The Practical Sabbatarian, Chapter 5
CHAP. V. The Whole Sabbath is to be ſpent with God.
THere are many perſons both of Eminency and Learning, who have taken much pains to prove the lawfulneſs of ſports and paſtimes on the Lords day; I ſhall onelyonly reply, it was heartily to be wiſhed, ſuch great parts had been improved on ſome other ſubject, and the ſtream of Nemo non in …itia pro… eſt, & ill… vincere diffi…illi mum eſt. Lactant.their ſweat had run in ſome other channel. Alas, in this Argument, mans corrupt Nature will be the b…ſt Or…tour, and produce the ſtrongeſt ple…s; we are naturally en…lined to fleſhly eaſe, and the flatteries of ſenſe, as other things which haſten to the Center. Nature I ſay here can plead its own Q…i h…er… vici… f…rtior u… al…er…, ſed qui libidi…m repreſſi f…rtior …at ſ…i…ſo. Cypr. de bono Pudic.cauſe, and needs not the ſupplement of another Advocate. But if the whole day of a Sabbath muſt be ſpent with God in publick, private or ſecret duties, and in managing of the affairs of the ſoul, which comes now to be prov…d in this Chapter; then the Argument for ſports and paſtim…s on the Lords day will loſe its force and ſignificancy. And here I may begin the Argument, with that ſharp expoſtulation of Naamans Servant to Naaman himſelf; What if God (as he ſpeaks of the Prophet) had required ſome great thing of us, would we not have done it? What if God had It is moſt equal, if man have 6 days, that God ſhould have the 7th; and this is the reaſon, the ſoul, and life of the fourth Commandment. Mr. Shep.required of us ſix dayes, and given us onelyonly one for our ſelves, ſhould we not have obſerved them? Much more when he requireth but one day, and giveth us ſix, ſhall not we obſerve that? Shall we abate God of the tale and meaſure of his time? Shall the ſtream of time, wherein we are commanded to worſhip God be ſo ſmall, and yet ſhall it be turned into ſeveral channels and diverſions? Reaſon it ſelf here ſeems to condemn the ſtraightneſs of our ſpirits: but for the clearing of the Argument, we will fetch our evidences from the treaſuries of Scripture, Reaſon and conveniency.
In the fourth Commandment, which yet our Liturgie confeſſeth to be of equal obligation with the reſt, in praying for pardon for the breaches of it, and begging grace for the better obſervance of it (as was hinted before) I ſay in this Commandment the initiatory and firſt words command Exod. 20. 8.the ſanctification of a day, not a part of a day, or a few hours of a day; for the words of the Statute run thus, Deut. 5. 12.Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; and it is very obſervable, and not to be paſſed over with ſilence, that Memento diei Sabbathi, ut cum ſanctifices, inquit Dominus in quarto Praecepto; Ad hoc recteintelligendum, notandum eſt ex vi ipſius praecepti, non aliquam partem diei, ſed totum diem eſſe Domino ſanctificandum. Wal. We are to account the ſanctification of one day in a week, a duty which Gods immutable Law, doth Enact for ever. Hooks Eccleſ. Pol. Lib. 5. God would have at leaſt one day in a week to be allowed him. Ferus. The Divine Law required that one day in a week ſhould be ſequeſtred for holy worſhip. Bellar. de Cult. Sanct. Lib. 3. Cap. II. 1 Kings, 3. 26. Mat. 25. 24.God doth not onelyonly command us to keep holy the Sabbath, which might be a time indefinite and indeterminate, but the Sabbath day, which amply preſcribes the time of obſervance. A day, no leſs then the time of a day, it is foreign Jom Ha Sabbath, the day of a Sabbath; Now the word foreign jom properly and uſually ſignifies a full day, unleſs it be figuratively, and by way of Synechdoche; it ſignifies ſometimes, time indefinite, as Critiques in the holy tongue obſerve; and ſo Gen. 1. 5. where it is ſaid, the Evening and the Morning was the firſt day, there the word is foreign jom; and the day mentioned in this great Commandment, muſt needs comprehend the ſpace of twenty four hours; nor do the Learned by their interpretations or gloſſes, abreviate or ſhorten the time, but foreign jom is a whole day by the confeſſion of all. Now ſhall God enjoyne the obſervation of a day, and ſhall we mutilate it? Shall we maime or curtaile it, and take part of this holy day for our labours or recreations? Surely this ſavours of too great preſumption. We muſt by Divine command keep holy a day, not a part or piece of a day; and therefore for us to ſay, as the Harlot to Solomon in another caſe, Let not God have the whole Sabbath, nor let us have the whole Sabbath, but let it be divided between his ſervice and our ſports, what is this, but with the unprofitable ſervant, to call God, hard Maſter, and that his requiring a whole day, was an act of too much auſterity.
