A Defense of the Sabbath Day, Chapter 5 · Commentary · Section 3 · Argument 22
ARGVM. XXII.
My 22th Argument, in defence of the Sanctified & hallowed Saturday Sabbath Geneſ. 2.3. is, that it muſt be Morall & ſtill in force; partly becauſe all Diuines with one accorde do hold and maintaine, that one day in a weeke is Morall & ſtill in force by the 4th Com. and partly becauſe there can be no day ſanctified by the 4th Com. of all the 7 daies, but Saturday only. And thus I argue.
If one day in a weeke muſt be ſanctified for a Sabbath by virtue of the 4th Commandement, then Saturday Gods ancient ſanctified and ha…lowed 7th day Sabbath, muſt be our weekly Sabbath day.
But one day in a weeke, muſt be ſanctified for a Sabbath day, by virtue of the 4th Com.
Therfore Saturday Gods ancient ſanctified & hallowed 7th day Sabbath, muſt be our weekly Sabbath day.
Firſt I will pro…e the Minor, namely, that ſome one day in a weeke, muſt now be kept for a Sabbath day by the 4th Com. & then in the ſecond place, I will proue the Major, namely, that that one day, muſt be our Saturday. For the former, I will proue it firſt by the Teſtimony of our Church in generall, and then by the Teſtimony of many particular Diuines of n…te. Firſt then for our Church: ſee the booke of Homilies, Homilie the 8th, of the place & time of prayer pag. 138. where it is thus written, As concerning the time which Almighty God hath appointed his people to aſſemble in together ſolemnely, it doth appeare by the 4th Com. And t en a little beneath, And therfore by this commandement, wee ought to hauehave a time, as one day in a weeke, wherein we ought to reſt, & giuegive our ſelues wholly to heauenly exerciſes. And by and by againe, Thus it may plainly appeare, that Gods will & Command… was, to hauehave a ſolemne time, & a ſtanding day in the weeke, wherein the people ſhould come together, and hauehave in remembrance his wonderfull benefites, and to render him thankes for them. Here our Church acknowledgeth & teacheth, that by the 4th Com. we ought to ſet a parte a time, as one day in a weeke, & to hauehave a ſtanding day, in the weeke for the worſhip of God.
Biſhop Babington, in his expoſition of the Commandements, and on the 4th Com. P…g. 168. thus wri…eth: To hauehave one day in the ſeauen, to ſerue the Lord in, that was Morall., and remaineth ſtill, binding vsus vntounto it. Doctour Willet in his Hexapla on Exodus, and vponupon the 4th Com. pag. 356. thus writeth; This then may ſafely be affirmed, that to keepe one day of ſeauen holy to the Lord, is Morall & not ceremoniall. And aga…ne pag. 363. This Commandement as it is Morall continueth ſtill; namely, that a certaine day ſhould be ſet a parte for the publike ſeruice of God; & that as Chryſoſtome ſaith, in circulo hebdomadis &c in the compaſe of a weeke, one whole day ſhould be ſet a parte &c. Hom. 10. in Geneſ-Muſculus in his Common places, on the 4th Comm. at the latter end, ſaith thus, Touching the Sabbath, it ſtands with the Law of nature, that we ſhould ſome day giuegive our ſelues vntounto holy exerciſes: in this reſpect we muſt not ſhake off the ſanctification of the Sabbath, which is ſo farr deliuered vntounto vsus by the Law of nature, that all people vniuerſally, hauehave their ſtanding Holy daies, conſecrated for the doeing of holy things. Peter Martyr, in his Commentary on the Epiſtle to the Romanes, Chapt. 14. v. 5. pag. 436. ſaith thus, It pertaineth to the 10 Commandements, that out of the whole weeke, ſhold one day be conſecrated to the worſhip of God. Purchas, in his pilgrimage, pag 21. Some (ſaith hee) make queſtion of the Sabbath: Howbeit I muſt confeſſe, that I ſee nothing in that Commandement of the Decalogue, praeſcribed, but is naturall & morall: & that the obſeruing of one day of ſeauen in eueryevery weeke appeareth both by the firſt order eſtabiliſhed in nature, when God bleſſed & Sanctified the 7th day, and by neceſſity of a Sabbath, as well before the Law, in the daies of the Patriarkes, as in the times of Dauid, or Salomon: & by the generall conſent of all, that it is Morall to ſet a parte ſome time to the Lord &c. Thus we ſee it abundantly proued, that one day in a weeke is ſtill in force by the 4th Com. I might be infinite well nigh, in the profe of this point, out of M. Perkins, M. Dod & many others; yea what pulpit is there in the Kingdome of England, which doth not on all occationes ſeale vntounto this trueth, by proclayming and publiſhing it vntounto the people?
