meeting. All those in our societies who have shone in the ways of religion, and who have been eminent for consistent holiness and extensive usefulness, prized these early services. It was in them they first ventured to pray in public; and with them were associated in their memories sweet recollections of early friendships, divine baptisms, and extensive revivals. With the habit of early rising, which these meetings tended to foster, they contributed, under God, to mellow their devotional feelings, to confirm their religious decision, and to prepare them for receiving the word of the kingdom into good and honest hearts. To our young people we, therefore, most earnestly and affectionately recommend them, as an antidote against sloth and self-indulgence, as a certain means of doing and receiving good, and as an efficient preparative for the solemnities and privileges of public worship.

To those heads of families on whom the domestic arrangements of the Sabbath morning devolve, we would say, In prudent foresight, in godly order, and in early rising, be ensamples to your respective households. Let your esteem for the day, and your reverence for its Lord, be apparent in the cleanliness of your houses, in the neatness of your dress, in the subdued tones of your voice, in the tranquillity of your spirits, in the kindness of your carriage, and in the edifying and evangelical tenor of your conversation. In the preparation of food, and the giving out of garments, labour to maintain a devotional frame of mind, a single eye, and a lively sense of the presence and love of God. Having dispatched indispensable duties of this kind, with zealous haste collect all the members of your family around the altar of God; and be sure you suffer none to absent themselves on the ground of dislike to religion, pleasurable projects, or selfish and independent plans. At this service let the praises of God be sung with ardour, and the Scriptures be read with reverence. If you have a brief commentary at hand, read it in connexion with the

text; or if a pertinent remark strike your own mind, give it utterance, and trust God for its application. In your intercessions and thanksgivings interweave the scriptures you have read with the circumstances of the family, the events of the past week, the state of the church, and the affairs of the nation. Approach the Father through the Son, and be as free in penitential confessions, as you are full in grateful acknowledgments. Crave the forgiveness of sins, in unwavering assurance that Christ died for your offences; and wrestle for supplies of grace, to effect the renewal of your minds, and enable you to perfect "holiness in the fear of the Lord." Plead for the church in all its sections, for your country in all its interests, for the world with all its inhabitants; and pray, especially, for your Ministers, that they may lead the flock into green pastures, and beside the still waters; and that the great end of the ministry, the salvation of the soul, may be accomplished in you, and in all under your care.

When you rise from your knees, take occasion to caution your family against worldly reading and trifling conversation. Place suitable books in their hands, enjoin attention to secret prayer, and timely preparation for public worship. Late attendance on the house of God is a most disreputable practice, and we fear it is a growing evil in our day. It bespeaks a defective system of family government, a low state of personal piety, and a want of reverence for God, his ordinances, and his authority. It argues a want of self-respect, and a criminal indifference to the comfort of our Ministers, and the spiritual interests of our fellow-worshippers. It indicates great ignorance of the nature of Christian worship, the extent of Christian obligation, and the worth of Christian privileges. If, therefore, you value your own and your family character, if you reverence God, if you would not desecrate his house, nor distract his worshippers, nor grieve his Ministers, nor incur his curse, be early in his sanctuary.

Having ascertained how long it will take to walk leisurely to your place of worship, make it imperative on the members of your household, that they be ready to accompany you at the appointed time.*

Before you leave your dwellings, enter your closet, and pray to your Father who seeth in secret, that he would grant you the preparation of the heart and the answer of the tongue; that he would go with you to his temple, and there bless you with an understanding heart, a retentive memory, and an appropriating faith. On your way avoid worldly conversation, as you would fellowship with a fiend; and, as a guard against worldly thoughts, repeat a psalm, or ejaculate heavenly aspirations after the presence and benediction of God. When you reach the porch of the sanctuary, tread lightly, and say in your inmost soul, "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! Blessed are they that dwell in thy house they will be still praising thee." As you ap proach your seat, say, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven: " or, "Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion; and unto thee shall the vow be performed." When you have reverently given God thanks for bringing you to his house again, and implored his aid in the different branches of his service, compose your thoughts, and wait in solemn silence the commencement of his worship.

In singing our beautiful hymns recollect you address God, as truly as when, on your bended knees, you pour out your hearts before him in prayer. Though their subjects are so varied, that they describe every state and shade of feeling which intervenes between the depths of penitential woe, and the most triumphant and rapturous anticipations of

* See an admirable Address on this subject in the Wesleyan Magazine for June, 1841. The Trustees of our chapels would do good service to the cause of God, and greatly strengthen the

coming glory; they are all, with only a few exceptions, direct addresses to God. You cannot, therefore, allow your thoughts to wander, or your affections to grovel on earthly objects, without being guilty of offering "the sacrifice of fools." Sing with your might, and hold that irreligious gentility in abhorrence which accounts it vulgar to lift up the voice with the congregation, in the praise of his excellent grace. While, however, you sing with spirit, be careful to sing in unison; and guard against formality by endeavouring, in every song, to glorify the GREAT THREE ONE with the melody of the voice, the affection of the heart, and the homage of the understanding.

