can praise Him in his holy temple, "for all the benefits that he hath done unto them;" they can confess their sins, and implore his pardon; they can hear his holy Word, and receive from his appointed ministers the message of peace and reconciliation, delivered in the name of his only begotten Son. Here neglected children are taught the duty they owe even to their negligent parents. Here the wife learns the duty of cheerful obedience; the husband of affection and tenderness. Here the duty of submission to government is enforced, whilst, at the same time, the duty of rulers is pointed out. Here the necessity of mutual forbearance and forgiveness is inculcated; as well as the duty of every man to renounce selfishness, and to seek the welfare of his brother rather than his own. Here we are taught the reverence due to the aged; and the kindness and compassion which ought to be shewn to the afflicted and distressed. And here, above all, are inculcated those truly scriptural principles, and those pure and Christian motives, which can alone produce genuine holiness of life. Thus, as far as instruction will avail, are formed obedient subjects, dutiful children, prudent and tender parents, kind and faithful husbands, discreet and affectionate wives, mild masters, faithful servants, sincere and steady friends, and kind neighbours. In a word, it is the obvious tendency of the Sabbath, to pro

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mote the good of society; to persuade men to "love without dissimulation," to be "kindly affectioned one towards another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;" to be "not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord:" to "distribute to the necessity of saints;" to be "given to hospitality;" to 'rejoice with them that do rejoice, and to weep with them that weep;" to "mind not high things but to condescend to men of low estate;" to recompense to no man evil for evil;" to "provide things honest in the sight of all men,' "if it be possible, to live peaceably with all men;" to "avenge not themselves, but rather to give place to wrath;" to "be subject to the higher powers, knowing that the powers that be, are ordained of God," and to be "subject too, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake;" to "render to all their due; tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour: " to "owe no man any thing, but to love one another." Yes, brethren, and were not such beneficial tendency of the Sabbath too often slighted and counteracted,-were that divine appointment but duly observed, it would conduce more than any other, to banish discord, and strife, and envy, and pride, from the world; and to render society on earth a resemblance, however faint, of the blessed state of happiness enjoyed by the saints in heaven.

Nor are these all the beneficial effects upon civil society, which the Sabbath is intended to produce. Within these hallowed walls a bond of sacred union is formed among persons of allclasses. Here are blended, in Christian fellowship, those who otherwise would have no intercourse with each other. Here "the rich and the poor meet together," to offer their common supplications at the throne of grace, and to pour out their thanksgivings to that Almighty Being, who is the Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of them all. Here, however different their outward circumstances, they learn to consider themselves as forming one body: they partake of the same table, and kneel down in holy worship to one universal Lord and Saviour, who suffered and died for them: they look up alike to one Father, unite in one hope, one faith, and learn to love as brethren. And are not these things sufficient to recommend the Sabbath to every friend of mankind?

Yet these benefits, great as they are, are far inferior to those which may be derived from the Sabbath as a religious ordinance, calculated for the improvement of the soul.

Consider the employments of the labouring man during the other six days of the week. In what is he chiefly engaged? Merely in things relating to this world, and to his poor perishing body. But look at the poor labourer on the Sab

bath: then may you perceive in him the child of God, the heir of immortality. You may behold him in the temple of his God, employed in a noble work ;—a work worthy of an immortal being;—a work indeed in which angels themselves are engaged. He is worshipping his great Creator; his affections are fixed upon things spiritual and eternal; he is "looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of his faith," through Him he has access to his Heavenly Father, and in the name of his adorable Redeemer, his soul converses with God: his thoughts ascend beyond the confined bounds of sense and time, and meditate on eternity; his ears are listening to the Word of God, and to the knowledge of his divine will; his tongue is speaking the high praises of God, or addressing him in confession, supplication, and prayer ; his eyes are lifted up through faith in Christ Jesus, to him who is the "Father of lights, and the God of the spirits of all flesh." Behold here the proper employment of the Sabbath, and see how it dignifies and exalts even the humblest of the fallen sons of men!

During the six days, I repeat, the object of man's labour is to provide for the body-that body which is soon to turn to the dust out of which it was taken ;-that frail and perishing body, which, in numberless instances, can scarcely be kept in a state of tolerable health,

even for the few days of our sojourning here. But on the seventh day our attention is directed to our nobler part,-the soul:-we are engaged in promoting its moral improvement, in cultivating its exalted powers, in labouring, by divine aid, that it may be restored to the lost image of God. The seventh day is truly the day of jubilee,—the season of holy rejoicing. On this sacred day we hear the glad tidings of a Saviour's work: we meet him in his own house, and at his own holy table, where he is in the midst of us. It is the Lord's Day, and it introduces us to the Lord's presence; it shews us the precious benefits of his death and resurrection, the inestimable value of his intercession, and the boundless extent of his love. It awakens our souls to a sense of his mercy, "in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us ;" that, being justified by his blood, we might be reconciled to God, and receive remission of our sins, and an eternal “inheritance among all them that are sanctified." It is besides the emblem and foretaste of that eternal Sabbath above, where the Redeemer reigns with his glorified servants in endless and unchangeable bliss.

But the Sabbath is also peculiarly calculated for the comfort and benefit of the afflicted. To the assembly in the house of God may repair the mourner and the distressed; the destitute and the friendless; those who are sinking under