way at their common tables, than others have at a communion table. A fecond fecret Duty on the Lora's Day is reading of the Scriptures and other good books. This is a duty neceffary every day, but efpecially on the Lord's day: It is the character of the bleffed man, that "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates therein both day and night," Pfal. i. This fhould be particularly verified of us on the Sab bath. Read the word, that you may be taught what to believe of God, what duties you owe to God, and what fins you are guilty of against him. Who can fet forth the excellency and ufefulness of it? It is a glafs to discover our spots, a lamp to guide us in the dark, a fire to warm our cold affections, a magazine to fupply us with armour against our spiritual enemies. It is a phyfic garden, wherein grow all forts of medicinal herbs for our fpiritual maladies: The promifes are as fragrant flowers and fpices in this garder; believers take many a pleasant walk among thefe beds of fpices. It is an apothecary's shop, out of which we may have eye-falve for our blindnefs, fovereign cordials in all our foul diftreffes. David found this to his fweet experi ence, Pfal. cxix. 50. "This is my comfort in my afffiction, for thy word hath quickned me." Here are fuitable cordials for all our various cafes, be it defertion, temptation, poverty, sickness, reproach, perfecution, &c. Here are the waters of the fanctuary for cleaning us from our pollutions: Here is the heavenly rain, for making foft and tender our hard hearts. The fcriptures are both food and phyfic to our fouls; here is meat for ftrong men, and milk for babes. "The two Teftaments (as Auguftine faith) are the two breafts which we must fuck for spiritual nourishment" And there is none of God's children that will call them dry breasts or empty cifterns; they have often afforded them ftrength, nourifhment, light, life, and comfort: O how highly have God's people in all ages prized God's holy word, and the liberty of reading it! It hath been "fweet as honey to their tafte." I have read of one, who being a prifoner in a dark dungeon, when light was allowed him for a fhort time to take his meat, he would take his Bible, and read a portion of it, faying, "He could eat without light, but he could not read without it." I am perfuaded there is no better way in this world for improving the faculty of fight, and benefit of light, than by reading the word of God. So far as time can allow you upon the Sabbath, I judge it very profitable to read other good books alfo, fuch as our Confeflion of Faith, Vincent's Catechifm, Vincent on the laft Judgment. Guthrie's trial of a faving intereft in Chrift, Allan's Alarm, Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, Pearfe's Preparation for Death, Fox's Time and the end of Time, Doolittle's Call to delaying Sinners, Baxter's Saints everlasting Reft, his Poor Man's Family-book, Gray's Sermons, Flavel's Touch ftone of Sincerity, his Saint indeed, Mead's almoft Chriftian, the Treatifes of Doolittle, Campbell and Henry upon the Sacrament, Rutherfoord's Letters, the Fulfilling of the Scriptures, Clark's Martyrology, Beard's Theatre of God's Judgments. Thefe, and fuch like books, next to the Holy Bible, I recommend to the perufal of all private Chriftians, as being eafy and plain to common capacities, and fome of the most generally useful, inftructing, awakening, foul-fearching, and heart warming pieces, that I have feen among human writings, and which have been bleffed to the edification of many thousands. A third fecret Duty on the Lord's Day, is meditation upon divine fubjects. he medi This duty is proper every day, much more on the Sabbath, which is fequeftrated for divine employments. It is the character of the bleffed man, that tates in God's law day and night," Pfal. i 2. It is an ufeful and neceffary duty; it excites the affections, and quickens the graces; it ftrengthens faith, Pfal. cxix. 92. Ithourisheth hope, and inflames our love; deep muling makes the fire to burn. Meditation is a great help to every duty, Pfal. cxix. 59. It helps to read and hear the word aright, and to know the truths thereof practically; it helps to pray, and yields matter to the tongue, T 2 Pfal. Pfal, xlv. 1. It prompts us to confefs fin, and mourn for it, Pfal. li. 3. gene, Be perfuaded then to engage your hearts to this ne ceffary but much neglected duty; for, though it be most ufeful and profitable, yet I know no duty more flighted and forgotten. The best of God's people have cause 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 rality of the world, they have no fenfe of the obliga tion of this duty upon their fpirits; they live without thinking, and that proves their ruin. O if finners would retire from company, and fpend fome 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 design 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 question comes upon the back of another, about his bypast life and future ftate, that he could not contain himself in fo fhort a confinement as a quare ter of an hour, but was that night without fleep; yea, and afterwards could have no reft, till he became ferioufly religious. Ó carelefs finner, if you think it too much to spend 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 fay that this is a hard talk? talk? 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 firft this duty feem hard, and corrupt nature thew averfion to it, yet prefs your heart to it, and afterwards you fhall find it pleafant: 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," My meditation of him shall be sweet," Pfal. civ. 34. The more we meditate on God, the fweeter we will find him: Yea, fo (weet did he find this duty, that he fpent 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! (some say,) 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 acknowledges them both to be innumerable, in the fame pfalm, Pfal. *l. 5. 12. Quef. What fubjects of meditation are most proper for the Sabbath-day? An Natural things may be fpiritualized, and com. mon things may afford us ground for fpiritual inftruc. tions, 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 fuitable to the great ends of the day. In general, we ought this day to think upon God, upan ourfelves, and upon eternity. But, more particularly, I. Meditate upon the goodness of God: Both that which is common, and manifefted to you in his works of creation and providence, and that which is special 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 ti le. Think upon his common goodness to us, reprefented in that great looking glass 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 starved 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 wifdom of God difplayed 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 Pfalmift also faith, "The heavens declare the glory of God," "Pfal. xix. 1. and indeed we may look up and read it in thefe fhining capital letters of fun, morn, 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 preferved us feveral months in that dark cell, without air or breath. He brought us fafe out of it, |