hath inftituted to be a day for his own worship, and for our improvement in piety and devotion!

It is for remedying thefe woeful abufes of the Sabbath that I have written the enfuing treatife; and, to make it more generally useful to the poor, I have fhortened, this fourth edition of it, by leaving out the Help of Prayer which was fubjoined to the former, and poffibly may be afterwards published by itself. I have heard of the ufefulness of this treatife to fome who have read it; O that God would bless it to many more, and make it the means to preferve and promote the love and efteem of the Lord's day in the hearts of many! As ferious godlinefs never did, so it never will thrive nor flourish in the world, when or where the Lord's day is difregarded: Long experience confirms it, that the fin of Sabbath-breaking is a woeful inlet to impiety and profanenels: They who once begin to make little difference betwixt the Lord's day and other and other days, will eafily be brought to make little dif ference betwixt the Lord's name and other names, the Lord's table and other tables, the Lord's book and other books: Whereas a confcientious regard to his holy day is a strong fence to religion, being a mighty aw band upon the foul against the commiffion of fin, and the neglect of duty. The Lord's day is an unfpeakable bleffing to a loft world, and the fweeteft day that ever dawned upon it; it ought to be the delight of our fouls, and rejoicing of our hearts. Every wife man, that knows the value of this day, will have a peculiar efteem for it above all the days of the week, and will reckon every minute of it precious, and defire that none of it be mifpent. What Chrift faid to his difciples concerning the loaves and fishes, he fays to us concerning his holy day, Gather up the fragments, "Gather up the fpare hours and minutes of it, count them as precious as the goldfmith doth the fmall filings of his gold, let nothing of Sabbath-time be loft, improve it wholly for God and your fouls.

This treatife I recommend chiefly to families, because the duty of fanctifying the Sabbath doth nearly concern all families as fuch: For all governors of families are charged, by the fourth command, to fee that it be done. in all their dwellings; and by the command, they are made refponsible for their children, fervants, and for all

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that

that lodge within their gates, that none of them be al. lowed to break the Sabbath If any matters of families. be excited by this treatife to mind their proper duty, I have my reward; but let the glorious author of the Sabbarb alone have the praife.

May all of us get grace to keep the Sabbath of our God, and chufe the things that please him, and take hold of his covenant, that fo we may be numbered among thofe whom he will bring to his ho y mountain, and make joyful in his house of prayer! Amen.

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Some Inftances of the great Regard which our Ancestors and Legislators manifefted to the Lord's Day, and of the Laws and Acts made in a cient Times for the firict Obfervation of it, with those of this Nation and Church which still ftand in Force; being fo many Teftimonies to the Marality of the Sabbath, and the divine Inflitution of the Lord's Day.

I SHALL not stand here to notice the high regard which kings, prophets, and righteous men among the Jews bad for the Sabbath, recorded in the Old Teftament; the paffages being obvious to those who are verfant in the holy fcriptures, fundry of which are brought in, in the follow. ing treatise. Neither shall I stand citing the testimonies of learned and pious divines at home or abroad, for confirming the doctrine of this treatife; feeing thefe are fo many as would fill a volume by themselves. I fhall only mention fome of thefe of more public authority, and which may be of greater weight with the generality of readers.

The ancient Chriftians, who lived neareft the apostles times, ftill spoke of the Lord's day with the highest veneration and refpe&t; fuch as Ignatius, Juftin Martyr, Tertullian, and others; who alfo give an account of the particular religious fervices performed by Chriftians on that day. It is obfervable, that the Chriftians then commonly called that day among themselves, the first day of the weck, and the Lord's day, as is denominated in the New Teftament; likewife, they fometimes called it the eighth day, because it fucceeded the Jewish feventh day, and came to be celebrated it in the room of it, and feems to be pointed at by the eighth day mentioned by Ezek. xliii. 27. 1 grant that fome of the fathers, fuch as Juftin and Ter tullian, in their apologies to the heathen emperors, called this day Sunday; the reafon whereof is plain, they were Speaking to heathens, who always called this day by that name, and fo would not have known certainly what day they meant, if they had not called it Sunday ; which name indeed was given it by the heathens, because of their dedicating this day to the fun, which was the chief of the planetary gods worshipped by them. But now, when that reafon is ceafed, and Chriftians fpeak of this day among themfelves

themselves, it is not proper to give it the name of Sunday any more.

