repeated These words the Lord spake and added no more Deut. 5.22 Altho' the reason taken from the Creation of the World Exo. 20. is totally omitted If the absence of this reason makes no alteration upon the Precept but the whole Law is said to be spoken altho it be wanting then the presence of a new reason taken from the deliverance out of the Aegyptian servitude cannot have any influence upon it either to make it Ceremonial or Moral The secondary reasons of a Ceremonial Command may be Moral and of a Moral Ceremonial and Positive It is to be observed That the reason we speak of has relation but to one particular in the Command namely the enjoyning of Masters to make the Sabbath a day of rest unto their Servants as well as to themselves Now to make the whole Command Ceremonial upon the account of an extrinsecal and secondary reason relating only to one circumstance in it I leave it to every unbiassed mind to determine whether it be agreeable to the usual rules of discourse 4. There is no inconvenience which will follow if we assert That as we are bound to the Fourth Command so likewise to the same measure of rest which that Precept limiteth A rest only in general is required and that in order to the keeping of One Day in a Week Holy This being the end and the end always modifying the means we have assurance That such a measure of rest is only understood as has a tendency to promote this purpose All who believe the Lord's day to be grounded upon Apostolical authority must necessarily grant that we are bound to rest upon it from all those works which are not reconcileable with the end of the institution namely The devoting of the whole day to the honour and worship of Christ If there be any stricter measures of rest enjoyned upon the particular Seventh from the Creation by any other Law it nothing concerns us no more than the day it self It is not true That the Fourth Command doth forbid all work whatsoever For if this was the sence of it it would be repugnant to the Law of Nature which requires That works of necessity piety and mercy be done at all times There was a Law amongst the Heathens That no work should be done on their feast days when Vmbro and Scaevola were consulted about the meaning of it they notwithstanding the strictness of the words made answer That such work might be done which did relate ad Deos ad urgentem vitae utilitatem quod praetermissum noceret What kind of work the Fourth Command prohibits may be collected from the words of it Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work but the Seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work that is any which appertains to thy particular calling or function which might with equal advantage have been dispatched in the week time Therefore when servile work is expresly forbidden on the Passeover c. and dressing of meat allowed but on the Sabbath in the Fourth Command all work all work imports no more than servile Therefore the Chaldee Paraphrast expounds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opus servile and that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lev. 23.7 is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only Ex. 12.16 Deut. 16.8 All the difference is That what is expressed in more general terms in the Fourth Precept is more explicitly and particularly set down in the Law touching the Passeover c. This will be very evident if we consider That the Passeover sometimes happened to be upon the Sabbath as in the year when our Blessed Lord was crucified and therefore by reason of these Two Solemnities meeting together That Sabbath is stiled a high day Jo. 19.31 If on the Passeover all servile work is forbidden and dressing of meat allowed but on the Sabbath all work whatsoever whether servile or not servile then by the Law of God the Jews were bound to contradictions when the Passeover fell upon the Sabbath they were bound and not bound to dress meat by the Law of the Sabbath they were bound not to do it By the Law of the Passeover they were bound to do it For the Lamb by a divine Precept was to be roasted with fire Irenaeus and S. Cyprian limit the work prohibited in the Fourth Command to servile work The Alexandrian Edition of the LXX L. 4. c. 19. c. 20. Cypr. de Sp. San. interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Syriack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opus servitutis Num. 29.7 It cannot in reason be thought That the Fourth Command prohibits the dressing of meat or kindling of fire on the Sabbath which speaks nothing of these particulars When as those particular Laws which carry a much fairer and more probable appearance of such an interdiction upon an exact inquiry will be found to import no such matter As for the dressing of meat the words usually alledged are these To morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord bake that which will bake to day and seethe that which will seethe and that which remaineth lay up for you to be kept until the morning Exod. 16.23 This Text speaks of the Manna of which a double portion did descend from Heaven on the day preceding the Sabbath Of this portion one they might bake and seethe and eat that day the other part they were to lay up unbak'd and unsodden Bake that which you will bake and seethe that which you will seethe and that which remaineth not of what was baked or sodden but of what was gathered over and above the daily proportion That lay up to be kept till the morning This is plain from the miracle expressed in the next verse They laid it up till the morning and it did not stink neither was there any worm in it If it had not been raw the glory of the miracle had been celypsed Before they reserved some which they had gathered contrary to God's Command and it was putrified in the morning and now they reserve a portion according to his Command and no putrefaction is in it If it had been baked or sodden it would have been thought That that was the reason why it was not corrupted as before Indeed in the fifth ver it is said On the sixth day they shall prepare that which they shall bring in that is If any have a mind not to eat it raw but to prepare it for food whether by grinding it in Mills beating it in a Mortar Num. 11.8 or any other toilsome way all such elaborate preparations must be finished upon the Sixth day they containing too much servile work for a Sabbath Yet notwithstanding all this it does not appear from the Text but that upon the Sabbath they might do in order to a more immediate preparation of it what Christians usually do about their food on the Lord's day As for the
kindling of fire it is manifest That the Text commonly alledged Exod. 35.3 must undergo some restriction for the Priests were bound to bake the Shew-bread and set it hot upon the Table every Sabbath Lev. 24.5 8. 1 Sam. 21.6 And to offer up the Sacrifice of the Sabbath which could not be done without the kindling of fire Altho' the fire which came down from heaven was constantly upon the Altar and so continued till it came 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into the house of eternity or Temple where it was renewed yet it is plain That it was daily maintained by a supply of new fewel The Priest was to lay wood every morning on it Lev. 6.12 And so soon as the old fire had disjoyned the particles and put them into motion new fire must necessarily be kindled This is taken notice of by Munster upon the Text Judaei hoc praeceptum c. The Jews think this Precept is to be observed in the Letter and therefore they hire Christians to kindle their fire on the Sabbath not considering it was lawful for the Priests to make a fire on the Sabbath for the daily Sacrifice All this doth manifest that the Text which is under consideration must not be taken in that latitude which it seems to have at the first view and if it must have some limitation it cannot be better restrained than to what is expressed in the Context The thing treated of is the work of the Tabernacle tho' many cautions had been given concerning the forbearance of servile work on the Sabbath upon any private account yet some might be apt to think That work tending to the preparing of materials for the composing that Sacred Tent was lawful For the prevention of such thoughts before the description of what was requisite is entered upon this Precept is laid down That in order to any such work whether the melting of Silver Gold or any other metal which might be necessary about the Sanctuary not so much as a fire should be kindled And now I have finished the second branch of the Proposition That the Sabbath of the Fourth Command One in Seven is perpetual and not to continue only during the Jewish Oeconomy I will proceed to the Third This proportion One in Seven is by the Command to be devoted to Divine Worship and not only to corporal rest Besides Bodily rest there is mention likewise of a Sanctification of the Sabbath as a thing distinct from it Sanctification is represented as the end Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy The rest as a means to advance this work In it thou shalt do no work Corporal labour being an impediment to the exercise of