A Defense of the Sabbath Day, Chapter 5 · Commentary · Section 3 · Argument 24
ARGVM. XXIIII.
Becauſe many ſtand ſo much vponupon the law & light of nature, holding that onelyonly to be morall in the Decalogue, which is ratified by the light of nature: &, that they would imbrace the Sabbath, if it could be proued to be a Law of nature: for the benefite of ſuch therefore J frame this argument; and thus I argue.
That duety which is expreſly commanded in the Decalogue, which being made knowne to a meere naturall man, he cannot by his light of nature & reaſon oppoſe, but muſt allow of and ſubſcrib vntounto as good for him; that duety is morall, concerneth our practiſe, & is perpetually to be kept.
But the obſeruation of Saturday the 7th day Sabbath, is expreſly commanded in the Decalogue, & is a duety which being made knowne to a meere naturall man, hee cannot by the light of nature & reaſon oppoſe it, but muſt allow it, and ſubſcrib vntounto it as good for him.
Therefore the obſeruation of Saturday the 7th day Sabbath, is morall, concerneth our practiſe, & is perpetually to be kept.
As touching the profe of the major, if any ſhall except againſt it, ſaying, they could like of it, if it ſpake of ſuch a duety in the Decalogue, as were firſt found out by the light of nature; but miſlike of it, becauſe it ſpeakes of ſuch a duety as is firſt found out by a ſupernaturall light, & then made knowne vntounto a naturall man. Hereto I reply, that it is not matteriall whither the duety be firſt found out by the light of nature, & after allowed of by the ſame light, or firſt found out by the ſupernaturall light of Gods word in his 4th com. & then ſubſcribed vntounto by the light of nature: it mattereth not I ſay which way & by whom the duety was found out firſt, ſo long as nature & the light of reaſon doth allow of it, iuſtify it, and ſubſcrib vntounto it, after it is found out: for, men are as well bound by the Law and light of nature, to obſerue thoſe dueties which the light of nature alloweth and approueth, being taught vntounto them, as to obſerue thoſe which were neuer taught them: for it is not the finding of them, nor the manner of getting the knowledg of them that bindeth, but it is the approbation, and allowance of them, that bindeth to the obſeruation of them, and which hath the force of a Law in a man: wherefore, what duety ſoeuer is preſcribed vsus in the Decalogue, if the light of nature cannot oppoſe it as harmfull & incommodiouſe, but doth rather allow of it, iuſtify it, & approue of it as good, that duety muſt needs be morall & practiſed by vsus; or elſe we bewray our ſelues to be vnnaturall, & to put out the light of nature in vsus, & to goe againſt conſcience: for we will refuſe to doe that, which the very light of nature in vsus, alloweth of, and ſubſcribeth vntounto as good to be done, and ſo I come to the Minor.
Jn the minor I ſhall not need to proue any thing but this to wit, that a meere naturall man, cannot oppoſe Gods 7th day Sabbath, but muſt allow of it as good to be obſerued, ſo ſoone as the Author, vſe, & end of it be diſcouered vntounto him: firſt thē for the Author of the Sabbath, a meere naturall man cannot by the light of reaſon, but allow of all lawes and ordinances made by a Deity. 2. for the vſe, and end of the 7th day Sabbath, 1. as it is kept in memoriall of the Creation, ſo a naturall man cannot but allow of it; ſince by the Creation hee receiued his being, and all comforts of this life. 2. It croſſeth not the good of particuler perſones, ſocieties, or common weal…s; but on the contrary, it ſerueth to refreſh both man and beaſt, being ouertoiled and ſpent in the 6 dayes before by laboures; it helpeth the exerciſe of Religion; and it is a duety, which ſocieties and common weales cannot well ſubſiſt without: for we ſee, beſids weekly Sabbaths, that common weales do maintaine ſondry anniuerſary holy dayes, and therefore at the leaſt one day in 7 is counted needfull for Reſt: wherefore, ſuppoſe wee that the Lords day, or the Sunday Sabbath were changed into the 7th day or Saturday Sabbath, ſince the common weale ſtandeth in neede of one day in 7 at leaſt for reſt and refreſhment and the exerciſe of religion, therefore it followeth, that if we had the Saturday Sabbath in vſe, the common weale could hauehave nothing againſt it to oppoſe it, but muſt allow of it, approue it, and ſubſcrib vntounto it as good to be obſerued: becauſe in it and by it, a good and benefite cometh vntounto the common weale, both for their bodies and ſoules.
In a word, doth not nature teach vsus, that it is meete to ſhew mercy vntounto Seruants, and allow them one day in 7 to reſt in from their painefull laboures, and to refreſh themſelues? and ſo to fit them for labour againe on the next Sixe daies? and doth not nature teach, that it is fitter that this day ſhould be of Gods choiſe, which is Saturday the 7th day, then of mans choiſe? and alſo, that the time ſhould not be indifferent, at mans pleſure, leaſt ſome cruell Maſters ſhould deny their Seruants this neceſſary refreſhment, but neceſſary, as inioyned by God & as a duety from all Maſters?
