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down into despair, by fuch a fevere reprefentation of the wrath of God due to him for his fins, as is not mollified by a fenfible propounding of Chrift and his merit by a door of hope to every penitent believer.

When the fick perfon is best compofed, may be least disturbed, and other neceffary offices about him leaft hindered, the minifter, if defired, fhall pray with him, and for him, to this effect.

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Confeffing and bewailing of fin original and actual, the miserable con'dition of all by nature, as being children of wrath, and under the curse ; acknowledging that all difeafes, fickneffes, death, and hell itself, are the proper iffues and effects thereof; imploring God's mercy for the fick perfon, through the blood of Chrift; befeeching that God • would open his eyes, discover unto him his fins, cause him to see him'felf loft in himself, make known to him the caufe why God fmiteth him, reveal Jefus Chrift to his foul for righteousness and life, give unto him his holy Spirit to create and ftrengthen faith, to lay hold upon 'Chrift, to work in him comfortable evidences of his love, to arm him ' against temptations, to take off his heart from the world, to fanctify his present vifitation, to furnish him with patience and strength to bear ⚫ it, and to give him perfeverance in faith to the end.

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That, if God thail please to add to his days, he would vouchsafe to blefs and fanctify all means of his recovery, to remove the disease renew his ftrength, and enable him to walk worthy of God, by a faith⚫ful remembrance, and diligent obferving of fuch vows and promifes of holinefs and obedience, as men are apt to make in times of fickness, that he may glorify God in the remaining part of his life.

And, if God have determined to finish his days by the prefent vifitation, he may find fuch evidence of the pardon of all his fins, of his intereft in Chrift, and eternal life by Chriít, as may caufe his inward 'man to be renewed, while his outward man decayeth; that he may behold death without fear, caft himself wholly upon Chrift without ⚫ doubting, defire to be diffolved and to be with Christ, and so receive the end of his faith, the falvation of his foul, through the only merits ⚫ and interceffion of the Lord Jefus Chrift, our alone Saviour and allfufficient Redeemer.

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The minifter fhall admonish him alfo, (as there fhall be caufe) to fet his house in order, thereby to prevent inconveniences; to take care for payment of his debts, and to make reftitution or fatisfaction where he hath done any wrong: to be reconciled to thofe with whom he hath been at variance, and fully to forgive all men their trefpaffes against him, as he expects forgiveness at the hand of God.

Laftly, the minifter may improve the prefent occafion to exhort those about the fick perfon, to confider their own mortality, to return to the Lord, and make peace with him; in health to prepare for fickness, death, and judgment; and all the days of their appointed time fo to wait uatil their change come, that when Chrift, who is our life, fhall appear, they may appear with him in glory.

Con

WHEN

Concerning Burial of the Dead.

THEN any perfon departeth this life, let the dead body, upon the day of burial, be decently attended from the house to the place appointed for public burial, and there immediately interred, without any

ceremony.

And because the customs of kneeling down, and praying by, or towards the dead corps, and other fuch ufages, in the place where it lies before it be carried to burial, are fuperftitious; and for that, praying, reading, and finging both in going to, and at the grave, have been grofly abfurd, are no way beneficial to the dead, and have proved many ways hurtful to the living; therefore let all fuch things be laid afide.

Howbeit, we judge it very convenient, that the chriftian friends, which accompany the dead body to the place appointed for public burial, do apply themselves to meditations and conferences fuitable to the occafion; and that the minifter, as upon other occafions, fo at this time, if he be prefent, may put in remembrance of their duty.

That this fhall not extend to deny any civil refpects or deferences at the burial, fuitable to the rank and condition of the party deceased whiles he was living.

WH

Concerning Public Solemn Fafting.

HEN fome great and notable judgments are either infflicted upon a people, or apparently imminent, or by fome extraordinary provocations notoriously deferved; as alfo when fome fpecial bleffing is to be fought and obtained, public folemn fasting (which is to continae the whole day) is a duty that God expecteth from that nation, or people.

