The Jewish Sabbath Abrogated, Part 1 · Sermon 3
SERMON III.
Proving the Patriarchs kept not the Seventh-day Sabbath: That the knowledg of the ſeventh day was not written in the Hearts of all Mankind by Nature.
Gal. iv. 10, 11.
Ye obſerve days, and months, &c.
MY Brethren, there are three ſorts of Perſons I have little hopes of doing good to in preaching on this Subject.
1. Such as thro ſelf-conceit are ſo fond of their own Apprehenſions, that they reſolve not to regard the ſtrongeſt Arguments againſt what they believe: thus it is with ſome who have ſucked in dangerous Errors; who if a Book be preſented to them, preſently cry, away with it, we will not read it: they are not like him that ſaid, What I know not, teach thou me; nor like the great Appollos, who was ready to receive further Light by a poor Man and his Wife, much inferior to him both as to Parts, Knowledg, and Learning, Acts 18.
2. The ſecond ſort are ſuch as thro the weakneſs of their Capacities are not able to take in the ſtrength of an Argument; and therefore, let never ſo much be ſaid, do intimate it is all little or nothing to them.
3. The third ſort are ſuch as ſeem indifferent whether they keep the ſeventh, or the firſt day, or perhaps any at all, as a ſpecial day to the Lord: theſe not ſeeing the danger of obſerving the old Jewiſh Sabbath, nor of their indifference about keeping any day at all, trouble not themſelves at all about this matter. But to …aſs this, and proceed.
I have proved, 1. That the Command for, or knowledg of keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath was not written in Adam's Heart. 2. That there was … poſitive Command given to him, to obſerve that …ay above any other, either before or immediately after his Fall. A time to worſhip God was wrote in Adam's Heart no doubt; and indeed all his time, while in Innocency, he was naturally led to give up to his bleſſed Creator. All Adam's time in Innocency taken up in adoring his bleſſed Creator.What had he to do, but to adore, and contemplate the Perfections of his bountiful Creator? and could he have done it better on one day than another? The beſt and higheſt Acts of Worſhip he was capable of performing would have been his work and delight for ever, had he abode in that ſtate: for Perfection admits of no greater Number, Meaſure, Degrees, or Additions.
Now I may infer from hence: If the Command of God to obſerve the ſeventh day was not wrote in Adam's Heart, then it is not written in the Hearts of any of his Offspring by Nature: For as I have ſaid, the muddy Stream cannot be clearer than the Chryſtal Fountain.
But our Brethren who keep the ſeventh day, and ſome others affirm, that the Patriarchs from Adam to Moſes did keep that day.
Anſw. This I deny, and if I put them to prove it,The Patriarchs did not keep the ſeventh day Sab. they can never do it.
Firſt, I grant that from Adam to Moſes the holy and pious Patriarchs not only diſcharged all Duties of natural Religion, but all Duties given by expreſs Command to them; yet we read not that God commanded them to keep the ſeventh day, or reminded them of a former Precept given to Adam, and in him to them. And no doubt they obſerved a ſufficient time for the Worſhip of God, it may be a part of every day, or more than one in ſeven: for they not only improved their natural Light and Knowledg, but had a ſpecial Revelation of the Will of God to them; yet we find not the leaſt intimation that any of them kept the ſeventh day.
Abel we read ſacrificed; and this of offering Sacrifices could not be known by the Light of Nature; God therefore commanded him ſo to do, or revealed it ſome way or another in a ſupernatural way to him, becauſe him and his Offering God had reſpect unto: beſides, he did it in Faith, and Faith muſt have a Rule to act by; but we do not read he offer'd Sacrifices on the ſeventh day, or kept that day as a Sabbath: had he kept one Sabbath-day, tho no mention is made of any Command he had ſo to do, we ſhould no more doubt of it, but conclude he had ſuch a Command, as we believe he had for his offering Sacrifices; but if he or any other of the Patriarchs had kept the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, would it from thence follow it was a moral Precept, and obligatory on us, any more than their offering Sacrifices obliges us ſo to do?
