The Practical Sabbatarian, Chapter 46

The Practical Sabbatarian · Chapter 46

p. 568CHAP. XLVI. The Sanctification of the Sabbath is the Chriſtians homage, as well as the Jews, if we look back to the infancy of the Goſpel.

HAving already ſhewn that the Sabbath in the firſt inſtitution Dies Domini… …hriſtianis … bere feſtivitatem ſuam Aug Epiſt. 119 cap. 13. ad Januar.of it, was given to Adam, and in him to all his poſterity, and ſo it belongs to us Chriſtians as well as to other…; and that the command for the Sabbath, in the ſecond Edition of it upon Mount Sinai, was Moral and perpetual, p. 569a ſtanding Law, and ſo binding all man-kind, Chriſtians as well as Jews: I ſhall now go one ſtep further, and ſhew, that the Sabbath is ſtill the ſame, though the day be changed from the laſt, to the firſt day of the week, and that by Divine Authority.

Now to make way for the clearer evidence of this truth, Exod. 20. 9.Exod 20:9ſo much decried and contradicted by ſome, who too much amplifie Eccleſiaſtical Power and Authority; I ſhall begin in diſcovering, that two dayes weekly cannot be obſerved.

1This would not only repeal the indulgence of God in giving us ſix days every week for our ſecular affairs, and worldly Sextò conſidera & illud, quod ſex dies operibus, et unus tantùm quieti datur; et certè in hac re divina ſapientia non quid probabile, ſed quod populo conducibile ſpectavit. Muſcul.labours, to ſuſtain our ſelves and families, and to acquire the good things of this world; but it tacitely impeacheth the wiſdome of God, who in the fourth Commandment hath accommodated himſelf to the frame and conſtitution of man, who knows his weakneſs and frailty, and therefore frankly and bountifully hath beſtowed upon him ſix dayes, knowing that he muſt get his living in the ſweat of his brows, Gen. 3. 19. And likewiſe conſidering, that in ſpirituals, the ſpirit may be willing, but the fleſh is weak, Mat. 26. 41.

2And beſides all this, this muſt be a work of pride and ſupererogation, for man to go about to outvy Gods bleſſed example, who reſted one day only, and no more, for our future and conſtant imitation; His Preſidency binding us, as well as his Precept.

3And it may be added, theſe two dayes would be as the twins in Rebekah's womb, alwayes ſtrugling and ſtriving who ſhould have the preheminence, and how with Zebedees Gen. 25. 24.Gen 25:24Sons, they ſhould be both neareſt Chriſt; nor can it eaſily Mat. 20. 21.Matt 20:21be conceived, what confuſion this may engender in the Church, competition being alwayes the womb of diſſention.

4Beſides how much would this confirm the Jews in their blaſphemous obſtinacy, and hinder them from cloſing with their Meſſiah, when their Sabbath ſhall ſtill be retained and dignified with a ſolemn and reverential obſervation? Surely they will interpret it conſcience in Chriſtians, and that in keeping the ſeventh day Sabbath, they do no more then their p. 570bounden duty; and how will this feed their inſultations, and put their hope upon the wing, that the Chriſtian Church is coming back to the Jewiſh Synagogue: If the head of their Sabbath be got in, they will ſtrongly conjecture, that in Manifeſtum eſt non ſolum legis judicio, ſed & ipſiſſimâ experientiâ, non facere ad verae religionis profectum ſi otia multipli…entur, ſed abundè ſatis eſt, unum in ſeptimana diem religionis exercitiis eſſe deputandum. Muſ.time the whole body of ceremonies will follow after: As the Apoſtle moſt critically and prudentially joyns all the ſolemn feaſts of the Jews together in their diſcharge and abolition, Gal. 4. 10. Col. 2. 16. wiſely fore-ſeeing, that if any one was continued, the whole train in proceſs of time would unavoidably follow. Pleas for the one would eaſily be raiſed into arguments for the others: And it is very well argued by Muſculus, It never contributes, ſaith he, to the progreſs of Religion, that reſts ſhould be multiplyed to the people, for one Sabbath every week is abundantly ſufficient for vulgar capacities.