And as we have an Argument in the beginning of the fourth Commandment, wherein God ſhews his Soveraignty, ſo we may diſcern an Argument in the body of the Commandment, wherein God ſhews his indulgence; for in this fourth Commandment God allows us ſix dayes for labour, Exod. 20. 8.but the ſeventh is to be a day of holy reſt and obſervation. Now the ſix dayes for labour, are ſix full and whole dayes, Naturale eſt, diem ſeptimum quem que deo ſacrum eſſe, Jun. Com. in Geneſwithout any deduction or abatement. Man may without regret on theſe ſix dayes purſue foreign, thoſe things which belong to this life, as Chryſoſtome calls them; He may go forth to his labour till the Evening, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks; nay; if his ſtrength ſtill fail not, he may draw the curtains Morale eſt, ut ex ſeptem diebus unus cultu… divino conſecretur. Armin. Diſp. 77. Chryſoſt. Pſal. 104. 23. No man doubteth the meaning of theſe words, ſix dayes ſhalt thou labour, &c. to be this; That ſeeing God hath permitted us ſix dayes to do our works in, we ought in the ſeventh, wholly to ſerve him. VVhitguift Defence of the Anſw. to the Adm. p. 553. Jam hinc ab initio, doctrinam hanc inſinuat Deus, erudiens in circulo hebdomadae diem unum integrum, ſegregandum, et reponendum in ſpiritualem operati…nem. Chryſoſt. foreign Septimum diem, non utilem deus putabat ad creandum, ſed ad quietem accommodandum ſtatu…t. Theod. queſt. in Geneſin. Perpetuum eſt, ac aeternum quamdiu Eccleſia agit interris, quòd unus dies in hebdomade, cultui divino mancipetur, hoc ſtabile, & firmum eſt. Pet. Mart. loc. Com. Aug Serm. de Temp. Requirit Deus quietem hanc corporis, et ceſſ…tio…em ab operibus, non qualemeun que et dimidiatam, ſed juſtam, plenam, et exact…m, (i. e.) propoſito accommodam. Muſc. Totus ergo dies, ex toto ammo, quantum fert humana neceſſitas, et imbecillitas, ritè ac piè Deo ſervandus erat. Leid. Prof.of the night, and make a further progreſs into his toyle and painfulneſs, and all this without blame and violation of the fourth Commandment. Now ſhall not the ſeventh day be of as long continuance and duration as any of the other ſix? Shall the day for Heaven be more contracted, then the ſix dayes for Earth? The day for ſpiritual reſt, ſhall it not be of an equall length with the dayes for ſecular labour? Whence ariſeth the inequality, that the ſix dayes may be wholly employed in our worldly affairs, but if part onelyonly of the Lords day be ſpent in holy ſervices, it ſhall be ſufficient? I am ſure the ſame word foreign jom a day, is in both; both the ſix dayes, and in the ſeventh, and how comes the ſignification to be altered? if jom a day, ſignifies a whole day in the one, why not in the other? why not the whole ſeventh day engaged in divine ſervice, as well as the whole ſix dayes taken up in ſecular employments. Chryſoſtome and Theodoret obſerve, that from the very beginning God taught man this leſſon, that one whole day in the circle of ſeven is to be employed in holy ſervices. And many famous lights of the Reformed Church conclude, that whatever is moral in the fourth Commandment, this muſt needs be, that the ſeventh part of every week be conſecrated to the worſhip of God. So Zanchy, Bucer, Martyr, &c. That famous perſon mentioned laſt ſpeaks roundly when he ſaith, That it is perpetual and eternal while the Church remains upon Earth, that one day in the week be deſigned for the ſervice and worſhip of God; and this (ſaith he) is firme and unſhaken. Auguſtine in one of his Sermons adviſeth the people, That from the Evening of the Saturday, till the Evening of the Lords day, they avoid all vain ſloth and idleneſs, and all ſecular toyle and labour, and wholly ſet themſelves apart for the worſhip of God. This excellent man gives the full current of twenty four hours to the holy obſervation of the Sabbath; And this, ſaith he, is rightly to keep the Sabbath: and truly if God gives us ſix natural dayes to labour in, is it not fit that the ſeventh ſhould bear an equal proportion with every working day? And therefore it is a natural day conſiſting of twenty four hours, which we muſt in conſcience allow to God to be the Sabbath day. But beſides the force of Divine Command, which as clearly enjoyns, the ſeventh day for holy Reſt, as indulges the other ſix dayes for toyle and labour; the very plea's of the ſoul may come in to affirme the ſanctification of one whole day in the week, to ſpiritual and divine ſervices. Let us conſider.
