observed as some compute from Joshua to Nehemiah which was for about One thousand years And for how many years the Seventh day Sabbath was before and under the Captivity turned into a Market-day Neh. 13. 15 to 21 I know not but 't is there written that their Fathers marketting upon the Sabbath occasioned the Captivity of Israel and Israel under their oppressing Persecutors was there particularly reproved for prophaning the Sabbath by Nehemiah as I shall shew more under the twelfth Question So that Commands may be broken and great and plain Duties may be long and generally omitted in the Churches and great Faults committed and yet Commands are still Commands and Duties continue Duties and Sins are still Transgressions of the Law and as soon as God does give us the knowledge of any Duty we ought to set about it and when He discovers to us any Sin we should bewail it and turn from it And in Truth the longer the observation of the Seventh day has been discontinued if it had been for Sixteen hundred years together which Reckoning I think you may hereafter find diminished the louder the Lord in the Fourth Command doth call upon us to return to the Law and to the Testimony the length of time wherein some Churches have given a Bill of Divorce to the Sabbath being a strong Argument to continue no longer in observance of the First day to which we never were married that I find by the Lord. And supposing the Churches had all for a long time observed the First day and by Tradition taken it for the Lord's day if they were long mistaken must they therefore persist in that wrong Observation and never be reclaimed And must no man dare under pain and peril of many Reproaches and other Persecutions and Ruin in this World so far as Angry men can do it practise it or speak or write a Word for it For all the Cry about the length of time if it were true has only this Force that because we have been out of our way for a long time therefore let no man presume or think to put us in our way again which is no good Arguing upon the Road nor in other Cases and why in this Ans 5. From Rev. 1. 10 it is plain That John was in the Island Patmos and was there in the Spirit i. e. in an Extasie and Rapture of Mind wherein the Understanding is raised and fixed in Contemplation of Divine things which were afterwards to come to pass in the Churches and the World Which also in part was the case of Peter Acts 10. 10 about the sixth hour but whether on the Sabbath I know not and of Paul 2 Cor. 12. 2 but whether on the Sabbath I know not and often of the Prophets and John being in the Spirit was on the Lord's day Now to find out which day of the week this was if it were a weekly day which is not written I shall offer the best Evidence I can from the Word Opinions in such undetermined Cases being only Conjectures which I heartily submit to the Word and better Judgments who are awed by the Word From the Text or Context we find nothing very considerable on either side that I know and therefore to find out what day this is shall collate other Scriptures for whatsoever is necessary to be known and not expressed in one Text is found in another for the Word of God is certainly compleat as to all necessary Truths I find a great deficiency in my own Understanding and Memory but nothing wanting in the Scriptures and whosoever is once poisoned with Conceits that the Scriptures are defective I do not wonder if such run to any thing that is uppermost For as the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God so they are able to make us wise to Salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15 16 17. And he that thinks this Scripture or any other Scripture false will be no Rule to me And here I may first recollect what was offered on the Third Question viz. That after the Creation the Seventh-day Sabbath was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ and by him was blessed and sanctified Gen. 2. 1 2 3 4 and thence thus reason 1st That day which the Lord blessed and sanctified is the Lord's day but the Seventh day of the week is that day which he blessed and sanctified therefore the Seventh day is the Lord's day That the Lord blessed and sanctified the Seventh day and thaâ— he that blessed it was the Lord Christ and that the Seventh day is the day he blessed and sanctified are expresly proved by Gen. 2 2 3 4 and in the first second and third Questions And if it be so it seems to follow somewhat strongly that then the Seventh day is the Lord's day Now although all the days of the week are the Lord's that is 't was he that made that division of Time into Seven days and there stayed and every day is his yet he having peculiarly blessed sanctified and called the Seventh day his day and rested upon it and set it apart for Man to rest on and He having no where that I can yet find in his Word said any such thing of the First day or of any other day of the week but only of the Seventh I dare not speak or think contrary to his express Command and Word and the Seventh day seems to me only to be and to be by Him called The Lord's day 2. Another Scripture to prove that the Seventh-day Sabbath is the Lord's day is Exod. 20. 10 where the Seventh day is directly affirmed to be the Sabbath of the Lord that is the Seventh day is the Lord's Sabbath day or the Lord's day of Rest or the Lord's day and the like is in Deut. 5. 14 The Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God Now that which is the Lord's Sabbath day I should think cannot well be denied to be the Lord's day and it being his Sabbath day does not make it cease to be a day or cease to be his day and if it be his day then 't is the Lord's day Or we may reason thus That day which the Lord commanded to be kept holy is the Lord's day but the Seventh day is that day which the Lord commanded to be kept holy therefore the Seventh day is the Lord's day Now that the Seventh day is that day which the Lord commanded to be kept holy appears from Exod. 20. 8 10 and Deut. 5. 12 14 15. The latter end of that 15th Verse is very cogent For thus hath the Lord commanded thee to do or to make that day the Sabbath 3. Another Scripture to prove the Seventh day to be the Lord's day is Isa 58. 13 where the Sabbath is called the Lord's Holy-day and the Holy of the Lord. I think no Writer has yet doubted that the Sabbath there spoken of was the Seventh-day Sabbath then and still observed by the Israelites and it cannot be the less his day
prejudice blame those who can find no Command in the Word for the First day if they look a little further as they are weakly able to learn what is the true Will of Christ in this and what he would have his People do and whether it be for his honour that such a Change be made by Men without a Command from him That there are already many Treatises upon this Question is notorious but mostly in favour of the First day whereof two of the fairest I take to be that of Mr. Shepheard and of Mr. Hughes of Plymouth and since Mr. Hughes two learned men have also written upon the same Subject viz. for the First day as it seems to me obliquely to answer what Mr. Hughes yields who moved some Doubts and left many confirmed that there was need of looking further into the Question for what he admits about the Seventh-day Sabbath â—he doth not afterwards answer to their satisfaction since which time except two or three little Tracts for the Seventh day of which no notice is taken by any Writers that I know nothing has past in Print about that matter and so it has for ought I hear rested for some years Now forasmuch as the Advocates for the First day have generally meant well I purpose to avoid Reflections and shall rather offer that little which I think God has given mâ— in this Question with all the Candour I can and leave the Effect with him If we have been generally mistaken in the true Sabbath as I doubt we have 't is high time we return to our Duty And in reading of some learned mens Writings about Sacred things when they reason concerning the Moral Law and Ten Commands in general we may see That they then establish with many excellent words their perpetual Obligation shewing what a Summary the Law of God is of a Christian's Duty That all God's Laws are reasonable That it is a controuling the Divine Wisdom to make any alterations in his Laws That Man's Glory in the World lies in his conformity to Christ and our conformity to him lies in â—ur keeping all his Commands and that the Ten Commands are absolutely confirmed by Christ and frequently by the Apostles in Luk. 16. 17. the Evangelists and Epistles and that they are a settled standing Rule of our Obedience to the end of the world Which are right and sound Expressions But when they write of the Seventh day there they bring in many Distinctions and take a liberty to add and alter and if such liberty were used in the rest of the Commands it would go far to make further alterations in them And whose will admit what is commonly affirmed about the Obligation of the Ten Commands and that God's Commands are unalterable by Man such may in a little time resolve this Question And it is to me somewhat observable that except the Alteration in the second Command about Images by the Romanists and some few others and in the fourth about the Seventh day as I think made originally by the Romanists all the Wit of the World since the Creation has not pretended to mend any other of the Ten Commands Our Question is If they can be abolished or in the least Iota or Tittle altered or amended in any part by Man which we doubt cannot be without Reflection upon the Wisdom of Christ the Law-giver Now that we may find out if possible the Will Q 1. Whether the World was mâ—â—e by Christ of our Lord in this matter let us enquire Whether the World was made by our Lord Jesus Christ This being of weight in it self and in its Consequences as to many things which of late have been controverted about the Deity of Christ and giving Light for clearing the usefulness of the Old Testament and also for proving the second Question That the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah and affording Help as I think to find out the true Day of Rest Let us see whaâ— the Scriptures say by whom the World was made 1st Consider Coloss 1. where Paul writing of giving The World waâ— made by Christ Thanks unto the Father who hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Ver. 12 13 in whom we have Redemption through his Blood i. e. the Blood of Christ v. 14. By him that is by Christ were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible all things were created by him and for him v. 16. By which Scripture of Col. 1. 12 13 14 15 16. I understand Christ as a principal Efficient of all things in Heaven and Earth and that all things were created by him to whom the Creation is eminently and particularly ascribed whom Isaiah calleth Jehovah the Redeemer who maketh all things who stretcheth forth the Heavens alone that spreadeth abroad the Earth by himself Isa 44. 24. 33. 6. Which I think eminently spoken of Christ For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for him Col. 1. 16 17. 2d Proof In the beginning of all things that is when the Foundations of the World were laid was the Word John 1. 1 3 10. that is the Lord Jesus Christ who 1 John 1. 1. is called the Word of Life and Rev. 19. 13. the Word of God And the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning with God John 1. 2. The Word was made Flesh i. e. the Word that made the World assumed our Humane Nature and dwelt among us and we beheld his Glory the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father John 1. 14. All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made John 1. 3. What the Evangelist here calleth all things the Epistle to the Hebrews calleth the Worlds Heb. 1. 2 and Paul calleth all things that are in Heaven and Earth visible and invisible Col. 1. 16 which Moses calleth the Heaven and the Earth Gen 1. 1. These were all made by Christ John 1. 3. Which as I think with others does not exclude the Father from this work who by the Son made the Worlds Heb. 1. 2. Bereshith by the Head Gen. 1. 1. nor the Holy Spirit to whom the Creation is also ascribed Job 33. 4. 26. 13. and Gen. 1. 1 2. and by the word of Jehovah or by the word Jehovah i. e. by Christ were the Heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth i. e. by the Holy Spirit Psal 33. 6. which work is eminently ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ by whom all things were made and without him was not any thing made that was made John 1. 3. In which place viz. John 1. 3 we have an universal Assertion that all things were made by Christ and an universal Negative added to prevent and answer all
he created Now from Gen. 2. 4. I reason thus He that made the Heavens and the Earth was and is Jehovah The Lord Jesus Christ made the Heavens and the Earth and therefore the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah That he that made the Heavens and the Earth is Jehovah is proved from that Gen. 2. 4. That the Lord Jesus Christ made the Heavens and the Earth is proved before from John 1. 1 3 10. from Col. 1. 12 13 14 15 16. from Heb. 1. 1 2 10. and from Eph. 3. 9. And if that be so then it follows that the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah Which great Truth that Christ is Jehovah and that these Three the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit are one Jehovah as God has graciously opened it to us by the help and light of the Old and New Testament compared may now be somewhat perceived throughout the Scriptures In the beginning or by the Head Aelohim i. e. the Mightys Father Son and Holy Spirit he created the Heavens and the Earth Gen. 1. 1. and the Spirit of God Heb. Aelohim the Mightys he moved upon the face of the waters Gen. 1. 2. and Aelohim the Mightys he said Let there be Light Gen. 1. 3. And Aelohim the Mightys he said Let there be a Firmament Gen. 1. 6. So also Gen. 1. 9 14 20 24. And Aelohim the Mightys he said Let us make Man Gen. 1. 26. So also Aelohim the Mightys he created Man in his own image Gen. 1. 27. And Aelohim the Mightys he blessed them v. 28. And Aelohim the Mightys he said v. 29. And Aelohim the Mightys he saw that every thing he had made was very good Gen. 1. 31. And Aelohim the Mightys he ended his Work which he had created And Aelohim the Mightys he rested from all his work which he had created Gen. 2. 2 3. And then it is said that Jehovah Aelohim the Mightys he made the Earth and the Heavens Gen. 2. 4. And the same Jehovah Aelohim the Mightys who made the Earth and the Heavens be formed Man Gen. 2. 7. And he took Man and he put him into the garden v. 15. And Jehovah Aelohim the Mightys he drove Man out of Eden Gen. 3. 23 24. And Jehovah Aelohim the Mightys he said behold the man is become as one of us Gen. 3. 22. And Jehovah he said Gen. 11. 6 Let us go down and there let us confound their language Gen. 11. 7 So Abraham to Abimelech God Heb. Aelohim They caused me to wander So Jacob Gen. 35. 7 built an Altar and there Aelohim they appeared to him Which with other like Expressions do somewhat open the Mystery of the Trinity and their Oneness throughout the Old Testament which place Gen. 2. 4. compared as before does prove the Lord Jesus Christ to be Jehovah who made the Heavens and the Earth And here I pretermit many passages in Genesis as Gen. 18. 1 where Jehovah he was seen by Abraham And Jehovah he said to Abraham v. 13 17. And Jehovah he went away when he had left communing with Abraham v. 33. Which Jehovah I think was the Lord Jesus Christ who here appeared in the shape of a man Gen. 18. 2 the two others who were with Jehovah Gen. 18. 2 seem to be the two Angels who went to Sodom Gen. 19. 1. Which appearing of Jehovah to Man as Man gave Man a kind of foresight of his after-intended Incarnation See the like in the Garden of Eden Gen. 3. 8 22. The word of Jehovah or the word Jehovah came before to Abram in a vision Gen. 15. 1 4. and made him a great personal and family Promise v. 1 5. and he believed in Jehovah and he imputed it to him for Righteousness Gen. 15. 6. Which Jehovah seems to be Christ and the Righteousness imputed to Abram to be the Righteousness of Christ imputed to him by Faith and Abram's believing in Jehovah seems to be believing in Christ Rom. 4. 5 8 9 18 22. I pretermit also that in Gen. 19. 24 where Jehovah he made it to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah Brimstone and Fire from Jehovah out of Heaven which I think was Jehovah the Son from Jehovah the Father And that in Gen. 32. 24 28 29 30. a man wrestled with Jacob and Jacob as a Prince had power with God and prevailed and was blessed and Jacob called the place Peniel for I have seen God face to face I think was Christ I pass by also that of Jehovah appearing to Moses in a flame of Fire out of the midst of a Bush Exod. 3. 2. called Jehovah v. 4 the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob v. 6 and Jehovah he said I have seen the affliction of my people v. 7. This Jehovah is called the Angel of Jehovah or the Angel Jehovah Exod. 3. 2 which I think was Christ by whose Hands the Father sent Moses Acts 7. 30 31 32 35 whom Stephen there preached and to whom he prayed Lord Jesus receive my spirit v. 59. which Prayer of Stephen to Christ proves also the Deity of Christ Who often spake to Moses Exod. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. Chapters Jehovah who called to Moses out of the Mount and to whom Moses went up Ex. 19. 3. These places I offer as intimating Jehovah mentioned in them to be eminently Christ although I do acknowledge and think there was an unconceivable presence of Jehovah the Father Son and Holy Spirit in the Creation and through out the Scriptures But Gen. 2. 4 compared with John 1. 1 3 10 Col. 1. 12 to 15 Heb. 1. 1 2 10. and Eph. 3. 9 I rely upon as Proofs that Christ made the World and that Christ is Jehovah 2. A second Proof that Christ is Jehovah I offer from Christ's giving of the Law Exod. 20. 1 2. And God Heb. Aelohim He spake all these words saying I the Lord thy God Heb Jehovah Aeloheka i. e. the Lord thy Mightys It has been said that Aelohim comprehends the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and then if Aelohim spake the Commands then Christ the Son spake them And if Aelohim He spake all these words saying I Jehovah thy God i. e. thy Mightys then Christ who spake all these words is Jehovah Which Jehovah our Aelohim is one Jehovah Deut. 6. 4 which Jehovah is one and his Name one Zech. 14. 9. Although Jehovah One. Jehovah be the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit yet they are one Jehovah Zanchy's Title is Of the Three Aelohim the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit one and the same Jehovah which he rightly calls the Orthodox Doctrine of that Mystery Which as I take it is the professed Judgment also of the most Learned since the Reformation So that if Christ made the World then he is Jehovah and if he be Jehovah then he gave the Law for Jehovah gave the Law and Jehovah Aelohim the Mightys are one Jehovah Aelohim said
