Sunday a Sabbath, Chapter 5
CHAP. V. The imputation of Novelty in applying the title Lords day to the Christians weekly holiday, anſwered.
WEE are now to anſwer the objection of Novelty which Doctor Gomarus and Maſter Braburne bring in againſt the ſetting of the title Lords day upon our weekly holiday, and therewith wee ſhall further ſtrengthen the truth againſt the laſt objection, for which the beſt proofe alledged is a negative Argument, or an Argument drawne from the negative teſtimony of one man, which is of little authority in it ſelfe, and the leſſe in this caſe, becauſe it takes up with one Writer onelyonly; whereas, if more could bee produced to that purpoſe, the antiquity of that Name (as now the Church applyeth it) might yet be upheld by the advantage of a greater number of grave and ancient Authours, poſitively (which is better then negatively) giving their votes and voyces to the contrary Tenet.
That ſingular Author who is brought in as a dumb ſhew, ſpeaking nothing of our weekly holiday by the name of the Lords day, is Juſtin Martyr, from whoſe ſilence Doctor Gomarus argueth thus, aSi diei Dominici pro die Reſurrectionis Domini, ſeu primo hebdomadis, appellatio ab Apoſtolis promanaſſet, &c. ut ſupra citatur, cap. 3. & lit. m.If the title Lords day, (as applyed to the day of the Reſurrection, or the firſt day of the weeke) had beene derived from the Apoſtles, and received in the Primitive Church, is it credible that Juſtin Martyr, a moſt ancient and incorrupt Writer, in his accurate deſcription of the rites of the Christian Religion, would have called the day by the name of Sunday, or the firſt day of the week, and not Lords day at all?
To which I dare not anſwer as bDr. Bound on the Sabbath. part. 1. p. 114.Dr. Bound doth, that Juſtin Martyr in his ſecond Apologie hath the name of Lords day; for I finde it otherwiſe: But cDr. Rivet diſſcriat. de orig. Sab. cap. 10. pag. 180.Dr. Rivet replyeth very well, whoſe anſwer I ſhall a little tranſpoſe and alter, to make it more ſerviceable to the truth. Firſt, That it is no marvell that Juſtin Martyr writing to an Heathen, and diſcourſing with a Jew, uſed ſuch termes as they were beſt acquainted with, and beſt liked of, as did the Tranſlater of the Bible, (out of which the Epiſtles and Goſpels of our Liturgie were taken, as we ſhall obſerve in the ſeventh Chapter) and ſuch was the name Sunday to the Heathens, and the firſt day of the week to the Jewes; and therefore (which hee might further have obſerved out of dJuſtin. Apol. ad Anſon. 2d. propè ſin. pag. 419.Juſtin) ſpeaking to the Gentiles, hee calleth the day before it not the Sabbath, though among the Religious it were both of moſt ancient and common uſe, but Saturday, or the day of Saturne.
Secondly, Whereas Doctor Gomarus grounds the weight of his Argument upon Juſtin Martyrs accurate deſcription of the rites of the Chriſtian Religion, as that if the name Lords day (for the Chriſtians weekly holiday) had beene in uſe before that time in the Church, it muſt either there bee mentioned, or from the omiſſion of it there, it might well bee denyed to have beene the title of it in his time; Doctor Rivet anſwereth, by retortion of his reaſon, out of Tertullian, That when the Gentiles conceived from the Chriſtians weekly Aſſemblies upon Sundaies, cTert. Apol. cap. 16. tom. 2. pag. 632.that the Sun was the god they worſhipped, hee ſtands to the name, with denyall of their ſiniſter conceit of the Chriſtians practice, and takes not that occaſion to tell them (though it bee a better inducement then Juſtin had any in the place fore-alledged to mention the Lords day) that they had another name for that day, viz. the Lords day; and another reaſon of their religious obſervation of it then they imagined, viz. the memoriall of the Lords Reſurrection, their Lord and Saviour.
fAn non hic erat opportuniſſimus declarandi locus? Dr. Rivet ubi ante, pag. 182.Here ſurely was a moſt meete place to have made ſome declaration of the day, as under that title (the Lords day); and becauſe hee did it not there, will it follow that it was not in uſe in his time among the Chriſtians? the contrary will appeare by his Booke gDie Dominico jejunare n…ſas ducimus vel de geniculis adorare. Tertul. de corona milit. cap. 3. com. 1. pag. 747.de corona militis, and hO melior ſides nationum, quae nullam ſolennitatem Chriſtianorum ſibi vendicar, non Dominicum diem, non Pentecoſten. Tert. de Idol. cap. 14. tom. 2. pag. 457.de Idololatria; wherein, having to do with Chriſtians, hee uſeth the name or title Lords day, for the Chriſtians weekly holiday: And to anſwer both Doctor Gomarus and Maſter Braburne together, the obſervation of iBiſh. Andrewes in his Speech in the Star-chamber againſt Maſter Trask. pag. 73. & 74.Biſhop Andrewes is of ſome weight, as himſelfe ſetteth downe in theſe words; This day, this foreign, came to have the name of dies Dominicus in the Apoſtles time, and is ſo expreſſely called by Saint John in the Revelation, ch. 1. ver. 10. and that name from that day to this hath holden ſtill with continuance of it from the Apoſtles age, and may bee deduced downe from Fathers to Fathers, even to the Councell of Nice; and lower, I truſt, (ſaith hee) we need not follow it: no doubt is made ſince then, by any one that hath read any thing.
