The Practical Sabbatarian, Chapter 39
CHAP. XXXIX. The Lords day is a day of Reſt, but not of Idleneſſe.
Caut. 5 LEt us take heed leaſt we interpret, the day which God calls a day of Reſt, to be a day of Idleneſſe. God gives us relaxation Exod. 31. 15.on his own day, but it is not, either for ſport or ſleep, but for duties, not for paſtime, but for prayer. Our ground Quies non fuit ignavum otium, ut Chriſtiani nihil agerent, ſed ut divina curarent non ſua. Riv.lies fallow ſometimes, that we may plow it, and ſow it to the better advantage. Reſt is given us, becauſe the body and the ſoul cannot both well be employed together, earth and heaven cannot both be minded together: Now this divine indulgence muſt be a ſpur to holy duties, and not our leave to play with lying vanities. The Sabbath is a holy leiſure, our ſpiritual vacation, to attend on the affairs of our precious ſouls; Sabbatum eſt ſabbatum ceſſationis, requies ſancta & ſanctificata.it is our happy Champion, upon which we run the Race which is ſet before us. Mr. Bernard of Batcombe obſerves, that Sabbath includes Reſt in its very name, and in the holy tongue ſignifies no more but reſt and ceſſation, but this reſt muſt be a holy reſt, Exod. 31. 15. A reſt to the Lord, Exod. 16. 23, 25. ſet apart, and ſeparated to the ſervice of God, as a ſanctified Septimodie quiſecas, eum verò diem, non tibi, ſed domino ſanctifices. Muſcul.day of Reſt, Iſa. 58. 13. Muſculus takes notice, This day is not to be kept to our ſelves, but to the Lord; not to pleaſe the fleſh, but to ſerve the ſoul. This day is conſecrated time, and therefore not to be employed to ſinful or ſecular uſes. Eaſe and idleneſs are the locuſt and the Palmer worm, which cat up the pleaſant fruits of Gods holy Sabbath. Haſt thou nothing to do on a Sabbath, when thou haſt a ſoul to ſave, Ignavè ſabbatum ſervare, ſabbatum eſt houm, & aſi no…um.an account to give, and a heaven to get? So the Apoſtle ſaith, 1 Tim. 4. 8. Bodily labour profiteth little; ſo on a Sabbath, bodily eaſe profiteth as little. It is a worthy ſpeech of learned Andrews, To keep a Sabbath in an idle manner is the Sabbath of beaſts, not Men, of Oxen and Aſſes, not of Sanctificare ſabbatum, eſt illius otium habere religioſum ſanctum, & ſa cris exercitiis deputatum.Chriſtians and Saints; a Sabbath ſuitable to Nebuchadnezzar, when he kept his belluine Court in the Field, and the bruit beaſts were the Princes of his train, Dan. 4. 33. It is the obſervation of a learned man, It is not ſaid in the 4th. Commandement, remember to keep the Sabbath, but, remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Now to keep holy the Sabbath, is to dedicate its reſt to holy, pious, and ſacred exerciſes: Poſtulandum eſt ſeceſſum, ut melius intendamus, et toto hoc die deo vacondum eſt.the Sabbath is the ſouls receſſe, its holy retirement for ſervice, its pauſe from the things of the world, and from the noiſe of earthly affairs, that the Saint may hear what the Lord will ſay, for he will ſpeak peace to his people, Pſalm 85. 8. It is a ſeaſonable calm, that we row to ſhore without danger or diſturbance. Indeed, as Biſhop Andrews Andr. Sabbatum da tum eſt ad con ſideranda dei opera, et ad meditandum ex lege Dei. Aben. Ezra.affirms, and that worthily: Such is the perverſneſs of mans nature, that when God ſpeaks reſt, then we ſay, labour: and when he ſaith labour, then we ſpeak reſt: nay, we make it a policy to find labour on that day, which he hath denyed us to labour in. But this is the perverſneſs of nature, not the office of grace, Rom. 8. 2.
