and there is ground to expect God's fending better weather, according to the gracious promife, which we ought not to diftruft, Gen. ix. 22 "While the the earth remaineth, feed time and harvest shall not ceafe". But if any diftruft God's word, and incroach upon his holy day with their labour, let them confider that God can easily blast the works of their hands, and caft their businefs farther behind than their neighbours, who believe and wait upon the Lord. I have a certain account of a rich farmer in this nation, not many years ago, who in harvest time (the weather having been very bad for fome time before, and proving fair and dry on Satur day and the Lord's day) would needs caufe his fervants. yoke his horfes, and fall to the leading of his corns. upon the Sabbath evening: But it pleafed the Lord that he foon got other work to do; for that very night his house and goods took fire, and fo their labour was quickly ftopt, all hands being called to be employed in quenching of the fire. Many other inftances might be given: But I proceed.

II. We must reft not only from all worldly employ"ments on the Sabbath, but also from all worldly recrea tions, according to the word of God, and our confef fion of faith and catechifms. But this point being much impugned and difputed by many, I fhall handle it as distinctly and fatisfyingly as I can.

Recreations are twofold, fome are natural and neceffary, fuch as the refreshing our bodies with meat, drink and fleep. These are recreations we cannot live or do business without upon any day, and therefore are both lawful and neceffary upon the Sabbath; especially fince we are thereby better difpofed for performing the duties of the day. But,

2. There are recreations which are voluntary and not neceffary, freely chofen by people for their bodily pleasure and diverfion; fuch as fports, paltimes, or games, whether more public or more private, such as playing at cards, dice, chefs, tables, &c. or any fort of carnal mufic, fuch as whiftling, tinging, or playing on an inftrument, or putting off the time with worldly converse, jefting, laughing, telling idle ftories, walk

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ing and talking idly in the streets, or feeking our pleafure in the fields, though it be after public worship is over. Now, all fuch recreations being our own works, and for our own pleasure, and not fubfervient to the duties of God's worship, but hinderances thereto, are unlawful on the Sabbath day, as being expressly contrary to that reft required in the fourth command, and to that plain word in Ifa. lviii. 13. 14. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy plea fure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own plea. fures, nor fpeaking thine own words :-Then fhalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob," &c. Now, can there be any thing more directly levelled against carnal recreations, idle talking, walking, &c. on the Sabbath day than this is? "We must turn away our foot from doing our own pleasure on it," i. e. by travelling or walking for pleasure or recreation; nay we muft neither do our own ways, fpeak our own words, nor find our own pleafures on this day. But if people will, notwithstanding hereof, allow themselves in idle diverfions and loose recreations upon the Sabbath, I fee not how they will free themfelves of open rebellion against God: For God commands us to remember the Sabbath day, not to delight ourselves by carnal recreations, but to keep it holy by divine exercises; and to spend it otherwise, is plainly to trample upon God's authority, and declare war against him.

Object." But those who are for Sabbath days recrea tions, will tell me, that they condemn all fuch recrea tions in time of public worship, as well as we do: For the fourth command obliges us duly to attend public worship on the Sabbath, and forbear all worldly employments or recreations in time thereof; but, when that is once over, we may lawfully divert and recreate ourselves with fuch recreations as are modeft and decent, and not unlawful for Chriftians on other days."

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Anf. This fupposes that the Sabbath lafts no longer than the public worship of the day, the contrary whereof I made evident before, and shall evince more fully afterwards. I fhewed that we are obliged to keep holy the whole Sabbath day, not only the time of public worship, or from fun-rifing to fun-fetting, but the whole natural day, confifting of twenty-four hours: This being the feventh part of our time, and of the week, it is the Lord's, and confecrated for his use and service; and confequently no part of it is to be alienated from him, or applied for our pleafures or recreations.

I fhall further confirm this truth by fome more arguments.

I. If it was unlawful for God's people under the Old Teftament, to spend any part of the Sabbath in carnal pleafures and recreations, it is unlawful for us also under the New; but the former is true: And therefore the latter. That fuch recreations were prohibited to the Jews, I believe none will deny, that is either acquaint with their ancient rules and conftitutions, or that reads and believes the fcriptures, particularly the fourth command, and Ifa. Iviii. 13. forecited. All that remains for me to prove is, that we are bound to abftain from thofe recreations upon the Sabbath, as well as the Jews; which I do thus: Whatever the Jews were obliged to upon moral reafons and grounds, that we are bound to as much as they; but the Jews were bound to abstain from carnal recreations on the Sabbath, upon moral grounds, which concern us as well as them. I fhewed before, that the reasons of the fourth command are moral, and reach Chriftians as well as Jews: I mentioned five of them, and truly every one of them levels as much against worldly recreations on the Sabbath day, as againft worldly employments: I fhall not resume them all here, but only infilt a little on two of them.

