A Defense of the Sabbath Day, Chapter 3 · Commentary · Section 4
SECT. IV.
Thus vve hauehave ſhowne, that of all the Scriptures which they bring for the Lords day, they hauehave neuer a Commandement for it, from Chriſt, nor from his Apoſtles: Novv let vsus come vntounto ſuch kind of Scriptures as they hauehave for it; the firſt vvhichwhich vve vvill mention ſhall be the 4th Com. Exod. 20.8. Remember the Sabbath day, to ſanctify it, &c. Herevnto I anſwer, doe not theſe men (thinke you) ſtand in need of Sampſons ſtrength to drage & hale this 4th Comm. vntounto the Lords day? And of more then Achitophels vvite, to make an argument out of this 4th Com. for the Lords day, which ſhall ſtand by force of neceſſary conſequence, whereof they talke ſo? had they not neede of a long rope, to tye together this 4th Com. & the Lords day, the one being two thowſand yeeres before the other? the one in Moſes his time, the other in Chriſt his time. Doth our new ordinance of Baptiſme, ſtand by force of the old Law of Circumciſion, made thowſands of yeeres, before euer Baptiſme vvas heard of? Doth our new ordinance of the Lords Supper, ſtand by force of the old Law, of the paſſeouer, made thowſands of yeeres before the Lords Supper vvas euer heard of? and how then ſhould this nevv ordinance of the Lords day, be proued, to ſtand by force of the old Law, for the 7th day Sabbath, made thowſands of yeeres before euer this Lords day vvas heard on? had not theſe men fore heads of braſſe, & caſt off ſhame & vvit together, they could not be ſo impudent, as to vndertake ſuch an abſurd taske: but this they leane vponupon, they can but ſay the vvord, and it is done; the ſimple people beleeue all for goſpell; if once Mr. Yates, Mr. Gallard, and Mr. Chappell deliuer it as their iudgment; it is as if S. Peter, S. Iohn. & S. Paul had ſaid it in expreſſe vvords; thus it is in our Country, & I beleeue it is no better in other partes of the Kingdome.
Who vvould thinke that theſe men, ſhould be ſo audaciouſly bould, as to alter Gods 4th Com. from one day of the vveeke, vntounto an other? be it, that Chriſt had ſet vp the Lords day, for a Sabbath, is not his Authority ſufficient for it? are not all the Textes in the Nevv Teſtament able enough to iuſtifie it, but they muſt flie into the Old Teſtament for a commandement for it? can they ſhevv vvhere Chriſt or his Apoſtles, did euer ranke this Lords day vnderunder the 4th com. or inioyne it to be kept with reference vntounto, or conſcience of the 4th Com? let them ſhew their neceſſary conſequence for this.
Furthermore if theſe men could ſee, but that they cannot, ſo long as they thinke, wiſedome muſt dye vvith them, vvhilſt they goe about to ſtrengthen their Lords day Sabbath by the 4th Com. they therby vveaken it, in the ſight of all vviſe men: For beſids vvhat hath bene ſaid to this purpoſe, themſelues doe bevvray it that their cauſe is feeble, and vvanteth ſtrength & ſupportation; for their conſciences tell them, that the Lords day, needeth a Commandement; and their eyes tell them, that Chriſt and his Apoſtles left none for it in all the Nevv Teſtament; vvherefore, to make vp that vvhichwhich is lacking by Chriſt, themſelues hauehave ſupplied it, by runing into the Old Teſtament for a Com. for it: thus they intimate, that Chriſt vvas not a perfect Lavv-giuer, becauſe he gaue none for the Lords day Sabbath: and further they doe bevvray, that they cannot finde arguments ſufficient & enough for the Lords day, neither from Chriſt, nor from the Apoſtles, nor in all the Nevv Teſtament: for elſe they vvould as vvell content themſelues, vvith ſuch arguments, as they find in the Nevv Teſtament for it, as in other new ordinances they doe; they rune not into the Old Teſtamēt, to proue the doctrine of the Reſurrection of Chriſt, of Baptiſme, and the Lords