A Defense of the Sabbath Day, Chapter 5 · Commentary · Section 3 · Argument 9
ARGVM. IX.
My 9th argument, to proue that the 7th day Sabbath is ſtill in force, is becauſe vnleſſe it be in force, the whole 4th com. with eueryevery parte & percell of it is aboliſhed, nullified, & altogether vſeleſſe. And thus it may be framed.
If the 7th day Sabbath be not now in force; Then is the whole 4th com. nullified & altogether vſeleſse.
But the 4th com. is not nullified, & become vſeleſſe. Therefore is the 7th day Sabbath now in force.
Firſt a word or two of the minor or ſecond propoſition; for the trueth of it, namely that the 4th com. is now in force, this is plaine, firſt by the Teſtimony of our Sauiour, who ratifieth the very leaſt of the commandements, as you may ſee Math. 5.19. ſecondly, it is ratified by our Church, which hath ordered, that the 4th com. be reade in our Churches, & alſo, that the people ſhall vſe this prayer, at the rehearſall of it by the Miniſter, Lord hauehave mercy vponupon vsus, and incline our hearts to keepe this Law. Thirdly I know no Diuine, one or other that denieth it, or doubteth of it; & it were heinouſe impiety, for any to deny it; for it were to deny one of the tenn Morall Lawes, of Almighty God. So much therefore for profe of the Minor.
I come then vntounto the Major or firſt propoſition; wherein I affirmed that the aboliſhing of the 7th day Sabbath, doth draw after it, the nullifying of the whole 4th com. & now I proue it. In the 4th com. are ij things to be conſidered, the one is the commandement it ſelfe; the other is the reaſon of the com. and I ſhall proue, that both theſe are nullified by aboliſhing of the 7th day Sabbath, or by denying that the 7th day Sabbath is ſtill in force.
To begine with the commandement it ſelfe: that I may ſhewhow this is nullified, firſt we muſt ſee what it is which they deny; namely the 7th day Sabbath; in which words we will conſider, that they deny the Sabbath day, that is, the old Sabbath day, to be in force now: & then we will conſider how they deny the 7th day, that is, the 7th day from the Creation, to be in force now: for both theſe they doe deny, in denying that the 7th day Sabbath is now in force: of theſe two I will begine with the Sabbath day, that is, the old Sabbath day; which they doe deny by theſe textes Exod. 31.13. & Col. 2.16.17. now I proue, that if the old Sabbath day ſpecified in the 4th com. be aboliſhed, & not in force now, then is the 4th com. made nonſenſe, and to ſtand for a Cipher: and that this may appeare, you ſhall ſee it made plaine to your very eyeſight.
The Lord God ſaid, Remember the Sabbath day, to ſanctify it Exod. 20.8. Now the Sabbath day here mentioned, it was the old Sabbath day; but this old Sabbath day (ſay theſe new Sabbatharians) is aboliſhed, & not in force now; which if it be ſo, then in this commandement Exod. 20.8. the Lord God commandeth now at this time, iuſt nothing at all; for, take away theſe ij words Sabbath day from out the commandement, and in ſteade thereof, put ſo many Ciphers, as you hauehave letters in the two words, as you may doe, if thoſe words, or the thing meante by thoſe words, be aboliſhed, & then the commandement is no more but thus much, Remember the 0000000000, to ſanctify it: Thus you ſee by deniall of the old Sabbath day, they hauehave made the word of God of none effect, & Gods commandement to become nonſenſe, and a bundle of Ciphers: & this muſt be ſo, vnleſſe they can ſhew vsus, that God commanded vsus, two Sabbath dayes, in his 4th com. the one, caled Sabbath day, the other, caled Lords day: which all the Logick in their heads can neuer doe. And ſo much for their deniall of the Sabbath day.
I come now vntounto the other thing that they deny, to wit, the 7th day, from the creation: & in this I will conſider aparte theſe ij. things; firſt the word day, & then the word Seauenth: firſt for the word day: they ſay that the day, to wit, the old day is aboliſhed, & as by other textes, ſo alſo by theſe textes, Rom. 14.5, & Gal. 4.10. ſecondly for the word Seauenth, they ſay that the 7th day in order of time is aboliſhed, to wit, the 7th day from the Creation, whence it followeth. 1. That if the day be aboliſhed, then is there no day now inioyned in the 4th com. for, take away that day which was commanded, to wit, the old day, & then is there now no day required for a Sabbath in the 4th com. ſo then, now an howre in a day may be ſufficient, for a Sabhath; & ſo a Sabbath day may be turned into a Sabbath howre: Loe then, if by deniall of the 7th day, they hauehave not nullified the 4th cō. or as good as nullified it: for, the Lord was wont to hauehave an whole day, celebrated for his worſhip by the 4th com. but now, we need giuegive him but an howre in a day for his worſhip, by the 4th com. thus Sabbath daies, may be turned into Lecture daies; & is not this a manifeſt violence done vntounto Gods Law? and thus it muſt be by their denial, vnleſſe they can ſhew vsus, that God commanded ij. daies in his 4th com. an old day, & a new day; the 7th day, & the 8th day.
