of the house Ex. 12. 7. to be a distinctive mark between the Israelites and the Egyptians as ver 13. The bloud shall be to you for a Token upon the houses where you are and when I see the bloud I will pass over you And so Ex. 11. 5 6 7. That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a Distinction between the Egyptians and Israel And our Author himself pag. 26. doth press the same and puts great weight upon it that this Seventh-day-sabbath is often called a Sign for ever between him and them and a perpetual Covenant to Distinguish his people from others that is the people of the Jews from other Nations And so to be a Sign for Ever as Circumcision is an Everlasting Covenant Now whatsoever was a Distinctive Mark of the People of Israel from other Nations as was that of Circumcision the Pass-over and the Seventh-day-sabbath was at an end and to cease when the partition-wall was broken down between Jew and Gentile when Christ had made both one and abolished in his flesh the Enmity even the law of Commandments contained in Ordinances to make of twain One new man to reconcile both in One body by the Cross having slain the Enmity thereby Eph. 2. 14 15 16. Or as it is Col. 2. 14. Having blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us and was contrary to us as separating us Gentiles from the Jews and so excluding us out of Gods Visible Church and nailing it to his Cross. From whence he there infers ver 16. Let no man Therefore judge you in meat or drink or in respect of a holy-day a Festival or of Sabbaths the proper name at that time of the Seventh-day Sabbath which things are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ these being but shadows or empty things whereas it is the body the Substance that Christ regards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those are but shadow but 't is the Body that Christ looks at That is in our language those are only Circumstantials but 't is substance or the Substantials of Religion that Christ and Christianity respects And as it is meerly Circumstantial and doth not at all influence Religion whether in the Temple or other place God be worshiped Ioh. 4. 21. So whether on this or another day a Sabbath be kept If therefore those Sabbaths as is shewed were distinctive Marks or Signs of Gods peculiar Covenant or Contract with the Church of Israel as their peculiar God in contradistinction to other Nations then 't is manifest that those other Nations did not at all keep a Sabbath or not on that Day else how could this be a distinctive Mark and therefore to bring this now upon the Gentiles was to bring upon them a new Yoke I add further that this Iewish Sabbath as is shewed before seems to be not a Continuation of a former Sabbath from the Creation which I doubt was either not observed at all or had long before this time been forgot but rather a New Institution or Restitution after their coming out of Egypt from a new Epocha at Marah where God is said to have made a Statute and an Ordinance Exod. 15. 25. to which Commandment and Statute if they would hearken diligently and give Ear he would not bring upon them the Diseases which he had brought upon Egypt For saith he I am the Lord that healeth thee ver 26. Whereupon follows in the next Chapter a sabbath to be observed on the seventh-day from the first raining of Manna not from the first Creation And with reference to their Rest or Refreshing after their Labour or Bondage in Egypt as was that of the Pass-over to their being passed-over when the first-born of the Egyptians were slain For so he saith Exod. 31. 13. My Sabbath shall ye keep for it is a Sign between me and you that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctifiy you or separate you to my self as a peculiar people a holy people and ver 16 17. The Children of Israel shall keep my Sabbaths 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a perpetual Covenant It is a Sign between Me and the Children of Israel for ever for in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth and on the Seventh Day he Rested and was Refreshed Not that God was Wearied with his Work and needed Refreshment but he doth parallel his Rest after his Work of Creation with their Refreshment after their Labour in Egypt And that God had a particular respect to their Rest and Refreshment from their Labour and Bondage in Egypt is farther evident not onely from the General Preface to all the Commandments I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the house of Bondage but from the Close of this Fourth Commandment as it is repeated in Deut. 5. 12 13 14 15. somewhat different from what is in Exod. 20. where instead of For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth c. Exod. 20. 11. we have Deut. 5. 15. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and a stretched out arm therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath-Sabbath-day Which shews that this Sabbath had a particular respect to that deliverance Now as God by Moses did upon a New occasion of their Rest from their Labour in Egypt give a New Epocha or Beginning to a Circulation of Sabbaths to be reckoned from thence in imitation of his own Resting from the Work of Creation Not by the Fourth Commandment for that speaks indifferently as to any Circulation but by this Ordinance at Marah or at Elim for 't is this determines the Circulation to the seventh day after the raining of Manna So might Christ as well by himself or his Apostles six another Epocha from his Resurrection as we have reason to think he did and this Equally within the prospect of the Fourth Commandment This Rest from the Egyptian Bondage being as much a shadow of what Christ regards as the substance as was the escaping of the Egyptian Destruction of which the Pass-over was the Memorial And accordingly this Circulation equally to cease with that of the Pass-over at the coming of Christ notwithstanding the continuance of the Fourth Commandment in a New Circulation from another Epocha It is not indeed expresly said that Christ Bid his Apostles so to do But as Moses is presumed to do what he did by Gods direction so the Apostles by Christs direction to whom he gave Commandments for that purpose Act. 1. 