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whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship; except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy." Visiting, and party entertainments, however civil and friendly, are a gross violation of the fourth commandment. Visiting the sick and afflicted is often admissible; but not merely as a saving of time; but for the purpose of necessary assistance, and for holy conversation and prayer. In such cases, the Lord will have mercy, and not sacrifice. To attend to the arts and sciences, and every thing, not conducive to religious improvement, must be considered as sabbath breaking. But, of all the breaches of this holy command, none is more common, and none is more threatening to the moral interests of the community, than journeying. By this men not only involve themselves in guilt; but they also involve many others in unnecessary cares and perplexities. Many must dispense with public worship to attend to tavern concerns. And they who attend religious worship, find it difficult to "wait upon the Lord, without distraction."

The religious duties of the Sabbath are meditation and prayer, holy conversation, attention to the holy scriptures, and other religious books; and especially to the public and social worship of God, the ministry of the gospel, and the ordinances of Christ, in his sanctuary. These are enjoined as the duties of the Sabbath.

On attending the worship of God, and the ministry and ordinances of Christ in the sanctuary, the scriptures are peculiarly strenuous. "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord." On the sabbath, in ancient times, special offerings and sacrifices were brought to the sanctuary; and a public reading and exposition of the holy scriptures were attended. There was a holy convocation, or calling together of the people to the place of the sanctuary; and none were allowed, without the most satisfactory reasons, to absent themselves.

To accommodate the duties of the sabbath, sanctuaries are now erected, not at one particular place; but all over the christian world; and to neglect them, when they are so near to our doors, is, according to the New Testament as well as the Old, a capital crime. Hear the solemn language of the Apostle!" Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some

is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if ye sin wilfully, after that ye have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin; but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." All this terror is denounced against those who forsake the assembling of themselves together, on the holy sabbath. To do this, after we have received, clearly, the knowledge of the truth, seems to be considered as a fatal sin. A similar idea is expressed by David, and quoted by Paul.-To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." To-day, as we have found, means the Christian Sabbath; the special day, on which the voice of Christ, by his ministering servants, is to be heard in his sanctuary. Refuse to convene together, to hear the voice of gospel grace to-day, which is the Christian Sabbath, and your hearts will be hardened. You shall be greatly exposed to reprobation. The holy Sabbath is no ordinary day; it is a day on which the hearts of sinners are generally hardened or softened. And, in fact, the symptoms of reprobation sometimes appear, in those who will not hear the gospel of Christ, in his sanctuary. Gradually, to every good work they become reprobate. They also become opposed to every article of the Christian faith.

To keep the Sabbath holy, is an important precept in the first table of the law, in the first and great commandment. And for those who violate this, there is no more hope, and perhaps less hope, than for thieves and murderers. For these violate only the second table of the law. Custom sanctions a thousand violations of the first table, more readily than one of the second table. Men may acquire and support a high reputation for virtue and honour, while they disregard, or oppose, all the commands and prohibitions of the first table of the law. They may deny the being of a God, or hold to a plurality of gods, or worship graven images, or take God's name in vain, or despise the holy Sabbath, with but little wound of reputation. But if they violate the commands in the second table of the law, they are loaded with reproach, and stamped with infamy. But “ God seeth not as man seeth." The murderer is indeed, a great sinner, and must surely be put to death; but the Sabbath-breaker,

in the wilderness, was condemned to a death, most terri ble and ignominious. How odious in the sight of God is the Sabbath-breaker? more odious than he is, who violates any, or all the commands in the second table of the divine law. All these a man may violate, and not be a reprobate. But we have found, that he who wilfully vio lates the law of the Sabbath, is greatly exposed to reprobation. Infinitely important is the duty of public worship and ordinances, on the holy Sabbath. We hence

remark,

1. In a review of what has been said on the Sabbath, and its duties and privileges, Christians are comforted and animated. With great delight, they anticipate, through the medium of the earthly rest, the heavenly rest, where all labour and sorrow will cease for ever. O what a privilege it is to Christians, to live in a state of preparation for the eternal Sabbatism! But to obtain a good hope of the heavenly rest, much depends on the improvement of the earthly rest. "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short of it." He, and he only, who calls the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honourable, has an earnest of the enjoyments of heaven.

2. How unpleasant and gloomy must this subject be, to those who have no relish for the duties of the Sabbath! The Sabbath, being a type of heavenly rest, they can easily decide, that they have no taste for heavenly enjoyments. And if they have no satisfaction in such enjoyments as heaven affords, how can they hope for any final happiness? Ought not all to despair of any rest, till they begin to delight in the duties of the Sabbath, and of the sanctuary? If the Sabbath be irksome; if it be a weari ness; if they say in their hearts, "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat? making the ephah small, and the shekel great?" Their case is wretched indeed! it is almost hopeless. Surely, with this temper of mind, they cannot reasonably hope to enjoy that rest, which is the antitype to the holy Christian Sabbath and which remains for ever....AMEN.

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ESSAY XXVII.

The Ministry of the Word of God.

Of all the divine institutions, no one has been more perpetual, in all ages of the world, and no one has been more manifestly essential to the conversion and salvation of sinners, than the ministry of the word of God. By the word of God is meant all that system of instruction in revealed truth, which is contained in the bible, and is necessary to the knowledge of God, and of ourselves, and of the way of salvation by a Mediator.

By the ministry of the word of God, is meant the preaching of the system of divine truth, by men who are set apart to this important work according to divine institution; even by men who "are called of God, as was Aaron."

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From the holy scriptures, and from universal observation, it is evident, that the ministry of the word of God, and a faithful and persevering attention to it, are essential to faith and salvation. This subject is illustrated particularly in the tenth chapter to the Romans; in which the previous doctrine is that of salvation by faith. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness," or justification; " and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." For the scripture saith, "Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Faith in Christ is stated as the only essential condition of salvation; and as being equally essential to the salvation of Jews and Gentiles. "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It is here taken for granted, that whosoever is a devout worshipper of the living and true God, is a true believer, and an heir of salvation. "How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed?" Nothing can be done acceptably, without the Christian faith. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God." But further. "How shall they believe in him of whom they

have not heard?" We now come to the very point which establishes the main question; "How shall they hear without a preacher?" The hearing here mentioned, is limited in its meaning to the hearing of the ministers of the word of God. Without hearing the embassadors of the Prince of Peace, how can there be a cordial reconciliation to God? "How shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach, except they be sent ?" As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel: for Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," that is, by the ministry of the word of God. This, according to all that goes before it in the connection, is the legitimate construction of the words. "So then, faith cometh by hearing." The hearing, by which faith cometh, is the hearing of the faithful ministers and preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thus the proposition appears to be, in a great measure, established, that the ministry of the word of God, and a faithful and persevering attention to it, are essential to faith and salvation. This is God's appointed way of salvation. The Apostle Paul, in his salutatory address to Titus, his own son, according to the common faith, speaks of the manifestation of the word of God, and the success of the gospel, as being only through preaching; intimating, that without this, all other means of grace and salvation would be ineffectual. Accordingly he adds, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city." Elders were the ministers of the gospel, whose business it was, to preach the gospel; and without a faithful discharge of their duty, as the servants of Christ, there was no hope of the success of the gospel. The particular business of Paul, in his preaching, was to plant; and of Apollos, to water; and when these duties were faithfully discharged, "God gave the increase." Faithful preaching of the word never fails of success. Looking forward to gospel times, the Lord says, by the prophet Isaiah, that "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower,

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