the ceaseless cares of this life, and so forget and remain disqualified for the glory that shall be revealed. Now, such being the design of the sabbath, here are three things evidently required in it, in either of which, whenever we have failed, we have contracted the guilt of sabbath-breaking. I. Here is resting from ordinary employments. II. Here is a sanctifying that rest. III. Here is a right aim in such rest and sanctification, namely, the glory of God, and the benefiting our souls. First. Here is resting from ordinary employments. In it thou shalt do no manner of work.' On the sabbath-day nothing of the work of the six days may be done. Consider now what the work of the six days is, and you will find in what latitude this resting from ordinary employments is to be understood. In the exercise of our calling, there must be a thinking and contriving of our business; there must be a talking of it, by conferring with others, asking questions of those with whom we are concerned, and giving out directions and orders; and there must be the employment of the body in it. When a man does his work, his thoughts, and tongue, and hands, are engaged in it. Consequently, on this day of rest, there must be not only a ceasing from the actual labour of the hands, but neither the tongue nor thoughts may be engaged upon our worldly matters and affairs. So saith Isaiah, If thou wilt honour God on the sabbath, it must be in not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words. Our own words must be forborne, and our own pleasure, and so of course our own thoughts: for, it is plain, words and thoughts of worldly business are as opposite to the sanctifying of the sabbath as ordinary work is; seeing the soul can no better or more be employed in holy exercises, while we are thinking and talking of our worldly things, than if the whole body were engaged in them. Nay, rather, such thinking and talking about worldly concerns is more contrary to the sanctification of the sabbath than labour itself; because thinking and talking of worldly matters doth more peculiarly exclude serious meditations than the labour of the hands singly could do. 6 Now therefore bring your conduct under examination. Have * Isaiah lviii. 13. you rested from contriving, talking about, and doing worldly business on the Lord's day? Examine what your Sunday thoughts have been. Have you always in thought and mind been in heaven that day, having left your worldly cares, and interests, and affairs, out of sight behind you? What! have you never been devising how you might contrive some business, or prevent some misfortune, or bring about some project? Has your head never been plodding and working for the world, perhaps in this house? never meditating how you should meet with this person, and transact with that? Nay, have you never been consulting with yourself, even beforehand, about some business to be negociated on Sunday, and, when Sunday was come, revolving it in your mind, and feeling yourself displeased if your scheme did not succeed? Worldly thoughts will indeed of themselves be intruding unseasonably upon the mind, and demand from all the most resolute resistance; causing the truly humble soul to lament his sad sinfulness and weakness: but, instead of resisting, did you never indulge them, allowing them for long spaces together to dwell peaceably with you on the hallowed hours of the sabbath? Say, have you nothing to answer before God for worldly thoughts on the Lord's day? And then, again, have you not spoken your own words on this day? Look back and see if there be no records against you in the book of God of worldly affairs negociated on the sabbath-day. It is a general, however sinful and hurtful practice, to hold worldly conferences, to be settling worldly bargains, and to be giving worldly directions on the Lord's day. Did you never hear of going to this or that church to meet such an one on business? It is a common saying all over the country, I shall see him at church. Or did you never hear of giving orders for the week following how servants shall be employed? Also inquire if you have not done worldly business on the sabbath-day. You have not perhaps opened your shop; but have you not delivered things out of it? You have not made your goods; but have you not encroached on the sabbath by wandering far and near to carry them home? by receiving or paying money, by settling accounts, by transacting business, by letter, or by such-like ways, have you never invaded the sanctification of the sabbath? Perhaps you are saying, "Yes, I have done such things; but what then? these are but trifles; and, besides, they could not conveniently be avoided." They are but trifles, you say. But, trifles as they are, have they not hindered you from making a religious use of the Lord's day; interrupting serious thoughts, and preventing serious employments? And, if so, have they not perverted the holy design of the sabbath, with respect both to God's glory and your spiritual benefit? And how then can you call them trifles? Yea, but still you insist they could not conveniently be avoided. This I deny in general; not one in fifty of them but might just as conveniently have been done another day. If indeed it were of absolute necessity, or the thing of real and particular importance, which could not be prevented by being done before, nor be delayed to another day, though not in the utmost strictness of the word necessary, the matter were otherwise. In such case, to speak my own judgment, though the thing be of a worldly nature, yet the doing it is a duty which supersedes the positive institution of the sabbath in that instance; for in such cases the rule is, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.' Now