Hauing proued the Minor that one day of the weeke muſt be a Sabbath hy the 4th cō. now J come vntounto the Major, to proue that this one day muſt be our Saturday: or t' is, that if one day in a weeke muſt be a Sabbath day by the 4th com. then Saturday muſt be our weekly Sabbath day: my reaſon of this point is, becauſe none other day of the weeke can be a Sabbath day, by the 4th com. beſids our Saturday: this I ſhall proue, by ſondry arguments taken from the 4th com. we will fetch our firſt argument, from the firſt word of the …th com. Remember.
That day, and that day of the weeke onelyonly muſt be Sabbath day by the 4th com. the which this word Remēber doth ſend vsus vntounto: now this word hath reference vntounto Saturday the old Sabbath day onelyonly: for the word Remember, implies a thing foreknowne; thus Peter is ſaid to remēber the words of Ieſus which he had ſaid vntounto him. Mat. 26.75. and ſo it is here, whereas God ſaid remember the Sabbath day, he ſpeaketh to his people the Iewes, of a day which they knew beforehand: for it was conſecrated, not firſt at the giuing of the Law, but long before, euen at the Creation, Geneſ. 2.3. now the Iewes, they knew no day for a Sabbath day, and ſo could remember no day, but Saturday the 7th day, they knew not of the Lords day, nor of any other; and therefore this 4th com. and the word Remember in it, belongeth properly vntounto no day of the weeke but Saturday, 2. That day of the weeke, and that onelyonly is the Sabbath by the 4th com. whoſe proper name is Sabbath day Remember the Sabbath day Exod. 20.8, now no day of the weeke was euer called Sabbath day by the Scriptures, or ancient fathers, but Saturday: & therefore no day but Saturday can ſtand by the 4th com. I am not ignorant that we cale Sunday, Sabbath day, but this is but a miſcalling and nicknaming of daies, as elſewhere is ſhewed, ſee Mark. 16.1.2. where Saturday was caled Sabbath day, & ſunday was caled the firſt day of the weeke. 3. OnelyOnly that day is Sabbath day by the 4th com. which is the 7th day of the weeke. But the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, Exod. 20.10. now no day of the weeke is by any approued computation called and accounted the 7th day but Saturday, as elſwhere hath bene ſhowne: therefore Saturday is the Sabbath day by the 4th com. ſee Mark. 16.1.2. where Sunday is caled the firſt day of weeke: & if Sunday be the firſt day, then Saturday which cometh after it, muſt be the 7th day. Thus you ſee, none other day of the weeke can be Sabbath by the 4th com. becauſe none other day was euer caled Sabbath day, nor counted the 7th day. 4. No day of the weeke cā be Sabbath day by the 4th com. but Saturday the 7th day, becauſe the reaſon of the 4th com. & Gods enſample of his reſt on the 7th day therein conteined Exod. 20.11. cannot belong vntounto any day of the weeke beſids Saturday, this point is elſwhere cleered alſo.
Thus you ſee it vndeniablie proued, that if one day in a weeke muſt be a Sabbath day by the 4th com. it muſt of neceſſity be Saturday: becauſe the 4th com. in all the partes thereof, point vsus out vntounto Saturday, and vntounto no day of the weeke beſids it.