,transcribed from the #ahca ,roake and  
,varty edition by ,david ,price4  ,many 
thanks to the ,british ,library for     
making their copy available4            
,,the ,,sabbath2                        
,a                                      
,,sermon4                               
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,by                         ,,the      
,,rev4 ,,william ,,wood1 ,b4,d4         
,,rector ,,of ,,coulsdon1 ,,and ,,vicar 
,,of ,,fulham4                          
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                               
,,roake ,,and ,,varty1 #ca1 ,,strand4   
#ahca4                                  
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                    ,,roake    
,,and ,,varty1 ,,printers1 #ca1         
,,strand4                               
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,to ,,the                              
,,inhabitants ,,of ,,coulsdon1          
,,the ,,following                       

,,sermon1            ,,intended ,,to    
,,have ,,been ,,preached ,,in ,,their   
,,church ,,in ,,the                     
,,afternoon ,,of ,,october #bcrd1       
,,is ,,affectionately ,,inscribed1      
,,and ,,printed ,,for ,,their           
,,instruction1                          
,,by ,,their ,,faithful ,,pastor4       
99 99 99 99 99          ,,notice ,,to   
,,the ,,reader4      ,,the ,sermon here 
presented to the ,public is below all   
criticism4  ,it makes  no pretensions to
 novelty1 or to merit of any kind2 it is
 only one of the  thousands which are   
preached every week by men1 who1 in the 
midst of evil  report1 labour1          
nevertheless1 with an anxious zeal for  
the salvation of  souls4  ,it was       
composed in haste1 with no intention of 
printing it1 for a  sequestered parish1 
where much remains of ancient           
simplicity2 but where  the author       
lamented to see1 as he thought1 a       
neglect of public worship1  not         
occasioned by infidelity1 or by         

profligacy1 as in great towns1 but by   
ignorance of the subject1 or            
thoughtlessness of conduct4    ,the     
inclemency of the weather having        
prevented him from preaching it at  the 
time intended1 and no other opportunity 
being likely to occur for  many months1 
he determined to print it at once for   
the use of his  parishioners2 but some  
other little tracts of his1 with the    
same limited  object1 having been called
 for by persons desirous of doing good  
in their  several spheres1 and on a     
larger scale1 he thinks it possible that
 they  may wish to have this also1 and  
therefore he publishes it4    ,the      
subject of the sermon1 in these days    
especially1 is a momentous one4  ,may   
,god bless it1 for the sake of the      
subject1 to his own glory1 and to  the  
benefit of men6  ,the author has no     
other wish4          ,,the ,,sabbath4   
,exod4 xx4 #h4                          
8,remember the ,sabbath-day1 to keep it 
holy40    ,,this command1 to remember   

the ,sabbath-day1 in order to keep it   
holy1 was  given by ,almighty ,god      
himself to the ,jews4  ,i say1 it was   
given by  himself4  ,he did not order   
any prophet1 or other holy man1 to give 
it in  his name2 ,he gave it himself in 
his own person2 ,he spoke it aloud1 in  
the ears of all the people1 with his own
 voice4  ,and this voice1 as we  are    
told1 was so terrible1 that the hearers 
of it were smitten with  intolerable    
fear and trembling1 and began to        
entreat1 with the most  humble and      
urgent supplications1 that ,god would   
vouchsafe1 in future1 to  make known his
 will to them by the voice of ,moses    
rather than by his own4    ,no doubt1 we
 also1 who are assembled here1 should   
think it a very awful  thing1 and should
 tremble in our whole frame1 if we were 
to hear the  voice of the great ,god of 
heaven and earth speaking to us from a  
cloud1  or from a mountain-top2 and we  
should naturally desire to hear the     
gentler1 the more familiar voice of a   

