forbidden, as well as what is commanded, et e contra. And this is a rule which holds in the exposition of all the commandments of the law, and of the gospel : "Cease to do evil, and learn to do good." (Isai. i. 16, 17.) The negative and affirmative precept have such a mutual relation one to another, that one doth infer the other; and take away one, and you destroy the other. It is impossible to do what is commanded without due care of avoiding what is prohibited; neither can that man rationally pretend to keep the sabbath, that lieth a-bed all day, because he doth not work; nor he that followeth his servile labour, because possibly he may perform some religious duties. "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Carnal sports and pleasures are as great a profanation of the sabbath, as the most servile labour and drudgery in the world. Dicing and carding do as much violate the law of the sabbath, as digging and carting ; playing, as much as ploughing; dancing and morrice-games, as much as working in the smith's forge; bowling and shooting, as well as hewing of wood and drawing of water.

The reasons are clear: for,

1. Sports and pleasures are as expressly forbidden as bodily labour in our ordinary vocation. For he that said, "Thou shalt do no manner of work," said also, "Thou shalt not find thine own pleasure," &c.

2. Sports and pleasures are as inconsistent with a sabbath-frame of spirit, as the grossest labour in our calling.-Yea, I will undertake that a man in his particular calling may more easily get good thoughts of God and of eternal life, &c., than a person that is drenched and immersed in vain delights and sports. In such cases, men are usually so intent upon their sports and pastimes, that it is not easy to edge-in a good serious thought in the midst of sensual delights. A man in his carnal pleasures is like the soul in the body; "all in all, and all in every part" of their pleasing vanities.* Pleasures do fox + and intoxicate the brain; whenas labour is apt to make them serious and considerate.

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3. Pleasures are as great diversions from the duty of a sabbath, as labours. It is conceived, Adam should have had a sabbath in Paradise, had he persisted in innocence. Why?" Not because his dressing of the garden would have wearied him, (for weariness is the fruit of sin,) but his dressing of the garden would have been a diversion from attending his Creator in the ordinances of a sabbath.

4. Carnal pleasures leave a defilement on the spirits, and so do totally unfit the soul for communion with God.-That character, "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God," how fully doth it agree to such kind of profarers of the sabbath! Pleasures draw off the mind from God, and justly cause God to withdraw from the soul; how totally doth this indispose to sabbath-work! In heaven they cease not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy," &c. O! Christians, never think of reconciling carnal pleasures and communion with God together: it is impossible.

RULE VII.

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"Not speaking thine own words." The sabbath is polluted by words as well as by works.-Christ will judge men in the great day for their

• Tota in toto, et tota in qualibet parte.

In the old meaning of, "to stupify."

words; and by them will he either justify thee for sanctifying the sabbath, or condemn thee for profaning of it. I am afraid, it is the great controversy God hath with this nation: not only profane, but even professors, are all guilty of not sanctifying the name and day of God in their talk and discourses upon the sabbath-day. If Jesus Christ should join himself to our tables, or lesser companies, as he did with the two disciples going to Emmaus, and ask us, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another?" (Luke xxiv. 15-17 ;) how might the question fill our faces with paleness and strike us speechless! Alas! who can tell what day it is by men's discourses and conferences one with another? How vain, foolish, unprofitable, and unsavoury is most men's speech all the day! No jest so idle, no story so common and fruitless, but will pass at our tables and in our private conference. Many spend the best of their time no better than the idolatrous Athenians did their worst, "in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing." (Acts xvii. 21.) "What news?" is the most innocent question wherewith (I would I could not say) most men fill up the vacancies of a sabbath. "And is that sinful? will you say? Was it not in Nehemiah's question?' Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem,' &c. (Neh. i. 2.) Presently, What news?' And why may not Christians ask the same question?"—Yes; they may, when they ask it in Nehemiah's spirit, to Nehemiah's end; that is, that we may get our hearts suitably affected with the miseries or prosperity of the church of God, abroad or at home. See what a gracious use he makes of his news in that and in the following chapter, at your leisure: : go ye, and do likewise, and it shall be your honour. But, to tell news, and to inquire after news, merely for novelty-sake, and to fill up time for want of better discourse, is a miserable idling-out of precious time, which might be spent to mutual edification; whereas, by ordinary and unsavoury discourses, which are usually heard amongst us, people do edify one another indeed, but it is ad gehennam,—they edify one another "to hell."

