to your eye-lid," till, in God's strength, you refolve on a thorough change.

Lafly, It is incumbent on every private Christian on the Lord's day, to practife the works of charity and mercy, both to the fouls and bodies of men. Study to promote the edification of others by good counsels, inftructions, admonitions, and reproofs. Comfort the afflicted, supply those that are in ftraits, vifit the fick and thofe that are in mifery. These are proper duties on the Sabbath, and God is highly pleafed with them, James i. 27. If we practise these duties confcientiously, we may both do good and get good; we may both give direction and comfort to the diftreffed, and receive inftruction and comfort to ourselves: Though we may not enquire at the dead, yet we may learn many wholesome lessons from the dying. And would to God that both the perfons vifiting and visited were more fpiritual in their converfe than ordinarily they are! for then this duty would be found very edifying and profitable. But if, when we vifit the fick this day, we spend the time in worldly difcourfe, and not for the spiritual advantage of the fick, and others prefent, we profane the Sabbath, instead of fanctifying it.

Do we fee fome oppreffed by continual flumbering and fleeping, when death is fuppofed to be near, so that they cannot think on their everlasting state? Let this teach us to remember our latter end, and awake our fouls to their work, while we are in health.

Do we fee others troubled with ravings? let it teach us to employ our reason for our fouls advantage while we have the use of it.

Do we fee fome fadly difcompofed with extreme pains and agonies? let it mind us to dispatch our work while health and ease remain with us.

Do we obferve their fight failing, tongue faultering, or hearing growing worfe? O let this teach us to "make a covenant with our eyes," and turn them "away from beholding vanity;" to ufe our tongues for God's glory, and beware of abufing them now, while we have the use of them; and to employ our ears for hearing fpiritual inftructions, while they are in case for it. DIRECTION

Concerning the Special Order, Method and Manner, wherein the Duties of the Sabbath are to be performed.

HE Lord requires us, not only to take heed to the

THE

matter of our duties, but also to the manner of them; not only to do what is good, but to do it well. As we must seek God in due ordinances, fo we must feek him in a due order, 1. Chron. xv. 13. Very much depends upon the circumftances of our actions, therefore we must look narrowly to them.

That we may take a view of the fanctification of the Sabbath complexly, and the order and circumstances of the duties therein required; there are three things to be confidered:

1. What is requifite in order to prepare for the Sabbath, before it come.

2. What is requifite in performing the duties of the Sabbath when it is come.

3. What is requifite at the end of the Sabbath, or when the work thereof is over.

I. Concerning our Preparation for the Sabbath.

AS to the first, that it is needful to prepare for the Sabbath, cannot be denied, if we confider the word remember prefixed to the commandment, "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy." We must remember it before it come, fo as to provide for it. Mofes calls the people, Exod. xvi. 23. to mind that " to-morrow is the reft of the holy Sabbath."

Again, if we confider the nature of the Sabbathwork, and our unfitness for it, preparation for it will be found very needful. We are called this day to make folemn and near approaches to that God, who is a glorious Spirit, and to hold communion with him who is infinitely holy; and is it not very neceffary that we, who are naturally carnal, and much involved in worldly bufinefs through the week, fhould endeavour to abstract eur thoughts from earthly things, that we may draw

nigh to fo great a God upon this holy day? For holy performances God requires us to make holy preparations; and therefore David faith, Pal xxvi. 6. “I will wash mine hands in innocency, so fhall I compafs thine altar, O Lord." The mariner that intendeth a voyage, he not only provides his tackling, but he is careful be fore he fail, to put his fhip off from the land, that he may catch the first fair wind. In like manner, Chrif tian, if thou wouldst launch heavenwards upon a Lord's day, be concerned to get the veffel of thy heart put off from the earth on the evening before.

Wert thou a perfon of great quality and eftate, and the king fhould fend thee word that he would dine with thee to-morrow, thou wouldst make preparation for his entertainment the day before, by cleanfing the houfe, and putting all things in order, fuitable to the dignity of fo great a prince. Now, when King JESUS gives thee notice before hand, that on fuch a day he is to fup with thee, wilt thou not teftify thy respect to so great a potentate, by making preparation for him? When Chrift prepares a table for thee in the gospel, and furnishes it with all the dainties of heaven, pardon, peace, love, grace, and eternal life; fhouldft thou not empty thy ftomach, cleanfe thy heart, adorn thy foul, and make ready to feaft with thy Redeemer? At this gofpel table others fit and feed, their fouls are filled with marrow and fatness, and their mouths praise the Lord with joyful lips; but alas! many have no ftomach; they can eat little, and favour nothing. Their ftomachs are foul, their hearts unclean; the world fills their thoughts; they tafte no goodness in hearing, in prayer, praifes, or any duty of God's worthip: Why? They are at no pains before-hand to empty their minds - of the world, and prepare for this heavenly fare.

