other. If fectaries are blamed for taking unneceffary offence, established churches are no less culpable for unneceffarily giving it, or they are bound at least to produce a command, or a reafon of equivalent utility, for shutting out any from their communion, by mixing with divine worship doctrines, whether true or falfe, unconnected in their nature with devotion.

CHAP.

A

CHA P. VI.

Of the Ufe of Sabbatical Inftitutions.

N affembly cannot be collected, unless the time of affembling be fixed and known before hand; and if the design of the affembly require that it be held frequently, it is easiest that it should return at stated intervals. This produces a neceffity of appropriating fet feafons to the focial offices of religion. It also highly convenient, that the fame feafons be obferved throughout the country, that all may be employed, or all at leifure together: for if the recefs from worldly occupation be not general, one man's business will perpetually interfere with another man's devotion; the buyer will be calling at the fhop, when the feller is gone to church. This part therefore of the religious diftinction of seasons, namely, a general intermiffion of labour and business during times previously fet apart for the exercise of public worship, is founded in the reasons which make public worship itself a duty. But the celebration

of

of divine fervice never occupies the whole day. What remains therefore of Sunday, befide the part of it employed at church, must be confidered as a mere reft from the ordinary occupations of civil life; and he who would defend the institution, as it is required to be observed in Christian countries, unless he can produce a command for a Chriftian fabbath, muft point out the uses

of it in that view.

First then, that interval of relaxation, which Sunday affords to the laborious part of mankind, contributes greatly to the comfort and fatisfaction of their lives, both as it refreshes them for the time, and as it relieves their fix days labour by the prospect of a day of rest always approaching; which could not be faid of cafual indulgences of leifure and reft, even were they more frequent than there is reason to expect they would be, if left to the discretion or humanity of interested task-masters. To this difference between the two it may be added, that holidays which come feldom and unexpected are unprovided, when they do come, with any duty or employment, and the manner of spending them being regu

lated

lated by no public decency or established usage, they are commonly confumed in rude, if not criminal pastimes, in a stupid floth, or brutish intemperance. Whoever confiders how much fabbatical inftitutions conduce, in this refpect, to the happiness and civilization of the labouring claffes of mankind, and reflects how great a majority of the human fpecies these claffes compofe, will acknowledge the utility, whatever he may believe of the origin of this diftinction, and will confequently perceive it to be every man's duty to uphold the observation of Sunday, when once established, let the establishment have proceeded from whom, or what authority it will.

Nor is there any thing loft to the community by the intermiffion of public induftry, one day in the week. For in countries tolerably advanced in population, and the arts of civil life, there is always enough of human labour, and to fpare. The difficulty is not fo much to procure, as to employ it. The addition of the seventh day's labour to that of the other fix would have no other effect, than to reduce the price. The labourer himself, who deferved and fuffered

fuffered moft by the change, would gain nothing.

2. Sunday, by fufpending many public diverfions, and the ordinary rotation of employment, leaves to men of all ranks and profeffions fufficient leifure, and not more than what is fufficient, for both the external offices of Christianity, and the retired, but equally neceffary duties of religious meditation and enquiry. It is true, that many do not convert their leifure to this purpose, but it is of moment, and is all which a public conftitution can effect, that to every one be allowed the opportunity.

3. They whose humanity embraces the whole fenfitive creation, will efteem it no inconfiderable recommendation of a weekly return of public reft, that it affords a respite to the toil of brutes. Nor can we omit to recount this amongst the uses, which the divine founder of the Jewish fabbath expressly appointed a law of the infti

tution.

We admit, that none of these reasons show why Sunday should be preferred to

any