Supper: Wherefore they bewray that the Lords day is not grownded in the New Teſtament, as is the Reſurrection, Baptiſme, and the Lords ſupper: this kind of Sophiſtry is much like vntounto this; ſuppoſe a Lawyer ſhould affirme it, that it is vnlavvfull for an vſurer, to take aboue 8. in the 100. and the vſurer ſhould demaund againe of him, vvhen that Law was made, & by vvhom, & what King vvas the Authour & founder of it? herevnto the Lawyer ſhould reply, it vvas enacted by King Charles, a fewe yeeres ſince, &c. Suppoſe againe, that the vſurer doubting of the matter ſhould deſire him to proue it vntounto him by the Statute booke, that there was ſuch a Law enacted by King Charles, in ſuch a yeere as he ſpake of: if novv this Lawyer, could not ſhew any Statute Law for it, enacted in King Charles his reigne, but muſt bring forth an old Statute Lavv, enacted by Quene Elizabeth, many yeeres before King Charles his birth, where in Shee forbade to take aboue 10 in the 100. Would not any man whoſe eyes are in his heade thinke the Lawyer doth but fumble? And thinke here were forgery & deceipt in this Lawyer? iuſt ſo it is with our diuines, they ſay with one voice, that Chriſt inſtituted this Lords day, and that 1630 yeeres a gone, & yet put them to proue it, & they can ſhew no Comm. for it, made during the reigne of Chriſt here vponupon earth, or in the time of his Succeſſours the Apoſtles, but they rune out for a Law enacted 2000. yeers before Chriſt or his Apoſtles vvere borne: is not this pretty? If I might aduiſe them, they ſhould hould them cloſſe to ſuch Lawes onelyonly and Scriptures, as they can find in the New Teſtament, enacted by Chriſt, for the Lords day, if it vvere but to ſaue their credites among wiſe men.
But let vsus novv come vntounto their arguments, to ſee how they vvill proue the Lords day, a Sabbath day, by the 4th Com. ſome diuines, foreſeing the groſſeneſſe of others, vvho hould that the 4th Com. doth bind to the Lords day properly, are aſhamed of this, & therfore they hauehave found out a nevv way of binding, & that is, not that the 4th Com. ſhould bind to the Lords day properly, but improperly & Analogically, by way of reſemblance & ſimilitude: but how euer this diſtinction is ſome what neate & pretty, & may ſerue the turne in ſchooles, yet vvhen it comes a broad into the Country it is very abſurde: for 1. none of our Country diuines will vſe it. 2. This is an abſurd diſtinction, that one and the ſame Command. ſhould binde, both properly, & improperly: properly for two thowſand yeeres, & improperly euer after: Yea, this is contrary to our ſelues; for vve abhorre it in Papiſts, that they ſhould make 4 ſenſes of Scripture, the Litterall, Allegoricall, Tropologicall, & Anagogicall, as Perkins hath them in his Arte of Prophecying, pag. 651. where he affirmeth that the ſenſe of Scripture is but one onelyonly: novv vvhy may not Papiſts as vvell make 4 ſenſes, as any of vsus make 2 ſenſes, a proper & litterall ſenſe, & an improper analogicall ſenſe? 3. The 4th Com. inioyneth vsus to labour 6 dayes, & ſo by conſequence vponupon the Lords day; & therfore it cannot command reſt vponupon the ſame day. Neither can the reaſon of the 4th Com. be drawne to this 8th day, &c. 4. By this diuiſe, may we reuiue all the Ceremoniall Lawes in the Old Teſtament, ſaying they bind vsus novv analogically, which is flat contrary vntounto the Apoſtle, Epheſ. 2.15. Colo. 2.14.5. The fourth com. cannot bind to the Lords day being a new day, analogically: becauſe the Sabbath day, which is the old day, is not yet aboliſhed, as ſhall be ſhowne, and ſo it muſt bind ſtill to the old day properly. Other anſwers there be alſo in my other booke of the Sabbath, vvhichwhich here I omit, for I purpoſe not to ſtand vponupon this point, becauſe I thinke few or none will vrge it.
