I.. SERM. Sinai; a Whitfunday ought furely to be of no less Note amongst us, who on the fame Day received the new Evangelical Law from Heaven, by the Administration of the Holy Ghoft, defcending in the vifible Appearance of fiery Tongues, and conferring miraculous Powers upon the Bleffed Apoftles. If laftly the Dwelling of the Children of Ifrael in Booths, when the LORD brought them out of the Land of Egypt, was by the Divine Wisdom thought worthy to be kept in perpetual Remembrance by a Feast of Tabernacles; fhall not God's Humbling Himself to become Flesh and to Tabernacle with us, deferve a Christmas, to be folemnized by a Christian Festival? In these and all other Cafes, the Mercies the Jews fo folemnly commemorated, were only Figures of those Bleffings which we Chriftians enjoy: Why then are some Men fo warm and zealous to deny that Honour to the Substance, which was fo ftrictly commanded to be given to the Shadows? But another End of my taking Notice of the Practice of the Jews in this Cafe, was to let you fee, that thofe Feafts which GOD Himfelf commanded did not confift barely of a Spiritual Joy and thankful Commemoration of his Mercies, expreffed only by fome more fo lema I. lemn Sacrifices than were at other Times ufu- SER M. al, as fome would have us believe; but outward Testimonies of this Joy were also required, fuch as was their Abftaining from Leavened Bread, their Refting from their Labour, their Rejoicing before the LORD their God, and their making a Feaft unto the LORD. As to those Festivals which were instituted by the Jews themselves afterwards, we find these Actions more exprefly commanded: In the Feaft of Purim, inftituted by Mordecai, Every Generation, every Family, every Province and every City were ordered to make them Days of Feafting and Joy, and of fending Prefents one to another, and of Gifts to the Poor, Efth. ix. 21, 22, And again, the Feaft of the Dedication, (that Feaft which our Lord Himfelf honoured with his Prefence, John x. 22.) was to be kept in it's Seafon from Year to Yearwith Mirth and Gladness, 1 Macc. iv. 59. And fo doubtlefs ought our Feafts to be celebrated, if we would duly observe them: If we imitate the Jews in one refpect, we ought to do it in the other: If we fet apart fet Times and Seafons to commemorate any Bleffings GOD has vouchfafed us, we ought also at fuch Times to do as they did, i. e. to do no fervile Work, but to rejoice before the LORD our God, SERM. God, and to make a Feaft unto the LORD: I. To make them Days of Feafting and Joy, and of fending Prefents one to another, and of Gifts to the Poor. And if we fearch the Records of the Church even from the very Infancy of Christianity, we fhall find that whatever Times have been fet apart either for the Remembrance of fome fpecial Mercies of God, fuch as the Birth and Refurrection of our Saviour, the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft, &c. or in Memory of the great Heroes of our Religion, fuch as were the Bleffed Apoftles and other Saints, who were the happy Inftruments of conveying to us the Knowledge of Chrift Jefus, by preaching his Gospel throughout the World, and attesting the Truth of it with their Blood; I fay whatever Days have been obferved upon any of thefe Accounts, have been, conftantly celebrated with Mirth and Gladness. But I need not fure defcend to Particulars: For our Reason will convince us, that Feasting and Mirth are so far from being inconfiftent with the Duties required of us on thefe Occafions; as that they are very fignificant Parts of the Solemnity. Befides, the Strictnefs of the Union between Soul and Body makes them so nearly concerned for the Good of each other, that as they make but one Perfon, fo we endeavour to I. to make them join and act as one in all other S ER M. Duties of Religion. When we appoint any Time to meditate and reflect upon our Sins, in order to afflict our Souls; we withdraw, or at least we ought to withdraw from our Bodies also their usual Suftenance, in order to punish and bring them under. When again we present our Souls in Prayer, we humble our Bodies upon their Knees: And fo in the Performance of all other Chriftian Duties the. Body is required to bear a Part with the Soul: And therefore when the Soul is engaged in a thankful and joyful Commemoration of fome Bleffing received, I cannot but think that the Body is alfo expected to be cheerful and pleafant. But I must not take up too much Time upon this First Head; Nor yet may I omit to take notice that there may be fome other Occafións, as well as these more folemn ones, of Joy and Feasting. A Family may be bleffed with some particular Mercy; or a Single Perfon may have a juft and peculiar Reafon to rejoice. Laban may very feasonably gather together all the Men of his place, and make a Feaft, Gen. xxix. 22. at the Marriage of his Daughter: And our Bleffed Saviour himself was pleafed not only to be prefent at such a Feaft, SER M. Feast, but even to begin his Miracles with I. may providing Wine for the Guefts, John ii. 1-11. the |