and them, that controverfies are removed, and peace and friendship maintained. To whom is it that God manifests most of his gracious prefence, and the ema nations of his fpecial love? Surely it is to those who have the Lord's day higheft in eleem, and who are the most strict and careful obfervers of it. Upon all which accounts, lafly, The Spirit af God makes this duty a fign and character of the blaffed man; For, La. Ivi. 2. (peaking with a fpecial eye to the New Teftament times) he faith, “Bleffed is the man that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it." O Chriftians, would you be bleffed indeed? then fanctify the Lord's day, by fincere worshipping your Creator, who this day made light firft to fine; and honouring your Redeemer, who this day rofe from the grave, and completed the work of your redemption. As the Angel faid to the woman, that came to the fepulchre, Matt. xxviii. 6. "He is not here, he is rifen, as he faid; come fee the place where the Lord lay:" So fay I to every true lover of Chrift, "He is not here, he is rifen; come, obferve the time when the Lord rofe." Obferve it to his honour and praife, and he will furely bless you, and make you glad with the light of his coun tenance. There was never any who truly obferved, this command, but will say, that rare and bleffed are the fruits which are to be reaped from this bleffed duty. Would ye then share of thefe fruits, and please God in keeping his Sabbath? Then take the following advices: (1) Remember to honour and glorify God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, upon this holy day, by aferibing to each Perfan of the bleffed Trinity, the glory of his proper work. As, 1. Afcribe to the Father the glory of his power, wisdom and goodness, in creating the world for our accommodation, and con triving our recovery when we had loft ourselves, and, for an example to us, refting on the Sabbath after he had reviewed his work with delight. 2. We ought to glorify the Son this day, by aferibing to him the honour of undertaking and carrying on the work of our redemption, by his incarnation and death, and by his rifing from the dead on the third day, now fet apart for the Lord's Lord's Sabbath. 3. We are to glorify the Holy Ghoft, by afcribing to him the honour of applying the purchafed redemption to believers, in his work of regene ration and fanctification, which he began in a glorious manner by that wonderful effufion on the church in the day of Pentecoft, being alfo the Lord's day. In this manner we ought to glorify God, giving honour to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, upon this holy day, if we would keep the Sabbath acceptably to the Lord. (2.) Let us mind the direction of the Holy Ghost in Ifa. lviii. 13 with refpect to the keeping of this day, to wit, to "call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and honour him, not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasure, nor fpeaking our own words." Which direction teacheth us, that the best way to prevent Sabbath-breaking, and to honour God on his own day, is to "call the Sabbath a delight." O that we knew what this meaneth! Queft." When may we be faid to call the Sabbath our delight ?" 2. Anf. We call it our delight, when we rejoice at the approach of the Sabbath, and make due preparation for it; and when we folace our fouls, in the joyful expectation of communion with God on his own day, faying with David, Pfal. xliii. 4. " Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy. When we give the Sabbath an early welcome, and stir up ourselves to feek God betimes upon it; like David, Pfal. lxii. 1." O God, thou art my God, early will I feek thee.". 3. When we are diffatisfied with thefe things that would hinder us from the right keeping of the Sabbath, and are grieved that we can keep Sabbaths no better. 4. When we efteem every minute of Sabbath-time to be most precious, and are careful that none of it be wafted away; but order matters fo wifely, that one duty of the Sabbath may not justle out another; that is, to be fo early in our closet-devotion, that the clofet may not hinder family-duties and fo to perform thefe, that they may not encroach upon God's public-worthip. 