sporting away much of the day, but do like men that do not secretly scorn Christianity, nor despise their servants' souls, and let them but try what measure of knowledge the bare hearing of common prayer; yea, and a sermon or two with it, will beget in their servants, if the rest of the day be spent in sports; and let them judge according to experience. If ever knowledge be propagated to such, and families made fit to live like Christians, it is likest to be by the holy improvement of this day, in the diligent teaching and learning the substance of religion, and in the sacred exercises thereof.

IV. The great carnality, worldliness and carelessness of the most, and their great averseness to the things of God, doth require that they be called and kept to a close and diligent improvement of the Lord's-day. Whatever unexperienced or carnal persons may pretend, that such constant duty so long together will make them worse and more averse, reason, experience and Scripture all are against them. If there be some backwardness at the first, it is not sports and idleness that will cure it; but resisting of the slothful humour, and keeping to the work. For there is that in religion that tendeth to overcome men's averseness to religion; and it must be overcome by religion, and not by playing or idleness, if ever it be overcome. It is want of knowledge and experience of it, which maketh them loathe it, or be weary of it when they have tried it more, and know it better, they will (if ever) be reconciled to it. Six days in a week are a sufficient diversion. Apprentices, and pupils, and schoolboys will hold on in learning, though they be averse; and you think not all the six days too much to hold them to it. A schoolboy must learn daily eight hours in a day; and yet some wretched men (yea, teachers) would persuade poor souls that must learn how to be saved or perish for ever, that less than eight hours one day in seven, is too much to be spent in the needfullest, excellentest and pleasantest matters in all the world.

If you say that the sublimity or difficulty maketh it wearisome; I answer, that philosophers do much longer hold on in harder speculations.

If you say divinity being unsuitable to carnal minds, their sick stomachs must take no more than they can digest. I answer, 1. Cannot a carnal preacher for his gain, and honour, and fancy, hold on all the year in the study even of

divinity, perhaps eight or ten hours every day in the week? And may not ignorant people be brought one day to endure to be taught as long? 2. That which you call digesting, is but understanding, and believing, and receiving it: and one truth tendeth to introduce another; and he that cannot learn with an hour's labour, may learn more in two. 3. And it is hearing and exercise that must cure their want of appetite. Experience telleth us, that when people take the liberty of plays, and sports, and idleness for a recreation, they come back with much more want of love to holy exercises, than they that continue longer at them. Gratifying sloth and sensuality increaseth it, and increaseth an averseness to all that is good; for who are more averse than they that are most voluptuous? If ever people be made seriously holy, it is a due observation of the whole Lord's-day, that is like to bring them to it (I mean, observing it in such learning and seeking duties as they are capable of, till they can do better). For when the mind long dwelleth on the truth, it will sink in and work; and many strokes will drive the nail to the head.

Let the adversaries of this day and diligence but observe, and if true experience tell not the world that more souls are converted on the Lord's-days than all the other days besides, and that religion best prospereth both as to the number and the knowledge and serious holiness of the professors of it, where the Lord's-day is carefully sanctified, rather than where idleness and playing do make intermission, then I will confess that I am incapable of knowing any thing of this nature by experience. But if it be so, fight not against the common light.

V. The poverty, servitude, and worldly necessity of the most, do require a strict observation of the whole Lord'sday. Tenants and labourers, carters and carriers, and abundance of tradesmen are so poor, that they can hardly spare any proportion of time: much less all their children and servants, whose subjection, with their parents and master's poverty, restraineth them. Alas! they are fain to rise early and hasten to their work and scarce have leisure to eat and sleep as nature requireth: and they are so toiled and wearied with hard labour, that if they have at night a quarter of an hour to read a chapter and pray, they can scarce hold open their eyes from sleeping. What time hath the minis

ter then to come and teach them? (if we had such ministers again as would be at the pains to do it.) And what time have they to hear or learn? You must teach them on the Lord's-day, or scarcely at all. Almost all that they must learn must be then learned.

I deny not but in those former years, when the law forbad me not to preach the Gospel, the people came to me on the week-day, house by house; and also that they learned much in their shops while they were working. But, 1. It came to one family's turn but one hour, or little more, in a whole year (for about fourteen families a week so catechised and instructed, did no sooner bring their course about). 2. And our people were mostly weavers, whose labour was not like ploughmen's, masons', carpenters', carriers', &c. to take up their thoughts; but they would lay a book before them, and read, or meditate, or discourse to edification whilst they were working. But it is not the case of the multitude.

