THE religious observation of the Sabbath, in an holy abstinence from the common business and amusements of life and a devout attendance upon Publick Worship, is strongly recom­mended by the command of God, and the practice of his people; by many express assurances of his gracious approbation of those who have so kept the day holy,—and by solemn threatenings against such as im­piously profane it. ‘Thus saith the Lord, take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day as I commanded your fathers. Jer. xvii. 21, 22. If thou turn away thy foot, on account of the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, holy of the Lord and honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then thou shalt delight thy­self in the Lord, &c. Isaiah lviii. 13. [Page 4]Whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from amongst his people. Exod. xxxi, 14.’

The notorious profanation of the christi­an sabbath by persons that call themselves christians, either in unnecessary business or journeys, carnal pleasures or idle visits is a sad evidence of that infidelity and impiety which neither fear God nor regard man: especially among a people upon whom the sanctification of the sabbath, by refraining from these practices and attending upon publick worship, is strictly enjoined both by the laws of God and their country. But I would hope better things of many into whose hands this address may fall; that they neither openly profane the Sabbath, nor entirely forsake the assembling of them­selves together; nay that some of my rea­ders, sincerely concerned for the honour and success of divine ordinances, lament every irregularity observable in those who attend upon them. And an irregularity they must certainly acknowledge it is, to come late to the house of God. The prevalence of this evil custom in some congregations has been long complained of both by ministers and private christians: they are convinced of the impropriety of the practice: they see and feel many inconveniences arising from [Page 5]it: and are apprehensive it cannot but be displeasing in the sight of God. For their sakes, and from a real regard to the best interests of all who may have been affected by it, I beg leave, in the following pages, to recommend a more exact and regular attendance.

I shall take it for granted that my reader acknowledges it his duty to attend upon divine ordinances—that hours of atten­dance are fixed, as convenient as may be to the majority of those who usually meet at the same place;—and that methods are, or may be made use of by every one for as­certaining them. I cannot likewise but be­lieve that most serious christians as well as ministers acknowledge the evil of coming late into the house of God, and lament and blame the practice in others; nor should I suppose that any such would attempt to justify it in themselves. To confirm such in so good a custom who have hitherto maintained it, and to secure a more constant and serious attention to it in others who have been remiss, I would remind them,

I. That an early attendance is decent and orderly. The apostle Paul has enjoined it upon christians that "all things be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. xiv. 40. The precept ought to be attended to through [Page 6]life: even in the common and less interest­ing concerns of it in the shop, in the field, and in our own houses; but much more in the house of God, and in matters that respect and decorum of divine institutions. And does it not appear to every one high­ly proper and becoming that the same so­ciety, meeting together in the same place, to engage in the same devotional services, should all enter upon the solemn service together, and be able to continue in it without interruption? Is not every one struck with the impropriety of a minister's being obliged to begin with little more than half his congregation? Are not the laws of decency and good order notorious­ly violated by those who are breaking in upon the worship and assembly of the peo­ple of God five, ten, or fifteen minutes after the time appointed? This is certain­ly indecent and disorderly, and ought therefore to be avoided, especially as,

II. The whole service is of such importance that no part of it should be lost. It is insti­tuted for the good of souls: to fit them for an honourable and useful discharge of all the duties of this life, and for joining the spirits of just men made perfect in the devout, exercises of the temple of God above. He that appointed the means [Page 7]knew our need of them; and, unless utter strangers to our own hearts, we must know it ourselves. A wise concern, therefore, for our best interest, will teach us to value those seasons and privileges which are adapted to promote it, and make us un­willing to suffer delays by which it would be in any measure injured.

III. By coming late, persons not only lose an important part of the service, but are like to suffer disadvantage through the whole.

