Of the external Actions of Religion.

Religion teaches us to present to God our bodies as well as our souls, for God is the Lord of both; and if the body serves the soul in actions natural and civil and intellectual, it must not be eased in the only offices of religion, unless the body shall expect no portion of the rewards of religion, such as are resurrection, reunion, and glorification. Our bodies are to God a living sacrifice; and to present them to God is holy and acceptable.²¹⁵²¹⁵2 Cor. vii. 11.

The actions of the body, as it serves to religion, and as it is distinguished from sobriety and justice, either relate to the word of God, or to prayer, or to repentance, and make these kinds of external actions of religion: 1. Reading and hearing the word of God; 2. Fasting and corporal austerities, called by St. Paul bodily exercise; 3. Feasting, or keeping days of public joy and thanksgiving.