ought to be more prevalent with us than any others, if our hearts are fo warmed with any degree of true love of God, which teaches us to prefer him before all things. Yet our duty to God, and the charity which we owe to ourselves, oblige us alfo to be fenfible to the effential interest of our own fouls. The fpiritual advantages which accrue from a devout celebration of the Sunday, furnish a fifth motive. Ift, This pious and religious obfervance is a moft powerful and neceffary means for keeping up a fenfe of God and religion in our fouls, If we look into the world we shall eafily perceive that the extreme infenfibility of the generality of mankind in their fpiritual concerns, arifes from a love of the world, by which they feem wholly buried in, and intent upon the cares and bufinefs, or the diverfions and pleafures of this life. Now the remedy to this evil is a conftant attendance on the fpiritual exercises of religion, and affiduous meditation on the life to come. This the fanctification of the feftivals contributes to, even in those who find themselves moft engaged in the world. It is not a bare belief of the great truths of the gofpel, which makes men truly religious, or reforms the vicious. Only devout reflection on them can revive a fenfe of God, and of fu ture rewards and punishments. On this account, even infidels have proved the abfolute neceffity of appointing public festivals for the fafety of the commonwealth (37). 2dly, Public inftruction is most conducive to the public peace, by teaching every man his duty to God, his neighbour, and himself, and by keeping up a fpirit of religion in the world (38). Hence an eminent statesman and writer on civil polity obferves (39), that, "if keeping holy the feventh day 86 were only an human inftitution, it would have been the "best method that could have been thought of for polish"ing and civilizing of mankind." 3dly, Every exercise of an interior life and of virtue, every means of fecuring our falvation is provided for by feftivals, which afford time to give them full attention, and a glorious opportunity of holy retirement after the public office of the day, to look into our own heart, and rectify whatever is there amifs; and to contemplate the infinite goodness of God, the love of our divine Redeemer, and other heavenly myfteries, an exer

(37) Hobbes's Leviathan, ch. 12. (38) See Prideaux's Connexion, vol. ii. p. 561. ad an. ante Chr. (39) Addifon, Spectator, No. 112.

444.

cife

cife most powerful to reform the affections of our hearts, and so sweet that the greatest pleasures of fenfe can never be compared with it. Moreover, how acceptable and how honourable to God, how powerful in obtaining his mercy and all favours, must be the joint facrifices and homages of thanksgiving, praise and love, the fervent fupplications, the alms, and all other good works of all his fervants on earth, of the whole church militant, united with the triumphant in her holy fervour, by which the earth on this day is in some measure changed into heaven, and united with it. But what need of displaying all these motives, fince God has commanded us to obferve this feftival in terms which express the singular importance of this precept, which he has enforced under the feverest threats and punishments?" Re"member thou keep holy the Sabbath day," fays he (40). Not content with laying a fimple injunction as in the other commandments, "Thou shalt not adore falfe gods; thou "shalt not kill," &c. he awakes our conftant attention by charging us always to remember this holy ordinance as we tender his divine honour. If we are tempted to neglect this duty by the dangerous feduction of false friends, by the example of the world, by our own floth, avarice, or the love of pleasure, let us call to mind, and oppofe to all obstacles this emphatical word, "Remember. Six days," fays our divine legiflator, fhalt thou labour and do all thy work." Indeed as all times and moments are holy and belong to God, fo are they to be confecrated to him. < He "made the day and the night, light and darkness, all times " and feafons" (41). For this he commanded a morning and evening facrifice to be offered to him every day (42). And all our moments, and all our actions, even in our ordinary employs, ought to be fan&tified and made perfect facrifices by the most pure and fervent intention of doing in them God's holy will, and accompanying them with the exercife of humility, meeknefs, patience, devotion, divine and fraternal love, and all other virtues as opportunities call them forth. All days are good, and bleffed by God, as were all his works: But by a special bleffing he gave a particular confecration to the feventh day, by which he made it more honourable and more holy than the other days, which he confirmed by his own reft, and by commanding his

(40) Exod. xx. 8. (41) Pf. lxxiii. 16. (42) ib.

people

people to rest upon it in devotional exercifes of their hearts in honour of his holy reft, in the enjoyment of his own adorable perfections. To negle& the fanctification of this day is to trample upon the most folemn precept of God, inviolable through all ages; to refufe to employ the most neceffary means of fanctifying our own fouls, and the most effential honour we owe to God. Our whole life ought to be an uninterrupted homage of praife to God, and an imitation, or a novitiate or beginning of the life of the blessed in heaven. How inexcufable then are we if we refufe to give to God this feventh part of our time, which he fo feverely referves to himself? And of which he is infinitely jealous, even as he tenders his own honour in a moft delicate point? Of this we have the most terrible inftances in the threats of his vengeance, and in the fevere judgment he paffed upon the fabbath-breaker.

