570 Obje{i. Tire/1. 2• Tirel1. 3· . General direEl:ions for tiJe Lords day. ~ncerrain, th_at Religion wouid. be for the mofi_ part banilhed out of the now Chrillian world. There– ~orc rhcrt bemg need of an Um\'erfal Law for 1t, it is probable that fuch a Law thc:rc is ; And if fo n can be h\' none bur.God, t~1e Crea~or, Redeemer and Holy Ghofi, there being no other V;riverfal Guvrrnuur and L<~w·gzvtr to 1mpofe Jt. 9· Io•. 9· All mull co~fefs, that it is more deftrable for Unity and Concerd Cake, that all Chrifl:ians hold thc1r_ holy A!fcmbhes on. one and the- fame day, and that all at once through all the world do worfh1p God and feek l11s Guce ; than that they do it fomc on one day, and feme on another. 9· 1 I· 10· And.aB that ever I have converfed with confefs, that if the holy fpending of ·the Lords ~1y be not 1ttce!fury, 1t .1s lawfzil: and therefore when there is fo much to be faid for the Necrffity of H too,. to k,_ctp, 1t holy JS the /dft{f way: Seeing this c,mnot be a fln, but the contrary may: And Li· ccnce IS encoun~c~ent enough to acl·ept fo greac a mercy. All this fer rogc:thcr .will fatistic a man that hath ar.y fp1r1tual fenfe of the conccrnmenrs ef his own and others fOuls. . ?· 1 z, Object. Bnt you will fay, That hi-fide; tbe name, it if yet a controverfit whether the whole day foouid be [pent in hol_y exercifn, orrmly {o mu~b as is meet fur public~ communi,~t, it being not fonnd in antiquity, that the Churcbu u{edany further to obferve it. Anfw. No fober man denycth that works of-nccrffuy for the prefervation of our ow11 or otiH:r menS Jives, or health, or g~ods may be done on the Lords Day: fo that when we (:l)' that the whole day is to be fpent boJi~,, we c:xclude not eating and fleeping, nor the necdl'uy aCl: ions about Worthip; as the Pritfls in the Temple are fa:d to break the Sabbath (that is, tho external reil) and to be blame– lclS. But orherwife, that ir is the whole thy, is evident in the Arguments produced: The antient Hifiorics and Canons of the Church fpeak not of one part of the day only, but the whole : All con– fefs, that when Labour or fiuful {porls are {orbiddm, it is on the wbole d~y, and not only on a parr. And for what is al\cdged of the cufiome o( the anticnt Church, I anfwer,. r. The anti'cnrcfiChurches fpenr almofi all the day in publick Worfhip and Communion: They begun in the morning, and con– tinued wid1our parting rill the evening : The: firfi part of the day being fptnt in reaching theCate– chumens, tht y w_cre then difi:nilfed, and the Church continued together in preaching and prayiRg, but ffptciJ.lly in tho{e laudatory Euchariftica\ Offi<.:es which accompany the cetebration of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Chrifi. They did not then, (as Gluttons do now ) account it faftiog to forbear a dinner, when they furped, yea, feafl:ed 'olt night: It being not ufual among the Romani to ut any dinnm at all. And they that fpent all the day·together in publick Worfhip and Communi· On, .you may be furc: fpent nor part of it in Dancing, nor Srage·playes, nor worldly bufindfes. 2· And Church.Hillory giveth us bur little account what particular perfons did in private-,nor can ir be expe– tl:ed. 3• Who hath brought us any proof that ever the Church approved of fper.ding any part of the day iir fports, or'idlenef5, or unneceffny worldly bufinefs? '?r that any Churches (or ptrfons regardable) did al.tually fo fpend it 1 4• Unlefs their proof be from thofe many Canons of oar own and other Cbur~hes that command the holy obfetvation of it; -and forbid thefe playes ~nd labours on it: which f confefs doth int imatc, that fome there were that needed Laws to relirl·in them from the violation of it. 5· Again I fay, th:tt feeing few merl will have th~ faces to fay th"it playes and games or idlenefs are aduty·on that day,-it"will fuffice a holy thankful Chrifiian if he have but leave to fptnd all the day for the good of hisfoul and thofe about him: and if he may be reading and medi-· rating on the Word ofGod, and prayilig and praifirig him, and inlhul.tihg his family, while others' wa"fie that time in vanity: efpecially to ftrvants and poor men that have but litr1c other leifure all the year, to feek for knowledge , or ufe any fuch helps for their (llvation. As to a poor man that is kept hungry all the Week; a bare /ibec'J of feafiing with his Landlord oo the tords day, would fathtie him Without aLaw to conjlrain hiin to it; fo is it here with a h~:~ngry foul. · 9· 2~ DireCf. 2· Rtmtmhtr tlut tbe worJt of the day if, iH gener.Jl, to '<fep up k._mwltdgtand Reli~ gion in the world, and to own and honour our Creatnr, Redeemer and Regeneratcr openly brfore 4l/._; .anrJ tO have communion rrith God through Cbrijf in t!-u Spirit, by Re_uivinj{ and Exercifing bi1Grace,. order to cUr Co~nmunion with IJim in Glor)'• Let thrJe therefore ( well und~rfioml) he your En~I, a11d in thefc be ynu exercifid all the d.1y, and Jlic/t m~t lrypncritically in ~otlily reft 11nd ou_trvard d~ttiet. · Remember that it is a day for htarHt::or~, as well 'a's for the exerc1fe of the tongue, ·.and ear, and knees: an~ that your principal bufinefsis with Heaven: ·Follow· your hcarrs therefme all the day, and fee that they· be not idle while your bodies are exercifed : Nuthing is done if theHeart do nothing. ~·3• Dind-.3. Rermmbcrtbattht jjecialwork._ofthe d.zy is ta celebrate the mtmori3l of Chriftr R.tfrttrtllirm, and of tht whole work,_ ofmans Re-demption by him : Labour therefore rvitb all diligmce in the Jinfe ofyour 11atural fm a11d mi{try, to ftir up the lively Jinfe of tbe'w,nderful Love of Gad and our Redeemer, and toJpend aU the day in the fpecial txerci{ts ofFaith and Love: And fteing it is the Chr~jiian wrekjy fcftival, or day ofThank.fgivin;r. [11r the greateft mercy in tbe Wnrld, fpend it aJ a 1a~ of Thaul<fgiz.in~ Jhou)d be {pem, t[peciaYy in Jn){Hl Praifes nf our Lord: and let t!Jt humbLing an~ tnjtru– fting rxtrcifts tf the day, be all fubordi.natt to thcfe laudatory exercifi;. I know that much t1rne tnufl: be {pent i~ teaching and warning the ignorant and ungodly, becaufe rheir poverty and labours ~i~· der th(m from other fuch opportunities, and we mull fpeak to them then or not at all: Bur 1f It were not for their mccr neceffity, and if we could as well fpeak to them other day~s of t.he Week, the Churches fhould fpend all the Lords D1y in fuch praifes and thanksgivings as are fuitable to the ends of the: inflitu~ion. But fecing that cannot be expe-cted, methinks it is defirable that the anti– ent cufioine of the Churches were more imitated, and the morning Sermon being fuitcd to the fhte of the more ignorant and unconvened, that the refi of the day were fpent in the txercifc:s of Thankfgivin&
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