so to overturn the commanded day and to lay it aside and then to set up another Day of Rest every week which as has been said we do not find commanded by the Lord when they certainly know that the Day observed in obedience to the Fourth Command by the Israelites and Proselytes was the Seventh day and no other and the Sabbath and Seventh day did both result in the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath and both relate to the first Sabbath Gen. 2 ordained by Christ which they know was the Seventh day and no other day of the week And whosoever not over-prejudic'd does read this Command I think will find this strongly there enforced viz. That the weekly day the Creator rested on is the very day to which this Command referrs and that all the World who have and receive the Word do know and confess was not the first nor sixth but the seventh day of the week and that day only and no other day and upon this I do insist And here I commend to the Reader Heb. 8. 10 where the Lord promises to put his Laws into the Minds of his People and to write them in their Hearts which is called a new Covenant v. 8 with which we may compare Jer. 31. 33 which Law promised to be written in our Hearts I think is the Moral Law which Moral Law is the Ten Commands whereof the Fourth is one And with how many Distinctions must the Word the Promises New Covenant and Command be mangled to be accommodated to such a new sence of the First day Which change of the day well considered may be one cause of the Israelites standing off from Christ Who will be converted grafted into Christ and saved by him Rom. 11. 7 26. And I hear some of late in defence of the First day have positively affirmed that the First day of the week is the Seventh day of the week and so the very day which the Letter of the Command requires by which Rule that which the Word calls the Seventh day should then become the Sixth and the Sixth the Fifth and so all the days in confusion and all the Jews and Christians hitherto in the World out in their reckoning of Seven Whilst I was considering this Question a learned Manuscript was sent me from an unknown Author who to maintain the First day of the week to be the Seventh day by the Fourth Command says to this effect That we ought to invert the Days i. e. to reckon them backward and then that which the Scriptures call the Seventh day is the First the Sixth the Second the Fifth the Third the Fourth the Fourth the Third the Fifth the Second the Sixth and then the First is the Seventh so great contrariety there is and must needs be in defending a Paradox Obj. and Ans Some farther object That the Sabbath was a Type and withal acknowledge it a Type of that Rest which is above with Christ in the upper World which we shall easily admit provided such will admit also what we think cannot be denied to Types that the Sabbath which is the Type continue till Heaven the Antitype do come Obj. and Ans Those who build the whole of this Change upon the Authority of the Church and not upon the Word which Word is against them who are very eminent may take this short Answer That if the Church have Power to change one of the Commands the Consequence is plain why may not the Church change more If any one of them be left to the Discretion of the Church certainly all are exposed as was said before Obj. and Ans Some Objectors there are who misunderstanding certain general Expressions in Paul s Epistles about the Law misapply them against the Ten Commands and so lay aside all the Moral Law which general Expressions are evidently meant of the Ceremonial Laws and may sometimes be written against some then erroneous Conceits of Justification by obedience to the Moral Law And others taking advantage of some incautelous Writings about the Privileges purchased by Christ have that way attempted to throw down the Ten Commands a Doctrine which would surely please many in this debauched licentious and erroneous Age if it would hold and some of these with the Law take away the Old Testament Obj. and Ans One thinks the Decalogue is not at all in force to the Gentiles and thinks the Preface to it Exod. 20. 2 I the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the Land of Aegypt out of the House of Bondage was to shew that it only concerned the Jews Whereas if we consider that the Church then in Aegypt was the Church of Christ and that Deliverance was of the whole then visible Church of Christ in the World amongst whom there were also many Gentiles as well as Jews I think it may be allow'd that the Preface concerns all Christians and that Deliverance expressed in the Preface as before ought to be celebrated in all After-ages by all Christians in the World whereof there is often mention in the Psalms and other Scriptures and so that Consideration from the Preface does not lessen the Obligation of the Decalogue upon the Gentiles but strengthen it And for the Obligation of the Decalogue when I find Christ so directly confirming the Law Mat. 5. 18 and Luke 16. 17 by which Law is understood the Decalogue I think I ought not to be over-ruled by any man's contrary Opinion whatever esteem I have of those who thus write and of many useful things written by them Mark 10. 19 and John 14. 15 If ye love me keep my Commands By which Commands the Decalogue is generally understood I do believe that Text Blessed are they who do his Commandments Rev. 22. 14 relates to the Ten Commandments And those general Expressions about the Law in the Acts and Epistles will be better understood if we reflect upon the occasion of them In Acts 15. 1 certain men taught the Brethren Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved Where it was Circumcision and the Ceremonial Law that was in question not the Moral Law the Ceremonial Laws were as a burthen lain aside by the Death of Christ and by the Holy Spirit as is plain in that Chapter And when Paul Acts 21. 17 18 21 came to Jerusalem some told him that many Thousands of the Jews who believed were zealous of the Law i. e. of the Ceremonial Law and were informed of Paul that he taught the Jews which were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses that is the Ceremonial Laws given by Moses saying They ought not to circumcise their Children neither to walk after the Customs and then they advise Paul to purifie himself to remove that Objection to whose Advice Paul yields v. 24 25 26 which occasion'd the Commotion v. 27 28 Crying Men of Israel help this is the man that teacheth all men every where against the Law i. e. the Ceremonial Law of Purifications and
it as a God upon Sunday My first Authority shall be out of Job who probably was iâ— the time of the ancient Patriarchs 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 Judges for I should have denied the God abovâ— Job in answer to Bildad chap. 25 and it may be especially â—â— ver 5. in his Apology professeth his Innocency as to open oâ— secret idolizing of the Sun or Moon which in his days it seemâ— was a common practice which probably had its Rise from somâ— broken Traditions touching the Dominion given to the Suâ— Gen. 1. 16 whence they termed the Sun Molech i. e. he thaâ— reigneth or ruleth or the King mentioned Lev. 18. 21 anâ— in many other Scriptures The Sun had also the Name of Baa i. e. Lord Num. 22. 4 41 the Idol of the Moabites whom theâ— supposed to be Lord of All for with these great Titles they honoured this Idol and worshipped him as the Great visible Lord and Ruler of the World whose glorious Light and other Influences together with that Blindness contracted by the Fall and Dispersion of Mankind led them to make and worship various Images thereof The Priests of this Idol were called Chemarim Chemarim Garments of Heathen Priests black from their black Garments whom Josiah put down 2 Kin. 23. 5 which Name of Chemarim the Lord threatens to cut off Zeph. 1. 4. And it is likely the Romanists have that black Colour and Habit from the Heathen Priests for any thing from Christ or his Apostles in precept practise or in favour thereof I do not remember Unto which Idol of the Sun some of the Kings of Israel did sacrifice and build high places which other gracious Kings as Hezekiah Josiah c. broke down whereof see the Histories at large in Kings and Chronicles which the Lord forbad as that which he had not commanded Deut. 17. 3 and which also the Prophets sharply reproved Jer. 19. 5. 32. 35 as that which the Lord never commanded which was the manner used by the Prophets to reprove and brand Corrupt Worship That it was not commanded by the Lord which is the same Exception we take against the First day And he that went a whoring after Molech the Lord would set his face against that man which high Places and Images of the Sun he threatens to cut down and destroy Lev. 26. 30. And the Aegyptians to whom the Remnant of Judah would go down had Temples dedicated to the Sun whereupon the Lord threatens to send the King of Babylon into Aegypt to break the Images in Bethshemesh i. e. in the House of the Sun Jer. 43. 10 to 13. And this sort of Idolatry was anciently performed about the rising of the Sun and this was that Sin which in a Vision the Lord shewed Ezekiel viz. 25 men of Judah with their Faces towards the East worshipping the Sun towards the East Ezek. 8. 16. And hence it was as I remember that the Heathen Temples were generally built toward the East the East being the Point wherein the Sun riseth in the Vernal and to which it returns in the Autumnal Aequinox which as some think from Gen. 2. 8 is directly over Paradice where the Sun is supposed first to have shined whence might arise a Custom amongst Idolaters of praying towards the East which is also very ancient though Solomon's Temple had its Priests and Sacrifices turning towards the West to avoid that Superstition Ezek. 8. 16 where their Backs are said to be towards the Temple of the Lord when their Faces were towards the East worshipping the Sun towards the East And in the Temple in Ezekiel there were three Gates one in the East another in the North and the third in the South Ezek. 46. 1 9 but none in the West And that the day for worshipping the Idol of the Sun was Sunday the First day of the week I offer one Authority from our own Country for our Ancestors in England before the Light of the Gospel came amongst them went very far if they did not outstrip others in this Idolatry and dedicated the First day of the week to the Adoration of the Idol of the Sun and gave it the name of Sunday from whom we have the name Sunday and hold fast that name to this day and this Idol they placed in a Temple and there sacrificed to it See Verstegan's Antiquities fol. 68. And upon like reason they made an Idol for every other day of the week by the names of which Idols they called the several days which names we still retain concerning which names consider Exod. 23. 13 Hos 2. 17 Psal 16. 4 Gen. 26. 18 Num. 32. 38 Zech. 13. 2 Josh 23. 7 Deut. 12. 3. And I think I do remember to have read in the Histories that a very great part of the World and particularly those parts of it which have since embraced Christianity did anciently adore the Sun upon Sunday Obj. A Learned Writer objects That the First day was set apart by the Apostles and that there is not the least Trace for any other day besides the First for Sabbath services and for this they have he says the universal Concurrence of all the Christian Churches for One thousand Six hundred years Ans In answer to which Affirmation I premise That all the Tradition in the World cannot add to take from lay aside or alter any Word of Christ or any Duty of any Man Obj. And the same Learned Objector on Rev. 1. 10 notes The vain Gavil of those that deny the Lord's day here to mean the Christian's day of Holy Worship even the First of the week I have fully confuted in a Book upon that Subject and it needs no confutation to those that are acquainted with Church-History who know that this day hath been kept holy as of Apostolical Ordination and Practice by the Universal Church ever since the Apostles days the Hereticks themselves consenting An Answer to that place Rev. 1. 10 I think you have before and that the Lord's day there mentioned is not the First but rather the Seventh day of the week the true Lord's day Ans And for further answer to the rest of that positive Affirmation I shall shew that there have been many Christian Churches who have for some Hundreds of years after Christ assembled for Publick Worship on the Seventh day Sabbath which will prove there have been some Dissenters from his Opinion in former times And to the rest 1st I answer first That the Seventh-day Sabbath was observed for Publick Worship during the Apostles time I think is plain in the Scriptures and so prov'd before in the Answers to the Ninth and Tenth Questions And who could change it after that Non Constat 2dly And if it were true that the Churches ever since the Apostles days One thousand Six hundred
Jehovah the Holy Spirit by whom it is that his Countenance and Favour is eminently lifted up upon his People Which may be intimated in the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all 2 Cor. 13. 14 c. And the application of Favour and Peace to the Conscience seems eminently the Work of the Comforter John 14. 26. Ye received the Word with joy of the Holy Spirit 1 Thess 1. 6. Who is called the Eternal Spirit Heb. 9. 14. And the fruits of the Spirit are Love Joy Peace Long suffering Gentleness Faith Meehness Temperance Gal. 5. 22. And he that works these surely must be God these and other Graces are wrought by the Holy Spirit and God is Love 1 John 4. 8 16. Love is the Essence of God and the Holy Spirit works Love Joy Peace c. in Believers for the Holy Spirit is Truth 1 John 5. 6 which I take to be also the Essence of God And those Fruits are not ascribed to Men or Angels but to God the Holy Spirit And the like Blessing to that in Numb 6. 22 23 24 25 26. from the Father Son and Holy Spirit is used by the Apostle The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all Amen 2 Cor. 13. 14. and is used or some like words by the Reformed Ministry of Christ and as I remember by the Romanists also at the conclusion of their publick Work every where And these Blessings may also be noted as Prayers to the Father and to the Son and to the H. Spirit which proves also their Deity And they shall put my Name my Name upon the Children of Israel and I and I will bless them Numb 6. 27. Which may note the Oneness of the Name Jehovah agreeable to that before Jehovah our Aelohim is one Jehovah Deut. 6. 4. and Jehovah is one and his Name one Zech. 14. 9. These Three Mightys are One. And for an Human Authority that the Father Son and Holy Spirit arâ— one God and therefore to be worshipped I shall cite the First of the 39 Articles of the Church of England viz. There is but one Living and True God Everlasting without Body Parts or Passions of Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness the Maker and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible and in unity of this Godhead there be Three Persons of one Substance Power and Eternity the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost And the late Assemblies Confession of Faith Chap. 21. Parag. 2. Religious Worship is to be given to God the Father Son and Holy Spirit and to him alone not to Angels Saints any other Creatures And the Declaration of those of the Congregational Perswasion of their Faith and Order Chap. 22. Article 2. uses the same words And the self-same words we find in the Confession of Faith published by the Antipaedobaptists Ch. 21. Art 2. To what has been said may be adjoyned that of the Lord Jesus whom the Disciples worshipped Mat. 28. 17. Go ye and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Mat. 28. 19. 'T is not said In thâ— names of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit but in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit shewing those Three to be One and their Name One which Name in which Believers in Samaria were baptised is said to be the Name of the Lord Jesus Acts 8. 10 and Cornelius and his Company were baptized in the Name of the Lord Acts 10. 48. Which Scriptures considered I think do shew the Father to be Jehovah the Son to be Jehovah and the Holy Spirit to be Jehovah and these Three to be one Jehovah and their Name one And the words Hallowed be thy Name Mat. 6. 9 I take to be the same Name and the Name of the Father is the Name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 12. 3. Gifts are ascribed to the Spirit differences of Administrations ascribed to the Lord Christ diversities of Operations to the Father 1 Cor. 12. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. See also some of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit before Gal. 5. 22 23. which Gifts different Administrations and Operations and Blessings and Fruits before mentioned considered with Passages in the Old and New Testament may help us to discern a little what is peculiar to the Father what to the Son and what to the Holy Spirit although as has been said there is an Oneness as in their Name so in their Operations We find Election is ascribed to the Father Sanctification to the Holy Spirit and Reconciliation and Justification to the Son 1 Pet. 1. 1 2 3. One Spirit one Lord one Father Eph. 4. 4 5 6. Which Mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ should be acknowledged Col. 2. 2. 1 Thess 3. 11 13. The comforting their Hearts in Col. 2. 2 is the Work of God the Holy Spirit the Comforter John 14. 26. The Holy Prophets spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit 2 Pet. 1. 21 The Holy Spirit sent down from Heaven one of those things the Angels desire to look into 1 Pet. 1. 12. The Lord the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 17 18. And that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah I think is also fully proved by Jeremiah He whom Jeremiah stileth Jehovah Jer. 31. 31 32 33 34 is declared to be the Holy Spirit Heb. 10. 15 16 17 and if Father Son and Holy Spirit be Jehovah then Christ the Son is Jehovah Numb 6. 25. And here I pretermit divers passages in Joshua Judges Psalms Proverbs and in the greater and lesser Prophets compared with the New Testament which seem to me to prove that Christ is Jehovah 5. Behold the days come saith Jehovah which seems to be Jehovah the Father I will raise unto David a righteous branch and he shall reign King and prosper and shall execute Judgment and Righteousness in the Earth In his days Judah shall be saved and this is his name whereby he shall be called Jehovah Tzidkennu i. e. Jehovah our Righteousness Jer. 23. 5. 6. And you have the like promise near verbatim in Jer. 33. 14 15 16. Which Jehovah Tzidkennu I think is Jehovah Christ whom Jehovah the Father would raise up unto David And Christ Jesus is made unto us Righteousness and Redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30 31 who was to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness Dan. 9. 24 where is a Promise of the Messiah the Prince v. 25 26 who by the Father was made sin for us that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5. 21. Which Jer. 23. 5 6 33. 14 15 16 compared as above is my Fiâ—th Proof that
bow to me Rom. 14. 9 10 11. Which is taken from Isa 45. 21 22 23 where Christ is named Jehovah a Just God and a Saviour Heb. and the Messiah or Christ Look unto me and be ye saved for I am God Isa 45. 22 23. Phil. 2. 9 10 11. Which is to the Glory of God the Father v. 11. And you have Father Son and Holy Spirit 2 Cor. 13. 14 and in many other places which I had collected but omit And no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit of God 1 Cor. 12. 3. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son 1 John 5. 10. The Witness i. e. the Holy Spirit Some have preached and printed another Jesus and another Spirit and another Gospel 2 Cor. 11. 4. and not Jesus the Lord 1 Cor. 12. 3. and Phil. 2. 11. And have preached another Spirit not the Lord the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 17 18. And another Gospel not the true Gospel by the Grace of Christ Gal. 1. 6. Some pervert the Gospel and are under that Curse and Anathema Gal. 1. 7 8 9. Christ Jesus the Lord was that Christ whom Paul preached 2 Cor. 4. 5. Paul an Apostle not by man but by Jesus Christ Gal. 1. 1 2. Christ Jesus is said to be equal with God Phil. 2. 5 6 11. Christ is our life and is all in all Col. 3. 4 11. And whoso denieth the Son hath not the Father 1 John 2. 23. Let those who deny the Son consider well that word Christ Jesus the Lord in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily Col. 2. 2 3 6 9. a very full expression of his Godhead God our Saviour 1 Tim. 2. 3. God manifest in the flesh 1 Tim. 3. 16. The living God the Saviour of them that believe 1 Tim. 4. 10. God our Saviour Tit. 1. 3. 2. 10. Looking for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us Tit. 2. 13 14. Jesus Christ our Saviour Tit. 3. 6. Some false Teachers there were then who privily brought in Damnable Heresies denying the Lord that bought them and some will follow them 2 Pet. 2. 1 2. Deceivers who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh such have not God and if any come to you and bring not this Doctrine receive him not into your house nor bid him God-speed 2 John 3. 7 9 10. Gr. Chairein to rejoice There is no ground that I know to desire Joy to such There are certain men crept in corrupt Worshippers denying the Only God and Master our Lord Jesus Christ Jude 4. To the only wise God our Saviour be glory and majesty dominion and power v. 25. The Son is the brightness of the Father's Glory of whom God saith And let all the Angels of God worship him Heb. 1. 1 3 6 13. And we are to worship God not Angels Rev. 19. 10. 22. 8 9. Unto the Son the Father saith thy Throne O God for ever and ever Heb. 1. 8. His Son Jesus Christ he is the true God and eternal life 1 John 5. 20. The first and the last who was dead and is alive Rev. 2. 8. The son of God who searcheth the reins and heart and who will give to every one according to his works Rev. 2. 18 23. And to conclude this point in the close of the Scriptures the Prayer of John unto Christ Come Lord Jesus and for his Grace Rev. 22. 20 21. do also prove the Deity of Christ which is my present point Some defend this Truth from the Opinion of ancient Doctors and learned Fathers whereof I have seen a great collection for whom I have due reverence yet satisfaction to the Conscience coming in ordinarily by the Word of God I have rather chosen this familiar way by the Scriptures Q. 3. The third Question proposed is Whether after the Creation the Lord rested on the seventh day and whether The Seventh-day Sabbath instituted by Christ the seventh-day Sabbath was sanctified and so instituted by him and was observed by him who made the World Answ 1. He that made the World rested on the seventh day for which we have these full Authorities Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished and all the Host of them Gen. 2. 1. And on the seventh day God Heb. Aelohim the Mightys he ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made Gen. 2. 2. For in six days Jehovah he made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and he rested the seventh day Exod. 20. 11. My Sabbaths ye shall keep for it is a sign between me and you A sign whereby his People were distinguished from the rest of the World It is holy unto you a perpetual Covenant For in six days Jehovah made Heaven and Earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed Exod. 31. 13 14 15 16 17. And God did rest the seventh day from all his works Heb. 4. 4. Which is also a farther confirmation of the Deity of Christ Answ 2. He that made the World sanctified or made holy the seventh-day Sabbath After God Heb. Aelohim ended his work it is said expresly and God Heb. Aelohim he blessed the seventh day and he sanctified it Gen. 2. 1 3 4. Wherefore Jehovah he blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it Exod. 20. 11. Blessed and sanctified it and so instituted it In the first Question it appears that the Lord Jesus Christ made the World and in the second that Christ is Jehovah Ans 3. And Jehovah who made the Earth and the Heavenâ— he rested on the seventh day and he blessed it and he sanctified it So we have here the Lord Jesus Christ who made the World resting on the seventh day that is observing it and blessing and sanctifying of it i. e. giving the institution of it and this to Adam and in Adam to Jews and Gentiles to all Mankind without distinction who then were all in Adam's Loâ—â—s and that before the Sin and Fall of Adam So this part of the Moral Law was in Adam given to him and to all his Posterity And this recorded for the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ which some pretend to greaten by dedicating another day to him which he never blessed sanctified or observed that I can find nor has any where in the Scriptures either blessed sanctified or commanded Comparing this with what was before offered That the Lord Jesus Christ made the World and that he is Jehovah I think this one Authority in Gen. 2. 1 2 3 4 sufficient to prove that he rested on the seventh day that he blessed the seventh day and sanctified and so instituted it and no other day of the week And to this Institution I think
