The Doctrine of the Sabbath Vindicated, Chapter 26
CHAP. XXVI. Breerwood. Pag. 41, 42, 43.
Object. BVt you may object, if the old Sabaoth vaniſhed and the commandement of God was limited and fixed to that day only, then is one of Gods commandements periſhed. Sol. I anſwere, that the generality of that commandement to keepe a Sabaoth wherein God might be honoured, was morall; But the ſpeciality of it, namely to keepe, (1) one day of ſeven, (2) the ſeventh, (3) one whole day, (4) with preciſe vacancy from all worke, were meerely ceremoniall? the ſpecialitie then of the commandements are vaniſhed: But for the generality of it, it is a law of nature, and remaineth. But, as the ſpeciality of that commandement implyeth plaine contradiction, with the ſabbaticall of the Lords day, ſo the generality of it can enforce nothing for it, for theſe are miſerable conſequents (indeed plaine fallacies of the conſequēt) that God hath ſometime commanded vacancy for his honour, therefore he hath commanded the firſt day of the weeke to be that time, or this, God hath commanded us ſome time to reſt, therefore that time we muſt preciſely abſtaine from all manner of workes: can the Church make theſe good conſequences? If it cannot, the celebration of the Lords day, can with no enforcement of reaſon be deduced out of the morality of Gods commandement. But if you will reply: that the Church hath eſtabliſhed the firſt day of the weeke to be the Chriſtians Sabaoth, not by way of conſequence, as deducing it out of commandement, but meerely by authority, appropriating and fixing Gods morall commandement to it; you may ſay your pleaſure, but I ſhall neither beleeve, nor you prove that ſuch authority belongs to the Church: or that ſuch an act hath beene eſtabliſhed by the Church: which I am ſure you can never doe neither of both; for ſeeing that all Divines acknowledge, that the ſingling out of ſuch a day to be ſanctified, namely, the ſeventh rather than any other, was meerely ceremoniall, although it was Gods owne deſignation. I hope that you will confeſſe the ſpeciall deſignement of the firſt day of the weeke to that honour, before other daies, being made only by the Church, to be alſo but ceremoniall. But certaine it is, that no ceremonies which come not under the obligation of Gods morall law, ſhould oblige to the obſervation of ceremonies. Therefore it will never conſiſt with reaſon, that the morall law of God can by any authoritie of the Church oblige Chriſtians to the celebration of the Lords day.
It is not therefore the tranſlation of the old commandement of God from the one day to the other (which yet if it were tranſlated, can oblige ſervants no otherwiſe than it did under the old law) but the inſtitution of a new commandement, of the Church her ſelfe (yet guided by the ſpirit of God) that conſecrated that day to the ſolemne ſervice of God.
Anſwer.
Firſt, this objection we owne, and for your diſtinction thus diſprove it. Your granted Generality is commanded in the commandements fore-going, in which God that commands a worſhip, commands alſo time for it, as when he created the world, time was concreated of neceſſity. Beſides, this vaine conceit was before blowne up. Therefore if all you name and put into the ſpeciality of the Commandement be meerely ceremoniall, we have no fourth Commandement diſtinct from the former.
Secondly, for your ſpeciality which you ſay is all meerly ceremoniall, we proved before that the light of nature would prove the contrary, and now we aſſault every particular with the ſword of the ſpirit, that the hairy ſcalpe of it may be wounded, and in the welding of the ſame put our hands on the hands of the Lords Worthies, to fetch the blowes with more force.