There hath been a general diſguſt in the World againſt idleneſs on the Sabbath day. The Sanedrim among all varieties of men have voted it down: If we run back to the earlieſt times, the Jews informe us, the Sabbath was given us to contemplate on the works of God, and to meditate in his Law; ſo Aben Ezra, a famous Rabby among them. Another of the ſame Nation and profeſſion tells us, That the Rabbi Kimchi, in Pſalm 92.Sabbath is more grateful to God, then any other day of the week, becauſe then Man diverts himſelf from the negotiations of the world, his abſtracted mind is converſant in the ſacred Wiſdome, and ſervice of God: So Rabby Kimchi. And it is moſt certain, that Gods bleſſed day was never inſtituted for meer ceſſation, that man might ſit down and reſt himſelf, and ſo take his eaſe, but that we ſhould meet for holy Euſeb. de praep. Evang. cap. 2. lib. 8. Ex Phil.worſhip, and congregate for exerciſes of Piety. Philo the Jew is moſt copious, in recording the ſavoury behaviours of the Jewes on the Sabbath, which Euſebius induſtriouſly takes notice of, and doth likewiſe obſerve the great advantages Notabilis errer eſt, putare otii ergo ſabbatum eſſe inſtitutum.which that Nation gained, by their careful and ſtrict obſervation of the Sabbath, though afterwards unhappily they were too remiſs in this kind, and gave occaſion to the rebukes and ſcorn of many Writers in thoſe times; And indeed, when they fell ſhort in Sabbath obſervations, the crown of their glory was fallen. Mannaſſeh Conciliator, in ſome heat cries out, It is a notable errour, to conceive that the Sabbath was ordained for carnal eaſe; That this ſhould be the ultimate end of that conſecrated day, to lie on a Pillow, or ſit on a Couch, to eaſe a lump of fleſh, And the Hieruſalem Talmud, that ſacrary of Jewiſh learning and Talm Hieroſolym.knowledge, poſitively affirms, that the Sabbath was given to the people of Iſrael, onelyonly to meditate on the holy and bleſſed Law of God. Thus we may ſee, that the Jews ſacred Code finds employment to take up our Sabbath, and not to waſte it in ſloth and idleneſs.Si otium ſanctificas, tum negotium contaminat, ſed datur otium ad cognoſcendum deum, Quia cognitio dei eſt magis neceſſaria, quàm otium.
And if we caſt our eye on the golden times of the Goſpel, the Primitive Fathers with much zeal declamed againſt ſluggiſh Sabbaths. Athanaſius makes the knowledge of God to be the chief end of the Sabbath, and gives us this reaſon, Becauſe knowledge is more neceſſary then reſt. When God impoſed reſt upon us in the fourth Commandment, at the ſame time he commanded religious actions, for reſt muſt be given to ſome end or purpoſe; God and nature doth nothing in vain, as Ariſtotle obſerves. And to what end ſhould holy Ath…naſ. de Sab.reſt be given, but to holy uſes? that man being freed from worldly cares, he might apply himſelf wholly to the contemplation of God and his word, and that the ſoul might leiſurely converſe with its beloved. It is an excellent Paraphraſe Ariſtot de coelo. l. 1. c. 4of Cyrill, one of the glittering lights of the Primitive Church (thoſe ſtars which ſeem ſo little, becauſe they are ſo remote from us) To hallow the Sabbath, ſaith he, is to Cyril in 8. …. cap. Amos.make the reſt of it devout, holy, and employed to Godly exerciſes, whereby the mind may be inſtructed, exerciſed, and grounded in things pertaining to godlineſs; and to the ſame purpoſe Gaudentius Brixianus. Ignatius that bleſſed Martyr, who led the Van of all the Societies of the Fathers, and lived thirty years with the Apoſtle St. John, he thus ſharply argues in his Epiſtle to the Citizens of Magneſia, Let us not Sabbatize after the Jewiſh manner, as rejoycing in idleneſs, foreign, &c. Ignat ad Magn.but let us keep Sabbaths ſpiritually, rejoycing in the meditation of the Law, not in the remiſſion of the Body, admiring the workmaniſhip of God, not drinking things luke-warme, nor walking meaſured paces, not rejoycing in dances, &c. And Chryſoſtom urges with much holy fervency, That