The Soul in the Nobleneſs of its Original, it is a Heaven-born ſoul, Gods breath in mans boſome; Mans ſoul onelyonly bubbles from the fountain of ſpirits; our ſoul is but a beam The Soul is foreign.from the glorious Sun, God beam▪d into man a glittering ſoul; and ſhall not this noble ſoul, ſo worthily deſcended, lay claim to one day, as well as the body, that duſty caſe of the principle of life, the ſoul, that body, which is onelyonly the ſheath of the ſoul, the cabinet for this jewel to lye in, put in its title and right to ſix? What is this but to degrade the ſoul from the honour of its Excellent Original?
Let us look on the ſoul in the excellency of its capacity; what is not a reaſonable ſoul capable of? It is capable of Gods Anima eſt ex Deo, non ut ex materia, et ex traduce dei, …eu ejus quadam particula, ſed ut … cauſâ efficiente, & acceſſu quodam naturae propiore ad eſſentiam dei, divinarum que proprietatum aſſimilatione. Leid. Prof. 2 Cor. 5. 1.Image. There is little of Gods Image to be ſeen in the body. God is a ſpirit, and ſo ſtamps his Image on the ſpirits of men and ſhall not the ſoul, which bears ſo noble a ſuperſcription, enjoy the priviledge and latitude of one day, as well as the body, that earthly tabernacle which is ſoon taken down, and wrapt up in a ſilent grave, enjoy the immunity of ſix whole dayes? But muſt the abatement fall on the ſouls portion?
Conſider the multiplicity, of a ſouls work; and therefore let not its day be ſhortned by frothy pleaſures or ſervile labours. John 9. 4. Praeclarae ſunt arimae dotes, eff…ctus, & divinae functiones: miranda ſolertia ingenii, cogitationis celeritas, facilitas perceptionis, judicii acrim… nia, diſ…urſus, et ratiocinatio de rebus omnibus, memoria rerum praet…ritarum, contemplatio praeſentium, futurarum praeviſio, et maxime inſe ipſam converſio, et reflexio, ſuae que contemplatio, &c. Lied. Prof.The work of the ſoul is very great and very various, there are many duties to perform, many graces to act, many ordinances to wait upon, much knowledge to acquire, many corruptions to ſubdue. Now he that is to ride far, let him not want day-light, the ſouls task is great, let not its time be ſhort, eſpecially ſhorter then God hath made it. The body hath onelyonly two things to get, (viz.) food and raiment, it hath but two rooms to go thorow, the Kitchin and the Wardrobe: But the ſoul hath more and nobler atchievements to purſue; It hath a Pardon, Grace, Chriſt, God, Heaven to look after, and obtain; and ſhall its owne day, given it more eſpecially for theſe great attempts, be ſubject to an unhappy diminution?
Let us look on the ſoul, in the eternity of its duration. The ſoul (ſaith one) is a bud of eternity; the buſineſs of the Anima…e foreign Domine aufer à me hanc tunicam grave… (corpus ſcil. terreſtre, ponderoſum, et aerumnoſum) et d… mihi levi…rem.ſoul is of everlaſting concernment: But the body is a ſhattered piece of duſt, a ſhaking fa brick which is ſoon unpinned; the paint of its beauty is ſoon waſhed off, the vigour of its ſtrength is ſoon weakned and enervated, a thouſand diſeaſes can crack this piece of frailty; and yet this tottering piece of fleſh, muſt have its full ſix dayes, and the eternal ſoul not enjoy one whole day, without allowance made for pleaſure and ſecular employments.