2 3. As to what he says so often that not one Iott or Tittle of the Law meaning that of the Decalogue is destroyed but doth still continue in force This as to the substance of the Duty I grant But if his meaning be that there is not a Word or Letter therein which doth not as literally belong
a Power given them from Christ to Abrogate Circumcision or the like and thereupon to proceed pro imperio But they Argue it from the nature of the thing That what was Typical of Christ was at an end now Christ is come That what was Distinctive of the Jews from other Nations was now to cease when the partition wall was broken down That what were but shadows as to the Substantials of Religion were now to pass away as beggarly Rudiments Christ regarding the Body or Substance not the Shadows 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these are but shadows in comparison of what Christ came to settle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 't is the Body the Substance that Christ respects Col. 2. 17. They do not Command but Argue They do no where pretend that God or Christ had given them Authority to Abrogate a Law which God had made But Argue from the nature of the thing that the Law was ceased and was not intended to Oblige longer That the Law was now Antiquated or Expired when the End for which it was made was attained That the Types were at an End when the Thing Typified was Exhibited That the Distinctive Marks were now no more of Use when Jews and Gentiles were United That the Elements or Rudiments 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which God for reasons best known to himself thought fit for the Training-up of his Church while as in a State of Minority wherein a Child though Heir of All doth little differ from a Servant should now cease when it comes to full Age Gal. 4. And to the same purpose Heb. 8. He argues that the Old Covenant was at an end when a Better Covenant was come in the room citing that of Ier. 31. Behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Iudah Not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers when I led them out of the land of Egypt For this is the Covenant that I will make That I will put my laws into their Mind and write them in their Hearts Meaning instead of an outward Ceremonial Service he would establish a service more Spiritual From whence he concludes the Antiquation of the Former In that he saith a New Covenant he hath made the first Old Now that which Decayeth and waxeth Old is ready to Vanish away They do not claim a Power to Abolish a Law of Gods making But prove by Argument that these Laws are Antiquated or Expired as not being intended by the Law-maker to bind longer than till such a time As Rom. 7. The Woman is bound by the Law to her Husband as long as he lives But if the husband be Dead she is free from the Law Not that the Law is Abolished but the Case is Altered And it is from these Considerations that he Argues against Circumcision Col. 2. 11. and the Iewish Sabbath ver 16. For as to the Substantials of the Service provided a Sabbath be duly kept it is much one whether on the Seventh or the First day Now these Substantials are he tells us p. 83. a lively spiritual Converse with the Father Son and Holy-Ghost in private Duties and publick Ordinances where they can be had and in a Holy Rest all that day saving emergent cases of Necessity and Mercy Which may be equally done on either day But as to those who were not satisfied with these Arguments if they were such as were before under those Commands he doth not urge his Authority He leaves them to practise according to their own judgment but without censuring others till they shall be better satisfied as in Rom. 14. But as to the Gentiles who had never been under these Laws the case was otherwise Which makes him argue otherwise with the Gentile Galatians Ephesians and Colossians than with the Christian Iews at Rome And as to his Question p. 47. When where and by whom it was taken away I say Then there and by the same who took away Circumcision and the other Mosaick Rites That is Fundamentally by Christ at his death who nailed them to his Cross after which they ceased to be Obligatory But Executively and Practically by his Apostles and the Christian Church according as they did leisurably and in time come to understand their Liberty All which we are to presume they did according to such directions as Christ gave them For as this Author observes p. 80. Paul in those Primitive times when the Ceremonial Law was fresh in memory and the Gospel newly preached had much a do tâ—â—e move the first converted Iews from Circumcision and other Ceremonials and so from their Iewish Sabbath therefore these things were to wear off by degrees and not to be torn from them all at once And this I think is enough to a person not prejudiced as to the Removal of the then Iewish Sabbath appointed by Moses after their coming out of Egypt on the seventh day from the first raining of Manna and not given to all the world but to be a distinctive sign of them