do referr the words of our Lord The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath Mat. 12. 8. Mark 2. 28. Luke 6. 5. He instituted it and was best able to give a true and right Interpretation of it whereof more hereafter Q. 4. If the seventh day Sabbath was kept by Believers The Sabbath kept till the Law given from the Creation till it was repeated at Mount Sinai Exod. XX It is at least probable from the words Mikketz Iammim the cutting off of days and the graciousness of Abel and the respect the Lord had to Abel and his Offering Gen. 4. 3 4. who obtained witness that he was righteous Hâ—b 11. 4. that Abel kept the Sabbath and that Enoch kept the Sabbath who walked with God Three hundred years Gen. 5. 22 24. who had this Testimony that he pleased God Heb. 11. 5. The like I may say of Noah a just man and perfect in his Generation who walked with God and found Grace in his eyes Gen. 6. 8 9. and became Heir of the Righteousness which is by Faith Heb. 11. 7. And that Abraham kept it Gen. 13. 2 4 5 6. from the word Lashebet to dwell or sabbatize together but especially from that Testimony the Lord gives him Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my Charge my Commandments my Statutes and my Laws Gen. 26. 5. General words which include whatsoever God had commanded and two of those words are applied to God's Commands in general and particularly to the Sabbath Exod. 16. 4 5 28 29. which Commands were committed to writing upon Mount Sinai Exod. 19. 18. 20. 1 2 3. which Commandments we have And that Moses and the Israelites in Aegypt kept the Sabbath appears from Pharaoh's Answer Behold the people of the land are many and you Moses and Aaron make them sabbatize or keep the Sabbath or rest from their burthens Ex. 5. 1 2 3 4 5. Vehishbattem from the Root Shabat he rested or kept the Sabbath mentioned in Gen. 2. 3. And that Moses Aaron and Israel kept the Sabbath after their deliverance out of Aegypt appears in Exod. 16. 5 22 23 25 26 27 28 30. which was before the promulgation of the Law at Mount Sinai Exod. 20. Q 5. Whether the Ten Commands were given by Christ to Jews and Gentiles And whether the same weekly seventh-day Sabbath after the giving the Law at Mount Sinai was observed during the Old Testament That the Commands were spoken by Christ eminently I think appears under the second Head Answ 1. That they were given by him as well to the Gentiles as to the Israelites may appear by God's creating Man in his own image Gen. 1. 27. Which Image and Likeness eminently consists and remarkably appears in the Soul whose Nature is spiritual and ordinarily invisible whose Faculties wherewith GOD in Man's Innocency had enriched it were a clear understanding of his Creator's Mind and a rectitude of Will to observe his Laws and we find Paul chiefly placeth this Image of GOD in Man in Knowledge Col. 3. 10. and in Righteousness and true Holiness Eph. 4. 24. After the Fall of Adam the Understanding was darkened and the Will and Affections corrupted and so they remain to this day until Man be regenerated by Christ and his Holy Spirit and so that first Image of God wherein Man was created according to our measure be by Grace restoâ—ed which brings converted Men and Women about again to much of that original Light and Knowledge of the Will of God and to those good Inclinations to keep his Laws wherewith the Soul of Adam was first beautified which Conversion of Man is called the New Creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. and a Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. Which does teach and strongly dispose the Hearts of gracious persons to observe God's Commands which Knowledge in Col. 3. 10 may referr to the Will of God in both Tables and the Holiness in Ephes 4. 24. may referr to conformity to the Laws of the first Table and the Righteousness there to Obedience to the second Table Now the Gentiles as well as the Hebrews at first were all in Adam's Loins and there was no such Difference till the time of Heber Gen. 10. 21 24. and Abraham was of Heber's Posterity and Christ in the Genealogy is said to be the Son of Abraham Mat. 1. 11. Luke 3. 34. in whose Genealogy who was the second Adam we find of the Gentiles And if we look into this Case we may see that as now when the Lord shall by Conversion renew his Covenant with the lost Sheep of the House of Israel those branches broken off above sixteen hundred years shall be grafted in again Rom. 11. 5 to 33. and they shall mourn over him whom their Fathers pierced Rev. 1. 7. So it was then with us Gentiles the Bought with Money which were not of Abraham's Blood at the institution of Circumcision were to be circumcised as well as his own Seed Gen. 17. 12. and Strangers as home-born passed alike under the Discipline of the Church Exod. 12. 19. which shews they were in Fellowship with Israel and Strangers if circumcised might keep the Passover at its first institution one Law was to the Stranger and to the home-born Exod. 12. 48 49. And so for Offerings of a sweet savour to the Lord there was but one Law for the Strangers and for the Jews As ye do so he shall do and as ye so shall the stranger be before the Lord Num. 15. 14 15 16. which Passover and Offerings were all before giving the Law at Mount Sinai Exod. 20. So that the Law in Exod. 20. was given to both And the Lord would not have the Son of the Stranger who joyned himself to him to say The Lord had utterly separated him from his People and those Strangers who joyn themselves to him to serve him and to love the Name Jehovah who keep his Sabbaths he will make them joyful in his House of Prayer and accept their services Isa 56. 1 to 7. And not only Israel but the Stranger were alike established a People unto him Deuteron 29. 10 11 15. And in the fourth Command 't is said of the seventh-day Sabbath neither thou nor thy stranger shall do any work therein Exod. 20. 10. So that before the Moral Law given one Law was to the Jews and Gentiles as Exod. 12. 48 49. Exod. 15. 14 15 16. and we may say What Difference was there then or is there now between them and us Those of the Jews or Gentiles then living and dying impenitently had not Salvation by the Messiah those of them or the Gentiles then who joyned themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the Name Jehovah which as I take it was to love Christ had Eternal Life by him and so all such now have and will have to the end of the World And altho' Circumcision in its season were a good Institution yet in the sence above it ever was and will be
Ans After the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ Emmanuel i. e. God with us Mat. 1. 18. 23. we find in that famous Sermon of his in the Mountain Mat. 5. 17 18 19. which was about the beginning of his publick Ministry Christ does prevent an Objection of his Hearers who in regard his manner of preaching was different from their Teachers might suspect that he intended to abrogate the Moral Law or to alter it or some part thereof and to bring in another Law and warns them not to imagine that he came to destroy dissolve or loosen the Law but to fulfill it viz. by his perfect Obedience exactly to observe it and by his Word to establish it a standing Rule of Obedience to his Churches and People to the end of the World Till Heaven and Earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law Mat. 5. 17 18 19. So that all the Commands have the same Character of the same Divine Authority and do all without excepting one jot or tittle equally bind man Mat. 5. 19. And that this place in Matthew referrs to the Ten Commands I take to be generally agreed by Expositors and by Writers for the First day the first Table whereof contains the method prescribed by Christ how to express our Love to God a part of which first Table is to keep holy the seventh day And the second Table contains our Love to Man Mat. 22. 37 38 39. And agreeable to Mat. 5. 17 18 19. is that of Luke It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass than one tittle of the Law to fail Luke 16. 14 17. where our Saviour shews the scoffing Pharisees that he taught no new Doctrine contrary to the Law but that Heaven and Earth should pass away before one tittle of the Law should pass The Interpretations of the Law by the Jews were mistaken but the Law shall remain as a sound and certain Rule to his People until the World should have an end Where I take it also as agreed that Christ spake of the Ten Commands As he does also when the Lawyer asked him which was the Great Commandment in the Law Christ answers Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart And the second is like unto it Love thy Neighbour as thy self Upon which two hang all the Law and the Prophets Mat. 22. 35 to 40. And Mark 12. 28 29 30 31. where Christ confirms the Ten Commands and both Tables thereof whereof the Law for the seventh day is a part which seventh day those who set up and substitute the first day so far lay aside The Romanists leave out the second Command against Images and a late learned Protestant Writer excepts against a word or two in the second Command and what he meant thereby I cannot say certainly but if he think it lawful to make such Pictures as of a Glorious Light from which occasion may be taken of good Thoughts of God he seems to me under the specious colour of that good Intention to break in directly upon those words in the second Command Lo tagneseh leka temunati asher bashamajim Thou shalt not make to thee any likeness that is in Heaven above and to go very near the borders of Idolatry that God is Light 1 John 1. 5. is true but we may make no Image or Picture thereof for any such purpose Light is as I take it one of the words opening the Essence of God and to make any Likeness of his Essence seems to be of the Likeness of God which I think is forbidden in the second Command To say nothing of the word As in the Parenthesis which seems something a kin to an c. nor can this be excused by the good intention before of taking up thence good Thoughts of God which surely must be from making and looking upon that pictured Light to the end above so dangerous it is to sit loose in Principles from the Obligation of the Moral Law or any part thereof And to this looseness from the Commands and to the not observing of them I think I may assign the great Transgressions of this Age against all the rest of the Commands but I forbear And how much farther such Great Learned and Worthy men may go unless God convince them or restrain them I know not who by his Word and therein by Promises of his Holy Spirit hath furnished all Believers with sufficient matter for Good Thoughts of God And those take away these words out of the fourth Command the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God which has not only many Iotaes and Tittles i. e. Letters and Vowels but Words and is a whole Paragraph but I think will not so pass away Conformity to which Commands is the Perfection of the Nature of Man Consider also how very much is said in the New Testament against Anomie that is Lowlesness Acts 2. 22 23. Mat. 13. 40 41. Mat. 23. 28. Mat. 24. 12. Rom. 6. 19. The Mystery of Anomie did work in the Apostle's time 2 Thes 2. 7. Until he that letteth be taken out of the way and then that lawless one that anomous one shall be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth v. 8. Looking for our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Anomie Tit. 2. 11 to 14. which Anomie the Lord Jesus Christ hates Thou hast loved Righteousness and hated Anomie Heb. 1. 8 9 10. One great Article of the new Covenant is I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts which includes the whole Moral Law And another Article is Their Anomies I will remember no more Heb. 8. 10 12. Heb. 10. 16 17. And of old the Lord commanded That whatsoever he commanded his People they should observe to do it Thou shalt not add thereto nor dimish from it Deut. 12. 29 30 31 32. This Law is framed for the good of all and if all the Laws of all the Kingdoms of the World were lost the Ten Commands rightly understood in their true Extent and Latitude as explained in the Old and New Testament would revive and preserve the Duties men owe to God and due Bounds between Kings and their Subjects Ministers and People Husbands and Wives Masters and Servants Parents and Children and all Superiors Infeâ—iors and Equals whatsoever Which Law the Lord will magnifie â—nd make honourable Isa 42. 21. And the Ten Commands as â—hey are opened in the Scriptures do in general or particular Rules with great Justice and Equality resolve Cases as far beyond â—he Laws of Men as the Treasures of Wisdom in Christ are beâ—ond the depraved Wit of fallen Man And here I had thought to have inserted That See Charnock's Attrib fol. 612. â—he true Law of Nature in Adam is the Ten Comâ—andments A Preface to which Ten Commands commemorating and celeâ—rating the wonderful and famous Deliverance of the
Church of Christ by the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit out of Bonage in and under literal Aegypt we have in Exod. 20. 1 2. I had also thought upon the first Command to have shewn â—hat Faith in Christ though it be the Gift of Faith a Duty â—od Eph. 2. 8. as every other Grace is is a â—uty commanded This is his Command That we believe in his Son Rom. 16. 26. 1 John 3 23 24. And by our Lord Jesus Christ Faith is said to be one of the weightier matters of the Law Mat. 23. 23. The People asked Jesus What shall we do that we may work the works of God Jesus said This is the work of God that ye believe on him which he hath sent John 6. 22 28 29. And the Righteousness by the Faith of Jesus Christ is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets Rom. 3. 21. Which may also pass for a further Proof That the Moral Law still obliges under the Gospel I had also prepared a few Sheets upon the second Command to enquire Whether Forms of Worship graved printed or written not instituted by the Lord but invented by Man are Good Right True Spiritual Christian Worship and Whether forbidden by the Letter of the second Command in the word Pesel about which good Worship there is much in the Old and much in the New Testament As also If the Lord's Prayer were not for Secret Prayer Enter into thy Closet shut thy Door pray to thy Father in secret thy Father who sees in secret shall reward openly Mat. 6. 6 9. All in secret but the Reward which should be open As also about Right Singing from Eph. 5. 18 19. And to have enquired after the import of those words there Psalms If that mean Psalms in the Word Hymns if that mean occasional Singing by such as have that excellent Gift And Spiritual Songs if that mean Songs composed of Spiritual Matter for which the Scriptures are full to furnish the meanest Minister of Christ and others also and all without Rhime And something concerning the horrible Prophaners of God Name by swearing and cursing against the third Command Thâ— Lord will not hold them guiltless I had prepared also some Thoughts about the rest of the Commands and in particular about the fifth Command and thereiâ— about Monarchy but finding I have much to do to recover thâ— word Seventh i. e. one word in the fourth Command I haâ— at present left it out Now seeing Mat. 5. 17 18 19 and Luke 16. 17. do so confâ— the Decalogue how is it that it confirms all the Ten Commanâ— without exception and not the Seventh day which is a part the Decalogue and is a seventh part of Time and one Day of tâ— Week And why should we so hotly oppose it God has plaâ—ly prescribed that day why do we alter it The best Reaâ— that I can give is the marvellous Corruption that is in our Nature which doth incline us to be as Gods and to give Rules to the Divine Majesty and to all the World and puts us upon Pretences to be wiser than God And the earnestness which I find in some for the First day I ascribe to the looseness of others who were for the First day and for Sports and Pastimes also upon it and much to the force of Example and Education we have been long trained up in the observation thereof and so entertained strong Conceits that we are in the right and cannot yet be put out of it though when we are asked we can assign no Command from Christ or his Word for it and yet fiercely contend for it Which shews plainly that it is God's Work to convince the World of this Sin yet means may be used It has been acknowledged that the Advocates for the First day generally mean well but should remember that good Intentions when they run in any Channel besides the Word have been the occasion of bringing in Monkery many Ceremonies great Controversies Errors Divisions and some bloody Wars and many Mischiefs which from the Primitive Times to this day have afflicted and shaken the Churches from which after some years consideration I think there can be no deliverance but by a profeâ—â—ed returning to be ruled in all cases by the plain Word of Christ And Learned Excellent Commenius the only surviving Bishop Commenius if he be yet alive Bishop of Bohemia in his printed Exhortation to the Churches of England upon the Restitution of Charles the Second Ann. Dom. 1660 prophesies our Ruine upon this Rock whilst Christ in his Word teaches one thing and men teach another where he brings in the Lord protesting against us all as no Christians because we keep not the Commands of Christ and when he shall vouchsafe to raise up some Repairers of the Collapsed state of the Church he would haâ—e them give God this Honour to do nothing but according to the Prescript of his Will Exod. 25. 40. all to be after the Paâ—tern in the Mount and to take that for an everlasting Rule â—â— was not thus from the Beginning Mat. 19. 8. and to have a caâ—e that what is not of Divine Institution but contrary thereunto be taken away as a Plant not of the Father's planting Mat. 15. 13. and whatever is instituted by GOD but through Carelesness of Man neglected or hath by Guile been changed be restored Mat. 5. 17 18 19. This Book of Commenius was printed about 1660 upon the occasion of the late King's Restitution wherein as I think he plainly intimates the restoring the Instituted Sabbath by Guile changed but in such terms as Quarrelers might have no certain Advantage he drives at a more thorow Reformation than hitherto hath been in the Churches and to bring us back to the Times of the Apostles wherein consists the true Glory and Happiness of the Churches although Commenius in that same Book fol. 51 52 53 54 says The Custom of the Bâ—hemian Churches was to keep the Dominical day As for those Laws which we call Ceremonial I take them to teach and Command Faith in Christ who was veiled and hid under Typical Ordinances as Sacrifices and Altars which in their very Nature ceased to be farther literally observed when Christ the true Antitype was sacrificed for his People and Circumcision the Passover and the then Priesthood were by his Death taken away and Baptism the Lord's Supper and another more excellent Gospel-Ministry instituted Mat. 28. 19 20. And the Epistles especially that to the Hebrews do open much of the Mysteries of Christ and the many Benefits Believers in him do receive by the several old and new Ordinances now explaining one another and I suppose may be of use for convincing the Jews when their time of Conversion comes and the Law of Sacrifices does discover how Man was justified from the Guilt contracted by transgressing any of the Commands viz. by Christ typified by the Sacrifices and his Righteousness As the Judicials did shew how Transgressors
