titles of the Father, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier of man. Here the calls to gratitude are all united ; the bless- ings of earth and heaven, of time and eternity, here invite us to love and praise the author of all our mercies. Can we fail to render to him according to his benefits t Can we fail this day to ascribe * blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever!'*^ You tnust observe it joyfully. — While on this blessed day, and in this sacred place, a holy awe should pervade our hearts, and sup- press every feeling of unhallowed lightness, still there is a serious pleasure, and a solemn joy, well becoming the sabbath and the sanc- tuary ; and which are naturally inspired when we meet together to worship a covenant God. On this day our blessed Redeemer finished the work of our redemption, and entered into his rest ; on this day the Holy Spirit has brought tens of thousands from the mazes of ignorance and the regions of death, into the paths of righteousness and the land of life. On this day, we have been the recipients of great and innumerable blessings. And while we are now associated in divine service, we are uniting ' with the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven ;' with c Dr. Dwight. B B .3 294 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. them we pray, with them we sing, with them we preach, and hear the word of God : — how pleasing the thought ! how well calculated to make us ' joyful in this house of prayer !' Yoii must observe it as in the sight of God. — Nothing is more calculated to arouse our stupi- dity, to inflame our feelings, or to solemnize our souls, than the idea that God sees every action, hears every word, and reads every thought; and who, that believes his existence, will deny his omniscience ? ' His ail-surrounding sight surveys Our rising and our rest! Our public walks, our private ways. And secrets of our breast.' Under a proper impression of a present Deity, you must be serious; conscious that your Judge is at hand, you must be holy ; and sensible of a Saviour near, you must be happy. Strive, then, to observe the Lord's day, as under the Lord's immediate notice ; and you will spend it much better than you have done hitherto. Let the language of Hagar be deeply engraven on your hearts, and be present to your recollection every moment of this hal- lowed day, ' thou, God, seest me ;' and it will do more for you towards sanctifying the sabbath, than a thousand powerful arguments, enforced by as many grievous penalties and delightful promises. We will address you, LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 295 Secondly, AS heads of families: — To whom we say, Give your inmates a good example. How can vou expect your children to sanctily the sabbath unless you sanctify it yourselves, or to keep it abroad while you suffer them to ueo^lect it at home I — You may command them to be very religious on this day, but their inqui- sitive minds will ask you the reason. You may answer, ' because God commands it :* yet they will quickly rejoin, ' and does he not command you also ?' You may observe, ' that keeping it will be for their advantage ;" but they will again enquire, ' will it not be the same for you.'* To which you must be silent. And when they hear you commanding them to do what you nearlect, but which they conceive equally incumbent on both, they will naturally conclude, either, ' that there are no such commands nor advantages, or, that you yourselves do not feel their influence.' Similar reasons will be formed by your other domestics ; who will probably suppose that if they hallow the Lord's day as well as their master or friend, no more can be required of them. Make your children and servants join in religious duties. — Call them, firom the oldest to the yoimgest, around the family altar; question them about the thius;^ of God and salvation, and endeavour to implant in the infant heart the seeds of truth and righteousness. Take all of them, if convenient, to some place of public worship. 296 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. as often in the day as possible. Endeavour also, to make religion look lovely, and to render the exercises of this day more pleasant than those of any other. By these means, under the blessing of God, your family, in a little time, without your authority or interference, will en- gage with sacred delight in the service of God. Early insh^uct your children in the nature and importance of the sabbath. — You may easily induce them, while young, to observe this day by your example and authority. But if you do not inform them of the principles on which this institution is grounded, and the vast advantage of holding that institution as sacred and divine, they are not likely to observe it from reasonable conviction, nor at all, when tempted to neglect its observance. Begin, then, in the nursery; explain the subject clearly, and impress it sweetly on the infant mind; and you will make impressions which neither time nor temptation can totally eradicate. However difficult may be the task which we impose, we feel that we are enjoining nothing too hard for maternal attachment to achieve.'^ Examine your young people respecting the improvement they make in religious knowledge. — Seek to discover how far they are advanced in the knowledge of divine truth. Be anxious " See Gen. xviii. 17 — 19. LECT.VII.] THE lord's DAY. 297 for them to grow in grace as well as in stature. Make it a practice also, on your return from a place of worship, to require from them som6 good written or verbal account of the services on which they have attended ; by these means they will be kept from being inattentive hearers, and also from looking about the place, which is too commonly the practice. It would likewise keep them quiet, and make them learn the word of God, as well as hear it. — Hence we subjoin. Command silence and sobriety among them in the sanctuary. — Nothing is more requisite for the pious and beneficial performance of religious worship, than silence in the house of prayer : without it neither the minister nor the hearers can worship the Lord with pleasure or improvement. Now it is certain, that divine service is not more disturbed by any thing than by rude and brawling children. Their antics in the pew, and their crying on the knee, frequently so distract the attention of the preacher and the people, that for any benefit they can derive from the service of the season, they might as well be twenty miles from the place. Parents and guardians should certainly possess and exercise such authority over their children or charge as to keep them in order ; and mothers or nurses, however unpleasant, ought surely to retire with the infant whose noise disturbs the whole assembly. 298 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. Encourage no needless visiting. — And here, by quoting an anecdote, we v/ill shew you how to get rid of your intruding and unwelcome visitors. * A good old religious farmer, being vexed and tormented every Lord's day, with people who paid him visits on worldly business, took the following method to keep them away: Every sabbath he placed himself at the head of the servants' table in the kitchen, and opened his bible, or some other good book, and con- stantly read aloud ; by which means, his former visitors passed by his door, remarking, that they would have stepped in, had it not been, that the old man was always brawling at his book.'^ In a word, ' let this be a sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.' Thirdly, AS GOOD members of society. To whom we say — Invite your friends and neighbours to the house of God. — Why are so many places of worship so thinly attended ? You reply, perhaps, * because the people do not fancy the minister.^ This may be one rea- son; but the chief reason is, they dislike the usual hearers. It may be said, the pure doc- trines of the cross are unpalatable to the multi- tude ; but, we answer, the multitude does not generally distinguish real truth from a specious ^ Evang. Mag. LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 299 appearance of it, and therefore cannot be de- tained from the house of God, because the minister's creed is not exactly orthodox. Or should the weakness of his ability be urged as the cause of the fewness of his hearers, it may be confidently enquired if there are not many preachers of equally humble talents surrounded by overflowing audiences ? What then is the reason for such thin congregations ? Among others, the want of zeal in soliciting your neigh- bours to accompany you to the house of God, is not the least. In proportion to the piety or wickedness of the professed and acknowledged friends of any christian society ; as they appear affectionate or unfriendly one towards another ; according to the diligence or remissness which they manifest in bringing others into the circle of their reli- gious exercises, and as they treat them, either kindly or coarsely, when there ; so will such society, in a great measure, prosper or be un- successful. Be ye, then, zealous for the Lord of hosts. — Come not alone to the sanctuary, if company can be procured, by your holy living, your kind demeanour, or your strenuous exer- tions, to obtain it. Encourage Sunday scJwols for the young. — Already our streets and lanes, formerly crowded with noisy children, are now, especially during school time, almost without a child. Those 300 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [lECT. VII. little creatures, instead of riiuning about cursing and swearing, and doing all the mischief in their power, are sitting at the feet of kind and pious people, who teach them the way to hap- piness and to heaven. These institutions, which are supported at a very small expense, have done incalculable good already ; and, if they are con- ducted with wisdom, and continued with vigour, will be a greater means of moralizing the world, and consequently of sanctifying the sabbath, than any other method, preaching excepted.* Were it consistent with our plan, wo might say much respecting the construction, the pro- gress, and the advantages of these numerous seminaries for the rising generation. We might expatiate on the great qualifications of the teach- ers usually engaged, the excellent instruction * * The land is groaning 'neath the guilt of blood. Spilt wantonly : for every death-doom'd man. Who, in his boyhood, had been left untaught That wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness. And all her paths are peace, unjustly dies. But, ah ! how many are thus left untaught — How many would be left, but for the band United to keep holy to the liOrd A portion of his day, by teaching those Whom Jesus lov'd with forth-stretch'd hand to bless I Behold yon motley train, by two and two Each with a bible 'neath its little arm. Approach, well pleased, as if they went to play. The dome where simple lore is learn'd unbought.' Grahame's Sabbath. LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 301 commonly afforded, and the kindly benevolent modes of communicating it. We might consi- der that all this is generally done without any expense on the part of the parent; and even without occupying the ordinary time of those children who, in the week, are under the neces- sity of labouring for a livelihood ; an object of important consideration to the greater part of our poor population ; and which single circum- stance sfives these schools an excellence not to be found in any other institution. But as this would require more time than the limits of our discourse would allow, and as many valuable works illustrative of the subject are already in your hands, we are constrained to forbear. Promote the instruction of adults, — Perhaps few objects are calculated to excite more sym- pathy and compassion in the pious heart, than a fellow- creature unable to engage in the bustle of life, deserted by his former associates, and possessing no other source whence to draw those streams which gladden and beguile the days of our pilgrimage below. Like an owl in the desert, he mopes away a solitary and a sad existence. And yet thousands of such indivi- duals are now living in our nation ; and amidst the glare of light around them are sitting in the regions of the shadow of death. What then shall be done to render their life tolerable and their path to eternity pleasant? The way is c c 302 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT.VII. plain and easy; teach them to read and com- prehend the scriptures, and you will effectuate both at once. What! says incredulous man, in a surprise, can hoary age comprehend the les- sons of youth ? Yes, sir, grey hairs have adorn- ed many a head ere it has learned to read with delight the scriptures of truth. Let the Lord's day be the season of instruction, and the theme of your lesson the doctrines of the cross, and you will lead the poor in the way that conducts to happiness, to piety, and to God.