2dly, it followeth, that if the 7th day from the Creation be aboliſhed, as they ſay it is, then now a daies, we are not bound by the 4th com. to giuegive God one day in eueryevery 7 daies for a Sabbath; but we may giuegive God one day in 7, or one day in 14, or one day in a monethmonth, or one day in a yeere, or one in 7 yeeres, or one in a mans life time: for being that the 7th day in the cō. is aboliſhed, & none other day there is ſpecified, or put into its roome, we are now left at randome, to take a day when we pleaſe; for the 4th com. doth not tell vsus how often we ſhould keepe a Sabbath, ſince thoſe words (the 7th day) are aboliſhed, which teld vsus how often we ſhould giuegive God a Sabbath; now iudge thou good Reader, if they hauehave not as good as nullified Gods 4th com. by aboliſhing the 7th day, ſince God was wont to hauehave a 7th day once a weeke by his 4th com. but now we need not by that com. giuegive him a Sabbath aboue once in a yeere, or once in 7 yeeres, or once in a mans life: for the time how often, being aboliſhed, there remaineth in the 4th com. no more but the duty, to keepe a Sabbath day; and that we may performe, if we keepe but one in our whole life.
But we hauehave not yet done: In the 4th cō. there is ij. thinges to be obſerued, the one is the duety of an Holy Rest, the other is the duety of an Holy time, to wit, the 7th day: now of theſe two things, they hold the time a ceremony and aboliſhed; but the duety of an Holy Reſt, this they hold morall, and this they carefully performe on the Lords day as they perſwade thē ſelues, well but if now I ſhall proue vntounto you, that their performance of this Holy Reſt vponupon a wrong day, is not the Sabbaths duety, nor the duety required by God in his 4th com. then you will ſay with me, that their aboliſhing of the time the 7th day, is the aboliſhing of the 4th com. alſo: for there are but ij. things inyoned in the Com. & they deny the one expreſly, and the other by iuſt conſequence.
For this purpoſe note, that the like is not the ſame: for example, A counterfaite, is like a current ſhilling, yet it is not a current ſhilling: Sauls Sacrificing was like to Samuels ſacrificing, but not the ſame: and ſo, the Lords day, Holy Reſt, may be like the Sabbath daies, Holy Reſt, but yet for all that, it is not the Sabbath daies Holy Reſt.
It is to be obſerued, that the Lords day Reſt, differeth from the Sabbath daies Reſt three wayes; the firſt is in the name; for the name Reſt, receineth its denomination moſt properlie, from the day wherin it is done; thus the Reſt performed on a Faſt day, is called a Faſt daies reſt; & the Reſt on a common Holie day, is to be called an Holy day reſt, not Sabbath day reſt; the worke done on a Saturday is called Saturdaies worke; and the worke done on a friday, it is called Fridaies worke; and ſo the Reſt performed on the Lords day, it is the Lords day reſt, not the Sabbath day reſt; it is abſurd to miſename things; for if you may call the Reſt, performed on the Lords day, the Sabbath daies reſt; why may you not by the like reaſon, call the Fridaies worke, Saturdaies worke? and the reſt on a common holy day, the Sabbath day reſt? and a Faſtdaies reſt; or any day of publike thankſgiuings reſt, the Sabbath daies reſt? and why may we not call Sauls ſacrificing, Samuels ſacrificing? the Lords daies Reſt therfore, is not the Sabbath daies Reſt.
The other way whereby the Lords day reſt, differeth from the Sabbath daies Reſt, is in reſpect of the 4th Comm. for the reſt performed on the Sabbath day, is properlie the reſt of the 4th Com. becauſe the 4th Com. inioyneth its reſt, to be vponupon the Sabbath day; but the reſt performed on the Lords day, cannot be a reſt belonging to the 4th Comm. becauſe the 4th Comm. doth not command any reſt vponupon that day which is named Lords day: it commandeth onelie ſuch a reſt as is on the day named Sabbath day, and it commandeth labour & worke on the day called Lords day, it being one of the ſixe working daies.