on the Sabbath we ſhould lay aſide all the affairs of this life, and withdraw our ſelves from them, and ſpend all the leiſure of the Sabbath in things ſpiritual and divine, which concern our ſouls. This eminent Perſon makes a difference between ſloth and reſt; the one concerns the body, the other the ſoul; foreign. Chryſoſt. Tom 5 p 225.and he clearly ſtates the Queſtion, that the Sabbath was never given us to pleaſe a piece of clay, but to ſerve the intereſt of that piece of eternity, which every one of us carry in our own boſoms. And on this manner Auguſtine courts his Auditors, We muſt know, dearly beloved, That it is therefore Auguſt.appointed of our holy Fathers, and commanded to us Chriſtians, that upon the Lords day we ſhould reſt, that repoſing foreign. Concil Load. Can 29.from all worldly buſineſs, we might be more freſh and prompt for Gods divine worſhip, and may with more eaſe attend upon the will and ſervice of God. Nay, a whole council, viz. of Laodicea, in the twenty ninth Canon hath theſe words. It doth not become Chriſtians to Judaize, and to be idle on the Sabbaths. This was the ſpirit and temper of the Primitive times; they preſs that our Sabbaths might be ſpiritualized, not that our work ſhould wholly ceaſe, but only ſhould be changed, that the labour of the hand ſhould be turned into the working of the heart, that manual operations ſhould be turned into mental contemplations; and on this day our work muſt not be ſervile, but ſeraphical; we muſt not throw away the Pen, but we muſt write the fairer.
In the middle times of the Church, when ſuch dark Thom. Aquin. 22dae quaeſt. 122. 4 3. 11. & 3 diſt. Art 15 Queſt 1.clouds had over-ſpread it, that ſpiritual worſhip was as Saul among the Prophets, rare to a Proverb; yet then the employing of the time of a Sabbath in holy ſervice, was accounted morall in the fourth Commandments; and ſcoffs were beſtowed freely by the writers of thoſe times, on thoſe who waſted the Sabbath in plays or idleneſs. This bright Alex de Alenſ p. 3. quaeſt 32. Scol, l. 2 de inſtit. qu 4. Artic. 4.truth, like a ſtar in the night, made its way to ſhine in the darkeſt times. The fine ſpun diſputes of the Schoolmen could not diſtinguiſh it away, but it brake through all their curious webs. This truth was ſo faſtned in the Church, it could not be diſputed out by the School. And let Semper eadem not only be Queen Elizabeths Motto, but the Sabbaths holy obſervation. In the dawning of Reformation there was light enough to diſcover this truth, many eminent Divines (thoſe burning and ſhining lights, which blaze more becauſe they are nearer to us) give in their ſuffrage, for ſpending the Sabbath in holy exerciſes, ſharply decrying Hinc colligimus deum non de re nihili, aut fl…cci loqui, cùm ſanctificationem Sabbati nobis commend…verit. Calv.ſluggiſhneſs and ſloth on this bleſſed day. It is the grave obſervation of incomparable Calvin, That God ſpeaks not of a ſmall matter when he commands the ſanctification of the Sabbath, but doth exhort us to a diligent marking of it, and our want of care to mark is a breach of this Commandment. This worthy man could not imagine, that a Memento ſhould Preface a day of ſloth and idleneſs, that we might take our carnal eaſe without ſuch an alarm. To walk in the fields, to ſit idling at the door of our houſe, to chat in a room upon a Sabbath, are no ſuch importances, as to require ſuch diligent attention or exact obſervation, there is little holineſs in any thing of this. A carnal man may reſt from labour, and never much mind or need a command. Nature will let us to take our caſe without any ſpecial command from the God of nature. The great Jehovah had never needed, in the midſt of thundrings and lightnings with great Exod▪ 10. 