The Lords Day Vindicated, Tract · Section 3
SECT. III.
WE have a third Interrogation propoſed, Page 22. Whether after the Creation the Lord reſted on the Seventh day: And, Whether the Seventh-day-Sabbath was ſanctified and ſo inſtituted by him, and was obſerved by him who made the World? To the firſt Clauſe whereof we have ſufficiently anſwered, That it was not the Lord Chriſt that created the World and reſted, but it was indeed Jehovah; and though Chriſt be Jehovah, and the Maker of all things as ſuch; yet the ſame Lord Chriſt is alſo the Son of Man, and made by Jehovah, as ſuch; And therefore as Chriſt, as God-man, he neither created the World, nor reſted from that Creation. Though in the Body of the Queſtion, the Efficient of the Creation be only ſtiled Lord, by which may be equally underſtood the Son of God, before and after the Incarnation, yet in the Margin he interprets this by the word Chriſt; and therefore we have given a proper, a direct and ſufficient anſwer to that part thereof: And here it will be worth our obſerving, that in a proper and ſtrict Senſe, Jehovah, the Creator of the World, cannot be ſaid to reſt; becauſe it is impoſſible that he ſhould either admit of any Wearineſs, or Pain in himſelf; yea, or of any the leaſt new motion in himſelf; God being an Infinite, Perfect, Immutable, Act and Life, cannot poſſibly admit of any ſuch thing; and all the Changes that he makes, either ſubſtantially of nothing into Being; or Alteration of the Qualities and Conditions of Being, &c. without himſelf, are and muſt be without the leaſt Mutation, and Alteration within himſelf: And this the very Light of Nature, and Metaphyſicks, will teach us, as well as the light of Scripture and Theology; as Mal. 3.6. Jam. 1.17. So that though God may properly be ſaid to conclude, or end his work of Creation, yet cannot he properly be ſaid to reſt from it, or after it; becauſe this, in its formal Notion, implies Motion, Activity and exerting of Power and Ability, with a Wearineſs thereby, which the Deity is infinitely free from: Which I deſire may be heeded, becauſe I perceive the Author would fain have every Clauſe in the Fourth Command to be Moral, and of neceſſary and perpetual Obſervance; and eſpecially this of Gods reſting on the Seventh day. Now that which is Moral, as to Motive and Obligation to the Humane Nature, is that which the light of Nature, right Reaſon, or (to go higher) the perfectly irradiated Mind of our firſt Parents, would have of its ſelf diſcerned and cloſed with, as a Motive and Engagement to Piety or Charity, or any Duty: Which I think Gods reſting on the Seventh day may well be aſſerted not to be, becauſe,
1. Reaſon or the illuminated Mind of Man, could never ſuppoſe God to take after his work, any real Reſt or Refreſhment in himſelf, which he had not before. And Secondly, God's working in the maintaining of the Creation in its Being, Order and Operation, is altogether as great, and as much, as it was in the Production of it; and therefore the School-men ſay, That Preſervation is a continual Act of Creation, becauſe the ſame Word and Power is exerted in the one as in the other. Yea, if we reſpect the Work it ſelf, or the Term of it without God; we may well ſay that the Preſervation of the World is a greater work than the Creation of it: Though as to the Act it ſelf in God, all is the ſame, (being the Act of the ſame infinite Power, Wiſdom and Godhead) becauſe of the contrary Qualities of the Creatures mutually tending to each others Deſtruction; but eſpecially becauſe of the Malice of Devils, and the ſinful wretched Depravity of Fallen Man; which without an infinite Wiſdom and Power exerted to the contrary, would ſoon bring all to Ruin, at leaſt it would do ſo by the Humane Nature, for which all other things of this World were made and are continued: And therefore this Motive to a Seventh-day-Sabbath, cannot be in, and of it ſelf Moral. And this our Saviour clearly ſhews, John 5.17. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work: Which he gives by way of Reply to thoſe, who in the former Context, taxed and condemned him for a Breach of the Sabbath. Grounding it ſeems (tacitely at leaſt) their Accuſation, from that Paſſage in the Fourth Command of God's reſting on that day, as though it had been of a Moral and Perpetual Obligation: And therefore our Saviour here tells them, It was not ſo; for both he and his Father did work on the Seventh day, as well as on any other day of the week; from which 'tis clear this Clauſe in the Command, is not Moral, but Poſitive.