man1 like one of ourselves2 to whom     
also we might listen1 and with whom we  
might talk and reason1 without any      
dismay1 or even alarm4  ,however1 in    
this case1 we may presume1 the mighty   
terror of ,god's voice was increased    
tenfold to those who heard it1 by the   
accompanying hoarse blast of the brazen 
trumpet1 waxing louder and  louder2 by  
the continual crash of tremendous       
thunderings2 and by the red1  fiery     
flashes of direful lightnings1 which    
burst around them1 whilst ,god  was     
speaking1 out of the thick1 dark smoke  
that covered the top of the  mountain   
8where ,god was20 the whole mountain    
itself1 too1 shook from its  very       
foundations1 and seemed to be all in a  
flame1 burning with fire4    ,now1 what 
was the reason of this unusual          
manifestation of the ,divine  ,majesty1 
but that ,god wished to give the command
 in the most striking1  impressive      
manner1 so that it should never be      
forgotten by that  generation of men2   

and to show them a terrific instance of 
his power  also1 that they might tremble
 at the very thought of disobeying him1 
and  of profaning1 or neglecting1 the   
,sabbath-day1 which he thus commanded   
them to remember1 to keep it holy4      
,but this was not all4  ,god was not    
satisfied that ,he had done enough1     
even when ,he had uttered this command  
with his own voice1 and with all  that  
show of his terrible power and majesty2 
,he wrote it also on a tablet  of stone 
with his own finger2 and ,he ordered the
 sacred tablet to be  preserved with the
 utmost care1 in the most sacred        
place--in the very ark  where his whole 
covenant with his chosen people was     
preserved also4  ,one  generation alone 
could have heard that voice1 and have   
seen those  miraculous signs2 but many  
succeeding generations1 to remote times1
 might  see the tablet of stone1 and    
read the writing of ,god's finger1 and  
learn  the ,divine will for themselves  
with a more reverential awe2 whilst     

every  other supernatural circumstance  
of the history was taught by one        
generation to another1 and was handed   
down from father to son through  all    
generations4    ,you may readily now    
understand1 then1 of what vast          
importance this  command must be in the 
eye of ,god1 and how necessary the      
observance of it  is for the welfare and
 happiness of man4  ,for1 if this were  
not so--if it  made no difference1      
either to ,god's own glory1 or to our   
welfare and  happiness1 whether the     
,sabbath-day were remembered to keep it 
holy or  not2 it is difficult to        
conceive that ,god should have taken so 
much  pains1 as it were1 to establish a 
,sabbath-day at all2 by descending1 as  
,he did1 from heaven upon the ,mount1 in
 the midst of lightnings1 and           
thunderings1 and an earthquake2 by      
proclaiming it to the astonished1       
trembling multitude with his own voice2 
by writing it1 besides1 with his  own   
finger2 and by ordering it to be laid up

 in the ark as a divine  ordinance for  
ever4    ,but how does all this apply to
 other nations1 and to us1 of this      
nation1 and of this age8  ,god gave the 
command in this miraculous  manner to   
the ,jews only2 how do we know that ,he 
intended that we1 and  all mankind1     
should observe it to the end of time8   
,this is a very reasonable question1 and
 it may have a very satisfactory        
answer2 namely1 that the same causes for
 a ,sabbath-day1 and for  remembering   
it1 to keep it holy for ever1 concern   
alike all the rest of  mankind as well  
as the ,jews2 and that we ,christians1  
above others1 have  especial cause for  
hallowing our own ,sabbath-day2 such as 
neither the  ,jews1 nor the rest of     
mankind1 until they become ,christians1 
can have  for hallowing their's4  ,if it
 were their bounden duty to hallow      
,saturday1 or any other day1 much more  
is it ours to hallow ,sunday4    ,in    
truth1 the ordinance of a ,sabbath1 to  
be kept holy to the ,lord1 is of  the   

same age and antiquity with the creation
 of the world itself4  ,it was  not     
first established amongst the ,jews2 it 
was only renewed and  re-established    
amongst them1 when they themselves1 like
 the heathens1  had forgotten1 or       
neglected it4  ,it was established as   
early as with  ,adam1 the first man1    
even in ,paradise2 and1 therefore1 all  
the sons of  ,adam--that is1 the whole  
race of mankind1 and not the ,jews only1
 are  equally bound to keep it4  ,by    
proclaiming it to the ,jews1 as ,he did1
 ,god  shows to us how awfully we ought 
to think of it2 but all the nations of  
the world1 which existed before1 were   
bound by it before2 and all which  have 
existed since1 and exist now1 have been1
 and are1 bound by it1  in consequence  
of their common descent from ,adam1 to  
whom it was declared  in the beginning1 
and made a law to his whole posterity   
for ever4    ,nevertheless1 if ,god     
himself had said nothing about it1 it   
would have  been the duty of man1 the   

