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gars thronging at the beautiful gate of his temple, waiting for an alms from his hand. And their joint prayers are most prevalent with him, far more than private prayers for a petition prefented by a fingle subject, is not fo prevalent as that which is made by a whole city.” Peter is caft in prifon to be executed, Acts xii. but thes church meets and prays him out of his enemies hands. The united prayers of the church are most powerful to procure God's bleffing and prefence; therefore, reader, fee that you make confcience in joining therewith, and s be not absent from them. It is a moft graceless prac tice in fome, they either come not into the church tills the public prayers be over, or they go out after fermon before public prayers be made. I am fure, fuch can: expect nothing by the fermon but a curfe, fince they a join not with the prayers for a bleffing upon it to thems felves or others.

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III. Duty is the finging of pfalms, and praising God with the congregation. Praifing God by finging, is often enjoined in fcripture; yea, no lefs than four timesw in one verfe, Pfal. xlvii. 6. It is comely for the peo ple of God; they are called finging birds, Cant. ii.10.99 they are fuch as thould fing all the months of the year; yea, even in the dead month of affliction: So did Paul and Silas in a prison at midnight, when their backs were fore with fcourges, and their feet faft in the ?: ftocks, Acts xvi. 25. But in a fpecial manner, finging praises to God is our duty in public affemblies, Pfal. -cxlix. 1. Luke xxiv. 53. And in thefe," both princess and people, young men and maidens, old men and to children," are bound to act a part in this heavenly con cert, Pfal. cxlviii. 11.12.03. And, above all days, the Sabbath is most proper for this duty, Pfal. xcii. title, Pfal. cxviii. 24. It is a day of thanksgiving and holy joy We have God's praifes to celebrate for the wonders of creation and redemption, we have the glorious victories of the Captain of our falvation to extole and magnify; and, therefore the duty of finging praifero this day is highly neceflary. By this duty we not only: glorify God, but we edify one another, Col. iii. 16.30 The melody and conjunction of many ferious fouls,

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tend to raise and elevate the heart. Yea, it was one mean of Auguftine's converfion; he fays, " He wept when he heard the pfalms fung by the church." op

Singing is a reading with meditation, and gives free vent to the thoughts and affections, and helps to excite and actuate the graces; it is the breath or flame of love? or joy; it is the eternal work of heaven, the mufic of faints and angels there, Rev. v. 9. 10. 11. xv. 3¡a. And what are church-affemblies here, but the place of our apprenticeship and preparation for heaven I know nothing in the world that more resembles heaven, thang a company of God's people harmoniously finging his praifes" with grace in their hearts, making melody to the Lord;" for then the foul rejoiceth in divine goodness, meditates on divine promifes, extols divine: excellencies, and mounts up to God in acts of faith and love. Let us then make conscience of this hea→ venly duty in the public affemblies, and perform it with. heart and tongue; for were it not a rare exercife, God would not honour it to be the only work of heaven, to the exclufion of prayer, repentance, reading, hearing, communicating, &c.

IV. Partaking of the facraments is another public. duty of the Sabbath.

The first day of the week, our Chriftian Sabbath, is the proper day for celebrating the memorial of redeeming love in the Lord's fupper, Acts xx. 7. This was the ordinary practice of the primitive Chriftians in ancient times: and, because of their conftant breaking of bread on this first day of the week, it wont to be called dies panis, Auguft. Epift. 118. So fired were the hearts of Chriftians in thofe early times with love to and zeal for their glorious Redeemer, who had for lately poured out his blood. for their redemption, that when they affembled together upon the first day of the week, the day he had inftituted for his honour, they could not think of parting, until, by the breaking of bread according to his example, they had celebrated the memorial of his dying love, his atoning blood, his victorious refurrection and triumphant return; which alfo they defigned as a pledge of their mutual love to

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and communion with one another. And though these first Christians were animated with more life and love, and were habitually in a better frame for partaking of this love feast, than alas, we now are; yet we must own, that we are under the fame obligations of love and gratitude to our dying Redeemer, and have the fame need of the frequent application of his blood, and of a confirmed intereft in his death, that they had; and confequently ought to dedicate many more Lord's days to the celebration of this memorial feaft of his fupper, than now we do: Efpecially seeing the partaking of this ordinance is the proper work of the Lord's day, and one fpecial defign of the inftitution of this holy day.