* Supjjort all godly institutions. — There is not a religious institution, of the divine appoint- ment or approval, which, if properly conducted, will not tend materially to sanctify the Lord's day ; every society that has the spread of inspired truth for its object, will certainly diffuse a mul- titude of motives for its regular observance. This doctrine is so interwoven with the princi- ples of the bible, that nothing can more effec- tually secure its regard, than the propagation of ♦ The following anecdote communicated to me by Stephen Prust, Esq. of Bristol, will demonstrate, among a thousand other proofs, the value, even temporally considered, of being able to read. * A poor aged woman, who had long earned her liveli- hood by knitting, one day coming to the end of her worsted j^all, found it to be wound on a piece of an old newspaper, which she had the curiosity to read ; when, to her astonishment and delight, she discovered it to contain an advertisement re- specting herself as the heir of a large property, which, had she been unable to read, she might never have possessed !' LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 303 revealed religion. Let the friends of the Sa- viour, then, be forward in every good word and work of this nature, by which means the people, through the grace of God, will be brought to keep the sabbath of the Lord, and to reverence his sanctuary. Numerous, we admit, are our charitable so- cieties, and great, comparatively, the benevo- lence of the british public : but after all we have subscribed for the furtherance of religion, of how few can it be said, ' He has done what he could!' What are a few hundred thousand pounds a year (which are the extent of our charitable contributions) in this rich commercial kingdom ? Were our countrymen generally dis- posed, twenty times as much might be raised with the greatest facility. How much more is annually expended by professors of religion alone on the trifles of the world. It is no un- common thing for wealthy adherents of Chris- tianity to lay out more money on a piece of furniture of no service, or on a dinner for a few wealthy neighbours, who do not need it ; than they give to the gospel during a whole year. Reminding such supine individuals of their ob- ligations to maintain and propagate, by every lawful method, the knowledge of salvation, we would direct their attention to the dark parts of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty, and of our own country, buried in ignorance, 304 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. superstition, and vice ; and of which the lan- guage of the poet is but too descriptive : — the sound of the church-going bell, These valleys and rocks never heard — Never sighed at the sound of a knell. Nor smiled when a sabbath appeared. and then enquire, if they can resist calls of duty so divinely imperious, and of interest, to every pious heart, so delightfully imposing t Shew a marked dislike to sahhath-hreakers. — How common is it for believers to treat the avowed enemies of God as if they most cor- dially sanctioned their iniquitous practices ! If any one injure your earthly father or friend, you feel the injury yourself, and as such resent it ; but when your father and friend which are in heaven are insulted, you look on with a crimi- nal indifference ! Do you not often prefer the sabbath-breaker as a servant, a tradesman, or a friend, to the conscientious follower of Christ, and observer of his holy day 1 And do you not thus hinder the gospel, and promote iniquity? — We are persuaded, that to mention your fault, is to make you feel it. But now to correct your error. — Be advised then, never to take into your service any one who openly and habitually profanes the Lord's day. Never buy goods of any person in the week, who makes a practice of selling on a Sunday; and never make him your familiar LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 300 friend, who is unfriendly to a strict observance of God's holy day. If all christians were to adopt this practice, and persevere in it, they would soon discover the good effects of their proceedings. ' Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me ; he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.^ Fourthly, AS EMPLOYERS. — After what has been said in the course of these lectures, it would be. superfluous to contend, that all or- dinary business should be suspended on the sabbath day; that employers, so far from encou- raging, should not even tolerate their servants to do their usual labour on it ; and that they should exercise their influence and authority in sanctifying that day, of which, alas! they them- selves are too often the principal profaners. And here we notice, that the Lord's day can never be duly observed by the labouring poor, unless many employers alter the time of paying them their wages. As we formerly remarked, it is too prevailing a custom throughout the kingdom, for masters to settle their business with their workmen, either on the sunday morning, or, at best, on the Saturday night, and then fre- quently late, and at the ale-house.— Then follow f Ps. X. 1, 6. c c 3 306 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT, Vfl. the evils which we formerly exposed. Now, upon the ground even of common justice, we intreat you to pay your servants, either on a friday evening, or, at the latest, on a Saturday morning ; by which means the women will have the money to expend, and time to do all they need before the sabbath day ; which will termi- nate, at least, the necessity of breaking it*. Surely it can be of no consequence to either master or man, whether the week be considered as ending on a friday evening, or on the Satur- day night. That such a regulation might be easily effected, there can be little doubt. If the clergyman, esquire, or any respectable person in a town or parish, were only to mention the subject, the farmers and master-tradesmen would very pro- bably adopt it without the least hesitation. The proposed alteration was effected in a parish in the south, merely by a minister's speaking a few words on the business. (2.) It requires the joint intet'ference of all christians. — Let them countenance no sahhath * ' A resolution was moved by lord Suffield, and unanimously agreed to by the magistrates at the late Norwich sessions, recom- mending that workmen's wages should be paid not later in the week than friday, with a view to the better observance of the sabbath, and to enable the poor to make their purchases without its violation.' — The Bath and Cheltenham Gazette. See, also, Evang. Mag. vol. xxviii. p. 186. LECT. Vll.] THE LORD'S DAY. 307 impiety. — If all the people in our country, who profess to be true christians, and, consequently, to sanctify the Lord's day, were to set their faces against every violation of it (from the greatness of their numbers, and the respectability of their rank,) they would constrain this hideous mon- ster, sabbath impiety, to hide its head behind the crimson curtains of shame and confusion for ever. But, alas ! so far from striving to frown vice out of countenance, do we not find many, from whom we expected better things, conforming to this world, and breaking the sabbath in their own religious way? Do they not fill our coaches, throng our shops, and crowd our places of public amusement? And does not this give countenance to the more ungodly I Are they not encouraged by it? Let us ob- serve and improve by a hint, which the writer of our text has elsewhere given us : * if the people of the land bring ware, or any kind of victuals, on the sabbath to sell, let us not buy it of them, on the sabbath, or on the holy day.' Let them petition jjarliajtient for a f-efor- mation in the discipline of Sunday morals. — We often read of petitions presented to the ruling magistrates, for the abolition of bad laws, the enforcement of the good, and the construc- tion of new ones, in reference to subjects of a local, and, sometimes, of a trifling nature, which MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. are graciously heard, and cheerfully answered. We think, therefore, that if the friends of reli- gion at large were also to draw up and present to parliament a petition for the abolition of any old laws, that may not be altogether suitable to christian liberty ; the emendation of some, the penalties of which are too small ; the formation of others, which might be deemed requisite ; or, at least, for a better enforcement of those already enacted, as they regard the sanctifica- tion of the sabbath; their prayers, at least in time, would also be graciously heard, and as cheerfully answered : and we should have reason to expect, that in a very little time, there would be a general reformation of morals on the sab- bath of the Lord. ^ Let them form societies for the suppression of Sunday vice. — If, in every city, town, and village, the pious and respectable part of the people were to unite together, to enforce the laws against all manner of vice, and especially against that of sabbath-breaking, the results would be incalculably beneficial. Many such societies have long existed, and are still be- coming more numerous in our larger towns. The simple design of such an institution is, * to extend the happiness and comforts of the poor, by checking their destructive excesses.' In such societies all denominations of christians could ^ Evang. Mag. vol. xxviii. LECT. VII.] THE LORD's DAY. 309 unite ; and thereby aid the civil magistrates to execute, with greater effect, the laws of the land. And, by forming themselves into a re- spectable association, much importance would be given to their proceedings: and no individual would be stigmatised as a common informer. These societies may be railed at by the igno- rant and immoral, who either know not the duty of Englishmen, or who fear being brought to condign punishment by their interference ; but they must be looked upon with respect, and obtain the best wishes of the wise and good, who see their beneficial tendency, and who wish well to their fellow- creatures. * If it be our security and honour to have laws, can it be infamous that we should endeavour to have them to good purpose V — * Such societies,' says a noble Lord, * are not only legal, but highly meritorious. They are for the preservation, and not for the destruction, of civil and religious liberty.' Let them pray to God for his gracious in- terference. — Every effort to sanctify the Lord's day, should be followed by our most ardent supplications at a throne of grace. And if our circumstances be such that we can do no more, yet this is doing a great deal; and we have reason to hope that, in answer to our prayers, the Lord, for the sake of his church, for the sake of his Son, for the sake of his own glory, will, by some means or other, bring about a 310 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. general reformation of human morals, until * the sabbath shall be called a delight, and the holy of the Lord, honourable.' We are, perhaps, not generally conscious of the efficiency of prayer. We unite our wisdom, and combine our efforts, to execute some arduous design ; and because these fail us, we are dis- appointed and despair. Whereas, had we called in heaven to our aid, one finger of that God, * whose weakness is stronger than men,' might have taken every obstacle out of our way, to an easy achievement of our purpose. For while prayer, without effort, is enthusiasm, effort, without prayer, is presumption. The astonish- ing prevalence of prayer has been often exem- plified ; as in the case of Joshua and Jacob, Elijah and his successor, and others too many to mention. And when we add the promises given to those who make their requests known unto God, we should feel encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, to find help in every time of need. (3.) It requires the example and exertions of the ruler and the rich. — Of the ruler. — Little good will be done by any rigour of the law, unless the magistrates themselves observe it ; unless they be examples of what they are to approve in others. * Those that make laws for others, and are to see to the execution of them, (says archbishop Tillotson,) ought to be strict LECT. VII.] THE lord's DAY. 311 observers of them themselves : for it must needs put a man not a little out of countenance to be severe upon those faults in others, of which he knows himself to be notoriously guilty. And yet how many are there, whose place and duty it is to correct the vices and immoralities of others, who are far from being examples ! And, therefore, it is no wonder that there is so lame and unequal a distribution of justice in our nation ; and that magistrates are so cold and slack in the discountenance of vice and impiety, and in putting the good and wholesome laws made against them into execution.' Nor is the example of the ruler all that we crave : we solicit his exertions too. British magistrates are not higher in dignity than powerful in operation : their assistance there- fore, as far as consistent with the divinity of our religion and the liberty of our conscience, is of great importance in every benevolent cause, and in none more than that whose interests we are endeavouring to maintain. We therefore appeal to their philanthropy as men, and their religion as christians, to come with all their authority and influence ' to the help of the Lord against the mighty ;' and we hope that those men, many of whom have done so much for the honour and happiness of the country, will not be slower in advancing the moral, than they have been the political good of mankind. Let them plan and 312 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. prosecute, for they are wise and powerful ; * yea, let them be a terror to evil doers, and a praise and an honour to them that do well.' Of the rich. — Nor are the example and exertion of the magistrate all that is required. There must also be the example and exertion of the great in general. The lower orders copy the manners and dress of the higher, and they will try to imitate their morals too. And, as bishop Horsley, speaking of the profanation of the sabbath, observes : ' these scandals call loudly for redress ; but redress will be in vain expected from any increasing severity of the laws, without the concurrence and willing ex- ample of the great. This is one of the many instances of corrupt fashion in the higher orders of society, which render all law weak and in- effectual. I am not without hope,' adds this eloquent prelate, ' that the example of the great will not be wanting ; and when once the duties of religion shall be recommended by the general example of superior ranks, then, and not till then, the bridle of legal restraint will act with effect upon vulgar profligacy.'