rational creature of ,god1 and indebted 
to ,god  for so many blessings--for so  
many noble powers and faculties1 to have
 set  apart some portion of the time    
which ,god gave him to the especial     
honour  of the bountiful ,giver--to have
 employed that time solely in thanking  
him  for his precious gifts and his     
gracious providence--in meditating upon 
his  glorious perfections and his       
marvellous works--and in serving and    
worshipping him by all other means1 with
 such peculiar1 extraordinary  tokens of
 love1 and gratitude1 and veneration1 as
 would not have been  possible1 or not  
suitable1 at every time1 and in every   
place2 but only at  the appointed time1 
and in some appointed place4    ,this1  
,i say1 would have been the duty of man1
 if left entirely to the use  of his own
 reason4  ,but no individual could have 
determined for  himself1 and still less 
were all men likely to agree with each  
other1  what the portion of time to be  
set apart for this purpose should be2   

how  much the beneficent ,author of     
their being1 and of all their           
enjoyments1  would expect of them to    
consecrate to him2 and how often the    
consecrated  time should return1 so as  
to please ,god1 and draw down from above
 his  further blessings upon them4      
,this1 then1 which we should have been  
quite unable to decide for  ourselves1  
,god has decided for us4  ,he has       
himself1 in his infinite  wisdom1       
determined what is fit and proper both  
for us and for him4  ,he has not put us 
under the necessity of reasoning upon so
 important a  matter at all2 from the   
very beginning ,he appointed it for an  
everlasting  law1 that the portion of   
time to be dedicated to his especial    
service and  worship should be one day  
out of every seven days3 that six       
successive  days should be ours for     
labour of body and of mind1 and for all 
the  needful business of this present   
life2 that the seventh day should be    
his1 for a holy rest unto the ,lord--for

 celebrating his wondrous  works--and   
for a more quiet1 undisturbed           
consideration of our own immortal       
concerns1 and all the spiritual business
 of the life which is to come           
hereafter4    ,but the seventh day1     
then1 if we will use it thus1 is ours as
 well as  his2 it is ours more than all 
the six which go before3 it is ours  in 
its own sublime1 peculiar sense1 to give
 us a foretaste of eternity by          
withdrawing us from temporal things2 in 
short1 it is one of the best  gifts of  
,god to man4  ,o taste and see how      
gracious the ,lord is6  ,the  ,sabbath  
is to his own glory2 but what would man 
be without it8  ,the most  wretched of  
beings in every way2 worn out before his
 usual allotted time  with unintermitted
 toils2 brought down to the grave by a  
premature old  age and decay2 and1 what 
is still worse for him1 with diminished 
hopes of  happiness in another and a    
better world4  ,the ,sabbath1 thanks be 
to ,god6  brings with it1 if we will1 a 

sweet1 a tranquil1 a refreshing rest3 it
  repairs and renews the languishing1   
the broken powers of body and of  mind2 
it sends us forth again to our duties on
 the following day with new  strength1  
and a new spirit1 more adequate to the  
performance of them2  cheerfulness sits 
upon our brow1 instead of a perpetual   
gloom2 health1  instead of the sad hue  
of a thousand maladies1 which           
never-ending1  never-pausing labour must
 have necessarily produced4  ,and if the
 ,sabbath  has been spent as ,god       
intends that it should be spent1 no     
small advance  has been made towards    
some happy mansion in our eternal abode4
  ,we have  heard1 we have read1 we have
 thought much about our blessed         
,redeemer--about our own                
salvation--about the bliss and glory of 
heaven4  ,we  have put ourselves into   
every way1 private and public1 of       
receiving every  grace of which we stand
 in need1 and which ,god1 through       
,christ1 has  promised to bestow4  ,we  

