ful and fervent prayers of the church. 3. The reading, preaching and hearing of the word of God. 4. The communion of the church in the Lord's-supper. 5. The laudatory exhortations which attend it; and the singing and speaking of the praises of our Creator, and Redeemer, and Sanctifier; with joyful thanksgiving for his wonderful benefits. 6. The seasonable exercise of holy discipline on particular persons, for comforting the weak, reforming the scandalous, casting out the obstinately impenitent, and absolving and receiving the penitent. 7. The pastor's blessing the people in the name of the Lord. 8. And as an appurtenance in due season, oblations or contributions for holy and charitable uses, even for the church and poor, which yet may be put off to other days, when it is more convenient so to do.

Quest. But who is it that must be present in all these exercises?'

Answ. Where there is no church yet called, the whole day may be spent in preaching to, and teaching the unconverted infidels: but where there is a church, and no other persons mixed, the whole exercise of the day must be such as are fitted to the state of the church. But where there is à church and other persons (infidels and impenitent ones) with them, the day must be spent proportionably in exercises suitable to the good of both; yet so that church-exercises should be the principal work of the day. And the ancient laudable practice of the churches was, to preach to the infidel auditors and catechumens in the morning, on such subjects as were most suitable to them, and then to dismiss them, and retain the faithful (or baptized) only; and to teach them all the commands of Christ; to stir them up to the joyful commemoration of Christ and his resurrection, and to sing God's praises, and celebrate the Lord'ssupper with the eucharistical acknowledgments and joy. And they never kept a Lord's-day in the church, without the Lord's-supper; in which the bare administration of the signs was not their whole work; but all their thanksgiving and praising exercises, were principally then used, and connexed to the Lord's-supper: which the liturgies yet extant do at large express.

And I know no reason but thus it should be still; or at least but that this course should be the ordinary celebration of the day.

Quest. But seeing the Sabbath was instituted in the beginning to commemorate the work of the creation, must that be laid by now, because of our commemoration of the work of our redemption?'

Answ. No: Our Redeemer's work is to restore us to the acknowledgment and love of our Creator. And the commemoration of our redemption fitteth us to a holy acknowledgment of the Almighty Creator in his works: these therefore are still to go together; according to their several proper places; even as the Son is the way to the Father, and we must never separate them in the exercise of our faith, obedience, or love. A Christian is a sanctified philosopher and no man knoweth or acknowledgeth God's works of creation or providence aright, in their true sense, but he that seeth God the Creator and Redeemer, the Beginning, the Governor and the End of all. Other philosophers are but as those children, that play with the book and the letters, but understand not the matter contained in it; or like one that teacheth boys nitide literas pingere,' to write a curious hand, while he understands not what he writeth.

Object. But to spend so much of the day in public as you speak of, will tire out the minister by speaking so long: few men are able to endure it.'

Answ. How did the Christians in the primitive churches? They met in the morning, and often (as far as I can gather) parted not till night, and when they did go home between the morning and evening service, it was but for a little time.

Object.' Then they made it a fast and not a festival.'

Answ. It was not the use then to eat dinners in those hot countries; much less three meals a-day, as we do now. And they accounted it a sufficient feasting, to eat once, at supper; which they did at the first altogether at their church-meeting, with the sacrament; but afterward finding the inconvenience of that, they feasted at home, and used only the sacrament in the church: which change was not made without the allowance of the apostles; Paul saying, "Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God?" (1 Cor. xi. 22.)

I further answer, that the work of the day being done according to the primitive use, it will be no excessive labour to the ministers, because, in the celebration of the Lord'ssupper, he is not still in one continued speech, but hath the

intermission of action, and useth shorter speeches, which do not so much spend him. And the people bear a considerable part, to wit, in God's praises, which were spoken then in their laudatory tone, and are now uttered by their singing of psalms (which should not be the least part of the work). And though their manner of singing was not like ours, in rhymes and tunes melodiously, (as neither were the Hebrew, Greek, or Latin poems so sung;) but as most think, more like to our cathedral singing, or saying; yet it followeth not that this is the best way for us, seeing use hath made our tunes and metre, and way of singing, more meet for the ends to which we use them, that is, for the cheerful consent of all the church; neither should any think that it is a human, unlawful invention, and a sinful change, to turn the old way of singing (used in Scripture-times and long after) into ours; for the old way of singing was not a Divine institution, but a use; and several countries had their several uses herein and God commandeth us but to praise him, and sing psalms, but doth not tell us what metre or tunes we shall use, or manner of singing, but leaveth this to the use and convenience of every country: and if our way and tunes be to us by custom more convenient than those of other nations in Scripture-times, we have no reason to forsake them, and return to the old (though yet the old way is not to be judged a thing forbidden). And we see that custom hath so far prevailed with us, that many thousand religious people, do cheerfully sing psalms in the church in our tunes and way, who cannot endure to sing in the cathedral, or the ancient Scripture or primitive way, nor to use so much as the laudatory responses.