Whether the introductory part of divine service be singing, reading the scriptures, or praying for a blessing on the whole, no one of these sacred exercises can be neglected without suffering loss; and yet some per­sons, I am sorry to say, are often too late for them all. Besides depriving themselves of these, such forfeit that blessing, upon which the success of all ordinances depend, when they neglect to unite with his people in asking it: and some are hereby thrown into that hurry and discomposure of mind which must unfit them for engaging with advantage on the subsequent part of the service. Thus are they sinning against their own souls, and almost as effectually losing the benefit of their sacred and most valuable privileges as if they entirely neglected them. It may also be observed, that,

[Page 8] IV. The time usually employed in publick worship, is short. I cannot expect this con­sideration will be felt or even acknowledged by those who have no relish for divine or­dinances. They say, of every hour spent in the worship of God, ‘What a weari­ness is it! when will the Sabbath, when will the service be over!’ But the devout mind must account all the hours of it short, not only in comparison of the worship of heaven, where the servants of God are re­presented as serving God day and night in his temple, but short likewise when compar­ed with the hours employed in worldly bu­siness, animal gratifications, and the pursuit of temporary gain. The whole Sabbath is but one day in seven, and only three or four hours of that are spent in publick worship. And when we have not more than one for­tieth part of our time for so reasonable and important a service, it would be equally foolish and ungrateful to suffer the least loss of so small a proportion of our lives; espe­cially considering the precarious tenure up­on which we hold these privileges. We may soon be confined from ordinances; very soon be deprived of them, and that forever. Say not "you lose little"—out of a little, that little is too much to be lost; and remem­ber that evil habits grow. If you can sa­tisfy [Page 9]yourself in losing five minutes now, by and by you may be easy with the loss of ten; and it will be nothing strange if, by growing indulgences of this sort, you be­come quite careless about the time of com­ing, and ere long entirely absent yourself one part of the day, nay at length quite forsake the assembly of God's people—Many have run great lengths in impiety from very small beginnings.—It therefore concerns us, in this case as in all others, to attend to the counsel of the apostle Paul, ‘Abstain from the appearances of evil.’ It is further observable, that,

V. The things which usually occasion delays can neither justify the inregularity, nor make us amends for the loss sustained by it. The most conscientious, regular, and zealous christians, may sometimes be unavoidably late through the great distances of their habitations. Though it has been long and generally observed that most of those who come from villages, two, three, four, and five miles off, are more regular and early in their attendance, than many who live within a few doors of the sanctuary. And I will beg leave to carry the observation farther, as I have seen, and heard of, poor christians, and even pious women who have been in their places in the house of God, [Page 10]after toiling through foul weather and bad roads on foot, sometime before many of their wealthy neighbours who have horses, and even carriages to conduct them thither. Yet through distance, unfavourable seasons, and a difference of clocks, persons may some­times be not only innocently, but pitiably late. Bodily infirmities or necessary engage­ments may detain some, and works of mercy others. But little need be said up­on this subject if these were the only occa­sions of the irregularity long complained of in many of our religious assemblies. Is it not often the consequence of lying unne­cessarily and unreasonably late in bed on the Lord's-day morning? Does not an un­due attention to dress, or too much concern about provisions for the body, often occasi­on this symptom of indifference to the spiri­tual entertainments of the house of God? Is not the true reason why some are no earlier there, that they have been busying themselves needlessly and criminally in their own houses, nay in their shops or in their fields? Are not others indolently sauntering away the hours of public wor­ship in idle amusements, or suffering them­selves to be betrayed into an indecency af­fronting to their Lord and his church, in complaisance to the ill-timed intrusions of [Page 11]Company; who at such seasons should be dismissed with the just apology and reproof of a previous and more important engage­ment? Persons who suffer themselves to be thereby detained from the house of God, seem afraid of being wearied with the length of the service, or want spirit and management to contrive for it. No one will dare to offer such excuses as these to the Master of assemblies; there are few but would be ashamed to urge them in vindication of their conduct to their fellow worshippers. Whatever advantages any may expect from trifling with ordinances on such considerati­ons they will find them a poor recompence for the loss of one single sabbath, or even the least part of its sacred services. Need I remind my reader,

VI. That the spirit and practice of the peo­ple of God in all ages of the Church is a far­ther recommendation of a diligent and re­gular attendance upon divine ordinances. The devout Israelite, when confined from them, poured out his soul in the most bitter lamentations, and made it his fervent pray­er to be restored to them. Psalm 42. "As the hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God, my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, when shall I come and appear before God? Ps, 63. [Page 12]O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." And again Ps. 84. My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord."—That good man most thankfully embraced the privilege whenever admitted to it, Psalm cxxii. "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."