should be proceeded against by Magistrates and by Ministers for there we find many Directions for the Discipline of transgressing Subjects by their Princes and Judges and of Members of the Church by their then Pastors But to return to those who defend the Change of the Seventh day and teach it to others let such have a care of that Threatning Mat. 5. 19 20. for if the Exceptions they make against the Law in that point be not good they are certainly dangerous to those that make them Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least 〈◊〉 the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 5. 19. And how far that least Extends think well of These Ten Commands many call the Moral Law and not to quarrel with Terms Moral signifieth pertaining to Moral Law Manners which being applied to Divine Laws may be said to be a Rule prescribed by the Lord to direct our Thoughts Words and Actions and so does include whatsoever is commanded or forbidden in Thought Word or Deed which our Lord comprehends in the love of God and of our Neighbor Mat. 22. 38 39. a part of which Moral Law all agree was in the time of Christ the Command for the Seventh day And he that will enter into Life must keep the Commandments Mat. 19. 17. Which he that keepeth loveth Christ and Christ will love him and manifest himself unto him John 14. 21. And it is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass than one tittle of the Law to fail Luke 16. 17. And surely Christ does not there exclude the Law of the Ten Commands whereof one tittle cannot pass away And let any man shew us what other Law it is that Christ there means And if it be easier for Heaven and Earth than for one tittle of the ten Commands to pass away it will be impossible to take away the Seventh day positively said to be the Sabbath of the Lord And if the Commands and therein the Seventh day stand as long as Heaven and Earth they surely stand now for the Heaven and Earth yet stand And our Lord farther confirms the Moral Law by shewing what Sins they are which defile a man Mat. 15. 3 11 18 19. Evil Thoughts Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts False-witness Blasphemies Now Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts and False-witnessing are Sins against the Second Table Blasphemies Sins against the First Table and Evil Thoughts Sins against every Command in both Tables The Scribes and Pharisees there transgressed the Commandments of God by their Traditions v. 3. The Commands Christ there affirms are the Fifth Command v. 4 and the Second Command v. 8 9. which Moral Law they unlorded v. 6. The Command Christ charges them with as making it of no effect or of unlording it Exod. 20. 12. Deut. 5. 16. is the Fifth Command one of the Second Table And that about their vain Worship v. 8 9 was against the Second Command in the First Table and so Christ by those instances affirms both Tables When the young man asked Christ what good thing he should do that he might have Eternal Life Mat. 19. 16 17 18 19 20. Christ answers If thou wilt enter into Life keep the Commands and names some of them as Thou shalt do no Murder and Thou shalt not commit Adultery so that Christ in his Answer referrs him to the Moral Law Charnock's Attributes pag. 612. And so Christ there affirms the Moral Law which I think does fully prove that by the general word of Commands Christ meant the Ten Commands and if Christ meant the Ten Commands and have confirmed and established them by One and much more by so many plain Scriptures what Power on Earth can alter any one of them The great Commission which the Lord gives his Ministers is to teach all Nations to observe all things Christ doth not except the Seventh day whatsoever I have commanded you Mat. 28. 19 20. A very learned Writer in his Annotations on that Text saith It implyeth that his Commands are the Universal Laws of his Catholick Church and no Man or Men have Authoâ—ity to make Laws for the Universal Church on Earth but He and to undertake it is to undertake the Prerogative of Christ and be Vice-Christ by Usurpation be it Pope or Councils Which I think are words of much strength consequence and truth and I may say as Cornelius to Peter We are here present to hear all things that are commanded thee of God Acts 10. 33. But if any speak not according to this Rule we are not to follow Paul further than he follows Christ 1 Cor. 11. 1. And as any person is brought to love Christ he takes present care to keep his Commands John 14 15. and Christ shews mercy to those who love him and keep his Commands Exod. 20. 6. And what other way is there to declare our selves the Friends of Christ and good Subjects to him but by doing whatever he commands us John 15. 14. 14. 21 here is no exception of the Seventh day nor elsewhere that I can find in all the Scriptures 't is by this Law of the Decalogue that we have the knowledge of Sin Rom. 3. 20. 7. 7. And we find the Apostle did not make void the Law through Faith but established it Rom. 3. 31. And the Law of Works mentioned in Rom. 3. 27 shews the Law which Faith doth not make void Rom. 3. 31 to be the Ten Commands and speaking of the same Law resolves it to be holy and the Commandment holy just and good and spiritual to which he consented as good and delighted in it after the Inner man Rom. 7. 1 12 14 16 22 25. To which the carnal mind cannot be subject Rom. 8. 7. What Law do Opposers understand by these Scriptures if not the Ten Commands And if these Scriptures mean the Ten Commands as they plainly do how comes one to be changed and mangled and the Seventh day to be excepted Which Ten Commands are called a Royal Law to be fulfilled and a Law by which all Believers shall be judged Jam. 2. 8 12. which Law in the new Covenant is promised to be given into their Minds and to be writ upon their Hearts and that by Jehovah Christ Heb. 8. 18 10 compared with Jer. 31. 33 which is farther Proof that Christ is Jehovah and this without any exception of the Seventh day But if any man sin i. e. break the Sabbath or any of the Ten Commands we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous he is the Propitiation for our sins And hereby we know that we know him if we keep his Commands John 2. 1 23. And it is as it seems to me very strange how the World should be so long misled in so discernible a case And this is the love of God that we keep his Commands 1 John 5. 3. And what can that mean if not the Ten Commands And whatsoever we ask we receive
of him because we keep his Commands 1 John 3. 21. which we are strictly required to walk after 2 John 6. The Eighth of the 39 Articles of the Church of England says No Christian man whatsoever is free from the Obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral Assemb Conf. chap. 19. of the Law of God says God gave to Adam a Law Par. I. This Law after his Fall continued to be a perfect Rule of Righteousness and as such was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in Ten Commandments Par. II. This Law commonly called Moral doth for ever bind all as well justified persons as others neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve but much strengthen this Obligation Par. III V. Although true Believers be not under the Law as a Covenant of Works to be thereby justified or condemned Par. VI. So â—ar that great Assembly about the Ten Commands The Declaration of the Faith c. of the Congregational Churâ—hes before cited says the same things in the same words Ch. 19. Art 1 2 3 5 6. And so doth the Confession of Faith of the Antipoedobaptists â—efore mentioned Ch. 19. Art 1 2 3 5 6. And blessed are they who do his Commandments Rev. 22. 14. Now how can any man perswade himself or others that Christ â—r his Apostles do not intend by the above cited Scriptures the Ten Commands And if he do mean them whence comes this alteâ—ation and Why do men open their Mouths so far against his Tabernacle Rev. 13. 6. i. e. his Law which Tabernacle of the Testimony will be opened again in the Churches and some have already gotten the Victory over the Beast in this also Rev. 15. 2 5. And the Tabernacle of God will be again with men when the new Heaven and the new Earth come Rev. 21. 1 3. And 't is remarkable that the Remnant of the Seed of the Woman are such as keep the Commandments of God with whom the Dragon makes War Rev. 12. 17 and Rev. 14. 12. Here is the patience of the Saints here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus And all this and much more there is without one word of Exception against the Seventh day Q. 7. Whether the weekly Seventh day Sabbath and no other day was observ'd by the Lord Jesus Christ after his Incarnation and that constantly Answ No Christian man that I know has ever pretended that the Lord did not keep the Seventh-day Sabbath perfectly or that he kept the First day or any other day as a weekly Sabbath nor is there any Scripture for such Pretences And that he kept the Seventh-day Sabbath I think is proveâ— by the Scriptures which in general express his being a Lamâ— without blemish 1 Pet. 1. 19 which he had not been if there hâ— been any defect in his Obedience nor had his Righteousneâ— been perfect if he had not fulfilled all the Law i. e. all Righteousness More particularly it appears besides his course of Education under Joseph and Mary that he observed the Sabbath for upoâ— his setting about his Ministry he with Simon Andrew Jamâ— and John at Capernaum entered into the Synagogue on the Saâ—bath day and taught Mark 1. 21. 6. 1 2 on the Sabbatâ— days Luke 4. 31. On the Sabbath day he went into the Synagogâ— Mat. 12. 1 9 and John 5. 9. The Synagogues seemâ— Synagogues be Houses somewhat of the nature of our Parish-Châ—ches for Prayer and for weekly reading the Law and Propheâ— and sanctifying the Sabbath to which our Lord when he wâ— in the Country did resort And the Sabbath day which Christ observed was the Jeâ— Seventh-day Sabbath as is agreed by all and appears plainly bâ— that Mat. 12 and John 5 by the Jews Exceptions against Chriâ— as breaking their Sabbath as they apprehended but were mistaken And it farther appears that Christ constantly observed the Seventh-day Sabbath for when he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up as his custom was he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read Luke 4. 16 to 21. and then and there preached the Gospel and expounded the Scriptures Which shews it was his Custom i. e. his constant Course from his Childhood at Nazareth where he had been brought up to keep the weekly Sabbath days of which Custom I find little said in some Books the Greek Expression for as his Custom was I take to be very full That it was Christ's usual constant Course And as at Nazareth so at Capernaum Christ taught them on the Sabbath days v. 31. And I shall hereafter shew that what is said here Luke 4. 16 31. of Christ is after the Death Resurrection and Ascension of Christ said of Paul that it was Paul's Custom also to keep the Sabbath Acts 17. 2. so that Paul did not alter the Sabbath which may also stay the mistaken Cavils about some Expressions in his Epistles as if Paul writ one thing and did another which Custom of Paul and other Believers who attended the Apostle's Ministry I think was a good Custom in the general which held from the beginning of the World till the Ascension of Christ and long afâ—er that as I hope to shew more fully hereafter which was â—bove four thousand years a Custom which one long day in Joâ—hua's and another in Hezekiah's time or the variety of the time of the Sun 's setting in different Climates does no way disturb for â—hat a day longer or shorter than another by some hours is still â— day and but a day and so could not alter or disorder the numâ—er of seven days to a week and so did not alter the seventh day â—ut would puzzle those to answer who make the Objection â—gainst themselves who finding the plainness of the Commandment against them have now invented instead of the Seventh â—ay commanded a new seventh part of time which seventh part â—f time from the Creation to this day by those two long days â— utterly impossible to be ascertain'd but however is a meer Fanâ—y there being no other Command but for the Seventh-day â—hich Christ and afterward Paul usually observed So as I may â—y this was a long undeniable and uninterrupted Custom time â—ut of Mind though 't is true the Sabbath had been somewhat â—rophaned in Nehemiah's time and by him reformed which â—ore confirms the Custom whereof more afterwards And I think all the Advocates for the First day as well as all the Reformed Christians in the World do agree that Christ has fulfilled all Righteousness and that he perfectly kept the Ten Commands whereof the Fourth was and is certainly one and the Seventh day certainly part thereof and that every true Believer has a part in Christ's perfect Obedience and consequently in his perfect keeping of the Seventh-day Sabbath Which I think sufficient for proving this point that the Seventh-day Sabbath and no other was constantly observed by him Q. 8. After the Lord Jesus had
deliberately to do and may with like reason deny almost any thing for which we have full Authority from the Word That a very contrary Custom was afterwards introduced into many Churches I think we may say is evident a Custom of observing another day viz. the First day instead of the Seventh day which has been as it is maintained with great Authority and doth prove a Plant impossible for Man to pluck up without a full Testimony of the Word and Holy Spirit especially being supported as it is by such mighty men dead and alive as have written for it who are opposed only by a few weak persons 'T is plain that Paul preached in the Synagogue every Sabbath i. e. every seventh-day Sabbath for all Writers agree that the Sabbath which the Jews observed was the seventh day and that he perswaded Jews and Gentiles So that we have here Scripture-Instances of Ministers and of Believers in Christ after his Resurrection and Ascension and after the pouring out the Holy Spirit by deliberate choice keeping the seventh-day Sabbath in the Synagogue or Church where they came together for their publick Worship and the Ministers there preaching Christ to Jews and Gentiles And who can considerately think that the Holy Spirit misnamed the Sabbath and calls the Seventh day the Sabbath if it were changed to the First day And if I had offered no more than those few Lines in answer to the Tenth Question in my weak Judgment this were sufficient to answer all that I know is written for the First day and I have read much about it and this consisting of Matters of Fact has no need of being argued search the Scriptures as the Bereans did Acts 17. 11 and see if these things be so or no. Q. 11. Whether the Holy Spirit calls the Seventh day the Sabbath and no other day of the week both in the Old and in the New Testament throughout Answ I answer affirmatively as appears in the Answer to the former Questions and in particular That the Seventh day has the name of the Sabbath and was kept as the Sabbath after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit appears in the Answer to the Tenth Question And the Advocates for the First day do not pretend that the First day is any where in the Scriptures called the Sabbath as Mr. Baxter a very learned Writer for the First day doth acknowledge in Print Nor has any man yet shewn any Word or Command from God to observe it Nor are there two weekly days set apart by God for holy Worship and so I think this Eleventh Question needs no farther Labour Objections which are made in this Case although they seem to me to arise mostly from Conjectures at the meaning of some Expressions in the Word which seem Objections and Answers to others to have no such sence now come to be considered it being reasonable that the Evidence of the other side be heard also that the Reader may make a right Judgment thereon Object 1. The first Objection which I consider is that raised from the Resurrection of Christ which Resurrection some think convenient should be celebrated by a particular weekly day and the rather as one says because it is possible the Seventh day was changed Others more frankly say it was changed but they are not sure whether by Christ during his Life or by him after his Resurrection or whether by his Apostles or any of them after his Ascension or when or where or by whom any of these Uncertainties they do not yet resolve us and I think we are sure and some of the other side do acknowledge that no such Change is recorded in the Scriptures But however they suppose it for the Honour of Christ that one day in a week be set apart to commemorate his Resurrection Answ They do suppose this Our Law and all Mankind do admit that there is as much reason for those things that have no Existence i. e. which are not as there is for those things which do not appear If once Suppositions be allowed instead of Evidence and Proof any man of Parts and Credit may introduce great Absurdities When it can be truly said that the Lord has no where in his Word enjoyn'd the observation of the First day that they can shew or after the strictest search that we can find What Colour has any man to observe it And when it can be truly said that the Lord has no where in his Word repealed the Fourth Command nor altered the Seventh day or any way blotted it out of his Law by which Law we are to walk and by which we are to be judged that they can shew or we can find how can we presume to alter it Or if the Lord had any where in his Word transferred Power to any Man or Men to invent a new way of honouring Christ and to set apart a new day to commemorate his Resurrection this were something but where is there any such Power recorded in the Scriptures to be given to any Man or Men whatsoever And if there be no such new Command given by Christ to keep the First day and no such Authority given by him to any persons whatsoever to alter the Seventh day who then shall set Bounds to such as once undertake of their own Heads without any Commission from Christ to vary from and to add to the Commands of Christ However specious and plausible the Pretences be can any think it is for the Honour of Christ or the Resurrection that Men of their own minds should take the liberty and boldness to add to or to alter any of his Commands Why may not others command us to kneel to the consecrated Bread and pretend as many do that it is for the Honour of Christ And why may not one as well maintain the yearly Observation of Christmas in memory of his Birth and of Good-Friday in memory of his Passion and of Easter in memory of his Resurrection and of Whitsuntide in memory of his Ascension and of Altars and Adoration towards the East and that standing and not kneeling in expectation of his second Coming which some pretend to guess may be from the East as well as a new weekly Sabbath All which Conceits and many other such-like do pretend to be for the Honour of Christ and are ancient Traditions and seem to intend and mean very well When any persons whatsoever shall with pretended good Intentions assume an Authority of their own heads to add to the Word of God or any way to alter it in a tittle in comes therewith not only the common Tides of Christmas c. as they call them but the whole Romish Kalendar of Saints and all their Mass and Monkery which have specious Pretences and cannot be resisted if the Churches corrupted or the purest Churches be once admitted to have such a Power for if the Church or any part thereof may invent and