3. And I further answer, That every church should have more ministers than one, as the ancient churches had, besides their readers; and then one may in speaking ease another.

4. But lastly I answer, That these circumstances being alterable according to the state of countries and conveniences, I do not discommend the custom of our country, and of most Christian churches in our times, in making an intermission, and going home to dinner, as being fittest to our condition. And then there remaineth the less force in the objection, as to the weakness of the ministers or the people.

I forbear to say more of the public church-performances, having described them all in a small book called "Universal Concord," and having exemplified all except preaching, in our "Reformed Liturgy" given in to the bishops at the Savoy.

Only here I will answer them who object much that the ancient churches spent not the whole day in exercises of religion, nor forbad other exercises out of the time of public worship, because we read of little other observation of it by them, but what was done by them in the public assemblies.'

Answ. 1. We find that they took it to be a sanctified or separated day; and they never distinguish, and say, that part of the day only was separated and sanctified to such uses. If they did, which part is the sanctified part of the day? What hours were they which they thought thus separated? But there is no such distinction or limitation in the writings of the ancient doctors. 2. What need you find much mention what they did out of the time of public worship, when they spent all the day frequently at first, and almost all the day in after-times (with small intermission) in public worship? Do you stay but as long at church as they did, even almost from morning till night, and then you will find but little time to dance or play in. But yet 3. There want not testimonies that they thought it unlawful to spend any part of the day in unnecessary diversions from holy things, as Dr. Young hath shewed.

III. So much of the day as can be spared from public church-worship (and diversions of necessity) should be next spent most in holy family-exercises. And in those unhappy places where the public worship is slenderly and negligently performed (on some small part only of the day), or not at all, or not so as it is lawful to join in it, (as in idolatrous worship, &c.) there family worship must take up the most of the day and in better places, it must take up so much as the public worship spareth.

And here the sum of holy exercises in families is this, (which having elsewhere directed you in, I must but briefly name :)

1. To see that the family rise as early on this day as on others, and make it not a day of sleep and idleness. And not to suffer them to violate, profane or neglect the day by any of the sins hereafter named.

2. To call them together before they go to the solemn assembly, and to pray with them and praise God, and if there be time, to read the Scripture, and tell them what they have to do in public.

3. To see that dinner, and other common employments, make no longer an intermission than is needful; and to advise them that at their meat and necessary business, they shew by their holy speeches, that their minds do not forget the day, and the employments of it.

4. To sing God's praises with them, if there be time, and bring them again together to the church-assembly.

5. When they return, either to take some account of them what they have learned, or call them together to pray for a blessing on what they have heard, and to sing praises to God, and to urge the things which they have heard, upon them.

6. At supper to behave themselves soberly and piously: and after supper to shut up the day in prayer and praise; and either then or before, either to examine or exhort inferiors, according as the case of the persons and families shall require (for in some families it will be best on the same day to take an account of their profitting, and to catechise them: and in other families that have leisure, other days may be more convenient for catechising and examinations), that the greater works of the Lord's-day may not be shortened.

IV. So much of the day as can be spared from public and family worship, must be spent in secret, holy duties : such as are, 1. Secret prayer. 2. Reading of the Scriptures and good books. 3. Holy meditation. 4. And the secret conference of bosom friends. Of which I further add,

1. That where public or family-worship cannot be had (as in impious places), there secret duties must be the chief, and make up the defect of others. And it is a great happiness of good Christians who have willing minds, that they have such secret substitutes and supplies; that they have bibles, and so many good books to read; that they have a friend to talk with, of holy things; but much more that they have a God to go to, and a heaven to meditate on, besides so many sacred verities.

2. That my judgment is, that in those places where the public worship taketh up almost all the day, it is no sin to attend upon it to the utmost, and to omit all family and se