In the next place, let vsus come to them that are aſhamed of nothing; for they hould that the 4th com. binds to the Lords day properlie: & theſe hauehave many deuices to deceiue themſelues & others; as ſometimes they hauehave this argument, that the Hebrew word Sabbath ſignifieth a reſt, novv on the Lords day, vve Reſt; & therfore the 4th Com. belongeth vntounto it. Hereto I anſwer, 1. that the word Sabbath vſed in the 4th Com. vvas neuer vſed for a Reſt generally vponupon any day, but Synecdochically, for a Reſt particularly, vponupon the 7th day onelyonly. 2. By the like reaſon, vve may hould ffaſt dayes, & Chriſtmas day, and Coronation dayes, Sabbathes, by the 4th Com. alſo: for on theſe dayes vve Reſt alſo.
Others hauehave this for an argument, they affirme that by Sabbath day, & 7th day, in the Com. may be meante not the Sabbath, & the 7th day, but a Sabbath, & a 7th day: & are not theſe thoſe neceſſary conſequences whereof they talke ſo? To vvit, becauſe theſe words Sabbath, & 7th, may be vnderſtood of a Sabbath, and of a 7th day, that Therfore they muſt ſo be taken: with them then, this is a neceſſary conſequence, that, vvhat may be, muſt of neceſſity be: it may be, it ſhall raine too morrow; doth it therfore follow that for certaine it neceſſarily muſt raine too morrow? but theſe friuolouſe & childiſh arguments, my ſtomacke is ſo loathed with them, as I vvill proceed no further, hauing in my expoſition vponupon the 4th com. ſufficiently diſcouered theſe vanities.
The third argument, is. Mr. Chappels which he deliuered in publike; thus he argueth: If one day in Seauen, muſt be a Sabbath day, and not the Seauenth day; then the Lords day, muſt be the Sabbath day: But one day in 7, muſt be a Sabbath day, & not the 7th day: Therfore the Lords day, muſt be the Sabbath day. As for the conſequence, this he proued by this argument; becauſe the Lords day is the fiteſt of all the ſixe: and that becauſe there was a weekly collection theron, 1. Cor. 16.2. with other the like Textes, which are vſed in defence of the Lords day ordenarily: but I omit anſwer to this proofe of his conſequence, in this place, becauſe I ſhall hauehave hereafter a more fit place to anſwer this argument, that the Lords day is the fiteſt, &c. In this place I vvill onelyonly anſwer his maine argument, vvhichwhich growndeth vponupon the 4th Com. for this is our taske in this Section, to deale vvith the 4th com. onelyonly.
I come to his Minor, which conſiſteth of two partes; But one day in ſeauen, muſt be a Sabbath day; & not the 7th day: for the former parte of it, in theſe words, But one day in ſeauen; muſt be a Sabbath day: for proofe of this hee alleaged my Teſtimony, and the Teſtimony of thoſe of the ſame iudgement with me, ſaying, as for this parte of my Minor, themſelues confeſſe it: for they hould that one daye in ſeauen, muſt be a Sabbath: but hoe there Mr. Chappell, you muſt not carry it away ſo; vve muſt diſcouer your fraudulent conveiances firſt; good Sir doe not abuſe vsus in our tenets, and thereby abuſe your auditory alſo; vve vſe not to ſpeake ſo promiſcuouſly, ſo generally, and ſo indiſtinctly, as you report vsus: for, vve vſe not to ſay, one day in ſeauen, muſt be a Sabbath day: but thus, the laſt day of ſeauen, muſt be a Sabbath day; let this be noted: and this vve doe, to avoide the amphibolie, or double meaning of the phraſe which you charge vponupon vsus: for theſe vvords, one day in ſeauen, may hauehave a double meaning; either they may be vnderſtood generally, for any one day in the ſeauen, as vvell this as that; as wel the firſt of ſeauen, as the laſt of ſeauen, or any other of the ſeauē: or, they may be vnderſtood, for ſome one certaine particular day, as the 7th day, & laſt day of the ſeauen. Now vve, to auoid all doubling & equiuocationes, doe addict our ſelues vntounto the ſimplicity of ſpeech, & therfore doe chooſe to ſay, the laſt day of ſeauen: rather then one of ſeauen: but Mr. Chappell quite contrary, he delights to vſe in publike, and to put vponupon vsus, ſuch phraſes, as hauehave a double meaning, that ſo he may the better double before his people, and delude them; novv of the two ſenſes propounded, (if vve ſhall vſe his phraſe) vve doe chooſe the latter, & doe vnderſtand, by one day of ſeauen: that one day, which is the laſt day of ſeauen: but Mr. Chappell doth chooſe the former ſenſe, vnderſtanding, by one day in ſeauen: any one day of the ſeauen indefinitly; this or that, or any other: Now in this ſenſe, his Minor is moſt falſe; neither ſhall he euer be able to proue it out of the 4th Com. that there is commanded, any one day of the ſeauen: for there is onelyonly commanded that one day onelyonly, which is the laſt of the ſeauen: furthermore, he hath abuſed both vsus, but thats not much, but his honeſt auditory alſo, & thats worſe, in alleaging of our Teſtimony in publike, as if vve did vphould & iuſtify his falſe Minor; which we doe vtterly renownce, neuer vſeing his phraſe, in his ſenſe: the man is liuing of whom I ſpeake, if he thinke I vvrong him, he can right himſelfe.