You that pretend to be the Lord's people, be more jealous for the Lord's day and honour. "The Lord taketh pleasure in his people. Let the saints be joyful in glory." (Psalm cxlix. 4, 5.) Let your speech be always seasoned with salt, especially on God's day, that you may season your children and servants, who otherwise will be corrupted by such rotten communication. O let your prayer be all times, but especially on the sabbath day, that of holy David: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; and keep the door of my lips." (Psalm cxli. 3.) The sabbath is God's glory let your tongues be so too.

RULE VIII.

The like caution we ought to use about our thoughts.-By the rule of proportion; they being the language of our hearts, and as audible in the ears of God as our words are to men's; yea, whereas men understand our hearts by our words, God understands our words by our hearts. Moses did set bounds about the mount, that neither man nor beast might break-in; whatsoever touched the mountain must die: (Exod. xix. 12, 13 :)

so must we set bounds about our heart, that neither human nor brutish distractions may break-in. There is death or life in it, and, therefore, "of all keepings, keep thy heart; for out of it are the issues of life." (Prov. iv. 23.) The heart indeed is not so fencible as the mountain; but the more open it lieth, the stronger guard had we need to set upon it, and to pray for a guard from heaven; as David: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalm xix. 14.) If vain or vile thoughts break in upon thee, do as the ravished virgin was to do, in the law,—“ cry out" to God, and thou shalt not be held guilty. (Deut. xxii. 27.)

Christians, this caution is of a special concern to you: "O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?" (Jer. iv. 14.) Resolve the text into its integrals, and it will afford you some such observables : 1. Thoughts will defile the heart, as well as deeds. "Wash thy heart." 2. This defilement will damn the soul. "Wash, that thou mayest be saved." 3. The reason is implied: they are wickedness. "Wash thine heart from wickedness." 4. All this evil is even in vain thoughts as well as in vile thoughts. "How long shall thy vain thoughts," &c. 5. Therefore we must wash our hearts from vain thoughts, as well as from wicked and blasphemous thoughts. Hence I infer, 6. If this should be the work of a Christian every day, how much more on God's day! The purer the paper, the fouler the stain and blot. Christians, look to your hearts.

RULE IX.

Further, take notice of the appropriation." Thy own ways;" "Thy own pleasures;" "Thy own words."

OBJECTION. "And are not holy ways, and holy pleasures, and holy words our own, as well as such as are carnal and sensual?"

ANSWER. Yes, they are: but God speaks here according to our sense and apprehension; from whence, note how brutish and sensual lapsed man is in his notions and apprehensions of things, that he can call nothing his own, but what relateth to the flesh. "I have written to him," saith God, "the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing" (Hosea viii. 12 :) alienum, "foreign," and of no concernment to himself at all.

RULE X.

And let this also serve for a tenth rule: In our sanctifying of the sabbath, we must be specially careful to distinguish, what is God's, and what is our own.—Indeed we must distinguish between what is Satan's, our own, and God's.

1. There be sinful, wicked pleasures, ways, words, thoughts; I say, wicked and sinful in themselves, and these are properly the devil's pleasures, the devil's ways, the devil's words and thoughts; and these are lawful at no time, much less on God's time. God's day and the devil's employment do not well agree.

2. And there are our own pleasures, ways, words, and thoughts; such as concern the present life, relating to the body and outward man. These

may be lawful on our days: "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work;" but are not lawful on the sabbath-day: "In it thou shalt do no manner of work," &c., save what is of necessity or charity.

3. And then there are God's pleasures, ways, words, and thoughts; that is, of God's command, and such as lie in a direct tendency to the worship and service of God in public, private, or secret; and these only we may and must do and mind upon the sabbath. If we mix any of the devil's or our own pleasures and profits with God's, we pollute the holy things of God, and profane his sabbath.

This is the sum of what time will give me leave to say upon the negative part of this model. Only, before I dismiss it, let me add this short note of observation, that if what hath been spoken even on this negative part be the mind and will of God concerning the sanctifying of the sabbath, then may the generality of Christians lie down in the dust, and, smiting upon their thigh, with brinish tears upon their cheeks, confess, with a pious, honourable lady upon her dying bed, "O! I never kept a sabbath in all my life." The Lord teach us so to lay this sin to heart, that God may never lay it to our charge.