And He who was at once the son of Da­vid and his Lord, even Jesus whom we al­so profess to honour as our pattern, has re­commended a decent regard to the ordinan­ces of God's house and a diligent attendance upon them by making it his custom, as in Luke iv. 6. we are told he did) ‘to go in­to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.’ Nor let his followers in the present age forget the practice of those their brethren in Christ Jesus, who, after their Lord's departure, on the first day of the week, assembied together for divine worship.—Among other records preserved of them, that in Acts x. 33. ought by no means to be overlooked or forgotten, where we find that, when Peter came into the assembly, they had to say, ‘Now are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.’ [Page 13]Our forefathers could frequently say the same when they followed their teachers dri­ven into corners, and had travelled many miles in the night to secure opportunities of attending on their ministrations. ‘The word of the Lord was precious in those days;’ and they were unwilling to lose a moment of those seasons of grace which they sought for their souls good at the peril of their lives. Then were christians alive to God, and selt the power while they kept up the form of Godliness. They went with pious zeal and eager hast to the house of God in company, in the spirit and language of the recovered captives, asking the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, and saying, "Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten." Jer. l. 4.

I cannot forbear reciting in this connec­tion a pleasing anecdote related of the inha­bitants of the parish of Dursley in Gloucester­shire; when under the ministerial care of the Rev. Mr. Joseph Woodward; a faithful and very zealous preacher of the gos­pel at the time of Charles the second's resto­ration, and who, with two thousand of his brethren, was ejected by the act of unifor­mity, August 24, 1662. ‘ Dursley, when he came to it, was so very dissolute that it [Page 14]was commonly called Drunken Dursly But it was much altered both in character and circumstances by his labours.’ And (which is the fact I had chiefly in view) ‘instead of a contempt for the ministry and ordi­nances of Christ, and spending their Sab­baths in ale-houses as they had done before, after he had preached awhile among them, such was their affection for him, for one another, and the house of God, that he seldom went thither alone. For his house being distant from the church the length of a long street, all got their families ready standing at their doors as he came by, and so attended him and fell in with the others that were following; so that he literally went with the multitude to the house of God. Every one's zeal seemed inflamed by the flame he beheld in his neighbour, and his was the most composed and affected congregation that could any where be seen.’

I must beg leave to urge, as a farther consideration,

VII. That coming late occasions great dis­turbances both to ministers and fellow worship­pers. The comfort of a minister's services to himself, and the acceptance with which they are like to be attended to others, de­pend [Page 15]greatly, under God, on the compo­sure of mind with which he engages in them. We may therefore urge this argu­ment with our people both on their ac­count and our own.—You respect your ministers, you would not do any thing that should hurt them, or lessen their usefulness. You know they are thinking, and praying, and labouring for you, in their retiremen's, between one sabbath and another. But you have not perhaps considered a remiss and ir­regular attendance upon their public mini­strations as an ungenerous return for the thought and time they employ, and the pains they take, both in the house of God and in their own, for your salvation.—You do not surely know, cannot conceive the confusion, the hurry of spirits which coming late occasions them: how often they lose that recollection and possession of themselves by it, which is ever of great importance. You would feel the inconvenience yourselves if your domestics were coming in conti­nually while you were engaged in your family devotions; but perhaps not half so much in your private dwellings and small hous­holds as ministers do before many hundreds in publick assemblies. Indeed all around are immediately affected by this irregulari­ty. Their hearing is interrupted, their [Page 16]eyes attracted, their hearts grieved by and for their fellow-worshippers, and con­sequently their attention drawn off, before they are aware, from subjects upon which they ought and wished to have their minds steadily fixed: and thus their souls are de­prived of much of the pleasure of their most important seasons. In this case there­fore, as in all others, should we take care that we ‘give no offence to the church of God,’ 1 Cor. x. 32. I shall only urge one consideration more, viz.