And ſo I come to the other part of his Minor, to wit, And not the 7th day: where he affirmeth, that the 7th day, is not the Sabbath day: for proofe hereof, he referred his auditory at that time, to what he had in former ſermons deliuered: my ſelfe not being preſent at his former ſermons, as I was at this, and being vnſatisfied with this reference, I went vntounto him after his ſermon was ended, and deſired him to giuegive me a coppye or notes, of what he had formerly preacht againſt the Lords Sabbaths; and he asked me to what end I deſired his notes: my anſwer to him was thus, I promiſe you, that I will either confirme them, or confute them. I gaue him alſo certaine reaſons, to induce him to giuegive me his notes, as this, that he was the Lords Champion, and therefore who but hee ſhould defend the Lords cauſe? I told him further, that hee in ſpeciall ſorte, aboue all Miniſters had ingaged himſelfe in this quarrell, in as much as he had openly conteſted againſt my booke, & the Lords Sabbaths therein defended: and howbeit I did not raſhly, and of mine owne head goe vntounto him vvith this requeſt (as I told him) but with the aduiſe of ſome Miniſter & neere friend of his, who thought hee neither would, nor could deny me this requeſt, yet ſay vvhat I could, I could get no notes of him: ſo then for the latter part of his Minor, and the proofe of it, I muſt take it vponupon his bare word, that he had formerly confuted the Lords Sabbaths: but whither he had or he had not, I can ſay nothing, becauſe I cannot obtaine a ſight of his notes; but I know what I thinke of it.
This one thing I remember, that M. Chappell was highly magnified & applauded, not onelyonly by his pariſhoners, but alſo by all Puritane Diuines that heard him, for his ſolid & learned ouerthrowing of the Lords Sabbath: the which let vsus take for granted, and ſo you ſhall ſee how the crafty, are caught in their owne craftineſſe: from this impiouſe & vngodly doctrine of M. Chappell, thus I argue; If that the old Sabbath, mentioned in the morall law, be aboliſhed by M. Chappell, & then hee cannot proue infallibly, that we hauehave any new Sabbath jure diuino; then muſt M. Chappell, & his pariſhoners, & thoſe Puritane Diuines that ſo applauded his doctrine, all turne Anabaptiſts forthwith: and ſo keepe no Sabbath at all. The reaſon hereof is plaine; for if we hauehave neither the old Sabbath, nor any new Sabbath, then we hauehave no Sabbath at all; and ſo muſt become Anabaptiſtes.
Hauing anſwered their arguments, whereby they would proue the Lords day, a Sabbath by the 4th com. I deſire the Reader but to looke backe vponupon them, they are but 3 in number; & to conſider how poore & feeble they are, and withall to thinke with what face they can ſo bouldly vrge the 4th com. in the pulpit, vponupon the Lords day: and ſo I come to diſproue them, and to ſhew, that the 4th com. cannot be vrged vponupon the Lords day; and let it be conſidered, whither their reaſons for it, or mine againſt it, be the more cleere, and hauehave better force of prouing.