RULES DRAWN FROM THE AFFIRMATIVE PART OF THIS MODEL.

Having thus briefly dispatched the negative part of sabbath-sanctification contained in this model, I come now to the positive and affirmative part. There we saw what we are forbidden, as that whereby the sabbath is polluted. Here we are informed what we are commanded, as that whereby the sabbath is sanctified, that is, kept holy to the Lord; as we are enjoined, "Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it," &c., in these words. following: "And shalt call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him," &c.

In this positive model are contained four great comprehensive branches or duties, wherein the sanctification of the sabbath doth consist; namely,

(I.) We must call it our "delight."

(II.) We must call it "holy," or "the holy of the Lord."

(III.) We must call it "honourable," or glorious.

(IV.) We must not only call the day an "honourable" day, but we must really and actually "honour" God, or "honour" the day.

The heads are few; but they are very comprehensive, and such as will afford us, in the opening of them, much matter for our use and direction in the sanctification of the sabbath; although I intend in this exercise but briefly to touch upon some few particular heads or rules, reserving the more full and ample enlargement thereof to some other opportunity. (I.) The first is : We must" call the sabbath a delight," or, the pronoun supplied, "thy delight."

Call it so-We are not to account the sabbath as an ordinary and common thing, but to put a very high and precious valuation upon it, as delightful, "the holy of the Lord," and of honourable renown.

so.

A delight, thy delight-We must call it so, account it so, or make it The sabbath must be a delectable thing to us, a nest of sweetnesses, the delight of our eyes, the joy and rejoicing of our hearts, a day wherein all our comforts and pleasures do concentre; all our fresh

springs must be in it. And this I humbly conceive the Holy Ghost doth most significantly oppose unto the pleasures forbidden before in this

same verse.

If thou turn away thy foot from doing thy pleasure, &c.-As if it had been said, "Must we be excluded and shut out from all pleasures and delights upon the sabbath?" "No," saith the Holy Ghost; "sanctify the sabbath of Jehovah, and thou shalt not need to fear the want of pleasure, neither shalt thou need to be beholden to the flesh or the world for delights. The sabbath itself will be incomparably more sweet and delectable to thee, than all the sensual and luscious contentments and satisfactions which this whole sublunary world can afford. Make the sabbath thy delight, and thou shalt need to knock at no other door for pleasurable entertainments. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Call my sabbath thy delight,' he would make his day unto thee a spring of sweetness, that shall always be flowing out to eternal life." A day well-spent with God will fill the soul with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."

QUESTION. "But what shall we do, that we may make the sabbath our delight?" or, "When may we be said to call it so, or make it 80?"

RULES OR SIGNS OF MAKING THE SABBATH A DELIGHT.

ANSWER 1. We then call the sabbath our delight," when we can rejoice in the approach of the sabbath. See how holy David doth solace his soul in the joyful expectation of communion with God, when his banishment from the ordinances did approach: "Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy;" Hebrew, "the gladness of my joy." (Psalm xliii. 4.)

2. Our early stirring-up of ourselves to bid the sabbath welcome to our hearts and habitations.-So, the holy prophet: "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee." (Psalm lxiii. 1.) The earliness of his devotions shows the delight that he took in them. Truly the great indulgence that most Christians allow themselves in their bed on the Lord's day, is an infallible argument how little delight they take in God's day, or in the ordinances thereof.

3. Then we may be said to call the sabbath our delight," when we are universally careful to sanctify God in all the institutions of the day, both public, private, and secret.-And are solicitous so to methodize and time them, that they may not justle out or interfere with one another; that is to say, to be so early in our closet devotion, that the closet may not exclude or straiten the duties of the family, and so to perform the domestic duties, that they may not trespass upon our attendance on the more solemn public worship of God. An universal respect to all the institutions of a sabbath is an evident demonstration, that we call the sabbath our “ delight: as David evidenceth to his own soul the sincerity of his obedience : "Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments." (Psalm cxix. 6.)

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4. When we are angry with, or impatient of, any diversions from or disturbance in any duty or services of the day.-To be glad of a diversion argueth little love to or delight in the sabbath. "I have esteemed,"