Let us conſider the ſoul, in the importance of its wellfare. The body follows the condition of the ſoul, but the ſoul doth not follow the condition of the body. If thy ſoul miſcarry, it had been better, as our Saviour ſpeaks, thou hadſt never been born. Man fares as his ſoul fares. It was Mat. 26. 24. Sic alloquitur anima ſancta ſuſpirans, O civitas ſancta, civitas ſpecioſa, de longinquo te ſaluto, ad te clamo, te requiro, deſidero verè te videre, et in te requieſcere; O civitas deſiderabilis, Muri tui Iapis unus, Cuſtos tuus ipſe deus, Cives tui ſemper laeti ſemper enim gratulantur viſione Dei. Hug. Victor.the Redemption of the ſoul that drew Chriſt from Heaven to tabernacle amongſt us, and to offer up himſelf a ſacrifice to Divine Juſtice; and therefore how rational is it, that the precious ſoul ſhould enjoy a full Sabbath without any ſenſual vacancies, for pleaſures and paſtimes, ſeeing the whole man is dependant upon its diſpoſal, and is happy or miſerable, according to its ſtate or condition. But to wind up this particular Argument, if we conſider either the force of the fourth Commandment, or the pregnant plea's of the immortal ſoul, whoſe intereſt is much purſued on a Sabbath; nay, the Sabbath is the very day God hath appointed for the ſouls great affairs and negotiations; we muſt conclude, that the time which God requires for himſelf, and for the ſouls advantage, muſt be at leaſt equal for continuance to that which he allows for other employments: and ſurely no one day of the week is longer or ſhorter then another; but if the Lords day hath not twenty four hours, it muſt needs be ſhorter then the reſt.
The Primitive Church kept a night as well as a day on the Sabbath, as appeared by their Vigils, and this not only in times of perſecution, but in the times when Emperours were Chriſtians. The ancient Fathers are clear & copious in commanding the Obſervation of a whole Sabbath for ſpiritual ſervices as a duty. So Auguſtine, Irenaeus, and the Council of Maſcon, hath theſe words; Let us obſerve the Lords day, and ſanctifie Aug. Iren. Conc. Maſcon.it from the Evening of the Saturday, till the Evening of the Lords day, ſequeſtred from all buſineſs. Nay, let us hear Mr. Primroſe, our Adverſary in this Controverſie, It is neceſſary (ſaith that learned man) that a day be choſen and appointed, that in it, as often as it returns, men may apply themſelves extraordinarily Primroſe. Praeſ. p. 1, 2.to publick and private devotion; men muſt ſtint ſome ordinary day for that end, and in this ſtinting, muſt not ſhew themſelves inferiour to the Jewes, appointing leſs then one day in ſeven to Gods ſervice. And another concludes, (who is likewiſe our adverſary) That ſome day be deſtinated to the Lord, may ſeem to be a dictate of the Law of Nature, which he proves from the practice of the Heathens, who obſerved a whole day to the honour of their Gods: And therefore C. DOW p. 74.what ſpirit are they of, who on the week day could wiſh the Sun might ſtand ſtill, as in the time of Joſhua, or Joſh. 10. 13. 2 Kings 20. 11.run back as on the dyal of Ahaz, that they might have greater leaſure for their worldly affairs? but deſire that the Sun might paſs on, on a Sabbath (if it were poſſible, with a ſpeedier flight) that that holy day might be the ſooner over, like thoſe wanton Iſraelites, Amos 8. 5. who were Amos 8. 5.weary of their Sabbath. In a word, it is very ſtrange, that any man ſhould make the Sabbath like Nebuchadnezzars Image, the upper parts Gold and Silver, but the lower Dan. 2. 32, 33.parts Iron and Clay; the former part of a Sabbath to be ſpent in holy, in golden duties, but the latter part of the Sabbath, in Iron labours, or Clay, droſſie pleaſures and delights, in bowling and ſhooting, and ſuch like ſports, ſo much contended for by many men to be lawfull on the Sabbath day.