My firſt reaſon to the contrary, is that the Lords day cannot be a Sabbath day, by the 4th com. becauſe the 4th comman. doth command vsus to worke on the Lords day: for, the 4th com. ſaith, Sixe dayes ſhalt thou labour, and doe all thy worke, Exod. 20.9. and the firſt of theſe 6 dayes, is the day called the Lords day, as vve hauehave proued, in the expoſition of the 4th com. Now this law, inioyning vsus to labour ſixe dayes, & conſequently on the Lords day, was neuer repealed, for it was noe Type or ſhaddow of Chriſt &c. Nay Chriſt ratified this law, by his owne practiſe; for he laboured and trauailed vp & downe, too and fro, on this Lords day, after his reſurrection, Luk. 24.15. Now can any wiſe man thinke, that this 4th com. ſhould command vsus to Reſt from worke, on the Lords day, when the ſame comm. commandeth vsus to worke on the Lords day? behold whither theſe men are not fit expounders of Scripture, when they are ſo ignorant therein, as they make not onelyonly one Scripture contradict an other Scripture, but, then the which is nothing more abſurd, they make one and the ſame Scripture to contradict it ſelfe? for they make the 4th com. to ſay, Thou ſhalt not worke on the Lords day; when it ſaith the quite contrary, Sixe dayes thou ſhalt worke, of which 6 the Lords day is one: may not I truely ſay of theſe Miniſters, who thus abuſe Gods law in expounding it, as Paul ſaid of ſome, that they would be Doctours of the law, and yet vnderstand not what they ſpeake, neither whereof they affirme? 1. Tim. 1.7,
My ſecond argument againſt them is this; That Sabbath day, which is commanded in the 4th com. it is a weekly Sabbath, on eueryevery 7th day. But it cannot be proued, that the Lords day, is a weekly Sabbath; for in Chriſts time, and in the Apoſtles times, it vvas not kept conſtantly, and vveekly, but once in a yeere, or the like as hath bene ſhowne. Therefore, the Lords day, is not, nor can be commanded, in the 4th com.
My third argument to the contrary, is becauſe the time, the circumſtance of time, as they cale it, in the 4th Comm. is aboliſhed, as themſelues ſay & teach: for, they teach that by theſe Textes of Scripture, Rom. 14.5. Gal. 4.10. and Coloſ. 2.16.17. the time of the 7th day, commāded in the 4th com. is a ceremony, & a Ievvſh ceremony, &c. Now from their owne doctrine I argue againſt them thus; If the commaunded time, in the 4th Com. be a circumſtance, and a Iewiſh ceremony, and aboliſhed; then very fooliſhly doe they that vvill rune to the 4th Com. for time, for the new Sabbath, or Lords day: aske them by what precept this time of the Lords day, is to be ſanctified, & they vvill tell you by the 4th com. ſo that they will fetch a time out of the 4th Comm. and yet they ſay this time is aboliſhed, what contradicting folly is this? wherefore vnleſſe they can proue, that there vvas two dayes, and two times, the 7th day, and the 8th day, commanded in the 4th com. their doeings are like vntounto a fooliſh gardiner, vvho hauing but one bed of time in his garden, firſt he vvill cut it, or roote it all vp, and then he will make all men beleeue, that yet for all that, he can fetch as much time out of that bed, as he could doe before it was rooted vp: of ſuch pulpit gardiners vve hauehave too many: they can take out of the Com. what they pleaſe; & they can put into it againe, what they pleaſe; But the greateſt riddle is behind, hovv can a man take a thing away, and yet leaue it there ſtill? or, how can a man ſay a thing is ceremoniall, & yet make it Morall? aboliſhed by Chriſt, & yet remaine after Chriſt, many hundreth yeeres? none but theſe men, can anſwer this riddle. Wherefore, ſince the time in the 4th Com. is aboliſhed as themſelues ſay, there is no time therefore left in the 4th Commandement for the Lords day.