Happily they will ſay, that they performe this reſt on the Lords day, in conſcience to the 4th Com. But I anſwer, that it cannot belong therfore vntounto the 4th Com. for it is not mens conſcience, but Gods ordinance that maketh a reſt to be the reſt of the 4th Com. which I thus declare, if mens keeping a reſt with a reſpect vntounto the 4th Com. would therfore make it a reſt commanded in the 4th Com. then it ſhall follow, that if any man in his ignorance, will obſerue the reſt on a faſt day, & on a Coronation day, in a conſcience of the 4th Com. faineing to himſelfe that it is commanded in the 4th Com. then it ſhall come to paſſe, that Faſt dayes, & Coronation dayes, ſhall ſtand by virtue of the 4th Com. and be Sabbathes too: further, by this deuiſe, whereas the Iewes had many Sabbaths, ſome weekly, others yeerly; they might hauehave obſerued their yeerly Sabbaths in conſcience of the 4th Com.
The third way whereby the reſt of the Lords day, differeth from the Reſt of the Sabbath day, is in regard of the ends wherfore they are obſerued: for the Holy reſt of the Sabbath day, is kept to preſerue in Gods Church the memory of the Creation; but the Holy reſt of the Lords day, is to preſerue the memory of the Redemption: the Sabbath daies reſt, mindeth vsus of Gods reſt vponupon the Sabbath day; but the Lords daies reſt, mindeth vsus of Chriſts Reſurrection vponupon the Lords day.
Thus you hauehave ſene it manifeſted, that the Holy reſt which we now performe on the Lords day, it is not that Holy reſt required in the 4th Comm. it is onelyonly like vntounto it, but it is not the ſame; for it differeth, 1. in the name, the one being properly called the Sabbath daies Reſt; the other, the Lords daies Reſt, 2. It differeth in reſpect of the 4th Com. for the Reſt proper to the 4th Com. is a reſt vponupon the 7th day, & vponupon a day whoſe name is properly Sabbath day; but our reſt, is vponupon the 8th day, & vponupon a day whoſe proper name is Lords day. 3. It differeth in the vſe & end; for the Reſt on the Sabbath day, is to preſerue a memory of the Creation; but the reſt on the Lords day, is to preſerue a memory of the Reſurrection or Redemption. 4. I will add a 4th difference which is this, the reſt vponupon the Sabbath day, which is commanded in the 4th com. is a reſt, to be obſerued in imitation of Gods Reſt, on the 7th day, at the Creation Geneſ. 2.3. Exod. 20.11. but the Reſt on the Lords day, is not done in imitation of Gods reſt at the Creation; nor can be: for God reſted on the 7th day, & our Lords daies reſt is on the 8th day: now this is farr from imitating of God, when he reſted vponupon one day, and we will Reſt vponupon an other. And thus in theſe four reſpects it is euident, that the Reſt which now we keepe, it is none of Gods Reſt, ordeined in his 4th Comm. it is but like it, as a counterfaite ſhilling, is like a currant ſhilling; let no man therfore any longer deceiue himſelfe, by thinking he keepeth Gods reſt, when he reſteth on the Lords day.
To conclude, foraſmuch as the Holy reſt we now keepe on the Lords day, it is not that Holy reſt required in the 4th com. hereby you ſee plainly, that now we neither giuegive God the time, no nor the dueties of the time; and that by aboliſhing of the ſacred & ſanctified time of the 7th day, they hauehave alſo aboliſhed the Holy reſt, required of God in this 4th Com. and thus there being but two things inioyned vsus in the 4th Comm. they hauehave reiected them both; iudge then good Reader, if they hauehave not by aboliſhing of the 7th day Sabbath, made voide and nullified alſo the 4th Commandement: for they obſerue iuſt nothing of all that God commandeth, but hauehave reiected both the time, & the dueties in the time. And thus much for proofe, that by aboliſhing the 7th day Sabbath, they hauehave made voide & nullified the 4th Com. it ſelfe.
I come now vntounto the reaſon of the 4th Com. to ſhew you how they hauehave nullified & made voide that alſo; for they hauehave made moſt horrible hauocke with Gods Commandement, by reiecting the Saturday Sabbath: The body of the 4th Com. is conteined in iij. verſes, Exod. 20.8.9.10. and I hauehave ſhowne how theſe iij. verſes, of the xx Chapter of Exodus, are made voide and nullified; and now I come to ſhew how they hauehave made fruſtrate alſo an other whole verſe, to wit, verſe the 11th, and ſo they ſhall hauehave filled vp the meſure of their iniquity ful…, by a ſacrilegiouſe robbing God, of iiij. whole verſes out of his Morall Law, by taking away the key of knowledge from them: for I account it all as one, to rend iiij. verſes of ſacred Scripture out of the Bible, & to peruert the ſenſe of them; or to turne the ſenſe & vſe of them, into Ciphers.