God will not abate any thing of a whole day in other Feſtivals, which are of an inferiour nature, and which were onelyonly Ceremonial ſhaddows of ſomething to come, as we Lev. 23. 3….may obſerve in that ſignal and famous place, Lev. 23. 32. the words are theſe; And it ſhall be unto you a Sabbath of reſt, and you ſhall afflict your ſouls in the ninth day of the month at Even, from Even unto Even ſhall ye celebrate your Sabbath. Now this Feaſt here mentioned was called the Feaſt of Expiation, and it was celebrated on the tenth day of the month Tiſri, our September, and it was called the feaſt of Poſt paſchale ſacrum, elapſis ſeptem ſeptimanis, quadraginta novem diebus, quinquageſſima, quam à numero, Aſartha Hebraei vocant, offerunt deo panem. Joſeph Anti. Lib. 3 Cap. 10.Expiation, becauſe the High Prieſt did then confeſs unto God both his own ſins, and the ſins of the people, by performance of ſome Rites and Ceremonies expiate them, and make an attonement to God for them. Now to give you the Reaſon why this Feaſt was called a Sabbath, in the forementioned Text, you muſt conceive, that the other Feſtivals of the Jews were by a general notion called Sabbaths, though they did not fall on the ſeventh day, as the New Moons, Ezek. 46. 3. the feaſt of unleavened bread, inſtituted in the twelfth of Exodus, upon the ſparing of the Jewes in the ſlaughter of the Aegyptians firſt born, and the feaſt of Exod. 23. 14.Pentecoſt, a feaſt inſtituted in memory of the Law given on Mount Sinai, fifty dayes after Iſraels coming out of Egypt; Haec ſeſta ſo lennia, ſi in Sabbathum inciderent, ob duplicem ſeſtivitatem magnus dies Sabbathi vocabantur. Leid. Prof.and in theſe feaſts which continued divers dayes, the firſt and the laſt were more properly termed Sabbaths. And ſo in the feaſt of Tabernacles, or Booths, which was ordained to witneſs that the Iſraelites lived in Tents or Booths in the Wilderneſs; the firſt and the laſt day of this feaſt was called a Sabbath; but if theſe ſolemn feaſts fell upon a weekly Sabbath, for the double feaſtival, it was called the great day of the Sabbath, Joh. 19. 31. But to reaſſume the Argument; If God will have a whole day for theſe Ceremonial Mel. 4. 2. Hoſ. 6. 4. Pſal. 92. 1, 2.feaſts, which were to ſet with the riſing Sun, the coming of Chriſt the Sun of Righteouſneſs, ſurely God will abate nothing of his ſubſtantial Sabbath, which is to endure till Sabbathi, apud Judaeos, fuerunt variae ſignificationes, quae tamen ab hac primâ omnes dependent. quâ ſeptimus cujuſ que hebdomadae dies, in quarto Praecepto Sabbathum appellatur. Wal.the ſecond coming of Chriſt; (I mean not the ſeventh day, the Jewes Sabbath, but the firſt day of the week, the Chriſtian Sabbath) If the Lord was ſo ſtrict, that he would not loſe a moments honour in a ceremonial day of reſt, what ſhall we think the Lord expects upon this day, this holy bleſſed Sabbath, which is moral and perpetual? Surely on this day we muſt not ſerve him by fits and flaſhes, and ſudden pangs, which paſs away as the early dew, but we muſt conſtantly walk with him the whole day. A flying Ceremony muſt not command more conſtant and ſtrict obſervance, then a ſtated, ſteady feſtival, the holy and weekly Sabbath; Wallaeus obſerves, all the other Sabbaths of the Jewes had their dependence on the great Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath, Luke 18. 12. Gal. 4. 9.and the week was ſometimes called Sabbath, and ſo the firſt day of the week was called the firſt day of the Sabbath, Haec Sabbatha Ceremoniales fuerunt umbrae verum futurarum. Ameſ.and ſo the ſecond of the week, the ſecond of the Sabbath, for the Sabbath ſake, that glorious day, which ſhed a luſtre upon, and gave name to the whole week. And indeed other Sabbaths, were but beggarly elements, as the Apoſtle Sabbatil autem in decalogo praeſcriptum, et dies noſtra Dominica, alius prorſus ſunt naturae. Id.ſpeaks, Gal. 4. 9. beggarly, having little in them to enrich the ſoul, and elements, being the firſt and weak method of inſtruction, the ſhady Ceremonies, which were to teach the Children of Iſrael. But our Sabbath is of a higher and nobler nature, not covered with ſo much darkneſs, nor ſubject to ſo much decay; and therefore if God be ſo punctual, Mark 2. 28.and exact in his time, in theſe flitting ſolemnities, which were to ceaſe at the very firſt dawning of the Goſpel, Ah how much more on his fixed Sabbath, the ſouls weekly banqueting day with the Lord Jeſus, the bleſſed Lord of the Sabbath.Hi… verò infertur, ut aeq…s qu…rti praecepti pateſ…t, nempe quod deus benignè nobiſcum vildè agit, qui cum ſex dies nobis relinquat, unum tantùm in ſeptimanâ diem ſibi poſtulat. Wal. Mic. 6. 3. foreign. Chryſ. Tom. 5. Nos illorum, (Apoſtolorum) ſequentes traditionem dominicum diem divinis conventibus ſequeſtramus. Iſich. in Levit. Cap. 9.