Firſt, that one day of ſeven, and particularly the ſeventh, is not ceremoniall, is evident by the commandement, which delivered with Gods owne mouth in the mount, and charged by way of command, is no other than morall and indiſpenſable. And by the celebration of the Chriſtian Sabbath in the New teſtament, which was on the ſeventh day, viz. the firſt day of the weeke, and was conſtantly in weekely revolution celebrated. Calvin ſaith, yCalvin. in quar…ū praec…ptum. diem unum ſeparat a reliquis, & ab omnibus terrenis negotiis & curis imm…nē; quoad hanc partem, nobis cum veteri populo communis eſt Sabba…i neceſſitas, ut die uno liberi ſimus at que ita melius parati tam ad diſcendum qudm ad fidem nostram testandum.God ſeparateth one day from the reſt, and wills that it be free from all earthly buſineſſe and cares. In this reſpect the neceſſity of the Sabbath is common to us with the ancient people, that one day wee be free, and ſo the better prepared as well to learne, as to teſtifie our faith: ſo Peter Martyr on Gen. 2. and Maſt. Perkins on Gal. 4. 10. and infinite many more. The Apoſtles knew and that by the Scriptures, ſaith learned Fulke, that one day of ſeven was appointed to be obſerved for ever, during the world, conſecrated to the publike exerciſes of Gods true Religion. The Church of Scotland ſaith, that thePreface to the aſſembly at Perth. day commanded in the Law, formally muſt remaine, and ever bee the ſeventh, after ſixe dayes worke. Chemnitius zChemnit. examen Concil. trident. cap. de dieb. feſt. Tam Veteris quàm Novi Testamenti pagina ſeptimā diem ad humanam quietem ſpecialiter deputat, id eſt, (interprete Zu… rez. de diebus festis Cap. 1.) utrúmque Teſtamentun appro. bavit morem deputandi ad quietem humanam, ſeptimum quenque diem hebdomadae: quod eſt formaliter deputate ſeptimū dicm, licet materialiter non idem dies fuerit ſemper deputatus: & hoc modo verum eſt, ſcptimum diem in lege veteri eſſe Sabbathum, in nova verò eſſe dominicam diem. De fcriis cap. licet.(who with the Lutherans, aſcribeth too much in this thing to the Churches liberty) yet affirmeth truely thus much: This is that which is ſaid uſually and truely, that the New Teſtament in the commandement of keeping holy the Sabbath day, abrogated not the Genus, the generall, which is morall, but the ſpecies, the ſpeciall: that is, hath not taken away the generall, which is the ſeventh day, for this is naturall: but the ſpeciall or particular, namely, that ſeventh day which the Iewes kept in remembrance of the firſt Creation. Alexander the third Pope of Rome, affirmeth that the page as well of the old as the new Teſtament hath ſpecially deputed the ſeventh day to humane reſt: that is (by the interpretation of Zuarez) both Teſtaments have approved, the manner of deputing every ſeventh day of the weeke to humane Reſt: which is to depute the ſeventh day formally, although the ſame day materially hath not alwaies been deputed: and by this meanes it is true, that that ſeventh day in the old law was Sabbath, but in the New the Lords day is Sabbath. M. Atterſoll on Numbers 15. 35. p. 645. well obſerveth, that if one day in ſeven be not morall and perpetuall, a man may ſay that one day in ſeven weekes or ſeven yeeres is enough, and ſo at length it ſhall be ſaid, wee are not bound to meet together publikely above one day in a 100. yeers. But this abſurdity Gomarus, a that holds the contrary opinion, thinketh heeGomarus de invest. haeret. & orig. Sab. c. 5. pa. 61. Certi dies & ſufficientes. hath evaded, by theſe words, when he holdeth that not only certaine daies, but alſo ſufficient dayes be obſerved for Gods worſhip. But this is juſt nothing, for are not one day in a yeere yeerely certaine dayes, and ſo of the reſt: and if that ſome ſhall ſay they are enough, though others ſpeake againſt it, who ſhal tel which of theſe two ſides, ſides with the truth, when what is enough (you hold) God hath not particularly determined: yea, but Gomarus ſaith▪ that what dayes are ſufficient may be gathered out of the precept of the Sabbath, namely, that they be, either not more ſeldome, or elſe a little more oft, than the Sabbaths of the Iſraelites, as the indulgence of God in giving that precept, ſheweth. For when the Lord for his clemency ſake, tooke one of ſeven onelyonly to his worſhip for the Iſraelites, men of a ſtiffe-necke and preſſed with the heavy yoke of feaſts and other ceremonies; how ſhall more ſeldome ſuffice among Chriſtians, that are free from that yoke and burden? Very good: Can any looke