We read of Men who began to call upon the Name of the Lord, Gen. 4. 26. or to call themſelves by the Name of the Lord, as one reads it,See Ainſw. Annot. on the place. but not a word of ſuch a Sabbath obſerv'd by them. Ainſworth reads it thus, Then began Men profanely to call upon the Name of the Lord: and one of the Rabins *Rabbi Maimon.ſaith, in thoſe days Idolatry took its firſt beginning; ſo that from hence there can no Proof be taken that they kept the ſeventh-day as a Sabbath. Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and certainly if he had kept the Sabbath we ſhould have had …ome account of it; but as we read of no ſuch matter, ſo Juſtin Martyr, as I find him cited by approved Authors, declares Enoch was one if thoſe that was not circumciſed, neither kept the Sabbath.Lib. 4. c. 30. Ad Judaeos. And Irenaeus mentioning Enoch, with my Author, ſpeaks thus, viz. Enoch that righteous Man, being neither circumciſed, nor a Sabbath-keeper, was by the Lord tranſlated.
And as it cannot be proved that the ſeventh day was obſerved before the Flood, ſo we have …o reaſon to believe it was kept by Noah, in thoſe days the Flood overflow'd the World: … is ſaid, Noah was only righteous in that Generation, and therefore a true Worſhipper of God; but we read not of his keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath.
I know ſome would catch at that Expreſſion, Gen. 8. 10, 12. that Noah ſtay'd ſeven days before he ſent out the Dove; as if this might re…er to the Sabbath.
But in Anſwer to this (which indeed needs …one at all) take what a learned Man hath …id for a reaſon why Noah ſtay'd ſeven days, and again other ſeven days:Abulenſis. Noah, ſaith he, deſired to know whether the Waters were decreaſed. Now the Waters being regulated by the Moon, Noah was moſt eſpecially to regard her Motions: for as ſhe is either in Oppoſition or Conjunction with the Sun in her increaſe or wane, there is proportionably an increaſe or falling of the Waters. Noah then conſidering the Moon in her ſeveral quarters, which commonly we know are at ſeven days diſtance, ſent forth his Dove to bring him tydings: for the Text tells us, that he ſent out the Raven and the Dove four times; and the fourth time, the Moon being in the laſt quarter, when both by the ordinary courſe of Nature the Waters uſually are, and by the Will of God were then much decreaſed; the Dove which was ſent out, had found good footing on the Earth. There is greater reaſon to believe this than to ſuppoſe it refer'd to the Sabbath.*De Emendat. Temp. l. 5. Scaliger, ſaith my Author, one while thought the day on which, Noah left the Ark and offered Sacrifices, to be the ſeventh day; but in the next Edition he fixed that day to be the fourth day of the week. Now after the Flood we find God gave to Noah and his Sons ſome expreſs Laws and Commands, i. e. not to eat Blood, and forbidding Murder, &c. Now this is the time doubtleſs to hear of a Sabbath, and of the charge about it, if God had given it either to Adam before or after the Fall; but not one word is mention'd, for 'tis not ſaid, Remember the ſeventh day, &c. or ye ſhall obſerve my Sabbath.Gen. 9. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Now from Shem, Ham and Japhet, both Jews and Gentiles, proceeded even the whole World; and to me it ſeems not probable, had the Sabbath been commanded, that Jehovah ſhould not at this time have given them a charge about it, there being then ſo few poſitive Laws inſtituted; here is Blood forbid to the whole World, and Murder, but not one word of a Sabbath, or ſeventh day to be obſerv'd.Seven Precepts given to Noah, but no Sabbath. The Rabbins ſpeak of ſeven Precepts given to Noah and his Sons, but exclude the Seventh-day Sabbath out of that number. If we have it not mentioned here, beſure we ſhall not meet with it till we come to Moſes; but here we have it not, nor indeed was it poſſible for ſome of them to keep that preciſe day, being ſcatter'd to the furthermoſt ends of the Earth. We read of Abraham, that he kept all God's Commandments, yet he kept no Seventh-day Sabbath: he built an Altar, and ſacrificed, which were mere poſitive Precepts, and … the Seventh-day Sabbath is not mention'd, …or commanded him, nor a hint given to remember him to keep it.
Job liv'd alſo,Job liv'd, 'tis thought about Abraham's time. it is concluded, about Abraham's time, which may be gather'd by the number of years he liv'd, which was about two hundred years, which few attain'd to after Abraham. Joſeph liv'd but a hundred and ten. 'Tis ſaid Job liv'd a hundred and forty years after his ſore Trials were ended:Job 42. 16. the Jews ſpeak of his living in all two hundred and eighty years. …ow, as one obſerves, when he pleads his In…grity and Innocence even to very minute Particulars, he neither alledges his ſtrict obſervation of the Seventh-Say Sabbath, nor apologizes for the neglect thereof; nor do this Friends, who rak'd up every thing againſt him, ſpeak a word about this, nor of the Sabbath throughout the whole Book; which treats in a manner wholly about Worſhip and Devotion towards God: the Sabbath therefore no doubt had not …ap'd (as he minds) if it had been known, … been a Duty in his days.