That I may ſhew you, how by denying and aboliſhing the 7th day Sabbath, they hauehave nullified & made voide the reaſon of the 4th Com. alſo, firſt I will recite the reaſon, for in ſixe daies the Lord made the heauen & the earth, the ſea, & all that in them is, and reſted the 7th day: Therfore the Lord bleſſed the Sabbath day & hallowed it Exod. 20.11. This 11th verſe, is a reaſon giuen by Almightie God, thereby to perſwade vntounto the obedience of the 4th Com. The Commandement was this, that we ſhould worke vponupon thoſe ſixe daies, which were the firſt ſixe daies from the begining of the Creation; & that we ſhould reſt from labour on the 7th day from the Creation: now the reaſon whereby God would perſwade vsus herevnto, is a reaſon drawne from his owne example; becauſe that in thoſe ſixe daies, God himſelfe laboured, and in the ſame 7th day, God himſelfe reſted; yea, and therfore hallowed & ſanctified this 7th day.
Now what reaſon can be more liuly, then a reaſon drawne from Gods example? & what argument can be more moueing, with the ſonnes & daughters of God, then an argumēt fetched from the example of their heauenly fathers? but let the oldeſt man liuing tell me, if euer he heard any Miniſter in the pulpit, preſſe the keeping of the 4th com. by this reaſon, which God hath here added vntounto his 4th com, or let any man tell me, if euer he heard the ſanctification of the Lords day, which is the firſt day of the weeke, preſſed by this reaſon here added by God vntounto his 4th com. Nay, what Miniſter will not be aſhamed, to perſwade men, either to the keeping of the 4th com. or to keeping of the Lords day, by this reaſon, which heere God hath propounded? for, we neither worke on thoſe 6 dayes wherin God wrought, neither doe we reſt on that 7th day wherein God reſted: for we reſt on the 8th day, or firſt day, not as God did, on the 7th day; & our Lords day, God did not reſt on it, for our imitation, but he laboured on it for our imitation; ſo as there is no correſpondency betwixt our Lords day Sabbath, & our now keeping of the 4th com. & Gods example & reaſon propounded vntounto vsus.
When did you euer heare any Miniſter ſay thus, Let vsus reſt from our laboures on the Lords day; becauſe God himſelfe, as our Patterne, reſted on the Lords day? and let vsus ſanctify & hallow the firſt day; becauſe God bleſſed & ſanctified the firſt day? you ſee how God hath added a moſt liuely & effectuall reaſon, to his 4th com. drawne from his owne example, to moue vsus to reſt on the Lords day, & to ſanctify the firſt day? tell me, if euer you heard any Miniſter thus preſſe this reaſon, & Gods example: or, if yee hauehave heard any houer aboute it, as loath to touch it, he hath nicknamed dayes, caling the Lords day, Sabbath day; & the 8th or firſt day, the 7th day: wherefore, becauſe Miniſters cannot deuiſe, how to make Gods example, and exemplary reaſon, to fit & ſquare to our new Sabbath, therefore they are mute & ſilēt touching it; and thus you ſee the reaſon of the 4th com. ſtandeth in our Bibles but for a Cipher; & men are a ſhamed to vſe it, leaſt they ſhould ſhame themſelues: is it not a lamentable thing, that Miniſters are aſhamed to deliuer the whole will & counſaile of God, leaſt thereby they ſhould both ſhame themſelues, & bewray vntounto the people their foule errour in aboliſhing of Gods Sabbaths? for if this reaſon were vſed, men would eaſily ſee, how wide we are from the marke, in keeping the Lords day, in conſcience of the 4th com. when as the very reaſon of the 4th com. would plainly …each vsus that it is the 7th day Sabbath, wherein God himſelfe reſted, that we ſhould reſt, and not on the 8th day Sabbath.
To ſumme vp all, you hauehave ſeene how they that aboliſh the 7th day Sabbath, they hauehave turned the body of the 4th com. into a company of Ciphers; & this hath bene declared & proued many wayes: yea they hauehave alſo turned the reaſon to the 4th com. into ſo many words, ſo many Ciphers; for it ſtandeth in the booke of God for a mute, and is like a blanke in a Lottery; no Miniſter vſeing this reaſon of God before his people, to perſwade them to the keeping of the Lords day, or of the Sabbath day, by it: So then ſince they hauehave not onelyonly nullified the commandement, but alſo made voyde and vſeleſſe, the reaſon annexed to the commandemēt; hereby you ſee, they hauehave by reiecting Gods hallowed and ſanctified time, the Saturday Sabbath, reiected alſo the whole 4th com. with eueryevery parte and perſell of it, roote and branch.
There are not many verſes in the Morall Law, and behold how of thoſe fewe verſes, they hauehave turned into Ciphers, & made voyde & vſeleſſe, no leſſe then iiij whole verſes. v. 8.9.10.11. there are not aboue 15 or 16 verſes, in all the Morall law; now whoſoeuer reiecteth the Saturday or 7th day Sabbath, you ſee he maketh voyde & fruſtrate, no leſſe then 4 of thoſe verſes: it is an errour, caling for deepeſt conſideration, & a ſpeedy reformation. Thus much for my 9th argument.