on this without griefe and laughter. If out of the precept you muſt gather your ſufficient dayes, why will you not take the dayes God hath in precept warranted for ſufficient and ſufficiently bleſſed; one of ſeven, the ſeventh? If this your ſufficiency muſt be gathered from the precept, and that too as you gather that they bee more to us than were to Iewes, then we are to have two Sabbaths a weeke at the leaſt, and the Church erred that Anathematized the keepers of Saturday in the time of the Goſpell, and ſtill erreth that never ſaw this yet, much leſſe obſerved it. Or if you ſay, no they muſt not be Sabbaths, how then gather you this ſufficiency of the dayes out of the fourth Commandement which concerneth the Sabbath and not halfe holidaies, and other feaſts: and if the Iewes were yoked with obſervation of feaſts, & therfore Gods clemency would they ſhould keep but the ſeventh day? What an inſupportable yoke doe you lay upon Chriſtians, that muſt, as you ſay, keepe more than one of ſeven, or elſe they keepe not a ſufficient number? all the Iewiſh feaſts would hardly ariſe to the number that two in a weeke conſtantly doe amount to: and what interfearing is here? One of the ſeven daies of the weeke in perpetuall revolution is not neceſſarily to be obſerved by force of the fourth Commandement. And yet fewer than one a weeke cannot be ſufficient, and that by vertue of the fourth Commandement. What? would you have more than one a weeke by vertue of the Commandement, and therefore you ſay, one is not neceſſary? Or is that which is onelyonly ſufficient, not neceſſary? Why then take that which is inſufficient, and let that be yet neceſſary, even one when you will, and more when you will, now this day, now that, you may do them all a favour to take them over by turnes. Thus farre for Gomarus in this thing.
Secondly, that one whole day be kept holy and no leſſe is morall, and not ceremoniall, you yeelde that the commandement for a Sabbath is morall: now God never mentioned leſſe than a day, ſaying, Remember thou keepe holy the Sabbath day, the diſtinction alſo of time by the Lord of time cleareth this, for the whole weeke is divided into ſeven daies, and every of thoſe dayes conſiſteth of 24. houres. David, in his Pſalme for the Sabbath day bPſal 92. title with verſe 2., deſcribeth the time thus, It is good to ſhew forth thy loving kindneſſe in the morning, and thy faithfulneſſe every night (meaning every Sabbath day morning and night) as the title ſheweth. The apparition of our Saviour at the night of the day of his Reſurrection in the midſt of the Diſciples aſſembled cIoh 20. 19. Profunda jam nocte, it being now very late at night, ſaith Are…ius., proveth that the night following of the day of Sabbath (take here day for the daylight betweene ſunne and ſunne) is of the Sabbath: and laſtly, the celebration of the Lords day by Paul at Troas in Act. 20. 7. out of which, ſaith Mr. Perkins, I note two things: Firſt, that the night mentioned there, was a part of the ſeventh day of Pauls abode at Troas: for, if it were not, ſo then he had ſtaied at leaſt a night longer, and ſo more than ſeven dayes, becauſe he ſhould have ſtaied part of another day. Secondly, that this night was part of the Sabbath which they then kept. For the Apoſtles keepe it in manner of a Sabbath, in the exerciſes of piety and divine worſhip, page missing
Anſwer.
This alſo ſuffereth juſt exception, both in it ſelfe, and in reference to the matter in hand: it bindeth you yeeld; becauſe Gods command bindeth to obey the Churches juſt conſtitutions. Conſider, it is Gods Command that bindeth, and not the Churches, but as it is Gods. Now Gods Command bindeth equally: and to deſpiſe Chriſt, and deſpiſe him in his Apoſtles (in as much as he ſaith, He that deſpiſeth you, deſpiſeth me,) is alike ſinfull: or what if it binde not equally? (to take your owne words) if it bind enough to make the tranſgreſſor a ſinner before God? For this was never queſtioned, whether the Maſter or Servant were the greater ſinner, in the ſervants working on the Sabbath. Againe, it bindeth equally, by your owne doctrine, becauſe you ſay in pag. 43. lib. 1. it is of the Church guided by the Spirit of God, unleſſe you will ſay that the doctrine of the New Teſtament, preached and written by men with the Holy Ghoſt ſent downe from Heaven, is of leſſe binding power than the Ten Commandements delivered on Mount Sinai; which runneth againſt, not onelyonly all Chriſtian religion, but alſo thoſe Texts in ſpeciall. Heb. 2. 2, 3. & 12.