As to Iſaac, he was a moſt devout Man, and … Life was taken up in a continual courſe of …ety: his cuſtom was to go into the fields to meditate, but it is not ſaid he did it on the …eventh day, or that he kept this day as a Sabbath.
Jacob was a Man that fled from Idolatry … God's Command, and liv'd a godly Life: and tho we read of his performing many Acts of Worſhip, yet nothing of his keeping the ſeventh day as a Sabbath; no, tho we read of his hard Service when he kept Laban's Sheep both in Winter and Summer, which might have cauſed him to complain of his being incommoded from a ſtrict obſervation of that day, had he known it as his Duty; but in all his Complaints not one word of this. We know among us how Shepherds are hindered in Sabbath-Obſervations, of which many have complained, or may have occaſion to do. Moreover during Joſeph's being in Pharaoh's Court, nor before, do we read of his obſerving this Sabbath, and when Jacob came into Egypt, we read … of his obſervation thereof, nor of the Egyptian keeping of it; or had they forgot it, beſu… there would have been ſome notice taken of Jacob's keeping it, nor would he have avoided i… that he might pleaſe Pharaoh and his Servants.
Nor can it be thought on any good grounds that the Children of Iſrael kept the Seventh-day Sabbath under their Taskmaſters in Egypt, th… ſome would infer they did from theſe words, that you make the People reſt from their Burdens, Exod. 5. 5. they would have theſe words to mean, you make them keep a Sabbath, where as no ſuch thing ſeems to have the leaſt countenance, becauſe Pharaoh's Officers complain not of their reſting or being idle on one day only▪ but two days together; ſee Exod. 5. 14. Wherefore have you not fulfilled your Task in making of Brick, both yeſterday and to day, as heretofore?
Now ſince there is no mention that any … the Patriarchs kept the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, we infer this as the firſt reaſon why they obſerv'd it not.
Secondly, Let it be conſider'd that we read … many poſitive Commands given to Noah, to Abraham, Iſaac and Jacob, but none to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, nor no reminding them of any former Inſtitution or Precept to obſerve it; wherefore we may conclude they kept it not.
Thirdly, The Patriarchs not commended for keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath.We read how the faithful Patriarchs were commended for doing whatſoever God commanded them, but not of any of them being commended for keeping the ſeventh day as a Sabbath: yet after Moſes's time, when the Sabbath was inſtituted and given by God's expreſs Command to Iſrael, he took (we find) as much notice of their obſerving his Sabbaths as of any other Duty injoined on them, and this to their great Commendation. Therefore had the Patriarchs been oblig'd to keep it, no doubt they had as faithfully diſcharged their Duty therein, as any of God's Servants did in after times; and God beſure would have left ſomething on Record to their Commendation.
Fourthly, The old World not charg'd with Sabbath-breaking.We read of divers Sins the old World was guilty of, which provoked God, and brought the Flood upon them, but not one word or hint given that they were guilty of Sabbath-breaking. Now if it had been known either by the Light of Nature, or by any poſitive Precept given to Adam, and handed down to them by Tradition or otherwiſe; they being ſo univerſally corrupted and polluted, no doubt had profan'd that day; and if ſo, the ſacred Record had mention'd that great Sin doubtleſs as well as others.
Fifthly, Sodom not charg'd with Sabbath-breaking.Moreover, we read of the crying Sins of the People of Sodom, &c. and no doubt but they had violated all God's Commands, or whatſoever were their known Duties; but nothing of breaking the Sabbath is charged againſt them. Now can it be imagin'd they ſhould not have fail'd in this caſe, or that God would overlook or take no notice of it?
Sixtly, We have a Catalogue of almoſt all immoral Evils before and after the Flood, as Idolatry, Gluttony, Drunkenneſs, Laſciviouſneſs, Inceſt, Murder, Lying, Covetouſneſs, Theft, &c. and how Sin had poſſeſſed the Thoughts, Hearts, and Lives of Men; but no account of their Violation of the Sabbath-day.