Verses especially do shew that it is the Heavenly Rest with the Beginnings of it by Faith and Holiness whicâ— is meant in the 4th of Heb. Let us labour therefore to enter into thâ— Rest v. 11 which is the Use that since many through Unbelieâ— fall short of that everlasting Rest let us study hard and wiâ— Earnestness and Diligence endeavour to obtain it for which eâ— the Word of God is quick and powerful v. 12 to stir us up â— strive to enter into God's Rest which Labour is commended â— all and especially to the Hebrews to whom that Epistle is directeâ— to bring them to believe in Christ Jesus the Son of God v. 13 1â— whose being God-man the Author of that Epistle doth clearâ— assert and the only Mediator by Faith in whom alone we câ— obtain that everlasting Rest Obj. But one of the principal Objections is raised from Aâ— 20. 7. And upon the First day of the week when the Disciples caâ— together to break Bread Paul preached unto them ready to depart the morrow and continued his speech until midnight Ans The first day of the week they guess was Sunday which I shall not controvert provided they will admit which I think they will not deny that it was Paul's manner to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath Acts 17. 2 and provided they tell us what part of Sunday this was for it seems to me and I think to these Objectors also to be the Evening after the Seventh day which Evening was the beginning of Sunday as the Evening was the beginning of every other day of the week Gen. 1. 5 8 13 19 23 31. And that it was in the Evening after the Sabbath I think probable from his being ready to depart on the morrow i. e. on Sunday and from his speaking till midnight and till break of day v. 7 11. And they guess the breaking of Bread there was the Lord's Supper which they guess the Disciples did there once come together to do upon the First day of the week and therefore they guess did upon the First day of every week then and ever after and Paul's preaching to them then they guess was because the Seventh day was changed to the First day but when where or by whom they shew us not but generally acknowledge to be no where found in the Scriptures only we must take their word for it which without a word from the Lord I cannot satisfie my self to do In answer to which Objection the Reader may take notice that the Greek word here preached is the same Greek word which is rendered reasoned Acts 17. 2 where Paul as his manner was his constant manner was went in unto them and three Sabbath days i. e. Seventh-day Sabbaths he preached to â—hem out of the Scriptures and is the same Greek word which is â—endered reasoned Acts 18. 4 where Paul reasoned i. e. preached in the Synagogue every Sabbath And he that without â—rejudice considers those two places will see somewhat how far â—his goes in answer to the Objection Now if we do admit that once for 't is but once Paul with the Disciples came together upon the First day of the week to break Bread â—nd if we should admit that breaking of Bread was giving and â—eceiving the Lord's Supper I say it is but once that is but one â—nstance but one Fact which was never yet understood to make New or repeal an Old Law and it would be a very dangerous â—octrine to affirm that one Fact done by the Apostles â—nd those Disciples who were at Troas and that upon a special occasion should have the force of a Law to repeal or alter one of the Ten Commands to all the World in all after Ages And this once was upon occasion of Paul's being to depart on the morrow i. e. on Sunday This was but once that Paul preached upon the First day buâ— his constant Custom was to preach on the Sabbath days Acts â—7 2 and that upon every Sabbath day Acts 18. 4. The other is pretended to be but once And not one word of instituting the First day or repealing the Seventh day And if we may humbly take a liberty of offering our weâ— sence upon this place as others do upon this and all the rest oâ— the Scriptures I further answer that it is likely to me that Pâ— abiding seven days at Troas which some think was Troy or the Country thereabout Acts 20. 6. kept as his manner was Act 17. 2. 18. 4. the Sabbath there as his Custom was and in thâ— Evening when the First day began as every other day of thâ— week did begin in the Evening Gen. 1. 5 8 13 19 23 31 the Disciples came together to break Bread And that it was thuâ— I think I have the Opinion of a whole Synod Lucius Ecclesiasâ—cal History V. Cent. 313 D. 315. a b c d e Basileae 162 Synodus Toletana Which breaking of Bread might be to receive the Lord 's Suppeâ— together or it might be only for common eating or supping togâ—ther for neither is positively or particularly expressed And may be it was common Eating because in the same Book of thâ— Acts viz. Acts 27. 35 the same Greek word is used for Paâ— breaking Bread which was common Eating in the Ship wiâ— the Centurion Souldiers and Seamen who were Heathenâ— whatever the other Prisoners with Paul were which the Serâ— of the History there shews was common Eating and I take â— be so understood by Expositors And in this very Chapter vâ— Acts 20. 11 when Paul had broken Bread and eaten he departâ— which may be the same breaking Bread mentioned v. 7 but the same Greek word and probably was common Eating Aâ— the same Greek word for breaking Bread is used Mat. 14. 1â— where Christ fed a Multitude with five Loaves and two Fishâ— which was before the Institution of the Supper And the saâ— Greek word is also used Mat. 15. 36 at another miraculous feeâ—ing of a Multitude and Mark 8. 6 19 which could not be â— Supper being before the Institution thereof So that compâ—ring Acts 20 7 with Acts 20. 11 and Acts 27. 35 and Mat. 15. 36 and Mark 8. 6 19 it seems it might be common Eating but suppose it were the Lord's Supper 't is likely Paul having kept the Sabbath with them as his manner was and intending to be gone the next morning i. e. on Sunday morning they met to have the Lord's Supper together and after Supper that Paul preached to them and talked long till break of day and then departed which seems to be Sunday morning But why the coming together of the Disciples v. 7 might not be as Friends commonly do when a Minister or any other special Acquaintance intends to take a Journey in the morning to supp with him over-night I see no substantial Reason which is a Sence obvious to common Understandings as it seems without Violence Whereas the haling of this Text to make a new
standing Law for the alteration of the Fourth Command and for the setting up another day of the week to be perpetually observed as a weekly Sabbath by all the World seems all invented and a meer force upon the Text. Nor does the Command and Institution of the Lord's Supper need any Art to defend it for it is plainly and fully given and established Mat. 26. 26 27 28 Mark 14. 22 23 24 Luke 22. 17 18 19 20 which Institution was also observed by the Apostles 1 Cor. 11. 23 24 25. And this I add to avoid Slanders which unless God awe some men by his Word I expect upon every point And upon this place in Acts 20. 7 and upon 1 Cor. 16. 1 2 and Rev. 1. 10 which come to be considered in the next Objection the three Scriptures upon which the great pious and learned Assembly in the 21st Chapter of Conf. parag 7 do as I understand them principally build their Opinion for the First day For the other Texts cited by them as Exod. 20 8 10 11 Isa 56. 2 4 6 7 Gen. 2. 2 3 Mat. 5. 17 18 seem to be against it but what is said in that Paragraph That God in his Word by a positive moral and perpetual Commandment binds all men in all Ages and hath particularly appointed One day in Seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him I think is right and true but for the changing that day to the First day of the week I find not It may be remembred the Greek word Mia signifies One and Eis Mia En is rendered not the First but One in our Translation of the New Testament as I take it about an hundred times and if it were so rendered here One day of the week it would somewhat abate this Objection but I admit that One day probably was the First day And reading this Text according to our Translation the First day of the week I think this is certain from that place that Paul preached to the Disciples which probably was till the Evening after the Seventh day Sabbath and continued his Speech till midnight v. 7 and till break of day v. 11 being ready to depart in the morning which probably was the morning of the First day and then departed v. 11 13. And if Paul departed and travelled v. 11 13 then this also will overthrow the Objection from this place for Travelling and Sabbatizing do not well agree together excepting Cases of Necessity or Mercy which Mercy is also of some Necessity Which I think sufficient Answer to this Objection And however I do say that here is not one word of instituting the First day no such thing as any Command to observe it no such thing as altering the Seventh day And where the plain Light of the Word doth not go before us it is our Wisdom as I think to sit still and be silent Obj. Another Objection is from 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. Now concerning the collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia even so do ye upon the First day of the week Gr. one of the Sabbaths or one day of the week Let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gathering when I come Ans 1. What that Order to the Churches of Galatia was I cannot tell unless it were to Remember the Poor which he was forward to do Gal. 2. 10 and Rom. 15. 26. And when this Collection for the Saints was to be made I cannot tell if it were to be upon one day of the week yearly if that Scripture will bear that sence but of yearly Collections nothing is there that I know expresly written All Husbandmen and most Tradesmen and Merchants some few Cases excepted if they be discrete and diligent may about once in a years time make some probable conjecture how God hath prospered them and accordingly lay by in store for charitable uses And some Callings as Ministers Physicians Lawyers and divers Handicrafts men may weekly make a Judgment what they have gotten and accordingly lay by for such uses though I never yet knew the person that steddily practis'd that Rule Some I have known who have for many years lain aside a tenth part of all they spent as they spent what God bestowed upon them besides voluntary occasional charitable Gifts For instance if they took out Ten Shillings to spend they laid aside One Shilling if Ten Pounds they laid aside One Pound and so proportionably Ans 2. And whether that Order to the Church of Galatia were intended as an Order for all the Churches in the World I find not written Ans 3. And if it was a general Order for a charitable laying aside yet it was no Order to observe the First day Ans 4. And if it be an Order to lay aside upon the First day of the week as the Objectors would have it 't is plainly an Order to cast up their Accounts that day and to tell their Moneys they have got and to reckon how much their Stock is encreased and what can be reasonably spared from their necessary Expences and deducting all Charges which every person must well consider that would discreetly lay aside as God hath prospered him which as I said as I never knew or heard of any man that did upon the first day of the week so I think the Advocates for the First day will hardly allow as proper Work for a Sabbath nor yet is very consistent with an holy Rest upon that day which yet such must do for ought I know and more who make that a general Order such strange Inconveniencies do arise when the Scriptures are strained beyond the plain meaning of them The Order is not to give to charitable uses or to distribute to the Poor that day but that every one lay by him in store which certainly must be upon casting up their Accounts but whatever be the meaning of that place as to Accounts on that day the main drift of it is that every one lay by him in store as God had prospered him that there might be a Stock ready to distribute to the Poor Saints as their Necessities required which in the general sometime or other serious understanding Christians I think do or ought But what one word is there in this 1 Cor. 16. 1 2 for repealing altering or changing the Sabbath or for assembling of the Churches or for assembling any one particular Church or for performing any manner of Worship upon this day Let it be what day some would have it but every one was to lay by him in store i. e. every one as it seems asunder so far is this place from that sence some put upon it Read and Judge Obj. Another Objection is from Rev. 1. 9 10. John was in the Isle Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ and was in the Spirit upon the Lords day Gr. En te Kuriake
emera and heard behind him a great voice as of a Trumpet saying I am Alpha and Omega The Question is What day this was Ans 1. Some have thought this to be a yearly day in Commemoration of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ which some think was in December and therefore we in England and a few others who observe the old Style keep the 25th of December and the rest of the Christian and Romish World in the Western part of it who observe any day upon that account keep the 15th day of December i. e. ten days sooner than we in remembrance of it And some thought the day of Christ's Birth was in September and I find in Gregory's Posthuma p. 164 that the day of Christ's Nativity was not in use till 532 years after He says the Alexandrians Aethiopians and Armenians hold he was born the Sixth of January and the Bishop of Middleburgh that he was born in April Beroaldus in October Scaliger and Calvisius that 't was in September Hospinian that Christians did not celebrate the 25th of December as to Christ then born but to make amends for the Saturâ—alia p. 166. And as to the time of Christ's Birth and the time of making the World he says there are forty several Opinions p. 171. And which of these forty the World should follow in so doubtful a matter which was not in use in 532 yeaâ— after Christ and about which there are so many several opinions who shall resolve us Which Gregory was a very learned man and if these Matters of Fact be true about Christmas-day they may somewhat stumble Christmas-day-men But supposing â— were in December either those who observe the 15th of December or those who observe the 25th are certainly out in that observation one of those must needs be out and mistaken unleâ—â— they will both yield That if Men observe any one day upon thâ— account it sufficeth no matter which or unless they will say That if the Church in France or Rome command the observing the 15th there that is the right day there upon which Christ was born because the Church there says it And if the Church here observe the 25th that is the right day here because the Church here says it By which large Rule other Churches may as well observe any day they please but no one day at all being appointed that I ever read of in the Scripture for commemorating the Nativity of our Lord I know no good ground for observing any day upon that account Ans 2. Some think the Lord's day in Rev. 1. 10 is a yearly day in Commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ which is commonly kept upon Easter-day which Resurrection-day John and his Disciples observed if the History be true upon the Fourteenth Day of the First Month upon whatever day of the week it fell according to the Jewish Account Ans 3. And some think the Lord's day in Rev. 1. 10 to be that Great Providential day in the latter days when Christ will appear to plead the Cause of his Lordly Authority and Kingly Power which they think John might see in that Vision And some may take it to be the day of Christ's Coming which 1 Thess 5. 2 is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Day of the Lord or the Lord's day which day Phil. 1. 6 10 is called the day of Jesus Christ and the day of Christ Ans 4. Some think the Lord's day in Rev. 1. 10 to be a Weekly day of which sort some have thought it to be the First day of the week which we commonly call Sunday for which they alledge Ecclesiastical Tradition Others think if it be a Weekly day that it is the seventh day of the week for which they alledge divers Scriptures and which is to be preferred in such Cases which God has thought fit to leave so undetermin'd as this in Rev. 1. 10. either Tradition if Tradition were for it or the Scriptures collated with Rev. 1. 10 is much of the Question between these two Now as to the first Opinion That the day in Rev. 1. 10 was an Anniversary day observed by John in remembrance of the Incarnation or that it was an Anniversary day observed by him in remembrance of the Resurrection I may say as in the case of Moses's dead Body Deut. 34. 6 No man knoweth of his Sepulchre to this day so I say here the Lord has no where in his Word certainly revealed what day this was but has as it seems to me if we may be allowed humbly so to write purposely hidden it and if we may humbly enquire into the reason of that hiding it the notorious Idolatries Debaucheries Uncleannesses Blasphemies and great Wickednesses to which God in his Word gives no Countenance accompanying its observation may somewhat resolve us As 't is generally thought the reason why the Lord did not make known where be buried Moses was that his Body or Sepulchre might not be to the Israelites an occasion of Idolatry and consequently of all other Wickedness as it was in the case of Aaron's Golden Calf Exod. 32. 4 5 6 7 which Moses burnt powdered and strewed upon the Water and so made it impossible ever to be found v. 20. But the main doubt from Rev. 1. 10 is Whether it be a Weekly day and what day of the week it is One of the great Writers for the First day says There is an Universal Testimony for its observation for Sixteen hundred years together to which if that Account were true which I think will appear after in this Book to be mistaken I answer That from Lamech Gen. 4. 19 to the Prophet Malachi Mal. 2. 14 15 which as some compute was about 2480 years together Polygamy or the having many Wives was frequently practis'd by some eminent in the Church at that time and was doubtless held lawful by them for we cannot charitably suppose they commonly and openly lived in gross Sins and practised what they condemned in their Judgments as sinful and yet there were Laws in the Word at that time as we now find expresly against it as Gen. 2. 23 24 The man and his Wife shall be one flesh and after Lamech Thou shalt not take a Wife to her Sister during her life Lev. 18. 18 for that two Wives at once for one man they two would be to one another as two Sisters and yet the having more Wives than one was for a long time practised and little taken notice of if at all by the Prophets who sharply reproved other Sins of that People till the time of Malachi which sinful practice is fully refuted by our Lord upon occasion of his rightly stating the Case of putting away a Wife Mat. 19. 3 4 5 6 Mark 10. 7 8 They two viz. the Man and his Wife not they three four or five shall be one flesh and by the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. 16 Eph. 5. 3. And so the Feast of Booths in Nehemiah 8. 17 was not
because it is his Holy-day And if it be His day then it is the Lord's day and that which He calls his day and says is his day is certainly his day and we ought to believe and acknowledge it to be his day In which plain Arguments I think there is some strength though weakly expressed 4. Another Argument I take from Mat. 12. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day And the like Mark 2. 28 The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath And the like in Luke 6. 5 Christ saith to the Pharisees That the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath Which places also farther prove Christ's Deity That the Sabbath there in Matthew Mark and Luke spoken of is the Seventh day Sabbath I think is agreed by all Expositors and appears in those Chapters to be the Sabbath which the Israelites then observed which was then and is still the Seventh day of the week And we find in Mat. 12. 5 that the Exception was taken by the Pharisees as if Christ's Disciples by plucking Ears of Corn and eating them had done that which was not lawful to be done on the Sabbath day Mat. 12. 1 2. And surely they did not object against Christ as breaking Sunday i. e. the First day And so it must needs be the Seventh-day Sabbath that this Debate between the Lord and the Pharisees was about And the same may be said of Mark 2. 24 28 and of Luke 6. 2 3 5 in which Scriptures it was the Jewish Sabbath that was in question And that the Son of Man who is there said to be Lord of the Sabbath day is Christ I think also certain for that our Saviour useth this term of Son of Man about sixty times in the Gospel and always of himself and I think never with reference to any other man And Christ is called the Son of Man by John Rev. 1. 13 but three Verses from Rev. 1. 10. from whence this main Objection is taken And Rev. 14. 14 Christ is again called the Son of Man so that the Son of Man in Matthew Mark Luke and John who writ the Revelation is the Lord Jesus Christ who is Lord of the Sabbath day As for those who would interpret the Son of Man in those places of Matthew Mark and Luke to be ordinary Men and so give ordinary men a Lordship over a Moral Law as no such thing is written so I take that Interpretation to be wholly unscriptural and exploded by all sound Expositors and would give Men a Lordship over the Moral Laws which would be a very loose Interpretation And I take it to be plain that by the Son of Man in Matthew Mark Luke and John is meant the Lord Jesus Christ Then supposing the Sabbath mentioned by Matthew Mark and Luke to be the Seventh-day weekly Sabbath and the Son of Man mentioned by Matthew Mark Luke and John to be the Lord Jesus Christ which day then if the Scriptures may be Judge is the true Lord's day Whence I may thus reason That day whereof Christ the Son of Man is Lord is the Lord's day but the Seventh-day Sabbath is that day whereof Christ the Son of Man is Lord therefore the seventh-day Sabbath is the Lord's day And if the Scriptures may and must resolve the Case and the seventh day be the Lord's day sure then there is an end of this Objection I know some put a very wrong Gloss as I think upon these three plain Texts of Mat. 12. 8 Mark 2. 28 Luke 6. 5 and pretend that the Son of Man's being Lord of the Sabbath imports that Christ the Son of Man hath power to change the Sabbath by which Gloss they do acknowledge that the Son of Man there is Christ and that by the Sabbath in those Texts is meant the Seventh-day Sabbath and that Christ is Lord of the Seventh-day Sabbath which also farther proves Christ to be Jehovah which no Christian man can deny but that there was any Thought of changing it there is not a tittle written And if Christ's words had had that meaning and the Jews to whom he spake had so understood him they would surely have taken greater Offence at such Doctrine whereof there is not a word in those Texts where the Case was this in short The Jews by misunderstanding the true meaning of the Fourth Command thought Christ broke that Law by working miraculous Cures on the Seventh-day and that his Disciples broke it by plucking and rubbing Ears of Corn for their necessary Food upon the Sabbath day This Mistake of the Jews Christ who gave the Sabbath and who was and is Lord of it and so best understood the true scope and meaning of the Law which he himself gave reproves and rectifies by a clear Exposition of that Law When the Pharisees Mat. 12. 1 2 and Mark 2. 23 24 25 took exception against Christ's Disciples for plucking Ears of Corn c. as doing that upon the Sabbath which was not lawful Christ referrs them to what they read about David's eating Shew-bread which was only lawful for Priests but in case of necessity was lawful for David to do v. 4. And Christ for farther answer referrs them to the Case of the Priests in the Temple who upon the Sabbath day did divers acts of much servile Labour as offering Sacrifices and many other things which in their sence would have been a Profanation of the Sabbath yet being Labour appointed by the LORD and about his then instituted Worship the Priests in doing of it were blameless v 5. And Christ farther tells them that if they had known what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice Hos 6. 6 they would not have condemned the Guiltless And when in the Case of the man with a withered Hand they asked Christ Whether it were lawful to heal on the Sabbath day Mat. 12. 10 and Mark 3. 1 2 5 Christ answers What man having a Sheep fallen into a pit on the sabbath day will not lay hold of it and lift it out Ver. 11. This they themselves would do and they also knew that the Life or Good of a Man was to be preferred before the Life or Good of a Beast and so Christ appeals to them as condemning themselves in a Case which they allowed that it was lawful to do well on the sabbath day v. 12 and cures the withered Hand v. 14. see also his curing and defending the Cure of the Woman who had an Infirmity eighteen years on the Sabbath Luke 13 10 to 17 where all his Adversaries were ashamed of their false Glosses upon the Law of the Sabbath v. 17. We have also Christ curing and defending that Cure of the man who had a Dropsy by the case of an Ass or Ox fallen into a Pit on the Sabbath day Luke 14. 1 2 5 and of a man who had an Infirmity thirty eight years on the Sabbath John 5. 5 to 9 and v. 16 at which
