SERMON I The Sanctification of the Lord's Day. Rev. i. 10. I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. IT is allowed by all who believe there is a God, that he eught to be worshipped. If he is to be worthipped, there must, from the nature of things, be fome time appropriated for this purpofe. To grant that a duty must be done, and no time allotted for its performance, involves in it an impoffibility: Wherefore it is abfolutely certain that God must be worshipped by all his rational creatures, and they must have a due proportion of time for this high and important end. And can time be better employed than by prayer, homage, adoration and praife to our Creator, preferver and benefactor. The question is not, whether there be a God, whether divine worship should be given to him, and whether a portion of time fhould be allowed for this purpose, but what is that feafon or portion of time, which ought to be defignated or fet apart for this folemn or grand defign. Here the reafon and inveftigation of man must be nonpluffed. Whether a fifth, fixth, or eighth, or any other divifion of time would be a proper pro portion must far tranfcend his enquiries. Here where the light of nature must fail, divine revelation has given us infallible direction. God has been pleased to correct all the wandering conjectures of men, and appoint one day in feven to be feparated for his fpecial fervice and to be kept holy to himself; and this has the honor confered upon it in our text of being filed the Lord's day. It is alfo faid St. John was in the Spirit on this day. This may be predicated of him both in an extraordinary, and in an ordinary manner. He was in the Spirit as he was under the influence of a divine efflatus, or a fupernatural inspiration, affording him all the glorious truths and grand visions recorded in this facred book. Or he was in the Spirit in an ordinary way, as is common with christians, who have pleasure in God, delight in his worship; who have holy exercifes of heart, and are in proper frames of mind. All that can be attended to at prefent on this fubject will be briefly to fhow, First, that God has appointed a feventh part of time for the high and important duties of religious worship, of public adoration, homage and praise. Secondly, confider the manner in which this appropriated and fanctified time ought to be employed. As to the firft, it is abundently apparent from the whole of divine revelation. This world may with propriety be divided into two epochs or grand periods. The one from creation to a still more wonderful and greater event, to wit, The completion of the redemption of man in the humiliation and refurrection of the Son of God. That perfon of the Trinity, who was the diftinguifhed agent in caufing the exiftence of this world, was and will forever be the n.oft pre-eminently dif tinguished perfonage in its recovery from the most perfect and abfolute ruin. The perfections of Godhead were confpicuously displayed in the ftupendous works of creation. Here almighty power, inconceiveable wisdom, and incomprehenfible goodness fhone forth with infinite luftre; but when the work of redemption was performed, all thefe perfections burst forth with fuperior fplendor, and a multitude of others which never could have been conceived but by its glories. In the former exhibition the angels of God fang together for joy, the latter they look into with an astonishment at the won ders of God far tranfcending their conceptions and their praise. In this display of the extenfion and plenitude of divine attributes the great minds of cherubic and feraphic millions are loft and abforbed. All heaven is ftruck mute at the exhibited Godhead in the falvation of man. Both these great periods are illustrated by an appropriation of a feventh portion of time, for the worship of this great Creator, and this glorious Redeemer. For the firft, the seventh day from the creation was appointed for the commemoration of the fame, and other adventitious circumftances which arofe in the church throughout that grand era of more than four thousand years; for the fecond, the first day of the week has been affigned as a memorial of Christ and his refurrection for the recovery of ruined man, and which will be continued till worlds and time fhall be no more. First, the Sabbath from the creation to the Refurrection of Christ was the feventh day of the week. Thus we read, "on "the feventh day God ended his work which he had made "and God bleffed the feventh day and fan&tified it." Here the day after God had finished all his works, and the first day of man's existence was fet apart for holy purposes. It is pronounced, bleffed and fanctified. Not that there was any more |