from other Nations Now as to the other Point in Question the Observation of the Lords day I would ground that originally on the Fourth Commandment which doth appoint a Seventh day of Holy Rest after Six days of Ordinary Labour Which doth directly concern the Substantials of Worship that a Sabbath be kept and God thus served but whether on this or that day of the Seven is meerly Circumstantial and as Paul calls it a Shadow in comparison of the Body or Substance which is he tells us what Christ respects But then as to that Why the First day rather than another I answer First Here was a much more memorable Accident of Christs Resurrection than was that of Raining Manna from whence the Jewish Sabbath takes its date as the Seventh day from it not from the Creation or that of the Quails the Night before the first day that God fed them by Miracle from Heaven And therefore stands as fair for beginning such a Circulation of Weeks and Sabbaths We are told Ier. 16. 14 15. and Ier. 23 7 8. Behold the days come saith the Lord that it shall no more be said The Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt But The Lordliveth that brought up the Children of Israel out of the North Country Not that the former deliverance was to be forgotten but a greater than it did make it comparatively to disappear as when the light of the Sun doth obscure that of the Moon and Stars And so here the Resurrection of Christ to be commemorated paramount to that of former Mercies Next in pursuance of this Occasion we find our Saviour did on that day of his Resurrection appear to Mary Magdalen and the other Women declaring to them the Doctrine of the Resurrection then to the two Disciples going to Emmaus Preaching to them at large the same Doctrine and Celebrating with
Commandment and other Writers about the Sabbath That this Commandment begins with Remember to keep Holy the Sabbath-day or the day of Rest not the Seventh day much less the Seventh day of the Week from the first Creation And what is that day of Rest the next Words tell us Six days shalt thou labour but the Seventh is the Sabbath c. That is after Six days of Labour the Seventh shall be a day of Rest. And in the close of that Commandment Ex. 20. 11. our Bibles have it wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-Sabbath-day not as we commonly repeat it the Seventh day and hallowed it The Reason given to inforce it is For in Six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth c. and rested the Seventh day and accordingly should we after Six days of Work have a Seventh day of Rest and so onward If he thinks that to make a difference that we now reckon our Weeks to begin with the day of Rest and after that Six Working days which in a continued Circulation comes all to one I will allow that Gentleman if that will please him better to begin the Week on Monday and then Sunday will be the Seventh The Commandment says nothing of the Seventh day of the Week in a continued Succession from the Creation but the Seventh day after Six days of Labour And whereas he observes and would lay great weight upon it that it is hashebigni the Seventh the article ha answering to our the not a Seventh 'T is very true and very proper so to be For the meaning is not that after Six days of Labour there should be a Seventh for Rest no matter when but the Seventh day that is the next day after those Six But it is not said the Seventh in Course from the Creation Just as when it is said a Male-Child is to be Circumcised the Eighth day it is not meant of an Eighth day in Course from the Creation but the Eighth day from the Birth And in like manner Ex. 12. 16. In the Seventh day there shall be a Holy Convocation it is not meant of the Seventh day of the Week from the Creation but on the Seventh day of the Feast of unleavened Bread what ever day of the Week that happen to be And Exod. 16. 5 25. The Sixth and Seventh day there mentioned seem plainly to be not the Sixth and Seventh in course from the Creation which I doubt was not then known but from the first raining of Manna ver 4 5. He 'll say perhaps The Jews observed such Seventh day from the Creation and that was their Sabbath But that is more than he or I know or any man living They had I grant a Circulation of Seven days but from what Epocha we cannot tell And when Moses tells them on the Sixth day Ex. 16. 23. Tomorrow is the Rest of the Holy Sabbath It seems to be the fixing of a new Epocha from the first raining of Manna and then all his Arguments from the continual Observation of the Seventh day from the Creation till that time are at an end Whether this from the first raining of Manna be the same with that from the Creation no man can tell And there is Six to One odds that it is not Now that there is a new Course of Sabbath from a new beginning whereof this Seventh day from the first raining of Manna is the First and not a continuation of a former Course hitherto observed without interruption seems farther evident from this consideration Because if this were but a continuation of that uninterrupted Course of Sabbaths then the next Seventh day before it would have been a Sabbath also and to have been in like manner observed that is the next day before the first raining of Manna But on that day we find Exod. 16. 