Seventhly, None from Adam to Moſes reprehended for not keeping the Sabbath.Let it be conſider'd, that ſince God ſo ſeverely reprehended the Jews for profaning his Sabbaths, and hardly reproved them more ſharply for any one Sin than for this; certainly in his enumerating the Sins … his People, and of the Wickedneſs of thoſe that liv'd from Adam to Moſes, he would have reproved them for Sabbath-breaking, and not have utterly paſſed it by in ſilence, had they been guilty of it: or can it be rationally ſuppoſed that tho they fail'd in all other reſpects, yet that they did not in this? No doubt, had it been a known Duty, (and that ſome of them had been guilty of the breach of it, as in all likelihood they would) but God would have ſeverely reprehended them for it.
Eighthly, Since we read of no Sabbath till Moſes's time, Exod. 16. only that God ſanctified the ſeventh day; what makes our Brethren ſo boldly ſay that Adam in Innocence kept it, and all the Patriarchs from Adam to Moſes? This may ſeem ſtrange to any thinking Man, i. e. that they ſhould affirm this, ſeeing they require an expreſs Command from us for the keeping of the firſt day, or elſe all is nothing with them. Brethren, this I will ſay, that had we no more ground to keep the Lord's day in ſolemn Worſhip, as a day of Reſt, than they can find for the Patriarchs keeping of the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, we ſhould not ſay one word more for it: I challenge them to ſhew us one place where a Sabbath is ſo much as once mention'd, or any expreſs or implicit Command given to any to obſerve it; or one Example from the Creation of the World that any Man or Woman ever kept the ſeventh day as a Sabbath until we come to Moſes, Exod. 16. I ſhall, God aſſiſting, ſhew that we have more than meer Examples of the Goſpel Primitive Churches for obſerving in a ſolemn manner the Lord's-day, or the firſt day of the week, when I come to that part of my Work.
Now let them produce but one Example, that …ne, tho but one of the Patriarchs did keep the …eventh day as a Sabbath, I will conclude it might be given to Adam after his Fall; for before his Fall it could not be a Law to him, for the reaſons I have urged: but if they could produce ſuch an Example, yet ſay ſome learned Men, it doth no more prove that preciſe day is a moral Precept, or that it from hence follows, that it is our Duty in Goſpel-times to obſerve it, than it proves 'tis our Duty to offer Sacrifices, which we read (before the Ceremonial Law was given) they frequently did.
But ſince there is not one Inſtance to be given of any one Perſon that kept that day till Moſes's time, but that the Word of God is wholly ſilent about it, we muſt and may ſay, according to that common Maxim uſed by Divines, i. e. Where God hath not a Mouth to ſpeak, we ought not to have an Ear to hear.
Ninthly, The Proofs of the Learned for the Patriarchs keeping the Sabbath.Let us now conſider what ſome learned Men have produced for their pretended Proofs that the Patriarchs kept the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, which I fear hath imboldned the Jewiſh Sabbatarians to affirm with ſuch Confidence that all the Patriarchs did keep it.
But by the way, Dr. Owen, who is one that aſſerted what I utterly deny, doth yet confeſs that many of the Jewiſh Maſters or Rabbins aſcribe the original of the Sabbath to the Statute given to them in Mara, Exod. 15. and others of them to Exod. 16. yet the ſaid Reverend Doctor cites ſome of the probable grounds to prove that the Patriarchs kept it.Dr. Owen on the Sab. p. 72.
1. The firſt and chief place I find he mentions is that in Gen. 18. 19. For I know him, that he will command his Children and his Houſhold after him, and they ſhall keep the ways of the Lord, and do Juſtice and Judgment.
Anſw. That Abraham had this Charge and Commandment given to him is granted: but what little reaſon there is from hence to conclude he kept the Sabbath, or gave charge to his Children ſo to do, I will leave to all Mens Conſideration. God gave to Abraham Commands, we find that evident enough; and ſome of them not very eaſy to Fleſh and Blood, as that of offering up his only Son. Moreover, none doubt of the faithfulneſs of the Patriarch Abraham; but if the Sabbath was not then inſtituted, nor any Command given to him to keep it, there could not be any ſuch Command meant or comprehended in that Charge given to him. The truth is, my Brethren, learned Men, who are Men alſo of great natural Parts, can put a fair gloſs on any thing, and make that ſeem to be a Truth that there is not the leaſt ground to believe is ſo.
Abraham did all he did in Faith, and therefore he had Divine Authority for all he did in God's Service.
Dr. Twiſs's main Argument to prove that the Patriarchs obſerved the Seventh-day Sabbath, is this,Dr. Twiſs on the Chriſtian Sab. p. 57. viz. The Lord bleſſed the ſeventh day and ſanctified it, therefore ſaith he the Patriarchs did obſerve it.