My 4th argument againſt them is, becauſe the 4th Com. cannot agree to the Lords day: for 1. the day commanded in the 4th Com. is a day called properlie the Sabbath day, Remember the Sabbath day, Exod. 20.8. But this day vvhichwhich they vvould hauehave is called Lords day, ſo that they differ palpablie in their names. 2. The day commanded in the 4th Com. it is the 7th day; But the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord, &c. Exod. 20.10. but the day vvhichwhich they talke on, it is the 8th day, or the firſt day of the vveeke: novv is there not difference enough to be ſene, betwixt the 7th & the 8th? Betwixt the firſt, & the laſt? the one day is at the begining of the weeke, the other is at the ending of the weeke. 3. The day commanded in the 4th Com. it is that day vvhichwhich God bleſſed & ſanctified, Geneſ. 2.3. and it is that day, vvhereon God himſelfe reſted: but the Lords day, which they vvould hauehave, it is not that day which God bleſſed and ſanctified, nor that day wheron God reſted. 4. The day vvhichwhich is commanded in the 4th Com. it is that day, vntounto which the ſpeciall reaſon, annexed by God, to the 4th Com. Exod. 20.11. doth properly belong: but the Lords day, vvhichwhich they would hauehave ſtand by the 4th Comm. vntounto it that ſpeciall reaſon neither doth belong, nor can poſſiblie be made to belong. 5. The day inioyned in the 4th Com. was a day knowne by thoſe Iewes, & in vſe before the giuing of the Law on Mount Sinay, as the word Remember at the begining of the 4th Com. importeth: for vve remember things knowne before, &c. But the Lords day I truſt is not of ſuch antiquity, nor was it knowne or in vſe before the giuing of the Law: and therfore the Lords day was not commanded in the 4th Com.
Herevnto I might yet add an other difference, that the day commanded by the 4th Comm. it is a day to be kept in memory of the Creation; But the day which they would hauehave, the Lords day, it is to be kept, in memory of the Redemption: and is it not a likly matter, thinke you, that both theſe dayes, differing as farr as the Creation doth from the Redemption, ſhould be commaunded by one and the ſame Com. vnleſſe men vvould ſtuddy hovv to bewray their folly, I cannot deuiſe hovv they ſhould doe it more groſely: if this be not botching & cobling, to thruſt this nevv Sabbath day, into an old Commandement, I know not vvhat is: to coble, is to put a peece of new leather vntounto an old ſhoe; and to botch, is to put a peece of nevv cloth, vponupon an old garment, vvhen that which was there before, is growne old and worne out; iuſt ſo they deale in theſe Diuine things, the 7th day Sabbath being old and vvorne out (as they ſay) they hauehave novv vvith all their skill, vvrought into the Com. a nevv peece, to vvit, the Lords day; ſuch a peece of Taylery vvas neuer ſeene before. Should Popiſh Ieſuites thus abuſe the Scriptures, in point of difference betvvixt them & vsus, as vvorſe I thinke they doe not, nor cannot, hovv vvould euen theſe very Miniſters, make them a ſcorne & a reproch, & iuſtly, among the people? But if wee doe it among our ſelues, no man muſt ſpeake of it; but let my tounge cleaue to the roote of my mouth, if I be ſilent, vvhen Gods Lawes are thus mangled; and his holy & ſacred word, corrupted & abuſed; and all to this end, to maintaine ſuperſtition, in keeping a nevv invented Sabbath.
Thus you ſee vve hauehave diſpoſſeſſed them of their ſtrongeſt hould for their Lords day Sabbath, to vvit, the 4th Com. let vsus in the next place make ſome vſe of this point: Is it ſo, that they cannot proue by their 3 arguments that the Lords day, is a Sabbath day, by virtue of the 4th Comm. and is it ſo, that the contrary is proued, to vvit, that the 4th Com. cannot be applied to the Lords day, as binding mens conſciences vntounto it; then let Miniſters take heede hovv they abuſe the 4th com. in their pulpits, hereafter, by applying it vntounto the Lords day falſly; for they muſt giuegive an accompt to God one day, for their diuiding and applying Gods word, and if they make the Spirit of God to ſpeake vvhat hee neuer meant, it vvill be woe vntounto them: thats one point.
