the week, the Lord's day, as the queen of all days." It is a remarkable saying of Auguftine, "as the virgin Mary was bleffed above all women, fo is the first day of the week bleffed above all days." VIII. The confciences of men plead for the divine authority of the Lord's day. Surely it is God, who is the fupreme Lord and Sovereign of mens confciences, that directs this his deputy in men, to excite and prefs them fo clofsly to the obfervation of this day, and alfo to challenge and fmite them fe fharply for the neglect and profanation of it And indeed there is no fin that confcience more commonly accufes wicked men of, than the breach of the Lord's day: And hence it is, that many malefactors, at their laft hour, when most ferious, do moft bitterly bewail it: acknowledging that their Sabbath-breaking was their leading fin, and the occafion of all the reft of their wicked courfes; having provoked, God to leave them, and give them up to the lufts of their own hearts, and temptations of the devil. Clark, in his 2d vol. of Examples, tells us of one Thomas Savage (a young man who was executed at Ratcliff, October 28. 1668, for murdering his fellow fervant) that whilft he was in prifon, cried out to fome that came to visit him, after this manner; "Oh wretch that I was! I ftudied how I might spend the Lord's day in the devil's work; at that time when I fhould have been ferving God, I was bufieft in ferving fatan. I was glad when the Sabbath came, for then I had leifure to purfue my lufts and pleafures. I fometimes went in to the church, but I never ftaid the time of a whole fermon. I laughed at those who spent the Sabbaths in hearing and praying, and looked on them as the verieft fools in the world. O tell young men from me, that Sabbath-breaking is a dangerous and costly fin," &c. Turner on Providence, gives an account of one Edmund Kirk, vintner, executed at Tyburn, July 11. 1684, for murdering his wife, who in his confeflion lamented his frequent profanation of the Lord's day; "Upon which holy day. (faith he) I committed the heinous fin of murdering my poor wife." Thus one fin was pu nished with another, Sabbath-breaking with murders and that with the gallows. Likewife, he tells of ano ther, executed May 25 1687, for theft; who in his confession, said, "That it was his earnett defire, that all, young men especially, fhould take care not to spend the Lord's day." And the author's remark is, that he doth not know that ever he obferved any repentance in a malefactor, who did not bitterly lament his neglect of his duty to God on that day IX. In the lat place. The difpenfations of divine providence may be brought in, as giving fuffrage to the fanctification of the Lord's day. God hath highly honoured this day, by doing many mighty works upon it: On this day he created the light, and began to make the world; on this day he gave the law from mount Sinai, as Grotius obferves. Nay, it is affirmed by an ancient council held at Conftantinople, Counc. 6. Can. 8. That Chrift was born on the Lord's day, and the ftar fhined to the wife men on it. Chrift fed the five thousand with the five loaves and two fishes on this day; that he was baptized, fofe from the dead, and fent down the Holy Ghoft on this day." And fome of the ancients have further affirmed, that whatfoever notable thing was done in the world, the Lord ordered it fo, was done to the honour of this day. Thus God hath confecrated the first day of the week, ́ or Chriftian Sabbath, by doing so many of his wonderful works upon it; to intimate to us, that it is his will we fhould fanctify this day, and obferve it weekly, for publishing and proclaiming his worthy acts, and keeping up the memory of Chrift's nativity, paffion, relurrection, &c. to the end of the world, without inftituting days of our own for thefe ends. Moreover there are various difpenfations from God, both of mercy and judgment, that conclude for the obfervation of this holy day. The gracious providences, that attend the confcientious obfervers of the Lord's day, are most remarkable. On thefe the Lord pours down the gracious influences of his Spirit, in his ordinances difpenfed this day; he eminently bleffeth them with increafe of grace, tenderness of confcience, and I 2 holinefs holinefs of life; and with all his best bleffings, both fpiritual and temporal. God hath now for thefe 1700 years paft, granted all his churches through the world, many Gignal marks of his favour and prefence in obferving the Lord's day, which they could not have expected, had they been in an error in keeping it. How often hath he poured out his Spirit upon them when attending ordinances on this day, and bleffed them. with conviction, converfion, and manifeftations of his love? Nay, the univerfal experience of Chriftians do teftify, that all the bleffings and mercies, promised to the obfervers of the Sabbath under the Old Teftament, are now transferred and accomplished to the keepers of the Chriftian Sabbath: For, the change of the day being by divine authority, the first day Sabbath doth lawfully fucceed to all the privileges, promifes, and threatenings formerly pertaining to the feventh day Sabbath. We fee what bleffings are promised to the keeping of the Sabbath of old, both spiritual and temporal; that is a remarkable word, Jer. xvii. 24. 