Thus having fhewn what Reason there is to remember to keep Holy the Day dedicated to GOD, I fhall confider how we are to keep it Holy, and fo conclude. Now the Way to keep it Holy, is not by bare refting from Work; for that, as a Father faith, is Sabbatum Boum & Afinorum, a Sabbath of Beafts: But holy Acts are the proper Business for a Holy Day, celebrated by rational Beings. Among all which, the grand, principal, and moft univerfally practis'd, is the Publick Worship of GOD, the affembling at the Publick Place of his Worship, to pay (with our Fellow-Creatures) our Homages, Thanks, and Praises to the infinite Creator and Redeemer of the World. This, as it is the moft reasonable Service, and proper Business for this Day, fo is what hath been the Practice of all Ages. It was as early as Cain and Abel's Days, Gen. iv. 3. what was practifed by religious Perfons in the following Ages, till the giving of the Law; and at the giving of That, God was pleased to order Places, and his particular Worship, as well as the Seventh Day. The Tabernacle and Temple were appointed by God's express Command; befides which, there were Synagogues all over the Nation; so that in our Saviour's Time, every great Town, or-Village, had one, or more in it, and Jerufalem 460, or more (c).

The Worship of thefe places, our Bleffed SAVIOUR was a conftant and diligent Frequenter of. It is faid, He went about all the Cities and Villages, Teaching in their Synagogues, and Preaching, and Healing, &c. Mat. ix. 35. And St. Luke reporteth it as his conftant Cuftom and Practice, Luke iv. 16. And as his Custom was, he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath-Day.

(c) See Lightfoot's Works, Vol. 2. p. 35, and 646.

Having thus mention'd the Practice of CHRIST, it is not neceffary I fhould fay much of the Practice of his Apoftles, and the following purer Ages of Chriftianity, who, in fhort, as their Duty was, diligently follow'd their great Master's Example. They did not think it enough to read and pray, and praise God at Home, but made Confcience of appearing in the Publick Aflemblies, from which nothing but Sickness and abfolute Neceffity did detain them; and if Sick, or in Prison, or under Banibment, nothing troubled them more, than that they could not come to Church, and join their Devotions to the common Services. If Perfecution at any Time forced them to keep a little Clofe; yet no fooner was there the leaft Mitigation, but they presently return'd to their open Duty, and publickly met all together. No trivial Pretences, no light Excufes, were then admitted for any one's Abfence from the Congregation, but,according to the Merit of the Caufe, fevere Cenfures were pass'd upon them, &c. to express it in the Words of one of our best Antiquaries (d).

The Publick Worship of GOD then, is not a Matter of Indifference, which Men have in their own Power to do, or omit, as they please; neither is it enough to read, pray, or praise God at Home, (unless fome inevitable Neceffity hindereth ;) because the appearing in GoD's House, on his Day, is an Act of Homage and Fealty, due to the CREATOR, a Right of Sovereignty we pay him. And the with-holding thofe Rights and Dues from GOD, is a kind of rejecting Go D, a difowning his Sovereignty, and a withdrawing our Obedience and Service. And this was the And this was the very Reafon why the Profanation of the Sabbath was punish'd with Death among the Jews, the Sabbath being a

(d) Dr. Cave's Primitive Chriflianity, Part 1. cap. 7.

Sign, or Badge of the GOD they own'd and worshipp'd (e). Thus Exod. xxxi. 13. My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a SIGN between me and you, throughout your Generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD, that doth fan&tify you; or as the Original may be render'd, A Sign to acknowledge, that I Jehovah am your Sanctifier, or your God: For as our learned Mede observes, To be the Sanctifier of a People, and to be their God, is all So likewife very exprefly in Ezek. xx. 20. Hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall be a Sign be

one.