With what efteem and veneration doth Ignatius, that ancient martyr, fpeak of this day, in his epifte to the Magnefians faith he, Let us not Jewifhly fabbatize, but let us reft fpiritually; and, instead of the old Sabbath, let every lover of Christ celebrate the LORD's DAY, the best and most eminent of days, in which our 'Life arofe.'

So ftrictly was this day fet apart by the ancients for public devotion, that very early the fynod of Illeberis ordained, That if any man dwelling in a city (where

churches are near at hand) should for three Lord's days keep from church, he should be fufpended from communion with the church."

In the fourth century, the Hiftorian Eufebius tells us, that Conftantine the Great, the first Chriftian emperor, iffued an edit, requiring the whole Roman empire to obferve the LORD's DAY, in memory of thofe things, which were done by the common Saviour of all men ; and bearing that he counted that day the best and chief of days, truly the LORD's, and a day of falvation; and that he ordered his army to offer up, prayers to God, and required all men every where to apply themfelves to reli, gious worship; and that no work nor any thing fhould be allowed to hinder their prayers and devotions that day.

We read alfo of many ancient laws made by kings in England, prohibiting all kinds of fervile work, merchan, dife or traffic, on the Lord's day, upon very fevere penal, ties; as that made by King about the year 688, that made by King Alfred in the year 876, that made by Edward his fon about the year 912, that made by King Edgar about the year 966, which required that the cele, bration of the Lord's day thouid begin from nine o'clock on Saturday night: Alfo that law made by King Canute about the year 1026, to the fame effect with that of Ed, gar's, and more particularly and ftrictly forbidding all trade, and all meetings of people for fecular affairs or con verfes; requiring them to abstain from hunting and every worldly employment on this day.

To the fame purpofe might be adduced many canons of ecclefiaftical fynods and councils in England, France, Ger many, and other nations; a great number whereof we find collected by Dr Francis White, bishop of Ely, in 1635,

Likewife

Likewife we find great zeal manifefted by a convocation of the Scots clergy for the Lord's day, at their meeting at Perth in the year 1180, as narrated by Archbishop Spotif wood: They ordained, that every Saturday from twelve 'clock fhould be fet apart for preparation for the Lord's day; and that all the people on Saturday evening, at the found of the bell, fhould addrefs themfelves to hear prayers, and should abstain from worldly labours till Monday morning.

But I fhall pass from thofe more ancient laws and canons, to give a brief account of fome acts of Parliament both in England and Scotland, which are now in force, for obferving the Lord's day; and which all magiftrates of burghs, juftices of peace, and other judges, fhould and might execute presently, if they were difpofed to do it.

In England Primo Car. I. cap. I. Forafmuch as there is nothing more acceptable so God than the true and fincere worship of him according to his holy will, and that the holy keeping of the Lord's day is a principal part of the true fervice of God, which in very many places of this realm hath been, and now is, profaned and neglected by diforderly forts of people: It is therefore enacted, That there fhall be no more meetings, affemblies, or concourfe of people on the Lord's day, for any port and paftimes whatfoever,' &c. Tertio Car. I. cap. 1. it is enacted, That no carrier, carman, wainman, nor drover of cattle, fhall travel on the Lord's day, upon pain of forfeiting twenty fhillings: Nor any butcher fhall be allowed to kill or fell meat,' &c.

Vigefimo nono Car. II. cap. 7. it is enacted, That all the laws enacted and in force concerning the obfervation of the Lord's day, and repairing to the church thereon, be carefully put in execution: And that all and every perfon and perfons whatfoever thall on every Lord's day apply themfelves to the obfervation of the fame, by exercifing themfelves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion publicly and privately; and that no trademan, artificer, workman, labourer, or other peifon whatsoever, fhall do or exercife any worldly labour, bufinefs, or work of their ordinary callings upon the Lord's days, or any part thereof (works of neceffity and charity only excepted ;) And that every perfon, being of the age of fourteen years and upwards, offending in

the