Reader, were 1 to counfel thee how to improve a market-day, fo as thou mightit gain much wealth and treasure, i doubt not but thou wouldst hearken to me : And wilt thou not regard me, when I am to advise thee how to fpend the Lord's day, the market-day for thy foul, fo as thou mayst get the true treasure, even durable riches and righteouinefs? Lay afide worldly cares,

remember

remember, and prepare for this market-day, before it come, and beg fkill from God how to improve it aright to the enriching of thy foul. Anciently there were laws obliging people to lay afide their work a fuch a particular hour on Saturday's afternoon that they might remember and pr pare for the Sabbath: Likewife it was a cuftom in fome places to have public divine exercise and worship on the Saturday's evening fo that, at the ringing of a beit for it, people gave over their work, and repared to the church to worfhip God and hear fomething fuitable and preparatory to the Sabbath, I cannot but commend this practice, as a good way to conclude and fhut up all the labours and cares of the week, and publicly to give God thanks for profpering the works of our hands and alfo to confefs and mourn for the carnality of our hearts, and our little minding of Chrift and heaven in our weekly bufinefs, and our manifold fhort-comings in our duties both to God and man, and our forgetting and not practifing through the week the fermons we heard the preceding Sabbath: Likewife it is a good way to tike off our hearts from the world, and to compote and fpiritualize the thoughts for the work of the approaching Sabbath; and allo to pray and wrettle together for a bleffing on the fame, and for fpecial afliftance to mi- nifters and people in the duties of the day, that the enfuing Sabbath may be one of the beft Sabbaths we ever had, and that it may be one of the days of heaven to our fouls.

But more particularly, the preparation needful for the Sabbath confifts in thefe things;

1. In your dispatching and order ng your labour and bufinefs through the week with fuch prudence and forefight that it may nowife hinder or difturb you on the Sabbath-day.

2. In leaving off your work timeously the night before, and going feafonably to reft, that both your fervants and you may be in cafe to rife early on Sabbath morning, and not to be droufy or fleepy through the day. It is a great incroachment upon the Sabbath that fomé are guilty of, they fit up and work later VOL. IV.

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on

on Saturday's night than any other night of the week; they ly longer on Sabbath morning than any other day; they go fooner to bed on Sabbath night than any other night, and they rife fooner on Monday morning than any other day of the week. Now, what is this but a grudging God his due time, a wearying of his day, and making it as fhort as you can, and seeking to win it, if poffible, from off the Saturday's night and Monday's morning?

Under the law, the latter part of the day, preceding the Sabbath, was called " the day of preparation for the Sabbath," Luke xxiii. 54. intimating that it is our duty to prepare for the Sabbath before it come, and to do it upon the day preceding. Likewife, we find that Nehemiah ordered the gates of Jerufalem to be shut when it began to be dark before the Sabbath, Neh. xiii 19. thereby teaching us timeously to give over our trafficking and worldly bufinefs on the evening before the Lord's day, and not to follow our business too late, left our thoughts be too much embaraffed with fecular affairs, and we thereby indifpofed for the religious duties of the enfuing holy day.

3. It would be a good way to prepare for the Lord's day, fometimes to take your children and fervants on the Saturday's night, when you call them together for family-worship, and inftruct them concerning the end and inftitution of the Lord's day which is approaching, and the nature of the fervice that is requifite upon it. The Lord commends Abraham, for "commanding his household and children after him to keep the way of the Lord," Gen. xviii. 19. And he frequently directs the Ifraelites to inftruct their children concerning the meaning of their rites and obfervations; and particularly concerning the paffover, he faith, Exod. xii. 26. 27. "And it fhall come to pafs, when your children shall fay unto you, What mean you by this fervice? that fhall fay, It is the facrifice of the Lord's paffover, who paffed over the houses of the children of Ifrael in Egypt, when he fmote the Egyptians," &c. So, in like manner, concerning the obfervation of the Lord's day, you should tell your families, "The day of facred reft, now approaching

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