12 13. the Quails came up and covered the Camp without any Prohibition to gather them If therefore they might not now gather Manna because it was the Sabbath but might before gather Quails it should seem that was not a Sabbath And if it be not allowed upon occasion to fix a new Epocha then if the Circulation of Weeks from the beginning of the World which was then about 2500 years old did ever chance to have been interrupted and the day forgotten as in all likelyhood it might be in Egypt if not long before or if ever after it should chance so to be as in the days of Iosiah when the Book of the Law was lost and the Pass-over forgotten men must never keep a Sabbath thenceforth For then all his own Arguments return upon him No other day is Commanded 't is Will-worship no Promise to the Observance no Threatning for the Neglect I should rather think if that day were unknown as I believe it is Any day were better than None at all For Gods Commands do more respect the Substance of the Duty than the Circumstance of Time especially if they cannot both be had Circumcision was to be Administred on the Eighth day according to the Institution I do not mean the Eighth day of the Week but the Eighth day of the Childs Age and therefore on the same day of the Week on which the Child was Born But if by Accident or Default it were omitted it might be done any day after rather than not at all Abraham we know was 99 years old and Ismael 13 when they were Circumcised and what was the Age of other Males in Abraham's Family we cannot tell and a Proselyte at any Age was to be Circumcised though perhaps it were not remembred on what day of the Week he was Born and those who were born in the Wilderness for Forty years together were all Circumcised at once Iosh. 5. 4 5 9. though not all born on the same day of the Week The Pass-over was appointed to be eaten standing with their Loyns girt their Shoes on their feet and their Staffs in their hand as in hast to be gone Ex. 12. Yet our Saviour seemeth to have Eaten it Sitting or rather Lying And none of them were to stir out of doors till morning Ex. 12. 22. Yet Christ and his Disciples went out the same night to the mount of Olives and thence to Gethsemane Mat. 26. 30 36. The Shew-bread was to be eaten by the Priests only yet our Saviour observes that David did eat of it on a special occasion without blaming him for so doing The Rechabites are commended Ier. 31. for obeying the Command of Ionathan their Father not to drink Wine nor build Houses but to dwell in Tents c. Yet did they upon Nebuchadnezzar's Invasion quit their Tents and repair to Ierusalem nor is it reputed a Disobedience The Paschal Lamb was to be kill'd the Fourteenth day of the First Month at Evening Yet if we consider how little knowledge they had in those days of the Sun and Moons motions and if we consider what the Jewish Writers tell us of their very uncertain Method of judging which
times just at seven days distance And how do we know but that these three days were three Sabbath days Which though it be not a conclusive Argument is better than any that he brings For here we have three Intervals of seven days in these two Chapters But if a Weekly Sabbath were then kept 't is very strange that we should have no intimation of any such thing in the books of Moses before Israel's coming out of Egypt And much more that there is nothing of it in the Book of Iob. And that none of his friends amongst the many charges they bring against him should never object his Neglect of the Sabbath or want of due observance thereof Which being so plausible an objection it seems more likely that a Sabbath was not then wont to be observed for which he hath so very little to shew And by what we have Iob 1. 4. It should seem that Iob's Seven Sons kept Feasting each in his own day for Seven days together without any mention of a Sabbath intervening Nor was it a Religious Feast but a Feast of mirth and jollity such as made Iob suspicious lest they might sin and curse God in their heart v. 5. And therefore he offer'd propitiatory Sacrifices for them continually or as the Margin tells us it is in the Hebrew all the days that is every of these Seven days As little a matter will serve his turn to prove p. 43. that Christs Ascension was and his coming to Iudgment is to be on a Saturday or Seventh-day-Sabbath Because it is said Acts 1. 12. that Mount Olivet whence he ascended is from Ierusalem a Sabbath-days Iourney But he tells us that by no account that he can make can he assign the Ascension on the First day No more can I. But what then Well! But why upon a Saturday rather than a Sunday Because he observes that after Christ's Ascension from Mount Olivet it is said Then they returned to Ierusalem from Mount Olivet which is from Ierusalem a Sabbath-days Iourney Well! what of this He cannot see why it was expresly said that it was but a Sabbath-days Iourney from Ierusalem but because it was the Sabbath-day Perhaps I may shew him another reason as likely as it If the word then do not there signify the same day but only at large after his Ascension this is nothing to the purpose But admitting that by then be meant the same day the connexion runs fairly thus After his Ascension they returned from thence to Ierusalem the same day for it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but a little way off about a Sabbath days Iourney Which I think is a fair account of the place Especially since we know otherwise that it was not upon 〈…〉 Account as he speaks will serve as well for the one as for the other But indeed for neither But how doth this concern his Coming to Iudgment Yes Because it is there said ver 11. He shall come in like manner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as ye have seen him go into Heaven And because this Author fansies he did Ascend on a Sabbath day therefore he fansies also he shall on a Sabbath day come again I see a Weak Argument with a strong Fansy will go far But to prove his Ascension to be