A religious faft requires total abftinence, not only from all food (unlefs body weaknefs do manifeftly difable from holding out till the faft be ended, in which cafe fomewhat may be taken, yet very fparingly, to fupport nature, when ready to faint) but alfo from all worldly labour, difcourfes and thoughts, and from all bodily delights, and fuch Jike, (although at other times lawful) rich apparel, ornaments and fuch like, during the fast; and much more from whatever is in the nature, or ufe, fcandalous and offenfive, as gaudish attire, lascivious habits and geftures, and other vanities of either fex; which we recommend to all minifters, in their places, diligently and zealously to reprove, as at other times, fo especially at a fast, without refpect of perfons, as there shall be occafion.

Before the public meeting, each family and perfon apart are privately to ufe all religious care to prepare their hearts to fuch a folemn work, and to be carly at the congregation.

So

1

So large a portion of the day, as conveniently may be, is to be spent in public reading and preaching of the word, with finging of pfalms, fit to quicken affections fuitable to fuch a duty: but especially in pray. er, to this or the like effect;

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Giving glory to the great majefty of God, the Creator, Preferver, and fupreme Ruler of all the world, the better to affect us thereby with an holy reverence and awe of him. Acknowledging his manifold, great and tender mercies, efpecially to the church and nation, the more effectually to foften and abafe our hearts before him. Humbly confeffing of fins of all forts, with their feveral aggravations; juftifying God's righteous judgments, as being far lefs than our fios do delerve; yet humbly and earnestly imploring his mercy and grace ⚫ for ourselves, the church and nation, for our king and all in autho ⚫rity, and for all others for whom we are bound to pray (according as the prefent exigent requireth) with more fpecial importunity and enlargement than at other times; applying, by faith; the promiles and goodness of God, for pardon, help, and deliverance from the evils felt, feared, or deferved; and for obtaining the bleffings which we need and expect, together with a giving up of ourselves wholly and for ever unto the Lord.'

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In all thefe, the minifters, who are the mouths of the people unto God, ought fo to fpeak from their hearts, upon ferious and thorough premeditation of them, that both themselves and their people may be much affected, and even melted thereby, especially with forrow for their fins, that it may be indeed a day of deep humiliation and afflicting of the foul.

Special choice is to be made of fuch fcriptures to be read, and of fuch texts for preaching, as may best work the hearts of the hearers to the fpecial bufinefs of the day, and moft difpole them to humiliation and repentance: infifting moft on thofe particulas, which each minifter's obfervation and experience tells him are moft conducing to the e dification and reformation of that congregation to which he preacheth.

Before the clofe of the public duties, the minifter is, in his own and the people's names, to engage his and their hearts to be the Lord's, with profeffed purpose and refolution to reform whatever is amifs among them, and more particularly fuch fins as they have been more remarkably guilty of; and to draw near unto God, and to walk more clofely and faithfully with him in new obedience, than ever before.

He is alfo to admonish the people with ali importunity, that the work of that day doth not end with the public duties of it, but that they are fo to improve the remainder of the day, and of their whole life, in reinforcing upon themselves and their families in private, all those godly affections and refolutions which they profeffed in public, as that they may be fettled in their hearts for ever, and themfelves may more fenfibly find that God hath fmelt a fweet favour in Chrift from their performances, and is pacified towards them, by anfwers of grace,

in pardoning of fin, in removing of judgments, in averting or preventing of plagues, and in conferring of bleffings, fuitable to the condition and prayers of his people, by Jefus Chrift.

Befides folemn and general fafts injoined by authority, we judge that, at other times, congregations may keep days of fafting, as divine providence fhall adminifter unto them fpecial occafion; and alfo that families may do the fame, to it be not on days wherein the congregation to which they do belong is to meet for fafting, or other public duties of worship.

Concerning the Obfervation of Days of public Thanksgiving.

WHEN

7HEN any fuch day is to be kept, let notice be given of it, and of the occafion thereof, fome convenient time before, that the people may the better prepare themfelves thereunto.

