1) The light of nature shews that there is a God, who
hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is just, good and doth
good unto all; and 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.a But the
acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by
himself,b 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 representations, or any other way not prescribed in the
Holy Scriptures.c
(a Jeremiah
10:7, Mark
12:33; b Deuteronomy 12:32;
c Exodus
20:4-6)
2) Religious worship is to be given to God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and to him alone;d not to
angels, saints, or any other creatures;e and
since the fall, not without a mediator,f nor in
the mediation of any other but Christ
alone.g
(d Matthew
4:9,10, John
6:23, Matthew
28:19; e Romans
1:25, Colossians 2:18, Revelation 19:10;
f John
14:6; g 1
Timothy 2:5)
3) Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of natural
worship, is by God required of all men.h But
that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the
Son,i by the help of the
Spirit,j according to his
will;k with understanding, reverence, humility,
fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and when with others, in
a known tongue.l
(h Psalms
95:1-7, Psalms
65:2; i John
14:13,14; j Romans
8:26; k 1 John
5:14; l 1
Corinthians 14:16,17)
4) Prayer is to be made for things lawful, and for all
sorts of men living, or that shall live
hereafter;m but not for the
dead,n nor for those of whom it may be known
that they have sinned the sin unto death.o
(m 1
Timothy 2:1,2, 2 Samuel
7:29; n 2 Samuel
12:21-23; o 1 John
5:16)
5) The reading of the Scriptures,p
preaching, and hearing the Word of God,q
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the
Lord;r as also the administration of
baptism,s and the Lord's
supper,t 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,u and thanksgivings, upon special
occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious
manner.v
(p 1
Timothy 4:13; q 2
Timothy 4:2, Luke
8:18; r Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19;
s Matthew 28:19,20;
t 1
Corinthians 11:26; u Esther 4:16, Joel
2:12; v Exodus 15:1-19, Psalms 107)
6) 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;w as in private
familiesx daily,y and in
secret each one by himself;z so more solemnly
in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor wilfully
to be neglected or forsaken, when God by his word or providence
calleth thereunto.a
(w John
4:21, Malachi
1:11, 1
Timothy 2:8; x Acts
10:2; y Matthew 6:11, Psalms 55:17;
z Matthew 6:6;
a Hebrews 10:25, Acts
2:42)
7) 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 hath
particularly appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept
holy unto him,b 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, which is called the Lord's
day:c and 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.
(b Exodus
20:8; c 1
Corinthians 16:1,2, Acts
20:7, Revelation 1:10)
8) The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when
men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their
common affairs aforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all
day, from their own works, words and thoughts, about their
worldly employment and recreations,d but are
also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises
of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and
mercy.e
(d Isaiah
58:13, Nehemiah
13:15-22; e Matthew
12:1-13)