have prayed more at home than the       
business of the  world will permit us to
 do on any other day2 we have assembled 
in the  church1 as often as the church  
was open1 to receive the mercies to     
which  we are entitled1 by ,god's gift1 
only as we are members of the church2 we
  have confessed our sins there with    
bended knees and a penitent heart2 we   
have said with heartfelt thankfulness1  
8,amen10 to the covenanted pardon  of   
,god announced by the minister of       
,christ2 we have partaken of all the    
divine ordinances blameless2 if the holy
 table was decked1 we have  feasted upon
 the heavenly banquet of our great      
,saviour's body and blood4  ,these have 
been the holy deeds of the well-spent   
day2 and holy deeds like  these will    
qualify us for the rewards of eternity1 
if1 under the  continued influence of   
the ,holy ,spirit1 encouraging1         
strengthening1 and  sanctifying us1 we  
persevere unshaken in the same course to
 the end4  ,the  ,sabbath-day1 then1 is 

ours more especially2 ,god1 in          
consecrating and  hallowing it to       
himself1 has done so to our present and 
eternal profit4  ,by means of it we     
perform the better all the business of  
men1 all the  business of ,christians1  
all the business of those who aspire to 
heaven4    ,now1 there can be no doubt1 
but that ,god1 being infinitely wise1   
and also  most intimately acquainted    
with the peculiar wants and infirmities1
 and  with the whole nature of man1 whom
 he himself created1 and upon whom he   
bestowed what nature he pleased1        
foreknew1 and therefore decided from the
  very first1 that one-seventh of man's 
time was necessary to be1 and           
consequently should be1 released from   
labour1 and devoted to a holy  rest4    
,but the way which he took to show this 
to us1 and to give us1 at  the same     
time1 an awful and striking sense of it1
 is perhaps one of the  most wonderful  
instances of all the wonders of his     
providential care of  us4  ,he himself1 

in his mighty work of the creation of   
this world1 tasked  himself to a        
six-days' labour1 and rested on the     
seventh day1 in order  that man1        
following his example1 might use the    
same proportion of  labour and rest4    
,and this ,he has told us in his holy   
word2 ,he has not left it to us to  find
 it out by our own reason2 ,he has      
informed us himself4  ,it had been  easy
 for him1 for ,omnipotence1 surely1 to  
have made the world1 and all  the       
creatures that fill1 diversify1 and     
adorn it1 in a single day2 nay1  in a   
single hour2 yes1 truly1 in a single    
minute4  ,as ,he said1 8let there  be   
light1 and there was light20 so ,he had 
only to say1 8let there be a  world10   
and there would have been a world4  ,in 
a single instant of time1  in the very  
twinkling of an eye1 all the miracles of
 creation that are  visible to us1 and  
all that are invisible1 beyond the ken  
even of our  imagination1 at the ,divine
 fiat1 at the simple sound of the       

omnific word1  would have sprung into   
existence at once1 and into all the     
well-being1  order1 and harmony1 by     
which all things will consist1 in the   
same beauty  and perfection1 unto the   
end4  ,but then there would have been   
nothing in  such a proceeding for the   
moral instruction1 or for the temporal  
and  eternal benefit of men4  ,he set   
bounds1 therefore1 to his own boundless 
power2 ,he reduced infinite down to     
finite2 ,he controlled his own almighty 
energies1 and ordered his work1 a whole 
world1 so as to finish it in six  days2 
,he knew that a seventh day of rest was 
needful for man2 and1  therefore1 ,he   
bestowed it upon him as a merciful boon1
 secured to him  indefeasibly for ever  
by the express pattern of his own       
doings1 and by  the positive command to 
copy that pattern throughout all ages4  
,now let us see1 then1 how we stand as  
,christians4  ,do you think it  likely1 
however1 that so merciful a religion1 as
 that of ,christ1 should  take this     

