CHAPTER 21
Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath-day.
I. The light of nature sheweth
that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and
doeth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised,
called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with
all the soul, and with all the might.a 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 imaginations and devices of men,
or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other
way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.b
a Rom. 1:20; Acts
17:24; Ps. 119:68; Jer. 10:7; Ps. 31:23; Ps. 18:3; Rom. 10:12; Ps. 62:8; Josh.
24:14; Mark 12:33.
b Deut. 12:32; Matt.
15:9; Acts 17:25; Matt. 4:9,10; Deut. 4:15-20; Exod. 20:4-6; Col. 2:23.
II. Religious worship is to be
given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone;c
not to angels, saints, or any other creature:d
and, since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other
but of Christ alone.e
c Matt. 4:10 with
John 5:23 and 2 Cor. 13:14.
d Col. 2:18, Rev.
19:10; Rom. 1:25.
e John 14:6; 1 Tim.
2:5; Eph. 2:18; Col. 3:17.
III. Prayer, with thanksgiving,
being one special part of religious worship,f is by God required of all men:g and that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name
of the Son,h by the
help of his Spirit,i
according to his will,k
with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and
perseverance;l and,
if vocal, in a known tongue.m
f Phil. 4:6.
g Ps. 65:2.
h John 14:13,14; 1
Pet. 2:5.
i Rom. 8:26.
k 1 John 5:14.
l Ps. 47:7; Eccl.
5:1,2; Heb. 12:28; Gen. 18:27; James 5:16; James 1:6,7; Mark 11:24; Matt.
6:12,14,15; Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:18.
m 1 Cor. 14:14.
IV. Prayer is to be made for
things lawful,n and
for all sorts of men living, or that shall live hereafter;o
but not for the dead,p
nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin unto
death.q
n 1 John 5:14.
o 1 Tim. 2:1,2; John
17:20; 2 Sam. 7:29; Ruth 4:12.
p 2 Sam. 12:21-23
with Luke 16:25,26; Rev. 14:13.
q 1 John 5:16.
V. The reading of the
Scriptures with godly fear;r
the sound preaching,s
and conscionable hearing of the word, in obedience unto God, with
understanding, faith and reverence;t
singing of psalms with grace in the heart;u as also the due administration and worthy receiving of the
sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious
worship of God:w
beside religious oathsx
and vows,y solemn
fastings,z and
thanksgivings upon special occasions,a which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used
in a holy and religious manner.b
r Acts 15:21; Rev.
1:3.
s 2 Tim. 4:2.
t James 1:22; Acts
10:33; Matt. 13:19; Heb. 4:2; Isa. 66:2.
u Col. 3:16; Eph.
5:19; James 5:13.
w Matt. 28:19; 1
Cor. 11:23-29; Acts 2:42.
x Deut. 6:13 with
Neh. 10:29.
y Isa. 19:21 with
Eccl. 5:4,5.
z Joel 2:12; Esth.
4:16; Matt. 9:15; 1 Cor. 7:5.
a Ps. 107
throughout; Esth. 9:22.
b Heb. 12:28.
VI. Neither prayer, nor any
other part of religious worship, is, now under the gospel, either tied unto,
or made more acceptable by, any place in which it is performed, or towards
which it is directed;c
but God is to be worshipped every whered
in spirit and truth;e
as in private familiesf
daily,g and in
secret each one by himself;h
so more solemnly in the publick assemblies, which are not
carelessly or wilfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by
his word or providence, calleth thereunto.i
c John 4:21.
d Mal. 1:11; 1 Tim.
2:8.
e John 4:23,24.
f Jer. 10:25; Deut.
6:6,7; Job 1:5; 2 Sam. 6:18,20; 1 Pet. 3:7; Acts 10:2.
g Matt. 6:11.
h Matt. 6:6; Eph.
6:18.
i Isa. 56:6,7; Heb.
10:25; Prov. 1:20,21,24; Prov. 8:34; Acts 13:42; Luke 4:16; Acts 2:42.
VII. As it is of the law of
nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the
worship of God; so, in his word, by a positive, moral, and
perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath
particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath, to be kept holy unto
him:k which, from
the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the
last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into
the first day of the week,l
which in Scripture is called the Lord’s Day,m
and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.n
k Exod. 20:8,10,11;
Isa. 56:2,4,6,7.
l Gen. 2:2,3; 1 Cor.
16:1,2; Acts 20:7.
m Rev. 1:10.
n Exod. 20:8,10 with
Matt. 5:17,18.
VIII. This sabbath is then kept
holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and
ordering of their common affairs before-hand, do not only observe
an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts
about their worldly employments and recreations;o but also are taken up the whole time in the publick and
private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and
mercy.p
o Exod. 20:8; Exod.
16:23,25,26,29,30; Exod. 31:15-17; Isa. 58:13; Neh. 13:15-19,21,22.
p Isa. 58:13; Matt.
12:1-13.
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