And let any sober man but consider, whether with people so ignorant and averse as the most are, should he be never so diligent on the Lord's-day, the six days intermission be not a great cooling of their affection; and a great delayer of their growth in knowledge; when they are like by the week's-end to forget all that they had learned on the Lord's-day. What then would these poor people come to, if the Lord's-day itself must be also loitered or played away?

VI. The tyranny of many masters maketh the Lord's, day a great mercy to the world: for if God had not made a law for their rest and liberty, abundance of worldly, impious persons, would have allowed them little rest for their bodies, and less opportunity for the good of their souls. Therefore they have cause with great thankfulness to improve the holy liberty which God hath given them, and not cast it away on play or idleness.

VII. The full improvement of the Lord's-days doth tend to breed and keep up an able, faithful ministry in the churches (on which the preservation and glory of religion much dependeth). When there is a necessity of full ecclesiastical performances imposed on ministers, they are also necessitated to prepare themselves with answerable abilities and fitness But when no more is required of them, but to read the liturgy, or to say a short and dry discourse,

they that know no more is necessary (to their ends) are so strongly tempted to get ability and preparations for no more, that few will overcome the temptation. And therefore the world knoweth that in Moscovy, Abassia, and for the most part of the Greek and Armenian churches, as nothing or little more than reading is required, so little more ability than to read is laboured after, and the ministers are ordinarily so ignorant and weak, as is the scorn and decay of the Christian religion.

VIII. Yea, it will strongly incline masters of families to labour more for abilities, to instruct and catechise their families, and pray with them, and guide them in the fear of God, when they know that the whole day must be improved to the spiritual good of their families. And so knowledge, abilities, and family-holiness will increase: whereas those that think themselves under no such obligations, what ignorant, profane, and ungodly families have they? Because, for the most part, they are such themselves.

IX. A multitude of gross sins will be prevented by the due observance of the Lord's-day. Nothing more usual than for the sports, riots, idleness, and sensuality of that day, to be nurseries of oaths, curses, ribaldry, fornication, gluttony, drunkenness, frays and bloodshed. And is not

God's service better work than these?

X. Lastly, This holy order and prosperity of the churches, and this knowledge and piety in individual subjects, will become the safety, beauty, order, and felicity of kingdoms, and all civil societies of men. For when the people are fit but duly to use and sanctify the Lord's-day, they are fit to use all things in a sanctified manner, and to be an honour to their country, and an ease and comfort to their governors, and a common blessing to all about them.

CHAPTER XIII.

What other Church-Festivals or separated Days are Lawful?

I SHALL Conclude this discourse with a brief answer of this question.

I. No sober Christian doubteth, but that some part of every day is to be spent in religious exercise; and that

even our earthly business must be done with a spiritual intent and mind. And that every day must be kept as like to the Lord's-day, as our weakness, and our other duties, which God hath laid upon us, will allow.

II. Few make any question but that whole days of humiliation and thanksgiving may and must be kept upon great and extraordinary occasions, of judgments or mercies. And that many churches may agree in these. And I know no just reason why the magistrate may not (with charity and moderation to the weak) impose them, and command such an agreement among his subjects.

III. Few doubt but the commemoration of great mercies or judgments may be made anniversary, and of long continuance. As the Powder-plot-day (November 5.) is now made among us, to preserve the memorial of that deliverAnd why may it not be continued, whilst the great sense of the benefit should be continued? And so the Second of September is set apart for the anniversary humbling remembrance of the firing of London. And so in divers other cases.

ance.

IV. The great blessing of an apostolic ministry, and of the stability of the martyrs in their sufferings for Christ, being so rare and notable a mercy to the church, I confess I know no reason why the churches of all succeeding ages may not keep an anniversary-day of thanksgiving to God for Peter or Paul, or Stephen, as well as for the Powderplot deliverance. I know not where God hath forbidden it, directly or indirectly. If his instituting the Lord's-day were a virtual prohibition for man to separate any more, or if the prohibition of adding to God's word were against it, they would be against other days of humiliation and thanksgiving, especially anniversary; which we confess they are not. If the reason be scandal, lest the men should have the honour instead of God, I answer, 1. An honour is due to apostles and martyrs in their places, in meet subordination to God. 2. Where the case of scandal is notorious, it may become by that accident unlawful, and yet not be so in other times and places.

V. The devil hath here been a great undoer by overdoing: When he knew not how else to cast out the holy observation of the Lord's-day, with zealous people, he found out the trick of devising so many days called holy-days to