CHAPTER 22
OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND THE SABBATH DAY
The light of nature shows that there is a God, Who has lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good, and does good to all. He is, therefore, to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.
Jer. 10:7; Mark 12:33; Deut. 12:32; Exod. 20:4-
Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone – not to angels, saints, or any other creatures. And since the fall, not without a Mediator, nor in the mediation of any other but Christ – alone.
Matt. 4:9,10; John 6:23; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 1:25; Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10
John 14:6;
1 Tim. 2:5
Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of natural worship, is by God required
of all men. But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the Name of the Son,
by the help of the Spirit, according to His will -
Ps. 95:1-
Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men living, or that shall live hereafter – but not for the dead – nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto death.
1 Tim. 2:1,2; 2 Sam. 7:29; 2 Sam. 12:21-
The reading of the Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, are all parts of religious worship of God – to be performed in obedience to Him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Moreover, solemn humiliation, with fastings, and thanksgivings, upon special occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious manner.
1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2; Luke 8:18; Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19; Matt. 28:19,20
1 Cor. 11:26;
Esther 4:16; Joel 2:12; Exod. 15:1-
Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship, is now under the gospel, tied unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed. But God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth: as in private families – daily, and in secret – each one by himself. So more solemnly, in public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor willfully to be neglected of forsaken, when God, by His Word or providence calls thereunto.
John 4:21; Mal. 1:11; 1 Tim. 2:8; Acts 10:2; Matt. 6:11; Ps. 55:17; Matt. 6:6
Heb.
10:25; Acts 2:42
As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God’s appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by His Word, in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto Him. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, it was – by God’s design – the last day of the week. From the resurrection of Christ, this time was changed – by Christ’s example – to the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s Day. This is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath – the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.
Exod. 20:8; 1 Cor. 16:1,2; Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:10
The Sabbath is, then, kept holy unto the Lord, when men – after a due preparing of
their hearts, and ordering their common affairs afore-
Isa. 58:13; Neh. 13:15-