Ta 10 imagine that the bare reft commanded by the law fanctified the Sabbath, and satisfied the obligation of this precept, was a pernicious error of many carnal Jews. The very terms in which it is expreffed, clearly confute this extravagance. For to keep the Sabbath holy is to employ it in the worthip of God, pious meditation, and good works, by which God is honoured, and our fouls fan&tified, as all Fathers and theologians, and the very critics and grammarians expound thefe words (1). It is faid both in the 2d Chapter of Genefis, and in the 20th of Exodus, that God bleffed and fan&tified the feventh day" from the beginning of the world. The import of these words must be, that God, by entering into his holy reft in the contemplation of his own adorable effence and perfections, and of his work, in which he has difplayed his goodness, imparted a blessing, (1) Lyran. in Exod. xx. 8. Bonfrerius ib. Critici apud Polum in Synopfi Critic. ibid. Suicerus, v. Ayiá?w, Theodoretus, &c. Pa wes. and and an outward fanctification to this day, derived on it from his fanctity, and his moft holy reft: alfe from the external deputation, by which he appointed that it fhould be dedicated by his creatures to his fervice alone. All the glorious inhabitants of the heavens joined in their Jubilee at the completion of this great work, and at the holy rest of God. Hence we are told in the 38th Chapter of Job, that when "the foundations of the earth were laid, all the fons of God "made a joyful melody;" men join their homages with them, particularly on this feftival, inftituted for this purpofe. When God repeats to men this law in Exodus, Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day." And in Deuteronomy: "Obferve the day of the Sabbath, to fanctify it," he commands us to feparate this day from the common employments of life, to fet it apart, and to devote, and confecrate it wholly to his holy fervice. For all this is naturally implied in the word, fanctify, as Theodoret and other Fathers and interpreters unanimoufly explain it, and as Suicerus, and other critics and grammarians, prove from all the paffages where this word is ufed in Holy Scriptures or in other authors. It is therefore clear that the word Sabbath does not here fignify rest of inaction, (which is the import of the Hebrew word Noach) but only a ceafing from what a perfon was doing before (2). Corporal labour is in our prefent ftate both the punishment and the remedy of fin; by our fatigues we accomplish our penance, repair the lofles we have fuftained by fin, and arm ourselves against future danger; by the fame we recover Paradise, and Christ having by his pains and fweat opened it again to us, fuffering and labour are become the fruitful fource of all bleffings for our fatisfaction and eternal glory. But this labour has its feafon, and cannot be a defeafance of our most effential obligation, upon a million of indefeasible titles of paying to Ged the homages of our hearts. Therefore, on this feftival we lay afide all the affairs of the world, remove ourselves from its importunities, noife and tumults, and fhut our eyes to its vanities, not to indulge floth, which is always criminal, but that we may in filence fix our whole attention on God, and give up our hearts entirely to him. Hence is Sunday called the Lord's Day, because it is entirely devoted to his imme-" diate fervice. The reft therefore commanded on this day (2) See Leigh, Critica facra, in Voce naw Shabath, whence Sabbath is derived. is is an imitation of the reft of God in the eternal fweet contemplation of his own perfections, and of that which the blefled enjoy in God: both full of ardour; both an uninter rupted action. "God's reft is all action," fays S. Austin (3). The reft of a Christian on festivals is in like manner to confift in a ferious application to the fan&tification of his foul, especially by interior exercifes of religion, as S. Chrytoftem excellently explains (4). The principal duties of religion, by which feftivals are to be fanctified, are public and private prayer, holy meditation or pious reading, inftruction in the myfteries of faith and moral duties, felf-examination, religious education of children, works of mercy fpiritual and corporal, and above all the frequent ufe of the facraments, as principal means of our fanctification, and an affiduous attendance on the great facrifice of the new law. The public worship of God ought to be firft mentioned. Without this no religion can be established or fubfift in any fociety of men (5). Nor did any fet of men ever form themfelves into any religion true or falfe without it; fo strongly is the neceffity of this duty engrafted by the Author of nature in the hearts of men. The public worship of God fupports the belief of his being, a deep fenfe of his majesty, and humble devotion in the world. By it is a fense of religion preferved and propagated amongst men: by it we more powerfully invite and engage others to ferve God than we can by words, and thus, by glorifying him publicly, exercife the functions of Apoftles in propagating his honour amongst many to his glory on earth, and to the falvation of the fouls of men to the end of time; there being nothing by which we more effectually contribute to the edification of our neighbour. So confonant is this to nature, that the idolatrous nations, which were fallen into fo fhameful irregula rities and blindness as to negle& all religious inftruction in moral duties, as the Fathers of the church obferve (6), always fcrupulously retained their public falfe worship, even (3) S. Aug. l. i. Conf. c. 4. and I. iv. de Gen. ad litt. c. 13. and Tr. 29. in Joan. (4) S. Chryfoft. Hom. i. de Lazaro. (5) S. Aug. de Civ. Dei. I. ii. c. 4. 