VIII. Coming late is an affront to the God we worship, and the Great Head of the chris­tian church upon whose ordinances we attend. The God who has instituted publick worship has assured his people of his presence in all places where he records his name. Jesus, our exalted Lord, revealed himself to John af­ter his ascension, in these words, ‘I am He that walketh in the midst of the gol­den candlesticks.’ Rev. ii. 1. meaning his churches: and when upon earth he said to his disciples, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,’ Mat. xviii. 20. In the midst of them, among other purposes, to inspect their behaviour. But how must the conduct of those appear to him who betray so much indolence, and [Page 17]indifference to the honours and privileges of his presence as to suffer almost every trifle to keep them away from his house at the hour appointed? Do they not seem afraid of being too long in his presence and engaged in his service? May he not from hence charge them as he did an ancient people with saying, ‘It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it if we keep his ordinances?’ Mal. iii. 14. Indeed by shortening the hours of divine worship they are robbing God, and that in such a sacri­legious manner as must certainly be most displeasing to him, whose we are, and whom we are bound to serve; besides, it betrays a degree of irreverence and disrespect to the Majesty of Heaven that we should be ashamed of in our conduct towards an earth­ly sovereign. Were we invited, with our brethren, at such an hour, into the royal presence, and encouraged to present our petitions before the throne, with assurances of a gracious audience and a merciful an­swer, we should not, we could not suffer ourselves to be later than the time appoint­ed. Nay we see men of business esteem it a point of honour to be punctual to their appointments one with another. And I am told that persons who frequent fashionable entertainments usually take care to be in [Page 18]time there, nay that many go half an hour, and sometimes more than an hour, before it begins, rather than lose any the least part of a favourite amusement. I am sorry to have occasion to call the thoughts of christians to the Exchange and the Play-house to learn from thence punctuality in their attendance on the house of God. I would much ra­ther charge it upon them by the love and esteem they bear for their Creator and Re­deemer, and the pious gratitude they owe for all the blessings of Providence and Grace bestowed upon them; by the reve­rence they profess for divine institutions, and by every wish and desire they entertain of the presence and blessing of the Most High: that presence and blessing of his, to which ordinances owe their efficacy, upon which we depend for the true enjoyment of life in every connection and condition, and which is the joy and glory of heaven. I would hope nothing more need be said to induce serious christians to attend early up­on publick ordinances. But when any are unavoidably late I most earnestly entreat and exhort them to use every possible pre­caution in their manner of entering the place and going to their seats, that they may disturb their minister and fellow-wor­shippers as little as possible. Some persons, [Page 19]by the incautious manner in which they open and shut the doors of the place, hurry to their seats, and run up the stairs into the galleries, add greatly to the nuisance of their irregularity. As this is often observable of young people I mention it that those who have the care of them may take proper methods with them to prevent it. Nay I hope that my reader will also observe here, that what has been said to enforce an early attendance at the house of God, may, and ought to be consi­dered as recommending a reverent and re­spectful behaviour in it—as reproving drow­siness, and every mark of inattention there—as evincing the folly and sin of entirely for­saking the assembling of ourselves together, or going to publick worship only one part of a sabbath—and as capable of being urged with equal force and propriety against the practice of running out before the conclusion of the service.

Every one may and ought to attend upon publick ordinances where they are administered in a manner that appears to him most agreeable to the word of God, and for his spiritual edifica­tion. It is a christian's duty to Christ and his own soul to seek such a privilege; and, when secured, whether near or at a distance, [Page 20]carefully and thankfully to embrace and improve it. To attend statedly and regu­larly there. Roving about from place to place, one sabbath, or one part of the day, here, and another there, without fixing in any society, indisposes men to serve the in­terest of Christ any where with spirit and steadiness, unsettles the mind, and, by en­couraging a taste for novelty, diverts it from the most important and useful ends of hearing. Ministers cannot well know their hearers, and therefore can neither pray properly for them, nor speak suitable to them, when their congre­gations are thus fluctuating; and though hearers may be sometimes struck with a new voice, language, and manner, they can neither understand nor retain what they hear from various ministers so much to their solid and lasting improvement, as from one with whose style and method, by long use, they become familiarly acquainted. A tree often removed bears no fruit.