Yet ſome raiſe a doubt upon the Conſtitution of Conſtantine, by whoſe authority, they ſay, Sunday was made a generall and a publick holiday, and with it Friday, and both of them were to be obſerved weekly, as kEuſeb. de vita Conſtantin. l. 4. c. 18. p. 254.Euſebius ſheweth: why then may not Friday bee the day to which that title Lords day might belong? eſpecially, ſince (as in Engliſh wee commonly call it) it hath an addition of eſpeciall weight and worth [good Friday] good, foreign, by way of eminence and excellencie above all other dayes? But, notwithſtanding this, the day of the Reſurrection hath the preheminence, as in dignitie (as before hath beene proved) ſo in antiquitie, perpetuitie, and generalitie of ſolemne obſervation, above all other dayes: for it was a lOriginem hujus denominationis ab ipſo Apoſtolorum tempore accerſendam omnibus ferè Scriptoribus placet. D. Walaeus diſſertat. de quart. praecept. cap. 7. pag. 150.weekly holiday from the Apoſtles time, as wee ſhall manifeſt elſewhere; and though it were to gaine ground of the Jewiſh Sabbath but by degrees in Ignatius his time, (who lived in the firſt Centurie, or hundred yeeres of Chriſtianitie) it was growne to that credit, as not onelyonly to bee well knowne by the name Lords day; but to bee dignified with that royall title, the Queene of daies, as hath been obſerved; and it is to bee noted, that this Ignatius was his diſciple, who firſt uſed that title, Lords day, viz. the diſciple of the Evangeliſt S. John, and ſo was moſt like to know what day he meant by that appellation.
Secondly, For that Decree of Conſtantine, it was not made untill the fourth Century was begun, above two hundred yeers after this of Ignatius.
Thirdly, As Friday was made a weekely holiday much later then Sunday was (not to ſtand upon compariſons betwixt Apoſtolicall and Imperiall powers for the making of holidaies, in which reſpect Sunday hath the advantage above good Friday) ſo hath Sunday continued much longer by many hundred yeers, and hath been both for time more perpetuall, and for place in the Chriſtian Church, more generall then Friday ever was.
And, as the obſervation of that day hath been almoſt univerſall; ſo hath the application of this title Lords day been unto it likewiſe: for, as Doctor mOmnes ferè ſacrae Scripturae interpretes, tam veteres, quam recentiores, de primo dic Septimanae intelligunt, ac proinde nova planè interpretatio eſt corum qui Apocalypſcos diem, &c. Wallaeus diſſertat. de quart. praecept. cap. 6. pag. 150.Walaeus noteth, the deriving of the originall of that name from the Apoſtles time, out of Apoc. 1.10. is approved almoſt by all Writers: and Doctor ″D. Heyl. Hiſt. Sab. part. 2. c. 1. ad ſinem cap. p. 37.Heylin, though otherwiſe farre from doting on the dignity of our weekly holiday, not onelyonly for the tenure of it, but for the title too, having referred the originall of it to the yeere of our Lord 94. wherein he followeth nM. Broad his MS. part. 2. c. 10. p. 62.M. Broad his note upon it, which ſheweth but little good will unto it, ſaith thus; oD. Heyl. Hiſt. Sab. part. 2. a. 1. pag. 30.So long it was, ſcil. the 94. yeare after Chriſt, before wee finde the Church took notice of it by a proper name: and when hee hath brought in the opinion of Gomarus againſt it with a ſmile, as if hee meant to favour it, hee puts it out againe with a frowne, ſaying, pD. Heyl. Hiſt. Sab. part. 2. c. 1. pag. 73.But touching this meaning, (i. e.) of Doctor Gomarus, applying of that name to the day of judgement, (which Saint John might ſee, being rapt in Spirit, as if it were come already) wee will not meddle; let them that owne it looke unto it, the rather, ſince Saint John hath generally beene expounded in the other ſenſe, by qArethas & Andr. Caeſarienſ. taken by D. Heyl. for two Writers, are but ſeverall names of the ſame Authour or Work in Voſ. his Theſ. de Advent. Chriſt. pag. 273. but the reconciliation may be, that though the men were two, the work (in a manner) was but one; for Arethas Caeſarienſ. made a compendium out of the larger commentary of Andr. Caeſarienſ. Bellarm. de Eccleſ. Script. pag. 134.Arethas and Andr. Caeſarienſis upon the place, and by Bede de Rat. Temp. cap. 6. and by the ſuffrage of the Church (the beſt expoſition of Gods Word) wherein this day hath conſtantly, ſince the time of that Apoſtle, beene honoured by that name above other daies: yea, and rQ…ae ratio, etſi non mihi ſufficere videtur, ad rejiciendum communem interpretationē, & facilè concedam diem Dominicum eam ſignificare quâ Dominus reſurrexit, &c. D. Gomar. def. Inveſt. Sab. c. 10. p. 133.Doctor Gomarus himſelfe confeſſeth it to bee the common interpretation of thoſe words [the Lords day,] and that they ſignifie the day wherein Chriſt roſe from the dead.