18.terrour and Majeſty, to give out a command for us to go to a Bench to ſit on, to a couch to talk on, or to a bed to lie on. A School-maſter need not make a ſet ſpeech, or tune his language to ſtrains of Oratory, to perſwade his Scholars to go to play and be idle. Idleneſs needs no great enforcements, wants no arguments of reaſon, nor paintings of Rhetorick; we can prate of worldly affairs, and take our pleaſing paſtimes without any attractive engine. Zanchy ſpeaks very pregnantly to this purpoſe, I call, ſaith he, this dayes reſt Zanch. de oper. creat. p. 3. l. 1. c. 1.divine and holy, becauſe as God is never idle, ſo he would have us take reſt in ſoul and conſcience after that manner, that yet notwithſtanding we be alwayes employed in thoſe things which are of Gods ſpirit, and which appertain to the glory of God, and to the good both of our ſelves and others. The cauſe of commanding reſt upon the Sabbath, was not for reſt ſake, and that man might be idle, but that he might altogether ſpend that whole day in divine worſhip. Thus this Reverend Perſon Sed ut toto illo die poſſint vacare cultui divino. Zanc. in quartum praecept.rightly ſtate… the Queſtion, and truly aſſerts, that as reſt is included in the Commandment, ſo holy and ſpiritual worſhip is the end of that reſt. God calls us off from Earth to mind Heaven; and the body muſt have a vacation, that the ſoul may have a Term; the body muſt decreaſe, that the ſoul may increaſe. Corporal reſt is only the means, by Non igitur cum Ethnicis ſentiendum, feſtos dtes tantúm quiet…s, & remiſſionis cauſa ſuſcipi: quorum finis …ſſet reco…datio beneficiorum dei in convocatione ſancta, &c.which we may purſue our eternal reſt. This, learned Rivet looks upon it as a brutiſh and heatheniſh Opinion, to think that God ſhould give us a holy day for ſloth and remiſneſs; and he poſitively tells us, That the end of the Sabbath muſt be the recordation of divine benefits, and to refreſh our memories with moſt grateful rehearſals of Gods bounty, and to put up prayers for future grace, for the leiſure of Saints muſt not be fruitleſs. The eccho of this golden ſentence is true and ſweet. A godly mans leiſure muſt not run waſte; When the world gives him a ſhort quietus eſt, he muſt reſt in God; His ſpare hours from his outward affairs, muſt be his ſerious hours for his ſoul. The Saints have alwayes work to do on this ſide eternity, but eſpecially on that day when reſt is commanded us to look after eternity. Hoſpinian here accents Finis tertius eſt Sabbati, ejus que otii, & ille eſt ſubli…or: Ʋt vir ſpiritua…is ad aeternam ſui ſalute… propior accedat, ut vitae ſanctae …ffici… occupetur, & operum ſui ante-actorum recordatiom ſeſe applicet, &c. Hoſp. Dicitur Sabbatum Domini, et Sabbatum ſanctit…t…s, et ſanct…tas Domini, quia non modò dei ſancti eſt, ſed et ſanctum e…, et rebus domini publicè, et privatim dicatum, et impendendum eſt, &c. Leid. Prof.this truth moſt ſweetly; There is, ſaith he, a ſublime end of the Sabbaths leiſure, viz. That we might get nearer to eternal ſalvation, that we may follow the duties of an holy life, that we may remember our former actions, and ſo dren…h our ſelves in tears of repentance; and this ſaith he, the very Jews can not deny. Our Sabbaths, according to this worthy man, are only poſt dayes for heaven, opportunities for grace, which is the morning ſtar of glory, and the dawning of bleſſedneſs. Nay let us hear a Quaternion of Divines, the Profeſſours of Leyden; Ceſſation of work, ſay they, is commanded, not that we ſhould only enjoy corporal idleneſs, but fall upon ſpiritual buſineſs, holy duties and exerciſes. It is not called the Sabbath of man, but the Sabbath of the Lord; not only becauſe God is the Author of it, but likewiſe, becauſe it is to be dedicated to, and ſpent in the things of the Lord, both publickly and privately, and is to be directed to the ſanctification of his name. Theſe Champions of truth direct us to the proper end of the Sabbath, which is not to waſte, but to work, not to conſult our eaſe, but to conſult our ſouls. Our temporal affairs muſt be ſuſpended, that our better affairs may be minded. The poor ſoul ſhould have been wh…lly neglected, had not the God of it appointed one day in the week for its ſervice and ſalvation.