Religion If the end and the means are always distinct then Sanctification must import something different from the rest of the day and this can be nothing but the devoting of it to the Solemn Worship of God This we may collect first From the order of the Commands in the First is prescribed who we must Worship Thou shalt have no other Gods but me In the Second How we must not Worship him Thou shalt not make any graven image of him In the Third How we must with holy reverence Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain In the Fourth We have the solemn time when this Service must be performed Remember the Sabbath to sanctifie or set it a-part for this Sacred Work Upon the account of the relation which this Command has to the other Three Precepts of the first Table The keeping of it is put for the observation of them all Isa 56.2 And the Jews have a saying That the Sabbath is equivalent to all Commands Secondly The Blessing of the Sabbath God blessed the Sabbath-day Here is something contained in these words which imports a special benediction It is no such Emphatical Blessing for a day to be devoted meerly to idleness That day is most blessed on which God is most honoured But God has more honour by the honest actions of Men in those vocations in which he has placed them than he can have by meer sloth and a total cessation from labour without any respect to his Sacred Worship Thirdly The practice of the Israelites upon the Sabbath They had a holy Convocation Lev. 23. Reading and Preaching out of Moses and the Prophets Act. 15.21 Luk. 4.16 17. Solemn places to resort unto for the performance of these sacred duties Leo Modena p. 114. Ps 74.8 To this the practice of the modern Jews is very agreeable and believed by them to be grounded upon the Fourth Command as is manifest by the words of Manasse Ben Israel Concil p. 149. in his Comment upon that Precept Notabilis error est putare otii ergo Sabbatum institutum esse c. It is a remarkable error to think That the Sabbath was instituted for rest For idleness being the mother of all vice upon this supposition more hurt than good will come from the Sabbath Quare statuere omnino opertet c. Wherefore it is necessary to assert That the Sabbath was instituted that man might readily all worldly cares being laid aside apply himself to the study of the Law have recourse to Synagogues and Academies consult his Teachers about weighty portions of Scripture and hard Questions which he is ignorant of Maimonides says Huls p. 240 Five Precepts are necessary to be complied with in order to a due observation of the Sabbath The first is to rest on the Seventh the Second to Sanctifie the day So that in his thoughts to rest from bodily labour and to sanctifie or keep holy the Sabbath are two distinct things Philo Judaeus says That the Fourth Command enjoyns that the Seventh day be spent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 these words import more than a sitting still The Rabbins generally believe that Divine Worship is contained in it L. 4. c. 30. Hist l. 1. c. 4. Irenaeus and Eusebius are of the same mind So that I cannot see what reason there is for that conclusion which we meet with in the Epilogue I conclude therefore that which will seem strange to unskilful people L. 3. c. 21. p. 192. That the only thing commanded by the Letter of the Fourth Command is to rest from bodily labour upon the seventh day of the week in which God rested from whence it is called a Sabbath The grounds of this perswasion are these The Precept extends to Cattle which are in no capacity to do any thing appertaining to a Sabbath but rest from their labour and likewise to strangers that is such as were not circumcised but Converts from Idols and Proselytes of the Gate As the Israelites were bound to see their Cattle they did not work so likewise to these strangers They of themselves were under no obligation being tyed only to the Seven Precepts which the Sons of Noah received from him of which number the Sabbath was none To keep holy the Sabbath signifies only
exercise the Ministerial function imployed Peter to Preach and by his Sermon at the Third Hour converted Three thousand at the Ninth hour Five Thousand He held the Angels of the Asian Churches in his right hand and out of his mouth went a two-edged sword the Sword of the Spirit namely the Word of God All this is very agreeable to the nature of a day wholly devoted to Religion 4. The Holy Apostles and Disciples Upon the First of the Week when the Disciples came together to break Bread Paul preached to them Act. 20.7 Here are actions very suitable to the design of a Sabbath Preaching and Administring the Holy Sacrament The Time when these actions were performed is the First of the Week This was a constant custom we never read that the Apostle in any place where he found none but Disciples did upon the old Sabbath communicate with them in those Ordinances which the Gospel has appointed Now as touching a Collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches of Galatia so do ye Vpon the first of the week let every one of you lay up by him in store 1 Cor. 16.1 2. The duty here enjoyned is a Collection for the Saints The Apostle did design That it should be very liberal according to the estate of every Man Why he should wave the second third fourth fifth day of the Week and pitch upon the First for the doing of this generous and pious Work cannot be conceived except upon the First of the Week the Disciples of Christ use to meet and be engaged in such Religious performances as have a tendency to excite the mind to Christian liberality These were the thoughts of S. Chrysostome Hom. 43. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There was an idoneity and fitness in the day to dispose and lead them to the acts of Charity This custom was not only amongst the Corinthians but all other Christians The Epistle is addressed to all who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 1.2 and it was not only upon one or two First days but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First day of every Week There remaineth therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the keeping a Sabbath to the people of God For he that is entred into his rest he also hath ceased from his works as God did from his Heb. 4.9 10. These words are directed to the Hebrews who were inclinable thro' the efficaey of former impressions to disvalue the institutions of the Gospel That the Apostle might prevail with them to yield a chearful conformity to those appointments He demonstrates That Christ is more valuable than Moses and stiles their deserting the Gospel a departure from the living God and cites Psalm 95. which has a peculiar aspect upon the state of the Church under the Messias In it are described his Disciples under these names the People of his pasture the Sheep of his hand Their solemn meeting to Worship O come let us worship the duties performed at this meeting as Prayer Let us kneel before the Lord our maker v. 6. Singing of Psalms Let us make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms v. 2 3. Hearing the word if you will hear his voice v. 7. a particular day on which all these duties are to be performed To day if you will hear This day being intended for a Sabbath at which time all spiritual advantages are administred which tend to the bringing the Soul into truest satisfaction and rest an exhortation is given to the People not to harden their hearts as the Israelites did in the provocation lest they be deprived of this rest as the Israelites were of theirs in the land of Canaan Now because there are several sorts of rests recorded in the Scripture The heavenly rest in the world to come the rest of the old Sabbath rest in the land of Canaan the Apostle makes it manifest that it is none of these which the Psalmist means but the rest of a Sabbath under the Gospel Not the heavenly for the rest here spoken is confined to a certain day v. 7. Whereas the rest above is every day without interruption Not the rest of the old Sabbath for that was at the beginning when the works were finished from the Creation of the World But the rest mentioned by the Psalmist is some future thing under the Gospel as I have sworn if they shall enter Not the Rest in the land of Canaan If Jesus had given them rest then he would not afterwards have spoken of another day From these premises it is concluded there remaineth therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the keeping a Sabbath day to the people of God under the Gospel And that we may know this Sabbath is the resurrection-Resurrection-day and by consequence the First of the Week it is added for he which entred into his rest hath ceased from his works as God did from his God the Father upon the Last of the Week ceased from his works and made it a day of rest unto his people Therefore God the Son has done the like with the First of the Week he then putting a period to his state of Humiliation and ceasing from his labour and trouble which he did undergo in the accomplishment of the work of our redemption I was in the Spirit upon the Lord's day Rev. 1.10 By the Lord's