The day being come, and the congregation (after private preparations) being affembled, the minifter is to begin with a word of exhortation, to ftir up the people to the duty for which they are met, and with a fhort prayer for God's affiftance and bleffing, (as at other conventions for public worship) according to the particular occafion of their meeting.

Let him then make fome pithy narration of the deliverance obtained or mercy received, or of whatever hath occafioned that affembling of the congregation, that all may better understand it, or be minded of it, and more affected with it.

And, because singing of pfalms is of all other the most proper ordinance for expreffing of joy and thanfgiving, let fome pertinent pfalm or pfalms be fung for that purpose, before or after the reading of fome portion of the word fuitable to the prefent business.

Then let the minifter, who is to preach, proceed to further exhor tation and prayer before his fermon, with fpecial reference to the prefent work after which, let him preach upon fome text of fcripture pertinent to the occafion.

The fermon ended, let him not only pray, as at other times after preaching is directed, with remembrance of the neceffities of the church, kiug, and ftate (if before the fermon they were omitted) but inlarge himself in due and folemn thanfgiving for former mercies and deliverances, but more efpecially for that which at the prefent calls them together to give thanks: with humble petition for the continuance ard renewing of God's wonted mercies, as need fhall be, and for fanctifying grace to make a right use thereof. And fo, having fung ancther pfalm fuitable to the mercy,, let him difmils the congregation with a bleffing, that they may have fome convenient time for their repaft and refreshing.

But the minifter (before their difmiffion) is folemnly to admonish them, to beware of all excefs and riot, tending to gluttony or drunk

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ennefs, and much more of thete fins themselves, in their eating, and refreshing, and to take care that their mirth and rejoicing be not carnal, but fpiritual, which may make God's praife to be glorious, and themfelves humble and fober; and that both their feeding and rejoicing may render them more chearful and enlarged, further to celebrate his praites in the midst of the congregation, when they return unto it, in the remaining part of that day.

When the congregation fhall be again affembled, the like courfe in praying, reading, preaching, finging of pfalmis, and offering up of more praife and thanksgiving that is before directed for the morning, is to be renewed and continued fo far as the time will give leave.

At one or both of the public meetings that day, a collection is to be made for the poor (and in the like manner upon the day of public hu miliation) that their loins may blefs us, and rejoice the more with us. And the people are to be exhorted, at the end of the latter meeting, to spend the refidue of that day in holy duties, and teftifications of chriftian love and charity one towards another, and of rejoicing more and more in the Lord; as becometh those who make the joy of the Lord their ftrength. Of Singing of Pfalms.

T is the duty of chriftians to praife God publickly, by finging of pfalms together in the congregation, and alfo privately in the family. In finging of pfalms, the voice is to be tuneable and gravely ordered; but the chief care muft be, to fing with understanding, and with grace in the heart, making melody unto the Lord.

I togeth of the congregation, and do privatly by of

That the whole congregation may join herein, every one that can read is to have a pfalm book; and all others, not difabled by age or o therwise, are to be exhorted to learn to read. But for the prefent, where many in the congregation cannot read, it is convenient that the minifter, or fome other fit perfon appointed by him and the other ruling officers, do read the pfalm, line by line, before the finging thereof. An Appendix touching Days and Places for public Worship. THERE is no day commanded in Scripture to be kept holy under the gospel, but the Lord's day, which is the Chriftian Sabbath.

Feftival-days, vulgarly called holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.

Nevertheless, it is lawful and necessary, upen special emergent occafions to separate a day or days for public fafting or thanksgiving, as the feveral ́eminent and extraordinary difpenfations of God's providence fball adminifter cause and opportunity to his people.

As no place is capable of any holiness, under pretence of whatsoever ́dedication or confecration; fo neither is it fubject to fuch pollution by any Superftition formerly ufed and now laid afide, as may render it unlawful or inconvenient for Chriftians to meet together therein for the public worship of God. And therefore we hold it requifite, that the places of public affem bling for worship among us, should be continued and imployed to that ufe.

FINI S.

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