Chapter 21: Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day
Section 1
The light of nature showeth 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. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited to 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 representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.
Scripture: Joshua 24:14; Psalms 18:3; Psalms 31:23; Psalms 62:8; Psalms 119:68; Jeremiah 10:7; Mark 12:33; Acts 17:24; Romans 1:20; Romans 10:12 · Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 4:15-20; Deuteronomy 12:32; Matthew 4:9-10; Matthew 15:9; Acts 17:25; Colossians 2:23
Section 2
Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone: not to angels, saints, or any other creature: and since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
Scripture: Matthew 4:10; John 5:23; 2 Corinthians 13:14 · John 14:6; Ephesians 2:18; Colossians 3:17; 1 Timothy 2:5 · Romans 1:25; Colossians 2:18; Revelation 19:10
Section 3
Prayer with thanksgiving, being one special part of religious worship, is by God required of all men; and that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Spirit, according to his will, with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and, if vocal, in a known tongue.
Scripture: Philippians 4:6 · John 14:13-14; 1 Peter 2:5 · Psalms 65:2 · 1 John 5:14 · Romans 8:26 · 1 Corinthians 14:14 · Genesis 18:27; Psalms 47:7; Ecclesiastes 5:1-2; Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:24; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2; Hebrews 12:28; James 1:6-7; James 5:16
Section 4
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.
Scripture: 1 John 5:14 · 2 Samuel 12:21-23; Luke 16:25-26; Revelation 14:13 · Ruth 4:12; 2 Samuel 7:29; John 17:20; 1 Timothy 2:1-2 · 1 John 5:16
Section 5
The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear; the sound preaching; and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God with understanding, faith, and reverence; singing of Psalms with grace in the heart; as, also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God: besides religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon several occasions; which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.
Scripture: Acts 15:21; Revelation 1:3 · Isaiah 66:2; Matthew 13:19; Acts 10:33; Hebrews 4:2; James 1:22 · 2 Timothy 4:2 · Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 · Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13 · Isaiah 19:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 · Deuteronomy 6:13; Nehemiah 10:29 · Esther 9:22; Psalms 107 · Esther 4:16; Joel 2:12; Matthew 9:15; 1 Corinthians 7:5 · Hebrews 12:28
Section 6
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: but God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and truth; as in private families daily, and in secret each one by himself, so more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by his Word or providence, calleth thereunto.
Scripture: John 4:21 · John 4:23-24 · Malachi 1:11; 1 Timothy 2:8 · Matthew 6:11 · Deuteronomy 6:6-7; 2 Samuel 6:18; 2 Samuel 6:20; Job 1:5; Jeremiah 10:25; Acts 10:2; 1 Peter 3:7 · Isaiah 56:6-7; Proverbs 1:20-21; Proverbs 1:24; Proverbs 8:34; Luke 4:16; Acts 2:42; Acts 13:42; Hebrews 10:25 · Matthew 6:6; Ephesians 6:18
Section 7
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: 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 in Scripture is called the Lord's day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.
Scripture: Exodus 20:8; Exodus 20:10-11; Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 56:4; Isaiah 56:6-7 · Revelation 1:10 · Genesis 2:2-3; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 · Exodus 20:8; Exodus 20:10; Matthew 5:17-18
Section 8
This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts, about their worldly employments and recreations; but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.
Scripture: Exodus 20:8; Exodus 16:23; Exodus 16:25-26; Exodus 16:29-30; Exodus 31:15-17; Isaiah 58:13; Nehemiah 13:15-22 · Isaiah 58:13; Matthew 12:1-13