Pfal. xlv. I. It prompts us to confefs fin, and mourn for it, Pfal. li. 3.

Be perfuaded then to engage your hearts to this neceffary but much neglected duty; for, though it be most ufeful and profitable, yet I know no duty more flighted and forgotten. The beft of God's people have caufe to lament this most bitterly before the Lord: Who can fay with David, Pfal. cxix. 97. "O how love I thy law, it is my meditation all the day." As for the generality of the world, they, have no fenfe of the obligation of this duty upon their spirits; they live without thinking, and that proves their ruin. O! if finners would retire from company, and spend some little time now and then in fecret thinking, it would, through the bleffing of God, work fome change in them. I remem ber a paffage I have read of a dying father, that on his death bed left it as a charge upon his only fon, who was a great prodigal, "That he should spend a quarter of an hour every day in retired thinking ;" and, to encourage him to undertake it, he gave him liberty to choose any fubject he pleased. The fon thinks this an eafy talk, and engages to do it; and accordingly fets himself to perform his promife: One day he thinks on his bypast pleasures, another day he contrives his future delights > After a while, he begins to reason with himself what was his father's defign in laying this talk upon him; at length he thinks his father was a wife and good man, and therefore intended and hoped that, among the reft of his meditations, he would fome time or other think of religion. When this had truly poffeft his thoughts, one thought and queftion comes upon the back of another, about his bypaft life and future ftate, that he could not contain himself in fo fhort a confinement as a quarter of an hour, but was that night without fleep; yea, and afterwards could have no reft, till he became ferioufly religious.

O careless finner, if you think it too much to fpend a quarter of an hour every day, I would beg it of you to spend a quarter of an hour every Lord's day in retired thinking upon fome fpiritual fubject: Who knows what it might produce? Do you say that this is a hard

talk?

tafk? Will it not be far harder to ly in hell a whole eternity thinking on your bypaft folly, when there is no remedy? O finner, will you perish for want of thinking?

Be not feared at the difficulty of it; for though at first this duty feem hard, and corrupt nature fhew averfion to it, yet press your heart to it, and afterwards you fhall find it pleasant: Though it be difficult to climb this mount of meditation, yet, when once we get up, we will be ready to fay with Peter, on the mount of transfiguration, "It is good for us to be here." David found it fo, 66 My meditation of him fhall be sweet," Pfal. civ. 34. The more we meditate on God, the fweeter we will find him: Yea, fo fweet did he find this duty, that he spent whole days in it, Pfal: cxix. 97. and, as if the day had been too little, he borrows a part of the night too, Pfal. Ixiii. 6.

Object." Alas! (fome fay,) our minds are barren of good thoughts."

Anf, 1. If you would accuftom yourselves more to the duty, you would have lefs ground of complaint this way. 2. When your hearts are barren, there are two fubjects you can never exhauft: Fix your thoughts upon any one of them, viz. God's mercies to you, and your fins against him. The Pfalmift acknowledg ges them both to be innumerable, in the fame pfalm, Pfal. xl. 5. 12.

Queft. What fubjects of meditation are most proper for the Sabbath-day?

Anf Natural things may be fpiritualized, and com» mon things may afford us ground for fpiritual instructions, if we had our eyes enlightened, and minds fpiritually exercifed. But it is fit that on the Sabbath, we choose thofe fubjects of meditation that are most edifying, and most suitable to the great ends of the day. In general, we ought this day to think upon God, upon ourfelves, and upon eternity. But, more particularly,

1. Meditate upon the goodnefs of God: Both that which is common, and manifested to you in his works of creation and providence, and that which is fpecial and diftinguishing, difcovered to you above others.

That

this is a fuitable fubject for the Sabbath, is clear to any that reads the xcii. pfalm with its title.

Think upon his common goodness to us, reprefented in that great looking glafs of the creation. He hath made the world a commodious habitation for us, arched it over with the befpangled heavens, and floored it with the folid earth. He hath fet up great lights in it for our accommodation: He hath placed a tabernacle for the fun, at a due distance from the earth and the upper heavens, to enlighten the ftars above and enliven the earth below. And, that we might neither be ftarved with cold, nor burnt up with heat, he gives us the clouds as fans to fcreen us from the fcorching heat, and as cifterns to water the parched ground: He gives us the wind to purify the air, the fea to be a pond for fifh, the valleys to be granaries for corn, the mountains to be a treasure of minerals, the rivers to be as veins to carry refreshment to every part of the earth. Let us admire both the goodness and wisdom of God displayed in his wonderful works, Pfal. civ. 24. "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom haft thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches." The Pfal mift alfo faith, "The heavens declare the glory of God," Pfal. xix. 1. and indeed we may look up and read it in these fhining capital letters of fun, moon, and ftars. His being is legible in their existence; his wif dom in their frame; his power in their motion; his goodness in their usefulness, and his faithfulness in their continuance. The book of nature, as well as the fcriptures, fhews much of God to us. "This book (as one faith) confifts of three leaves, heaven, earth, and fea; the creatures therein are fo many letters whereby we may spell out the attributes of God: Some whereof are capital letters, and more legible than others. Man is a capital letter on earth, the fun in the heavens, and the whale in the fea."

