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A16523 The doctrine of the sabbath plainely layde forth, and soundly proued by testimonies both of holy scripture, and also of olde and new ecclesiasticall writers. Declaring first from what things God would haue vs straightly to rest vpon the Lords day, and then by what meanes we ought publikely and priuatly to sanctifie the same: together with the sundry abuses of our time in both these kindes, and how they ought to bee reformed. Diuided into two bookes, by Nicolas Bownde, Doctor of Diuinitie. Bownd, Nicholas, d. 1613. 1595 (1595) STC 3436; ESTC S113231 229,943 300

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it selfe but the Lord as he is the searcher of the harts and reines so his law reacheth thither and findeth out sinne in the very beginning of it when it first lifteth vp the head and tarrieth not to giue sentence against it till it bring forth the vnsauoury and vnfruitful fruits of it but proceedeth in iudgement against it when it is but in the blossome and bud nay in the very first rooting of it which if it bee true in all other commandements why shuld we imagine that the bounds of this are so straight that it will not reach so farre Obiection If the commādement be thus straite who is able to abide it And whereas men are afraid to say what they thinke and to confesse this trueth which they are conuicted of because they doe not see how then they shall be able to keepe this law we know that this is the thing in controuersie betweene vs and the Papists whether the lawe of God may be perfectly kept or no and therefore though they abhor all poperie yet if they stand vpon this point they shall fall into a popish opinion agree with them who when they haue set it downe Concil Trident. sext sess Canon 18. as a lawe of the Medes and Persians that may not be changed that the law of God may be fulfilled of vs then they must needes giue such an interpretation of this lawe as might carry with it some shew of possibilitie that it may bee fully kept indeede Answer For if we conceiue of the law of God to bee so loose as that it should onely restraine the parts of the bodie then wee may perceiue that the heathen Philosophers by the light of nature haue seene further into the truth of it then we haue done by the bright beames of the worde who sayd that a good man must haue not onely his hands and eies continent and free from sinne but also his minde And wee must endeuour our selues so much the more carefully to dispossesse our minds of all earthly matters because it is so hard a thing to attaine vnto For wee cannot so easily cast all worldly imaginations out of our heads as we can cast the things themselues out of our hands neither can we so farre remoue our affections from them as wee can separate our bodies from them which notwithstanding vnlesse we doe all the other is but popish and ceremoniall and whereby we cannot attaine vnto the sanctification of the Sabbath in any tolerable measure But let vs consider sayth Master Caluin whether they which call themselues Christians Caluin vpon Deut. 5. sermon 34. acquite themselues in this point as were requisite a great part of men thinke they haue the sunday that the better to attēd on their worldly affaires they reserue to themselues this day as if they had no other to deliberate for the whole weeke to come nowe though the bell should to a sermon they thinke they haue no other thing to doe but to thinke on their busines and to make the account of this and of that Therefore whatsoeuer hath beene spoken before of resting from the vsuall workes of our calling the same is true of the ordinary speaking common thinking of them all which because they be of the same nature must needes come vnder one and the same law and therfore looke what libertie the Lord hath giuen vs We may speak and thinke of thinges that be necessary for the workes of our calling in the time of necessitie as it hath declared vnto vs before the same haue we for our recreations our speeches our thoughts and desires that so farre we may be occupied about them all manner of waie in soule and in body as they shall not hinder vs but rather bee meanes to further vs in the true manner of sanctifying the day And we haue here so much the more libertie because we cannot do our necessarie busines but we must speake and thinke of them not onely in the doing of them but also before and after them But because I haue alreadie made a seuerall treatise before of the workes which necessitie maketh lawfull I will not here enter into it again left I should be confused and tedious but referre you vnto that place for guiding of your speeches and studies as well as your labours and works only desiring you to remember that which is there set down also that we iudge those things onely necessary for the time present which could not haue been thought vpon spoken of and done before neither might be put off to bee studied for conferred about or put in practise till afterward A conclusion of al that went before with an application of it to our selues And so we conclude the former part of this commandement in which we haue beene something the longer because it was needfull seeing it is so large and as it were the ground of all the rest wherein wee haue seene what kind of rest the Lord requireth euen such a one not as we might grossely dreame of because of our blindes but as is plainly and truely published in his word in the which he hath declared what is the height the bredth the depth and the length and the full measure of it And this the Lord requireth of all and euery one of vs continually from the beginning to the end of our liues without any interruption vnder the paine of euerlasting condemnation as it is alledged by the Apostle to the Galathians out of the law Galat. 3.10 Cursed is euery man that continueth not in all things which are written in the booke of the lawe to doe them in which curse is contained all the punishments of soule and bodie which can bee deuised in the greatest measure as it is most largely opened in many places of the scripture Deut. 29.20 namely in Deut. 29. where he threatneth to bring vpō thē euery curse written in that book and euery plague that is not written in the booke of the law 28.61 According to which rule if wee will examine our whole life past wee shall see howe great is our deserued miserie because of the infinite breaches of this commandement For first of all we are by nature altogether ignorant of the truth of it and when it is taught vs wee haue no conceiuing of it and lesse liking vnto it but all our reason and affections are cleane contrarie vnto it so that we haue many waies broken it in thought word and deede not onely in the dayes of our ignorance but since our knowledge and therefore there must needes bee a great handwriting of accusation against vs and wee may here truelie say Psalm 19.12 O Lord who doth vnderstand the errors of this life for setting all other sinnes apart the Lord hath many waies to pleade against vs in this one thing so that we must needes confesse that if he winke at all other our sinnes and yet marke narrowlie what wee