the Jews took exception v. 10 where the cured man carried his Bed on the Sabbath day v. 9. See also John 7. 22 23 where Christ defends his curing on the Sabbath and John 9. 14 16 Christ curing the Blind man By which frequent Counsels and Examples Christ did prove and demonstrate that the Law for observing the Sabbath did no way prohibit doing good on the Sabbath day when Necessity or Mercy to Man or Beast did require it as those who need may read in all the four Evangelists at large And thus Christ as Lord of the Sabbath who gave it and who perfectly understood the scope and meaning of his own Law gives a clear and sound Interpretation and Exposition of that Law But as to changing the Sabbath day there is not the least tittle in those cited places or any where else that I can yet find in the Scripture So that supposing the Scriptures are able to make the Man of God perfect and to make one wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15 17. which is true past doubt I think they are sufficient to resolve this Doubt Which is that Sabbath day the Lord would have us to keep holy And upon the whole matter I take it to be evident that by the Testimony of Christ in Gen. 2. 4 and in the Moral Law and by like express Testimony of the Prophets of old and of Matthew Mark and Luke three of the Evangelists the Lord's day mentioned by John the fourth Evangelist is the Seventh-day Sabbath and that only is pecuâ—iarly the Lord's day and so called Rev. 1. 10. And Tradition all the considerable Pretences to subvert this plain Law of Christ in the Fourth Command and to apply the Lord's day to the First day of the week as far as I can gather is meer Conjecture Invention and pretended human Tradition into which he that travelleth but a little may easily discover how â—hose who go that wandering way do lose themselves in endless Mazes meeting with little else but Darkness Contradictions â—nd Uncertainties As for settlement and satisfaction to the Mind and Conscience it comes in no other way that I find â—ut from the LORD and his Word and Holy Spirit And â— my observation there is no one thing has so much held up â—is Conceit that the first day of the week may be the day of â—est to be observed under the Gospel as the stealing away â—e Name of the LORD's day from the Seventh-day â—bbath to which only the Scriptures do apply it and giving â—at Name to the First day to which the Scripture being Judge does not belong And hence it is that when we appeal to the â—riptures those of the other side finding the plain Institution â—ommand and Word of God against them fly presently to Traâ—tion by which Tradition if God give me Strength and Leiâ—re they may hereafter find a little to beat them out of that â—old and that Tradition is not full for them in this Case as â— think they over-confidently pretend but directly also â—ainst them Obj. Another Objection against the Seventh-day Sabbath is â—m Rom. 14. 5 6. One man esteemeth one day above another anoâ—r esteemeth every day alike let every man be fully perswaded in his â—n mind He that regardeth the day regardeth it to the Lord â—d he that regardeth not the day to the Lord he doth not regard it And from Gal. 9. 10 11. After ye have known God or ratheâ— are known of God how turn you again to the weak and beggarly Elâ—ments whereunto again ye desire to be in bondage Ye observe dâ—yâ— and months and times and years I am afriad of you lest I hâ—â—â— bestowed on you Labour in vain And from Col. 2. 8 11 12 14 16 where Christ is said â—o blot out the hand-writing of Ordinances and to take it out of thâ— way nailing it to his Cross v. 14. Let no man therefore judge â—â— in Meat or in Drink or in respect of an Holy-day or of the new Mâ—â— or of Sabbaths v. 16 which are a shadow of things to come but tâ—â— body is of Christ And from these Scriptures some few of the Advocates for the First day count the weekly Seventh-day Sabbatâ— to be abrogated Ans 1. But others of them who are more wary think thesâ— places only applicable to the Ceremonial Sabbaths for that iâ— they should reach all Sabbaths they would reach also the Firâ— day if that were a Sabbath and cashier that also and make eâ—ry day alike Ans 2. Rom. 14. 5 6 Gal. 4. 10 name only days not Sâ—baths and Col. 2. 16 does name Sabbaths or weeks as it mâ— be rendered and I think ought so to be as before not the weeâ—ly Seventh-day Sabbath and so all the weight of this Objectioâ— depends on their conjecture of the meaning of the word Sabbathâ— in Col. 2. 16 which word Sabbaths in the plural number I finâ— no where in the New Testament applied to the weekly Seventh day Sabbath which is there expressed by the Sabbath in the sâ—gular number only Ans 3. The Seventh day weekly Sabbath was never in quâ—stion that I find in any of those Epistles or any where else iâ— the Scriptures to be abrogated or altered and if there be â— Question there found about altering it how can such a sence â— imposed And if it were ever in question shew us where for could never yet find it And for any now to imagin the Apostâ— advisedly threw down part of the Moral Law not questionâ— seems an hard Construction The Jews made many Doubts about Circumcision and tâ— Ceremonial Laws whereof we find somewhat in the Acts aâ— more in the Epistles but whether the Ten Commands weâ— still in force after the death of Christ there was I think no doubt Ans 4. Rom. 14. 5 6 and Gal. 4. 10 may fairly be applied to other days than Sabbath days and Col. 2. 16 to other Sabbaths or Weeks and not at all to the weekly Sabbath and this I take to be the true and a good and full Answer to the whole Objection Some of the converted Jews and it may be of the believing Gentiles also might make Conscience to keep the Jewish Ceremonial Feast-days and Fast-days others knew that Christ had abrogated them And he that soberly considers Rom. 14. 1 5 6 and Rom. 15. 7 will find one main drift of the Apoâ—tle there to be to prevent the Pastors from debarring such as â—ade doubt about Days from the Communion of the Church which it seems some did or would have done whom the Apoâ—tle directs should be received And the Weak there mentioned â—eem to be those who made Conscience of uninstituted Days â—nd some of the Galatians Gal. 4. 10 thought the Ceremonial â—aws still obligatory and so might by Days understand and obâ—erve New Moons as Holy and Festival Days and by Weeks the â—east of Tabernacles Num. 29 and by Months the first and seâ—enth Months when they had Feasts and Fasts and
come he directs his Disciples v. 3 to pray their Flight might not be in Winter the season of Cold or Wet would greaten the Distress nor on the Sabbath day which they were commanded to rest upon and to keep holy for such a Tribulation would be heightned if it fell upon a day whereon they used and ought without some real cogent necessity to compose themselves to an Holy Rest And for eminently gracious persons as the Apostles were and all Believers in their measure are by any hindrance though lawful to be diverted from any Ordinance of Christ where they may sedately enjoy Communion with Father Son and Holy Spirit and that for a whole day together is a matter to be deprecated Secondly And that the Sabbath in Mat. 24. 20 was the Jewish Seventh-day Sabbath I have the Opinion I think of all that write upon it that it was the Seventh-day Sabbath they were to pray that their Flight might not be upon And I cannot now imagine that Paul in his Epistles to the Romans Galatians and Colossians before mentioned went about to abrogate what Christ had so confirmed And upon the whole I do think this one place of Mat. 24. 20 compared with Mark 13. 18 which referrs to the like Cases with Mat. 24. is sufficient to prove the Seventh-day Sabbath is not altered but ought to be still observed As for those who think a weekly Seventh-day of Rest was appointed in Paradice and who acknowledge it to be ordained from the foundation of the World before the entrance of Sin and so belonged to all Mankind and that a Seventh-day weekly was directly commanded in the Decalogue wherein Vide Mr. Hughes Treatise of the Sabbath the Law of our Creation was revived and so distinguished from all Ceremonial Ordinances and so having no Concern in those fore-cited Passages in Romans Galatians and Colossians which with much more cannot be fairly denied we shall easily agree with them provided they will withal admit which we think upon what has been said cannot be denied that the weekly day first ordained Gen. 2. 2 was not only a Seventh day but was the Seventh day and no other day of the week and that the Fourth Command doth appoint the same successive Seventh day which was first commanded which was also observed as before And we now find much of this Controversie to be reduced by many except one who still mainly builds upon Traditions to this Whether The seventh or A seventh day be required in the Fourth Command which to the Impartial will reduce the Question into a narrow compass for no man can deny The seventh to be A seventh i. e. the Seventh-day Sabbath to be a Seventh day of the week and yet that admitted would almost end this part of the Controversie And the Fourth Command speaks not of A seventh which is one of the seven but The or That seventh day which Christ rested upon after the Creation And those above mentioned finding the great mischief of making any Breach upon the Ten Commands which are so often asserted throughout the Old and New Testament they now insist on this that these words Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy is the sum and substance of that whole Command and they reduce that to Remember a Sabbath day to keep it holy and then knock off The seventh day as the Romanists leave out the second Command against worshipping of Images whereas the words used in the Fourth Command are such as should stay all Constructions which would change the Seventh day and are such as do not leave the least Pretence or Colour for such a Change The words are Exod. 20. 10 The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God the leaving out the Verb is in the Hebrew I conceive imports as is common in that Tongue that it was is and will or shall be the Sabbath And those who would translate it A seventh as they therein depart from our English Translation which herein rightly renders it The seventh so I think they manifestly depart from the Hebrew Text. And we think the H In Hashabbat Exod. 20. 8 at the beginning of the Command and v. 11 at the end of it to be emphatical that is an earnest express and forcible signification that the Holy Spirit here means that very Seventh-day Sabbath which was first instituted Gen. 2 and that very day mentioned in the 10th and 11th Verses is to be kept holy and the day that is to be kept holy is the or that Seventh day which two H's in v. 8 11 do referr to one another the Sabbath to for or of Jehovah thy Aelohim 'T is not A seventh day is the Sabbath but The seventh day is the Sabbath and lest there should be found some who would curiously distinguish a seventh part of time from the seventh day expresly commanded and by so subtile and plausible a distinction enervate the Command and transferr the rest of the seventh day to some other day of the week at their will and pleasure as either to the first day of the week as some Heathens and some Christians do or to the sixth day of the week as the Mahometans do To stop up all such Gapps which one would think largely provided for by the former words of the Command and to leave it beyond all Doubt and fair Dispute with such as acknowledge the Law of God to be a Rule to walk by who generally are such as we now reason with the Lord has I think made sure work against this Objection in v. 11 where he graciously condescends to give us a Reason why we are to keep holy the seventh day because in six days he made these Heavens which we see and this Earth which we stand and lye upon And here Opposers will certainly admit the two 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be emphatical and not at all to referr to any other Heaven and Earth in the Moon or elsewhere And He did quietly rest in that viz. in that Seventh day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bajom where the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the H is compensated by Daggesh The or That seventh wherefore he did bless the or that day of the Sabbath or the same weekly Seventh-day Sabbath whereon He first rested and whereon He only rested and not at all upon the First day of the week Which never any man has yet affirmed or so much as that I know pretended And it seems to me impossible for any but God only who is infinite in Wisdom in so few words so warily so straitly and with like exact Wisdom and Circumspection to secure any thing by words as this Command in the body of the Ten Commands and the very Seventh day in the heart of the Fourth Command is secured by Christ against this new Conceit and Cavil of A seventh and not The or That seventh Such surely deal over-slightly and somewhat quibble with the word who take such a liberty to turn The into A and
Offerings v. 26. And yet these Texts speak of the Law in general but cannot be understood as meant of the Ten Commands because the Ten Commands were not in dispute The Law which concerned Circumcision and Purifications with their Offerings which were all ceremonial was that only then in question and so becomes applicable to that Law in question and not at all to the Ten Commands or any jot or tittle of them which were not in question which as before stand fully established And this Difference the Occasion and Context do best explain and this in Acts 21 is an Instance may open divers Expressions about the Law in some of the Epistles for Paul in those Primitive Times when the Ceremonial Law was fresh in memory and the Gospel newly preached had much ado to remove the first converted Jews from Circumcision and other Ceremonials as we find in his Epistles 1 Cor. 9. 19 20 where in the 20th Verse Law as I think referrs to the Ceremonial Law where to the Jews he became as a Jew and in the 21st Verse Law referrs to the Moral Law which unto Christ Paul was under And in other Cases Paul to preserve the Liberty he had in Christ Jesus says Titus was not compelled to be circumcised Gal. 2. 3 4 Acts 16. 3. a Liberty which Christ has purchased for his People to be no longer in Bondage to the Ceremonial Laws And upon this Difference we find Paul withstanding Peter to the face Gal. 2. 11 12 which in a good case may still be done to others though otherwise never so eminent And as to this Case of Circumcision Paul effectually lays that aside by saying that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing Gal. 5. 1 2 3 4 for those who were for Circumcision were Debtors to the whole Law i. e. to all the Ceremonial Law and therefore he there advises them to stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and not to be entangled again with that Yoke of Bondage It may be also some amongst the Jews had Conceits Justified not by the Law of being justified by the Law of such Paul says they were fallen from Grace and that Christ was become of none effect to them Gal. 5. 4 which Saying of Paul is true Let their conceit referr to what Law it would for if Righteousness be by the Law then Christ is dead in vain Gal. 2. 21. It seems some of the Jews thought if they were circumcised and observed the external and ceremonial part of the Law they should be sure to go to Heaven and if they were that which we call Morally Righteous and as concerning the Law as Paul said of himself blameless they thought then as the Romanists do now that their Works would save them And the Romanists think also they may supererrogate whence arises the Doctrine of Merits of the Saints and Indulgences whereas true Justification is and ever was only by Faith viz. by Christ and his Righteousness by Faith in whom Abraham was justified Rom. 4. 3 9 Gal. 3. 6 Jam. 2. 23 to whom the Gospel was before preached by that word In thee shall all Nations be justified Gal. 3. 8. And yet all this Doctrine about Justification by Faith doth no way hurt or touch the Doctrin of Obedience to Christ's Ten Commands nor set any man at liberty to sin in any thing as some weakly and others maliciously would inferr for of that true Faith universal and sincere conformity to the Laws of Christ i. e. to the Ten Commandâ— is the Evidence and constant inseparable Companion and so by works Faith is made perfect Jam. 2. 22. And 't is by Faith a Believer goes when God commands him Heb. 11. 8 and this I write also to avoid Slanders And on this Subject the generality of Protestant Ministers have written very well and if any dream that Paul made void the Moral Law by preaching up Faith God forbid or be it nor as the Greek imports Yea he established the Law Rom. 3. 31. And 't is as I have thought observable in the 2 Pet. 3. 15 16 17 Peter speaking of Paul and his Epistles says in which are some things hard to be understood which they thâ—t are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures Beware therefore lest ye also being led away with â—he errour of the Wicked i. e. the Lawless the Greek is Athesmâ—n from Thesmos a Law fall from your own stedfastness And about the Law there are many Errours and this is an Age wherein Anomy or Lawlesness as to God's Commands abounds which Anomy is rendered Iniquity Mat. 7. 23. 13. 41 and in many other Texts in the New Testament Mat. 23. 8 Rom. 6. 19 Antichrist is called that Lawless one the Mystery of Anomy 2 Thes 2. 3 to 10 and the Law i. e. the Moral Law is good and is made for the Lawless 1 Tim. 1. 8 9. And certainly it behoves us no longer to yield to this Lawlesness because the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for his People that he might redeem them from all Anomy or Lawlesness Tit. 2 13 14 from all manner of Contrariety in Principle or in Practice in whole or in part to Christ Laws i. e. to the Ten Commands which Paul consented were all without excepting the Seventh day holy just spiritual and good in which after the Inner man he delighted and which he served i. e. yielded Obedience to it which Commands he that keepeth without excepting the Seventh day loveth Christ John 14. 21 1 John 2. 3. Which Commands some laying aside hold the Tradition of Men and the Commandments of Men and so lay aside the Commandments of God Mark 7. 7 8. The Law our Lord has given us in the Ten Commands is excellent which absolutely requires in All all manner of true Love to GOD and Man on which Two Commands which include the Commands of both Tables i. e. all the Ten Commands hang all the Law and the Prophets Mat. 22. 37 38 39 40. Obj. As for such as think that the Blessing and Sanctification in the Fourth Command are not appropriated to the Seventh day but to the Sabbath day because of the words there Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it and so think the change of the Seventh day to be thereby insinuated Ans The express words of the Command Exod. 20. 10 are The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God and so the Seventh day was that day and that Sabbath day which he blessed and sanctified Read the Command and Judge and the Seventh day is there twice named These I take to be the great Objections and were it not that the First day hath got possession of the Names which belong not to it and had we not been generally educated in this Mistake wherein also some of us have lived long and so are rivetted and this defended by Writers of Renown in the World I see