And fourthly (yet further to clear this truth) we muſt conclude, To abate any thing of ſpending a whole day with God, is but the wanton abuſe of divine indulgence. The Sabbath is a price God puts into our hands, and to play and ſport upon it, is to trample upon our pearls. And truly God hath ſo ſmoothed and ſweetned the fourth Commandment with ſo much equity and kindneſs, in giving us ſix dayes, and taking to himſelf but one, that to break this Commandment, is but the greater evidence of obſtinacy and ſtubbornneſs; and indeed, to thoſe who encroach upon his Sabbath by their toyle, and their paſtimes, God may frame the ſame expoſtulation, which once he made to back-ſliding Iſrael, What iniquity have you found in me, wherein have I wearied thee, come teſtifie againſt me: Have I roughed my Comm…ndmen…s with any grievous ſeverity? have I not given you ſix dayes, and reſerved to my ſelf onelyonly one? And muſt part of that one day be proſtituted to the flatteries of ſin, to vain ſports, and unprofitable recreations, is not this to abuſe my …ve, and ſport with my indulgence? Nay, to crumble the Sabbath into ſo many pieces and diviſions, to ſpend part of it in holy ſervices, part of it in civil labours, and part of it in ſenſual pleaſures, it is nothing elſe but ſo to disfigure the Sabbath, that neither Divine command, nor Apoſtolical inſtitution will know it, ſo as to own it to be their iſſue and production.
We may likewiſe fetch an Argument from the Text it ſelf, which commands our delight in the holy Sabbath, We muſt Iſa. 53. 13. Sabbatum eſt delicatum, i. e. delicatè & tenerè obſervandum; delicatum, i. e. delitiae & tui, & domini: Deus enim capiet mognam delectationem ex religioſo ſui cultu in Sabbato. Alap. in Iſai.call the Sabbath our delight, ſaith the Text. Now can this be conſiſtent with that delight and complacency a Chriſtian ſhould take in the Sabbath, after a few hours to break from holy ſervices, and ſpiritual duties, to gad after the pleaſures or profits of the World? To refreſh their wearied and tyred ſelves with a bowle or a foot-ball, and to leave Communion with God, to recreate their ſelves with a fit of masking, dancing or ſhooting? Surely our delights in Gods holy day are weak and faint, if they muſt be fetcht again, and revived with ſuch looſe and vain ſatisfactions. Indeed it argues a very vain and frothy ſpirit, to have no more pleaſure in Gods day, then to ſpend a good part of it in vain talk and idleneſs, in rioting and wantonneſs, in ſports and fooliſhneſs. It cannot be imagined that any men who ever taſted any ſweetneſs in Chriſt, or his Sabbath, and felt the Sponſa Chriſtum laudans, ab oculis crſa eſt; ſed cur? quontam cum amantes aſpectu mutuo nequeant ſatiari, et ſemper abaltero ad intuentis oculion imago gratior reflectatur, et fit, ut creſcat admiratio, et ſimul laudandi cupiditas, ne que in hacre ſit ullus modus: Et oculi ſunt amoris duces. Del. Rio.unknown refreſhings of his holy Reſt, but that they will mourn for their cold affections, and that they have not ſpent their Sabbath more accurately and exactly. Certainly thoſe who plead and inveigh much againſt the ſtrict obſervation of Gods holy day, never fully taſted what the Sabbath was, and what the glory and excellency of it. Is the Majeſty and Glory of God ſo vile in our eyes, that we do not think him worthy of ſpecial attendance one day in a week? doth he call us now to reſt in his boſome on his holy Sabbath, and do we kick his bowels, and deſpiſe his bounty? Doth he call upon us to ſpend this day in holineſs, and ſhall we ſpend it, or at the leaſt, part of it, in mirth, ſports and paſtimes, and in all manner of vanity? Where are our longings and breathings after Chriſt upon a Sabbath? Were holy duties gratefull to us, we ſhould not ſo ſoon ſhake them off, we ſhould not make the time of a Sabbath, like the vail of the Temple at Chriſts death, to be rent in twain, (viz.) between the Lord and the World; whereas one bone of Chriſt was not to be broken, ſo not one hour of this day; Pſal. 42. 1, 2.here we muſt ſay as Chriſt of the fragments, gather up the fragments, let nothing be loſt. It is perilous to clip the Mat. 27. 51.Kings Coyne, and very dangerous to clip the Lords day; Joh. 19. 36.let us not with Annanias and Saphira, bring half the price. Mark 6. 43.This holy time was never ours, nor ever, was there any part Acts 5. 2.thereof in our power; therefore to keep back any hour of this holy day muſt needs be ſinfull. If no part of this day be the Lords, why do we give him any? And if the whole Communio noſtra eſt cum Patre, et Filio, et in Patre cum Filio ſunt omnia vera, et coeleſtia bona. Zanch.be the Lords, as certainly it it, why do we put him off with part? But there would be no need of theſe queſtions, were our delight in Gods holy day, and were our hearts captivated with Divine Communion. Delight ſweetens duty, and makes it eaſie and pleaſurous. That Sabbath cannot be long which is complacential. David did requeſt to ſpend not onelyonly the Sabbath, but his life in the Temple, and counted 1 John 1. 3.one day in Gods houſe, better then a thouſand. It is nothing but a carnal frame of ſpirit diſguſting the things of Pſal. 27. 4.God, makes the Sabbath tedious and weariſome, and ſeeks to break open the Cage door, that it may fly out to its ſenſual Pſal. 84. 10.delights and recreations. Was the Sabbath our delight, we ſhould not caſt lots upon it which ſhould have moſt of it, God or the World, holy duties, or traſhy paſtimes.