Anſw. I anſwer, God bleſſed the ſeventh day and ſanctified it, but did not give any Command to Adam to keep it; therefore the Patriarchs from thence could not know, or ſee they had any ground to obſerve it.
Dr. Twiſs ſaith in the ſame place, i. e. And the truth is, until the coming of the Children of Iſrael out of Egypt we read not of any Church of God any where but in ſingle Families; neither do we read of the Patriarchs before the Flood, or a long time after, that they kept any day conſecrated to God's Service.
But we ſay with him, that it doth not therefore follow that they kept no day at all in God's Service. They owned the True God, and worſhipped him, and knew that there muſt be a time, a ſufficient time to diſcharge that Homage or Worſhip to him; and tho perhaps they obſerv'd one day in ſeven, yet, as I conceive, they did not know what preciſe day they ought to obſerve above any other, until God by ſome expreſs poſitive Command made it known, which was not till he conſtituted the whole Houſe of Iſrael into a Typical Churchſtate, and gave them an inſtituted Worſhip, and commanded their Legal and Typical Sabbath.
Beſides, how could the Patriarchs know what Duties proper for Sabbath-obſervation they ſhould perform, except it had by ſome poſitive Law or Precept been diſcover'd to them, of which we read not? When God gave to Iſrael a Sabbath, he told them how they ſhould keep it, as well as the Reaſons, End and Cauſes wherefore.
Tenthly, I might alſo add here what ſome learned Men ſeem to affirm, i. e. that 'tis doubtful whether the Patriarchs had the diſtinction of Days into Weeks, but rather reckon'd by Months and Years; ſo that the preciſe ſeventh day from the Creation cannot be certainly known: and 'tis thought that the Jews obſerv'd their ſeventh day from the falling of Manna ſix days, The Jews reckon'd their Seventh-day Sabbath from the falling of Manna.but none on the ſeventh. No doubt but it is impoſſible for any to know that that was the preciſe ſeventh day from the Creation.
But it may not be amiſs to anſwer our Opponents as to what they ſay about the Scripture not mentioning any Sabbath from Adam to Moſes, or any Precept or Remembrance of it, and yet things of leſs moment are punctually recited.
1. This they ſay, that we read not of Circumciſion perform'd during all the time of Iſrael's being in Egypt, which was near four hundred years, till Zippora circumciſed her Son.
2. Alſo ſay they, we read not of the Sabbath in the Books of Joſhua and Judges, &c.
Anſw. This is no parallel caſe; for after the poſitive Command given to Iſrael to keep it, there needed no ſuch conſtant relation of it; for no doubt but after that time it was continually obſerv'd.
Let me cloſe this with what I find recited by many learned Men concerning the Judgment of divers of the antient Fathers about the Patriarchs obſerving the Sabbath.The Judgment of the an…ient Fathers.
Juſtin Martyr ſaith,Juſt. Mart. … cum … that Melchiſedec (who it is ſuppoſed was Shem the Son of Noah) was neither circumciſed, nor kept the Sabbath.
Irenaeus ſaith,Iren. l. 4. c. 30. Abraham believed, and it was imputed to him for Righteouſneſs before he was circumciſed, and without obſerving of the Sabbath.
Tertullian ſaith,Tert. adv. Judaeos, de praeſcr. c. 2, 4. Abel, Enoch, Noah and Melchiſedec obſerv'd not the Sabbath. And again, he ſaith that not any of the Patriarchs kept the Sabbath, neither Adam, Enoch, Noah nor Abraham, for 2455 years. And hence Tertullian ſaith,Juſtin. de verit. l. 2. in Tryph. it is manifeſt therefore that that cannot be moral, nor perpetual, that began with Moſes (as Juſtin ſays) and ended in Chriſt.
Euſebius ſaith, Moſes brings in Melchiſedec Prieſt of the moſt High God,Dem. l. 1. c. 6. neither being circumciſed, nor anointed with Oil (as was afterwards commanded in the Law) no nor ſo much as knowing there was a Sabbath.
Juſtin Martyr again ſaith,Cont. Tryph. in the days of Enoch People obſervd not Circumciſion, or the Sabbath; before Abraham there was no Circumciſion, and before Moſes no keeping holy the Sabbath.
I might alſo add ſeveral of the Jewiſh Rabbins aſſerting the ſame thing. But to proceed.