Soon after the law had been promulged by Mofes whilst the Jews were in the defert in their paffage out of Egypt into the promised land, a pocr man was found gathering a few fticks on the fabbath. He was brought before Mofes, and that great legiflator of God's people would not prefume to pronounce himself on the crime, but in his character of prophet together with his brother Aaron the high priest, confulted God upon the cafe. Almighty God commanded that the criminal fhould be ftoned to death by all the people; and in pursuance of this fentence he was led out of the camp to the place where he had been taken in the fact, and the whole multitude made it a duty to fhew their zeal for the honour of God and the fanctity of his feftival by becoming his executioners (43). A great heap of ftones under which he was foon buried, remained a standing monument of God's just anger against his fin, and a warning to others never to profane his holy feftival. Of this law God has pronounced: "Whofoever fhall have broke it, let him "die (43)." And again (44), "Let that man die. Let "all the multitude ftone him out of the camp. He was

"rebellious against the Lord: he hath made void His pre"cept." How ought this example and threat make us tremble, and ftrike us with an aweful refpect for the fancti ty of this day! If the poor man who tranfgreffed this precept in so small a matter, in which many circumstances feem to have extenuated his fault, was punished with fuch feve

(43) Exod. xxxi. 14. (44) Num. xv. 15

rity,

rity, what treatment must we expect if his example, and much greater lights and experience do not deter us from a like, or perhaps a more impious profanation of the Lord's day? When we confider the rigorous fentence paffed by God upon the first fabbath-breaker, we cannot be furprized that Nehemias fhewed fo much zeal in reforming abufes against this precept, and that he caufed the gates of Jerufalem to be fhut on the fabbath to hinder the Jews and efpecially pagan Tyrians from bringing in wine, figs, or other burthens, and from selling fifh or any wares on the fabbath (45). Saying to the people; "What is this evil thing which you are "doing, profaning the fabbath-day? Did not our fathers do "these things, and our God brought all this evil upon us,

and upon this city? And you bring more wrath upon "Ifrael by violating the fabbath." Amongst chriftians many have been overtaken by vifible judgments for this crime; of which many examples are related by feveral councils and authentic hiftorians (46). The fathers of the fixth council of Paris, in the year 829, after expounding that all country bufinefs, bargains and the like are forbid on Sundays, by doing which the light of chriftianity is darkened, and an occafion of scandal given to those who blafpheme the name of Chrift, fay; Many of us have ourselves "feen, others have heard of perfons killed with thunder "whilst they followed their husbandry on these days; fome have been punished with a fudden contraction of their

nerves, and fome have been ftruck dead by vifible fire, "and their bodies, and very bones confumed in a moment, "and reduced to afhes; and many other terrible chaftife"ments have been, and ftill are inflicted for this crime "(46)." But the most ordinary judgments with which God punishes it, are invifible, and of all others the most terrible, by which he abandons fuch finners to a spiritual blindness and hardness of heart, and delivers them over to a reprobate fenfe.

"Some churches formerly dated the beginning of the precept of keeping Sundays and holy days from the foregoing evening, and fome from the first vefpers; and fome ended on Sunday evening, others not till Monday morning. The council of Compiegne held under Gregory IV. in 833, de

(45) 2 Efdr. xiii. 15. 22.

(46) S. Gregory of Tours, 1. x. Hift. Franc. c. 30, and L. i. de Glor. Mart. c. 16. l. ii. ib. c. 11. A council of Scotland, and Roger Hoveden on the year, 1201.

clares

!

clares, "That we decree that all Sundays be celebrated "with the most religious veneration from the foregoing

evening to the evening of the day, and that all fervile "work be laid afide" (47). Pope Alexander III. (48) orders the customs of places to be kept in this respect. Hence as Gonzales obferves (49), over all Europe the obligation of all Sundays and holydays long fince, both begins and ends at mid-night. And the fame rule is followed alfo on fafting-days (g).

Our ancestors the English Saxons carried the obligation of the Sunday from Saturday evening at fun-fet to bed-time on Sunday night; as is declared in the conftitution of king Withred and the council of Berghamfted in Spelman (50). King Edgar, about the year 967, extended it from three of the clock on Saturday afternoon to break of day on Monday, (51). This is repeated in the laws of Canutus (52), and again in thofe of king Edward the confeffor, confirmed by the conqueror; during which interval of time no Chriftian could be molefted going to church or returning thence, or travelling to the dedication of a church or any public chapter. Soon after the coming in of the Normans was introduced the Roman cuftom of counting the day from midnight to midnight.

CHA P. IV.

On the manner in which we are commanded to keep the SUNDAY, by refting from fervile work.

TH

HE precept for keeping Sunday is in part affirmative, by commanding certain works to be done; and in part negative, by forbidding others.

(47) See Thomaffin De Feftis, 1. iii. c. 5. (48) Alex. III. Can. 2. De Feftis, 1. iii. c. 5. (49.) Gonzales in Cap. Omnes. Littera (De Feriis). (50) Conc. Angliæ. T. i. p. 195. (51) Leges Edgari, c. 5. (52) Conc. Angl. Spelman five Wilkins. T. i. 1. 14.

(g) The Romans before Chriftianity, as appears by their civil law, began and ended their Feria or feftivals at midnight (Ff. De Feriis, 1. ii. tit. 12. c. 8. More) which was followed by the Greek empire. See the Bafilicon 1. vii. tit. 17. De diebus Feriatis, leg. 8. The Franks extended the Lord's Day, from evening to evening, as was declared under Charlemagne in 794. Capitular. 19. ed. Baluz. T. i. p. 267. 707. and 955. Capitular. 15. I. i. and Capitular. 18. 1. 6. The Jews counted their day of attonement (Levit. xxiii. 32) their Sabbaths, and other feftivals from evening to evening. And the first appearance of the ftars they called evening. (See Selden de Fure Natura et Gentium. 1. iii, c. 11. p. 343).