As to the Second Part of the Queſtion, whether the Seventh-day-Sabbath was Sanctifyed, and ſo Inſtituted by him; and was obſerved by him who made the World. We anſwer, 'twas Sanctified, and Inſtituted by the Lord, as Jehovah, but not as Jeſus Chriſt: And then that 'twas obſerved by Jeſus Chriſt Incarnated, but not as Jehovah; becauſe the Obſervation of it, ſeems to import ſome dutiful Obligation upon its Obſerver, which cannot be ſuppoſed with reſpect to the God-head, but may be ſo with reſpect to the Lord Chriſt, as Mediator in his Human Nature. But then this Obſervance makes no more for the keeping the Seventh-day-Sabbath, than for the Obſervance of Pentecoſt, the Paſſover, the Feaſt of Tabernacles, and other Ceremonial and Judicial Laws, under which our Lord Chriſt was, and which he obſerved in the days of his Fleſh; the Moſaical and the Ceremonial Adminiſtration being in force all the while he lived, and expired with his Death, and were buried in his Grave, as to their Vertue and Obligation: And ſo we aſſert the Seventh-day-Sabbath did alſo; which I hope we may evince in the progreſs of this Diſcourſe.
By what has been ſaid, we have a ſufficient Reply to his Three Proofs which follow his Querly, for it's Affirmative, and how they may be orthodoxly admitted, or elſe as Heterodox rejected. And here we may take notice that all the former Particulars which the Author makes uſe of, as Foundations to build his beloved Notion upon, do as equally militate and plead for the Obſervance of all the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws, as for the Seventh-day-Sabbath; for the Creator of the World enjoyned them, as well as this. The great Jehovah impoſed them, as well as this. The Law-giver gave thoſe Laws, as well as this. And our Lord Inſtituted and Sanctifyed thoſe, as well as this, as he was God; and obſerved thoſe, as well as this, as Chriſt Jeſus, as God-man. 'Tis as Prejudice ſufficient againſt all thoſe (ſuppoſed) Achillean Arguments, that if they prove what they are pleaded for, We muſt all turn Jews.
But before I leave this Query, I muſt reflect upon one Paragraph or two, under it, Page 23. wherein we have him laying down all his former great Poſtulata's, that the Lord Chriſt made the World, reſted on the Seventh day, obſerved, bleſſed and ſanctifyed it: By which Repetition, we may ſee how much he depends upon theſe, for the carrying off his Deſign: But withal, we have formerly ſeen how little, yea, how not at all, they conduce thereto. But to theſe, he ſuperadds another grand Poſtulatum, as though 'twere a Particular, which either he had undeniably demonſtrated before, or were granted by his Adverſaries: Which is, that the Lord inſtituted this Seventh-day-Sabbath for, and impoſed it upon Adam, and in him, to all Mankind without distinction; and that before the Sin and Fall of Adam. And hence concludes that 'tis a Moral Law incumbent upon Adam, and all his Poſterity; which is a Concluſion, either from rotten Premiſes, or from ſuch as will never logically infer the Concluſion: Which we ſhall ſhew as briefly as we can; and what is ſpoken here, may leſſen ſome of our Work hereafter. 1. Hereby is implyed that this Command of the Seventh-day-Sabbath, was given to Man in the State of Innocency; which he can never prove. For though the Inſtitution thereof, be inſerted in the beginning of the 2. of Geneſis yet 'tis clear, the Scripture doth not always keep a Chronical Order: We muſt not expect in our Bible, a conſtant Prius and Poſterius; (as they ſay) but the ſacred Hiſtory, admits of many hyſterons proterons; of many Miſplacings with reſpect to the order of time; relating thoſe thigns before, which were done after; and Vice Verſa: And 'tis moſt clear that 'tis ſo in this very place. For here the Sabbath is recorded before the Plantation of Paradice, v. 8. which was not ſpoken of before; yet was Paradice part of the Works of the Creation, and conſequently created before the Seventh day, though ſpoken of afterward; which proves that the order of the relation of the Sabbath, is no infallible proof that it was inſtituted before the Fall, but might be after it; though antecedently mentioned. And Mr. Warren brings many probable Arguments to prove that Adam fell before the Sabbath-day; and conſequently before the giving or declaring of that Precept; becauſe therein God's reſting on the Seventh-day, is propoſed as an Example and Motive to his keeping of it; which could not be done before the Seventh-day came: And ſo the Command muſt be given after the Fall. Which Arguments of his, ought to have been fairly debated, their Moment conſidered, and a due Anſwer and Solution given to them, before this had been ſo peremptorily aſſerted. But,