I need the leſſe here to bring in a Catalogue of the names of the Ancients to this purpoſe, they will come in to doe more ſervice when wee treat of the Authority and Antiquitie of the day, where we ſhall (with one labour) further cleare both the title and tenure of it, by ſuch teſtimonies as make indifferently for them both; and, for the preſent, that which hath been ſaid may (I conceive) be ſufficient to ſecure the title of the Lords day, to the day wee celebrate, againſt ſuch exceptions as have been taken by theſe two oppoſites, Doctor Gomarus, or Maſter Braburne; and two more, I think, will hardly be found ſince the firſt ſpring of that day, who have ſhut their eyes againſt ſuch light of truth, or opened their mouthes to ſpeake, or moved their pens to write in ſuch ſort againſt it as they two have done.
In whoſe confutation is virtually included an anſwer to that which Mr. Primroſe ſince them hath affirmed, by way of compariſon, of the daies of Chriſts Paſsion, Aſcenſion, and of Pentecost, viz. ſM. Primroſe part. 3. c. 8. pag. 140.that the day of the Reſurrection hath none advantage beyond the daies of Chriſts Paſſion, Aſcenſion, or of Pentecoſt: For it was, ſaith hee, inferiour to the day of Chriſts Paſſion, in regard of the merit to purchaſe; and to the day of Pentecoſt, in regard of efficacie to communicate the ſpirituall and heavenly gifts: the Aſcenſion day is conforme unto it, in the ſame correſpondency, both to the acquiſition, and to the execution of the eſtabliſhment of the Church.
For diſproofe whereof, wee have already ſaid enough, ſave that wee muſt adde that which himſelfe hath ſaid, viz. That though the Reſurrection of our Saviour be not the merit of our Redemption, but rather the reward of it (as tAquia. part. 3. quaſt. 57. art. 2.Aquinas reſolveth of his Aſcenſion); yet it is a demonſtration that our debt is paid, as when uM. Primroſe part. 3. cap. 8. pag. 139.a debter commeth out of priſon: and that is matter of more manifeſt rejoycing, and ſo the fitter ground for a ſolemne and ſacred gratulation, then the payment of a debt, eſpecially then ſuch a payment as was ſo painfull and penſive as our Saviours Paſsion was.
And for the day of Pentecoſt (of which alone wee have ſaid nothing hitherto) it may bee ſufficient to alledge, Firſt, ″In die Dominico veniſſe Spiritum ſanctum, communis traditio eſt. Lorin. in Act. 1. ver. 1. pag. 74. col. 1.That many have, and not without reaſon, taken it to have beene the ſame day of the weeke which we call Lords day.
Secondly, That no age ſince that time hath obſerved a weekly holiday upon that occaſion, as all ages from the Apoſtles time have done upon the Reſurrection. But xEa diſcrepantia exigui eſt momenti, quia in re ipſa eſt conſenſus. Gomar. cap. 10. pa. 132. Defenſ. Inveſtig. Sab.Doctor Gomarus ſaith, It is a difference of ſmall moment, ſince in the thing it ſelfe there is conſent: and if ſo, there hath been much waſte of words about it, in drawing on the diſpute thus farre. Not ſo neither; for, Firſt, Wee have (under the title of words and names) made ſome preparations for materiall points that come in queſtion; for the words we have here uſed have not beene an empty ſound, without ſolide and reall notions under them.
Secondly, It is not a matter of ſmall moment to ſet ſeducing gloſſes upon that ſacred text, which, in the controverſie of the Chriſtians weekely holiday, hath alwayes beene of ſpeciall note and uſe, from the Apoſtles time to this day.
Thirdly, If it were a ſmall difference, and drew after it none evill conſequence at all, (as it doth, for it layeth a ſtumbling block at the doore of the Sanctuary, cauſing men to ſtop or ſtumble at the very entrance of the cauſe, which, for the new Teſtament, if Teſtimonies bee taken in due order, beginneth there;) it was no ſmall fault in him, and the other, for a ſmall difference to runne out of the road way, from ſo good and ſo great company, to tread out a Schiſmaticall track by themſelves.