on the Sabbath besides this of a Sabbath-days Journey he adds further That Christ and his Disciples were then Assembled and that Christ Preached Well! And why may we not as well conclude that the day of his Resurrection was also a Sabbath For Christ and his Disciples were then assembled first at Emmaus and then at Ierusalem and Christ did then also at both places Preach to them and the substance of his Preaching was much the same as will appear by comparing Luk 24. with Acts 1. and did then also Celebrate the Lords Supper And eight days after Christ was again Assembled with the Disciples and Preached to them on the same day of the Week If Christs Presence and Preaching will prove the Ascension day to be a Sabbath why should it not as well prove the Resurrection day to be a Sabbath the onely difference is That he thinks serves his turn But this makes against him And why should it not also be thought a Sabbath Acts 20. For Paul and the Disciples were then Assembled and they were assembled to break Bread and Paul there Preached to them And all these Assemblies were on the first day of the Week And they seem to me a much stronger proof of the First day the day of his Resurrection being a Sabbath than that the Ascension day was so And the Preaching which our Author here mentions as on the day of Ascension seems to me rather to have been on that of the Resurrection For St. Luke in the beginning of this Chapter of Acts 1. seems to give a short repetition of what himself had delivered more at large Luk. 24. And gives an account not only of what happened on the day of Ascension though he close with it but of what happened during the forty days from his Resurrection to that time And this Preaching I take to be that mentioned Luke 24. on the day of his Resurrection But after all this is but a Whimsey what he tells us of Christs Ascension on a Seventh-day-Sabbath For 't is very plain that his Ascension was neither on a seventh day nor on a first but on a fifth day of the Week For 't is plainly said Acts 1. 3. That he shewed himself alive after his Passion being seen of them Forty days that is he was seen of them at times not constantly for the space of Fourty days whereof that of his Resurrection was the first and that of his Ascension was the last And if that were Sunday this must be Thursday He may tell it upon his fingers as he speaks p. 5. if he please But though our Saviours Ascension was not on the seventh day of the Week in observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath or in confirmation thereof Yet the mission of the Holy Ghost according as on the First day of the Week the day of his Resurrection he had promised Luk 24. 49. was on the first day of the Week fulfilled also as appears Acts 2. When the day of Pentecost was fully come that is the Fiftieth day for so Pentecost signifieth in Greek they were all with one accord in one place that is they were unanimously assembled and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind and filled the house where they were sitting And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them that is at least upon each of the Apostles and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance Which I take to be a further instance if our Author will not allow it to be called a Sabbath at lest of a Religious Assembly for the Worship of God
was the First Month and which the Fourteenth day of that Month we shall find they were at great uncertainties as to the just day yet was not the Service thereof to be neglected upon pretense there was danger of missing the right day For they had not Almanacks in those days as we have now to tell us before hand when will be a New Moon But if we may believe the Jewish Writers their manner was about the time when they expected a New-Moon to send men to watch for it on the Top of some Hill or high Place and he who could first discover a New-Moon was to tell the Priest and he to blow the Trumpet to give the People notice that there was a New-Moon much like our Custom at Oxford at the time of the Assizes to set some on St. Maries Steeple to watch when the Judges are coming and then to Ring the Great Bell to give notice to those concerned that the Judges are at hand But in case of Cloudy Weather if in three days time from their first Expectation no man could see a New Moon they did then venture but not before to blow the Trumpet without seeing it which must needs cause a great uncertainty and the same Moon sooner seen at one place than at another and the Pass-over kept accordingly And t is manifest in the Story of our Saviours last Pass-over that he kept it on one day and the Jews on another perhaps he about a Fortnight before might see a New-Moon a day sooner than they did So great uncertainty there was at that time as to the particular day though the Institution was punctual for the Fourteenth day of the First Month. And the like uncertainty there was as to all their Feasts of New-Moons And even in our days when the Motions of the Sun and Moon are much better known than at that time they were we are far from being exact in point of time Our Rule for Easter is much the same with theirs for the Pass-over The Rule in general is this The Sunday next after the Fourteenth day of the First Month is to be Easter day But when we come to make particular application we do strangely miss of our Rule And our Paschal Tables which should direct us do put us farther out than if we had none at all For by reason that we take the length of our common year a little too long by about Eleven minutes of an hour and the length of our Months too long also since the time that