merciful ordinance of the ,sabbath from 
us8  ,do you think it  likely that the  
same ,god1 who1 under the law1 ordained 
a ,sabbath1 even  for the miserable     
brute creation1 that the poor cattle    
might rest from  their labours as well  
as their rich owners1 should abolish it 
under the  gospel8  ,of all incredible  
things this would be the most           
incredible1 that  ,god should care so   
much for beasts1 which perish1 as to    
provide them a  temporary repose from   
bodily toil1 and none for man1 who has  
an immortal  soul to be saved1 or lost1 
for ever2 after having redeemed him1    
too1 by  the most astonishing method of 
the sacrifice of his own beloved ,son4  
,o  they of little faith1 who reason    
thus6  ,but1 blessed be ,god6 it is not 
so4  ,as ,christians1 we are still the  
posterity of ,adam2 and1 if we  partake1
 alas6 of all the evils that sprung from
 ,adam1 at least we  partake of this one
 benefit4  ,sin has not deprived us of  
it1 but made it  the more necessary for 

us4  ,again1 as ,christians1 we are not 
indeed the  posterity of ,abraham1      
according to the flesh2 and1 therefore1 
we are not  necessarily under any part  
of the law given to the ,jews2 except it
 might  have pleased the ,author and    
,finisher of our faith to adopt any part
 of it  into his gospel4  ,but this he  
most clearly did with respect to the ten
  commandments1 of which the hallowing  
of the ,sabbath is one4  ,he fulfilled  
and abolished every thing ceremonial1   
which concerned the ,jews only2 he      
retained1 and gave a new force and      
sanctity to every thing moral1 which    
concerns all mankind2 and1 without      
doubt1 it is in every view a moral      
duty1 that the thing made should worship
 the great ,maker1 on solemn days1      
which shall often return--that they     
should return1 as they do1 on every     
seventh day1 we owe to ,god's gracious  
providence4  8,the ,sabbath10 as our    
,lord beautifully and mercifully said1  
8was made for man20 and1  consequently1 

whilst man remains upon this earth1 a   
stranger and a  pilgrim1 travelling     
along a weary1 rugged road1 towards some
 better  country in the distant prospect
 before him1 the ,sabbath too remains2  
on  the authority of our blessed        
,saviour it remains1 to refresh us all  
on our  journey2 to support and comfort 
us under the fatigue of it2 and to cheer
  us with the thought of the everlasting
 ,sabbath in heaven1 of which it is  the
 type and the shadow4    ,and this it   
does the more effectually1 because we   
,christians keep our  ,sabbath on our   
own ,lord's day4  ,the ,jews keep theirs
 on the day of  their wonderful         
deliverance from bondage in ,egypt2 and 
very properly4  ,but their deliverance  
from bondage in ,egypt was the type and 
shadow of  our grander deliverance from 
the bondage of sin and death2 which     
deliverance was then most evidently and 
undeniably accomplished1 when our       
,saviour triumphed openly over both1 by 
rising from the grave1 alive and        

victorious4  ,well do we call the first 
day of the week1 the revered day  on    
which he did it1 the ,lord's day2 and   
well have all ,christians ever  since1  
assured of their redemption by his      
resurrection on that day1  consecrated  
and hallowed it for their ,sabbath for  
ever4  ,so that now  all the reasons    
which could ever have operated amongst  
mankind for the  keeping of a ,sabbath1 
and still more reasons1 operate upon us 
,christians4  ,we keep one day in seven 
in memory of the creation1 as the  rest 
of men should do2 but we keep that day1 
in preference to all  others1 which     
reminds us1 more forcibly than any      
other1 of our second  creation2 of our  
being begotten again to a new life2 of  
our more  interesting creation in true  
righteousness and holiness1 after having
  fallen from the divine image of the   
holy ,creator himself4  ,and1 as our    
sacred religion is founded upon the     
religion of the ,jews1 and was  shadowed
 out and prefigured by it1 we are       

