If, from these views of the Sabbath, we are made sensible of its value, let us consider,
II. The manner in which it should be improved —
It is not intended that we should be in bondage, as the Jews were ; and much less that we should bear such an intolerable yoke as the Pharisees imposed on their Disciples : yet we are bound to venerate the Sabbath, and to keep it holy. God has enjoined that duty with very peculiar solemnity ; " Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day." In what manner we should keep it holy, the text will inform us : we should keep it,
1. With a grateful sense of our privilege —
[God, in infinite love and mercy, has made this day on purpose for us : he knew how much such a periodical season of reflection would conduce to our happiness, and therefore appointed the observance of it even in Paradise. To us, who are so corrupt and sinful, and are immersed in the cares and pleasures of an ensnaring world, this institution is still more important : and therefore, when we wake on a Sabbath morn- ing, our first thoughts should be, " This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in itf." On rising from our beds, we should shut the door of our minds against the intrusion of worldly thoughts, and should set our- selves to the contemplation of heavenly subjects. We should invite our God to come and take possession of our souls, and to banish from thence every imagination that may interfere with his service, or retard our spiritual improvement. We should consider what great objects are to be attained that day; what innumerable sins to be lamented; what great and precious promises to be embraced ; what communion with God the Father, and with the Lord Jesus Christ to be en- joyed ; what grace, and mercy, and peace to be brought into the soul ; what victories to be gained ; what glory to be secured. Methinks, on retiring to our closet, we should say, ' Now, vain world, begone; let nothing belonging to thee interrupt me for a moment : welcome, precious Bible, thou inestimable trea- sure : let me now unfold thy sacred pages, and obtain an insight into thy mysterious truths : and, O my God, " shine into my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of thy glory in the face of Jesus Christ ! " ' In short, precisely as a carnal man embraces with avidity an occasion of worldly gain, and uses with energy the means of accomplishing his desire, so should
f Ps. cxviii. 24. c 2
o0 MARK, II. 27. [1420.
we regard every Sabbath with increased joy, and improve it with augmented diligence.
That this is really the proper way of sanctifying the Sabbath, we are sure ; since it is the very way prescribed by God him- self: nothing of a temporal nature should (any further than is absolutely necessary) be admitted into our minds; but our whole delight should be in the God of our salvation^.]
2. With a humble sense of our responsibility — [If God has instituted Sabbaths for our good, they arc a talent of which we must give an account to him. And O what an awful responsibility have we incurred by means of them ! A person that is seventy years of age has had no less than ten years of entire Sabbaths! What might not have been done in that time, if they had been properly improved ?
When therefore the Sabbath arrives, though we should
welcome it as a blessing, we should welcome it with fear and trembling : lest, when designed for our good, it should only aggravate our final condemnation. We should pray to God to raise our minds to the occasion ; to spiritualize our affections; to draw nigh to us in our secret retirement, and to reveal him- self to us in the public assembly. We should bear in mind, that without Him we can do nothing : and that it is His pre- sence and His blessing alone that can render any means effec- tual for our good. And when we come to the close of the Sabbath, we should inquire diligently, how far the designs of God's love and mercy have been accomplished in us, and how far we have been forwarded in our preparation for the eternal Sabbath. It is this mixture of "joy and trembling" which we ought to cultivate, as the most desirable of all frames ; contented to wait for unmixed joy, till all our dangers and responsibility shall be for ever past.]