those Tables were made 't is well known that the beginning of our Ecclesiastical First Month is Ten or Eleven days later than that of the Heavens and our Ecclesiastical New-Moons and Full-Moons is later by Four or Five days than those of the Heavens Whereby we do very often mistake the Month and yet oftner the true Week for keeping of Easter And though Pope Gregory the Eighth did somewhat more than an Hundred years ago somewhat rectify the Calendar yet both Papists and Protestants do observe some the Newer Gregorian and some the Older Iulian account and in the United Provinces of the Netherlands one Town observes one account and the next the other account and accordingly keep their Easters if at all at Three Four or Five Weeks distance And so for Christmas-day 'T is not agreed amongst Chronologers either what Year or what Month much less what day of that Month our Saviour was born yet wee keep December 25th in memory of his Birth as supposing him to have been then born Yea we are at so great uncertainty that we reckon the year 1692 from his Circumcision to begin the First of Ianuary but the same year as from his Conception not till the 25th of March next following as if his Birth and Circumcision had been a quarter of a year before his Conception And if we be now at so great an uncertainty in so short a Period as from the Birth of Christ I do not think the Jews could be punctual as to a day in observing their Pass-over and much less as to a day from the Creation of the World He 'l say perhaps that Easter and Christmas being of humane Institution it is not much matter though we miss the day nor much matter perhaps whether it be kept or no. Be it so But the Pass-over was of Divine Institution yet were they at a great uncertainty and might chance to miss more than a day or two yet was not the Duty to be therefore neglected The mistake of a Day was of much less concernment than the neglect of the Duty As was the Tithing of Mint and Annise than the weightier things of the Law These little Circumstances are but Shaddows in comparison of the Substance as the Comparison is Col. 2. 17. Which is not said to incourage any one to violate the Laws of God even in little things for we find God sometimes very severe even in such as in the Case of Uzzah's touching the Ark and Nadab and Ahihu's offering strange Fire for Reasons best known to himself of which we are not aware But onely to shew that the Substantials of a Duty are to be regarded more than Circumstantials and these upon occasion to give way to those And in such Cases if it were a fault the Prayer of Hezekiah 2 Chr. 30. 18. is to take place The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God though he be not cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary And his Service was accepted though as it is expresly noted they did eat the Pass-over otherwise than as it was written And in the Second Month in stead of the First And doubtless in the present case If we do not know as certainly we do not which is the First or Seventh day in a continual Circulation from the Creation it is much better to keep a Weekly Sabbath on any day of the Week whatever than to keep none at all and much more agreable to the true meaning of the Fourth Commandment All which is said partly by way of Caution not to be forward upon slight grounds to disturb the Peace and settled practise of the whole Christian Church at this day Partly to take off what he would have to be admitted but cannot be proved that the Seventh day in a continued Circulation of Weeks from the first Creation was observed as the Weekly Sabbath from the Creation to the Floud from thence to Abraham from thence to Israels coming out of Egypt and from thence till after the Resurrection of Christ. Which I think is impossible for any man to know And partly to satisfy what he objects from the Fourth Commandment Which saith indeed that there is to be a Rest on the Seventh day after Six days of Labour but not a Word of its being such Seventh day in a continual Circulation of Weeks from the Creation And therefore we are safe hitherto for ought I see But I 'le come up a little
And if it had been on the seventh day how great a proof would this have been with him for a Seventh-day Sabbath This I take to be a Christian Sabbath and within the prospect of the Fourth Commandment And though it be not expresly called a Sabbath to avoid confusion or ambiguity because the word Sabbath in common speech was then appropriated to the Jewish Sabbath yet it is the same thing And if he doubt whether the Feast of Pentecost were on the First day of the Week as was that of the Resurrection he may be satisfied from Levit. 23. 15. where that Feast is appointed After mention made of the Pass-over ver 5. c. Moses proceeds to that of the Wave-offering v. 10 11. When ye be come into the land which I give unto you and shall reap the harvest thereof then shall ye bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the Priest and he shall Wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you on the morrow after the Sabbath the Priest shall wave it Whether by the Sabbath here mentioned be meant the Weekly Sabbath or the first day of the Feast of Unleavened-Bread is not material because in that year whereof we are speaking this first day of the Feast was on the Weekly Sabbath as is manifest from the story of Christs Crucifixion which was on the Sixth day of the Week and the next day being the Seventh day was the Feast of the Pass-over and the morrow after this Sabbath was the day of Christ's Resurrection as well as of the Wave-offering And then he proceeds ver 15 16 to the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks Ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the Wave-offering seven Sabbaths shall be compleat even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number Fifty days inclusively taken as the manner is in Scripture reckoning and must needs be so here It was called the Feast of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks as Deut. 16. 