Strong would have been capable of performing it In the like Manner, had he enjoined aught that required Skill in Philofophy, or any of the abftrufe Sciences, or even in any Point of Mechanifm, only the feveral Perfons converfant therein would have had it in their Power to render Obedience thereto. But herein was the Divine Wisdom confpicuous, in challenging only aPortion of ourTime; which all, Rich and Poor, Strong and Weak, Learned and Ignorant, Old and Young, are alike capable of. fetting apart for his Service: And furely his Mercy and Condefcenfion are equally visible, in exact-, ing fo fmall a Part.

When Jofeph had bought all the Lands, and even the Perfons of the Egyptians, whofe Lives be had before faved by fupplying them with Corn for, their Suftenance, undoubtedly they thought themfelves very kindly dealt with, when he returned their Land to them again, referving only the fifth Part of the Increase thereof for Pharaoh. But the Almighty, who might juftly require all of us, is fo far from doing this, that he demands only a f venth; and yet fo ungrateful are the most of us, that we grudge and deny him this! However, if is not in this refpect only that theWifdom, Mercy, and Condefcenfion, fhine forth fo evidently in the Inftitution of this Law; no, at the fame Time that it was defigned by Providence, as an Acknow ledgment of our Submiffion to his Will, it was likewife intended by him as an Act of Kindness to ourselves, to our Fellow-Creatures, and even to our Cattle. Who can help being aftonished at this amazing Condefcenfion of the Moft High! How ought we to be confounded when we reflect upon the great Regard herein expreffed to his poor Creatures, and even to the Brute-Beasts, and

Unmercifulness to them, and to each other

Own

In effect, the Almighty, who knew all of us bet

ter than we do ourselves, and who forefaw that whilft fome People, through exceffive Covetoufnefs, and a worldly Mind, would neither allow themfelves, their Families, or their Cattle, any Refpite from their Labour; others, through their eager Purfuit of Pleasure, would be guilty of the fame; and that others again, through meer Pride, Wantonnefs, and Cruelty, though they might be willing to riot in Eafe and Plenty themselves, would have no Pity on their Servants, by this equal'y wife and merciful Restraint, provided a Day of Relaxation and Refreshment for all, even for the BruteCreation; and forry are we, that fo little Regard is at prefent fhewn to this benevolent and beneficent Intention of our great Lawgiver!

No one, however, can pretend to plead Ignorance of his Duty in this refpe&t; and, confequently, no one can expect to go unpunished for the Vilation and Neglect thereof: This is but a very melancholy Confideration to any ferious Perion, when he obferves the great Depravity of the Generality of Mankind in this particular. In fhort, who that reflects, that one of the Children of Ifrael was ftoned to Death, by the exprefs Com. mand of God himself, for only gathering a few Sticks on the Sabbath, a Thing hardly any of us fhould now fcruple on that Day, can help shuddering, for Fear of thofe heavy Jndgments we have all the Reaton in the World to believe impending over us, for our notorious, and open Profanations of that holy Day!

Can we move a Step on that folemn Festival, though it be no farther than to Church, without being Eye-Witneffes thereto ? Can we pass by an Ale houfe, Coffee houfe, Chocolate-houfe, or Tavern, without leeing Company therein? And is not this an open Breach of this Commandment ? Are there not Laws in Force to punish it? Or

will no one, whose Business it is, take Care to put them in Execution? Again, can we go the Length of a Street without meeting with Venders of Fruit, Nofegays, &c. And are not all these Violations of the fame Divine Law? And does any one regard it? Nay, though all Church-Wardens, when Iworn into their Office, bind themselves by Oath, to put the Laws in Execution against such Offenders, are there any of them will take that Trouble? And if any one fhould be fo confcientious, would he not be looked upon by all his Neighbours as a very bufy, turbulent Fellow? It is well known this is generally the Cafe; fo far are we degenerated, and to fuch a Height of Licentioufnefs are we grown, that a Man cannot honeftly perform the Duties of his Office, without drawing upon himself the l will and Clamours of the greatest Part of the Parish.