5. When we are concerned to have - ali all belonging to us to keep the Sabbath as well as ourfelves, and glad to fee this holy day regarded and honoured by all about us. Then it may be faid, we" call the Sabbath a delight." Now, after all I have faid, let me come in the end, in the name of that great Lord who instituted the Sabbath for his own glory, and the good of men, earnestly to exhort, befeech and obteft, all ranks and degrees of perfons, whether they be parents or children, mafters or fervants, magiftrates or people, young or old, to put all honour and refpect upon this holy day; to fanctify it as God requires, and abstain from all worldly employments and recreations upon it. Do not grudge your Maker his one day of feven, but be willing to dedicate it wholly to his worthip and fervice. O how do you think to spend a whole eternity in God's holy prefence, and in holy fpiritual exercifes, if you cannot bring yourselves to spend one day in a week in holy work? Again, see that you be impartial in his fervice; be as willing to hear what God faith to you from his word, as you would have God to hear what you say to him in prayer. Some are all for prayers as if they were only to tell God what they would have from him; but care not for fermons, or for hearing what God requires and expects from them: But, if you would have God to hear your prayers when you speak to him, you muft diligently hearken to his word when he speaks to you. It is by hearing the word upon the Lord's day, that God hath converted many thousands to himself. The Sabbath is a merciful inftitution to loft finners for their falvation, and many have been, and will for ever be thankful for it: For hereby they have been led to make proper stands in life, and to review their bypast actions, so as to order their course more wifely for the time to come; which they had never done, if they had not been led to a religious retirement on the Lord's day. Seeing this holy day is fuch a bleffing and privilege to the world, let me intreat parents, mafters, magiftrates, and all who have power, to exert it for promoting the keeping of it. You are not only to fanctify the Sabbath yourselves, but also you must do your utmost that thofe thofe under you do it likewife. This you are bound to by the Lord's exprefs charge in the fourth command, where it is faid, "Thou, thy fon, thy daughter, thy fervants, the stranger within thy gates;" importing, that you are to use your power and influence over all within your gates, to cause them obferve the Sabbath, and keep them from profaning it; left God impute their fins to you, as to Eli in the like cafe, for not ufing your power to reftrain them. It is not indeed in the power of perfons in authority, to make all thofe religious who are under their jurisdiction; but it would put them in a likely way of being fo, to keep them from fuch things as would hinder the religion of that day, and cause them attend the means of instruction; and alfo to tell them in private of the reft and happinefs of the world to come, parchafed by Chrift, which the right keeping of the Sabbath leads unto. This ought to be the great care of parents with refpect to their children in younger years. It is one of the first things that children are capable of, namely, to diftinguilh this day from others: And then they should be taught to day afide their other days diverfions, even before they are capable of godly exercises; and thus they are gradually to be inured to Sabbath keeping, as the beginning of wisdom. This method took God to introduce religion into the world: It was his first appointment and inftitution, to reft on the feventh day, and to fanctify it, Gen. ii. 3. as if he defigned this to be the foundation and beginning of all religion. Let all heads of families follow this great example. Likewife, we fee God requires masters to take care that their fervants, and all within their gates, keep the Sabbath: And, indeed, it is highly their intereft and wisdom to do fo; for, if you be careful that your fervants do their duty to God, God will take care that your fervants do their duty to you. In like manner, the civil magiftrates, who are the fathers of cities and states, fhould use their power over all within their gates or jurifdiction, to caufe them obferve God's holy day. We fee Nehemiah threatened bodily punishment on the men of Tyre for breaking of the Sabbath, Neh. xiii. 21. And 2 The feaft's prepar'd, we nothing want 3 Thy prefence would fupply each want Communion with thyfelf us grant, 4 O make us witneffes to fhew That it gives peace, and makes us cry, "My King, my Lord and God.” 5 Under thy cross with great delight, Lord, make us down to fit; For weary travellers to rest Let's find this fhade moft fit. 6 Let's here poffefs thy love, and wounds 9 Communion fweet is thro' the Lamb; By all that dwell upon the earth, HYMN XXVIII. The free GOSPEL-CALL. 1 COME, guilty fouls, and flee away Your lot falls in the gospel-day, 2 How joyful is the found you hear; Come to me with your loads of fin, VOL. IV. 3 Y I |