9 10. which Feast of Pentecost was the morrow after the Sabbath on a first day of the Week And on this first day of the Week the morrow after the seventh day Sabbath here was a solemn Assembly for Religious Worship and a very large one both of Jews and Gentiles out of every nation under Heaven Parthians Medes Elamites c. And this solemnized by a Miraculous Effusion of the Holy Ghost in the gift of Tongues For we all hear say those of that great assembly every one in our own Tongue where in we were born the wonderful Works of God ver 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. With a long Sermon of Peter's on that occasion Which I take to be another celebration of the First day Sabbath and a very eminent one We are to observe also that in some of the places alleged to this purpose though but single instances there is an intimation of a frequent usage As in that Act. 20. ◠On the first day of the week the disciples being assembled to break bread Paul preached c. Is a fair intimation that on the first day they did use so to assemble If it were said amongst us About six a clock when they were come together in the College-Hall to supper such a thing happened Any unprejudiced person would take it for a fair intimation that they used to suppe about six a clock And if this Author could any where find in the book of Iob that On the seventh day of the week from the Creation when Iob and his friends were assembled for the joint service of God Bildad spake thus c. He would take this for a strong proof that the seventh-day Sabbath was then wont to be observed Much stronger than what he allegeth to that purpose Abram and Lot had each of them so many Cattel that they could not dwell or rest together without quarrellings amongst their servants And that of what Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron Why do you Hinder their work you make the people Rest from their burthens A like place is that of 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. Nov concerning the Collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia even so do ye and what that was we are told in the next words Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gatherings when I come If it had been so said to 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 or to Iob Upon the Seventh day of the week do this or thus what a strong proof would this have been for the Observation of a seventh day Sabbath I think it is plain from hence that the First day of the week was weekly observed and was wont to be so observed both by the Church of Corinth and by the Churches of Galatia For So Paul doth not here advise it but suppose it or take it for granted What that order was to the Churches of Galatia our Author says he cannot tell 〈◊〉 thought it had been plain enough he bids the Corinthians do as he had bid the Galatians that is on the First day of the Week c. What further order he had given the Galatians it is not as to this point necessary for us to know But saith he if they must on that day lay by as God hath blessed them then they must on that day cast up their accounts tell their mony reckon their stock compute their Expenses c. which are not Sabbath-day Works A wise objection As though all this could not as well be done before so far as is necessary and on Sunday put so much into the poor mans box or give to the Deacons or Collectors as upon such account they should have found fit like as is now done in our Churches when there is occasion for such Collections Why doth he not make the same exception to that of Deut. 16. 10. concerning the Feast of Pentecost where they are to bring a tribute of a free-will-offering which says he thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God c. according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee Doth he think that on the day of Pentecost which was to be strictly observed as a Sabbath a holy Convocation and no servile work to be done Lev. 23 1. they must cast up their accounts tell their money c. because they were to offer according as the Lord hath blessed them I think not But here comes in again his former trifling objection of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whether it signify the first day of the Week Yet I am very confident himself doth really believe it doth here so signify and as to his own thoughts doth not doubt of it But perhaps thinks it a piece of wit or skill in Greek thus to object against his own judgment Yet since he will have it so and we must come again to Childs play I
