The Period of the Persian Monarchy, Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII.
A chiefe sinne,Nehem. 13.17. Then I contended with the Nobles of Iudah, and said unto them. What evill thing is this that yee doe, and prophane the Sabbath? for which the children of Iudah were carried into Captivity, was, as ye see, because their fathers had prophaned the Sabbath; Gods judgements ever following this sinne, as the shadow doth the body. And see! the hand of God was scarce off them; but this people are madde after their profits, and doe abuse the Sabbath as bad, if not worse than ever. So, almost impossible it is for a man to cast out of his heart and life, sins that bring in profit▪ which,Vers. 18. Did not your Fathers th…e? and did not our God bring all this evill upon us and upon this Citie? yet yee bring more wrath upon Israel, by prophaning the Sabbath. Nehemiah comming with authority from the great King, as a Lord Deputy, makes use of his Commission to redresse. This was so grand an affront to the Ordinances of God; suffer this, and suffer all: and therefore we find him here round with them. And he workes upon them first with words, and if that would not doe, then he threatens blowes; and found successe.
Here we see, that as Nehemiah a Civill Magistrate;Vers. 19. And it came to passe, that when the gates of Ierusalem began to be darke before the Sabba…h, I commanded, that the gates should be shut, and charged, that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. so Civill Magistrates now may and must take strict courses for the setling and keeping in order of the Service of God. They doe them the greatest wrong, who would turne them over to the second Table. The Kings of Israel were most curious of all in matters of Gods worship: and can we find, that ever they went or sent to Ierusalem to know the pleasure of the high Priest? And in their steps did the Kings of Christendome tread for many Ages: Begin with Constantine and downe to Charles the Great, and some yeares after. The Emperours have ever tooke it, and used it, as the chiefest flower in their Crowne, and the principall Verbe in the Office; to carry the sway in disposing of the things belonging to the managing of the worship of God;Vers. 20. So the Merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Ierusalem once or twice. Vers. 21. Then I testified against them, and said unto them: Why lodge yee about the Wall? If yee doe so againe, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath. And that without once looking after any power in or from the Bishop of Rome.
The matter wee looke after is, That by this of Nehemiah wee see, that it was not held by him a lawfull thing for them then to worke; or for him to suffer them to worke on the Sabbath in times of harvest. Their treading of wine-presses doth evince, that the time was harvest time; in that the worke was an harvest worke. A custome they had got to keepe a shambles, a faire on that day, and to labour at their harvest. Nehemiah saw that Religion would soone die, if thus they might goe on. And therefore he gave not over, till hee had made them give over. Authority in the hands of a resolute man is of great force and use.
As touching harvest-worke, in my minde, the question were at an end, if we did but distinguish betwixt ordinary and usuall Cases; (and then, as wee have most reason to serve God in harvest, and most need of rest, wee and our people, when we use to labour most; common understanding will grant, that then there lies a probition against labour.)
And extraordinary and unusuall occasions. And so who doubts, but it is lawfull then to labour? Indeed when the case stands in aequilibrio; and one is as like as the other; and no man can say, but the pretious fruits of the earth are as like to be saved as spoyled: here my opinion is, That wee are to put the matter into the hands of God. But when the case stands so, that either wee must worke, or there is a morall certainty, that the fruits of the harvest will receive a sensible hurt, to the prejudice of our life or livelihood; here I conceive it to be a dutie to worke: Here, I say, wee breake the Sabbath, except wee breake it. Christ saith, That the Priests labouring in the Temple,Matth. 12.5. did profane the Sabbath: mMarc. 2.27 Vid. Maldonat.and yet were guiltlesse. How so? profane and yet guiltlesse? Because those their Temple-workes (had it not beene on such occasions) would have beene a profanation of the Sabbath. The sense of a Law, is the Law: and in the sense of the Law, the labour of the Priests was an hallowing of the Sabbath: But in the meere Letter; (which the Pharisees, with whom Christ did dispute, did follow) it was, to see to, a profanation of the Sabbath: but in the true meaning they did sanctifie, and not profane it. Right so: In case of necessity, wee profane the Sabbath, except wee profane it: wee perish, except wee perish. For necessity herein hath no law: and it doth adde a new relation to the worke wee doe; no new Ens, but a Modus Entis. And there is not the greatest toyle in the world; but in this sense, it is a keeping of the nVid. Bound. lib. 1. pag. 217. Walae. de 4. praecept. p. 129.Sabbath holy. For the Sabbath was made for man (i. e.) not onelyonly for the very being of Man; but for his wel-being. And therefore whatsoever by necessity, without fraud or covin, is to be done on that day for the comfort of man, that now is turned into a very Sabbath-worke. I binde not man in a Mathematicall manner to poynts of Physicall necessity. And therefore, if it stand for the conveniencie of Man, and there were nothing to the oWhen thou canst not doe it before, nor well deferre it after the Sabbath. So Zauch. in 4. praec.contrary (à parte ante, nor à parte post,) I meane, that it might not have beene done as well before, or deferred till after the Sabbath: so I call it a necessary Worke. Christ cured some upon the pMatth. 12.1. It appeares by Luc. 6.1. that it was the 7. day of unleavened bread: which was a Ceremoniall Sabbath: But yet by Christs justifying of them from the Priests profaning the weekely Sabbath guiltlessely, it is plaine, that the reason of both sorts of Sabbaths in this was alike. Luk. 13.15.Sabbath day, whose life lay not upon it, but that they might have stayed till the morrow: And the Disciples in that of plucking the Eares of Corne (wherein they are justified by Christ) were not in that extremity, but they might have put it off, till they came to Towne: and therefore they were to doe many corporall workes on the Sabbath, and were yet guiltlesse; nay guilty even of breaking the Sabbath, except they did doe them.