confirmed â—hat the vulgar Opinion for the First day is a vulgar Error which wants nothing to remove it as I humbly apprehend â—ut only the time when Christ will by his Spirit give an efficaâ—y to his plain Command and Word which First day has this Evidence of its weak Foundation that while some of the most â—earned do what they can by Writing and Practice to support â— they often beget new and confirm old Doubts about it and â— discover the Dust they raise to darken the Question to be â—ut Dust and shew the Sandiness of the Ground upon which â—hey build that Change And one sure way to convince an impartial enquiring Mind who has leisure enough is to read Mr. Hughes and Mr. Shepherd's Treatises about it wherein a plain Mind may discern so large Concessions about the Obligation of the Moral Law as seem to me to answer all Objections besides the great Contrariety there is amongst the Writers for the First day wherein he that will observe the Order of Time wherein their Books are written may find especially now of late that the last Book printed for the First day is ordinarily a tacite Answer to that which was last printed before it for the First day as two eminent Writers for the First day as it seems to me in answer to Mr. Hughes without naming him and to one another do shew whereof somewhat before by which 't is evident they think some hurt the Cause they write for and no two that I know of the many that have written have yet agreed upon the Grounds of its Observation And now at last it is openly avowed by one of the greatest of all the Writers for the First day that it is not instituted by the Scriptures By which words I think he gives up this Cause for if it be not instituted by the Scriptures and consequently not by Christ or by his Apostles or by the Holy Spirit there by whom when and where was it instituted Who but Christ has Power to institute a Sabbath day or to alter his Institution To whom has Christ given any Authority to alter one Iota or Tittle of the Moral Law Who are they that are bound to observe a weekly day not instituted by Christ in the Scriptures or are bound to lay aside what he has there instituted because of Private Mens Sayings and Writings And how this Law for the First day being an Universal Law and endeavoured to be imposed on the Universal Church can be excused from an high Usurpation of the Divine Authority and from an accusing Christ as if he had not sufficiently done his Work I know not And whatsoever some write for Obedience to their Inventions I cannot imagine they think any shaâ— be condemned or blamed by Christ at last for not doing whaâ— he has not required in his Word or that they would have uâ— live by the Rule of Tradition when they know and acknowledgâ— we must be judged by another Rule viz. by the Word Anâ— that the Word of God which we have is the Rule by which aâ— Worship Doctrines Conversation Discipline and all Mankindâ— are to be tryed in this World and shall be finally judged at laâ—â— I take to be the great Christian Principle as to this and thâ—â— which as far as I can recollect is generally avowed by all the sound Protestants that I have read or known in the World And I shall not wonder if some men under the colours of Tradition usurp the Divine Authority against the First Command and if such write and plead for what I think I can shew is forbidden in the Second Command and if they break in upon all the Commands for all which Men may easily plead Tradition all Ages more or less having brought forth some Transgressors of all the Commands which to such Arguers are Historical Evidences for such Practices But follow no man farther than he follows Christ And there is no Principle more evident and universally confessed by all the Reformed Christians than that whatever God commands us in his Worship or otherwise that we are to do be the things themselves in our Eye great or small And when Men can bind God's Promises of Assistance and Acceptance to their Inventions whether they be days or any thing else in his Worship or other Duty of Man then and not before they may appoint a new day of Rest Obj. And whereas one learned Writer for the First day thinks we cannot make good any one single Verse of the Scripture without Traditions Ans I had thought to have shewn in a Sheet or two that the sound Protestant Divines do generally agree that a Christian may be infallibly certain of his Faith by the Scriptures the Certainty whereof the Lord by his Spirit seals upon the Hearts of his Converts John 16. 7 8 13. And I had thought to give Instances of those converted by Christ and by his Apostles and since by his Ministers by his Word and Holy Spirit as never â—ent nor going to Tradition to assure them of the Divine Auâ—hority of that Word which did convert them which Word â—veth and abideth for ever And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto us 1 Pet. 23. 25 and is settled in Heaven Psal 119. 89 and will stand for ever Isa 40. 8. But thus much â—ay be a sufficient Answer to that Objection The late great and learned Assembly in their Confession of Faith â— 1. par 9 10 say The infallible Rule of Interpretation of â— Scripture is the Scripture it self and therefore when there is â— Question about the true and full sence of any Scripture it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly And parag 10. The supreme Judge of all Controversies in Religion can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scriptures And the Elders and Messengers of the Congregational Churches c. that met at the Savoy Ann. 1658 in their Declaration of their Faith and Order Ch. 1. Art 4 say The Authority of the Holy Scripture for which it ought to be believed and obeyed dependeth not upon the Testimony of any Man or Church but wholly upon God who is Truth it self the Author thereof and therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God See also Art 5 6. And Art 9 't is said The infallible Rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture it self c. As in the Assemblys Confession above cited and Artic. 10. to the same effect with the Assemblys Confession also And the Confession of Faith of the Antopaedobaptists Chap. 1 speaks the same things and in the same words or at least with very little variation of the words As to Traditions for the First day called Sunday the observation thereof amongst some I acknowledge is Traditions for and against Sunday ancient and that the Heathen Nations did oâ— old long before the Birth of our Lord offer Sacrifice to the Sun and worship
holy beginning it from the twelfth hour on Saturday until Munday Boethius lib. 13. de Scotis and fol. 357 C D In Scotland An. Dom. 1203 William King of Scotland called a Council of the Principal of his Kingdom there it was decreed That Saturday from the Twelfth hour at Noon should be holy and that they should do no prophane Work and this they should observe till Monday Hoveden says this Council was about the observation of the Dominical So as I take it here are these Witnesses to the Truth of this Story Roger Hoveden and Matthew Paris great Authorities as to the truth of the Matter of Fact Says Binius The cause of celebrating this Council in Scotland seems to be what Roger Hoveden describes ann 1201 in these words The same year Eustachius Abbot of Flay returned into England and therein preaching the Word of God from City to City and from place to place he prohibited using Markets on the Dominical days for he said that this Command under written about the observation of the Dominical day came from Heaven So this Device by the Abbot of a new Command from Heaven was especially used by him to alter the Sabbath day in England Of the observation of the Dominical day an holy Command of the Dominical day which came from Heaven in Jerusalem and was found upon the Altar of St. Simeon which is in Golgotha where Christ was crucified for the Sins of the World and the Lord commanded this Epistle which was taken upon the Altar of St. Simeon which for three days and three nights men looking upon fell to the Earth praying GOD Mercy And after the third hour the Patriarch erected himself and Akarias the Archbishop and stretched out the Bishops Mitre or Label expanderunt infulam and they took the holy Epistle of God which when they had taken they found this written I The Lord who commanded you that ye should observe The Arts used to bring the Dâ—minical day into Scotland and England the Dominical Holy-day and ye have not kept it and ye have not repented of your sins as I said by my Gospel Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my Word shall not pass away I have caused Repentance unto life to be preached unto you and ye have not believed I sent Pagans against you who shed your Blood yet ye believed not and because ye kept not the Dominical Holy-day for a few days ye had Famine but I soon gave you Plenty and afterwards ye did worse I will again That none from the ninth hour of the Sabbath so the Abbot of Flay still called the Sâ—venth day the Sabbath and put part of the Sabbath into the First day until the rising of the Sun on Monday do work any thing unless what is good which if any do let him amend by Repentance And if ye be not obedient to this Command Amen I say unto you and I swear unto you by my Seat and Throne and Cherubims who keep my Holy Seat because I will not command you any thing by another Epistle but I will open the Heavens and for Rain I will rain upon you Stones and Loggs of Wood and hot Water by night that none may be able to prevent but that I may destroy all wicked men This I say unto you Ye shall die the Death because of the Dominical Holy-day and other Festivals So the Saints days are hooked in also of my Saints which ye have not kept I will send unto you Beasts having the Heads of Lions the Hair of Women the Tails of Camels and they shall be so hunger starved that they shall devour your Flesh and ye shall desire to flee to the Sepulchres of the Dead and hide you for fear of the Beasts and I will take away the Light of the Sun from your Eyes and will send upon you Darkness that without seeing ye may kill one another And I will take away my Face from you and will not shew you Mercy for I will burn your Bodies and Hearts and of all those who keep not the Dominical Holy-day Hear my voice lest ye perish in the Land because of the Dominical Holy-day recede from Evil and be penitent for your Evils which if ye do not ye shall perish as Sodom and Gomorrah Now know ye that ye are safe by the Prayers of my most holy Mother Mary and of my holy Angels who daily pray for you I gave you Corn and Wine abundantly and then ye did not obey me for Widows and Orphans daily cry unto you to whom you do no mercy Pagans have mercy but ye have not The Trees which bear Fruit I will make to dry up for your sins the Rivers and Fountains shall not yield Water I gave you the Law in Mount Sinai which ye have not kept by my self I gave the Law which ye have not observed For you I was born in the World and my Festival ye have not known this I think referrs to Christmas-day whereof it seems they were then also ignorant naughty men the Dominical day of my Resurrection i. e. Easter-day ye have not kept So they neither knew Christmas day nor kept Easter-day I swear to you by my right Hand unless ye keep the Dominical day and the Festivals of my Saints I will send Pagans Holy-days to kill you Yet ye take away the things of others and of this ye have no consideration for this I will send upon you worse Beasts which shall devour the Breasts of your Women I will curse those who do any Evil upon the Dominical day I will curse those who do unjustly towards their Brethren I will curse those who evilly judge the Poor and Orphans whom the Earth beareth but ye forsake me and follow the Prince of this World Hear my voice and ye shall have good Mercy but ye cease not from evil Works nor from the Works of the Devil because ye commit Perjuries and Adulteries therefore the Nations shall encompass you round and shall devour you as Beasts Then the Lord Eustachius Abbot of Flay came to York in England and being honourably received by Galfrid Archbishop of York and the Clergy and the People of that City he preached the Word of the Lord and of the transgressing the Dominical day and other Festivals or Holy-days he gave the People Repentance and Absolution under such or this Condition That they hereafter should bestow due Reverence to the Dominical day and other Festivals of the Saints it seems the People here in England had little Reverence for Sunday before this or for Holy-days not doing in them any servile Labour nor should exercise or keep Market of things vendible on the Dominical days but should devoutly employ themselves in Good Works and Prayers These things he constituted to be observed from the ninth hour i. e. our Three of the Clock in the Afternoon of the Seventh-day Sabbath until the rising of the Sun on Monday and the People devoted to God upon his preaching
the Sabbath day Yet I know not why without any damage to the Question it may not be admitted that whilst persons are perswaded tho' mistaken any thing is to be religiously observed and yet violate it the Lord might then and may still in like cases punish that Violation by Judgments as we find in the Histories he frequently punished Heathens when they prophaned their Heathenish Worship and Temples Particularly Xerxes's Army who were sent to pillage and destroy the Temple and Oracle of Apollo at Delphos for which themselves had some veneration were said to be destroyed by Thunder and Lightning And Herod's Messengers digging that so they might rifle the Temple for hidden Gold a Fire is said to break out of David's and Solomon's Coffins and to have consumed them to Ashes And Marcus Crassus a Roman Consul and General taking Two thousand Talents of Gold out of the Temple at Jerusalem which Pompey left there his whole Army was routed a little after Crassus was taken and some of that melted Gold poured into his Mouth which was thought a Judgment for that Sacrilege And Caepio a Consul of Rome after he with his Army had destroyed the Church of Tholouse in France and had taken thence a great Mass of Gold the History saâ—â— every man in his Army came to a miserable End whence whâ—n any man was remarkably followed by the Hand of God they used this Proverb saying of him Aurum habet Tolosanum He hath some of the Gold of Tholouse And whatever gross Mistakes some men have been and are still under in their own devised mediums of Worship whereof some have been as that of Apollo at Delphos was plainly Diabolical and others very diverse from what God has instituted in his Word yet how far the Lord may make men Examples of suffer them to be so made for sinning against their own Consciences though they be Misinformed Consciences I cannot tell And I think it may be true also that some Judgments have been executed upon Violaters of the Sabbath whereof the Stick gatherer of old is one famous Example and whereof I could assign some very Signal within these few years past if that were a good way of reasoning And what more there may yet be I know not Christ can vindicate his Commands and recover his own when and by what methods shall please him and to him I wholly leave it But this I am fully satisfied in that he that walks according to his Commands has no manner of cause to fear his Displeasure for obedience to his Will And this I assign as Answer to the many Reflections about Judgments supposed to be inflicted in this Case which Judgments of God I acknowledge to be a great Deep and hard to be fathom'd by the Wisest and are sometimes easie to be wrested both ways by willing Minds but are then best understood when considered as directly punishing Sins against the plain Commands and Word of God Now although this Precedent of Eustachius be somewhat long yet being Seconded by a Council and that transmitted and published to all the World in one of the Volumes of the General and Provincial Councils out of which I have translated it and this passing at the initiating or first bringing in of the Celebration of the First day of the week or Sunday into the Kingdom of Scotland which is famous for having the Gospel early preached there and in this as famous viz. for not receiving this Innovation so soon as some other parts of the World and England being then much of the same mind as before has been said and this being one Precedent which may serve to abate what is printed about the First day as if all the World since Christ and the Apostles time had observed it and as if the Sabbath ever since had been universally laid aside I have therefore inserted it and from hence at present shall only observe That the First day which some call the Dominical or Lord's day was not observed by the Christian Kingdom of Scotland nor I think by England Twelve hundred years after Christ Of the Dominical day the Magdeburgenses say It was ordained in a Council in Scotland about the observation of the Dominical day newly and lately brought into that Kingdom as is before noted out of Binius That it should be holy from the Twelfth hour of Saturday Even till Monday And fol. 788 a Synod in Scotland under Pope Innocent III. An. Dom. 1203 for inaugurating the King and the Feast of the Sabbath which I think might be about a year or two after the Abbot of Flay's being there William King of Scotland called a Council of the Chief of his Kingdom and commanded them to do Homage to his Son Alexander There came also a Legate from the Pope with a Sword and a purple Hat Indulgences and Priviledges to the young King also there it is decreed That Saturday from the Twelfth hour at Noon should be holy That the People should do nothing prophane but apply themselves to things sacred and this they should do even until Monday Boetius lib. 13 de Scotis fol. 788 which place in an hasty seeking I could not find By inaugurating the Sabbath was the more solemn settling of that matter which was as I guess about a year or two before first initiated or brought in by the Abbot of Flay As Binius Or whether this inaugurating were not by the King and Parliament of Scotland because it is said to be by the King and the Council of the Chief of his Kingdom I cannot say but this last seems to me most probable But that makes no difference in the case there and this well agrees with that of the Abbot of Flay as I think about a year or two before And how far this Precedent after the fine Device of the Epistle from Heaven and after this Abbot of Flay's coming to York may reach to this Kingdom of England you may see there I shall quote Binius once more the same Book fol. 1445 where he says At a Council at London celebrated by Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury in the time of Pope Innocent III Ann. Christi 1200 they decree That every Dominical day the Hostia should he renewed The Hostia is the Host in the Popish Mass i. e. a round Wafer Cake which after the Priest's Consecration they suppose to be the Body of Christ The Church of England then and some time before and long after till Edward the Sixth's time were devoted to the Church of Rome howsoever the Kings and Civil Government were disposed whereof we find a little in the President before cited of Eustachius and we have no Statute made for Sunday till that in Edward the Sixth which was but about 150 years since whereof more hereafter And Binius fol. 877 878 In the time of Pope Marcellus II there were some who kept the Sabbath day Sabbatarii which I think was in Rome who it seems held that the Dominical day was not to be