naturally led from the antitype  to the 
type2 from the thing prefigured and     
shadowed out to the thing  prefiguring  
and shadowing it2 and we look back with 
reverence to the  ,jewish ,sabbath1 so  
awfully and terrifically appointed1     
which commemorated  on a chosen day a   
great temporal deliverance of theirs1   
prefiguring a  still greater spiritual  
deliverance of ours4    ,what shall we  
now say1 then1 my beloved1 ,christian   
brethren8  ,shall we  not remember the  
,sabbath-day1 to keep it holy8  ,and how
 shall we keep it  holy1 if we employ   
ourselves on that1 as on other days8    
8,the ,sabbath  was made for man20 but  
how was it made for him1 if he labours1 
as on the  other six days2 if he pursues
 the same worldly objects1 and torments 
himself with the same anxious cares2 if 
he chooses this very day for his        
journies2 for his pleasures2 nay1 even  
for his vices2 and aggravates  every sin
 by the abuse of that which was intended
 to heal it2 to give  him time and      

repose for self-examination2 and to     
enable him the better to  make up the   
solemn account of every action1 word1   
and thought1 between  himself and ,god8 
,god blessed the ,sabbath-day1 and      
sanctified it for his own glory2 but how
  does it promote his glory1 whilst the 
generality of his faithless1  ungrateful
 people1 even in this ,christian nation1
 never enter his sacred  courts on that 
day1 to give him the honour due unto his
 name in the  presence of their         
fellow-men4  ,and 8shall ,i not visit   
for this1 saith the  ,lord80  ,much1    
indeed1 very much is it to be feared1   
that he will visit1  with some terrible 
calamity too1 and soon also1 this       
country of ours1 so  dear to us all1 so 
much our boast and pride1 which he has  
hitherto  guarded with an extraordinary 
protection1 and exalted above other     
nations  with unparalleled renown and   
power4  ,the breach1 the dishonouring of
 his  ,sabbaths1 he will keenly resent1 
and unsparingly avenge4  ,what he       

denounced to the ,jews should           
perpetually sound in our ears--8,verily 
my  ,sabbaths shall ye keep for a       
perpetual covenant2 they are a sign     
between  me and you throughout your     
generations for ever2 that ye may know  
that ,i am the ,lord that doth sanctify 
you4  ,they are holy unto you2 every    
one that defileth them shall surely be  
put to death40  ,it is a despite  done  
to ,god himself1 directly and           
personally2 it is a scorn both of his   
majesty and his goodness1 which cannot  
but provoke him to consume the  guilty  
in his wrath4    ,already1 indeed1 do we
 feel his wrath in part executed upon   
us1 and in  part behold it with terror  
suspended over us4  ,the nightly        
incendiary1  who prowls about in        
darkness 7but ,god sees him7 and        
destroys the fruits  of the earth1 which
 should have been for the food of man2  
the open  rioter1 who1 in broad         
day-light1 levels with the ground the   
temple of  ,god1 the marts of commerce1 

the mansions of the great1 and puts to  
the  hazard even the life of his        
beneficent neighbour2 the wide-wasting  
pestilence1 which1 with havoc and death 
in its train1 has reached the  opposite 
shores1 and now only waits the signal to
 cross the sea to ours2  all these are  
the avenging emissaries of ,god2 but the
 last more  apparently2 and ,i pray     
,god1 as ,king ,david did1 that we may  
fall into  his hands rather than into   
the hands of men--yet ,he1 who stilleth 
the  fury of the warring elements1 can  
also still 8the madness of the people40 
,but the great question for you1 and    
which you should lay your hands  upon   
your hearts1 and answer conscientiously1
 is this2 how much you  yourselves1     
individually1 have contributed to       
increase the mass of the  national guilt
 in this particular1 of which ,god is so
 jealous4  ,as my  sacred office compels
 me to speak the truth1 and forbids     
every kind of  flattery and             
dissimulation2 as ,i cannot otherwise be

 useful to any of  you1 or assist you in
 working out your salvation1 but by     
bearing witness  to the truth2 as ,i am1
 moreover1 now about to leave you for a 
while1 and  therefore wish to give you  
some departing1 farewell advice of the  
most  momentous importance2 ,i say it1  
,i confess1 with deep sorrow1 and with a
  painful alarm on your account1 that1  
even in this otherwise  well-disposed   
and well-ordered parish1 there is a too 
evident1 and a too  great1 neglect of   
the ,sabbath4  ,in the true spirit of   
pastoral affection1  but in the plain1  
manly1 authoritative language of an     
,apostle1 ,i say1 8,i  cannot praise you
 in this40    ,alas6 alas6 what correct 
idea1 or right devout feeling of ,god's 
sabbaths1  can they have1 who are always
 absent from ,god's house1 and who1     
perhaps1 profane these sacred days1     
besides1 by drunkenness1 or gaming1  or 
some other revelry8  ,none1 undoubtedly4
  ,but all our remonstrances  from this 
sacred place must1 of necessity1 be     