day we can understand no less than a day appointed by our Blessed Lord and devoted to his Honour and Worship This day must necessarily be the First of the Week For S. John in expressing this circumstance of Time designs a credit to his relation and therefore must necessarily mean some day which was very well known by this name at the writing of the Revelation It is manifest by Ignatius who was his contemporary That the common name then given to the First of the Week was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This day God was pleased to signalize by a communication of the Holy Ghost in some extraordinary measures S. John was in the Spirit upon it In the words there is an allusion to the manner of speaking amongst the Hebrews who say that a man besides the Soul which he is ordinarily endued with has another Spirit given to him upon the Sabbath which they stile 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an excellent Soul Manass Ben. Is reconc Buxt Syna Jud. c. 11. p. 288. Such allusions we have in the very Context The Seven Spirits v. 4. have a plain aspect upon the Seven Angels which the Jews say do constantly attend the throne of God And the Governours of the Asian Churches are called Angels with respect to the Rulers in the Synagogues which were known by that name 5. The testimony of the following ages He who consults the Writings which are extant will meet with these four Things which being laid together will amount to what has been asserted 1. That the First of the Week was owned by Christians as a Day of Worship 2. As a Sabbath
perswasion It constantly signifies to bear or carry and for this reason is interpreted by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matt. 8.17 He bore their sicknesses that is He did undergo much trouble and pains in the curing of them He had no respite all the day and when the even was come at which time others compose themselves for rest he was pressed upon by the multitude and did attend this great work What Crellius says in the second place if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to bear it doth not follow That he did bear the punishment of sin He might accidentally undergo sorrow which was occasioned by our sins in which there was nothing of the nature of punishment in relation to him is of no validity If it be granted That it signifies to bear the thing born must be the punishment of sin Punishment imports a natural evil inflicted by one in authority That the party offended by the commission of some moral evil may receive satisfaction and the ends of government be secured All this agrees to the Sufferings of Christ They import a natural evil They were displeasing to humane Nature They were inflicted by the Supreme Rector of the World It pleased the Lord to bruise him The design of his Passion was to make Satisfaction to the injured Our Sins robbed God of his Glory This was restored by the Sufferings of his Son He was set forth to be a propitiation to declare his Righteousness The ends of Government are eminently secured His Sufferings must necessarily strike a consternation into all If such things were done in the green Tree what may be expected in the drie If he who had no sin of his own was so severely treated what can we look for if we persevere in our provocations If all things appertaining to the nature of a penalty agree to the Sufferings of Christ there is no reason but to believe when Christ is said to bear our sins that the meaning is That he did bear the punishment of them It is true A Man may be said to bear the miscarriages of another who accidentally falls under any disaster occasioned by them But the case here is quite otherwise Nothing was fortuitous The Person suffering was delivered into the hands of his Crucifiers according to the determinate Counsel of Heaven The intent of his Passion was to accomplish all those ends which are intended in punishment And that which makes an affliction to be a penalty in a proper sense is nothing but the end which is aimed at Consonant to this is what S. Paul has expressed 2 Cor. 5.21 For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him He was made sin for us that is Put under an obligation to suffer the punishment which our sins had deserved God laid upon him the Iniquity of us all The Transgressions of those who lived in the most opposite parts of the Terrestrial Globe did all meet together upon him He is the center upon which the burthen of them did settle Crellius tells us That when Christ is said to be made Sin the meaning is That he was by wicked Men reputed and treated as a sinner But if this was the meaning then Christ was made sin by his Crucifiers whereas the action is ascribed unto God When he is said to be made sin something must be understood which is peculiar to him But if Crellius's sence of the words prevails the Martyrs may be said to be made sin when they were punished under the notion of Malefactors by their inveterate enemies The Antithesis betwixt being made sin and knowing no sin is a clear justification of our interpretation Christ knew no sin that is was guilty of none by any deviation of his own Therefore when it is said He was made sin the meaning is He was made guilty of ours by imputation and by his own consent together with assent of his Father brought under an obligation to suffer the penalty of it It is manifest from the Text That he was so made sin for us as we are made righteousness or righteous in him Now it is manifest That upon our performing the conditions of the New Covenant we are made righteous in consideration of his meritorious satisfaction and therefore he was made sin for us in consideration of our demerit which he undertook to make expiation for That which induceth the Socinians to endeavour the elusion of the evidence of the Texts which are produced is a perswasion That the fence we contend for is repugnant to reason There can be no punishment but where there is guilt there can be no guilt where there is innocency and there was nothing but innocency in the Immaculate Lamb of God But it must be remembred That the proper notion of guilt is nothing but an obligation to punishment And it is not disagreeable to reason That such an obligation should be contracted by an Innocent Person in case he be willing to stand in the place of the Nocent and suffer the penalty due to him If he be one who has power to dispose of his own life as our Blessed Lord had he may by an act of his Will as well engage himself to lay down his life as to lay down a sum of Mony Every Man may do with that which is in his power what he pleaseth Tho' it be essential to punishment to be inflicted for sin yet it is not essential to be inflicted upon the sinner The merit of Virtue is as personal and incommunicable as the merit of sin yet it as not essential to the reward to be always conferred upon the person meriting Chimham was rewarded by David for Barzillais's kindness Children frequently fare the better for their Parents deservings There is no reason to believe That it is unjust in all cases to punish one for the crime of another God who is not obnoxious to errour in his administrations has done it When he tells the people That they should have occasion no more to use this Proverb The fathers have eaten sowr grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge he intimates That they had formerly occasion so to do and what was now said in this matter was but a particular favour granted to them at this time and not to be a standing rule in all succeeding generations It is most evident That Judah suffered in the reign of Josiah for the provocations of Manasses 2 Kin. 23.26 Tho' they had sins of their own to irritate Divine Justice yet they were not the cause of their suffering He who punisheth a Nocent Person in that respect in which he is Innocent doth the same thing as if he punished one who is perfectly Innocent It is evident by the Second Command That the iniquity of the fathers is visited upon their children If such Children are only understood who imitate their Parents transgression no reason can be given of the limitation to the