5Moreover, the Celebration of two dayes every week, is more then the Law requires, or the Goſpel allows. And here Exod. 30 8. Acts 20. 7.Exod 30:8Acts 20:7Chryſoſtome is moſt Elegant, The week contains ſeven dayes, ſaith he, now ſee how the Lord hath diſtributed theſe dayes; he Chryſoſt. Tom. 5.hath not taken the greateſt part unto himſelf, and left the leaſt to us, neither hath he taken half and left half; No, the Lord pag. 523.is more liberal, he hath given us ſix, and taken but one for Rev. 1. 10.Rev 1:10himſelf. And both Law and Goſpel ſpeak the ſame. And if we take five dayes only for labour, we make void the Law Note Synecdochen, per obſervantias dierum, menſium, annorum Apoſtolus intelligit omnes ceremonias legis veteris, quaſi ex parte torum. Alap.in this particular; and beſides how inconſiſtent is it to Goſpel liberty to keep two dayes every week; this would outvy all the Jews Feſtivals in number, and bring us again under a ſeverer yoke; and this would at once both break the bonds of Chriſtian Ʋnity, and the bonds of Chriſtian liberty, and render the golden yoke of Chriſts Goſpel heavier then the iron yoke of Moſes his Law.

As for that objection, that the Apoſtles kept the ſeventh day Sabbath, and preached on that day among the Jews, Acts 13. 42. Acts 16. 13. Acts 18. 4. To this it is anſwered;

1It is moſt equal and rational, that ſome time muſt be granted for the wearing away of an old uſage. A Sabbath Aequum fuit aliquid temporis interceſſurum ut populo melius innoteſceret Sabbati Judaici abrogatio, ejuſdem que ſepultura honori ſicentiſſima.which had continued in the world much about four thouſand p. 571years, the world could not preſently be awakened to take notice of its abrogation: Old cuſtomes are removed with ſome difficulty, and the religion of our Fathers takes ſo great impreſſion upon us, that it is not eaſily eaten out, notwithſtanding we ſee clear reaſon for it. Antiquity in things natural is their weakneſs and unbeautifulneſs, but in things ſpiritual it ſheds a greater luſtre upon them. Time then muſt be granted to convince the world, that the old Sabbath is now deceaſed, and honourably buried in Chriſts own grave.

2Suppoſe it be granted, that both Sabbaths, Jewiſh and Chriſtian, were obſerved by the Diſciples for a time, the Jewiſh, leaſt they ſhould offend the Jews, and the Chriſtian, Damus fortean & concedimus quoad ſententias aliorum, Diſcipulos utrum que diem per aliquot annos obſervaſſe, Judaicum, ſcil. ne Judaeis & Dominicum, ne Chriſtianis oriretur ſcandalum. Dr. Wilk.leaſt they ſhould ſcandalize the Chriſtians; what inconveniency would follow? Man naturally is hard of belief, and to evince the abrogation of old things, and the ſurrogation of things which are new in their ſtead, is a work of ſome pains and difficulty; therefore that the Jews might be taken off from their fondneſs, and the Chriſtians firmly eſtabliſhed in the truth, ſome time muſt be granted, and ſome allowance made of abſolute neceſſity. And that a reſpect was had to both dayes, it was only for the term of ſome years, which when expired, the morning-ſun of the Chriſtian Sabbath did ſhine without a competitour; and during that little and ſhort time of the obſervation of both dayes, we may conſider,

11. The Saturday Sabbath was never the day of ſolemn aſſemblies in all the Churches; for the cuſtome of holding ſolemn Conventions and Aſſemblies on that day, never obtained Sozomon. lib. 7. cap. 19.in the Churches of Rome and Alexandria; whereas all Churches had their Church-meeting on the Lords day, our Chriſtian Sabbath.

2The Old Sabbath was never kept as a ſolemn feſtival, for in many Churches it was a weekly faſting day; whereas every Lords day throughout the year was held a ſolemn feſtival; Conſtitut. lib. 7. cap. 14. & lib. 5. cap. 15.the Jews Sabbath, as in a fainting fit, was kept with ſorrow and abſtinence.