This truth is ſo apparent, that our very adverſaries joyn iſſue in the atteſtation of it. Mr. B…erewood, who wrote ſo zealouſly for ſports on the Sabbath, yet in his ſecond Tract, pag. 15. acknowledgeth, That the Commandment for the Sabbath enjoynes,
1. The outward worſhip of God.Manifeſtum eſt non mo…o legis hujus judicio, ſed ipſ…ſimâ expe…i…nt…, non facere ad v…ae religionis profectum, ſiotia multiplicentur. Muſc.
2. Ceſſation fr…m works, as … neceſſary preparation for that worſhip; that as the end, and this as the means. So then, by his confeſſion, to holy reſt we muſt joyn holy work: And experience tells us, ſaith Muſculus, that too much leiſure never makes for the increaſe of Religion, no more then the Country-man gains by his fallow ground.
Nay the very Heathens themſelves laughed at idleneſs upon the Sabbath: And Seneca derided the cuſtom of the Jews upon their Sabbath, becauſe they ſpent it in things vain and impertinent, and not in the worſhip of God; and ſaid, The Seneca deriſit Sabbatum Judaeorum, quia non vacabant divinis, ſed rugis, et inutilibus. Aquin.Jews threw away the ſeventh part of their lives. And ſurely that ſin muſt be grievous, which becomes the ſcom and deriſion of an Heathen; that crime muſt needs be great, which lies open to the diſcoveries of Natures light.
But the Scriptures, which are the moſt authentick teſtimony in this caſe, will bring in moſt ample witneſs; they will find us employments for the Sabbath.
1. If we look into the Old Teſtament, we ſhall find the ſacrifices to be double on the Sabbath day. Two Lambs of Num. 28. 9, 10the firſt year without ſpot, and two tenth deales of flower, with a meat offering mingled with oyl, and the drink offering thereof; this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, beſides the continual burnt offering, and the drink offering, Numb. 28. 9, 10. There muſt, ye ſee, be an over-plus of ſacrifice on the Luke 23. 3.Sabbath; then our worſhip muſt be in the full, and not in the waine, in the ſtrongeſt tide, not at low water: Likewiſe Convocatioſancta fuit tot…us populi ad opera ſacra, et divina.on the Sabbath there was to be an holy Convocation; and ſurely the Jews did not meet ſolemnly to look one upon another. Their meeting in the Temple or the Synagogues ſpake worſhip, ſomething of Service Divine. Likewiſe on the Sabbath there was the reading of the Law, Gods will was then opened to the people, Nehem. 8. 8. The Sabbath was not a day of ſloth but inſtruction, it was not a day to be in foreign Cantica ſingu laria Sabbato unoquo que occinenda erant. Leid. Prof.the rubbiſh of eaſe, but to be built up in the moſt holy faith. And on the Sabbath there were certain ſolemn ſongs chanted forth to the praiſe of the Creatour; and therefore the ninety ſecond Pſalm is inſcribed, a Pſalm for the Sabbath. And there was likewiſe reaſonings and diſcourſes of Divine things, as we have hinted, Acts 17. 2. There were exhortations given to the people for their furtherance of faith and godlineſs, Acts 15. 21. Moſes was preached every Sabbath day, as the Apoſtle James ſpeaks in the fore-cited place. So then, the Sabbath wanted not its employment in the times of the Law.
Nor did the Lords day run waſte in the times of the Goſpel; then the Diſciples met together, the Sacrament was adminiſtred, the Goſpel was preached, Acts 20. 7. And charity was collected, 1 Cor. 16. 1, 2. Which duties unqueſtionably wanted not the concomitancy of fervent prayers and ſupplications; ſo then there was an aggregation of holy and ſolemn ſervices. Holy duties were not as a ſingle ſtar, but as Iſa. 65. 8.a conſtellation, and in that cluſter there was a bleſſing. So Old and New Teſtament are a twofold witneſs, to condemn Mat. 18. 16.ſloth and idleneſs upon Gods bleſſed day: And by the mouth of two witneſſes, eſpecially if infallible, every thing ſhall be eſtabliſhed.