* * * Some men move in a high sphere, and can give laws to those below ; their very examples, their smiles, or frowns, are laws, and can do more to the reforming of the world, than the wisest instructions, the most convincing arguments, and the most pathetical exhortations of meaner men.' — Dn. Shkrlock. LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 313 And if the exertions of the ruler as well as his example be necessary for accomplishing our purpose, surely the exertions of the rich cannot be dispensed with. They, like the magistrate, have much in their power. Their wealth, their splendour, and their name, render them efficient agents in almost every cause they deign to espouse and support; — their word is a law to their domestics and the neighbouring poor ; — their nod of approbation or dislike will either accelerate or arrest the progress of iniquity. The rich then must not be idle spectators of this moral conflict; but arrayed in the whole armour of God, must approach the adversary with apostolic boldness, and contend for the practice of piety with the persevering efforts of a martyred hero. (4.) It requires the exertions of the clergy. — * And I commanded the levites that they should clease themselves, and that they should come and keep the gate to sanctify the sabbath day.' To descend to particulars : — Let them preach much against sahhath breaking. — It has been generally found that vices have prevailed or declined in proportion to the earnestness or indifference with which the preacher has re- garded them in his pulpit exercises. And we feel persuaded, that if all the preachers of the gospel were to attack this vice with a holy bold- ness, and wield with dexterity the sword of the D D 314 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. MI. spirit, which is the word of God ; it would soon expire under their pious hands. Now if such would be the result of openly and fearlessly unfolding the will of God and the wavs of men, — if crying aloud, and sparing not, — if performing duties voluntarily undertaken, and fulfilling vows solemnly made, — if this or any thing like it would promote a better obser- vance of the Lord's day — where is the minister of Christ, who is worthy of the name, that can behold hundreds and thousands of immortal beings neglecting the only means of future happiness, without shedding a tear of compas- sion over them, and burning with zeal for their restoration? On such a man the light of day never shone. The true minister of Christ must declaim against sin in every rank however ad- vanced, in every shape hov. ever beautiful, and in every dress however imposing. Then, ye heroes of the cross, seize this haggard fiend clad in rags, this great grown child of the devil, full of all subtilty, — spend shov, ers of arrows upon her, make them drunk in her blood, till pierced in every pore, she shall fall and faint and expire for ever ; and we will sing her requiem in songs of gratulation, triumph, and delight. Let them also open sahhath evening lectures in all towns and j^opulous villages. — This practice would lessen the crowds of people that fill our streets on Sunday evenings. And it LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 315 would be found almost invariably the case, that our churches and chapels would be better filled, that the people would be more attentive, and the preacher more animated, at this season than during any part of the day besides. But, to convince you of the beneficial tendency of such institutions, we will repeat to you the words of a respectable writer, who appears well ac- quainted with the subject. ' Numbers of persons, women with young- families, and servants of varioi^s descriptions, cannot attend public worship more than once in a day, if there be no evening service : numbers, also, in large towns, work late on the Saturday nights, and make themselves amends by sleep- ing late on Sunday mornings ; thus almost always the morning service, and frequently that of the afternoon also, is sacrificed. It is easy to say, that this is men's own fault ; but that does not remedy the evil. The business of the ministers of Christ, like that of their divine Master, is * to seek and to save the lost :' and if their churches were open in the evening, many of these lost sinners would be induced to enter them ; and some, no doubt, would be brought to sanctify the Lord's day in a manner dififerent from what they had done. ' Again, it is also grievous to add, many of the poor are so meanly clothed, that they will not be seen in the church in the day-time ; 316 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. \ II. and, yet [in the winter season] will steal in to hear an evening sermon. This is the only time when such persons can be met with ; and not few of them have by means of such oppor- tunities, been brought to repentance unto salva- tion. Finally, in many places, apprentices and servants, having been kept in during the former part of the day, are released from restraint on the Sunday evening, and employ it too commonly in corrupting themselves and others. Infinite mischief is thus produced ; not a little of which would be prevented, or counteracted, by an evening service.' Let them employ their influence in promoting its better observance. — Perhaps no class of men have such power over the principles and practice of mankind, as the clergy. In some places through fear, in others through love, and in many through self-interest, the people stand or move obsequious to the preacher's nod. The inhabitants of his parish, or the attendants on his ministry, seek to imitate his example, and in many cases promptly yield to his injunctions: they are either what he is, or what he endea- vours to make them. If, therefore, the Lord's day be often and openly violated in any parish or by any people, it is, in many instances, through the carelessness or sloth of the officiat- ing minister, whose pious example and pathetic exhortations, which we now most warmly LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 317 recommend, would considerably serve that cause we at present are advocating ; and as great reformations have been brought about by other men under the blessing of God, no reason can be adduced to shew that similar efforts would not be crowned with similar success. Nor can we but express our earnest desire that the bishops of our ecclesiastical establish- ment, who, from their office, are entitled to d seat among the peers of our land, in parliament assembled, would use their utmost exertions to promote a better observance of the sabbath day. Indeed, from the respect which is usually shewn to the judgment and desires of our lords spiri- tual, in matters touching or affecting conscience and morals, it would hardly be possible for them to plead for the external sanctification of the Lord's day without considerable effect. And could our speech be heard by these venerable and exalted men, we would assume the office of at least petitioners, and beseech them, by the stations which they occupy, the characters which they bear, and the responsibility of their charge, to raise their voice and to employ their in- fluence in that honourable house, to promote among our people a proper sanctification of the christian sabbath. Let them endeavour to render the places and services of religion comfortable and inviting. — • Many places of worship, within the establish- D d3 318 MEANS FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VII. ment and out of it, are so miserably wretched that to occupy a seat in them for an hour or two would be to do a severe penance. You will be either benumbed with the cold, or suffocated with the heat ; disordered with a damp floor below, or drenched from a broken roof above you ; disgusted with the meanness of the build- ing, or shocked at the filth by which you will be inevitably covered. In fact, many country churches and chapels resemble more the hovel of distress, than the temple of the Most High ; and let the people be ever so devout, and seek as little as creatures can do the pleasure of sense, yet, many places of worship so affect their sensibilities, that the soul can hardly get the body inside the doors. We are by no means the advocates of a splendid sanctuary or sumptuous ceremonies ; we believe them to be anti-evan- gelical and injurious; all we contend for is decency and comfort, and we contend for these only where they can be properly procured ; where they cannot, the servants of Christ, like the disciples of old, are warranted and bound to assemble for worship in a bam, in a cottage, or in the open air. But when a decent and comfortable place can be obtained, it certainly ought to be ; perhaps not so much for those that are within as for those who are without : and the not doing of which prevents many people of delicate constitution, or but little LECT. VII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 319 attached to religion, from attending the service at all ; and consequently a removal of this evil would be very beneficial to that cause whose interests we are now feebly advocating. The SERVICES of religion, also, in many instances, need reformation. Numerous dis- courses are so learned and incomprehensible, so dry and scholastic, so destitute of evangelical truth, so long, and so often repeated, so mean and vulgar, so foreign to the feelings and neces- sities of the audience, so destitute of method in arrangement, so ungrammatical and incorrect in composition, or delivered in a tone so low, so loud, or so monotonous, that there is scarcely any thing in them, which can enlighten the un- derstanding, please the fancy, or profit the heart; and, therefore, are not at all calculated to collect a congregation, or to keep it, if col- lected; nor to promote that sanctification of the sabbath, which the contrary would most probably accomplish : for people neither pious nor profane will regularly or long attend a place of worship, in whose exercises they can feel little pleasure or advantage. LECrURE VllI, THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. J N bringing the present course of lectures to a close, it may be useful to remind you, that the scope of our former discourses has been to explain the nature of the christian sabbath, and to enforce on our audience its proper and con- stant observance. In this concluding address, we propose to amplify some of our former ar- guments for sanctifying the Lord's day, and to add such new incitements as have hitherto been necessarily omitted. If, therefore, the motives already brought forward have been insufficient to induce you religiously to observe this day, we hope that those which we are about to submit to your serious and candid consideration, will have the desired effect. May the Lord so impress his blessed word upon your hearts, that from this time you may feel its gracious influence, and cheerfully obey its sovereign commands ! — We shall notice — Secondly, — The motives for better OBSERVING THE LoRD'S DAY. — As the gOod LECT. VIII.] MOTIVES, &C. 321 example of other men has a great influence in regulating our conduct, we propose (in addition to what we have said of a similar nature,) to enforce a proper sanctification of the sabbath, (1.) From the feeling of emulation. — From the example. First, of individuals, — Let us contemplate the conduct oi Lord Harrington, It is said, of this young nobleman, ' that though he was of elevated rank, and frequently at- tended the court, he did not allow these things to lessen his reverence for divine institutions. His calling often occasioned his being far from any place where the gospel was preached ; but he overcame these difficulties, by travelling every Lord's day several miles to enjoy it. He was a most attentive hearer of the word. He knew that he was in the presence of God, who is no respecter of persons; that he heard not the word of man, but of his maker, and he wil- lingly laid all his honours at the Saviour's feet. Immediately after sermon, he retired from the company of his best friends for half an hour, to meditate on what he had heard, and to apply the truth to his own soul ; and his attention to the spiritual interests of his domestics, was hardly exceeded by that which he paid to himself.' Of Queen Mary, consort of William the Third. — This princess was very exemplary in her conduct on the sabbath. As a proof, it is 322 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECP. VIII. recorded, ' that when she was at the Hague, a vessel was stranded on the Saturday evening-, which multitudes went to see, and which she also wished to have seen. But to some who solicited her to go, she said, she thought it too late that night, and she supposed it would be shivered to pieces by monday morning ; ' yet, I am resolved,' she added, ' not to give so ill an example, as to see it on the Lord's day.'''* — Nor was she more exemplary in her conduct on the sabbath, than zealous for its general observance. In a letter to the magistrates of Middlesex, she thus expressed herself: — * Considering the great and indispensible duty incumbent on us, we think it necessary to recom- mend to you the putting in execution those laws which have been made, and are still in force, against the profanation of the Lord's day, and other disorderly practices ; which, by a long continued neglect and connivance of the magis- trates and officers concerned, have universally spread themselves, to the dishonour of God, and the scandal of our holy religion. We do there- fore hereby charge and require you, to take the most effectual methods for putting the laws into execution, against the crimes, sins, and vices above mentioned, &c.' Of King George the Third. — ' When the king was repairing his palace at Kew, one of * Howe's Funeral Sermon for the Queen. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 323 the workmen, a pious character, was particu- larly noticed by his majesty, who often held conversations with him on serious subjects. One monday morning the king- went as usual to watch the progress of the work, and not seeing this man in his customary place, he enquired the reason of his absence. He was, at first, answered evasively by the workmen. At last, however, upon being more strictly interrogated, they acknowledged, that not having been able to complete a particular job on the Saturday night, they had returned to finish it on the sun- day morning, which this man refusing to do, had been dismissed from the employment. * Send for him back immediately,' said the king; ' the man who refuses doing his ordinary work on the Lord's day is the man for me.'^ Secondly, Of the Clergy — the antient CLERGY. — In the year 307, a council of divines assembled at Illiheris, a town in Spain, ordain- ed, * that if any man dwelling in a city should keep from public worship three Lord's days to- gether, [without good and sufficient reason,] he should be suspended from the communion of the church.' About the year 772, a synod of bishops met aj. Dingofolinum, ordained as follows : * let every man abstain from profane employments, ^ Anecdotes of King George III. 324 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. and be intent on God's worship. If any man shall work his cart on that day, or do any such common business, his team shall be presently for- feited to the public use ; and if the party persists in his folly, let him be sold for a bondman.' * We forbid,' says a council, held at Aries, in 813, * public markets, civil disputes, and plead- ings on the Lord's day; as also husbandry, and all manner of work, except such as is proper for the day, and becoming divine worship.' A synod, held at Tours, in the year 1583, ' prohibited, under pain of excommunication to the offender, all rioting, public feasts, dancing, morrices, hunting and hawking, sales of wine or victuals at inns or cook-shops, (except to strangers and travellers,) all prizes and other plays, all stage-plays, comedies, and all other irreligious spectacles of the like nature, on the christian sabbath.'*^ The modern clergy. — And here we shall content ourselves with relating the following anecdotes ; first, of the late Reverend Mr. Grimshaw. ' He was,' says Mr. Newton, * very earnest and persevering in enforcing a due ob- servance of the Lord's day. At church, in prayer time, if he observed any careless beha- viour, he would often stop, rebuke the offender, c See Morer on the Lord's Day, Dial. 3. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 325 and not proceed till he saw the whole congre- gation upon their knees. * It was his frequent and almost constant custom to leave the church while the psalm be- fore sermon was singing, to see if any were absent from worship, and idling their time in the church-yard, the street, or the ale-houses ; and many of those whom he so found, he would drive into the church before him. * A friend of mine,' continues the biographer, * passing a public-house in Haworth, on a Lord's day morning, saw several persons making their escape out of it ; some jumping out of the lower windows, and some over a low wall. He was at first alarmed, fearing the house was on fire ; but, upon enquiring what was the cause of the commotion, he was told, that they saw the par- son coming.'"^ And, secondly, of the late excellent bishop of London, Beilby Porteus. This worthy mi- nister of Christ, when on the brink of the grave, felt that he could not depart in peace, till he had expressed his disapprobation of the profa- nation of the Lord's day, so prevalent in his diocese. * I had for some time past,' he says, * observed in several of the papers, an account of a meeting, chiefly of military gentlemen, at an hotel at the west-end of the town, which was regularly announced, as held every other '^ Newton's Life of Grirashaw, p. 92. E E 326 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. Sunday during the winter season. This appeared to me, and to every friend of religion, a need- less and wanton profanation of the christian sabbath, which, by the laws both of God and man, was set apart for very different purposes; and the bishops and clergy were severely cen- sured for permitting such a glaring abuse of that sacred day, to pass without notice or re- proof. I determined that it should not, and therefore thought it best to go at once to the fountain head, to the person of the highest and principal influence in the meeting, the Prince of Wales. [He was then, it is said, wrapped in flannel, and carried to Carlton-house.] I ac- cordingly requested the honour of an audience, and a personal conference with him on this sub- ject. He very graciously granted it, and I had a conversation with him of more than half an hour. He entered immediately into my views, and confessed that he saw no reasons for hold- ing the meeting on Sundays, more than any other day of the week ; and [to the honour of our illustrious sovereign also be it recorded] he voluntarily proposed, that the day should be changed from Sunday to Saturday, for which he said that he would give immediate orders.'^ Thirdly, Of the inultitude. — It was sancti- fied— By the Bohemians. — Comoenius tells us, ' that e Life of Porteus, p. 249. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 327 the Bohemians sanctified the Lord's day in the following manner : First, by cessation. Every Saturday evening, before sun-set, all desisted from external labours, and with the evening begun the day sacred to God. On the sabbath they rested from all outward labours and nego- ciations, that their servants and beasts might have breathing time. They abstained from the works of the flesh ; such as drinking, dancing, dice, idle walkings, and triflings ; as aljK) from nuptial feasts, fairs, and markets. Secondly, by employment. They engaged io divine and spiritual things ; such as singing psalms and reading the scriptures. They also frequented the assemblies, not only once or twice, but four or five times ; and endeavoured to forget things temporal, that they might learn to meditate on things eternal. '^^ By our forefathers. — * In the troublesome times of Charles the first, thougli the discipline of the church was at an end, there was, never- theless, an uncommon spirit of devotion among the people in the parliament quarters. The Lord's day was observed with remarkable strict- ness, the churches being crowded with numerous and attentive hearers three or four times in the day. The officers of the peace patrolled the streets, and shut up all public houses. There was no travelling on the road, or walking in ^ Turner on Divine Providence, 328 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. the fields, except in cases of absolute necessity. Religious exercises were set up in private fa- milies ; as reading the scriptures, family prayer, repeating sermons, and singing psalms ; which was so universal, that you might have walked through the city of London, on the evening of the Lord's day, without seeing an idle person, or hearing any thing but the voice of prayer or praise, from churches and private families.'^ By the Otaheitans. — ' When Mr. Crook and his family arrived on the coast of Otaheite, in the brig Active, they were much surprised that not a single native could be seen all along the shore as the vessel sailed ; nor could they per- ceive any smoke arising from their dwellings. This excited, in the minds of Mr. Crook and others, a painful suspicion, that the island had been subdued, and all the inhabitants cut off in the wars. In the midst of this agitation of mind, one of the sailors, an Otaheitan, who left Port Jackson in the Active, observed, that the natives were keeping the sabbath day: that of late they did no kind of work, nor cooked any victuals, nor went out of their houses, except to worship God; and that the whole of the day was employed in religious worship, or in teach- ing one another to read. At length the vessel came to anchor in Matavia Bay, and not a native made his appearance until monday morning s Ncale's History of the Puritans. LE€T. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 329 when great numbers repaired to the brig-, bringing with them the usual testimonies of hospitality ; thus fully satisfying all on board, that they had been observing the sabbath, as before expressed.'^ Indeed the heathens themselves kept their sacred seasons with a degree of solemnity, that should put some christian people to the blush. * The Athenians were accustomed to amerce, and severely to correct, all those who, on their holy days, came not to the sacred assemblies. Moreover, they hurdled up the streets, to pre- vent the people from going to any place but the ecclesia; and they took away all the saleable goods from those who, at this season, exposed them for sale.' ' (2.) From a spirit of loyalty.— * De- plorable, without doubt,' says Bishop Watson, * is the condition of that country, in which the manners of the people have got the ascendency over its laws : in which the fashion of the world tyrannizes over the religion of Christ. And is there not great reason to believe, that such is the condition of this country at this time ? The law prohibits gaming at any time for high stakes ; our manners permit it on a Sunday, even to any extent. The law suffers no sabbath to be pro- faned by the necessary pursuits of ordinary ^ Evang. Mag. » Trapp on the text. E E 3 330 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. occupations ; our manners, stimulated by com- mercial avarice, suffer mail coaches, stage coaches, and other means of conveying goods and passengers, to be as free on this day as on any other in the week.' — But, to be a little more particular, we observe — First, That a sahhath-hreaker openly vio- lates the laws of his country. — Though the laws of the land, respecting the sabbath, may he somewhat defective, yet who among you observe them as they require? They command you, without good reason to the contrary, to go to some place of worship every sabbath day; but are there not some present who remain from the house of God for many succeeding sabbaths, without even a semblance of necessity? The laws prohibit buying and selling any thing on this day (save mackerel and milk, before nine in the morning, and after four in the afternoon ;) but are not many of your shops open all the day long, and do not many of you purchase goods on this day, contrary to the laws of your country? No carriage, cart, cattle, or any thing of the kind, is allowed to travel on the sabbath, except in urgent cases ; but do we not see this law violated every Lord's day? According to law, no sports or pastimes are to be tolerated ; but look around on the sabbath ! Where, then, is british patriotism? — where is your subjection to the higher powers? — where is your boasted LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 331 loyalty? Persons that break the sabbath, by neglecting to attend some place of worship, by selling goods, by needless labour, or by seeking forbidden pleasure, are as really rebels agaiost their country's laws, as the fierce banditti, clothed with terror, and spreading desolation whithersoever they go ; and if equity were observed, they would be always punished, if not so severely, yet quite as justly. Secondly, A sabhath-hreaker renders himself exceedingly contemptible in the eyes of every serious christian. — He contemns both God and man ; he despises the most favourable govern- ment in the world; he is a rebel against the constitution of his country ; he ruins himself, and aids in ruining his neighbours : yet, how little is sabbath impiety laid to heart by the majority of christian professors ! How seldom do we hear it lamented ! Men break the laws of God and of man in violating the Lord's day, and are still the wise and good, and in every way respectable members of society ! Curses are poured out upon the abettors of false doc- trines ; and those are treated with disdain, who do not believe exactly as their superiors ; while the volatile or avaricious sabbath-breaker is re- spected, kept in the bosom of our churches, and courted as the friend of God and the country ! What! are not men to be known by their works now as well as formerlv I And is there not 332 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. heresy in practice, as well as in principle ; in duty, as much as in doctrine ? Is not the bad doer worse than the bad thinker ? It was a saying- of the Jews, ' that he who lives in a place where a synagogue is, and will not go to it, must be accounted a very ill neighbour/ Let us discriminate as christians ; and consider that man who breaks the sabbath as contempt- ible, and as deserving our pity and prayers, as he that disbelieves the veracity of the bible, or breaks any other part of the decalogue. (3.) From a regard to your tempo- ral INTERESTS. — A due observance of the sabbath will be advantageous to the nation^, as may be gathered — First, From the prOxMISes of God.^- ' And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently * ' The fear of God is the principal support of governraent, and of the peace and good order of the world. The more godliness there is among us, the more honesty, industry, and sobriety, there will be. Nothing but religious principles will restrain men from secret wickedness, control the licentiousness of the great, who think themselves above law, and curb the wild passions of the people. And, as there is no probability that religion will ever flouiish, or even subsist, among us with- out sanctifying the Lord's day, it is verj desirable it should be sanctified for the good of the country ; that we may become a sober, virtuous nation, and that God may not be provoked to give us a prey to our enemies.' — Orton's Six Discourses on the Sabbath, p. 236. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 333 hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of the city, on the sabbath -day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city, kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise unto the house of the Lord.""* Also, ' if thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thine own pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of the Lord honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor speaking thine own words ; then shalt thou dehght thy- self in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'^ What could more beautifully represent national pros- perity, than the above passages? and what could more plainly tell us, that it chiefly de- pends on the sanctification of the sabbath? i Jer. xvii. 24—26. " Isaiah Iviii. 13, 14. 334 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. Secondly, From the instructions deli- vered ON IT; — which are every way calculated to meliorate the condition of the world."* Does honesty tend to the welfare of mankind? this the duties of the sabbath promote : ' thou shalt not steal.' Would industry diminish the number of our paupers ? this it urges : ' be diligent in business.' Is female purity desirable I this it inculcates : * let your young" women be chaste.' Is kindness advantageous I the duties of the Lord's day teach us ' to love our neighbour as ourselves.' Will loyalty add to our national weal I this, too, is promoted : * put them in mind to be subject to magistrates.' * Speak,' said Paul to Titus, * speak the things that become sound doctrine, that the^ aged men be vigilant, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women, likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holy women ; not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they may also teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands ; that the word of God be not blas- * In Great Britain there are few less than fifty thousand ser- mons delivered from the pulpit every week. And if, with so many admonitions to improvement, there is still so much pro- faneness in the land, what would there be without them ? LECT.VIII.] THE lord's DAY. 335 phemed. Young men likewise, exhort to be sober-minded. Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, and to please them well in all things ; not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity ; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.' \Yere such doctrines always preached, and always practised, how would our country advance in peace, in affluence, and in lastino- glory \^ It will be advantageous to the more re- stricted circles of society. — The happy reno- vation, which our towns and villages would experience by a proper observance of the sab- bath, is inconceivable. There is something in attending the house of God, and in social piety, that is every way calculated to improve the pub- lic mind. ' In a place of worship,' says dean Paley, ' so many pathetic affections are awak- ened by every exercise of social devotion, that most men, I believe, carry away from public worship a better temper towards the rest of * ' In Scotland, the sabbath is observed perhaps more strictly than in any equal portion of Christendom : and where shall we find a people, to say the least, so generally thoughtful, industrious, prudent, and well-informed, as the inhabitants of Scotland? If, since their enlarged intercourse with the southern part of the island, they are thought to have degenerated in some degree from their antient seriousness and virtue ; it will be found, I believe, that they have in nearly the same proportion diminished in their reverence for the sabbath.' — Hughes's Essay on the Christian Sabbath, p. 13. 336 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. mankind, than they brought with them. — Sprung from the same extraction, preparing together for the period of all worldly distinctions, re- minded of their mutual infirmities and common dependency, imploring and receiving support and supplies from the same great source of power and bounty ; having all one interest to secure : one Lord, one judgment, the superior object of all their hopes and fears to look towards ; it is hardly possible, in this position, to behold man- kind as strangers, competitors, or enemies, or not to regard them as children of the same family, assembled before their common parent; and with a portion of the tenderness that belongs to the most endearing of our domestic relations. * It is not to be expected that any single effect of this kind should be considerable or lasting; but the frequent return of such sentiments, as the presence of a devout congregation naturally sug- gests, will gradually melt down the ruggedness of many unkind passions, and may generate in time a permanent and productive benevolence. If ever the poor man holds up his head, it is at church; and if ever the rich man views him with respect, it is there : and both will be better, and the public more profited, the oftener they meet in a situation in which the consciousness of dig- nity is tempered and mitigated, and the spirit of the other erected and confirmed. ''^ * See also Dr. Dwight's System of Divinity, vol. iv. p. 7. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 337 It ivill he advantageous to individuals. — It will be so to the great and the LEARNED. — * I have found,' says lord chief justice Hale, * by a strict and diligent observa- tion, that a due observing of the Lord's day has ever had joined to it a blessing upon the rest of my time ; and the week thus begun, has been blessed and prosperous to me. And, on the other side, when I have been negligent of the duties of this day, the rest of the week has been unsuccessful and unhappy to my secular employments ; so that I could easily make an estimate of my success through the week, by the manner of my passing this day.' The learned Boerhaave was accustomed to say, * that none of his schemes ever succeeded to his wish, if he did not conscientiously devote the sabbath to the service of God.' — And the amiable Dr. Doddridge used to make the fol- lowing observation : — ' I find it never well with me on common days, when it is not so on the Lord's day.' It will be this to the working CLASSES OF society. — Let not the labouring man suppose, that this institution infringes on his domestic comfort, by preventing his earning another day's wages. The very contrary is the ease. If men wrought all the seven days, they would get no more for it than they do now for F F 338 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. six. ' For in countries tolerably advanced in population and the arts of civil life, there is always enough of human labour, and to spare. The difficulty is not so much to procure, as to employ it. The addition of the seventh day's labour to that of the other six, would have no other effect than to reduce the price. The labourer, who would deserve most from the change, would gain nothing at all.' As an elucidation of this sentiment, allow us to digress, for a few moments, and relate the following interesting anecdote. ' In the city of Bath, during the last century, lived a barber, who made a practice of following his ordinary occupation on the Lord's day. As he was pur- suing his morning's employment, he happened to look into some place of worship, just as the minister was giving out his text, ' Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy :' (Ex. xx. 8.) He listened long enough to be convinced, that he was constantly breaking the laws of God and man, by shaving and dressing his customers on Sunday. He became uneasy, and went with a heavy heart to his Sunday task. At length he took courage, and opened his mind to the minister, who advised him to give up Sunday dressing, and worship God. He replied, beggary would be the consequence; he had a flourishing trade, but it would almost all be lost. At length, after many a sleepless night spent in LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 339 weeping and praying, he was determined to cast all his care upon God, as the more he reflected, the more his duty became apparent. * He discontinued Sunday dressing, went constantly and early to the public services of religion, and soon enjoyed that self-gratulation, which is one of the rewards of doing our duty, and that peace of God, which the world can neither give nor take away. The consequences he foresaw actually followed. His genteel cus- tomers left him, as he was nick-named a puritan or methodist. He was obliged to give up his fashionable shop ; and in the course of years be- came so reduced, as to take a cellar under the old market house, and shave the common people. 'One Saturday evening, between light and dark, a stranger, from one of the coaches, asking for a barber, was directed by the ostler to the cellar opposite. Coming in hastily, he requested to be shaved quickly, while they changed horses, as he did not like to violate the sabbath. This was touching the barber on a tender chord : he burst into tears, asked the stranger to lend him a halfpenny to buy him a candle, as it was not light enough to shave him with safety. He did so, revolving in his mind the extreme poverty to which the poor man must be reduced. When shaved, he said, * there must be some- thing extraordinary in your history, which I have not now time to hear. Here is half-a-crown 340 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VJII. for you ; when I return,! will call and investi- gate your case. What is your name V ' William Reed,' said the astonished barber. * William Reed !' echoed the stranger : * William Reed !' by your dialect you are from the west?' * Yes, sir ; from Kingston, near Taunton.' * William Reed, from Kingston, near Taun- ton ! What was your father's name V * Thomas.' ' Had he any brother?' * Yes, sir, one, after whom I was named; but he went to the Indies, and, as we never heard from him, we suppose him to be dead.' ' Come along, follow me,' said the stranger ; * I am going to see a person, who says his name is William Reed, of Kingston, near Taunton. Come and confront him. If you prove to be in- deed him, whom you say you are, I have glorious news for you: your uncle is dead, and has left an immense fortune, which I will put you in pos- session of, when all legal doubts are removed.' They went by the coach, saw the pretended William Reed, and proved him to be an impos- tor. The stranger, who was a pious attorney, was soon legally satisfied of the barber's identity, and told him that he had advertised him in vain. Providence had now thrown him in his way, in a most extraordinary manner, and he had much pleasure in transferring a great many thousand LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 341 pounds to a worthy man, the rightful heir of the property. Thus was man's extremity God's opportunity. Had the poor barber possessed one halfpenny, or even had credit for a candle, he might have remained unknown for years ; but he trusted God, who never said, * Seek ye my face in vain.'' But to return to our subject. It will be this to the iMost despised OF THE PEOPLE. — * For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls, a place and a name, better than of sons and daughters : I will give them an everlasting name, which shall not be cut off. Also, the sons of the stranger, that join themselves unto the Lord, and serve him, and love the name of the Lord to be his ser- vants ; every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and takethhold of my covenant, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer.' "^ — * For is not this the sabbath that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy ^ Stephenson's Nature and Importance of the Christian Sab- bath, p. 48. See also an interesting anecdote in the Bap. Mag. vol. vii. p. 198. "^ Isaiah Ivi. 2, 4—7. F F 3 342 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house 1 when thou seest the naked that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" (4.) From reasons purely spiritual. — We urge upon you to sanctify the sabbath, From the nature of the fourth command- ment. — The manner in which this command- ment was delivered, the place it holds in the decalogue, and the extra arguments by which it is enforced, are peculiarly imperative on us to observe it properly. This, in common with the other commandments, was written twice with the finger of God — it was given from Sinai, amidst thunder and lightnings, in the hearing of all Israel — and it was considered by Nehemiah a special blessing bestowed upon mankind : * thou camest down and didst renew unto them thy holy sabbaths.' — It is placed in the first table of the law, and at the climax of it. — The manner of its composition, also, is equally remarkable : it is enforced by arguments both positive and negative — and there are more of these than we find attached to any other com- mandment. n Isaiah Iviii. 6, 7. comp. v. 15. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 343 From the reasonableness of the institution. — God gives us all our time, and all the blessings of life : and is, therefore, entitled to our warmest acknowledgments. But these cannot be pro- perly expressed, without setting apart certain stated times for that purpose. Observe, again, that God has required but a small portion of our time for himself. He might have reasonably demanded every other day; but he has not: he requires only a seventh part of our time, and surely this ought not to be denied him. ^ How easy, also, are our religious duties, compared with those of his antient people ! They had festival upon festival, some of them very expensive ; journey upon journey, some of them very laborious, in their religious worship ; but, under the new testament dispensation, we are commanded to keep only the first day of the week : and to deny him that would betray the most base ingratitude. From its being the best time we have to * ' I would ask you but one question,* says a pious writer : — ' suppose that God had allowed you but one day in seveti on which to transact your tempoual concerns, and had commanded you to keep six days holy to himself; would you, in that case, have suffered any one to interrupt you on this one working day, or have allowed yourself to spend any part of its time in wor- shipping your Creator ? Ah ! my friend, ask thy conscience this question : be faithful to thyself, and act with the consistency of a man of God.' 344 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. l^repare for heaven. — This is the day that the Lord has made, on which man should particu- larly attend to the concerns of his soul. Now the Saviour waiteth to be gracious ; to support us by his power, to guide us by his counsel, and to enrich us with his bounty. * Now, therefore, is the accepted time ; now is the day of salva- tion.' And if you attend not to the concerns of your soul on this day, when will you do it? Will you convert the days of labour into religious rest; when you convert the sabbath into a day of labour, or of sinful recreation ? This would be very culpable, were you religious enough to do it. But such a case is highly improbable. We do not often see the sabbath-breaker at his devotions in the week. No ! and will you not think of religion at all I for desecrating the Lord's day is but another name for neglecting it altogether. Are your souls of no value ? Will you never think about a day of judgment? Are you never dreading the wrath to come, nor seeking an interest in a crucified Saviour? Are you willing to be lost for ever ? If so, go on : you cannot ensure your damnation better, than by breaking the sabbath- day 1 From its being GocVs time, and not your om;^._To spend the Lord's time in pursuing our own interest only, is as unjust as for a ser- vant to neglect his master's business, in order to mind his own. They who, in elder times, LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 345 neglected to bring their sacrifices to the altar, were charged with * robbing God.' Now this day is designated the Lord's, and the Almighty calls it * his sabbath ;' and, doubtless, it now belongs to him by consecration, as much as the offerings of the Jewish temple did formerly by appointment. If, indeed, the worship of the Lord had been designed only for our own in- terest, without any reference to the glory of God, there might be some excuse for inatten- tion in the season of affluence and pleasure ; but if it was ever intended to blend the honour of our maker with the interests of men ; as is evident from the fourth commandment being placed in the first table of the law ; from the ser- vice of the Jews, which consisted chiefly in hymns and offerings ; and from the worship of the first christians, which was conducted * with gladness and singleness of heart ;' it is surely criminal to neglect the glory of the Lord through the bustle of life : and to sanctify the sabbath on principles of self-interest merely, is, to all intents and purposes, robbing God of his legitimate right. From the vanity and shortness of your lives, — When you take a retrospect of what you have done, how many broken sabbaths and neglected ordinances weep over your criminal ignorance, and condemn your ungodly conduct ! You have not carefully embraced the one, nor diligently improved the other. Some of you have spent 346 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. your Sundays in idleness ; others of you in cri- minal pleasure ; and many of you in worldly em- ployments. And what do you say now ? will you add to the number of your crimes ? will you still keep the old beaten track, and knowingly rush headlong to ruin ? Consider, also, that this may be your last Lord's day ; and that your relatives may con- vey you to the house appointed for all living before the next arrives. Improve it, then, be- fore it flies for ever ; and if providence kindly aff'ord you a few more sabbaths, seek to redeem your lost time by being more diligent in the means of grace. Besides, should you live for many years to come, yet you may lose your health, and not be capable of attending to your soul's concerns ; you may also grow hardened in sin, or become insane, or be removed from the means of salvation ; and what would be the consequence 1 — May these thoughts awaken you to the utmost diligence in seeking eternal happiness on the Lord's day. From the honourable name lohich you bear. — The proper observance of the Lord's day is the touchstone of your Christianity. Indeed, you cannot be christians without it. The sentiment which the Jews erroneously applied to Jesus, contains a very important truth ; ' this man can- not be of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day.' In vain do you weep under the LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 347 word on the Lord's day morning, and then re- turn to your business or pleasure ; in vain do you tell us of your delightful experience, if you can willingly violate the sabbath; you are de- luded ; your feelings are the effect of fanaticism, not of pure and undefiled religion. In vain do you claim the christian name, and violate one of the chief maxims of Christianity. Do not tell us you are churchmen ; the institutes of that re- spectable body condemn you. Say not you are dissenters ; sabbath-breaking is no part of dis- senterism. Say the truth : ' ye are of your father the devil, and the works of your father ye will do.'^ From your apparent concern for the glory of God. — When shall men speak of the Father's ' glorious honour and majesty, and of his won- drous works, and of the might of his terrible acts, and declare his greatness?' when shall creation be commemorated, and providence ad- mired, if not to-day? When shall we meditate on the Redeemer's labour, passion, and triumph over his enemies, if not to-day ? When shall we contemplate the gracious work of the eternal Spirit; when shall men celebrate his miraculous * Alexander the Great, having in his army a soldier of his own name, who possessed little of his military skill or prowess, one day said to his unwarlike name-sake, * either be like me, or lay aside my name.' Such is the language of Christ to his pro- fessed followers : * either be like me, or lay aside my name.' 348 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. descent, and his constant kindness towards his people, if not to-day ? And shall the sab- bath be neglected, and, as a necessary con- sequence, the honour of God be dispensed with or confined to the skies ? No ! forbid it every principle of justice — every feeling of gratitude —•every sense of divine favour ! Yea, let every sentiment of our souls rise indignant against such an idea. Let us hallow the sabbath and honour the Lord. From the defence which it is to the gospel of Christ."" — The sabbath has often been termed the PALLADIUM of Christianity. Remove the Lord's day, and then behold atheism, like the dragon, rising out of the sea of dark supersti- tion, drawing the third part of the people in its train. Take away our sabbath; and the purity, the power, and even every particle, of our holy religion would be lost in a much less time than you may imagine. * It is the observance of holy times, that preserves the practice of holy services. And without the frequent and regular returns of hallowed days, man would quickly for- get the duty which he owes to God ; and in a short time no vestige of religion would be found in the world.'* Many have no opportunity See President Edwards' Works, vol. vii. p. 542. $. 3. and Estlin's Apology for the Sabbath, p. 13. * * The very life of religion doth much depend upon the so- lemn observation of this daj' : consider but, if we should inter- mit the keeping of it for one year, to what a height profaneness LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 349 of obtaining moral and religious knowledge but on the Lord's day; and were they totally to neglect the duties of the sabbath, they would be most awfully depraved. Abolish the sabbath, or suffer it to be neglected, and then begin to build new prisons, erect fresh gallows, enlarge your hospitals, extend your mad-house institutions, swear in more magistrates, and make laws against crimes of which your forefathers never dreamed. The due observance of the Lord's day is a better defence of the christian religion, and a greater obstacle to the progress of impiety, than all the criminal codes that were ever enacted. From the pleasantness of the duty. — To ungodly men, it is true, the duties of religion do not present many attractions. They cannot see the things of God, because they are spiri- tually discerned. The plainest truth is to them an incomprehensible mystery ; and the news of salvation, fulsome details. They turn from side to side, saying, * how long the sermon is !' They fold their hands, and sigh, * what a weari- some time it is; when will the sabbath be gone V But to the people who know the joyful sound ; who can see the Canaan that they love with unbeclouded eyes ; who can feast upon the would rise in those that fear not God ; wliich are yet restrained (though not converted) by the preaching of the word and their outward partaking of public worship ; yea, those that are most spiritual would find themselves losers by the intermission.' — Archbishop Leighton's Works, vol. iv. p. 14. G G 350 MOTIVES FOR OBSERVING [LECT. VIII. provisions of the gospel; to them the sabbath is truly a delight*. They say, with a pious mo- narch, * one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.' There the good man sits; and, if at the threshold of the door, he envies not the wicked in his tent of ease. With a heart attuned by grace divine, he sits and sings — * Go, man of pleasure, strike the lyre Of broken sabbaths, sing the charms ; Our's are the prophet's car of fire, Which bears us to a father's arras.' Make no frivolous objections for neglecting the sabbath, or abstaining from the means of grace. — Many will plead the want of proper apparel : but let not that keep you from hearing the word of God. Go as you are. The salva- tion of your souls is of more importance to you than the good-will of your neighbours. Besides, others will be attending to something more momentous than your apparel. However, no * * My soul, with rapture hail the day That drives thy worldly cares away, That ushers in a sweet repose From sensual joys and earthly woes. The day of days supremely blest, A sabbath of delightful rest, An antepast of joys to come, In the believer's heavenly home.' S. S. Prust, Jun. LECT. VIII.] THE LORD'S DAY. 351 good person will despise you, and the bad you need not regard. Poverty is no disgrace. La- zarus is more respected than the rich man. And you will be more esteemed in your tattered clothes, than an impious noble in his costly attire. Some may object, that many attend and are no better for it. That may be the case, and it is a case too common ; but it is nothing to you. Many go, and are improved by it ; and you also may reap advantage. If others abuse their mercies, learn from their ei^'or to do otherwise. Because there is a little base coin in circulation, shall we never receive a shilling? And because a few professors of religion are not what they ought to be, shall we neglect religion altogether? Others may say, they have attended long to no purpose. This is very doubtful ; but if it be true, still go on. The man that waited eight and thirty years at the pool of Bethesda, was healed at last. The promise is, ' he that seeks shall find, and to him that knocks, the door shall be opened. Ye shall know the Lord if ye follow on to know him. He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry ; therefore wait for him.' Heaven will amply repay the man who waits longest to obtain admission into it. To conclude. — Would you see your nation prosper, and your neighbourhood happy; would you be considered loyal subjects of the realm ; would you fill your respective stations with 352 MOTIVES, &C. LLECT. VIII. honour to yourselves, and satisfaction to those around you ; would you suppress vice and pro- fligacy, superstition, and prejudice ; would you have honest, careful, and active servants ; do you desire your children to be followers of that which is good, to comfort you in trouble, and to support your declining age; — then remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Would you be wise in things of the first im- portance ; would you know yourselves, to whom you belong, and whither you are going ; would you understand the purity and rigour of the divine law, how often you have broken it, and the way to escape its anathemas ; would you be taught by the precepts and example of Christ ; be sanctified by his Spirit; prepared for death, judgment, and eternity : — sanctify the Lord's day; for he has positively pronounced that man to be blessed, who keepeth his sabbath from polluting it.' And after all you have done, after all you have said, after all you have thought ; finding no merit in yourselves, but all in the adorable Redeemer, let each one conclude in the words of the text : * Remember me, O my God, con- cerning this also ; and spare me, according to the greatness of thy mercy.' Amen. APPENDIX. 