An other is this, that it behoueth Miniſters to hauehave a care, ſo truly and plainly to interpret the 4th Com. to the people, that when they reade the Com. they may vnderſtand vvhichwhich day of the weeke it is, which God inioyneth for his Sabbath day: you know, on Sundaies, the 10 Commandements are publikly & ſolemnly reade vntounto the people, with greate deuotion, as it is meete they ſhould be: and alſo at the ſolemne adminiſtration of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, then theſe 10 commandements are reade vntounto the people againr; novv it is the duety of eueryevery Miniſter, vvhen hee ſtandeth in the roome of God, in pronouncing of the Law vntounto the people, that he doe not diſſemble, ſaying one thing and meaning an other; vvherefore vvhen he ſaith Remember the Sabbath day, he muſt not deſire in his heart, that the people ſhould vnderſtand him of an other day, that is not the Sabbath day, but of the Lords day; for this is to ſay one thing and meane an other; which is a ſinne in all men, but a double ſinne in a Miniſter; againe, vvhen he pronounceth theſe vvords, with an audible voice, But the 7th day, is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, &c. he muſt not deſire in his minde, that the people ſhould vnderſtand him of a day that is not the 7th day, but of the 8th day, the day after the 7th day; for this is diſſimulation: now for a man to diſſemble at any time is a ſinne, but vvhen the Miniſter is in Gods vvorſhip & ſeruice, yea at the bleſſed Sacrament, ready to eate the body & drinke the blood of our bleſſed Sauiour, then to diſſemble, is a notoriouſe ſinne. For a Miniſter to diſſemble vvith one man, is an euill; but for him to diſſemble vvith an vvhole Congregation this is a foule euill: but thus to doe, vvhen he repreſenteth the perſon of God vntounto the people, & ſtands in his roome vvho is the God of Trueth, novv to diſſemble, it is the fouleſt euill of all.
What a ſtraung thing is it, that Miniſters ſhould in Gods roome, ſay vntounto the people, Remember the Sabbath day, to ſanctify it: and yet will not indure it, that their people ſhould Sanctify the Sabbath day; but they vvill call it Iudaiſme, if they ſanctifie it? or, they will hauehave one tricke or other, one diſtinction or other, to caſt in their way, whereby they will hinder them from ſanctifying it? They call vponupon the people to keepe Gods 4th Com. and pray in & vvith the Congregation, to keepe this Law, the 4th Com. & yet they vvill not abide it, that their people ſhould doe the things commanded, in this commandement? one of the things commanded in this 4th com. is that we ſhould ſanctify the 7th day; but this they will none of: vvhat an horrible kind of diſſembling is this to call much, frequently & zealouſly, vponupon the people, to kepe this Law of God; and yet vvill not abide, that their people ſhould doe & performe, the things commanded, in this Law?
Let me alſo ſpeake a word or two, vntounto the people; and firſt as touching their deuotions in the Congregation; you heare the Miniſter reade thus, Remember the Sabbath day &c. But the 7th day is the Sabbath &c. vntounto the which you deuoutly add this prayer, Lord hauehave mercy vponupon vsus, and incline our hearts to keepe this Law; By which prayer, you doe yeeld your aſſent vntounto what the Miniſter had vttered: it is your dueties now alſo to ſee to it, that you know what you pray; elſe, as the Miniſter ſaith one thing, and meaneth an other, ſo the people ſay they know not what: you are loath to ſubſcribe your name vntounto a writing, or put your ſeale vntounto a bond, vntill you hauehave read it ouer, and vnderſtand vvell vvhat it is, that you put your hand or ſeale vntounto: Why this your prayer, after the Miniſter hath recited Gods 4th com. is as your handwriting, or ſeale put vntounto Gods com. you muſt therefore vnderſtand vvell vvhat you ſeale vntounto: When the Miniſter ſaith, Remember the Sabbath day: vvill you pray God, to hauehave mercy on you, & incline your heart to keepe the Lords day? and vvhen the Miniſter ſaith, But the 7th day, is the Sabbath: Will you deſire God, to incline your heart, to keepe the 8th day for the Sabbath? I pray iudge in your ſelues, vvhat this is better then babling before God; vve muſt pray vvith the ſpirit, and vve muſt pray vvith our vnderſtanding alſo: and that eſpecially vvhen vve are redy to partake of the bleſſed Sacrament of the Lords Supper.