useless to them2 they  need them most1  
but are never present to hear them4  ,of
 the rest1 how few  come here with so   
much regularity as to show that it is an
 essential part  of their system of     
life--an established principle of       
conduct never to be  departed from but  
upon the most urgent1 extraordinary     
occasions6  ,and how  will ,god judge of
 them1 who think that they do sufficient
 honour to his  ,sabbath by coming once 
only1 and forget that ,god may construe 
their  coming but once as a proud       
assumption on their parts1 that they    
want no  more of his sanctifying grace  
than once a day may be likely to bestow6
  ,if the help of the ,holy ,spirit     
alone can fit them for salvation1 and   
this  help is chiefly given by the      
ministry of the church1 how can they be 
perfectly satisfied with themselves1 and
 think that they have done  enough1 when
 they neglect1 once a day1 an           
opportunity of partaking of the  spirit1
 which the church is the instrument to  

convey8  ,i am not unaware  of the      
circumstances of this parish1 which     
render more sometimes  impossible2 but  
how few1 how very few1 perhaps two or   
three individuals1  lament those        
circumstances1 and the consequent loss  
of additional means  of grace6    ,but  
how will ,god judge even of the most    
exemplary in any congregation1  who     
never forsake his house1 either for     
pleasure1 or for business1 or for  any  
of those plausible reasons by which men 
are too willing to delude  themselves to
 their own ruin2 if they spend the rest 
of the day1  nevertheless1 as they spend
 the other days of the week1 and do not 
remember the ,sabbath1 to keep it holy  
throughout2 if they do not devote  the  
whole of it with a sober1 religious awe 
to ,god2 if they do not send  their     
children and servants to church with the
 same punctuality as they  go           
themselves2 if they do not shun all the 
resorts of sensuality and  gaiety       
abroad1 or admit such inmates at home2  

if they do not study the  ,holy         
,scriptures1 and put aside all other    
books but such as may tend to  build    
them up in faith and piety2 and1 in     
short1 if they do not live on  this one 
day1 in conformity with the sacred      
nature of the day1 so  uniformly and so 
universally1 as to throw a sanctity     
around the lawful  business and the     
lawful pleasures of every other day1 and
 gradually to  make their whole life    
truly ,christian1 truly divine1 and fit1
 indeed1 for  heaven4    ,now1 if they  
do not accomplish all this1 whatever    
else they do1 they fall  short of a due 
observance of the ,sabbath2 and who is  
there1 even amongst  the most exemplary1
 alas6 who ever thinks of accomplishing 
so much8  ,alas1 alas6 who is there     
amongst any of us1 who1 in some way or  
other1  does not absolutely break the   
,sabbath1 or even profane it8  ,and what
  wonder1 then1 that there should be so 
much looseness1 licentiousness1 and     
depravity of manners in our nation2 and 

that so many evils assail us1 so  many  
impend over our heads1 and threaten us  
with some mighty ruin8                  
,sabbath-breaking has led to the        
temporal and eternal ruin of thousand   
and  tens of thousands2 it cannot but   
lead to the deeper corruption of all2 to
  the gradual undermining and ultimate  
extinction of all religious  principle  
in the heart of man4  ,when a people    
cast off their respect for  ,god's      
,sabbaths1 they are prepared to run the 
full career of irreligion1  and of      
profligacy1 and of all the atrocities   
which scourge and afflict  mankind4     
,there are persons in this congregation 
old enough to remember1 as ,i do1 a     
whole powerful nation1 our nearest      
neighbours1 casting it off1 as it       
appeared1 with one consent1 and1 by     
cruelties almost unheard of before1     
compelling their spiritual pastors and  
ministers to fly into exile2  neither   
religion1 nor the semblance of religion 
being tolerated any  longer among them4 