1 HE FOLLOWING PAPERS CONTAIN REMARKS AND INFORMATION PERFECTLY RELEVANT TO THE SUBJECT WE HAVE NOW BEEN DISCUSSING. First — A copy of a hand-bill recently circulated in a respectable town in Lancashire, for promoting a better observance of the Lord's day; signed by the bailiff J high constable, minister, and chapel-warden. ' * Borough and Township of Garstang, in the county of Lancaster. — Whereas the illegal and indecorous practices of keeping open shops and public -houses, and of riotous and tumultuous assembling- of boj^s in the streets on the sabbath- day, prevail in this town and borough, to the dishonour of God, reproach of religion, and the subversion of decency and good order : and frequent complaints having been made to us respecting such illegal and improper practices — * We, the undersigned, therefore, consider it our duty, to caution all shop-keepers and inn-keepers within this town and borough, against selling goods, ale, or spirituous liquors; and also, boys and others against indulging in unlawful and G G 3 354 APPENDIX. tumultuous assemblies and exercises (and parti- cularly during divine service) on the Lord's day : and we do hereby give notice, that if such practices are obstinately persisted in and continued after this public caution and notice, that proper steps, by prosecution or otherwise, will be taken to punish the offenders as the law in such case directs.' Second — Resolutions formed at a meeting for promoting a due observance of the Lord's day, and recommended to the clergy of the diocese of London, by the late learned, pious, and venerable bishop Porteus. * Resolved, — That the practice of opening shops, or otherwise exercising trades or callings on Sundays, the delivery of goods by the common carriers, and the admission of persons into public- houses, and suffering tippling therein, during divine service, are gross breaches of the sabbath, and tend greatly to the corruption of morals, and the increase of dissipation, * Resolved, — That the persons present at this meeting do hereby pledge themselves to discoun- tenance such practices, and that they will not apply or send to any shop whatsoever for goods, provisions, or any other article, on Sunday, nor suffer their servants, or any of their respective families so to do ; and they do recommend to the inhabitants generally, to conform to this resolution. * Resolved, — That this meeting do recommend to the several trades-people of this town and neigh- bourhood, to keep their shops close shut during APPENDIX. 355 the whole day of every sunday, (excepting where it may be unavoidably necessary for light, and in that case to remove all appearance of exposing goods for sale from the windows,) and not to sell any thing, except in cases of absolute necessity, nor to permit the carriers to deliver goods at their respective houses, during the day. ' Resolved, — That it be recommended to all persons who employ workmen, labourers, and others, weekly, to pay all such their wages in sufficient time to preclude the necessity of their purchasing provisions, or other necessaries, on a Sunday. ' Resolved, — That these resolutions be signed, and copies thereof be printed, together with extracts from the several acts of parhament, relative to the due observance of the Lord's day, and circulated throughout this town and neighbourhood. * Resolved,— That the thanks of this meeting be given to the mayor.' Third — A petition of the committee of a society for promoting a better observance of the sabbath in New Yoi-k, America, addressed to the hon. the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of that city : ' The undersigned beg leave to address your honourable body, on a subject which deeply affects their private feelings, and, as they conceive, also, the public good: — the subject to which they allude is the growing profanation of the sabbath. — It cannot have escaped the attention of the corporation, that facts exist on this subject which are calculated 356 APPENDIX. to give serious alarm, not only to christians, as such, but to all who have any concern for good morals, the character of our city, or the influence of that character upon our state and upon our country. [Then follows an enumeration of the vices they wish to abolish.] * That these are evils deeply injurious to the moral health of our city, the undersigned are per- fectly satisfied. — They particularly deprecate their baneful influence in decoying from duty, and ex- posing to all manner of temptation, the youthful part of the community. — The undersigned deem it unnecessary to detain your honourable body with remarks upon the institution of the sabbath. — They forbear, therefore, to advert, for the present, to its eternal Author, its perpetual obligation, or to the incalculable benefits, temporal and eternal, result- ing from its observance. — They know there are laws of the land against its profanation, which recognize the law of God on this subject. ' They have been given to understand, however, that these laws (as far as our city is concerned) are either in form, or execution, defective; if so, they hope such defects will speedily be removed : but, if the existing laws are suflicient, they fervently pray, that the corporation of the city of New York, the natural and legitimate guardians of its public morals, may so enforce those laws, as to become in this point, as well as others, ' a terror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well.' * Whatever impressions such authoritative inter- ference may make upon the minds of the licentious. APPENDIX. 357 the undersigned are confident that it will be well- pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour ; and assure the fathers of our city, that in effectual attention to this subject, they will not only merit and receive the thanks of all good men ; but also all possible co-operation of all those, who regard the glory of God, the present interests of our city, or the welfare of posterity yet unborn.' Fourth. — An extract from the proclamation of his present majesty on ascending the british throrie.— * We, considering that it is an indispensable duty on us to be careful above all other things to preserve and advance the honour and service of almighty God, and to discountenance and suppress vice, pro- faneness, and immorality, which are so highly dis- pleasing to God, so great a reproach to our religion and government, and have so fatal a tendency to the corruption of many, and (if not timely remedied) may justly draw down the divine vengeance on us and our kingdom ; we also, humbly acknowledging that we cannot expect the blessing and goodness of almighty God, (by whom kings reign) to make our reign happy and prosperous, without a religious observance of God's holy laws ; to the intent, there- fore, that rehgion and piety may flourish and increase under our administration, we hereby declare our royal purpose and resolution to discountenance and punish all manner of vice, profaneness, and immo- rality, in all persons, in whatever degree or quality, within our realm ; and do hereby require and com- mand them to attend the worship of God on every 358 APPENDIX. Lord's day, on pain cf our highest displeasure, and of being proceeded against with the utmost rigour of the law; and we strictly charge and command all judges, mayors, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other officers, both ecclesiastical and civil, to be very vigilant and strict in the discovery and effec- tual prosecution and punishment of all persons who shall be guilty of the profanation of the Lord's day, or other dissolute, immoral, or disorderly practices, and to put in execution the statute entitled, * an act for the better observation of the Lord's day,' and all other laws now in force for the punishing and suppressing any of the vices aforesaid ; also to sup- press and prevent all gaming whatever, in public or private houses, on the Lord's day; and likewise that they take effectual care to prevent all persons keeping taverns, coffee-houses, or other public- houses, from selling wine, coffee, ale, beer, or other liquors, or receiving or permitting guests to be in their houses in the time of divine service on the Lord's day, as they will answer it to Almighty God, and upon pain of our highest displeasure.' Fifth. — An extract of a letter from a gentleman in the country, to a friend in London, stating the success of persevering endeavours to promote the sanctification of the Lord's day in the town where he resides. — ' I am happy to remark, also, that the cause of morality, and, I hope, of real experimental godliness, is on the advance in this place. You will be pleased to hear that the sabbath is observed in this town much better than it used to be, and APPENDIX. 359 better than it is at present, in many neighbouring places. Our worthy magistrate has employed his authority for the suppression of vice on the Lord's day, and the consequences are very beneficial. * All public-houses are shut up, not merely, as in many places, while the people are in the church, but during the whole day ; and one cannot get even a pint of beer for any money, unless in cases of extreme necessity, and then not without an order from the magistrate, or some person duly appointed to grant it. A traveller may be served with beer, but he can obtain only a single pint. As a result, we see no drunkards in our streets, nor hear any tumultuous noise in public-houses ; and the inn- keepers, instead of being deprived of attending the ordinances of religion, are seen in the house of God as other people. * Neither is there a shop of any kind opened on the Lord's day, where you can purchase any thing for almost any money. Such is the activity of our worthy magistrate, that he has his eyes in every place; and such is his zeal for the observance of the sabbath, that few people can openly break it with impunity. In fact, the people, knowing that nothing can be bought on the sunday, make a point of getting in all they want on a Saturday ; and, therefore, feel no necessity for going to the shop on the sabbath. ' I should notice, too, that there is no hair-dress- ing nor shaving here on a sunday. All the hair- dressers have entered into a written agreement, that no one shall shave or dress any person on the sab- bath under a considerable penalty. And, if any 360 APPENDIX. one presume to violate the agreement, by dressing or shaving, the rest are obhged, by the same bond, toprosecute him for it to the utmost severity of the law. The consequence is, as you may expect, no person asks to be dressed or shaved, because he knows such solicitation would be useless. And if you were to see our good people at church on the Lord's day, you would not say that they looked the worse for not employing the barber or hair-dresser to polish their chin or to trim their head in the morn- ing before they go out !' *^* In addition to the preceding remarks, &c., the author is happy to announce the recent formation of a TEMPORARY society in London for the purpose of applying to parliament for the further enactment of such laws as shall secure a due regard to the sacred and civil institution of the sabbath day in this country. And he sincerely hopes, that the worthy gentlemen, on whom devolves the onus of managing the affairs of this society, will be so ably supported by other benevolent individuals, and will meet with that success in their philanthropic endea- vours, as shall greatly exceed their most sanguine anticipations. John Wilks, jun. Esq. sohcitor. No. 36, New Broad-street, is the secretary ; and John Scott, Esq. banker. No. 1, Bartholomew-lane, is the treasurer, to this society. lip;^ The cordial co-operation of the religious public is most earnestly solicited. A List of Publications on the Sabbath, inserted for the benefit of those who wish to give the subject a more general examination. Amner's Dissertation on the Weekly Festival. Antient and Honourable Way of the Sabbath. Bishop of Dorchester on the Sabbath. Bamfield on the Sabbath Day. Baxter on the Divine Appointment of the Lord's Day. Brabourne's Defence of the Antient Sabbath Day. Bernard's Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian Sabbath. Bownd's Sabbath of the Old and New Testament. Brerewood's History of the Sabbath. Bromley's Way to the Sabbath of Rest. Brown's Sunday Thoughts (verse.) Byfield's Doctrine of the Sabbath Vindicated. Cawdry and Palmer's Sabbath Vindicated. ChaiFee on the Seventh Day Sabbath. Chandler's Two Discourses on the Sabbath. Chubb's Dissertation on the Time of Keeping a Sabbath. Cockin's Rural Sabbath (verse) Cooper on the Necessity of Sunday Drilling. Cornthwaite's Essays on the Seventh Day Sabbath. Dobel's Seventh-Day Sabbath, not obligatory on Christians. Doctrine of the C. of England concerning the Lord's Day. Dwight's Five Sermons on the Sabbath. Edwards's Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath. Enquiry into the Design of the Christian Sabbath. Estlin's Apology for the Sabbath. Evanson on the Sabbatical Observance of Sunday. Fenner on the Sabbath Day. Fleming's Plain Account of the Lord's Day, &c. &c. H H 362 BOOKS ON THE SABBATH. Gibbin's Religious Observance of the Sabbath. Gilfillin's Essay on the Sanctification of the Lord's Day. Gisborne's Observations on Sunday Drilling. Gouge's Treatise on the Sabbath. Glen's Treatise on the Sabbath. Grahame's Sabbath (verse) Grascome's Scripture History of the Sabbath. Greenwood on the Sabbath Day. Gregory's Morality of the Sabbath. Hakew^ell on the Institution of the Lord's Day. Hallett's Discourse on the Lord's Day. Heylin's History of the Sabbath. Home's Reflections on the Sabbath. Howell's Practical Discourse on the Lord's Day. Hughes' Aphorisms concerning the Lord's Day. Hughes', J. Essay on the Christian Sabbath. Humphries' Lord's Day Entertainment. I. S.'s Patriarchal Sabbath. Jephson's Christian Sabbath Explained. Ironside's Seven Questions of the Sabbath. Ive's Saturday no Sabbath. Jones's Lord's Day Proved the Seventh. Keache's Jewish Sabbath Abrogated. Kennicott's Sermon and Dialogue on the Sabbath. Ley's Lord's Day proved to be the Sabbath. Morer's Six Dialogues on the Lord's Day. Observations upon Sunday Newspapers. Orton's Six Discourses on the Sabbath. Owen's Exercitations on the Lord's Day. Paley on Sabbatical Institutions. Palmer's Apology for the Lord's Day. Pinchback's Sabbath Improved. Pocklington's Sunday no Sabbath. Primrose on the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. Purkis's Essay on the Lord's Day. Pynchon's First Ordination of the Sabbath. Remarks on Wright's Treatise on the Lord's Day. BOOKS ON THE SABBATH. 