God hath made it our duty, by his institution, to set apart this day for a special seeking of his grace and blessing. From which we may argue, that he will be especially ready to confer his grace on those who thus seek it. If it be the day on which God requires us especially to seek him, we may argue, that it is a day on which especially he will be found. That God is ready on this day especially to bestow his blessing on them that keep it aright, is implied in that expression of God's blessing the Sabbath day. God hath not only hallowed the Sabbath day, but blessed it; he hath given his blessing to it, and will confer his blessing upon all the due observers of it. He hath hallowed it, or appointed that it be kept holy by us, and hath blessed it; he hath determined to give his blessing upon it.

So that here is great encouragement for us to keep holy the Sabbath, as we would seek God's grace and our own spiritual good. The Sabbath day is an accepted time, a day of salvation, a time wherein God especially loves to be sought, and loves to be found. The Lord Jesus Christ takes delight in his own day; he delights to honor it; he delights to meet with and manifest himself to his disciples on it, as he showed before his ascension, by appearing to them from time to time on this day. On this day he delights to give his Holy Spirit, as he intimated, by choosing it as the day on which to pour out the Spirit in so remarkable a manner on the primitive church, and on which to give his Spirit to the Apostle John.

Of old God blessed the seventh day, or appointed it to be a day whereon especially he would bestow blessings on his people, as an expression of his own joyful remembrance of that day, and of the rest and refreshment which he had on it. Exod. xxxi. 16, 17. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath....For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." As princes give gifts on their birth days, on their marriage days, and the like; so God was wont to dispense spiritual gifts on the seventh day.

But how much more reason has Christ to bless the day of his resurrection, and to delight to honor it, and to confer his grace and blessed gifts on his people on this day. It was a day whereon Christ rested and was refreshed in a literal sense. It was a day of great refreshment and joy to Christ, being the day of his deliverance from the chains of death, the day of his finishing that great and difficult work of redemption, which had been upon his heart from all eternity; the day of his justification by the Father; the day of the beginning of his exaltation, and of the fulfilment of the promises of the Father; the day when he had eternal life, which he had purchased, put into his hands....On this day Christ doth indeed delight to distribute gifts, and blessings, and joy, and happiness, and will delight to do the same to the end of the world.

O therefore, how well is it worth our while to improve this day, to call upon God and seek Jesus Christ on it! Let awakened sinners be stirred up by these things, to improve the Sabbath day, as they would lay themselves most in the way of the Spirit of God. Improve the Sabbath day to call upon God; for then he is near. Improve the Sabbath day for reading the holy scriptures, and diligently attending his word preached; for then is the likeliest time to have the Spirit accompanying it. Let the saints who are desirous of growing in grace, and enjoying communion with Christ, improve the Sabbath in order to it.

(5.) The last motive which I shall mention, is the expe rience of the influence which a strict observation of the Sabbath has upon the whole of religion. It may be observed, that in those places where the Sabbath is well kept, religion in general will be most flourishing; and that in those places where the Sabbath is not much taken notice of, and much is not made of it, there is no great matter of religion any way,

Here I would give several directions in answer to this.

INQUIRY. HOW ought we to keep the Sabbath?

ANSWER 1. We ought to be exceedingly careful on this day to abstain from sin, Indeed, all breaches of the Sabbath are sinful; but we speak now of those things which are in themselves sinful, or sinful upon other accounts, besides that they are done upon the Sabbath. The Sabbath being holy time, it is especially defiled by the commission of sin. Sin by being committed on this day becomes the more exceeding sinful. We are required to abstain from sin at all times, but especially on holy time. The commission of immoralities on the Sabbath is the worst way of profaning it, that which most provokes God, and brings most guilt upon the souls of men.

How provoking must it be to God, when men do those things on that day which God has sanctified, and set apart to be spent in the immediate exercises of religion, which are not fit to be done on common days, which are impure and wicked whenever they are done!