5. &c. See on this the excellent Reflections and Reafoning of S. Thomas Aquinas, Opufc. 4. de Decalogo. T.xvii. op. p. 57. S. Bonaventure, Serm. iv. de Decal. T. ii. &c. See alfo Woolafton, Religion of Nature delineated, p. 24. Minute Philofopher, vol. i. p. 23. Cudworth, Intellectual Syftem, p. 691. Bishop Long, Sermon v. at Boyle's Lectures. (6) Lactant. Inftit. 1. iv, c. 3. S. Aug. de Civ. Dei. I. ii. c. 6. &c. when when they were abandoned to fo extravagant a corruption of heart as to reduce their whole religion to these external rites. So evidently effential is public worship to all religion, that the wifeft law-givers and founders of states have ever made it an effential part of their civil conftitution. God, who by his holy Providence always provided for the honour of his divine name a true church of faithful believers and adorers that he might be glorified on earth through all ages, prefcribed to them public facrifices from the beginning of the world, and directed them by exprefs revelations and commands always to honour him by a public worship. By his divine appointment the ordinary facrifices commanded to be offered every day in the temple, were doubled on the Sabbath (7), and the Jews met in their fynagogues on this weekly festival to attend public prayer, and liften to the reading and explication of the facred oracles of the Prophets, as we learn from the gofpels (8), the teftimonies of the Jewith writers, and the Chaldaic paraphrafes made ufe of by them after their return from the captivity. Christians from the establishment of the church fanctified the Sunday by meeting to attend together the celebration of the holy eucharift and public inftructions, as appears from the Acts of the Apoftles (9); and the most early amongst the primitive Fathers (a). S. Juftin Martyr, in the fecond age, in his greater apology (10), fays; "Upon the Sunday, all that "live either in the city or country meet together at the fame "place, where the writings of the Apostles and Prophets are read, as much as time will allow; when this is done "the Bishop makes a fermon, wherein he inftructs the peo"ple, and animates them to the practice of the good pre cepts. At the conclufion of this difcourfe, we all rife up "together and pray; and prayers being over, bread and "wine and water is offered, and the Bishop puts up pray"ers and thanksgivings, with all the fervency he is able, (7) Numb. xxviii. 8. (8) Luke iv. 16. Acts xiii. 14. (9) Acts xiii. 14. XX. 7. (a)" It feems a contradiction to appoint public and folemn times for "private worship. If men are bound to worship God only in private, "there is no need of public days of reft dedicated to God's fervice. For "every man may take his own time for it, as he finds moft convenient and feful. But fixed and ftated times of worship evidently prove that ilmn and public days of worship are not fanctified by private, "acts of devotion only." Sherlock on Religious Affemblies, part. i. P. 23. 86 " and 1 "and the people couclude all by the acclamation, Amen. "Then the confecrated elements are diftributed to, and "partaken of, by all that are prefent, and fent to the absent by the hands of the deacons (b)." Tertullian describes the e effential public duties of religion as follows: "We "meet all together in one affembly, that as it were formed 66 in an army praying we befeech God by our joint fuppli"cations to him. This violence which we seem to offer, is "agreeeble to him. We pray for the emperors, their minifters, the magiftrates, the welfare of the world, peace, and retarding the final doom. We meet to hear "the Holy Scriptures expounded, as prefent circumstances require that we be admonished and inftructed. By this our faith is nourished, our hope is ftrengthened, and our "confidence fixed and firmly fettled upon God. We allo prefs the duties of the gofpel with all the power and argument we are able: exhortations are there made, re"proofs are given, the divine cenfure of penance is paffed, "and the judgments are here pronounced with the greatest "authority and circumfpection, as before God, and as the "highest anticipation of the judgment to come. If any one has grievously offended, he is banished from communica❝tion in prayer in the affembly, and in holy communion. "The prefidents (Priefts or Bifhops), are men of the most "venerable age and piety. Every one puts a little into the "public flock. All here is a free-will offering. All these "collections are depofited in a common bank for feeding "the poor, burying the dead, providing for orphans, thofe "who had fuffered by hip-wreck, or are condemned to "the mines or iflands or prifons, for the faith of Chrift (11)." That this power of abfolving or pronouncing fpiritual cenfures was lodged only in the priests, we are affured by con (b) Mr. Reeves in his notes on this paffage, T. i. p. 117. and 110. and Dr. Potter, in his Difcourfe of Church-Government, p. 249. feverely condemn thofe amongst the laity who ignorantly repeat with the prieft the words of the confecration, and thofe of the abfolution, which are peculiarly appropriated to the prieftly office. Potter takes notice, that the Scripture itfelf points out this diftinction where we read that Chrift alone bleffed and distributed the holy elements. Whereas Acts iv. 24. in the other prayers all lifted up their voices with one accord, Acts iv. 24. He refers us for the fame to Conftit. Apoftol. 1. viii. c. 6. all the ancient liturgies, and to S. Juftin, who tells us, that the people repeated the other prayers Kom waves all together. The words of confecration he omits out of respect, but comprized them under the prayers which he mentions to be faid by the priest. (11) Tert. Apol. c. 39. ftant |