lafting an impreffion, that he not only reformed his life; but became afterwards one of the most pious, and celebrated fathers of the church.I mention this circumftance to give you an inftance of the extraordinary advantages which may fometimes unexpectedly arife from going to church. affords us opportunities there, which if we neglect, we are doubly answerable for the faults, which we might have corrected.

God

Depend upon it, nothing is the cause of more mifchief, and wickedness of every kind amongst us, than the neglect of the fabbath. Look, when you will, into feffions-papers, and other accounts of bad people, who have fuffered for their crimes, and you will generally find, they began with neglecting the fabbath. From hence they proceeded to higher degrees of wickedness: and tho' young people in general, who neglect the fabbath, may not go fuch violent lengths, as many of these unhappy wretches go: yet having no regard for religion-nothing to recall them to a fenfe of duty, they foon learn every kind of wickedness. Swearing and drinking are the common attendants on fabbath-breaking: for if the fabbath-breaker is not at church, there is another place; where he is commonly to be found. Here he fhews plainly whofe

E 4

whofe fervant he is not the fervant of God

certainly.

I have heard many trifling excufes made for not attending the church. Some will tell you, they have not proper clothes to appear in. This is, at beft, giving up their duty to God, through the fear of man. But generally fpeaking, they cannot leave their wicked haunts on a funday: and this commonly keeps their children, and themselves in fuch clothes, as they think it not decent to appear in at church. You always fee moft decency in the fober, religious family. Even where the family is large, and there is nothing to depend on but daily labour, yet when God bleffes the father and mother with health, and they do their utmost to bring up their children in industry, to affist the general stock with what little they can do, we fee in fuch familieshard living indeed-yet this hard living is fo bleffed by God, that there is always a little ftill left to put the best face on poverty.

Among the most pleafing fights of a country village, is that of a father, and mother followed by their family, of different ages, iffuing from their little dwelling on a funday-morning, as the bell tolls to church. The children, with their ruddy,

whole

and whole.

wholesome looks, are all neat and clean; and tho' many a patch appear on their clothes, all is tight Their behaviour at church fhews what an impreffion their parents have given them of the holiness of the place; and of the duties they have to perform. Tho' unregarded, as they return home, by their richer neighbours, they carry back with them to their humble cottage, the bleffing of God.-Pious parents! lead on your children from church to heaven. You are in the right road. Your heavenly father fees your hearts, and will never demand an excufe for drefs.

your

There are other excufes made for neglecting the fabbath. Some alledge, they are engaged in their master's work, which they cannot leave. And in cafes of neceffity, this may be true. But I suppose there are no mafters fo hard upon their servants, as not in general to allow them time to go to church.-Too often, it may be feared, the fervants are not fo early, and active at their business, as they might be; and that themselves make the excufe, which they lay on their mafters. -One thing indeed I wish their mafters would remedy; and that is, a custom, which I fear prevails much, of paying labourers on funday morning.

This gives them a pretence for neglecting church; and spending the time in procuring provision. I fee not why their wages might not be paid when they are due, on faturday night: the mafter has certainly this to answer for.

But whatever excufes are made, if they who make them wish to know, whether they are fincere, let them only afk themselves, whether they are not such excufes, as they could eafily get over for the fake of fome little pleasure, or advantage? If any diverfion, for inftance, were going forward, which they were eager to fee, would any of these excufes reftrain them from it? Would they not get their bufinefs quickly done, that nothing might detain them from their pleasure? If fo, they plainly fhew, in what light they confider their duty to God.

Perfons of this kind, who think every thing an excufe for neglecting the worship of God, would take it very ill, were they to fuppofe their bodies, after death, were not to be buried in a church-yard. And yet, in fact, what has a person of this kind to do with the rites of the church in any fhape? He never comes into a church, till he is brought in as a corpfe. What must fuch a wretch feel, if he has any feeling, at his last hour? With what face can

he

he cry, as he is lying on his death-bed, Lord have mercy upon me!-Who is to have mercy upon him? That God, whom he hath never served.

Let me then befeech thofe among you, who are more regular in your attendance on the holy wor fhip of God, to continue in your good refolutions; and not fall away after the example of fuch as dwell in the tents of ungodliness. Depend upon it, and I cannot repeat it too often, there is nothing which tends fo much to keep up order, and decency, and good manners, and religion in a parish, as a ftrict obfervance of the fabbath. Some people may, go to church without a good motive; out of mere decency perhaps: but nobody I believe, neglects it without a bad motive. A neglect of the fabbath generally either finds a man wicked, or makes him fo.

I was reading lately an account of a country, in which the chriftian faith had once been establifhed; but when the perfon, who wrote the account, travelled there, all knowledge of christianity was fo utterly loft, that when he asked fuch of the inhabitants as he met, who Christ was?-for what purpose he died?-what was meant by a future ftate?-or by the immortality of the foul-or by the day of judgment?-and other eafy questions

they