to Us Now as it did Then to Israel I cannot assent to it For it cannot be said of all Us who are under that Law that God hath Brought us out of the land of Egypt out of the house of Bondage or that We are to expect long life in the land of Canaan which he Gave Them If he say that our deliverance from spiritual bondage is equivalent to theirs from Egypt and our land the same to us as Canaan was to them I grant it But so is our Lords Day equivalent to their Seventh-day-sabbath and Christ the true Manna more than equivalent to that of theirs from the raining of which they reckoned their Iewish Sabbaths As to what he says of Mat. 24. 20. Pray that your flight be not in the Winter nor on the Sabbath-day which he thinks to be understood of the Iewish Sabbath 38 years after Christs Resurrection Perhaps it may For the obstinate Jews who would not in their day understand the things that belonged to their peace but rejected Christ did no doubt continue to observe their Jewish Sabbath and thought themselves obliged so to do And it would then be as great an Affliction to them as if their Sabbath were yet in force But no more a sin to fly on that day than to fly in the Winter It would be so to the Christians if put to flight on the Christian Sabbath for the case would be the like of both and they might as well Pray against it That is Against their Flight on the Christian Sabbath as the Iews on the Iewish Sabbath This therefore makes nothing at all to his purpose He might as well argue from hence that it were a sin to labour in Winter as on the Iewish Sabbath He hath many other little excursions as little to the purpose with which I shall not trouble my self or you having fully answered what seems to me to have any appearance of Argument But he takes great pleasure to expose the Name of Sunday Yet I do not find any more fond of using it than he Not that he would be thought to like the Word but because he thinks it a Reproach If he do not like that name he may call it as we do the Lords Day the Christian Sabbath or if he think these too good names for it he may call it the First day of the Week But why not as angry with the Monday or other of the Week days If on Monday the Heathens as he would have us think did worship the Moon as the Sun on Sunday why is he not as angry with that It is as much Idolatry to worship the Moon on Monday as the Sun on Sunday True But that doth not concern the Christians Sabbath which is what he hath a mind to reproach and therefore he speaks little of the other and but seldome But Sunday is to be snubbed upon every occasion He would not have a Sabbath upon Sunday because he says on that day they worshiped the Sun But why upon Saturday if on that day as he would have us think they worshiped Saturn Now 't is true that some of the Heathen did worship the Sun and the Moon and the Host of Heaven But that they did worship the Sun more upon Sunday than they did upon Monday or Tuesday is more than I know or he can prove He tells us Verstegan says that the Heathen Saxons did so But Verstegan is too young an Author to settle this upon his own Authority unless he can bring Vouchers for it more ancient than himself It was I suppose a Fansy of Verstegan Then as it is of our Author Now But I do not remember that he cites any Author ancienter than himself And though some others may say the like Yet I look upon it but as a plausible conjecture without any good foundation in History And even the Heathen Suxons are too late for his purpose He tells us p. 88. The Heathen Nations long before Christs Birth did offer Sacrifice to the Sun and worship it as a God upon Sunday His proof is from Iob 31. 26 27 28. If I beheld the Sun when it shined or the Moon walking in brightness and my heart hath been secretly enticed or my mouth hath kissed my hand this were an iniquity to be punished by the Iudges for I should have denied the Lord above But what is all this to Sunday It may perhaps be a disclaimer of worshiping the Sun but says nothing of Sunday Doth our Author think the name of Sunday to be as old as Iob's times If Iob had said If I have worshiped the Sun upon Sunday or the Moon upon Monday and not the Lord upon Saturday it had been to his purpose But here is nothing of that Not a word of what day it was on which they worshiped the Sun But I would not have him lay too great a load upon Sunday For Hesiod tells us as was said before that in his time one of the oldest of the Heathen Writers though younger than Iob the Seventh day was Sun-day not the First And he hath nothing to shew more than the bare Name of Sunday to make us believe that those of the Heathen who worshiped the Sun did confine that worship to this day of the Week or Did more worship it on this day than on others I do not certainly know how Ancient those Names are of Saturday Sunday Monday c. nor upon what occasion they were first taken up nor is it much to our purpose The most ancient Heathen Writer whom I know to have mentioned them is Dio Cassius who lived about the Year of our Lord 230. Who speaking of the Destruction of Ierusalem and the Temple tells us that the Iews had such a reverence for Saturn's day as that they would not Labour on that day for their Defense which the Romans understanding did on that day assault them and prevailed Against their Temple and Sabbath both at once Not as if the Iews did then call it Saturn's day nor am I sure that any other did then so call it for they called it their Sabbath-day But it was that day of the Week which in Dio's time was called Saturday But Dio speaks of it as a new Thing so to call the Days of the Week and which the Ancient Greeks he tells us knew not 'T was therefore not very Ancient And therefore he supposeth the Romans to have taken it up from the Egyptians Not the Old Egyptians of Moses's time but rather from those about the time of Ptolomy not of King Ptolomy but of Claudius Ptolomaeus the Astronomer or perhaps somewhat earlier when Astronomy there flourished and from whom the Romans had it In a Christian Writer I find it earlier than Dio in Iustin Martyr's Apology written about the Year of Christ 150. who mentions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Day of the Sun as the Christian Sabbath And Tertullian in his Apology mentions Saturday and Sunday And it may perhaps be found in Writers