How then ſhould this Sabbath be but morall, when the light of nature cannot except againſt it? and how ſhould it not but be obſerued of vsus to this day, when that naturall light of reaſon that is in vsus, doth conſent vntounto it, & allow and approue of it as good for vsus? as the Apoſtle ſaid, Doth not nature teach you, that if a man hath long haire, it is a ſhame vntounto him? 1. Cor. 11.14. So may I ſay, doth not nature teach vsus, that if we had Gods ancient Sabbaths, the obſeruation of them would proue both piouſe and commodiouſe? our Sauiour ſaith, The Sabbath was made for man. Mark. 2.27. Now what an vnnaturall man is that, who will reiect that thing which was made for him? will any man refuſe an howſe, or a garment that was made for him? or any of Gods Creatures which were made for him? & ſhall not ſuch incurr an heauy cenſure, who will reiect a duety commanded in the Decalogue, the which the light of nature ſtill remaining in vsus, doth allow of & approue of?
This is one thing I deſire may be in ſpeciall manner obſerued, that ſuch as reiect Gods Sabbath, they reiect a moſt ancient ordinance of Gods expreſly commanded in the Morall Law, ſaying, that very day and time is not morall nor concerneth our practiſe, as doe the reſt of the 10 commandements, when as not withſtanding our conſciences, and that light of naturall reaſon which is in vsus, doe conſent vntounto it, approue it, and allow of it, as a thing very good and commodiouſe for vsus, if we had it in vſe among vsus: ſhall not ſuch oppoſites be condemned, by their guilty conſciēces for oppoſing of that ordinance of Gods, which is no way againſt them, but eueryevery way good for them, their conſciences being witneſſes thereof? ſhould we vrge the practiſe of any thing impoſſible to be kept or vnnaturall to be done, the which nature riſeth againſt & abhorreth, thē if it were oppoſed it were the leſſe maruailouſe, but when we vrge & ſtand to defēd, nothing but a brāch of the morall law, nothing that nature diſſalloweth of, but rather cheerefully imbraceth, that ſuch a thing ſhould be oppoſed as no morall, nor appertayning vntounto vsus, but as Jewiſh and I cannot tell what, this is the matter of wonder, & ſo much for this argument.
For concluſion, let me goe a little further then my argument drawes me, I ſee not but it might be proued, that the 7th day Sabbath is a Law of nature, euen in their owne ſenſe, who ſay they would imbrace it if it were a Law of nature: for as the Gentiles ſome of them found out the true God, ſo ſome of them found out the true & 7th day Sabbath: for the profe hereof I referre you to Walaeus de Sabbatho, pag. 46. 47. who affirmeth the point himſelfe; & alſo proueth it; for he citeth diuerſe ancient Authores, as 1. Philo the Iew lib. 2. de vita Moſis, Our custome (ſaith Philo) doth adominiſh all Barbarianes, Graecianes, Europianes, and Aſianes of duty: for who doth not honour that ſacred day, which returneth eueryevery weeke? ij. he citeth Ioſephus lib. 2. aduerſus Appionem circa finē libri, ſaying, There is not any Citty, Graecianes or Barbarianes, nor any Nation, vntounto whom the obſeruation of the 7th day, in which the Iewes reſted, is not come. Thus Ioſephus. iij He citeth a moſt ancient author Theophilus Antiochenus Patriarcha lib. 2. ad Autolicum, As touching the 7th day (ſaith hee) which among all mortall men îs greatly famouſe, it is caled the Sabbath &c. iiij. He citeth Clemens Alexandrinus lib. 5. ſtromatum: Not onelyonly the Iewes (ſaith hee) but alſo the Gentiles knew that ſacred 7th day &c. 5. He citeth Euſebius, praeparat. Euangel. lib. 13. who proueth the ſame out of Plato, Heſiod, Homer, Callimachus and others, for further proofe hereof, I referre you to M. Richard Byfield on the Sabbath, pag. 81. who there alleageth ſondry Teſtimonies, ſhewing that the Gentiles kept the 7th day or Saturday Sabbath; amōg the reſt theſe Seneca in his 95 Epiſt. and Macrobius, Saturn. lib. 1. Cap. 7. And Aretius, problem de Sabbathi obſeru. thus you ſee that the Saturday or 7th day Sabbath was found out by, and in vſe among the Gentiles, wherefore the 7th day Sabbath ſtands firme, by the Law and light of nature.
Thus much for my arguments, whereby I hauehave proued the morallity and perpetuity of the Lords Sabbaths: wherein (as I truſt) I hauehave giuen ſatisfaction abundantly, to the conſcience of any man that is not vn-willing to ſee a trueth: but as for ſuch as reade with preiudicate opiniones, reſoluing before hand, to ſtop their eares leaſt they ſhould hear, & ſhut their eyes leaſt they ſhould ſee, which is a brand of an hearte hardened by the iuſt Iudgement of God, I leaue them to him that ſhall iudge them an other day.
Conſider what J hauehave ſaied, and the Lord giuegive you vnderstanding in all things.