1. God's liberality in allowing us fix days for our own ufe: This reafon binds us as much as the Jews, to confecrate one day to the Lord for his fervice. God hath given as gracious difcoveries of his bounty to us, as to them; and fhall we be fo ungenerous or ungrate

ful,

ful, as to incroach upon God's time, or rob him of any part of it, more than they? The very light of nature, and principles of found reafon, befides the command of God, plead ftrongly for this: That, fince the Lord hath liberally given us fix days for our ufe, we fhould, without grudge, give him one day for his fervice; and, fince he gives us fix whole days, it continues morally. juft and rational, that we fhould give him his one day whole too, and that we should spend as much of his day in holy duties as is ordinarily allowed on other days for fervile labour, and that is the whole day, except wl at is allowed for neceffary bodily refreshments, viz. eating and fleeping.

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The 2d Ground I fhall infift on is, the Lord's propriety in the Sabbath, or in one day of feven. This reason binds us as much as it did the Jews; the Lord's right to a day in fever, is the fame that ever it was, other. wife the morality of the fourth command is not the fame, but I have already demonftrated the contrary. The Chriftian Sabbath is called the Lord's day, as well as the Jewish Sabbath was called "the holy of the Lord,” Ifa viii. 13. to fhew that his propriety, and title is the fame. And it is obfervable, that the Lord in that one verfe, calls it twice his holy day; and it is from this that the Lord takes the principal argument, which he there ufes against carnal recreations on the Sabbath "Ye fhall not fpeak your own words, nor find your own pleasures on this day." Why? It is my holy day, the holy of the Lord: The feventh part of the week is mine unalterably, fet apart for holy uses, confecrate for my holy fervice. This argument is moral, and perpetually obliges all men, Chriftians as much as Jews. For, if a day in feven be dedicated to God, certainly every part of it, yea, the whole of it, belongs to him; and to alienate any part of it to our own ufe or pleafures, is facrilege, and a dire&t infringement of the morality of the fourth command. The Lord tells us, Levit. xxvii. 28. "That every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord." Here is a day both by God and man, folemnly and perpetually devoted to the Lord; and accordingly the Lord, Ifa. Iviii. 13. afferts his juft

right and title to it, and twice in one breath calls it his holy day, and, u on this account, prohibits carnal recreations upon it: And must it not be great prefumption for any creature, to venture deliberately to rob his Creator of his juft property, and put that which is holy, and folemnly confecrate to God, to common use? Remember what Slomon fays, Prov. xx. 25 "It is a fnare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inqu ry:" It is a fnare, i. e. it is a most dangerous thing, it brings heavy guilt, even God's curfe and vengeance, upon the man that doth fo. Thus you fee how the morality and unalterable. reafons of the fourth command restrain Christians from carnal recreations on the Sabbath, as much as the Jews. The ftanding and perpetual rule, which God hath there laid down, can never be altered to the world's end: Still God hath one day, and man hath fix; but if we take any part of God's day to our own ufe, more than the works of neceffity and mercy require, then we have more than our fix, and God hath lefs than his one, which is contrary to the command. Moreover, if it

be in the power of man to alienate any part of this day from God, why not the whole of it? and fo the Sabbath might come to be wholly abolished, which is abfurd.

·Object: 1. The memory of Christ's refurrection on the Lord's day, calls us to more joy and gladnefs upon our Sabbath than the Jews were called to upon theirs."

Anf This fays nothing for carnal fports or recreations: It is not a worldly joy but a spiritual joy, that we are called to this day; fuch a joy as is expreffed in pfalms, hymns, and fpiritual fongs. Again, if our mercies be this day greater than those the Jews had to commemorate, then we are in gratitude obliged to a more ftrict and holy fanctification of the day, to the honour and glory of the God and fountain of our mercies; which, I believe, no ferious Chriftian will think carnal recreations very confiftent with.

Object. 2." But these recreations are no where for bidden in the New Teftament.

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