about V. It cannot in reason be less than one whole Day every Week which will be evident if we consider 1. The Object of our Worship Were we to live the days of Methusalem he might challenge every moment of our time as a just debt and if all be due reason will not allow That so considerable a portion as a Week should pass without a solemn dedication of a Seventh part of it to his service Let us suppose one man to owe unto anothers as much or more than his whole estate is worth the rule of equity will not allow him to offer less than the Seventh part in order to the compounding his debt and the just satisfaction of his Creditor 2. The Nature of Worship In it the Glory of God the eternal happiness of the Soul the temporal felicity of the Community are highly interested The difficulty in the right discharge of it is equal to the importance The Prince of this World makes it his work to hinder it The natural tempers of Men furnish him with a signal advantage to compass his design There is an inbred Love in us to sensible objects which are apt to ingenerate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Athenagoras speaks Leg. 〈◊〉 Christianis p. 30. This is the reason why the Second Commandment which relates to Worship is fortified with so many inducements to obedience One taken from the power of God to punish offenders 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Another from his will to exert his power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Third from the execution of his Will upon the off-spring of those which offend visiting the iniquity c. A Fourth from his kindness to the obedient shewing mercy c. Had it not been difficult to confine our selves within the bounds of this Precept the fence which is set about it would not have been so strong If the Worship of God be a matter of such difficulty and of the greatest importance then it requires a very large proportion of our time to be spent in the performance of it and if so was it left to our own disposal we could not in justice allot less than the Seventh part 3. The pattern of the triumphant Church In Heaven a perpetual Sabbath is celebrated The glorified Spirits are constantly imployed in worshipping him who liveth for ever and ever Rev. 4.10 This heavenly example the Church Militant must makes as near an approach unto as the circumstances of this present life will permit she being obliged to endeavour That the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven Matt. 6. v. 10. Those who are most exercised with the incumbrances of this world have nothing to plead in their own behalf why they may not come up so nigh to this celestial pattern as to devote One Day of every Week to the concerns of Religion 4. The practice of the Militant Church not only under the Law but before From the beginning of the Creation the Time for Solemn Worship was no less than One whole Day every Week as is evident from the testimony of the Author to the Hebrews altho' the works were finished from the foundation of the world For he spake in a certain place of the Seventh Day on this wise And God did rest the seventh day from all his works Heb. 4.3 4. Here is an evident remembrance of a day of rest not only to God but to Men. For the design of the Apostle is to prove out of the 95. Psal That there remains a rest to the people of God under the Gospel In order to this purpose he shews it is not the rest of the Seventh from the Creation which the Psalmist had his eye upon If the Seventh here mentioned had not been a rest to the people of God but only to God himself there would have been no necessity of such care to distinguish it from that other rest which is concluded still to remain to the people of God 2. That time is expressed when this rest commenced from the foundation of the world The works then finished are represented as the ground upon which the Sabbath was instituted It cannot with reason be imagined That the foundation should be laid at the beginning and the superstruction not built upon it as some think till above Two Thousand years after This Assertion receives a great deal of strength from the early division of Time into Weeks Noah had his eye upon the Hebdomadal Cycle Gen. 8.10 12. A Week is represented as a period familiarly known in Jacob's time Gen. 29.27 God himself did point out this division by his own example distinguishing the Six Days by peculiar Works the Seventh by rest A universal consent prevailed amongst all the Eastern Nations about this particular The testimony of Joannes Philoponus is known 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 7. c. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is agreed amongst all Nations That there are Seven Days which by a constant revolution constitute all time Georgius Syncellus in his Chronology which begins with Adam and ends at Dioclesian asserts That the Patriarchs divided their time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that the division into Months and Years is of later date Josephus against Appion says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. There is no City whether Greek or Barbarian to whom was unknown 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If the division of Time into Weeks was from the beginning and a week consisted of seven days and one of those were a Sabbath or a day of rest the Sabbath must needs be from the beginning There is no record which makes mention of a week that doth not suppose the Sabbath to be a part of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amongst the Greeks is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Hebrows which Theophilus Antiochenus says E. z. ad Autol. p. 91. All Men had knowledge of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Sacred Oracles sometimes is put for a week the denomination of the whole being taken from the principal part Lev. 23.15 In the book entituled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is expressed That for many weeks the Seventh Day was celebrated as a day of rest The Chaldee Paraphrast upon the Title of Psalm 92. useth these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Song which the first Man sang on the Sabbath-day and upon the first verse of the Canticles the first Song Adam spake at the time when his sin was pardoned and the day of the Sabbath came and protected him Cain and Abel are said to bring their Sacrifices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the end of days by which we must understand theh period of a year or a month or some other term there being no division of time so early as that into Weeeks and nothing here can be so well understood by the end of Days as the end of a Week which was the Sabbath Indeed it is objected That if the Sabbath was so early as hath been
of that inclination which is in Men to believe That the inward acts of the Soul are no further sinful but as they break out into external it is the wisdom of the supreme Law-giver in the conclusion of those Laws which are intended as a perpetual rule of righteousness to annex one relating to these inward acts on purpose to undeceive and to leave us without the least pretence if we be not concerned in the reformation of them All this being duly considered it will be evident That the Sabbath of the Fourth Command One in Seven is therefore perpetual because it is a part of the Decalogue which is designed to be a rule of our obedience in all ages It is said indeed That this Precept cannot have the same priviledge with the rest to bind always Because to all mankind it can import no more than a circumstance of time which is not of such consequence as to challenge a place amongst the Moral Laws of God Whereas to the Jews it did import the Creation of all things by the True God and their deliverance out of Aegypt The maintaining the Morality of it gives a scandal to those who have been seduced by it to keep Saturday as their Sabbath It is plainly a ceremonial Law the Rest of it was instituted to commemorate the Aegyptian servitude and the deliverance from it Deut. 5.15 We cannot be bound to the Precept and not to the same measure of rest which the Precept limiteth It forbids not only servile work such as was prohibited on the first and last days of the Passeover but all work such as kindling fire dressing meat which ought to be done on the Passeover-day To all which I will reply in order 1. Mankind may be divided into Jews and Gentiles Gentiles are such as are converted to the Christian Faith or not converted Those who are be the persons here concerned Whatsoever did make the Fourth Command a matter of moment to the Jews will make it of the like importance to them As for the Creation of the World by the True God they are every jot as much concerned in it and do as sincerely believe it as the Jews As for the deliverance out of Aegypt if it be considered That they are accounted as Abraham's Seed ingrafted into the same stock with the Jews and become one people with them the partition-wall being taken down by Christ it will follow if the Jews were concerned in that mercy the converted Gentiles must be so too Tho' they were aliens formerly yet after a naturalization is passed upon them their concernments are the same with those who were born subjects The Christian Church is divided into Twelve Tribes Dial. cum Tryph. p. 353. Rev. 7.4 Justin Martyr speaking of himself and others which keep the Commands of Christ says 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. We are called p. 365. and are the true children of Jacob and Israel and Juda and Joseph and David and God and afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We are the true stock of Israel Lactantius gives the reason quia in illorum locum adoptione successimus because we succeed L. 4. de verâ Sapient p. 277. and come into their place by adoption 2. The maintaining of the morality of the Fourth Precept gives no scandal If there be any in the case it is taken and not given What if they who keep Saturday for their Sabbath ground their practice upon the perpetuity of it Must we believe the ground is not good because that which is built upon it by such persons is bad An infirm house may stand upon a good soil Had the Apostle any reason to dislike his foundation because some did build wood hay and stubble upon it If any scandal be given upon inquiry it will be found that the contrary doctrin doth administer it in far greater measures Those who defend the Morality of the Command deny Saturday to be contained in it Their reasons I have already laid down The Epilogue which denies the Morality asserts that Saturday is expresly contained in it Now when those who are inclined to keep Saturday as a Sabbath find it granted to their hand That that very day is enjoyned by the Precept and then consider That this very Precept is placed in the very heart of those Laws which were immediately given by God written upon Tables of Stone preserved in the Ark confirmed by Christ Bellar. l. 4. de just c. 6. p. 930. and commended by the Apostles received by the Church and inserted into her Liturgy and Catechism It is more than an even wager That they will instantly fall upon the observing Saturday as their Sabbath It had been good That the contriver of this objection had considered the words of Origen before he had so deeply charged his adversary L. 6. cont Cel. p. 313. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is a very great fault in disputing if any accuse others of opinions as unsound when their own Sentiments are chargeable with the same crime 3. The Fourth Command is no ceremonial Law I willingly grant That the Jewish day was Typical but no such thing appears concerning the Sabbath enjoyned by this Precept The reason taken from the bondage of the Israelites in Aegypt and their deliverance from it Deut. 5.15 doth not demonstrate any such thing All that can be concluded from thence is That the rest required is a commemoration of that condition and their being taken out of it The thing commemorated being past and a ceremony a shadow of a thing to come The rest of the Fourth Precept cannot be ceremonial upon this account If it be said That the deliverance out of Aegypt was Typical and therefore the rest designed to commemorate it must be so too I answer That blessings may be considered in a twofold respect either as a benefit which was past or as a shadow of that which was to come The rest commanded was to commemorate the deliverance in the first sence For the Law being given to all certainly the end of the rest was to commemorate the benefit which was obvious to all and not the shadow which was understood by few or none in comparison at that time Now this deliverance as a real mercy being of concernment to the Gentiles after their inoculation into the Jewish stock I cannot see how the command is in danger of being discharged upon the account of its relation to this favour Upon the same ground we may say That the whole Decalogue is annulled because this kindness is expressed in the Preface of it as a motive to Obedience The reasons of the Fourth Command are either Primary or Secondary The Primary is That God may have a fit time for his Solemn Worship The Secondary are to commemorate the Creation and deliverance out of Aegypt The first is essential to it and cannot be divided from it The secondary are extrinsecal and separable and therefore the whole command is said to be
Spirit of God being about to set out this proportion alone as a rule for all ages as well under the Gospel as under the Law and looking back upon the great neglect of it in Aegypt and foreseeing the oppositions it would meet with tending to extinguish the memory of it he is pleased in the very front of the precept which enjoyns it to place tins word Remember As for the article 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing can be necessarily collected from it to enforce our belief that the last of the Seven is designed in the Precept for this article is many times found where it has no such determining influence as Deut. 8.3 Man doth not live by bread only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here doth not signifie this or that kind of Bread but leaves it in its general signification Lev. 18.5 Which if a man do he shall live in them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here is without any Emphasis and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is expounded by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without aw article Rom. 10.5 When this article is Emphatical it must be collected from the reason of the thing or the circumstances of the place When the Holy Spirit doth design a peculiar determination by it it is often joyned with a separated Pronoun as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speak to this young man Zach. 2.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the self same day Gen. 7.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this house and this City Now we have nothing of this nature in the Fourth Command to oblige us to believe such a determining Emphasis in it but on the contrary the reason of the thing and all circumstances duely considered highly favour the sence which has been given The Fourth Commandment is encompassed with Moral Laws and placed in the very Centre of a perpetual rule of righteousness Our interpretation gives the most intelligible account why it should have this situation It is generally asserted That the last of the week was Typical but none have discovered the least tittle of Ceremoniality in one in seven This is reducible to the Laws of Nature which are usually reckoned to be of Two sorts either such as are discovered by the Light of Nature or else such as being made known by revelation are approved of by that Light Institut Justinian Arnold vin com p. 52. Altho' the equity of devoting just One in Seven to the Worship of God is not so manifest as generally to be pitched upon without the aid of revelation yet it being disclosed to be the mind of God it finds a very ready entertainment All agree That some time is to be set a part and what proportion can be more equal and convenient Gell. l. 3. ◠10. noc At. de Etruriae originibus Seld. de jur Nat. Gen. p. 376. Qu 69. p. 432. than the Seventh Varro made it his business to discover an excellency in this number above others Postellus observes That antiently at Rome one day in seven was sacred tho' not the same with the Jewish day The Author of the Question and Answer ad Orthodoxos ascribed to Justin Martyr takes notice of some peculiar marks of honour upon this number and says it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more valuable and eminent than others Now if the observation of one in seven appertains to the Moral Law and the last of the seven to the Ceremonial we ought to interpret the Fourth command for one in seven and not the last For the whole Decalogue being designed for a Royal Law an everlasting rule and standard for all ages certainly every Command in it is to be construed in such a sence as doth most fully comply with this intention in the Law-giver This interpretation makes the fourth Precept like to the others it stands in conjunction with for they do not descend to any particulars The First Command doth not name Saturn Mars or Mercury but keeps in the general Thou shalt have no other Gods The Second doth not mention the image of any particular Deity The Third doth not name assertory or promissory Oaths The Fifth doth not nominate any individual which stands in the relation of a Father or Mother So the Fourth doth not express the particular day of Worship but confines it self to that which is more general One in Seven whether it be the first or last as God shall please to appoint It is not difficult to discern the temper of this Law by the genius of the other precepts which are its companions Lastly There are many very considerable for Learning and Judgment who favour the interpretation which has been given S. Chrysostome glossing upon these words Hom. 16. Gen. 88. p. Fron. Duc. God rested the seventh day and sanctified it says From hence we are taught to set a-part 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one day in the circle of week for the exercise of spiritual duties Aquinas affirms That the last of the seven is not contained in the Fourth Command Preceptum de observatione Sabbati est secundum aliquid morale c. secundum hoc inter praecepta Decalogi computatur non autem quantum ad taxationem temporis quia secundum hoc est ceremoniale P. 2. Q. 100. art 3.22 Q. 112. art 4. The Precept concerning the observation of the Sabbath is in some respect moral and in that sence it is accounted amongst the Ten Commandments and not as it sets out the particular time because that was ceremonial In the Homily of Time and Place these words occur By this Command meaning the Fourth we ought to have a time as one day in the week wherein we ought to rest yea from our lawful and needful works For like as it appeareth by this Commandment That no Man in the six days ought to be slothful and idle but diligently to labour in that state wherein God hath set him even so God hath given express charge to all Men That upon the Sabbath-day which is now our Sunday they should cease from all weekly and work-day labour c. Mr. Hooker asserts Eccl. pol. l. 5. p. 378 379. That we are bound to account the Sanctification of one day in seven a duty which God's immutable Law doth exact for ever Mr. Mede speaking of the Fourth Precept Diatr of the observation of the Sabbath c. p. 240. says Where it is called in the Command the Seventh day that is in respect of Six days and not otherwise and therefore whensoever it is so called those six days of labour are mentioned with it The Seventh therefore is the Seventh after six days of labour nor can any more be inferred from it The example of the Creation is brought for the quotum One day in Seven as I have shewed and not for the designation of any certain day for that Seventh Curcellaeus is of the same mind De Esu Sangu p. 64. Notare oportet nihil