therefore here is the only exception; if it be an act either of absolute necessity, or of real and special moment, and so circumstanced as described, then the sabbath is not broken.. See, then, were the worldly things you have done on the Lord's day all of them of necessity, of such particular and pressing importance? (and particular things you know cannot happen often in their very nature, for then they would cease to be particular). That is the first qualification of worldly things that may or rather ought to be done on the Lord's day. But, then, could none of them have been prevented by doing them before, had there been proper care and foresight? That they could not, is the second qualification. And, further, might none of them have been put off to another day? The negative to this is the third qualification. Under this rule, if you will, you may easily bring your conduct respecting worldly affairs on the sabbath-day under examination. But, in coming to a determination, let us diligently remember that we may not take such allowances as God has not given us; nor call that a work of importance or necessity which God will reckon licentiousness. Thus much of resting from worldly affairs on the sabbath. I go on, Secondly. To help you in the further inquiry, whether, supposing you have rested from worldly affairs, you have also sanctified that rest. To sanctify the sabbath-day is to keep it holy. That is the express word of the commandment: Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy.' And common sense must own that God had some higher design in forbidding us to work than to set us to be idle. Yet I think, according to the interpretation which common practice puts on this commandment, the words might run thus: "Remember the sabbath-day to take thy pleasure therein." To say the truth, we have all too much found our own pleasure on this day; as I fear will be but too manifest, while I am proposing to you for examination some hints regarding the sanctification of the Lord's day. In general, therefore, the sabbath is sanctified when it is spent with God, in humble and thankful acknowledgments of his love in creating us, and of his infinite mercy in redeeming us by Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven to prepare a place for us. Then we should be examining our hearts and lives, humbling ourselves for our sins, stirring up the grace that is in us, exercising repentance, faith, hope, and charity; above all, looking forward to the rest that remaineth for the people of God.'* We should enter into that which is within the vail, whither the forerunner is for us entered;'t we must place Jesus on his throne in our heart as an almighty, all-sufficient, desirable, victorious, approaching Redeemer; get our souls warmed into an humble, penitent, believing frame, full of joy, full of glory, full of praise, full of gratitude. We must get up into the mount, and behold the promised land, till every earthly thing is no longer valued, till inspired with renewed zeal we are ready to fight our way to the promised inheritance, till all the afflictions we have to struggle with are found light in comparison of that exceeding weight of glory we have in our eyes. This is to sanctify the seventh day; this is to remember a risen and exalted Redeemer; this is to foretaste the everlasting rest, and to rest from sin. And think you, is not one such day better than a thousand? O! what do they lose who make the + Heb. vi. 19, 20. * Heb. iv. 9. sabbath a day of carnal pleasure! who pass it in wandering, and visiting, and dressing, and every kind of idleness! who have no other design on the Lord's day than to do nothing! or who go abroad to the church and elsewhere to see and to be seen! who contrive parties of pleasure, and mutually conspire to forget God! What do these lose! yea, what guilt, what vengeance, do they not incur? Is this to sanctify the Lord's day? Let us consider all of us. The custom of the world can signify nothing against a commandment of God. Have we kept the sabbath-day holy? or do we not see many sabbaths behind us which were given to pleasure? What did we think of? was it not pleasure? or talk of but vain things? or do but what our carnal hearts listed? and let us be assured that sabbath-idleness is of all idleness the most sinful. To be idle at any time is bad enough; but to be idle, when God so expressly commands us to be employed about him, when his honour is so interested, when it is the very harvest-time for heaven and glory! then to be idle, what a sin, what a shame it is! the remembrance of it will cost us bitter tears sooner or later. See, then, what hath been the use you have made of the sabbath in general: hath it been sanctified to the Lord, or given to sloth and pleasure ?-But more particularly the sanctification of this rest lies within the compass of these three things: I. Public exercises. III.-Religious communication. There is no question to be made but that the whole sabbath should be taken up in one or another of these employments; and that whenever we step aside from them, unless in the excepted cases before mentioned, we break the fourth commandment. First. As to public worship. Public worship is the assembling of God's people, to his glory, in prayer, praise, hearing the word, and communicating. Here, therefore, if at any time you have forborne to come to public worship on any unwarrantable cause; if your design in coming hath been anything else beside the glorifying of God; if you have not heartily joined with the congregation upon this design of glorifying God in every part of worship, in prayer and praise, in hearing and communicating; so far as you have failed herein, you have not duly |