All Ordinances were never adminiſtred with that uniformity on the Old Sabbath, as they were on the Lords day; p. 572As the Ordinance of the Lords ſupper, which in the pureſt Acts 20. 7. Dies Panis. Auguſt Epiſt. 118.Acts 20:7Churches was appropriate to the Lords day, which was therefore called, dies panis, the day of bread, in the primitive times; hence that memorable ſpeech of Athanaſius, who being accuſed for breaking a Communion Cup, clears himſelf Socrat. Schol. lib. 5. cap. 22. Athanaſ. Apol. 2.thus, That time inſtanced by his accuſers, was no communion time, for it was not the Lords day.

4The conventions on the old Sabbath were ever arbitrary, not urged as of neceſſity, unleſs by the Arch-heretick Ebion, Dominicum ſervaſti, Chriſtianus ſum, intermittere non poſſum. Baron.and his followers, who were therefore condemned as Hereticks: but the obſervation of the Lords day was ever held a Chriſtian duty, and none was ever branded with the name of heretick for the obſervation of it; Nay, this obſervation was the badge and Character of a Chriſtian in the beſt times of the Church.

5The old Sabbath was never in the leaſt the Chriſtian Sabbath, foreign, &c. Ignat.or day of reſt; but a working day, and uſed as another day; and let us never give that day a prerogative, which the beſt times of the Church laid open and common.Feſtinatio Apoſtolorum ad concionandum, non fuit propter feſtum, ſed propter multitudinem.

The Apoſtles and Diſciples of Chriſt never obſerved the ſeventh day as a Sabbath: It is true, they took an opportunity then to diſpenſe and diſperſe the Goſpel, becauſe multitudes were then conveened and met together; an happy opportunity was then put into their hands for the inſinuating of Chriſt, and the doctrines of the bleſſed Goſpel into Chryſoſt. Homil. 43. in Acta Apoſt.the minds of the people, now in an unwonted concourſe. The Apoſtles did then caſt the heavenly bread upon many waters. Acts 18. 4. Acts 17. 18 Acts 19. 9. 2 Cor. 4. 4.Acts 18:4Acts 17:18Acts 19:92 Cor 4:4The zeal of a faithful Miniſter, much more of an holy Apoſtle will take the beſt opportunities for ſoul-advantage, and for heavenly inſtruction. It was not the Sabbath, but the Seaſon, not the circumſtance of time, but of place, invited Eccleſia Graecorum ad paululum ſeptimum diem unà cum primo obſervavit, ſed in cauſâ fuit, quia in Oriente initio naſcentis eccleſiae viguerat haereſis quorundam qui vetus teſtamentum execrabantur tanquam à deo Authore malè conditum, & ſabbati cultum aſpernabantur, eâ que de cauſâ tali die jejunium ſuſcipiebant orientales ergò Chriſtiani, hanc hereſin deteſtati, & deum ipſum V. T. Authorem profitentes, caeperunt Sabbati judaici feſtivitatem retinere; non quòd illam more judaeorum colerent, ſed n… cum haereticis conſentire viderentur: et in oriente in illis temporibus multi erant judaei ad Chriſti religionem converſi, qui quando animi ſimplicitate putabant Sabbatum unà cum die dominicâ in honore habendum; caeteri Chriſtiani ne eos conturbarant, Sabbatum colebant, non quòd id fieri oporteret, &c. Azor.the Apoſtles to the diſpenſation of the Word; not the feaſt, but the multitude, as Chryſoſtome well ſpeaks; nor did the Apoſtles any more keep the Jewiſh Sabbath, then Paul worſhipped the Gods of the Gentiles, when he preached in the field of Mars, and diſputed in the Schools of the Heathens; theſe places were only the ſudden Sanctuaries, in which he diſſeminated the glorious Goſpel.