Our own Conveniency and advantage, calls for the whole day of a Sabbath to be ſpent in holy and ſpiritual ſervices; Sabbatha docent perſeverantiam totius diet: Iren. contr. Valentfor the gain we acquire in publick Ordinances, will eaſily be loſt, if not followed with private duties; It is private meditation, private repetition, and private devotion, muſt faſten truth on the ſoul, which we have heard in publick. The fruit we have enjoyed in publick, will preſently be blaſted by paſtimes and ſports, which withdraw and James 1. 23. In Sabbato occupari nos debemus in la… dando dei nomine, uſ que ad veſperam. Concil. Turon.alienate the ſoul from the very duties it had newly been employed in. Happily in the publick Ordinances we ſaw the face of Chriſt in ſome meaſure; if preſently we fly to vain Recreations, we ſhall as the Apoſtle James ſpeaks, ſtraightway forget what manner a beloved our Beloved was. What was delivered in the Pulpit, is beſt impreſſed on the ſoul in the Cloſet; and ſecret approaches can beſt ſet home publick ordinances. Our tears we ſhed at home, muſt importune a Nihil efficacius eſt ad verbi divini fructus, et ſpiritus ſancti igniculos in n…bis ſuffocardos, quam vel profana, vel nimis mundana oblectamentorum conſectatio Wal.bleſſing upon truths we have heard abroad. It is the Obſervation of a Learned man, Nothing more effectually quencheth the ſparks of the divine ſpirit kindled in Ordinances, then the purſuance of earthly and worldly Delights; and therefore he thinks, the ſafeſt manner of obſerving the Sabbath, is not onelyonly to ſanctifie it in the publick Congregations, but in our private Houſes, not onelyonly in ſolemn Ordinances, but in private Duties. And if we purſue publick, private and ſecret Duties, which yet are ſo neceſſary on a Sabbath, what time will be left for labour or ſportfull refreſhments? So then the whole Sabbath muſt be ſpent with God.
And if the Jewiſh Sabbath was to conſiſt of twenty four hours, much more the Chriſtians: But the firſt is moſt true, for the whole time of a Sabbath was required of them to be Exod. 20. 8.ſanctified in holy duties, in oppoſition to their own works. As for the nights we diſpute it not, they were allowed to Myſteria Evangelii in aeternum adoranda & contemplanda.reſt that night as well as we. Now then, if the Jews were bound to ſpend a whole day, all their waking time, in divine and holy ſervices, much more we Chriſtians, for we have received greater benefits, we have greater myſteries of Godlineſs to contemplate, and greater means to help us in the 1 Tim. 3. 16.contemplation, Our field is larger, our light is clearer, our ſervice is ſweeter; we have our Sabbath to behold the face Cant. 5. 10.of our Beloved, and what work more engaging and complacential?
The very Heathens by the light of Nature, gave their Gods no leſs then a whole day, and would not ſuffer any work to be done on thoſe holy dayes; So Macrobius tells us, Macrob. de diebus feſtis.That the ſervices of their Gods were partly diurnal, and partly nocturnal, and that the Flamines were to ſee to it, that no works were to be done on their holy dayes. Nay, one of our Adverſaries in this particular confeſſeth freely; As the time in which ſuch Religious Actions are done, ſo that ſome day C. Dow p. 21.or dayes ſhould be deſtinated for the more ſolemn performance of thoſe actions, may ſeem to be a dictate of the Law of Nature, foreign. Clem. Alex. Lib. 5. Stromatinaſmuch as the Heathens who had no other Guide, had their ſolemn Feaſts and ſet dayes in all Ages conſecrated to the worſhip of their Gods. And therefore for Chriſtians to give leſs then a day, is to fall ſhort of an Heathen. Nay, Scaevola an High Prieſt among them, affirmed, That the wilfull Offender, who obſerved not ſtrictly three dayes conſecrated to their Gods, could have no Expiation. And what a ſhame is it for Chriſtians, that Jupiter ſhould have more ſolemn and conſtant worſhip then Jehovah? that an Idol God ſhould have a whole day, but the Almighty muſt onelyonly have a part, the reſt to be drowned in ſenſual pleaſures, or worldly toyle, Heu facinus! Is not this to let the light of a glow worm outſhine the light of the Sun, the light of Nature out-vie the light of the Goſpel. Never let thoſe Gods who have eyes and ſee not, have more durable and continued worſhip, then our God who is Omniſcient; thoſe Gods who have ears and Pſal. 115. 4, 5, 6.hear not, have more ſolemn adorations then our God, who is a God hearing prayer; thoſe Gods who are Silver and Pſal. 65. 2.Gold, be better ſerved then the bleſſed and Holy One, the God of Jacob, who is an infinite ſpirit.