363 Ilidgely on the Fourth Commandment. Sanderson's Case of the Sabbath. Scott's Sermon on the Lord's Day. Shabbath and Eruvin, by Dr. Wotton. Shepard's Doctrine of the Sabbath. Simpson's Essays on Christianity and the Sabbath . Soarsby's New Testament Sabbath. Sprint on the Sabbath. StefF's Letters on the Christian Sabbath, Stennett on the Seventh-Day Sabbath. Stephenson's Nature and Importance of the Sabbath. Symon's Enquiry into the Design of the Sabbath. T. C. on the Lord's Day. Tillam on the Sabbath Day. Treatise on Sanctifying the Lord's Day. Twiss on the Morality of the Fourth Commandment. Walker's Vindication of the Sabbath. Wallis on the Christian Sabbath. Warren's Jewish Sabbath Antiquated. Watts on Holy Times and the Sabbath. Wells's Practical Sabbatarian. West's Historical and Practical Discourse on the Sabbath. White's Treatise on the Sabbath. Widley's Treatise on the Lord's Day. Willison on Sanctifying the Lord's day. Wright's Religious Observance of the Lord's Day. Young's Treatise concerning the Lord's Day. I N D E X, PAGE Active people, how they violate the Lord's day 209 Acts of Parliament for better observing the sabbath. . 124 Adult schools, recommended 301 Aged people, how they break the Lord's day 215 Alexander the great, anecdote of 347 America, society recently formed in 355 Americans, antient, divided their time into seven days 2l Anecdote of a poor knitter 302 Antient sabbath commenced and ended at midnight. . 64 Apostles and primitive believers 47, 93 Arabians, how they divided their time 21 Aries, a comicil held at 324 Assyrians divided their time into seven days 21 Athenians begun their day in the evening 65 Attending too much to dress, a breach of the sabbath 156 Aulcester, an accident occurred at 265 Austrians begun their day in the evening 65 Authority for keeping a sabbath 76 founded on the majesty and conduct of God ib. . the constitution of man 78 — the nature of moral precepts. , 81 the fourth commandment .... 83 the example of good men .... 90 the designs of its appointment 97 ■ objections answered 105 Babylonians, how they divided time 65 Bad company, evil of, on the Lord's day 167 Bailey's account of the death of a flax-dresser 272 INDJEX. 365 Bakers, country, laws affecting 225 Baptism, when improper on the Lord's day 186 Barber, extraordinary case of a 338 Baxter's advice how to spend the Lord's day 126 Bohemians, how they sanctified the sabbath 65, 326 Books on the sabbath, catalogue of 361 Bristol, society formed at 133 Britons, antient, di%dded their time into seven days , . 21 Builders break the Lord's day 191 Burden of time removed by the sabbath 101 Burials, when improper on the Lord's day 187 Burton upon Trent, judgment there 272 Cain and Abel offered sacrifices on the seventh day. . 25 Careless professors, how they break the sabbath 160, 166 Change of the sabbath, reasons for the 44 proved from scripture testimony ib. by the evidence of history 48 by several arguments . . 52 against various objections 57 Children and servants, respecting 132, 181, 187 to be shewn a good example 295 to join in religious services ib. to be instructed in the principles, &c 296 to be examined respecting, &c ib. to be kept quiet in a place of worship 297 Chili, time how divided there 21 Chinese, call the seventh, the great day, &c 21, 65 Christ changed the day of rehgious worship 45, 59 Christians not to countenance sabbath-breakers 304, 307 Clarke's Mr. account of a sabbath-breaker 272 Clark's, Margaret, dying confession 277 Clergy, antient and modern 48, 206, 313, 323 Commandments, ten, observed before written, on Sinai 26 Communion with God neglected 172 Confessions of dying men 276 Correspondence of worship not necessary. 113 H H 3 366 INDEX. Corroborative evidence of a patriarchal sabbath 33 Critical hearers exposed 164 Crying sales in the church-yards, &c 207 Cultivation of the mind neglected 180 Designs of the sabbath 97 for the glory of God ib. bodily rest 98 domestic happiness 99 national advantage 100 • public worship 102 the conversion of sinners ib. instructing the ignorant 103 comforting the atllicted ib. attesting our christian character ib. to elevate the human mind 100 to remove the burden of time 101 to wean us from the world 104 as an emblem of heaven. ib. Directory of Parliament 122 Disasters, numerous, on the Lord's day 267 Dress-makers, how they break the sabbath 192 Drilling our military on the Lord's day 148, 240 Driving cattle on the sabbath 142, 235 Early intimations of a seventh-day sabbath 25 Eastern and northern nation, how they divided time 21, 65 Edgar's law respecting the Lord's day 154 Edict of the emperor Leo 51 Edinburgh much injured for sabbath-breaking 274 Egyptians, how they divided their time 21, 65 Employers, how to promote the observance of the sab. 305 Eternal misery, the result of sabbath-breaking 280 Evangelical manner, sabbath not observed in an ... . 173 Evening of the sabbath, how mispent 189 Evil consequences of sabbath-breaking 255 Example of good men, a motive for keeping sab. 90, 321 INDEX. 367 Fairs held on the Lord's day 144 Families injured by sabbath-breaking 261 Farmers, how they break the Lord's day 193 Fifth commandment partly ceremonial 85 Fishing, a profanation of the sabbath 198 and fowling on the Lord's day 21 1 Forefathers, our, how they sanctified it 327 Forenoon service neglected 157 Fourth commandment, the nature of the 83, 342 perpetual force of the 83 France, the sabbath greatly profaned in 257 Gathering fruit on the Lord's day 135 Gauls and Germans divided their time into 7 days 21, 65 Glory of God promoted by observing the sabbath 97, 347 Going with unconcern to a place of worship 158 Gratefully, the sabbath to be observed 292 Great and learned benefited by observing the sabbath 337 Greeks observed a seventh day, &c 43, 65 Grimshaw, Rev. Mr. anecdote respecting 324 Hair-dressers, how they break the Lord's day 194 Handbill circulated in Garstang 353 Harrington, lord, how he observed the sabbath 321 Heads of families, respecting 177, 248, 295 appeals to their hearts 263, 279 Heathens, their conduct 42, 329 Heaven, the sabbath an emblem of 104 Hebrews sanctified the seventh day 42, 90 Hell, a scriptural account of 280 Holland's, Thomas, his dying confession 277 Holy Ghost poured out on the first day of the week 46, 78 Human mind elevated by the sabbath 100 Idle people, how they break the Lord's day 209 Indians divided their time into seven days 21, 65 Individuals, their conduct, &c 247, 286, 321, 337 368 INDEX. Indostan, time how divided there 21 Institutions, good, promote observance of the sabbath 302 Introduction of the gospel, compared with creation . . 44 Israehtes, their conduct, &c 21, 36, 90, 271 Itahans, antient and modern, when began their days . 65 Japan, time divided into seven days in 21 Jerusalem destroyed for sabbath-breaking 273 Joyfully the sabbath to be observed 293 Judges travelling on a Sunday 206 Judgments on sabbath-breakers 271 Keeping the sabbath, a delightful duty 349 King of France, anecdote respecting the 257 King George the Third, how he esteemed the sabbath 322 — Fourth, extract from his proclamation 357 Labourers, common, break the Lord's day 192 Lady and coach-driver, anecdote of a 169 Laws to regulate our civil conduct Ill openly \dolated by sabbath-breakers 330 La%\7^ers, how they break the Lord's day 302 Leaving the house of God indecorously 162 Lectures on the Lord's day evening recommended . .314 Letter on the sanctity of the sabbath 358 Lightning destroys two sabbath-breakers 273 Liquor sold on the sabbath day 136, 232 London nearly consumed for sabbath-breaking .... 274 Lord's day to be observed spiritually 120 best time to prepare for heaven 343 to begin and end as other days 71 Loyalty, the spirit of, a motive for keeping the sabbath 329 Lying in bed too long in the morning 155 Mackerel, ought not to be sold on the sabbath .... 125 Magistrates, how they break the sabbath 204 Mahometans, when begun their day 65 INDEX. 369 Majesty of God, a motive for keeping his sabbaths . . 76 Man stoned to death for gathering sticks, &c 271 Manufacturers break the Lord's day 196 Marcomans, when begun their day 65 Marriage, why improper on the Lord's day 186 Means for better observing the Lord's day 286 Mechanics, how they break the sabbath 191 Memory, methods for aiding it . . . ^ 166, 291 Men of business, their conduct, &c 191, 250 Merchants, how they break the Lord's day 199 Millers break the Lord's day 191 Milliners, their conduct exposed 192 Moor's, John, dying confession 278 Moral precepts, their complex nature 81 Morning of the sabbath, how wasted 155, 179 Motives for better observing the Lord's day 320 Name of christians, a motive for observing the sabbath 346 Nation benefited by observing the Lord's day . , 220, 332 • injured by sabbath-breaking 256 National breaches of the sabbath 132 Neglecting the house of God 157, 170, 181 Newspapers, printed and sold on the sabbath . 145, 232 Non-advantage of sabbath-breaking 220 Nurembergians, when begun their days 65 Objections, several, answered 347 Officers, revenue, employed on the sabbath ... 149, 235 Ordinary work, not to be done on the Lord's day 116, 124 Otaheitans, how they observe the sabbath 328 Paris Gardens, dreadful accident in 268 Patriarchal sabbath, proofs of a 25 a reasonable institution 35 generally admitted 36 objections to it answered 38 Patriarchs, did not keep a Jewish sabbath 37 370 INDEX. Persians, how they divided their time 21, 65 Peru, time how divided there 21 Petition to parliament recommended 307 Phoenicians consecrated every seventh day 43 Physicians, how they break the sabbath 201 Places and services of religion 317 Pleasure takers 134, 187, 209, 252 Poor people, their conduct, &c 212, 337 Porteus, bishop, anecdote of. 325 Prayer to God recommended 288, 309 Prejudiced hearers exposed 163 Preparation for the sabbath neglected 154, 177 Preserving property on the sabbath 236 Profanation of the Lord's day . . • 132 Professors of religion, their conduct, &c 154, 247 Promises to those who keep the sabbath 332 Public worship not to be neglected 115 Queen Mary, her conduct on the sabbath 321 Reading books in the house of God 161 Reasonableness of a sab, a motive for keeping it, 78, 343 Reformation enforced 288 Religious duties of the Lord's day .87, 334 Repentance and resolution enforced 286, 287 Resolutions of a meeting of Windsor 352 Restricted circles benefited by observing the sabbath 335 Rich people, how they profane the sabbath 211 Ringing the bells, improper for the Lord's day .... 207 Risley, a dreadful accident at 268 Romans divided their time into seven days 21 Rude behaviour in a place of worship 161 Rulers and rich people, their conduct, kc. . . . 211, 310 Sabbath-breakers violate the laws of the country ... 330 contemptible beings 331 to be discountenanced .... 304, 306 INDEX. 371 Sabbath cannot be sanctified by the profligate .... 115 instituted at the creation 04 its observance, the palladium of Christianity . 348 not to be observed superstitiously 113 to be kept as in the sight of God 294 not first instituted in the wilderness ... 33, 35 observed from Adam to Moses 24 supposed retrograde movement of il>. God's time, and not our own 344 Sailors too long neglected 151 Sales improper on the Lord's day 124 Sanctification, its different meanings 32 Sanctity of the Lord's day Ill Savage, Thomas, his dying confession 277 Scandinavians divided their time into seven days. . . 21 Schools, Sunday, promote the observance of the sab. . 299 Scotch clergy, their law respecting the sabbath . ... 154 Scotland, the sabbath how observed there 335 Scriptures afford us rules for our religious conduct . . Ill Sea-port towns, sabbath violated in I49 Sermon-hunters, their conduct exposed 108 Servants, respecting I77, 132, 295 Seven, the number, considered sacred 22 Shoemakers, their conduct 190 Sickness often the consequence of sabbath-breaking . 264 Societies for the suppression of vice recommended . , 308 Society recently formed in London 360 Solemnly, the sabbath to be observed 290 Spiritual advantage, a design of the sabbath 102 Spiritually, sabbath to be observed 120 Suffield, lord, a resolution of his 306 Sunday savings banks reprehended 214 Syrians, when begim their days 65 Tailors, their conduct on the sabbath 19^ Tartary, time how divided there 21 Taylor's hypothesis on the division of time 22 372 INDEX. Temporal welfare promoted by keeping the sab . 98, 332 Thames, accident on the 268 Tidworth, a sabbath-breaker had his leg broken at, &c. 265 Time divided into weeks of seven days each 20 Tiverton twice destroyed for sabbath-breaking .... 274 Travelling on the Lord's day .... 125, 138, 195, 238 Trent, river, fourteen young men drowned in .... 268 Umbri, antient, when begun their days 65 United efforts of christians necessary, &c 306 Unusually fine and ill-timed meals 183 \'anity of life, a motive for keeping the sabbath . . . 345 Vendmg goods on the sabbath 124, 132, 229 Vessels sailing on the Lord's day 141 Vestries for business on the Lord's day 152, 235 Visiting on the Lord's day 184, 298 Weavers violate the Lord's day 192 Wholly, the sabbath to be observed 289 Wilfully forgetting the word of God 166 Wiltshire, Sunday festivals in 214 Windmills working on the sabbath 191 Wisely, the sabbath to be observed 291 Worldly pleasures improper for the sabbath . . 117, 124 Young people, how they break the sabbath . . . 216, 279 FINIS. R. Clay, Printer, Devonshire-street, Bisliopsgate. ^^ Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries 1 1012 01250 2102 ^.:> / •: Ifp.i'W^'^-i-' '^n-: f^s?-?t'"^^|t^ ■■^A^^AMsh Mtiiftvti&tinmt hunibi L"U Ivlil Hi snj'i' :/'(< iucv :n<(. (■{>'!. 'he f/oor M