Matthew Henrys Sabbath

" Mr. Henry recorded, as coincident with his own, the opinion of Sir Edward Turner, Speaker of the House of Commons, at the Prorogation, July 27, 1663 : -" He that remembers not to keep the Christian Sabbath at the beginning of the week, will be in danger to forget before the end of the week that he is a Christian." To Mr. Henry the Lord's Day was indeed the queen of days, the pearl of the week. Whatever were the circumstances of his public engagements, which varied, he was very exact, and abounded in the work of the Lord on the Sabbath in his family as he did on other days. He noticed in Numbers xxviii. 15, that extraordinary sacrifices did not supersede " the continual burnt offering and his meat offering." His common salutation of his family and friends in the morning was,-" The Lord is risen ; he is risen indeed ! " He had always a particular subject for his expositions ; as, the harmony of the Evangelists, the prayers of Scripture, prophecies of Christ, and Christ the true Treasure ; for so he entitled the subject sought and found in the field of the Old Testament. He constantly sung a psalm after dinner, and another after supper, on the Lord's days. In the evening his children and servants were carefully examined in the Catechism ; and the day's sermons were repeated, generally by one of the children. Then, too, was the offering of special prayer for the household. May we have grace, " he would often say, to carry it as a minister, and a minister's wife, and a minister's children, and a minister's servants should carry it, that the ministry may in nothing be blamed !" And intercession was specially made in behalf of the neighbouring homes, " those nests of souls, wherein were so many that in spiritual things could not discern between their right hand and their left." The Sabbath exercises closed with singing Psalm cxxxiv. , and a solemn benediction on the whole family.