But I proceed to offer some directions to render an early and regular attendance up­on publick worship easy and profitable.—

These I shall only just mention, and that in as few words as possible.

I. Endeavour to get the time for begin­ning publick worship fixed and properly observed in the place where you attend. [Page 21]When it is seen that the minister, and a res­pectable part of the congregation are punc­tual in their attendance, it may be hoped that the good effects of such a regulation will soon be apparent on the whole.

II. In order to ascertain the time exactly, keep your clocks or watches regular; and see that they be rather too fast than too slow on the Lord's day Morning. Those who have neither, may observe a sun-dial, or some well regulated clock, in their neigh­bourhood.

III. Rise early on the Lord's day Morn­ing; especially if you are at any considerable distance from the house of God, as you de­sire to be in time there, to have opportuni­ties of imploring the divine blessing, in your retirements and families, upon the seasons and means of grace with which you are favoured.

IV. These who wish to be both able and disposed to rise at a proper time on the Lord's day, and indeed to be sir, when they are up, for the sacred duties of the sabbath, should retire early to bed the evening be­fore; and endeavour to disengage them­selves as soon as possible on the saturday evening from the cares and hurries of busi­ness, [Page 22]and houshold affairs, that they may have time for those devout exercises which will be preparatory to a more comfortable and profitable attendance upon publick or­dinances on the Lord's day.

V. Let not the precious hours of the Lord's day be spent, either in excessive or delicate eating, or drinking, or in those need­less ornaments of dress, by attending to which the cultivation of the mind would be neglected for the sake of that outward adorning of the body, which calls off the attention both of the wearers and spectators from objects infinitely more worthy the no­tice and regard of immortal, yet dying crea­tures, and the disciples of Christ.

VI. It may be a hint worth attending to by all, especially those who live at a dis­tance, that they would do well to set out in good time from their own houses, so as to be in their places four or five minutes before publick worship begins; that by a short rest, recollection, and ejaculatory ad­dress to God, they may be the better pre­pared for the solemn service: allowing like­wise for unexpected hindrances, and varia­tion in clocks. If people only aim at being present just at the time of beginning, they will often be too late.

VII. Above all let me intreat my reader [Page 23]to cultivate a reverence for ordinances, and for him who has appointed them, together with a governing regard to the important ends of these sacred institutions. The love of Christ shed abroad in the heart; that zeal of the house of God which ate him up; a lowly fense of our need of improvement, and a disposition like the apostle Paul's, to press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, would not need many arguments to recommend the means of grace, or a regular and dili­gent attendance upon them.

It has been often observed, and it is matter of very serious and interesting con­sideration to us, that societies, in this and many other respects, are as their ministers. The general turn of a people becomes re­gular, devout, and zealous by attending on the ministrations, and observing the spirit and walk of a faithful and active servant of Christ, who lives the doctrine he preach­es, and appears, by the fervour of his pray­ers for them, and the assiduity of his la­bours among them, to long after the people of his charge in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, a formal, trifling, in­dolent minister, who discovers little or no heart for his work, or concern for the souls committed to his care, spreads a spirit of [Page 24]formality and lukewarmness all around him. They see him indifferent to the pow­er of Godliness in his own heart and life, it appears in the strain of his public services, and the lifeless manner in which he per­forms them: observing him negligent of the rules of good order in the house of God, a spirit of indolence and inactivity spreads among them, and if they do not expressly plead his example, it has its se­cret and powerful influence upon them. In the case before us, if a minister be irre­gular and inaccurate in his time of begin­ning publick worship, his people not know­ing when to come will be more so in their attendance: when they have observed him half a quarter of an hour too late one day, no wonder if they are a quarter the next.

And, if I might take the liberty of sug­gesting the farther hint, I would remind my brethren with myself, that it becomes us to take heed that we do not weary our hearers either by the unreasonable length of our services, the unprofitableness of our matter, or the heaviness of our manner in the performance of them, but endeavour to dismiss them continually under such im­pressions as may tend to make the sabbath a delight, and the return of it desirable. Amen.