that the Creator hath done for man alone, without any regard to the rest of the creatures, which fome have held were made for the fake of man.. Let us but reflect upon the excellence and immortality of our foul; the incomparable contrivance, and curious structure of our body; and the care and caution taken for the fecurity and happiness of our state, and we shall find, that among the whole race of beings, man hath efpecial reafon to magnify the Creator's goodness, and with fuitable ardent affections to be thankful unto him.

CHAP. VI.

THAT WE OUGHT TO PAY GOD ALL DUE HOMAGE, AND WORSHIP, PARTICULARLY THAT OF THE LORD'S DAY.

FOR

OR a conclufion of thefe lectures, the laft thing I fhall infer, from the foregoing demonstration of the being and attributes of God, fhall be, that we ought to pay God all that homage and worship which his right of creation and dominion entitles him unto, and his great mercies call for from us. And forafmuch as the Creator appointed, from the very creation, one day in feven to his fervice, it will not therefore be improper to fay fomething upon that fubject and if I infift fomewhat particularly and largely thereon, the congruity thereof to the defign of thefe lectures, and the foregoing demonftration, together with the too great inadvertency about, and neglect of this ancient,

univerfal,

univerfal, and most reasonable and neceffary duty, will, I hope, plead my excufe. But that I may fay no more than is neceffary on this point, I fhall confine myfelf to two things; the time God hath taken, and the bufinefs then to be performed,

I. The time is one day in feven, and one of the ancientest appointments it is, which God gave to the world. For, as foon as God had finished his fix days works of creation, it is faid, Gen. ii. 2, 3. He refted on the feventh day from all his work which he had made. And God bleffed the feventh day, and fanctified it, because that in it he had refted from all his < work.' This fanctification, and bleffing the feventh day, was fetting it apart, as a day of diftinction from the reft of the week-days, and appropriating it to holy ufes and purposes, namely, the commemoration of that great work of the creation, and paying homage and worship to that infinite Being, who was the effector of it.

THIS day, thus confecrated from the begining, for the celebration of the vicio, the

Ufibus divinis accommodavit, a communi et profano

ufu fegregavit, in ufum facrum ad cultum Dei deftinavit.' Kirch.

Concord. p. 1336.

Deftinari ad aliquid, facrari,' &c. Bux

Borf, in verbo.

L 2

'world's

world's birth-day,' as Philo calls it, was probably, in fome measure, forgotten in the following wicked ages, which God complains of, Gen. vi. 5. and so after the flood likewife. But after the return out of Egypt, when God settled the Jewish polity, he was pleased to renew this day, and to establish it for a perpetual standing law. And accordingly it was obferved down to our bleffed Saviour's time, countenanced, and ftrictly obferved, by our great Lord and Mafter himself, and his apostles and difciples, in and after his time; and although for good reasons, the day was changed by them, yet a feventh day hath been conftantly obferved in all ages of Chriftianity down to our present time.

THUS We have a day appointed by God himfelf, and obferved throughout all ages, except fome few, perhaps, which deferve not to be brought into example.

AND a wife defignation of time this is, well becoming the divine care and precaution; ferving for the recruiting our bodies, and dispatching our affairs, and at the fame time to keep up a spiritual temper of mind. For, by allowing fix days to labour, the poor hath time to earn his bread, the man of bufinefs time to dif patch his affairs, and every man time for the

work

work of his refpective calling. But had there been more, or all our time allotted to labour and business, and none to rest and recruit, our bodies and fpirits would have been too much fatigued and wafted, and our minds have been too long engaged about worldly matters, fo as to have forgotten divine things. But the infinitely wife Ruler of the world, having taken the seventh part of our time to his own fervice, hath prevented these inconveniencics, hath given. a relaxation to ourselves; and ease and refreshment to our wearied beafts, to poor fatigued flaves, and fuch as are under the bondage of avaricious, cruel masters. And this is one reafon Mofes gives of the refervation and reft on the feventh day. Deut. v. 13, 14, 15. Six days

с

fhalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the feventh is the fabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy children, fervants, cattle, or stranger, that thy man-fervant and maid-servant may reft as well as thou. And remember, that ⚫ thou waft a servant, &c. therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the fabbath-day.' That carnal, greedy people, fo bent upon gain, without fuch a precept, would have scarce favoured their own bodies, much lefs have had mercy upon their poor bondsmen and beafts; but by this wife provifion, this great burden was taken