nity has an undoubted right to determine, agreeably to their prudence, discretion, times, places, and circumstances, ought never to deviate from the fundamental rules which are derived from the very essence of that worship. To express ourselves still more explicitly, what we mean is this: That the Christian publick worship ought always to correspond with the spiritual nature, the majesty, and the holiness of the Supreme Being, who is the object of that worship: That all things ought to be done unto edifying, decently, and in order* That we ought always retain the sound doctrine of the primitive Church, and imitate its piety and moral practice; and never impose upon people, a yoke which would deter them from coming to Christ; a yoke, which, under the pretence or shadow of devotion, would favour hypocrisy, superstition, licentiousness, and neglect of publick worship; a yoke, in short, totally different from that of Christ, which is easy; and whose burden is light,†

But, however different the Christian Sabbath and the Christian publick worship are from the Jewish Sabbath and the Levitical worship, there are two things which ought absolutely to be retained from the law of the Jewish Sabbath, in the

* 1 Cor. xiv. 25. 40.

† Matt. xi. 30.

observance of the Lord's Day. For no one denies, or can deny, that the Lord's Day must also be kept holy But the question between the Ultrasabbatarians and those Christians who merely adhere to the holy Scripture, as the rule of faith and conduct, is this-What is it to keep holy the Lord's Day? In what does its celebration consist? And this is the fourth part, or object, to

be considered.

FOURTH PART.

WHAT CELEBRATION DOES THE CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL OF SUNDAY REQUIRE?

OR, HOW IS THE LORD'S DAY TO BE SOLEMNIZED, OR KEPT HOLY?

Those two things which we say ought absolutely to be retained of the law of the Judaical Sabbath, in the observance of the Lord's Day, are these.

In the first place,... What ought not be done, on the Lord's Day?

In the second place... What ought to be done on that day?

1st. What ought not to be done? Or, what must we abstain from?

1st. We must abstain from all unnecessary work. This cessation of work, or the rest to be observed, does not however exclude works of charity, which our Saviour has fully shown by his example, as not only lawful, but part of the sanctification of the Sabbath. It neither excludes works of absolute necessity, or urgency; which cannot be delayed to another time, or which are imperiously called by circumstances, as, for example, when some impending danger is to be warded, or some misfortune prevented or remedied; when persons are reduced to that extremity of distress and misery, that they cannot relieve themselves otherwise, than by consecrating, to domestic labour, the early part of that holy day. To the Saviour again we appeal on that score: Does not each one of you, has he said to the Jews, loose his ox, or his ass, from the stall, and lead him away to watering 2* Or, if it has fallen into a pit, will ye not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath? How much then is a man better than a sheep?-And also, when His Disciples were an hungred, (and this we say with respect to the extreme want of food among the poor people,) and the Pharisees blamed him for suffering his Disciples to pluck the ears of corn, to

*Luke xiii. 15. xiv. 5.

Matth. xii. 1, 4. 12.

appease their hunger on a Sabbath-day, what did he answer to those Pharisees?... Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred-How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, &c.*

The work then which is condemnable, on the Lord's Day, is that which proceeds from cupidity; that which is merely a worldly occupation that can be put off to another day-that which would prevent attendance of publick worship, even on the part of the poor, whose wretched situation we have just mentioned.

2d. Besides the cessation of all unnecessary work, we must abstain from all pomp and worldly acts,

* It is much to be wished, that masters could be compelled to pay their journeymen or working people, any other day but on the Saturday, in order that the poor might have it in their power, to purchase, on that day, their provisions, and to greater advantage, than they can do on the Sunday morning.-If, however, such a law cannot be enacted, I submit whether one could not be framed, to permit shops where eatables of any kind are sold to be opened in summer till 9 o'clock on Sunday morning, and till 10 o'clock in winter? By such an enactment, neither the sellers nor the buyers would be hindered from attending publick worship, which is the great object of the sanctification of the Lord's Day.-And would not such an act be conceived in the spirit of our Saviour's sentiments and example respecting the Sabbath? For, is there any difference between what He permitted His Disciples to do, on a Sabbath-day, because they were hungry... and the poor making their provision of food, early on Sunday morning, to prevent their starving?

which have an appearance of impiety, and which would in any wise assimilate us to the Pagans who imagined, that they were by such a show, honouring Deities, who were subject to the passions, and weaknesses of humanityEven publick parties of pleasure and gaiety, however irreprehensible they may be in their nature, become highly reprehensible when indulged on that day, which is to be a day of rational rest, and devotion.

I say, a day of rational rest!

It would be indeed a very wrong notion of the object of the Lord's day, to consider it merely as a day of pure animal rest, or cessation of every servile work, and of those amusements which are incompatible with its solemnity. That is only a part of our duty: The other, and principal one is to consecrate that day to God, to pious exercises, to holy works: In that consists its religious purpose: and in order to develope it, let us examine as briefly as possible.

2nd. WHAT IS TO BE DONE, ON THE LORD'S DAY?

Or, 1st.

Church?

What is proper to do, before we go to

2nd. What is proper to do, when we are in Church?

3rd. What is proper to do, when out of Church?