Therefore, if any persons be guilty of any such wickedmess as intemperance, or any unclean actions, they do in a very horrid manner profane the Sabbath. Or if they be guilty of wickedness in speech, of talking profanely, or in an unclean and lascivious manner, or of talking against their neighYet bors, they do in a dreadful manner profane the Sabbath. very commonly those who are used to such things on week days, have not a conscience to restrain them on the Sabbath. It is well if those that live in the indulgence of the lust of uncleanness on week days, be not some way or other unclean on the Sabbath. They will be indulging the same lusts then ; they will be indulging the same impure, flames in their imag inations at least: And it is well if they keep clear while in the house of God, and while they pretend to be worshipping God. The unclean young man gives this account of himself, Prov. v. 14. "I was almost in an evil in the midst of the congregation and the assembly." So those who are addicted to an impure way of talking in the week time, have nothing to keep them from the same upon the Sabbath, when they

meet together. But dreadfully is God provoked by such things.

We ought carefully to watch over our own hearts, and to avoid all sinful thoughts on the Sabbath. We ought to main tain such a reverence for the Sabbath, as to have a peculiar dread of sin, such as shall awe us to a very careful watch over ourselves.

2. We ought to be careful to abstain from all worldly concerns. The reason as we have showed, why it is needful and proper, that certain stated parts of time should be set apart to be devoted to religious exercises, is because the state of mankind is such in this world, that they are necessitated to exercise their minds, and employ their thoughts about secular matters. It is therefore convenient that there should be stated times, wherein all should be obliged to throw by all other concerns, that their minds may the more freely and with less entanglement, be engaged in religious and spiritual exercises.

We are therefore to do thus, or else we frustrate the very design of the institution of a Sabbath. We are strictly to abstain from being outwardly engaged in any worldly thing, either worldly business or recreations. We are to rest in remembrance of God's rest from the work of creation, and of Christ's rest from the work of redemption. We should be careful that we do not encroach upon the Sabbath at its beginning, by busying ourselves about the world after the Sabbath is begun. We should avoid talking about worldly matters, and even thinking about them; for whether we outwardly concern ourselves with the world or not, yet if our minds be upon it, we frustrate the end of the Sabbath. The end of its separation from other days is, that our minds may be disengaged from worldly things; and we are to avoid being outwardly concerned with the world, only for this reason, that that cannot be without taking up our minds. We ought therefore to give the world no place in our thoughts on the Sabbath, but to abstract ourselves from all worldly concern.

ment, and maintain a watch over ourselves, that the world do not encroach, as it is very apt to do, Isai. Iviii. 13, 14.

3. We ought to spend the time in religious exercises. This is the more ultimate end of the Sabbath: We are to keep our minds separate from the world, principally for this end, that we may be the more free for religious exercises. Though it be a day of rest, yet it was not designed to be a day of idleness: To rest from worldly employments, without employing ourselves about any thing, is but to lay ourselves so much more in the devil's way. The mind will be employed some way or other; and therefore doubtless the end for which we are to call off our minds from worldly things on the Sabbath is, that we may employ them about things that are better.

We are to attend on spiritual exercises with the greatest diligence. That it is a day of rest, doth not hinder us in so doing; for we are to look on spiritual exercises but as the rest and refreshment of the soul. In heaven, where the people of God have the most perfect rest, they are not idle, but are employed in spiritual and heavenly exercises. We should take care therefore to employ our minds on a Sabbath day on spiritual objects by holy meditation; improving for our help therein the holy scriptures, and other books that are according to the word of God. We should also employ ourselves outwardly on this day in the duties of divine worship, in public and private. It is proper to be more frequent and abundant in secret duties on this day, than on other days, as we have time and opportunity, as well as to attend on public ordinances.

It is proper on this day, not only especially to promote the exercise of religion in ourselves, but also in others; to be assisting them, and endeavoring to promote their spiritual good, by religious conversation and conference. Especially those who have the care of others ought, on this day, to endeavor to promote their spiritual good: Heads of families should be instructing and counselling their children, and quickening them in the ways of religion, and should see to it