26, If ye hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein, then they fhall come from the cities of Judah, and all other places, bringing burnt offerings, and facrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing facrifices of praife unto the house of the Lord;" i. e. When the Sabbath is duly obferved, then the church fhall flourish, religion fhall be promoted, and the name of God highly exalted. And do we not fee this promife vifibly accomplished to fuch churches and perfons as ftrictly fanctify the Lord's day? Among fuch Chriftianity doth flourish, knowledge is encreased, reformation is advanced, grace is multiplied, and a conscientious regard is had to all the other duties of religion. Again, we find temporal mercies annexed to the keeping of the Sabbath, Ifa. Iviii. 13. 14. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath," . e. If thou ceasest from prophaning it, "I will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father;" i e. Thou fhalt be bleffed with outward profperity, and many earthly enjoyments. This is again confirmed in Jer. xvii. 24. 25. If ye diligently diligently hearken unto me, faith the Lord, to hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein, then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes fitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots, and this city fhall remain for ever:" i. e. The nation and city fhall be bleffed with all fecular and civil advantages. Accordingly the people of God have found the hallowing of the Lord's day fenfibly profperous to them with refpect to their fecular affairs: When they have discharged the duties of this day with a good confcience, it hath fared the better with them all the week after. In testimony whereof, I fhall here narrate the experience of that excellent perfon, Sir Mathew Hale, lord chief justice of the king's bench in the reign of king Charles II., who was both an eminent lawyer, and a great divine. In his book, called Contemplations, moral and divine, he hath these words; "I have found (faith he) by a strict and diligent obfervation, that a due obferving the duty of the Lord's day, hath ever had joined to it a bleffing upon the reft of my time; and the week that hath been fo begun, hath been blessed and profperous to me: And, on the other fide, when I have been negligent of the duties of this day, the rest of the week hath been unfuccefsful and unhappy to my fecular employments; fo that I could easily make an eftimate of my fucceffes in my own fecular employments the week following, by the manner of my paling this day: And this I do not write lightly or inconfiderately, but upon a long and found obfervation and experience." Again, in another place, he faith, "I thank God, I ever found that, in the stricteft obfervation of the times of his worthip, I ever met with the best advantage to my worldly occafions; and that, whenever my worldly occafions encroached upon thofe times, I ever met with difappointment, though in things of the most probable fuccefs: and ever let it be fo with me. It hath been and ever shall be to me, a conviction beyond all argument and demonftration whatfoever, that God expects the observation of his times: and that, while I find myself thus dealt with, God hath not given over his care of me. It would be a fad prefage unto me, of the fevere anger of my Maker, if my inadver . tance tance fhould caft me upon a temporal undertaking upon this day, and that it should profper" Thus the learned and pious judge Hale, who fpake from his own experience, after long and critical observation of divine providence. Again, the judgments which often follow upon the violation of this day, do give teftimony to its divine authority. How fad are the fpiritual ftrokes, though little noticed, which God inflicts upon the flighters of his holy day, by giving them up to hardnefs of heart, fearednefs of confcience, and vile affections; fo that commonly they fall into fcandalous out-breakings, and notorious crimes, proceeding from evil to worfe, till they at length run themselves into fome fatal mischief! And, when men neglect to punish the profanation of this day, the Lord ufually takes the fword into his own hand, and, by vifible temporal judgments, plagues the profaners of it. If the violation of the Jewifh Sabbath was, by a divine order, punished with death, under the law, Exod. xxxi 15. furely the breach of the Christian Sabbath fhall not escape without fome fignal marks of the divine vengeance, according to the fcripture-threatenings, which are levelled against the one as well as the other, as I fhewed before. Let us not forget that terrible denunciation of judgment, which we have in Jer. xvii. 27. "But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerufalem, on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerufalem, and it fhall not be quenched." The Jews (as Auguftine obferves) fell generally into this grievous fin of profaning the Sabbath: For though they pretended to hallow it, by forbearing fervile labour upon it; yet upon that day above all days, they used to pamper the flesh with carnal delights, and run into the excefles of gluttony and drunkenness. Against these fins did our Saviour warn them; but, they perfifting, the forefaid direful threatening was at length exactly fulfilled: For upon that very day, fo abufed by them, their regal city Jerufalem, the glory and mafter piece of the whole earth, was burnt down to the ground by the Ro mans |