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The readiest way for keeping religion in the land, and for continuing with us the pure service and worship of God, wherein the Lord only delights, were for us to delight ourselves in the exercises of religion and of the service and worship of God. If so be that we delight in them with a spiritual delight, and testify it in an outward observation of the times and means of his service and worship, then this is a token that God will continue them with us; for God never took away religion and the means of his service and worship by no violence yet, when this was done. But on the other part again, let the greatest in the land join their power for continuing of religion, and the wisest in the land their wisdom, and all that they can, if so be in the meantime that people have no delight in religion, nor keep not the exercises of God’s public worship, religion shall be taken away in despite of them all. Psalm 2:13-14, It is shewn as a reason there why the Lord will arise and have mercy upon Sion, “Because,” says he, “thy servants take pleasuré in the stones, and favour the dust thereof.” That is, they love Sion, and the service and worship of God, which is there. ‘When they came to a height of delighting in Sion, then it was time for the Lord to deliver them, and to restore Sion to her former beauty. As men who has any whom they love well, they delight to be where they are, so when the servants of God delight to be where he is, then it is a token that they love him, and he them, and that he will bide with them. I speak this the rather because I can see but little appearance that God shall bide with you, or that his worship shall remain here. Ye have gone as far on as ye can in a profession, and in confession of your faith, in making a covenant with God, and swearing and subscribing to it; and yet, for all that, the most part of you has no more delight in the means of the service and worship of God than ye had before. This has ever been your fault; and I have been striving with you for it these twenty years, since I came among you,1 and yet the most part of you who are the commons never mends a whit in coming to the house of God on the Sabbath, and ye who are their masters have no care to bring them here. Ye seemed to frequent the kirk somewhat better two or three days, but now ye are fallen as slack as ever ye were. I say, for as great hope as ye have that the service and worship of God shall be continued with you, the Lord shall, for all that, take it from you if ye continue thus. I know, indeed, that God is merciful, and for the respect that he has to some few of his secret ones, he will spare very long, and will continue in the means of his worship; but when the means of his worship are thus despised, as they are by you, how can it be thought that he will continue them? The Lord, I will assure you, he will give you over to delusions except ye amend your lives, and make more of the means of God’s worship nor ever ye have done, and especially learn to amend them in this point of sanctifying the whole Sabbath. And therefore let us, etc.