of divine service never occupies the whole day. What remains, therefore, of Sunday, beside the part of it employed at church, muft be confidered as a mere reft from the ordinary occupations of civil life; and he who would defend the institution, as it is required by law to be observed in Christian countries, unless he can produce a command for a Chriftian Sabbath, muft point out the uses of it in that view.

First, then, that interval of relaxation which Sunday affords to the laborious part of mankind contributes greatly to the comfort and fatisfaction of their lives, both as it refreshes them for the time, and as it rèlieves their fix days labour by the profpect of a day of reft always approaching; which could not be faid of cafual indulgences of leisure and reft, even were they more frequent than there is reason to expect they would be, if left to the discretion or humanity of interested task-masters. To this dif ference it may be added, that holidays, which come seldom and unexpected, are unprovided, when they do come, with any duty or employment; and the manner of spending them being regulated by no public decency or established ufage, they are commonly confumed in rude, if not criminal paftimes, in ftupid floth or brutish

F 3.

brutish intemperance. Whoever confiders how much fabbatical inftitutions conduce, in this refpect, to the happiness and civilization of the labouring claffes of mankind, and reflects how great a majority of the human species these claffes compofe, will acknowledge the utility, whatever he may believe of the origin, of this distinction ; and will, confequently, perceive it to be every man's duty to uphold the obfervation of Sunday when once eftablished, let the establishment have proceeded from whom or from what authority it will.

Nor is there any thing loft to the community by the intermiffion of public industry one day in the week. 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 fo much to procure, as to employ. it. The addition of the feventh day's labour to that of the other fix would have no other effect than to reduce the price. The labourer himself, who deferved and fuffered moft by the change, would gain nothing.

2. Sunday, by fufpending many public diver fions, and the ordinary rotation of employment, leaves to men of all ranks and profeffions fufficient leifure, and not more than what is fuffi

cient, both for the external offices of Christianity, and the retired, but equally neceffary, duties of religious meditation and enquiry. It is true, that many do not convert their leifure to this purpose; but it is of moment, and is all which a public constitution can effect, that to every one be allowed the opportunity.

3. They whofe humanity embraces the whole fenfitive creation, will efteem it no inconfiderable recommendation of a weekly return of public rest, that it affords a refpite to the toil of brutes. Nor can we omit to recount this amongst the ufes, which the divine Founder of the Jewish fabbath exprefsly appointed a law of the inftitu

tion.

We admit, that none of these reasons shew why Sunday fhould be preferred to any other day in the week, or one day in feven to one day in fix or eight: but these points, which in their nature are of arbitrary determination, being established to our hands, our obligation applies to the fubfifting establishment, fo long as we confefs, that fome such institution is necessary, and are neither able, nor attempt to substitute any other in its place.

{

CHAP.

CHAP. VII.

OF THE SCRIPTURE ACCOUNT OF SABBATI?

CAL INSTITUTIONS.

'HE fubject, fo far as it makes any part of

TH fubject, for far as it makes tof

Chriflian morality, is contained in two

questions:

I. Whether the command, by which the fewib fabbath was inftituted, extend to Chriftians?

II. Whether any new command was delivered by Chrift; or any other day fubftituted in the place of the Jewish fabbath by the authority or example of his Apoftles?

In treating of the firft queftion, it will be neceffary to collect the accounts, which are preferved of the inftitution in the Jewish history; for the feeing these accounts together, and in one point of view, will be the best preparation for the difcuffing or judging of any arguments on one fide or the other.

In the second chapter of Genefis, the hiftorian having concluded his account of the fix days creation, proceeds thus: "And

And on

the feventh

day God ended his work which he had made;

and

"and he refted on the feventh day from all his "work which he had made: and God blessed the “seventh day, and fanctified it, because that in "it he had refted from all his work which God "created and made." After this, we hear no more of the fabbath, or of the feventh day, as in any manner diftinguished from the other fix, until the history brings us down to the fojourning of the Jews in the wilderness, when the following remarkable paffage occurs. Upon the complaint of the people for want of food, God was pleased to provide for their relief by a miraculous fupply of manna, which was found every morning upon the ground about the camp; "and "they gathered it every morning, every man "according to his eating; and when the fun

waxed hot, it melted: and it came to pass, "that on the fixth day they gathered twice as "much bread, two omers for one man; and all "the rulers of the congregation came and told Mofes; and he faid unto them, This is that "which the Lord hath faid, To-morrow is the reft of the holy fabbath unto the Lord; bake that "which ye will bake to-day, and feethe that ye "will feethe, and that which remaineth over lay for you, to be kept until the morning; and they laid it up till the morning, as Mofes, "bade,

up

I