AD THE LORD'S-DAY, OR CñRISTTAN SABBATH. [SEAM. v1. pointed the first day of the week for a season of the wor- ship of God, he appointed it also to be a season of rest from the cares and labours of this life, that this worship might be better performed, and the great ends of it best secured. Question III. " When must the christian begin his sabbath, or. the Lord's-day, how must it be spent, and when must it end ?" Here I answer, Answer. That whatsoever is the usual and customary beginning and ending of the days of common labour and business in the nation where we live, such should be the beginning and ending of the Lord's -day, or day of rest. The one day of rest answers to the six days of labour in the words of the fourth command, and must begin and end like them. The Jews began their day at the evening er setting sub, and it ended the next evening. The nations of Eu- rope where we dwell begin and end the day at twelve o'clock at midnight. But as the design of rest and wor. . ship on the Lord's-day is to bear aproportion of one in seven to the business and labours of life on the other six days, we may reasonably suppose that the command ne- ver requires any thing more, than that the same hours be spent at home or abroad, in public or private, for the' general purposes of religion upon the Lord's-day, which are spent in the common affairs of life on other days ; and consequently that the time which is devoted to eat- ing, and sleeping, and the necessities of nature and short intervals of refreshment on other days, may be employed to the same purposes on this day also. Public worship seems to be the chief design of the day ; but when we are not engaged in public worship, we need not be, and indeed we ought not to be, idle, but we should employ, ourselves, as far as health and other circumstances will allow, in reading or hearing divine things at home, in prayer, singing psalms, alone or in families, in medita- tion, in holy conferences, or any of those actions which have a more direct and immediate tendency to the know- ledge and worship of God, to the improvement of reli- gion and virtue, and to our preparation for the everlast- ing rest and worship of heaven. Question IV. " May we not labour or work on the Lord's-day to preserve ourselves from imminent dangers
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