From whence you fee, Chriftians, that your faith and falvation depend very much upon that difpofition with which you hear the Gospel. If you are ferious, and concerned in good earnest for your falvation, it will be no hard matter tó perfuade you to look upon the Gofpel as the greatest bleffing. But, without thefe difpofitions, the Gofpel will be a burthen to you, Jefus Christ himself no bleffing; nor Heaven worth caring for. You fee who they are, who ought to rejoice; who ought to take comfort; by whom this truth is worthy to be received; even by all fuch as are fincere, fuch as resolve to serve and to please God to the beft of their power. Such may be fure of pardon and acceptance, though they have been never fo great finners. All fuch may and will receive the terms of pardon, and him who has obtained them, with open arms, and with a glad heart; admiring the great goodness of God; adoring the love of their Redeemer; refolving to live worthy of fuch mighty favours. And thefe paffions will makę us all cheerful, without being foolishly vain; serious, without being fad and caft down; as fober Chriftians, though our hearts are full of joy.

Now, unto him who had mercy upon us, when we were in darknefs, and under the power of Satan; who took our nature upon him; became fubject to the law made for finners; offered himfelf a facrifice for the fins of the whole world; and raised up finful men to the honour of being the children of God. To him be all honour,

and glory, and bleffing, and thanksgiving, and power, afcribed, by us and by all his faithful fervants, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON V.

ON THE DUE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.

EXODUS XX. 11.

The Lord bleffed the Sabbath-Day, and hallowed it.

THE meaning of these words is this:-The Lord having commanded one day in seven to be kept holy, and having made it a Sabbath, that is, a day of reft from bodily and unneceffary labour, he hath blessed that day; that is, he hath joined a bleffing to the due obfervation of it. How then comes it to pass, that this day is not obferved with great ftri&tnefs, devotion, and thankfulness? Why, because people do not confider either the neceffity, or the reason, or the advantage, of fuch a command. I will therefore, before I go any farther, endeavour to make you fenfible of the reafon and neceffity of obferving one day in a week according to the commandment.

We are all fatisfied, that we ought not to forget the God that made us; that we ought not to for, get that we are needy, finful, helpless creatures.

Now,

Now, it is certain, we fhould foon forget thefe things, if one day in feven we were not put in mind of them. To fhew you that we most certainly fhould do fo, let us confider how many things every one of us has forgot, which we ought to have remembered. How many mercies do men receive from God, which they foon forget? How many judgments doth God fend into the world, which are no longer thought on, than whilft the fmart of them does laft? Why, we should as furely forget the God who fends mercies and judgments, if we were not taught continually to remember him by his day which we keep holy.

There are at this day many nations in the world, which know nothing of the true God. How comes this to pafs? They were all the offspring of one man, the righteous Noah, who taught his children and posterity to know God; and to worship him aright. But you may learn from hence, that it is poffible and natural for people, for whole nations, to forget the true God; and thus it would really happen to us, if we had not days fet apart, and men appointed, to keep up the knowledge and remembrance of God in our minds. How foon do we forget our beft friends, our very children, when they have been a while dead, and out of our fight? As furely fhould we forget, that there is a God; that we depended upon him for every thing we have or hope for; that we ought to worship him, to give him thanks, and to put our whole

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truft in him; that we fhall be judged by him at the last day.All which we should foon forget, if we were not often called upon and put in mind of our duty. The Pfalmift tells us, that in his profperity he himself forgot God; and do not we fee every day, that people who are too much bufied with the cares of this world, do almoft forget that there is a world to come? What would they do if they were not commanded, upon the Lord's day, to lay afide the business and the cares of this life, and for a while think of a better? Why, they would foon forget that there is a better; they would fet up their reft here; they would only provide for themselves, and their children, an earthly maintenance, and never think of Heaven. It is too plain, all men would do fo, were they left to themselves, becaufe too many do fo, notwithstanding the means of grace afforded them for their inftruction and remembrance.

But why one day in feven, rather than any other portion of our time? Why, because God has fo ordered it. That is the beft anfwer I can give; and every man will be fatisfied with this anfwer, who has a mind to fubmit to the wifdom of God, and will believe that he does every thing for the best. It may be, you may think, that every body, knowing it to be their duty to ferve God, would, if they were left to themselves, chuse a time to do it. Why, do not we all know that fafting is a Christian duty; and yet, becaufe God has not in exprefs words ap

pointed

pointed us certain times of fafting, how few are there who obferve any at all? And, though the church of God has appointed days of fafting, yet they are neglected, despised, and the very duty itfelf queftioned, and almost forgotten. And fo it would be with the Lord's day, and the Lord himself, if it were not exprefsly the command of God, "REMEMBER THAT THOU KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH-DAY."

One might give many more reafons; but these are fufficient to fhew the neceffity of obferving the Lord's day to keep it holy. I will, therefore, conclude this particular with a relation which may, perhaps, be better understood by you, and better remembered, than what I have already faid.-There was a certain perfon, who had a thoughtlefs and extravagant young man to his fon. The father, upon his death-bed, made his fon folemnly promife, that he would fpend one half hour every day by himself. So eafy a request, from a kind father, was very cheerfully obeyed: though it was troublefome for one who had feldom been alone, to be restrained, though for fo fhort a time. The fon at firft did not fee his father's meaning, or the reason of fuch a command, till at laft, being often alone, he began to think of himself: which, by the grace of God, ended in his converfion; and then he did not only retire because his father had commanded him, but because he found it reafonable, his duty, and pleafure fo to do. And fhall we not believe, that this command of God