During public prayer devoutly kneel, or reverently stand; and, either by silent assent, or an audible "amen," unite in the petitions which the Minister presents in the name of the congregation. Remember you are sinners in the sight of God, and can claim nothing on the ground of merit at the hand of God. Endeavour to obtain abasing views of your character and conduct; and be at pains to stir up penitential feelings and grateful emotions in your hearts. Prayer is the offering up of the desires of the heart unto God. Where there is no desire after God, therefore, there is no prayer; and even our desires must be regulated by the written word, and be presented in exclusive reliance on the atonement and intercession of our divine Surety. If you would worship with an undistracted heart, resist all temptations to let the eye wander; and endeavour to feel in your hearts each petition you utter with your lips. Believe that God is nigh; that he is propitious, through the Son of his love; that effectual, fervent prayer availeth much; and that he can enlighten, convince, and convert the whole congregation, with as much ease as he can change the heart of an individual. Expect that he will answer while you are yet speaking, by send

reprinted, and cause it to be distributed among the pew-holders in our numerous congregations.

whole catholic church, and by making his Gospel the power of God to

the salvation of all that are under its sound.

In hearing the word, recollect that your business is not to judge, but to learn; not to admire the servant, but to worship his Lord; not to criticise the manner of the messenger, but to embrace his message. Bear in memory, that you are not only in God's house, but in his presence; and that the thoughts of your heart, and the frame of your mind, are as obvious to his eye, as are the features of your face, or the posture of your body. The Gospel is a proclamation of pardon to the guilty, of good tidings to the meek, and of deliverance to the captives; it invites the poor, the halt, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, to a royal banquet; it is, therefore, addressed to you; and your life and happiness, in time and eternity, depend on your prompt compliance. Hear in faith, with self-application, in the spirit of prayer, and with a firm determination to obey. Recollect that for your Gospel-opportunities you will have to give a strict account; that each sermon you hear may be your last; and that the Ministers who preach Christ crucified will be to you either the "savour of death unto death, or of life unto life." Guard, therefore, against ungrounded prejudices, and capricious preferences; esteem each of your Ministers very highly in love for his work's sake; endure sound doctrine, and avoid fellowship with those who, "after their own lusts, heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." Let your home arrangement be such, that you can always stay till the conclusion of the service; and then silently and reverently depart, with the benediction of God resting on your consecrated hearts.

As soon as you reach your dwellings, retire for a few minutes to meditate on what you have heard, and to pray that it may dwell in you "not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance."

When you meet your households at the family board, be cheerful, and endeavour to make them happy while partaking of the bounties of Providence.

Sunday ought to be a privileged day in food, in clothes, and in family fellowship. The trials and crosses of the past week should be forgotten. The grace of redemption, the kind interventions of Providence, the progress of the work of God in the earth, the virtues of the Lord's people, and the beauties of creation, ought to form the themes of your Sabbath-day discourse. As you value the favour of God, and desire the salvation of your children, put down everything like evil-speaking and religious gossip. The most impressive parts of the sermon ought to be repeated, and each member of the family group should be encouraged to advert to that part which most interested himself. The regular repetition of these conversational exercises will strengthen the memory, impress the heart, increase knowledge, and inspire confidence between you and the different members of your family.

For the afternoon no general plan can be laid down. Those who have but few opportunities for improving their minds, and attending to the duties of the closet, during the week, will do well to spend it in religious reading, meditation, and prayer; with which exercises they may profitably intermingle tractdistribution, and visits to the beds of the sick and dying. Servants who are precluded from attending morning worship ought, by all means, to spend the afternoon in the house of God, and in the fellowship of the saints. Those who devote this part of the day to the religious instruction of the children of the poor and profligate, render a most acceptable service to God and his church. Sundayschool tuition involves a great amount of self-denial; but when it is conducted on religious principles, and with a direct reference to the glory of God and the salvation of the children's souls, the benefit, both to the Teacher and the taught, will be great and endless. To such of our readers as have devoted themselves to this arduous vocation we would say, Watch against distraction, irritation, and despondence; preserve in your soul the fervour of a deep

toned piety; draw your instructions from the book of God, and let them be imbued with, and enforced by, the love of Christ; be punctual, be faithful, be prayerful, and rest not satisfied till you see your scholars "clothed and in their right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus."

In those families where the children do not attend school, the father, or, in case he be irreligious, or officially engaged, the mother, ought to take them apart for religious conversation, prayer, and catechetical instruction. Thousands and tens of thousands will have cause to bless God through eternity for niaternal counsel and prayer, in the secret chamber, on the Sunday afternoon. A mother's eloquence is all but irresistible; and her influence, when consecrated to the Redeemer, and perseveringly employed in his name, for the conversion of her children, is sure, sooner or later, to be crowned with success. These afternoon exercises, however, must be so ordered, that the family may be duly present at the commencement of the evening worship; concerning which, the advices given in connexion with the morning service will apply.