(e) At this Day it is customary for Servants to wear the Livery of their Mafters, and others to bear Badges of their Order, 'Profeffion, Servility, &c. So in former Ages, and divers Countries, it was usual to bear Badges, Marks, and Signs on divers Occafions. In Ezek. ix, 4. A Mark was to be fet on the Forehead of those that lamented the Abominations of the City. The like was to be done upon them in Rev. vii. 3. and ix. 4. So the Worshippers of the Beaft, Rev. xiii. 16. were to receive a Xápaypa, A Mark in their right Hand, on their Foreheads. Those Xagayuara, Epçayides, Badges, &c. were very common. Soldiers and Slaves bear them in their Arms or Foreheads; such as were matriculated in the Heteriæ, or Companies, bear the Badge or Mark of their Company; and whoever lifted himself into the Society of any of the feveral Gods, recived a Xágaypa, or a Mark in his Body, (commonly made with red-hot Needles, or fome burning in the Flesh,) of the God he had lifted himself under. And after Christianity was planted, the Chriftians had also their Sign of the Cross. And not only Marks in their Flesh, Badges on their Cloaths, &c. were ufual; but also the Dedication of Days to their imaginary Deities. Not to speak of their Festivals, &c. the Days of the Week were all dedicated to fome of their Deities. Among the Romans, Sunday and Monday, to the Sun and Moon; Tuefday to Mars; Wednesday to Mercury, &c. So our Saxon Ancestors did the fame; Sunday and Monday, (as the Romans did,) to the Sun and Moon; Tuesday to Tuyfco; Wednesday to Woden; Thursday to Thor; Friday to Friga; and Saturday to Seater: An Account of which Deities, with the Figures under which they were worshipped, may be met with in our learned Verfiegan, Chap. 3. p. 68.

tween

tween me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your GOD; or rather as before, to acknowledge that IJEHOVAH am your GOD.

The Sabbath being thus a Sign, a Mark, or Badge, to acknowledge God to be their God, it follows, that a Neglect or Contempt of that Day, redounded to GOD; to flight that, was flighting God; to profane that, was to affront God; for the Punishment of which, What more equitable Penalty than Death? And altho under Christianity, the Punishment is not made Capital, yet have we no lefs Reafon for the ftrict Obfervance of this Holy Day, than the Jews, but rather greater Reafons. For the GoD we Worfhip, is the fame: If after fix Days Labour, he was, by the Seventh, own'd to be GoD, the Creator; no lefs is he by our Chriftian Lord's-Day: If by the Celebration of the Sabbath, the Remembrance of their Deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage was kept up, and GoD acknowledged to be the Effector thereof; we Chriftians have a greater Deliverance, we own our Deliverance from Sin and Satan, wrought by a greater Redeemer than Mofes, even the Bleffed JESUS, whofe Refurrection, and the Completion of our Redemption thereby, was perform'd on the Chriftian Lord'sDay.

And now, to fum up, and conclude these Inferences, and fo put an End to this Part of my Survey: Since it appears, that the Works of the LORD are fo great, fo wifely contrived, fo accurately made, as to deferve to be enquired into ; fince they are also fo manifeft Demonstrations of the Creator's Being and Attributes, that all the World is fenfible thereof, to the great Reproach of Atheism: What remaineth? But that we fear and obey fo great and tremendous a Being; that we be truly thankful for, and magnify and praise

his

Book XI. his infinite Mercy, manifefted to us in his Works. And forafmuch as he hath appointed a Day on Purpose, from the Beginning, for these Services, that we may weekly meet together, commemorate and celebrate the great Work of Creation; that we may pay our Acts of Devotion, Worship, Homage, and Fealty to him; and fince this is a wife and excellent Distribution of our Time, What should we do, but confcientiously and faithfully pay GOD these his Rights and Dues? and as carefully and diligently manage Go D's Time, and discharge his Bufinefs then, as we do our own upon our fix Days; particularly that with the pious Pfalmift, We love the Habitation of God's House, and the Place where his Honour dwelleth; and therefore take up his good Refolution in Pfal. v. 7. with which I shall conclude; But as for me, I will come into thine Houfe in the Multitude of thy Mercy, and in thy Fear will I worship towards thy boly Temple..

Now to the fame Infinite GOD, the Omnipotent Creator and Preferver of the World, the moft gracious Redeemer, Sanctifier, and Infpirer of Mankind, be all Honour, Praife, and Thanks, now and ever. Amen,

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