,and what was the issue8  ,this amazing 
apostacy was  followed immediately by   
such deeds of horror1 by such tragical  
excesses1  as will never be blotted out 
of the annals of time4  ,but the same   
impious  means have been industriously  
used to produce the same subversion of  
principle here amongst us at home2 and1 
,god knows1 they have but too  well     
succeeded with too many2 so that we can 
scarcely exult any longer  with our     
former honourable pride1 that our       
country is as renowned for  religion1   
for piety and virtue1 for good order and
 submission to  authority1 and for the  
deep abhorrence of all atrocities1 as   
she is for  freedom1 for wealth1 for    
victory1 and for power4    ,finally1    
then1 in bidding you farewell1 ,i       
earnestly beseech you all1 and  through 
you ,i beseech the rest who are under my
 spiritual charge1 to  ponder most      
deeply and seriously1 and to lay to     
heart also1 what ,god  himself spoke    
with such terrible signs of his power1  

and what his divine  finger wrote for an
 everlasting memorial2 what ,he decreed 
in the  beginning of time when ,he      
rested from his marvellous works1 and   
pronounced them good2 and what our      
blessed ,saviour1 the fulfiller of all  
righteousness1 obeyed in the true spirit
 of the command1 and set the  pattern to
 every succeeding generation of         
,christians2 ,i earnestly beseech  you  
all to 8remember the sabbath-day1 to    
keep it holy40  ,and let the  first     
proof of your remembrance of it1 and the
 first act of keeping it  holy1 be your 
constant attendance here in ,god's      
house--a practice which  will lead you  
on step by step to every other good     
work4  ,let your  ministers lament no   
more the thin attendance of their       
hearers1 in the  afternoons especially4 
,come as often as you may1 you will     
scarcely  return without being the      
better and the wiser for it4  ,i speak  
not of  worldly wisdom1 but of the      
wisdom which will save your souls4      

,what  blessing is there1 of which you  
stand in need8  ,come here1 and pray for
  it in concert with the whole          
assembly--your united prayers1 with one 
mind  and heart1 ascending to ,god1 will
 fetch every blessing down4  ,is there  
any blessing of which you feel the      
enjoyment8  ,come here1 and thank ,god  
for it before your fellow-men4  ,are you
 ignorant of any of the great           
gospel-doctrines which are necessary to 
be known8  ,come here1 and they  will be
 explained1 each in its proper season1  
and you will be instructed  to have a   
due and awful sense of their importance4
  ,have you been seduced  into sin2 do  
your devotions become languid2 do you   
neglect any duty2 is  your benevolence  
cold8  ,come to ,god's house1 and you   
will hear  discourses1 it is to be      
hoped1 as well as striking passages of  
scripture1  which will awaken and arouse
 you2 keep heaven always in your sight2 
fill  you with heavenly affections2 and 
prepare you to dwell in some heavenly   

mansion with the blessed saints of ,god4
  ,we1 your ministers1 ,i trust1  amidst
 all the discouragements with which we  
are surrounded1 the entire  absence of  
so many1 the apparent lukewarmness of   
others1 preach1  nevertheless1 with the 
same zeal as if we preached to          
multitudes athirst  for the word of     
,god1 and do not abate one tittle in our
 fervent desire  for your everlasting   
salvation4  ,the more1 indeed1 men      
neglect  themselves1 the more should the
 ministers of ,christ care for them1 and
  stir up every faculty which they have 
to rescue them from their dream of      
false security4  ,let not this labour of
 ours be in vain6  ,labour for          
yourselves as we labour for you2 all of 
us alike1 however1 trusting to  a       
greater strength than our own4  ,and ,i 
pray ,god1 that1 under the  influence of
 the ,divine strength1 and guided by his
 ,holy ,spirit1 you  may become the     
crown of our labours1 and enable us to  
give up the  account of our stewardship 

over you with joy4                      
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,the ,,end4                            
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,,london3                    ,,roake    
,,and ,,varty1 ,,printers1 #ca1         
,,strand4