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national perjuries in violating lawful oaths for refor mation, that over and over many times have been involving themselves in finful unlawful oaths contrary to the truth, befides all the execrable oaths and blafphemies vented by a profane generation that have caft off all fear, and that profanation of the holy name by curfing, fwearing, and profaning of holy ordinances, chargeable upon us?

2. I warn all grofs profaners of the name of God to repent, and flee to the blood of Chrift for pardon; certifying, that if ye do not, ye fhall lie under the wrath of God for ever, and that unruly tongue of yours fhall caft you into a burning fever in hell, where ye fhall not have a drop of water to cool your tongue. Have pity on your fouls, have pity on the land, and your families, if ye have any. Pity the rifing generation. Is it not fad to think of young ones learning to curfe and fwear as they learn to fpeak? Where do they learn these things but at home, or from other children that learn them at home? The blood of their fouls will lie at your doors, if they fol low your steps; and if God pluck them as brands out of the burning, no thanks to their parents, who do what in them lies by their example to ruin them. Say not, ye reprove them, and do not allow them in it; for an ill example will deftroy what ye build by your good advice *:

3. Let us endeavour not only to reform ourselves, but contribute to the reformation of others in this point. It is Cain's language, unbecoming a Chriftian, Am I my brother's keeper? In feveral places and nations there are focieties for reformation of manners. were there but one in a family that had the courage to fpeak a word for God, to reprove fin, what good might it do, the work being managed with calmness

And

*Some pleas and pretences that finners offer in apology for fwearing may be feen fatisfyingly answered in the author's book, lately pu blithed, entitled, The diftinguishing characters of true believers, title, A caveat against profane fwearing, p. 197. &c.

and love? To neglect this duty is injurious to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. But fome may object, Our reproofs will do no good, we may as well hold our tongue. I anfwer, Be ye in your duty, and leave the event to God. Your duty ye have laid before you, Matth. xviii. 15. 16. 17. If thy brother shall trefpass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he fhall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. eftablished. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an Heathen man, and a publican. Habitual profane fwearers are furely more offenfive to God and good men, than those who are guilty of a fingle act of fornication, Lev. v. 1. Tell thefe things to your neighbours. that lie at home unneceffarily on the Lord's day. None are more likely to be guilty of these things than fuch. Be fo kind to their fouls as to let them know, that if they continue in these things, what has been faid here against them, feeing they were obliged to have come and heard our meffage from the Lord, shall witness against them at the great day, as well as against those who have heard the fame, if they continue in fuch courfes. I fhall close this with that word, Deut. xxviii. 58. 59. If thou wilt not obferve to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayft fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy feed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and fore ficknelles, and of long continuance. And O that all oaths, grofs or minced, all profaning of the name of God, and irreverent ufe of it, and all curfing of whatever kind, might end with thefe fermons against it.

4. Let us all fee ourselves in the glass of this command and threatening, and learn to know our guilt with refpect to it, and our danger thereby. God will let VOL. II. 4 A

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us know, fooner or later, that he thinks much of what we think very little of. And let us be humbled under, and wash in Chrift's blood for, our fins in taking God's name in vain.

ILIZLILILI

Of the fourth Commandment.

EXODUS XX. 8. 9. 10. II.

Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. Six days fhalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the feventh day is the fabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou fbalt not do any work, thou, nor thy fon, nor thy daughter, thy man fervant, nor thy maid-fervant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in fx days the Lord made heaven and earth, the fea, and all that in them is, and refted the feventh day: wherefore the Lord bleffed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it.

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HIS command refpects the time of worship, and is the last of the first table, fet to join both to gether, the fabbath being the bond of all religion. In the words we have,

1. The command. It is delivered two ways.

ift, Pofitively, Remember the fabbath day, to keep it holy. Sabbath fignifies reft or ceffation from labour. There is a threefold reft or fabbath spoken of in fcripture. (1.) Temporal. (2.) Spiritual, which is an internal foul-reft, in ceafing from fin, Heb. iv. 3. (3.) Eternal, Heb. iv. 9. 11. celebrated in heaven, where the faints reft from their labours. It is the firft of these, the weekly fabbath, that is here meant. Obferve here,

(1.) Our duty with refpect to the fabbath. It is to keep it holy. God has made it holy, fet it apart for holy exercises, and we must keep it holy, fpending it in holy exercises.

Advices to common fwearers may be feen, and read with prof, in the author's Caveat against profane fwearing, in his Diftinguishing characters of true believers. p. 202. c.

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(2.) The quantity of time to be observed as a fab. bath of reft, a day, a whole day of twenty-four hours; and the one day in feven. They muft obferve a seventh day after fix days labour, wherein all our work muft be done, put by hand, fo as nothing of it may remain to be done on the fabbath.

(3) A note of remembrance put upon it; which imports that this precept should be diligently obferved, fpecial regard paid to it, and due honour put upon this facred day.

2dly, Negatively. Where obferve, (1.) What is forbidden here; the doing of any work that may hinder the fanctifying of this day. (2.) To whom the command is directed, and who muft obferve it. Magiftrates, to whom belong the gates of the city; and mafters of families, to whom belong the gates of the houfe. They muft obferve it themselves, and caufe others to obferve it.

2. The reasons annexed to this command. None of the commands are thus delivered, both pofitively and negatively, as this is. And that imports,

ift, God is in a special manner concerned for the keeping of the fabbath, it being that on which all religion depends. Accordingly as it is obferved or dif regarded, fo it readily goes with the other parts of religion.

2dly, People are most ready to halve the fervice of this day, either to look on refting from labour as fufficient, or to look on the work of the day as over when the public work is over.

3dly, There is lefs light of nature for this command than the reft for though it is naturally moral that there should be a fabbath; yet it is but pofitively moral that this fhould be one day in feven, depending entirely on the will of God.

In difcourfing further from this fubject, I fhall fhew,
1. What is required in the fourth commandment.
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II. Which day of the feven God hath appointed to be the weekly fabbath.

III. How the fabbath is to be fanctified.

IV. What is forbidden in this command.
V. The reasons annexed to it.

VI. Make improvement.

I. I am to fhew what is required in the fourth commandment. This command, according to our cate-, chifm, requireth "the keeping holy to God fuch fet "times as he hath appointed in his word; expressly one whole day in feven, to be a holy fabbath to "himfelt." Here I fhall fhew,

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1. That this command requireth the keeping holy to God fuch fet times as he hath appointed in his word. 2. That it requires one day in feven to be kept as a holy fabbath to the Lord,

3. That the day to be kept holy is one whole day. First, I am to fhew, that this command requireth the keeping holy to God fuch fet times as he hath appointed in his word.

The Jews under the Old Teftament had feveral days befide the weekly fabbath, that by divine appointment were to be kept as holy days, and by virtue of this command they were to observe them, even as by vir the of the second they were to observe the facrifices and other parts of the Old-teftament inftituted wor fhip. But these days are taken are taken away under the gofpel, by the coming of Chrift.

But that which this command in the firft place requires, is the keeping holy of a fabbath to God; whatever be the day God determines for it; whether the feventh in order from the creation, as under the Old Teftament, or the firft, as under the New. And fo the command is, Remember the fabbath day, to keep it holy; not, Remember the feventh day. Thus the keeping of a fabbath is moral duty, binding all perfons in all places of the world.

For it is moral duty, and by the natural law re

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