And indeed idleneſs on any day carries its brand in its Milites otio ſi incipient luxu diffluere, murmurare, pecuniam inclamare, Ordinem omnem turbare, a… tandem rebellare. Alap.forehead: Idle Souldiers will eaſily turn mutinous. Idle Scholars will eaſily degenerate into ſin and ignorance: and idle Tradeſmen will eaſily ſink into want and poverty. Abundance of idleneſs was one of the ſins of Sodom, the worſt of places, Ezek. 16. 49. It is the ſink of ſin, the Common ſhore of evil, it is the ruſt of the ſoul, which eats out its noble faculties. Themiſtocles uſed to ſay, It was burying men alive. And idle perſons, like wanton widows (to uſe the Apoſtles phraſe) are dead while they live, 1 Tim. 5. 5. And Ephr. Syr. de conſummat. ſeculi.the Apoſtle makes idleneſs the ſource of many other ſins, 1 Tim. 5. 13. It was once the ſaying of Ephrem Syras, Do not fly labour, leaſt the Crown fly from thee. Idleneſs is every way ſinful.
It is oppoſite to mans condition. He was born to labour, Gen. 3. 19. Dew is not more natural to the ſurface of the Homo natus eſt ad laberem, ſicut avis ad volatum.Earth, then ſweat is to the brow of man. Toil and labour is mans Scutchion, and the firſt Arms he gives. The bird doth not fly more naturally, then man ſhould toil. Man in his innocency was to dreſs the Garden, ever ſince the fall he is to dig it.
All creatures read a Lecture againſt idleneſs. The Sun is ſwift in its travel, the ſtars ſpeedy in their motion, the fire flies upward, not a little ſpark but is upon its flight. The beaſts of the field do our work, carry our burdens, they are active for the ſervice of man. The wiſe-man ſends us to the Ant and the Piſmire to learn induſtry, Prov. 6. 6. Prov. 30. 25. Theſe little creatures are the confutation of ſloth and idleneſs.
Idleneſs will much inhance and imbitter our account. God hath not endow'd the ſoul with quick and ſparkling faculties, and the body with ſtrength and potency, and all in vain. Qui nobis vires idoneas ad laborandum ſuppeditavit, ille in die judicii parem quo que à nobis in laborando induſtriam repoſcet, Baſ.Baſil poſitively determines, He who hath given us apt and fit ſtrength, in the judgment day will expect an account of a ſutable induſtry. There is ſtrength for labour, and there muſt be ſweat in labour.
Idleneſs is the Nurſe and Pander of corruption. Auguſtine obſerves, that Rome decayed and fell after Carthage was conquered, becauſe it wanted a Competitor to find it employment. Chryſoſtom asked the Queſtion, What advantage doth the ſhip bring which lyeth upon the ſhoar, or the ſword which hangs up and ruſts in the hall? &c. When David roſe Chryſoſt. hom. 35. in Acta Apoſtolfrom his ſlothful bed, then his corruption caught fire, which turned into ſuch a flame, that it ſcorched both himſelf and 2 Sam. 11. 2.his family.
But idleneſs on a Sabbath day lies under greater aggravations; It is not the ſpawn, but the Serpent; it is not the Cockatrice egg, but the Cockatrice. Let us trace it a little.
Idleneſs on Gods day is a diſhonour to the Author of it. What honour can accrew to God by an idle and lazy reſt? Is the Miniſter graced by ſleepy Auditors? It is the weeping eye, the bended knee, the praiſing tongue, the working heart brings honour to the Almighty. Shall an oſcitant and ſleepy worſhipper pay the tribute of a dream? Shall the glory of God be promoted, by frequenting the Wakes, walking the fields for recreation, frivolous communication, or any other ſuch method of idleneſs, on his own bleſſed day? Surely the diſciples of Bacchus can act as much ſolemnity to their jocular idol.
Idleneſs on the Sabbath is only an invitation to Satan to forge temptations, and to make his attempts. Standing waters putrifie. When we ſtand ſti…, we give the better aim for Pugnat cum hoc prae…epto diem ſacrum conſumere ignavo oti…, Ger,the adverſary to ſhoot. Satan hath his full ſcope againſt a lazy ſinner. Indeed he that doth nothing, will ſoon do evil. He that ſits at the door on a Sabbath, will ſoon be drawn to a Tavern. Holy ſervices are a Bulwark againſt Satan; and his attempts are rather troubles, then temptations. The Pſalmiſt obſerves, That wicked men deviſe miſchief Pſal. 36. 4….upon their beds. When they are at eaſe, then they lie op…n to Satans aſſaults. Gerard worthily takes notice, That to ſpend Gods holy day in idleneſs is a contradiction to the very command. Communion with God is our cloſe guard, and Satan then muſt leave us as he did Chriſt, Mat. 4. 11. Or get behind us, as our Saviour ſpake to Peter, Mat. 16. 23. It is the calm ſtops the ſhip in its voyage; and lazineſs on a Sabbath is the remora which ſtops our ſailing to the Port of glory.