called the Lords day because it declareth vnto vs Christ crucified and raised vp againe and it is worthilie commanded to bee kept as the Lords day that wee might giue thankes vnto thee O Lord Christ for all these benefites for say they there is that grace bestowed vpon vs by thee Quae sua magnitudine omnia beneficia obscurat which by the greatnes and as it were brightnes of it doth obscure and darken all other So that though the day was once changed vpon these considerations nay they being such as they be it could not but be changed yet for so much as the like cause cā neuer be offered vnto men to moue them to enter into this consultation therefore the day must not onely not be changed any more but it must not so much as enter into mens thoughts to goe about to change it And therefore I doe so much the more maruaile at him who sayth That the keeping holie of the Lords day is not commanded by the authoritie of the Gospell Brētius in Leuit 23 2. but rather receiued into vse by the publike consent of the Church And a little after The obseruation of the Lords day is profitable not to be reiected but yet it is not to be accounted for a commandement of the Gospell but rather for a ciuill ordination And That the Church might haue appoynted but one day among ten or foreteene Idem in Leuit. 25.8 for the publike rest and Gods seruice And That herein consisteth part of our Christian libertie that it is lawfull if so be it be done by publike authoritie to keepe holie weekelie not onely not the Lords day but as they call them Munday Tuesday or any other day Wherein that we might be the rather established we must remember that not only that name of the day was changed together with it but it was changed into that very name it hath now vpon these speciall reasons that we haue alreadie heard The name of the Sabbath was changed into the name of the Lords day which also must be retained For it is called the Lords day euen of the Lord Iesus and it hath the honorable name of him who vpō that day did arise in greatest honor in so much that we ought not onely to keepe the day but to keepe it in his right name especially seeing part of the honour of it is in the name For as we doe breed reuerence of the Sacrament in mens hearts by speaking of it after his owne proper name the Lords Supper the cuppe of the Lord the Lords table 1. Cor. 11.20.27 and 10.21 so it maketh the day more highly to bee esteemed as it ought when we call it by his right name religiously the Lords day and doe not miscall it by a wrong name as the heathen haue done prophanely the Sunday who hauing ascribed the gouernment of the seuen daies in the weeke vnto the seuen Planets and hauing accordingly giuen them their names as appeareth more euidently in the Latin Dies solis Lunae Martis c then in our English names yet so it is that any of the daies might be called Sunday as well as that which is without any offence But it is not so in the name of the Lords day for as by it can bee ment no other day but that which wee keepe for our Sabbath so the name cannot be imparted to any other day without sacriledge Therefore as the Iewes did carefully retaine the name of the Sabath according to the first institution so ought we to acquaint our selues with the name of the Lords day Thus did the Christians vse to call it in former times as it is well obserued by that ancient writer Beda Mos Christianus appellat Beda in Luk. 24.1 It is the manner of the Christians to call it the Lords day because of the resurrection of our Lord where he sayth that not onely now and then they did so speake but that it was an vsuall maner among them And we had need to doe it so much the more because it behooueth vs to vse al good meanes to aduance the credite of this day in mens consciences in these prophane and irreligious times especially wherin as the contempt of all religion appeareth in many places so especially it bewrayeth it selfe in this that the Lords day is euery where so vnhallowed Nowe if the wisedome of the world hath taught the heathen to be so circumspect in their generations as by the false names of dayes to keepe the memorie and honour of their false gods should not the wisedome of Gods spirite teach vs to bee as carefull in our generations to take into our mouthes that holy name of the Lords day which as it is commended vnto vs in the word not deuised by man as the other so it doth greatly aduāce the dignity of the day as that which is deriued from the name of the most high And if a mortall man doth take himselfe to bee disgraced Therein consisteth part of the honor of this day not onely when hee is called by a wrong name but also when hee hath not his right name and iust titles giuen vnto him so no doubt the honour of the day appeareth not to be so great as it is when it wanteth that most excellent name by the which it is commended vnto vs in the scriptures I grant indeed it will seeme strange vnto vs at the first to change the name as all new things for a while bee strange but wee knowe that euery thing must haue a beginning and that which is at the first begun in a fewe particulars is afterwards in time receiued of multitude so by custome groweth into a law that hardly can bee changed Therefore as there was a time in which the names of the heathen were vnknowen and yet by the obstinatee endeuours of some when they were begun they were receiued and so continued euen so if any man would begin himselfe thus to ve the name of the Lords day though he were alone at the first I doubt not but in a fewe generations the true and holy name should be receiued among vs. But to returne to that which we spake of before wee haue plainly seene that the day and the name ought thus to bee changed whereby the Sabbath is made now so much the more excellent and renowmed vnder the Gospell then it was in the time of the law because that wheras the one caried vpon it indeed the badge of the creation of the world which made it famous vpon this is engrauen the liuely Image of the redemption of the world which maketh it so much the more famous by howe much the benefite of the one exceedeth the benefite of the other not onely that but it freshly representeth the memorie of the first creation also and so by a double marke is more highly commended that being the very day in which the creation of the first and olde world was begun and the