2. Baptifm is most proper on this day: The day is holy, and the facrament is holy. Children fhould be brought to the congregation, and baptized in face thereof; for, fince baptifm is the door to Chrift's house, it is fit to be entered when the family is convened, or the church affembled, that fo the receiving of new members thereinto may be homologate by them; that the parents engagements may have the more witneffes to them, and the children have more prayers put up for them; and alfo, that the whole congregation may be edified by this folemn ordinance, and excited to re member and improve their own baptisms. Of which afterward.

As to the feafting part of this folemnity, I do noť think it proper on the Lord's day: This may well be delayed till the day after.

V. Making public collections for the poor, is a proper duty on this day, 1 Cor. xvi. 1. 2. This day being instituted to keep up the memorial of Chrift's infinite charity to mankind, and for our meeting to receive new bleflings and mercies from him, we are, in gratitude, bound on this occafion to be liberal to his poor: This doth not wrong, but promote our Sabbath day's frame. Let no Chriftian then neglect his duty, which is fo plainly commanded by Chrift, and has been practifed by the Chriftian church for near these two thoufand years.

Think it not enough that you give fomething privately to the poor this day, and that this may excufe you from any public contribution: For this would be a flighting of an exprefs command, and making one duty to juftle out another; and befides, would tend to fruftrate Chrift's institution of deacons and church-rul ers, who are appointed to receive and distribute the collections for the poor, according to their various neceffities. When the apostle injoins the Corinthians to "lay by them in ftore on the first day of the week that there might be no gatherings when he came ;" it is plain, he chiefly means their depofiting their charitable contributions with the church-rulers For, if it were not fo; there would still be need of gatherings when he came.

I grant indeed, it were very proper for every man, befides the public charity he gives on the Lord's day, likewife to fet apart fomething this day, and lay it by him in ftore, according to his gains and incomes through the week, as a stock or fund, out of which he might give to pious and charitable uses, as occafion fhould require; and fo, the ftock being prepared before-hand, you will give the more bountifully and more willingly to fuch ufes, than otherwife you will find in your hearts to do. If not only rich men, but even tradefmen, labourers and fervants, would thus lay up every Lord's day fome very fmall thing by them, they might, withbut any fenfible damage to themfelves, have fomewhat to give to proper and needy objects: And 1 am perfuaded this would not be the way to impair, but to in crease your means.

Queft. II. What are the private duties required of us upon the Lord's day?

Anf. It is not enough that we spend some part of the Lord's day in public worship; but fince (as I proved before) the whole day is confecrated to God, the rest of it is alfo to be kept holy, and taken up in holy duties, in private and fecret.

Domestic and private duties are neceffary on this day, both for preparing us for the public ordinances, and for improving and reaping advantage by them.

VOL. IV.

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Thefe duties are, family-worship, by reading the word, finging the praises, and calling upon the name of God, family-catechifing, repetition of fermons, chriftian conference, &c.

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1. Family-worship is a duty incumbent on masters of families every day, but more especially upon the Lord's day. It is to be regreted, that there fhould be any need to adduce arguments to prove this: But fince there are fome who call themselves minifters, who either deny it, or elfe have not fo much confcience or courage directly to affert it in their preachings or writings; (they neither prefs the performance of this duty, nor reprove the neglect of it in others; and, as it is generally faid, they do not practise it themfelves; whereby many are encouraged to flight family-worship, and think it no neceffary duty, to the great hinderance of the advancement of piety), I fhall therefore prove it to be the duty of all mafters of families, efpecially on the Lord's day; and that, in the firft place, from the fourth commandment.

The fourth commandment is principally directed to mafters of families, because families, as fuch, are chiefly to be concerned in the keeping of it, both negatively, and pofitively. For as the command injoins every mafter of a family, with "all that are within his gates, his fon, his daughter, his man fervant," &c. to forbear all manner of work on the Sabbath; fo it likewife injoins them to "remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." Now, to keep the "Sabbath holy to the Lord," without all doubt, implies the worshipping of God: This can not be understood only of worshipping of God in the public affemblies, for thefe cannot be always had; yet ftill the command for fanctifying the Sabbath is binding on families. Again, the public worship takes up only a part of the Sabbath; but families are bound to fanctify the day throughout. This cannot be duly done by the members of the family worshipping God apart in fecret; for families, as fuch, are bound to do it. The command binds a master to do it jointly with his family, as well as it binds a minister to do it jointly with his congregation. Moreover, if the command did only bind a mafter of a family to worship God in public, and in

fecret,

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