to sit still on the Seventh day There is as much holiness in this as in offering a brute beast unto God being stamped with a divine Command and the Rest of the Body signifying the Rest of the Soul from sin as the Sacrifice did the holiness of Christ This is the substance of what is asserted by the learned Author of the Epilogue To which I reply 1. It is no good consequence because the Precept extends to Cattle which are in no capacity to do any thing appertaining to the Sabbath but only cease from bodily labour That therefore nothing but bodily rest is enjoyned in it The Decree of the King of Niniveh concerning the Fast did reach to Cattle yet it is not true That nothing was commanded the Inhabitants of the City but what might be performed by Cattle We must take notice That a part only of the Command extends to Cattle It is required of the Masters of them That they shall not be imployed in that usual work they are designed for in the week-time but not that they keep holy the Sabbath-day To assert That Cattle are concerned in the whole Precept because they are in one part is as if we should affirm That Jacob's sons Cattle had all Aegypt for their pasture because they had Goshen which was a part of it As for Strangers they were capable both of resting and sanctifying the Sabbath If we suppose they were tyed only to the Seven Precepts of the Sons of Noah how doth it appear That the Sabbath of the Fourth Command was not contained under one of them It is believed to belong to the Second Mede Diat p. 85. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Munster upon Jos 9.7 useth these words nec poterant Israelitae cum Gibeonitis inire foedus nisi hac conditione ut observarent septem praecepta filiis Noae data hoc est Eliminarent Idololatriam observarent Sabbatum abstinerent ab incestu execrarentur homicidium c. The Israelites could not enter in covenant with the Gibeonites but upon this condition That they would observe the Seven Precepts given to the Sons of Noah that is cast out Idolatry observe the Sabbath abstain from Incest execrate Murther c. Here the observation of the Sabbath is reckoned amongst the Seven Precepts of the Sons of Noah If the Sabbath was none of them yet it must be remembred That the Tye was made not by a divine but a humane appointment Tho' the Precepts materially considered are in the Scripture yet they are not in that form and order in which they are delivered by the Talmudists Nor is there any intimation given that it was the Will of God That Proselytes or Converts from Idols should be obliged to these and no other I doubt not but this was a decree of the Jewish Church and that it might have the greater reverence paid to it the Rabbins generally ascribe it to God If Proselytes or strangers were tied only to these Seven Precepts by the will of Men yet they might be obliged to the observation of others in particular the Sabbath of the Fourth Command by the Will of God A Stranger for the sin of ignorance was bound to offer up a she-goat of the first year Num. 15.27 29. which injunction is no part of the Seven Precepts of the Sons of Noah 2. It is not true That to keep holy the Sabbath signifies no more than sitting still upon the Seventh Day Besides the figurative holiness there is something discernable in a Sacrifice which is not to be found in such a slothful posture The earth being the Lord's and he granting the use of it to Men for a supply of their necessities the giving back some part of it by way of oblation was accounted a piece of Homage and an expression of their agnitions of his Soveraignty over the whole Judith c. 2. v. 7. Herodotus To this end the Persians use to present their Kings with Earth and Water to signifie and acknowledge That they were Lords of Land and Sea Aquinas was so well pleased with this reason 22. Q. 55. art 1. That he asserts sacrificing in general to be of the Law of Nature Tho' the determination of it to this or that species of things be variable and grounded only upon positive institution All this cannot be asserted of sitting still which gives nothing to God but implies the withholding and suppression of those actions whereby the Body is in any capacity to honour him If there had been nothing in Sacrifice but a figurative holiness no account can be given why it should meet with so general and ready entertainment among the Heathens who were strangers to the figure Porphyry De Abstin l. 2. p. 70. who applies himself to condemn the Sacrifice of Beasts yet acknowledgeth the universality of the custom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Inhabitants of Lystra are no sooner possessed with a belief of the divinity of S. Paul and Barnabas but they make an attempt to Sacrifice Oxen to them Act. 14.13 Whereas sitting still could never gain the least approbation among them The Jews who were grown into a very superstitious practice in this particular were rather made the object of their derision They represent them as persons who spent the Seventh part of their time in idleness Tho' I am far from believing That the oblation of material things unto God accompanied with a destruction of them is warranted by the Law of Nature as I have expressed in the first Section Yet it is manifest from what has been spoken That more reason may be alledged in savour of it than for sitting still 3. Sitting still on the Seventh day was never stamped with the authority of Heaven If this was the meaning of the Fourth Precept then God repeated it so soon as it was enacted by him in these particular Laws in which he appointed That upon the Sabbath there should be a holy Convocation and the offering up of Sacrifice The People could not convene nor the Priests Sacrifice without bodily motion When it is said Let no man go out of his place on the Seventh day Exod. 16.29 It must be understood with relation to the gathering of Manna and the doing such unnecessary work as might have been dispatched in the week-time 4. It doth not appear That the Rest of the Body enjoyned in the Fourth Command is designed as a figure to signifie the Rest of the Soul from sin There is no Text of Scripture which imports any such matter And if fancy be permitted to make Types and figures as it pleaseth where there is no direction from Heaven to steer our apprehensions by there will be no end of them a figure being the effect of a positive institution cannot be discovered without the knowledge of the cause of it If the Rest of the Body is a Type of the Rest of the Soul from sin then it signifies Rest from some or from all sins Not from some only The Bible gives no
as a prediction concerning the Kingdom of the Messias It appears likewise That this day of power must be celebrated as a Sabbath Upon it the people shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 populus devotionum a people wholly devoted to the Lord then they shall offer to him their solemn Services and voluntary oblations stiled by the Hebrews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have likewise the place where this devotion shall be in the beauties of holiness So the Sanctuary is stiled Psal 29.2 This day of devotion must be the Resurrection-day and by consequence the First of the Week It is stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the day of thy power which intimates such a day as in the time of Messias is most eminent for the manifestation of a Divine Power there is no day equal in this respect to the day of Resurrection In the raising Christ from the dead was put forth the exceeding greatness of his power the operation of the might of his strength Eph. 1.19 20. When he was raised All power was given to him both in heaven and earth Mat. 28.18 Tho' these words were not spoken upon the Resurrection-day yet the power mentioned in them was then conferred At the conclusion of that day we read of the effects of it in giving a Commission to the Disciples To teach all nations and preach the Gospel to every creature Mark 16.15 It is not strange that the day of Solemn Worship should be stiled a day of Power and Strength The Seventh Month which answers to our September is called Ethanim mensis fortium 1 Kings 8.2 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 robur The Jews give the reason because in that Month the Solemn Worship of God which is the safeguard of the Community was more frequent than in any other On the First Day was the Feast of Trumpets on the Tenth the