To be idle on a Sabbath is to invert nature, and, as Heliogabalus the Roman Emperour, to turn day into night. Thus, viz. in idleneſs; We may ſerve God as well ſleeping as waking, Pſal. 22. 2.in the ſhades of the night, as within the veil of the Sanctuary. Pſal. 134. 1.We need not the lamp of the Sun to light us to do Pſal. 77. 6.nothing. David tells us of his ſervices and duties by night, Pſal. 119. 55.Pſal. 63. 6. but not of his ſloth by day, eſpecially on Gods day. Should we run out our Sabbath in idleneſs, God had no need to have added day to the Sabbath, in the fourth Commandment, night had been as good, for carnal reſt is a property affixed to that ſeaſon.
To be idle on this holy day is a great loſs of time. Subbaths are our golden ſpot of time, and idleneſs takes off the gold from this ſpot. The Sabbath is our term for our ſouls, and it is frenzy to loyter in our term. Indeed we may ſay of Sabbaths, as Jacob once ſaid of his Children, If we are bereaved, we are bereaved, Gen. 43. 14. If we loſe our Sabbaths, what ſalv… have we that we ſhould not loſe our ſouls. Lyra obſerves out of one of the Rabbies, That the double offering was ſo proper to the Sabbath, that if it was at any Lyra in Numer.time omitted, it could not be ſupplied on other Sabbath days. One pertinently adds, And there is good reaſon for it, for every Sabbath day muſt be kept holy. Take notice all ye vain and idle perſons, who waſte your precious and irrevocable Sabbaths. The Sabbath is moſt properly the day our Saviour ſpeaks of, John 9. 4. in which we muſt work, for the night comes, and then no man ſhall work. And in this, that of the wiſe man is moſt true, Prov. 19. 15. The idle perſon ſhall ſuffer hunger. Idleneſs if it get into our hands, it will ruine our houſe, Eccleſ. 10. 18. If it get into our tongues, it will hazzard our ſouls, Mat. 12. 36. If it ſeize on our perſons, it loſeth our Sabbaths, we trifle away the day, and we catch nothing.
To be idle on the Sabbath ſwerves from the pattern. It is true, God reſted on the Sabbath, Gen. 2. 2. but it is, as Divines ſpeak, from the production of new ſpecies, and kinds of creatures; he reſted from his creating work, but not from A creatione novarum ſpecierum ceſſavit, et quievit deus. Muſcul.his governing work, from new productions, but not from his conſtant providence; for our Saviour ſaith expreſly, Joh. 5. 17. The Father worketh hitherto, and I work. And ſo muſt we reſt from our ſecular works on a Sabbath, but not from our ſpiritual. To be idle on a Sabbath is a contradiction to our perfect and moſt abſolute pattern: Idleneſs is inconſiſtent to the Divine Majeſty, as being an evil. Muſculus decries it as a great errour, to think deum ociari, that God is now idle, Solem deus ſemel creavit, ſed hunc quotidiè oriri facit; hominem ex terrâ ſemel condidit, ſed adhuc hominem fingit in in utero materno.becauſe he hath finiſhed the worlds Creation: No, but God ſtill propagates, moderates, perſerves and governs his world; the Sun which he created, he now cauſeth to riſe every day; the waters which he created, he now either reſtrains to calmneſs, or leaves to rage; Man whom he created, ſtill he forms him in his Mothers womb, Pſal. 139. 16. And in this we muſt imitate God, who is not onelyonly the Legiſlatour to command, but the pattern to exemplifie Sabbath Reſt; we muſt be ſtill working, we muſt on that holy day work out Phil. 2. 12.our ſalvation with fear and trembling; and this is our greateſt providence, the great work of Government for us, to ſubject 2 Cor. 10. 5.our ſouls to the obedience of Chriſt.