At the close of the day, the young, and such as have their time at their own command, ought to retire, either to their chamber, or to some secluded spot, for the purpose of reviewing their conduct and demeanour before God and man; of calling back to their recollection the truths they have heard; of humbling themselves for their conscious defects; and of offering devout thanksgivings for the mercies and privileges they have enjoyed. With renewed repentance for what has been said or done amiss, there must be a fresh application to the blood of sprinkling. And that the outgoings of our evenings and mornings may rejoice together, let us repeat our acts of consecration, and, committing the keeping of body and soul to God, let us say with David, "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety."

Heads of families ought to endeavour to make the concluding hours

of the Sabbath pleasant and profitable to all under their care. Servants and children should be congregated together. Shy distrust and lordly reserve should be banished from the circle; and all should be encouraged to join in singing hymns, in spiritual discourse, in Scripture reading, and in prayer. At such a time, and in such circumstances, the parent and master who has been "in the Spirit on the Lord's day" must feel his heart warmed and enlarged; and, anxious to diffuse the peace and joy which soothe and animate his own breast, he will delight to bless his household, saying, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." This is to keep the Sabbath holy; and they that do so shall in no wise lose their reward. The blessing of God that maketh rich, and is free from added sorrow, shall descend on them and their families, on their temporal and eternal interests, on the purposes of their hearts, and on the labours of their hands.

In conclusion, it is manifest that the law of the Sabbath remains uncancelled; that its proper business is the worship of God; and that its leading design is the diffusion of truth, and the salvation of men. Whatever labours or recreations, therefore, are inconsistent with this design, and tend to indispose us for this service, are clearly sinful,though in themselves, and when practised on other days, they may be innocent. If we are not to find our own pleasure, nor speak our own words, on this day, but to "call it a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable;" then it follows, that it is a sin to employ any part of it in painting or pencilling; in singing carnal songs; in telling idle stories; in conversing about politics, and trading transactions; or in reading newspapers, novels, plays, and profane history. None of these exercises have any connexion with the worship of God; some of them are utterly inimical to the spirit of piety, and all of them are manifest

infractions on the sanctity of the Sabbath.

In many families, where God has an altar, the evenings of the Lord's day are fearfully desecrated by worldly discourse. Relatives and near neighbours collect; and, after a few pious preliminary topics have been touched, they slide, by degrees, into a free conversation about politics, prices, and passing events: and, ere they break up, they fix the time of projected journeys, repeat the scandal of the week, and discuss the characters of Magistrates and Ministers, to the infinite damage of the souls of their servants and children. This is a soul-destroying and a God-dishonouring custom. It has indeed an air of friendship to man, but it betokens enmity to God. If any of our readers have opened their houses for such gatherings, or have mingled in them, we entreat them, as they regard the honour of God, the credit of religion, and the salvation of their families, to give them up at once and for ever. It matters not whom you offend, or what reproach you incur, the practice must be renounced, or the curse of the Lord will be in your house.

The practice of walking out into the country, though not essentially sinful, (provided the worship of God be not neglected,) is, to say the least, highly inexpedient, on the part of those who fear God. We admit, that the sight of Jehovah's works may assist us in forming lofty conceptions of his perfections, and in approaching his throne with augmented confidence: but, as we are surrounded with Sabbath-breakers, to whom we cannot explain our motives, nor tell the secrets of our hearts, and who are sure to justify their sinful excursions by an appeal to our brief meditative walks; we are bound, alike by regard for the glory of God, and love to the souls of men, to abstain from that which, under other circumstances, we might have done without condemnation. "Let no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way;" "Let not, then, your good be evil spoken of;" are apostolic precepts, which have a direct

bearing on the case in hand. To walk or ride out, on pretence that health cannot otherwise be preserved, implies a reflection on God,-as if obedience to his law were incompatible with the enjoyment of his providential blessings. Thousands have ascribed their religious declension, and subsequent ruin, to Sunday walks. Indeed, we know no practice which more rapidly leads to the obliteration of serious impressions, and to the depravation of principle, than that of habitual Sunday walking. Those who extol the beauties of nature, and magnify the advantages to be derived from studying her lessons, as portrayed in the cloud-capped mountain," the verdant valley, the winding stream, and the forest foliage, generally despise the beauty of Christian holiness, and scoff at the doctrines of revealed religion. As is their zeal for liberalizing the Sabbath-law, such is their negligence in practising the Christian virtues. With them the principles of morality are conventional; Christian experience is enthusiasm ; the preaching of the Gospel is an expensive expedient, which might be well merged in a general system of education; and the God of nature supplants the God of grace, both in their creed and in their worship.

Were this to be the last stroke of our pen, and had we reached the last moment of our life, we should employ both the one and the other in enforcing on our readers the divine injunction, "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." For if the threatenings of God are to be believed; if all history is not a lie; if it be notorious, that genteel Sabbath-breakers are totally destitute of Christian experience; and if the confessions which the profligate have made in our jails, and on our gibbets, cannot be invalidated; then the face of the Lord is set against them that turn the Sabbath into a day of pastime, or of gainful toil: and, on the other hand, if the promises of God are true; if the concurrent voice of sacred and profane history is to be received; if the testimony of righteous Kings, just Judges, godly Bishops, and the