2ly. This ſeems to imply, that whatever Injunction God gave to Adam before the Fall, was of things that are purely Moral, or ſo in themſelves; or elſe it can never regularly be drawn from this Medium, that therefore the Seventh-day-Sabbath was ſo. But this we know was not ſo, for God prohibited him to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; which was purely poſitive, and a Duty only reſulting from the Will of the Legiſlator. Again, if we ſhould take it for granted, that the Inſtitution and Injunction of the Seventh-day, was antecedent to the Fall, yet this would rather prove the Negative, than the Affirmative of its pure Morality. For whatever was purely Moral, and a Duty of its ſelf, reſulting from the Nature, Qualifications and Obligations of the rational Creature, Adam in the perfect Knowledge of that Nature, muſt know and diſcern, in and of himſelf; and conſequently would have known the Seventh-day to be ſo: And if he knew it, there needed no Inſtitution thereof, by God at all. Beſides, 'tis very obſervable, that from the Creation of our firſt Parents, till their Fall, we do not read of one Moral Duty enjoyned them, either of the Firſt or Second Table; (unleſs this be ſuppoſed to be ſo) and what reaſon can be given for it, but this, that it needed not; becauſe they were all fully and diſtinctly implanted in Mans Soul. If therefore the Seventh-day-Sabbath, had been ſo Moral, 'twould not have needed a ſingular Inſtitution; much leſs ſuch Arguments to inforce its Obſervance upon perfectly wiſe, and holy Adam. From whence, in my Apprehenſion, a good Argument may be drawn againſt its Morality.
3. It implies, that all the Commands that were given to Adam in Innocency, are authoritatively incumbent upon all his Poſterity. The contrary whereto, is clear in the prohibition of the Tree in the midſt of the Garden; for that ceaſed both to himſelf and all his Poſterity upon his Fall: By all which, we ſee the weak reaſonings of this Author.
In the following Paragraph, he tells us that all thoſe things were recorded for the Glory of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; where as none of them do at all concern Jeſus Chriſt: For all thoſe things in the foregoing Paragraph by his own Doctrin, and according to his own Sentiments, were effected and agitated before the Fall of Man: In which time there could not be ſo much as any need or uſe of a Jeſus, or a Chriſt. Nor was there ſo much as the leaſt Hint of him given, by either Propheſie or Promiſe; much leſs was he himſelf in being: And conſequently none of theſe things could conduce to his glory; for there can nothing appertain to that which is not. And thus theſe ſuppoſed unmoveable Foundations of this Tenent, are found not to be ſo much as Sandy: For they are found to be nothing at all, as he would have them refer to our Lord Chriſt. We acknowledge therefore that all theſe Particulars which he named, are for the Glory of Jehovah; and that the Obſervance of the Seventh-day-Sabbath, home to the Reſurrection of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt from the Dead, was to his Praiſe as Creator and Legiſlator. But withal, we hope to prove that the Change of it, and dedicating another day of the Week to our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the ſame Jehovah, and ſpotleſs Son of the Virgin, does highly conduce to his Honour, as Lord and Glorious Redeemer; as Conqueror of Hell and Death; as Accompliſher of that Great and Glorious Work of our merited Salvation. (A Work unconceivably more glorious in it ſelf, and inſinitely more advantageous to us, and really laborious and grievous to himſelf) and as he entred into his real Reſt on that day, even the firſt day, out of the Depths of his Humilitation. Here in the next Paragraph he quotes, Mat. 12.8. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, with that Gloſs or Interpretation which he puts upon it, which I doubt not, is very falſe, and has been already proved to be ſo: But becauſe he refers it to another Place, we ſhall attend him there, and then endeavour to give its true meaning. About the Fourhth Queſtion, Page 23. I ſhall not contend, for I verily believe the antient Patriarchs, did Obſerve and Sanctify the Seventh-day.