2. Idleneſs on Gods holy day ſwerves not onelyonly from the pattern of the Father, but likewiſe from the example of the Son. Jeſus Chriſt was, as the School-men ſpeak upon another John 5. 8.account, puriſſimus actus, all activity upon the Sabbath: Luke 13. 12.then the wrought his wonders, then he made his cures, then Luke 14. 4.he preached his holy and heavenly doctrines, then he enriched Luke 4. 32.the world with his heavenly diſcourſes, then he went up and Luke 14. 16.down doing good.; The Sabbath was the ſphear of his love, Acts 10. 38.the orb of his light, the teſtimony of his power, and the Mat. 12. 13.ſtage of his moſt glorious actions. It is obſervable, Chriſt Luke 4. 3….enriched the Sabbath with all variety of good; then he taught the ſoul, then he cured the body, then he healed men of their ſickneſſes, and women of their infirmities, then he cured patients of ſpiritual maladies, then he caſt devils out of them, theſe embroydered robes of love and power; Chriſt cloathed the Sabbath with; and canſt thou ſinner eye Chriſt, and ſlide over a Sabbath either doing nothing, of that which is worſe then nothing? Canſt thou melt a Sabbath into droſs by idleneſs? Shall the head be ſo vivacious, Fug tiniquitatis eſt ſignaculum gratiae. Alap.and thou who pretendeſt to be a member, be in a Lethargy, in a Swoon, be crampt with ſloth and lazileſs on Gods holy day? Either name not the name of Chriſt, or depart from this iniquity. Study to draw Chriſt upon a Sabbath, 2 Tim. 2. 19.and this will be as Ariſtotles iron ball in his hand, which when he fell aſleep, fell into a braſs baſon, and ſo awakened him; this will keep thee active and vigilant; ſay, Chriſt, and this, this will put thee upon work and ſervice.
Idleneſs on a Sabbath is neglecting great ſalvation: the idle ſinner on this day loſeth great opportunities of life, great Heb. 2. 3.condeſcentions of love, great advantages for the ſoul. How many have been delivered from the womb of a Sabbath, new 1 Pet. 2. 2.born babes in the Church, when God hath ſaid to the loins of an Ordinance, give forth, and to a ſpiritual opportunity, keep not in. When the wind blows ſtrongly, the waterman Quid prodeſt Chriſtum ſequi, ſi non contingat conſequi: ſic currite ut comprehendatis. Bern.ſets up his ſail, rnd plies at the Ore more induſtriouſly. Sabbath opportunities are our good wind for heaven; now we muſt ſet up our ſail by diligent attention, and ſweat at the Oar by earneſt devotion; now we muſt row hard towards the ſhore of reſt and happineſs; we muſt not be as the Drone, but as the Bee ſucking honey from the flower of every Duty, and every Ordinance. Indeed ſloth is one of the blackeſt ſpots in the feaſt of a Sabbath: And yet how many are ſitting 2 Pet. 2. 13.idly at the doors of their houſes, when they ſhould be Jud. v. 12.knocking at the door of heaven, and enquiring for the way of ſalvation; they are talking frivolouſly, when they ſhould Luke 16. 17.be ſpeaking to God in holy Oriſons and Supplications; they are throwing away time, when they ſhould be laying up treaſures, Luke 12. 33.even treaſures in heaven; I may ſay to ſuch fooliſh ſluggards, in the ſame language, which the Mariners ſpake to Jonah, Jon. 1. 6. What mean ye ſleepers? why do not ye gather your cluſters in the vintage of a Sabbath, why do not Mat. 20. 6.ye reap your advantages in the harveſt of a Sabbath, why do Omnes ſine vocatione dei, ſunt otioſi, nec ſibi, nec aliis utiles. Par.ye not follow the ſuit of your eternal ſouls in the term-time of a Sabbath? Pearls are not found in every Rock: Gums do not drop from every Tree, Mines are not ſprung in every field: nor is Manna for the ſoul to be gathered on every day. The careful traveller will not ſpend his day in ſleeping in an Inn. And let us conſider, the Sabbath is a day of diverſion, but not impertinency.