Obj. But if it be objected, it is very tyring and tedious to paſs the whole current of a day in holy ſervices, and ſpiritual communion, and this might make us cry out with the holy foreign. 2 Cor. 2. 16.Apoſtle in another caſe, Who is ſufficient for theſe things? To this it may be briefly replyed;
God becauſe of our infirmities, doth afford what may refreſh; and the better to bear up our bodies, allows moderate ſleep in the night, and temperate food in the day. True, it was in Tertullians time a diſpute, whether it be not a duty Tertul. de Coronâ militis. Cap. 3.to faſt on the Lords day; but our Saviours Apology for his Diſciples in plucking and eating the ears of Corn on the Sabbath day, may eaſily quiet that Queſtion; and bleſſed be the Mar. 2. 25.Lord for his allowances of love: Nature even on the Sabbath hath both its Nurſe, and its Caterer, its ſleep and its proviſions.
Men do not complain of whole dayes for the world; they riſe early and go to bed late, and eat the bread of carefulneſs; Pſal. 127. 2.they do not ſay all the week, when the morning is, would to God it was evening; but rather in the evening, wiſh it were morning again, to go after the world afreſh. Nay, we find many in their ſinful wayes are unwearied, and when Iſa. 56. 12. 2 Tim. 4. 8. Rev. 3. 21. Cant. 8. 14. Montes foreign ſunt ſedos Angelorum, & Beatorum coeli, ſunt manſiones civium Coeleſtium. Del. Rio.one day is paſt, they fix upon the very next day with enlarged reſolutions. And ſhall Heaven with its Crown of Righteouſneſs, its Throne of Glory, its raviſhing Felicities, and mountains of Spices, no more influence us, but that one day ſpent in the purſuance of it, ſhould ſeem tedious and burdenſome, and we ſhould impatiently wiſh, would the Sabbath was over, that we might again buſie our ſelves in in the affairs of the world? It is ſtrange, that neither divine duplicate page duplicate page command, nor divine rewards ſhould clip our wings, but that we will be flying even on the Lords day, into the pleaſing embraces of a ſenſual delight, or ſecular emolument.
Many of Gods Servants, the Excellent of the earth, and the darlings of Heaven, and Princes in diſguiſe, thoſe patterns Pſal. 16. 3.of piety, have looked on the Sabbath as their Paradiſe, where they could refreſh their ſouls with variety of delights; Nor have they complained that the wheels of time have been taken off, that it hath moved ſlowly, and drove heavily, but have thought the evening of that bleſſed Sabbath Pſal. 84. 10.hath ſurpriſed them, when they knew not how to give over their banqueting with Jeſus Chriſt; the Ordinances of Jeſus Chriſt have not been their burden, but their repaſt, nor have they thought holy duties the waſte, but the improvement of their Sabbath.
There have been thoſe who have ſpent divers dayes and nights alſo in the ſervice of God. Let us onelyonly inſtance in Anna the Propheteſs, a widow of above fourſcore and four Luke 2. 37.years old, which departed not from the Temple, but ſerved God with faſtings and prayers day and night; for her Sex a woman, for her caſe a widow, not having the company nor ſupport of her husband, and for age eighty four years, yet night and day with faſting and prayer, ſerving God in the Temple.
And for ſuch as are tyred out with the time of the Sabbath, would they go to Heaven? There it is ever Sabbath, alwayes ſinging, ſerving and ſetting up God. Bernard urgeth Rev. 4 10, 11.the obſervation of the Sabbath, and holding out in holy exerciſes thereupon, upon this account, That by preſent reſt, Bern. Serm. 4. Col. 1744.men may learn to live in reſt eternal; and by perſevering in ſervice, men may be prompt to perpetuate the Lords everlaſting praiſe. But how would men do to endure Heaven, if here they cannot hold out the durance of a Sabbath day.