After some pious Meditations, close your Eyes with this Prayer.

I WILL lay me down in Peace, and take my Rest, for it is thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in Safety.

The Lord bless me, and keep me, the Lord make his Face to shine upon me, and be gracious upon me; the Lord lift up his Countenance upon me, and grant me Peace this Night and evermore.

If you cannot Sleep, use these or the like Meditations.

IN the Night Season I will sing, and make my Prayers unto the God of my Life, I will remember him on my Bed, and meditate on him in the Night-Watches. For the Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night when the Heavens being on Fire, shall be dissolved, the Earth also with all its Works shall be burnt up. What Manner of Persons then ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness & O Lord, the blessed Angels never rest Day or Night from singing forth thy Praises; with this blest Choir, unworthy as I am, will I also join my Heart and Voice, saying, Hallelujah, Salvation, and

Honour,

Honour and Glory, and Power be unto God for ever and ever. Amen.

To keep out idle and unclean Thoughts, think on your misspent Life, meditate on Death and Judgment, on Heaven and Hell. Think on the Sins of your Youth, and remember that you must soon die. Pray to God for Mercy in the Day of Judgment.

Huppy Servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find thus doing.

SUNDAY.

MEDITATION.

WELCOME, blest and happy Day! This is the Day which the Lord hath made, which he hath sanctified to himself, and called by his own most holy Name. Worthy is the Lord of all our Time, worthy of the Praise of all his Creatures. Shall I employ the whole Week on myself, and not offer one Day unto him, to whom I owe all that I enjoy? Forbid it, O gracious Lord, and make me faithfully observe my Duty to thee on thy own blessed Day. Ah, dearest Lord! I was heretofore a Profaner of this holy Day, for which I might justly have been given over to a reprobate Mind; or by a sudden Vengeance snatched out of the World in the midst of

my

my Sins: the Devil with his Temptations, the Corruptions of my own Heart, and the wicked People of the Age we live in, would persuade me not to frequent the Worship of God, join in the Prayers of the Church, hear his holy Word, or receive the blessed Sacrament: But I will with a resolved Spirit, like to that which animated the zealous Psalmist, say unto them. "Away from me, ye wicked, for "I will keep this Commandment of my "God, that so from a temporal Sabbath here, I may pass to an eternal one in "Heaven hereafter."

66

Another MEDITATION and Prayer.

Lo! this is the solemn Day, which the Lord hath made; therefore rejoice, O my Soul, and be glad in it. This is a Day, sacred to divine Love, a Day of heavenly Rest and Refreshment. Behold the Church prepares her solemn Offices, and summons all her Children to bring in their Praises. The King of Heaven himself invites us into his own Presence, and vouchsafes us the Honour of drawing near unto him. Let those who value not the Favour of thee, O God, waste this holy Day in the Omission of

pious Duties, and being careless of doing. any Thing for the securing of themselves a blessed Eternity. Unthinking Men ! who spend this Day of Holiness and solemn Devotion, in vain, if not in wanton Talk; and in Sports and Pastimes to the great Hazard of their Salvation. As for me, O Lord, give me Grace to be wiser and better, and not to faint or grow weary in thy Service. Arise then, O my Soul, put on the Robes of Righteousness; go to the House of God with holy Reverence, and awful Humility; worship the Lord in his holy Temple with Faith and Fervour, and he will fill thee with the Graces, with the Joys and Comforts of his blessed Spirit. Lord, give me Grace to keep holy the Sabbath-Day, so as that it may become a Pledge to me of enjoying an eternal Sabbath in Light and Glory. O bright and blessed Day of Eternity; when shall I enjoy an endless Sabbath in Heaven, and be for ever with my God! Prepare me, blessed Lord, by the Means of Grace here, for the Kingdom of Glory hereafter. Amen.

THE Want of a due Observance of the Sabbath has always been esteemed the chief Cause of the Decay of Christiau Piety. And because Multiplicity of Busi

D

ness

ness in some, and Scruples in others, are often made Excuses for not faithfully observing the Duties of this holy Day, I shall be more particular in my Directions for the Sake of ignorant Minds. Know then, God, by creating the World in six Days, and resting on the seventh, hath commanded all Mankind, to whom the Knowledge of this stupendous Work shall come, to dedicate the seventh Part of their Time to his Honour and Service. The Jews observed Saturday in Memory of the Creation; and also because on that Day, God delivered the Children of Israel from the Bondage of Egypt, by drowning Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea.

We Christians, keep Sunday for our Day of Rest and solemn Devotion; because on that Day, our Lord Jesus Christ, arose from the Dead, and rested from the Work of our Redemption, which he completed by his Resurrection. On that Day a great Deliverance was obtained for us. A Deliverance far greater than that of the Israelites from the Slavery of the Egyptians. Now as to the Evidences that the primitive Christians did, and that we still ought to keep the first Day in the Week for our Sabbath, we find that the Disciples met together on that Day to perform religious Duties; to hear the Word preached, to partake of the holy Sacrament, &c. And all Christian

Churches have enjoined and practised the religious Observation of the Lord's Day; and it is of great Moment that we strictly dedicate it to the Service of God. The Works of our ordinary Calling become criminal when the Creator of all Things challenges our Time; this Day must then be employed in a!i such holy Exercises, as promote the Glory of God, the Good of our Neighbour, and the Salvation of our own Souls. Nothing but Sickness or absolute Necessity can be a fair Plea for not attending on the public Service of the Church on the Lord's Day. We may have often heard some thoughtless Men say, we can read or pray at Home; what need we then leave

our