And as the Sabbath was made for man; so for the creature too, for the Oxe, the Asse, &c. And therefore when the creature, that is, a necessary creature, is in danger of receiving any notorious dammage, that may make it unserviceable for man, did they break the Sabbath if they did worke to save it? No, The Sabbath was broken, except they did worke: Neither is it any thing to say, we must rather let our hay and corne fall into, and lye in the suddes, and accept therein the chastisement of our sinnes. What? and perhaps famish? And must wee suffer our Oxe to sticke in the mire, as a rod from God? What? not lift the poore Oxe out? And yet a man that is rich feeles no losse in an Asse or a sheepe:Luk. 14.5. Matth. 12.11. In mercy then to the poore creature wee must let all lye and see it done. It is a conclusion held on all hands, That an house on fire is warrant enough for a whole Parish to lay about them on the Sabbath day, to quench it. And is not water as unmercifull an element as fire? Yea to preserve life, man did qIosh. 6.4. 1. King. 20.29. Zanch. in 4. praec. Danae. eth. Christ. lib. 2. cap. 10. Walae. in 4. praecept. p. 115.fight and r2. King 19.1. Thom. …. 2 ae. q. 122. art. 4.flee on the Sabbath day; and did well. Then wee conclude, That in mercy to the creature, (to preserve it) in mercy to our selves, (to preserve that which doth preserve us in good liking) and in both (to shew our obedience to God) worke at any bodily worke wee must on the Sabbath; and are free. Nehemiahs case lay not in such exigents: and therefore Nehemiah did like himselfe, in reproving and reforming. Nothing is to be concluded against what I have said, out of that in Exodus, That in harvest, they were to cease on the seventh day. I have read an answer, That this was a priviledge of that Nation, that they had a Wri… of protection against all Inundations: As God undertooke for them during their Iourney up to the anniversary Feasts, to keepe all well and safe at home the while; So the promise of the former and latter raine in season, was a peculiar to the Israelites. But what needes this, sith a reconciliation is at hand; that this prohibition is to be construed with the exception still of necessity? sTremel. in Mark. 2.1.Tremellius, a Iew by nature, is of the mind, that by very Talmud, dangers of life, though not evident, were cause enough for a Iew to worke vponupon the Sabbath day. And tLyra in Exod. 20.Lyra another Christian of the same Nation, writing on the very words of the Law, is plaine, that for all the words of the Law, it was lawfull to doe those workes which could not well be deferred to the next day, nor done the day before. He saith not, which could not simply bee deferred; but, which could not well be deferred: His meaning is in vIn Casualibus.casualties, as he himselfe cals them.
A maine observation out of the words of Nehemiah is, touching the persons with whom Nehemiah is sayd here to contest. Our last and best Translation reads it, Nobles: I have read, that it were fitter to translate it, Freemen. And this is, to beare out an Opinion, that even among the Iewes a servant did not sinne in working on the Sabbath day, in case his Master command him: As though Nehemiah had contested with all and with onelyonly Freemen: and that therefore the servants were in no blame. xManual. cap. 13. n. 7.Navarrus to helpe this his Opinion, puts in two Clauses of exception: One is, That the servant is to heare one Masse: the other; that the Master doe not enjoyne him worke on the holy day in contempt: If hee doe, then the servant is rather to dye the death, than to worke at his Masters command.