p. 573It is true, as a learned man obſerves, in the Eaſtern Churches, for a time, the Jewiſh and Chriſtian Sabbath were both obſerved: Now the reaſon was, there was a ſort of Hereticks who did diſuſe and diſguſt the Old Teſtament, and ſaid it was evilly compiled of God, and did throw off with ſcorn the Sabbath day, and uſually faſted on that day in a way of contempt and contradiction: Now the Eaſtern Chriſtians in deteſtation of this curſed hereſie, and to ſhew that God was the Author of the Old Teſtament, as well as of the New, did for a while retain the old Sabbath; not that they worſhipped on it, after the manner of the Jews, they were far enough from that; but ſome obſervance they gave to it, leaſt they might ſeem to joyn iſſue with the forementioned hereticks: And moreover in the Eaſt, were many Jews in the early dayes of the Goſpel, which were newly converted to Chriſt, who in the ſimplicity of their hearts, did bear ſtill a reverence to the old Sabbath, and therefore did obſerve it with the Lords day: Now the Chriſtians were to deal tenderly with thoſe, and not to offend Babes in Chriſt, and not to create any perturbation in the Church, but to keep peace and unity; and ſo they gave reſpect to this day, not that they thought it any way neceſſary, or a duty to be done, but for peace-ſake, and that ſalvation-work might not be retarded, nor the Church of our dear Redeemer ſhattered, or crumbled into Schiſms and Factions; and ſo (as the Apoſtle ſpeaks in another caſe) the Chriſtians of thoſe times became all things to all men, that if poſſible, the late Converts of the Jews might have no temptation to apoſtaſy, nor the Proſelytes of the Goſpel have any occaſion of diſturbance.

But now in the Latine Churches, where this Hereſie never took root, nor ſpread it ſelf, the Jewiſh Sabbath was never obſerved, but rather marked with a Note of ſadneſs and ſorrow, viz. The memory of Chriſts death, our Jeſus lying in his Grave as on that day; and this ſprang freſh tears, and did yield new and conſtant matter of mourning, to the Chriſtians of thoſe times. And it was no ſtrange thing in the primitive times, in a ſurpluſage of p. 474zeal, to run down one Extream, by running into a nother; as we ſee, to make a ſtick ſtraight, we bend it on both ſides. Socrat. Hiſt. lib. 6. cap. 8.Thus then at laſt we ſee, that we cannot keep two Sabbaths, no more then we can ſerve two Maſters.Mat. 6. 24. Sozom. lib. 7. cap. 10.Matt 6:24

Then one Sabbath muſt be diſcharged, which can be no other than the old ſeventh-day Sabbath, which was fairly laid aſleep in the Grave of Jeſus Chriſt, and the Chriſtian Sabbath roſe up in its ſtead, in the reſurrection of Chriſt.

To evidence this truth more clearly and methodically, we muſt know, a thing may be diſcharged and abrogated two ways; by expiration, and ſo a Law is expired, when the reaſon of giving that Law being ceaſed in reſpect of time or perſons, ceaſes of it ſelf, and ſo the Law is laid aſide as uſeleſs, and there needs no formal repeal: And thus we may argue for the expiration of the old Saturday Sabbath.

1A ſpecial Ordinance given unto the old World is then expired, when that World it ſelf is ended (except it be revived, and renewed in the new.) But this Law concerning the old ſeventh day, was given to the old World: Now for the clearing of this, we muſt take notice, that the Scripture Gen. 2. 3. Heb. 1. 1. Heb. 1. 2. Acts 2. 17. Heb. 9. 26. 1 Cor. 10. 11.Gen 2:3Heb 1:1Heb 1:2Acts 2:17Heb 9:261 Cor 10:11ſpeaks of two Worlds: the firſt, which begun at the Creation, and ended preſently after the paſſion of Chriſt; the ſecond beginning at Chriſts reſurrection, and ending at the general Judgment. The Apoſtle ſpeaks of Worlds, 1 Heb. 2. viz. The old World, and the new; the one before, foreign. Athanaſ. de Sabbat. & Circumciſ.and under the Law, and the other under the Goſpel: and the new World, viz. The time of the Goſpel is ſometimes called A new Heaven, and a new Earth, Iſa. 65. 17. The ſecond World, the invincible Athanaſius calls it, Another Generation, when the old Sabbath was to ceaſe, as well as Circumciſion, and the Lords-day was to begin foreign.as a Monument of the looked for reparation. Upon all this let us aſſume the firſt Argument.

The old Sabbath, as alſo the whole manner of ſervice, was limited to the term or time of the old World, and ſo muſt neceſſarily expire with it; It is not ſaid, the Command…ment expired with it, for that was moral for one day in p. 575Athanaſ.ſeven, to be conſecrated to the ſervice and worſhip of God; but the old ſeventh-day Sabbath inſtituted at the beginning of the old World, is together with that old World expired, and a new one come in its room.