I infer from hence, that that Text Gen. 2. doth not contain in it any preſent Inſtitution of the Sabbath, but ſignifies God's Deſtination or Purpoſe to give it as a Law to his People Iſrael in after times, and was not given to Adam in Innocence for him to ſanctify it. God might ſanctify that preciſe day to his own Reſt after Adam fell, with reſpect had to Chriſt, in whom he took up his perfect Reſt; and afterwards appointed the ſeventh day as a ſign thereof. However, it is one thing for God to ſanctify or ſet apart a thing for this or that uſe, and another thing to command that thing, or immediately to put it into being. Our Lord Jeſus was long ſanctified or ſet apart to be our Redeemer,Joh. 10. 36. before he was ſent into the World actually to redeem us. Jeremiah the Prophet was ſanctified or ſet apart to his Work and Office, long before he was actually call'd to the execution thereof.
So that if theſe words, Gen. 2. concerning God's bleſſing and ſanctifying of the ſeventh day, Mr. Sam. Graſcom, p. 18.are to be extended, ſaith one, to relate to any thing further than to that particular ſeventh day following the Creation, it doth not refer to any immediate Inſtitution of the Sabbath, but is a hiſtorical Narration telling us what was done, and not when it was done. If therefore we can find out a certain time when the Sabbath was indeed inſtituted, there is good reaſon to conclude this Text refers to that time, as giving us the reaſon why God in the Inſtitution of the Seventh-day Sabbath made choice of that day.
And to ſum up what I have ſaid, take theſe Arguments.
1. We may infer,The Arguments againſt the Patriarchs keeping the Sabbath … up. that if the Patriarchs kept the ſeventh day, they had the knowledg of it by the Light of Nature, or by a poſitive Command; but they had not the knowledg of it by the Light of Nature, nor by any poſitive Command, therefore they obſerv'd it not.
2. If they kept it by virtue of an expreſs Command and Inſtitution, they had no doubt ſome Directions about the due obſervation thereof, and inſtituted Sabbath-days Worſhip: but they had no Directions about it, nor inſtituted Sabbath-days Worſhip; therefore they did not obſerve it.
3. Certainly if the Patriarchs were obliged to obſerve the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, God would either have commended them, or ſome of them for keeping it, or elſe reprehended others for not keeping it: but God neither commended any of them for the keeping it, nor reprehended any others for profaning, and not …eeping it; therefore none of them did obſerve ….
Eleventhly, Let me add one Argument more … prove that the Patriarchs did not obſerve the ſeventh day as a Sabbath, viz. If the Patriarchs and all Mankind from the beginning of the World were or had been obliged to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, certainly there had …een ſome account given of the Penalty or Puniſhment due to Sabbath-breakers: but we read of no Penalty or Puniſhment to be inflicted on Sabbath-breakers; therefore we conclude they were not oblig'd to the obſervation thereof. How can it be thought that the Law of the Seventh-day Sabbath ſhould be impoſed upon them, and yet God ſhould hide the Puniſhment due to the breach thereof from the World for more than two thouſand years? Evident it is that they knew what Puniſhment was to be inflicted for the breach of other moral Precepts, as Murder, Adultery, &c. and if this were of like nature, i. e. a pure moral Duty, how came it to paſs that God diſcover'd not the Penalty to them for violating this Precept?
Twelfthly, My laſt Argument is this; The Sabbath under the Old Teſtament had a reſpect to a ſtated, and ſtinted inſtituted Worſhip in a National Church: but the Patriarchs, and all God's People from Adam to Moſes were not brought into ſuch an Eccleſiaſtical and Political Church-ſtate; and from hence it ſeems to me they were not injoyn'd to obſerve the Seventh-day Sabbath: that is, they had no inſtituted, ſtated, and ſtinted Worſhip, nor any in a Magiſtratical Capacity to inflict Puniſhment … ſuch as violated the pretended Sabbath; … had they been put into ſuch a Capacity, … doubt but God had given them his Sabbath with the like Sanction to them as afterward that the Penalty might have been inflicted … Offenders, as he did after the Sabbath was …deed given to the Houſe of Iſrael in the Wi… derneſs of Sinai.
Nehemiah clearly intimates that the Sa… bath was only made known to Iſrael, T… madeſt known to them thy holy Sahbaths: was firſt made known to Moſes, Exod. 16. 20.and then him to the Children of Iſrael; therefore … known to him or them before.
The Scripture is certainly to be taken … this ſenſe, and not in that ſenſe which ſo… would have the Holy Ghoſt intend, viz. th… it was made known more clearly to that People with the mode of its obſervation, &c. but certainly it was never known till God reveal'd … to Moſes, nor given as a Law to any till give… to the People of Iſrael in the Wilderneſs … Sin.