Feast of Expiation on the Fifteenth the Feast of Tabernacles on the Three and Twentieth Festum retentionis The Hebrews did account their Sabbath as a day of Power They say Circumcision was deferred to the Eighth day That the Child might have the advantage of a Sabbath to strengthen it against that Time As the Title so the action appropriated to this day argues it to be the First of the Week namely The generation of the Son of God It is said of the Resurrection-day This day have I begotten thee Acts 13.33 Then was he declared to be The Son of God with power Rom. 1.3 The same thing in a Poetical manner is affirmed to be done upon the Morning of this day of Power From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy Youth This Morning must be related to some day and to what day better than the day of Power These words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast the dew of thy youth the Septuagint interpret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or I have begotten thee This exposition being Literal has some encouragement from the common rule That in the expounding of Scripture we are not to let go the proper and adhere to an improper sence except we are compelled to it from some other Text. Other Scriptures are so far from putting this necessity upon us That they conspire to cast a favourable aspect upon the interpretation which is given The next Prophetical Testimony is in the 118. Psal v. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it Here is mention of the Resurrection-day For upon the day here spoken of The stone which the builders refused became the head of the corner v. 22. The same thing is said to be done on the day on which Christ rose from the dead Act. 4.10 11. The stamp of divine Authority is impressed upon this day This is the Day which the Lord hath made not by Creation so he has made every day but by a special Institution Here is the end for which it is made That we may joy and be glad in it The Worship of God is always to be performed with Spiritual rejoycing at this time for the Mercies of the Messias Gangren Syn. Can. 18. The ancient Church did never appoint a Fast upon the Lord's-day mourning being not reconcileable with the reason of its Institution Lastly Here is the place where this day is to be observed the Sanctuary Open to me the gates of righteousness into which the righteous shall enter v. 19 20. The gates of righteousness import as under the Law the doors of Tabernacle Temple Synagogue so under the Gospel the doors of Churches into which the Righteous are to enter upon the First of the Week to Worship God and express their grateful acknowledgments of the love of Christ in the work of Redemption To this we may add the prediction of Isaiah From one new moon to another and from one sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord Is 66.23 This Prophecy has an evident aspect upon the times of the Gospel God promiseth the bringing in a People to Christ They shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord saith the Lord v. 20. He promiseth Ministers to instruct this People under the name of Priests and Levites v. 21. Evangelical Ordinances under the name of new heavens and new earth v. 22. The time is foretold when this People are to attend upon these Ordinances From one new moon unto another and from one Sabbath to another As there will be Festivals confined to certain months So likewise a solemn day every week under the Gospel when all flesh shall come to Worship What can this be but the Lord's day which all Christians whether formerly Jews or Gentiles did devote to the acts of Religious Veneration If the words may be read as they are in the Margin of our Bibles from Sabbath to his Sabbath which is very agreeable to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a great advantage will accrue to the Cause we maintain For as the People here spoken of are the People of Christ the Ministers the Ministers of Christ the Ordinances the Ordinances of Christ So by his Sabbath we must understand the Sabbath of Christ According to this interpretation it is predicted That all would depart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the old Sabbath and come together upon a new one called his Sabbath to Worship God 3. Our Blessed Lord. For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day Matt. 12.8 Our Saviour here assumes unto himself a title of Power He calls himself Lord of the Sabbath This power was communicated unto him He had it as he was Son of Man This Communication was not made without a design and some ponderous reason The only design visible to us is That he might make some alteration about the Sabbath He is said not only to be Lord but Lord even or also which imports That he has a power over something else in this place besides the Sabbath and that his
power over the Sabbath is to the same purpose with that power over those things whatsoever they be The things mentioned in the former Verses are the Shew-bread and Sacrifices which he put a period to and did erect other constitutions in the room of them We have already proved That the old day is annulled by him The First of the Week is stiled the Lord's day what can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be but an effect of that power which the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was invested with Pray That your flight be not on the Sabbath-day Mat. 24.20 It appears from hence That a Sabbath would be observed about Forty Years after these words were spoken for the flight mentioned in them was upon the account of the Roman Army stiled the abomination of desolation which about that time besieged and took Jerusalem called the holy place It is not said Pray that you be not put upon this extremity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on the Sabbath then in use but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a general word which may be applyed to the first as well as the last of the Week This Sabbath is to be celebrated by the Disciples for he treats them privately v. 3. and we cannot think he would use such an emphatical expression which has a tendency to beget an awful regard to the Sabbath here mentioned in case they had not been concerned in the observation of it about the time which Christ had his Eye upon no other Sabbath was observed by the Disciples but the First of the Week About Two and Twenty Years after his Death we find it kept in a very full Assembly Act. 20.7 After which there is not the least mention of the celebration of the Jewish day in the New Testament but on the contrary S. Paul condemns the observation of it Coloss 2.16 This Epistle was written not long before his Martyrdom when he was in his bonds at Rome c. 4. v. 18. Therefore we have reason to believe That our Blessed Saviour had his Eye upon the First of the Week when he exhorted the Disciples to pray That their flight might not be on the Sabbath day As a Winter-flight would have been prejudicial to their bodies So likewise to fly upon the Sabbath when they were to be ingaged in the most solemn addresses to the Divine Majesty would be really disadvantageous to their Souls Indeed it is pretended That our Saviour's words were occasioned either by the foresight of some trouble to the Disciples from the superstitious Jews who would certainly hinder them in their flight upon their Sabbath or else of some molestation in their own Consciences arising from their being not fully weaned from the observation of the Ceremonial Rites To which I reply That no such thing could in reason be feared as the being hindred by the Jews because before the time which is spoken of they had laid aside their Superstitious conceits about sitting still or the going only a Sabbath-days journey when they were in capital dangers and received it as a Maxim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That when life is exposed to hazard the rest of the Sabbath may be dispensed with Tho' the Essenes refused to submit to this rule yet they being a very inconsiderable party in respect of the Pharisees and Sadducees and without any power of inflicting penalties they could be no impediment to the Christians in their flight As for the trouble arising from their own Consciences That cannot be supposed because they had full instructions before this time about the abolition of the Ceremonial Appointments All S. Paul's Epistles in which there are clear expressions about this matter were written before the destruction of Jerusalem If his Doctrine was not prevalent with them yet it cannot be imagined that they should be more superstitious in this particular than the Jews which were not converted and they made no scruple before this time either to fight or fly upon the Sabbath in case of danger as I have already intimated I pass from the words of Christ to his Actions as his Resurrection his appearing after his Resurrection the particular Acts done by him at his appearance The old Sabbath being discharged and the Fourth Command still for One in Seven as is evident by the premises we have a fair indication from the Resurrection of our duty to put a peculiar honour upon the First