of Tyre brought all manner of Ware and sold on the Sabbath to Judah in Jerusalem so here was a notorious general Violation of that Law whereupon he contends with the Nobles of Judah What Evil is this that ye do and prophane the Sabbath day Did not your Fathers thus it seems keeping Markets upon the Sabbath day was before his time and did not our God bring all this Evil upon us and upon this City Yet ye bring more Wrath upon Israel by prophaning the Sabbath And then he commanded to shut the Gates as it began to be dark till after the Sabbath and set his own Servants at the Gates that no Burthens might be brought in on the Sabbath Neh. 13. 15 to 22. Q. 2. If it be prophesied by any of the Prophets that the Sabbath should be changed in times of the Gospel and by whom Ans That other which should rise and be diverse from the first Dan. 7. 24 I find many Expositors think agrees best with Antichrist And who should wear out the See the Dutch Annotaâ— on Dan. 7. 24. Saints of the Most High and think to change Times and Laws and that they should be given into his Hand until a time and times and the dividing of times Dan. 7. 25. Divers learned men understand his wearing out the Saints to prophesie his Prosperity for a Season and his changing of Times and Laws to be of changing the Sabbath which would be given into his Hand and a time and times and half a time to be the Three years and an half elsewhere spoken of Rev. 12. 14. 11. 11 with Dan. 7. 24 25. Compare also Isa 24. 1 5. Hos 2. 11. But when those Three years and an half will end I know not And it seems to be somewhat observable That Ludovicus the Name of a great Prince now in the World has in the numerical Letters of it the exact number of 666 Rev. 13. 18 which Note as I am now of late credibly informed since the writing of these Sheets has been taken notice of 3 or 4 years since by a learned Doctor and Prelate of the Church of England and it may be since by some others And if this be the Meaning of the Holy Spirit in that Place and Context it has many Consequences which much concern the Churches of Christ at home and abroad to consider But that in truth this Change of the Seventh day was introduced by the Bishop of Rome let any man who peruses those few Collections before about that matter judge And if the observation of the First day no where commanded in the Word by the Lord that I could ever find or read or hear of be an Error as I conceive it is Jehovah the Messiah who is Head of the Church who loves it and gave himself for it can by his Word and Holy Spirit cleanse it from this and all other Mistakes which yet remain and will present it a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle that it may be holy and without blemish Eph. 5. 23 25 26 27. Charnock's Attributes f. 755 756 757 758 782 783 414. That no man ought to alter God's Laws and that Disputes against them are intolerable and that it is a controuling of the Divine Wisdom to make any Alteration in his Precepts Charn Attrib f. 400 402 403 404. The wise in Heart will receive the Commands Prov. 10. 8. I have heard Mr. Charnook's Practice was to preach upon the First day but what his Judgment was in the main point I do not remember to have read in those Writings of his which are in my Hand Mr. Pool of whom mention is made before I think might be in Opinion and Practice for ought I know for the First day and of the same Opinion have been and are many other worthy men as has been acknowledged Yet still Sin is the Transgression of the Law 1 John 3. 4. And this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments which are not grievous 1 John 5. 3 nor have any thing in them which Men should be unwilling to keep The Wisdom of God appears in his Laws Charn Att. f. 412. Submit to his Wisdom in this Case f. 413. The Moral Law cannot be abolished or altered in the whole or any part of it without Reflection upon the Wisdom and Righteousness of Christ the Law-giver Charn Att. f. 549. Man's Glory in the World lies in his Conformity to Christ and our Conformity to him lies in our keeping his Commands His Law is holy Rom. 7. 11. Pure Psal 19. 8. Holy and pure as it is a Ray of the pure nature of Christ the Law-giver f. 559. though they be never so many and great who are of another Opinion The Law to alter the Seventh day to the First you may see before in the Collections out of the Centuries was by the Bishops of Rome who though they pretended to dispense with the Laws of the Church could not alter or dispense with the Laws of God because no Law can be dispensed with or altered in any point by any Authority but that which is equal to that which enacted it Now no Pope or other men on Earth can pretend to an Authority equal to the Authority of God so as if there be no Divine Precept for any other than the Seventh day then it is certain that no Decrees of Popes or Councils or any Tradition can be of any force to alter that Law God hath declared to be his Law The Apostles have made no new Laws about this as before but left it as they found it And that neither the Pope nor any other Power can dispense with the Law of God I think has been agreed by all the great Protestant Writers and the Reason is evident The Laws of God are above them and no Church or Man or Men can dispense with them in any Case It may be some may secretly wish that this Fourth Command for the keeping holy the Seventh day were not so plain or that it were expressed or that they could somewhere find it altered in the Scriptures because so plain a Command not repealed nor altered there and so confirmed by Christ faces their Consciences answers all the Books and throws down all the Batteries raised against it Fain they would find out some colourable Objections to shelter themselves in a continual Violation of it but still that Law rises up and overthrows all Opposition They pray to God to encline their Hearts to keep that Law and yet keep it down what they can but all will not do GOD who has reserved a Tenth of our Substance has reserved but a Seventh of our Time which we should neither alter nor begrudge And indeed it seems to me marvellous that the observation of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath should be so long laid aside here in a Land of Light notwithstanding so direct and plain a Command and that the First day should so far obtain for which we have so very
little Colour some at first by Subtilty making and others by Carelesness letting in that Observation and now finding some Good by the Ordinances then celebrated approve of the day also and have put all their Strength to defend it An Opinion blown up to a wonderful heighth which yet God by his Word can easily take down For the present some have altered and in part abrogated this old Command and set up a contrary one in its stead and so do become in this not God's Subjects but his Law-givers as if they could make a more holy See Charnock's Attrib pag. 75. righteous Law than the Law of God and have so far forsaken God's Law and walked after the imagination of their own Hearts Jer. 9. 31. In this taxing his Wisdom as if he did not understand Job 21. 22 How unreasonable is this to impose any Law upon God and force him to revoke his own Upon the whole to my weak Understanding it seems evident That the World was made by the Lord Jesus Christ and that he is Jehovah who after the Creation instituted the Seventh day rested on it sanctified it and blessed it and that it was observed from the Creation till it was repeated at Mount Sinai and that there the Commands were given by Christ the Redeemer to Jews and Gentiles i. e. to all Mankind and that same Seventh day observed by Moses and the Prophets till his Incarnation that the Ten Commands and therein the Seventh-day Sabbath were confirmed by Immanuel our God and Saviour after his taking our Nature upon him that the same Seventh-day Sabbath and no other day of the week was kept by him during his life here and that perfectly and constantly and when he had finished the Work of Redemption that his Body rested in the Grave the next Seventh-day Sabbath and himself in Heaven as he rested the Seventh day after he ended the Work of Creation and that while he rested in Heaven and his Body in the Grave Believers then rested also according to the Fourth Command and by the Testimony of the Scriptures that the Seventh-day Sabbath was observed by the Apostles and all other Believers after our Lord's Resurrection and that constantly and that the Holy Spirit does call the Seventh day only and no other day of the week the Sabbath throughout the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament and that after Christ's Ascension and after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and that there is no Law nor any Word to be found in the Scriptures which do 2 Tim. 3. 17. Acts 20. 32. most certainly and fully contain the whole and perfect Duty of Man which requires the keeping holy the First day of the week and that there is not there one word of Promise made to the Observers of it nor any Promise of Acceptance from the LORD for any person in that Observation and that there is not one word of Threatning or Displeasure there against those who do not observe it Not one word there which constitutes the First day a Sabbath or calls it by that Name and How can it be proved by any man to be of God when the Word of God does not tell us of it Not one word that repeals or alters the Fourth Command in any jot or tittle nor any Power there given to any that ever were are or shall be in the World to make any Alteration therein and Who can tell us the persons authorized from God to do this Which therefore as long as the Heaven and Earth abide seems to me Luke 16. 17. Exod. 20. 10. Matth. 5. 18. unalterable and shews that the Seventh day is the true weekly Christian Sabbath and ought to be observed 〈◊〉 not repeaâ—ed nor altered there and so confirmed by Christ faces their Consciâ—â—â—'s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the 〈◊〉 and throws down all the Batteries raised against it Fain they would find out some colourable Objections to shelter themselves in a continual Violation of it but still that Law rises up and overthrows all Opposition They pray to God to encline their Hearts to keep that Law and yet keep it down what they can but all will not do GOD who has reserved a Tenth of our Substance has reserved but a Seventh of our Time which we should neither alter nor begrudge And indeed it seems to me marvellous that the observation of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath should be so long laid aside here in a Land of Light notwithstanding so direct and plain a Command and that the First day should so far obtain for which we have so very little Colour some at first by Subtilty making and others by Carelesness letting in that Observation and now finding some Good by the Ordinances then celebrated approve of the day also and have put all their Strength to defend it An Opinion blown up to a wonderful heighth which yet God by his Word can easily take down For the present some have altered and in part abrogated this old Command and set up a contrary one in its stead and so do become in this not God's Subjects but his Law-givers as if they could make a more holy See Charnock's Attrib pag. 75. righteous Law than the Law of God and have so far forsaken God's Law and walked after the imagination of their own Hearts Jer. 9. 31. In this taxing his Wisdom as if he did not understand Job 21. 22 How unreasonable is this to impose any Law upon God and force him to revoke his own Upon the whole to my weak Understanding it seems evident That the World was made by the Lord Jesus Christ and that he is Jehovah who after the Creation instituted the Seventh day rested on it sanctified it and blessed it and that it was observed from the Creation till it was repeated at Mount Sinai and that there the Commands were given by 〈…〉 kind and that same Seventh day observed by Moses and the Prophets till his Incarnation that the Ten Commands and therein the Seventh-day Sabbath were confirmed by Immanuel our God and Saviour after his taking our Nature upon him that the same Seventh-day Sabbath and no other day of the week was kept by him during his life here and that perfectly and constantly and when he had finished the Work of Redemption that his Body rested in the Grave the next Seventh-day Sabbath and himself in Heaven as he rested the Seventh day after he ended the Work of Creation and that while he rested in Heaven and his Body in the Grave Believers then rested also according to the Fourth Command and by the Testimony of the Scriptures that the Seventh-day Sabbath was observed by the Apostles and all other Believers after our Lord's Resurrection and that constantly and that the Holy Spirit does call the Seventh day only and no other day of the week the Sabbath throughout the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament and that after Christ's Ascension and after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and
that there is no Law nor any Word to be found in the Scriptures which do most certainly and fully contain the whole and 2 Tim. 3. 17. Acts 20. 32. perfect Duty of Man which requires the keeping holy the First day of the week and that there is not there one word of Promise made to the Observers of it nor any Promise of Acceptance from the LORD for any person in that Observation and that there is not one word of Threatning or Displeasure there against those who do not observe it Not one word there which constitutes the First day a Sabbath or calls it by that Name and How can it be proved by any man to be of God when the Word of God does not tell us of it Not one word that repeals or alters the Fourth Command in any jot or tittle nor any Power there given to any that ever were are or shall be in the World to make any Alteration therein and Who can tell us the persons authorized from God to do this Which therefore as long as the Heaven and Earth abide seems to me unalterable and shews that the Seventh day is Luke 16. 17. Exod. 20. 10. Matth. 5. 18. the true weekly Christian Sabbath and ought to be observed 〈◊〉 to conclude the Ministers of the Gospel should well consider that by the appointment of Jehovah they are to bear the Iniquity of the Sanctuary Num. 18. 1 2 3 4 5 where as in other places the LORD speaks to the Priests then who had the charge of the Sanctuary to look well to it that they did not trespass in any thing of what was appointed in his Worship or in any thing which concerned their Office contrary to his Order and Direction for that if they did the Sin should be imputed unto them Be ye clean that bear the Vessels of Jehovah Isa 52. 11. The Priests were Keepers of the charge of the Altar Ezek. 40. 46. 44. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. Mal. 1. 8 11 12 14. 2. 1 2 3. 3. 3. And I take the force of the Apostle's Expression 1 Cor. 11. 23 I have received of the Lord that which I delivered to you about administring the Lord's Supper to lye eminently in this That what he did was by Christ's appointment And more remarkable as to all Gospel-Administrations in general is that of Mat. 28. 20 where our Lord's Commission and Command to all his Ministers to the end of the World is to Teach all Nations to observe all things whatsoever he has commanded them and in so doing he promises there to be with them By which Word Command and Promise of Christ it seems to me certain that as the Apostles their Predecessors could not so Ministers of Christ their Successors have no Liberty left them by Christ o◠pick and chuse in Christ's Commands which or what part they will obey and which not and which they will teach and which not 'T is to teach and practise what Christ has commanded not what Man 's Matt. 28. 18 19 20. broken Traditions pretend to command but what Christ has commanded Will Worship is and ought to be a Stranger to his Sanctuary and that strange Fire which comes not from Heaven Christ will not be served with And Christ's Expression I am with you alwaies does import that although the Work of Ministers to teach all the Commands of Christ and to oppose all the Traditions of Men which make void or change or lay aside all or any one part of Christ's Commands be hard Work yet that Christ would be with them and their Successors in the Ministry in their doing and teaching his Commands as long as the World 〈◊〉 last FINIS
Objections and without him was not any thing made that was made Which word by him John 1. 3. 10 and Col. 1. 16. as I take it explains the word Bereshith Gen. 1. 1. He was in the World and the World was made by him and the World knew him not John 1. 10. who came forth from the Father and came into the World John 16. 28. And the Worlds were made by him the Heavens and the Earth were made by him and the World knew him not the men of the World did not know him acknowledge him believe in him or obey him the Heathen knew him not and but few of the Israelites John 1. 26. although the World was made by him Joh. 1. 10 which Gospel of John doth much assert the Divinity of Christ and here in this first Chapter v. 1 2 3 10 the Creation of the World by Christ for if all things were made by Christ and without him was not any thing made that was made as v. 3 and if the World was made by him as v. 10 then the World was made by the Lord Jesus Christ and we ought to believe it Which is the second Proof I bring to prove that Proposition That the World was made by Christ 3dly The third Proof I take from Heb. 1. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets v. 1 hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things by whom also he made the Worlds Heb. 1. 2. And speaking of Christ the Son the Author of that Epistle saith And thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the Earth and the Heavens are the works of thine hands v. 8 9 10 11 12. with which if you compare Psal 102. 21 22 25 26 27. you may see that spoken of Jehovah-Christ who made the Earth and See Charnock's Attrib pag. 473 474 475. the Heavens Gen. 2. 4. Psal 95. hath a special reference to the Messiah and his days and is so understood by Heb. 3. 7 8 9 compared with Psal 95. 3 5 6 7 8 9. where he is called Jehovah our Maker the Sea is his and his hands formed the dry Land and so the Lord Jesus Christ the Son is he by whom the Father made the Worlds and he who in the beginning laid the foundation of the Earth and the Heavens are the work of his hands Heb. 1. 2 10. And that the World which consisteth of Heaven and Earth was made by Christ see Charnock's Attributes f. 229 472 476. And he that built all things is God Heb. 3. 4. 4thly The Fourth Proof I take from the Epistle to the Ephesians Paul had clear knowledge in the Mystery which in other Ages was not made known as it is now revealed by the Spirit which from the beginning of the World hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ Eph. 3. 9. The Mystery which was revealed to Paul v. 3 4 5 6 8. that the Gentiles should be called was foretold and known but not so known as after the coming of Christ nor was Christ after his coming so clearly and fully known as He by whom the Father created all things At the Creation and some Ages after there was no such difference as Jews and Gentiles which difference was by Christ taken away and the whole World of Believers reconciled to God by Jesus Christ Luke 2. 32 which was not then nor is yet understood by the Jews or Heathen Gentiles but by Revelation was made known to Paul v. 3. This in other Ages was not made known to the Sons of Men as it is now revealed by the Holy Spirit v. 5 that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the Jews v. 6 of which Doctrine Paul was made a Minister v. 7 to make all men see what is the Fellowship of the Mystery which from the beginning of the World had been hid in God v. 9. Christ's coming in the Flesh was prophesied The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. And God's purpose of justifying the Heathen through Faith was preached before unto Abraham In thee shall all Nations be blessed Gal. 3. 8 Gen. 12. 3. And so this Doctrine was known to Abraham who saw it in the Promises and in the Type of Isaac's being offered Gen. 22. 18 Heb. 11. 19 which Mystery was hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ Eph. 3. 9. Either of which four quoted Scriptures I think sufficient to prove That the World was made by the Lord Jesus Christ And for an human Authority I quote the late Assemblys Confession of Faith chap. 4 of Creation It pleased God the Father Son and Holy Spirit to create the World of nothing Which Confession is a great Summary of the Christian Faith And the Elders and Messengers of the Congregational Churches who met at the Savoy anno 1658 in their Declaration of their Faith and Order say the like and so do the Antipaedo-Baptists in their Confession of Faith printed in the year 1677. The Second Proposition That the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah is the Foundation of Christianity and other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 3. 11. Eph. 2. 20. Which Foundation is cleared by many and in particular by Zanchy in his Tract on this Subject of the three Aelohim i. e. Mightys God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit one and the same Jehovah written about an hundred years since who cites Justin in his second Apology to Anthony he cites also Irenaeus Tertullian Moses and the greater and the lesser Prophets compared with passages in the N. Testament to prove that Christ is God to which Book being in Latin I refer the learned Reader and shall offer a few Scriptures of many which have confirmed me and I hope may satisfie others that Christ is Jehovah I take the first from Gen. 2. 4. These are the generations of the Heavens and the Earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah Aelohim made the Earth and the Heavens The word Jehovah is a Name proper to God and incommunicable to any other according to Psal 81. 18. That men may know that hou whose name alone is Jehovah art the most High over all the Earth Isa 45. 5. I am Jehovah and none else there is no God beside me So Deut. 5. 35 39. Isa 42. 8. Which Name Jehovah signifies God's Self-Existence or Absolute Being from Eternity to Eternity To this effect Buxtorf in his Hebrew Lexicon explains this Name as well as other Hebricians which explication is genuine and comports well with the Root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence this great name is thought to be derived And the word Aelohim Scholars know is of the plural number which word signifies Strongs Potents Mightys The Hebrew word Bara render'd created is of the singular number and signifies