One would think, however, that though others. overlooked fuch Grievances, no Clergyman would be guilty of fuch a criminal Connivance, or would quietly pass by fuch an open Contravention of the Laws both Divine and Human; and yet, forry we are to fay ir, fo lukewarm are they alfo become in the Caule of their Mafter, for the Support of whose Honour and Worship they are fo amply paid, and fo hand fomely maintained, that of them it may truly be faid, they have Eyes and fee not, as it may likewife in fome other Cafe, with regard to Violations of the Third Commandment, Ears have they, and hear not.

Nor are these Enormities confined to this great City alone, if we ftep into the Fields it is yet worfe; there the Lord's Day, which we have fubftituted in lieu of the ancient Sabbath, though without any fufficient Warrant, either from Scripture, or the Primitive Church, till the Time of Conftantine, for fo doing, is fo far from being re

verenced

verenced as it ought, that it is publickly looked upon, and provided for, as their main Harvest : And as for our Country Towns, and the Places adjacent, fo contagious are bad Examples, that the Cafe is pretty much the fame there.

In short, were we to look through all Ranks and Degrees of People, how fhould we find most of them employed? It is much to be feared, very few of them as they ought. What with Hide-Park, Kerfington Gardens, Aflemblies, and private Cardplaying for the better Sort, faifly fo called; what with Jaunts into the Country in Chaifes, Landaus, and on Horfeback for the middling Gentry, and moft fubftantial Tradefiren; what with walking into the Fields to Cake houfes, or tippling at Ta. verts and Ale houfes for the inferior Sort ; and what with Drunkennefs in Gin fhops among the Refufe of the People; the whole Kingdom may be faid to be in a kind of Confederacy for the utter Difregard of this Command. Even in their most tender Years, our very Children are fuffered open. ly to break it with Impunity; fo that one cannot go into any of our Places of public Refort, fuch as Afoorfields, St. George's Fields, and moft of our Squares, without finding them in large Companies, playing at Cricket, Chuck, or fome fuch other Diverfions. What the End of thefe Things may be, or how long the Almighty may, in Mercy, wink at fuch enormous Wickedness, we cannot say, but we cannot he'p thinking the Prospect very gloomy at prefent, and have no great Hopes of its mending, unless we could fee a speedy Reformation amongst us, which is not to be expected till our Superiors lead the Way, and fhew us a better Example. We have faid nothing of the many Hackney Coaches and Chairs that ply in our Streets on that Day, becanfe the Government have thought fit to tolerate them, though we could with there were greater Conformity between the Divine and Human Laws;

but,

but, granting what we will not difpute at this Time, that there was a Neceffity for this Toleration, can the fame be urged in behalf of those prodigious Numbers of Horfes and Chaifes, that are publickly let out every Week, on that folemn Festival, to the great Scandal of ferious Chriftians? Is it not notorious, that, fo general is the Custom of riding out on Sundays, amongst all who can any ways raise Money enough, even to 'Prentice Boys, that it would be a difficult Matter for any one who had not be fpoke it beforehand, to get a Horfe on that Day, though it were in Cafe of Life and Death, which, Lameness excepted, is almoft the only one, in our Opinion, that will justify the Ufe of them at that Time. But it is no Wonder the Laity are guilty of thefe Things, when too many of the richer Clergy themselves in fome measure fet the Example; making no Scruple of jaunting about in their Coaches, on that Feftival, without any abfolute Neceffity, and being thereby guilty of a double Violation of this Law, in the Perfons of their Servants, and in their Cattle.

Pudet haec Opprobria nobis,

Et dici potuiffe, & non potuiffe refelli.

One would be apt to think, by this fo general Agreement of all Sorts and Conditions of People, of all Ages and Sexes, to throw off all Obedience to this Command, that we had embraced fome of the Tenets of the Roman Catholicks, who openly tolerate all Sports, even to Stage-playing on this Day; and that, though we were not willing at once to proceed to this Degree of Licentioufiefs, we believed the Profanation of the Sabbath to be at most only a venial Sin.

But if there are any Perfons who endeavour foolishly to perfwade themselves into fuch a falfe Belief, they would do well to read the Dying Speeches

I 4