2. Let me ſpeake vntounto the people, as touching their keeping of this Lords day, in conſcience of this 4th com. you ſee they cannot bring any proueing arguments, to euince it, that the 4th. com. belongeth vntounto the Lords day: beſides, you ſee I hauehave proued the contrary, that the 4th com. cannot belong vntounto the Lords day; vvherefore, people may be as zealouſe as they will, in ſanctifying of the Lords day; and hope to pleaſe God thereby, as a duety of the 4th com. but let them beleeue it, all this their zeale, is as the Apoſtle ſpeaketh, a zeale without knowledge, Rom. 10.2. All this their religion, is but meere ſuperſtition; they thinke to pleaſe God hereby, but God may ſay vntounto them, who required this at your hands? may not this truely be counted, as a limme of that voluntarie religion, and, will worſhip, condemned by S. Paul Col. 2.23? let men trye all things therefore; and let them imitate the Bereanes, to ſerch the Scriptures, and pray to God for illumination, & then for reformation. They may looſe their Haye, & their Corne, on the Lords day if they will, in conſcience of the 4th com. but the 4th com. calleth for no ſuch matters on the Lords day: they may neglect their ſeed time, on the Lords day, if they will, in conſcience of that comm. Exod. 34.21. In the 7th day thou ſhalt reſt; both in earing time, and in the harueſt. But let them know, that this com. concerneth the 7th day, Saturday Sabbath; not the 8th day, Lords day Sabbath. The like may be ſaid of Brewers, & Mal…ſters, they may if they will neglect to brewe & tunn vp their beere, & to ſteepe, & dry their maulte on the Lords day, in conſcience of the 4th com. but it is but their will worſhip, and a voluntary religion; it is altogether needleſſe for them, to make any ſuch ſcruples. The like I might ſpeake to all other Tradſmen, in Citties & Townes.
I hauehave often heard many ſcruples & queſtions moued, touching the religiouſe keeping of the Sabbath day, meaning it of our Lords day: as whither it be lawfull for Taylers to carry home & fit new garments on the Sabbath day morning: and whither Shoemakers, may fit ſhoes in the morning &c. and whither Water-men, may row on the Sabbath day, after Euening prayer: and whither Marriners, may ſet ſayle, & begine a voyage on the Sabbath day: and whither any May-games, ſhooting, and bowleing, or like recreations be lawfull on our Sabbath day: and I hauehave heard it much queſtioned, vvhen the Sabbath day doth begine & end; at morning, at midnight, or on the Euening; and the like.
To theſe & the like queſtiones I anſwer, 1. if the lawes of the Realme will permit theſe on the Lords day, I anſwer the law of Gods 4th com. is not againſt them; but rather with them, ſaying, Sixe dayes ſhalt thou labour &c. whereof the Lords day is one. 2. I anſwer, it is mens duty, firſt of all, to be inquiſitive after the day it ſelfe, to know which day is the Sabbath day, before they inquire how the day ſhould be ſpent, & what may be done on the day, and what not; there is a greater errour amongſt vsus, then they are aware on; their ſcruples & queſtiones, are like vntounto the minte, & anniſe, & cummin; but there is an other thing a weightier matter of the law neglected, & to be queſtioned: & that is to know, whither the 7th day, or the 8th day, be the Sabbath day, or to know whither we keepe the Lords Sabbath at all, or not: for I confidently auowch it, that Gods Sabbaths commanded in his morall law, are wholly neglected & profaned. I erneſtly deſire therfore, that men would now for a ſeaſon turne the current of their quaeries, from theſe leſſer matters, vntounto this weightier matter, vntill by ſerching they hauehave found out the trueth; & the bleſſing of God be vponupon their laboures. Thus much for anſwer to the abuſed text of the 4th commandement for the Lords day.