Again, we ought to meditate upon his goodness manifefted in his works of providence. He hath curiously formed us in the womb, and carefully watched over us therein. He preserved us feveral months in that dark cell, without air or breath. He brought us fafe out of

it,

it, and prefently thereafter provided two bottles to fuftain us, and ever fince hath fuccoured us in diftrefs, refcued us from danger, fupplied us in wants; yea, he hath fet us at his own table, and made us live upon his cost, Acts xvii. 28. He hath given us all the creatures for our use and service. yea, the most glorious of them; the angels are our miniftering fpirits, the lower heavens ferve to give us breath, the middle heavens to give us light and heat, and the highest heavens afford us a dwelling place. The fun thines, the fire burns, the wind blows, and the water flows; nay, all the creatures are at work, both day and night, and all for the fervice of a poor worm of fix foot long.

If a friend give us our bread for a month or two, we think ourselves much bound to him; but how much more beholden are we to God, who keeps an open free table for us all the days of the year, and all the years of our life, and even to us when enemies to him? Behold, these who have their mouths opened wide against God, he mercifully puts bread in their mouths. How great is God's goodnefs to us! and, how great is our ingratitude to him! I know not which of them we fhould moft wonder at. God gives us peace, money, health and wealth; but, instead of ferving him therewith, many offer them up in a facrifice to the devil and bafe lufts, according to Hof. ii. 8. God gives fome folk ftrength, and they wafte it among hariots; to others money, and they wafte it in drunkenness and prodigality; to others power, and they wafte it in oppreffion; to others honour, and they abufe it to pride and vainglory. Many make ufe of the mercies of God as darts to fhoot against the heavens; they pervert and mifapply them for difhonouring God, wounding Chrift, and grieving the Spirit; for debauching their bodies, damning their fouls, and dathing both tables of the law in pieces before God's face. And yet, even while they are doing fo, God is guarding them by his providence, and feeding them by his bounty. " "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works," to fuch undeferving and ill deferving creatures! We ought this day to "triumph in the works of his hands,"

hands,” according to Pfal. xcii. 5. and cry, «Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him TEACH

2. Meditate this day upon God's fpecial and diftinguithing goodnefs to us beyond others, both with refpect to foul and body: He hath not dealt fo with any nation as with us. Both our national and perfonal mercies are fingular, and ought this day to be remembered by us. Hath not God delivered many of you from death, when fome angerous accident, or violent ficknefs, was threatning reatning to break the flender twig of life, and to let you fan into the at once? and into hell both grave, Hath he not mercifully recovered you, and given you further fpace and place for repentanc

Hath not God long preferved this land from the famine, fword and peftilence, and fuch deftroying judg ments as have been making havock in other nations about us, laying heaps upon heaps? He hath mercifully removed that dearth and fcarcity wherewith we were almoft confumed fome years ago, when the poor fwooned in the ftreets, and fainted in the high-ways for want of bread. God hath fecured our lives, liberties and eflates from rapine and violence, and lengthened out our peace and tranquility, when other nations have been turned into a feat of war and fea of blood.

Confider the goodnefs of God to us this day, that we are not among the Jews or pagans on the earth, that never heard the news of Chrift; or among the damned in hell, who are beyond the reach of the offers of Chrift. Let us alfo blefs God, that we live not under the Old Teftament times, but under the New; not under that darker and harfher difpenfation of the covenant by Mofes, whofe firft miracle was the "turning of water into blood;" but u under the clearer and tweeter difpenfation of the Meffiah, whofe first miracle was the

turning of water into wine," that chears the heart of man; and hath mercifully freed us from the heavy yoke of Levitical facrifices and ceremonies.

Let us alfo this day thankfully remember God's goodnefs in delivering us from the yoke of Antichriftian tyranny, popery, idolatry, and perfecution, and frequently blafting the hellish plots and contrivances of

Our