of the Week above all other days and account it the Christian Sabbath All days in themselves are equal That which alters this equality and advanceth one day above another is the eminence of the work which is done upon it The Resurrection of Christ being the consummation of the new Creation and of our redemption from the direful effects of the primitive Apostasie is the most eminent performance the World has been acquainted with Were we left to our own conduct what day could we make choice of to be the day of our Solemn Worship and rest from those labours which are not reconcileable with it Euseb de laud. Const Euseb vit Const 628. Vales l. 4. c. 18. Nazian 〈◊〉 43. Basil Hexam Hom. 2. but this which is ennobled with so transcendent a work Upon this account the antient Christians stiled it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 really the first the highest of all the first-fruits of days Samuel made it an argument That Saul was chosen King because there was none like him a man higher than the people from the shoulders upwards The First of the Week being advanced by the Resurrection and made much taller than any other of the Seven we may truly say Behold the Day which the Lord hath chosen to be the Queen of Days as Ignatius stiles it As the rising of Christ from the dead upon the First of the Week promotes our belief that it is the day which God has appointed in the room of the old Sabbath So likewise his appearing upon it after the Resurrection no less than five times upon the self-same day once to Mary Magdalen Mat. 28.9 10 11. Luk. 24.33 34. Jo. 2.19 v. 26. then to the Women the third time to the Two Disciples the fourth to Peter the last to the Eleven Eight days after taken inclusively he appeared again when the Disciples were met which was punctually upon the First of the Week This day was singled out by him for the first and last most eminent manifestation of himself by his Spirit The first to the Disciples at Pentecost when the Holy Ghost descended upon them in cloven Tongues Rev. 1.10 The last to S. John to whom the future state of the Church was revealed For what end were all these appearances but to inform future ages That the First of the Week is a day most acceptable to him and to assure them of his special presence when they convene upon it for his solemn Worship To all this I might add the particular acts which he did at his appearance He invested his Disciples with power to
day 3. As a Day preferred before the old Sabbath 4. As a Day instituted by Christ in the place of the old Day The First is manifest from Justin Martyr Apol. 2. p. 99. Apol. c. 39. who says That all Christians use to meet together upon it for the Worship of God Tertullian gives an account of the whole Solemnity of the day Eusebius says Hier. de Script Ecc. Euseb l. 4. c. 22. That it was celebrated by all Christians dispersed throughout the World If it had not been universally observed no account can be given why the Ebionites who did keep Saturday in a conformity to the Jews should celebrate the Lord's day That they might be agreeable in their practice to the Christians and why the contest grew so high about Easter whether it should be upon the Lord's day There had been no ground for this dispute in case the First of the Week had not then been honoured above all other days If this day was so generally devoted to Religion then there was a cessation upon it from all those secular imployments which are not reconcileable with so sacred a purpose and such a cessation is an ingredient essential to the constitution of a Sabbath Secondly We find sometimes the First of the Week to be expresly called a Sabbath-day as appears by the words of Gregory Nyssen He stiles it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De resurr Christitom 2. p. 814. Par. Ed. In Psalm explan Prologus p. 335. De temp p. 257. and represents this as the reason because the only begotten Son of God rested upon it from all his works S. Hilary owns it by the same name Nos octavâ die quae ipsa prima est perfecti Sà bbati festivitate laetamur S. Austin speaking How the glory of the old Sabbath was transferred to the First of the Week concludes in these words Sic quoque ritè sanctificamus Sabbatum Domini Isychius says concerning the Resurrection-day In Lev. 23. Haec est altera dies Sabbati The name whereby the Lord's day was anciently called amongst Aethiopian Christians Scaliger de emend tem l. 7. p. 645. is Sanbath Zachristos the Sabbath of Christ The Rythmes concerning a Jew in the time of Henry the Third make it manifest That this name was familiarly applyed to the First of the Week The Jews words to those who offered him their help to pull him off the Jakes upon Saturday were Sabbata nostra colo de stercore surgere nolo Mat. Par. Our Sabbath I so highly prize That from this dung I will not rise The Christians did reply the Lord's day being next Sabbata nostra quidem Solomon celebrabis ibidem Then Solomon it must be thy fate Our Sabbath there to celebrate It is stiled by our own Church the Sabbath-day in the Ecclesiastical Constitutions Can. 70. Thirdly It is represented as a day much preferred by Christians before the Jewish Sabbath It had so much the pre-eminence That the Last of the Week by Spectators out of the Church and the better and sounder part of those within had little or no notice taken of it or deference paid to it The Jews observing the singular regard the Christians had for the First of the Week called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the day of the Nazarites Avodah Zar. Hor Hebr. 320. It was a common maxim among them On the day of the Nazarites a Jew must not negotiate with a Christian The Gloss interprets a Nazarite to be one who follows the errour of him who commanded his Disciples to keep holy the First of the Week Buxt L. Rab. 1384. In voc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rab. Bechai commenting upon that expression behind one in the midst Is 66.7 says That it either denotes the cross of the Edomites or their solemn Feast-day By the Edomites he means Christians For the Jews in their private records where they give a greater indulgence to their blasphemous humour assert That the same Soul which was in Esau Lex Rab. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did pass into Christ from thence his followers are called by this name The Feast-day which he terms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fixed or stated time for Christian Worship is no other but the Lord's day When Pliny attempts to represent the crimes which the Christians were guilty of he sets this in the front Quod soliti essent stato die ante lucem convenire carmenque Christo tanquam Deo dicere That they were wont to meet upon a certain day and to sing a Hymn unto Christ as unto God If it had been usual for them to meet upon the old Sabbath as well as the Lord's day Pliny who made it his business to inquire into their practice would have discovered it and then it would have been statis diebus not stato die Here is only mention of one particular day That this was the Lord's day is apparent from Ignatius Ad Magnes who lived in the time of Trajan to whom Pliny wrote He represents the Jewish Sabbath as a working day and attributes to the Lord's day a dominion over it The celebration of Sunday was so constant amongst the Christians that the Heathens conceived That they gave some veneration to the Sun Which misapprehension occasioned the words of Tertullian Diem Solis laetitiae indulgemus aliâ longè ratione Cor. Mâ—l quà m religione Solis The Heathen Inquisition use to put this question to the Martyrs Dominicum servâsti hast thou kept the Lord's day The answer was I am a Christian I cannot intermit it Ignatius calls the First of the Week the Queen of days and if it was the Queen it had a Sovereignty over all other days and would not permit the old Sabbath to sit in the same Throne with it Non benè conveniunt nec in unâ sede morantur Majestas Amor. Queens and Lovers will not agree In the same Throne long to be Justin Martyr asserts That the old Sabbath is of no use after the time of Christ Whereas when he speaks of the Lord's day he says That all Christians meet upon it hear the Prophets read have a word of Exhortation spoken to them and the whole performance is concluded with Prayer and a collection for those who are in distress These duties use to be discharged in the Synagogues upon the Old Sabbath but that being abrogated they are now translated to the New The Council of Laodicea declares That Christians ought not to rest on the Jewish Sabbath but work preferring the Lord's day before it The Church anciently was so far from having any respect to the old day Or. 29. p. 282. Hâ—er 30.31 Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 22. Buxt l. Rab. vo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that those who believed That they were under an obligation to observe it were branded with the infamy of heresie 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Nazianzen the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epiphanius the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