2When the reaſon of any Law ceaſes, (for that is the life, and the Soul of a Law) then the Law it ſelf ceaſes: But the reaſon of the inſtitution of the old Sabbath ceaſed at the end of the old World, and the beginning of the new, viz. The reſurrection of Chriſt. The reaſon of the inſtitution of the old Sabbath, was Gods honouring that day in reſting from all his works, and for the memory of the Creation, which was implied, and to be ſuppoſed, till a greater work Sic Romae Aerat et Epoche fuit ab urbe conditâ tali, aut tali anno.ſhould be finiſhed, to be the ground of the inſtitution of another day, which was the work of Reparation or Redemption. To make this out a little further; let it be obſerved, that the ground and reaſon of the inſtitution of days, which are ſet and ſolemn, is ſome memorable work falling out upon ſuch days: The very Heathens choſe out Nativity days, the days of founding Cities, of memorable Victories, &c. Now the firſt Sabbath was inſtituted upon ſuch a reaſon, viz. Gods honouring that day by his reſt from the great work of Creation: And ſo Mr. White of Dorcheſter urges The way to the Tree of life, pag. 278. Mr. White.this, after this manner, That day which is honoured by God above other days, by his moſt eminent work of mercy to Mankind, ſhall be the day of his holy Reſt, to be conſecrated to him for his worſhip; But the day in which Jam vetus expiravit, et mundus, et ſabbatum, ſeptimae que diei commemoratio Chriſti tumulo ſepelitur, Reſurgit Chriſtus, reſurgit et ſabbatum Chriſtianum; mutatur dies, ſed non minuitur obſervatio, quod ut evidentius ſit, notandum eſt; Deus habuit opus, habuit opus et Chriſtus; Deus habuit requiem ſic requiem habuit et Chriſtus; Deus quievit poſt creationem, et Chriſtus poſt redemptionem; quietem ab opere creationis commemorat dies ſeptimus, quietem ab opere Redemptionis commemorat dies primus orbe chriſtiano univerſaliter obſervandus.God ended and perfected the Creation of the World, is honoured and advanced above all other days, therefore that day ſhall be a day of holy Reſt. Now the Propoſition will ſerve the turn for the Lords-day, and thus; That day which is honoured by God above all other days, by his moſt eminent work of mercy to Mankind, ſhall be the day of holy Reſt: But the firſt day of the week, in which Chriſt reſted from the work of Redemption, is the day honoured and advanced above all other days, old Sabbath and all; therefore this is the Chriſtians day of ſolemn Reſt. The old Sabbath indeed was to continue upon the reaſon given, viz. Gods reſt after the Creation, till a greater work p. 576ſhould appear, and then it muſt expire and reſigne unto a new Poſſeſſor. Indeed the latter work, viz. Mans Redemption, ſo great, ſo neceſſary, ſo glorious, even puts out the memory of the former, and ſo antiquates the reaſon of it, and thereupon the day it ſelf expires, and obliges to no more obſervance: The Redemption of Mankind then being the greater work, (as ſhall be more fully ſhewed hereafter) and having a ſtronger reaſon in it, hath ſwallowed up the memory of the ſtupendious work of Creation, as Doctor Young calls it; not that the work of Creation ſhould be forgotten, (for that glorious work gave us our eſſe, our being, as the work of our Redemption gave us our bene eſſe, our well-being) but rather that it ſhould be more adorned and perfected: we ſtill retain the memory of the Creation, in keeping one day in ſeven to the Lord, and the memory of the Redemption, in keeping the firſt of ſeven. Our contemplations on the wonderful work of the Creation are heightned, not ſtifled by the memorials of a freſh and additional, and more glorious work of Redemption.

22. The Sabbath of the Jews expires, by the ſurrogation of another day in the room of it, upon a more remarkable and eminent occaſion, and by the ſame Divine Authority: The ſubſtitution of another day, viz. The Lords day, puts out the obſervation of the former. A new Mayor of a City being elected, the Authority of the old ceaſes, and he becomes diſ-authorized: As a Candle is put forth, and the Stars diſ-appear, when the Sun ariſeth. So the obſervation of the Lords day thruſts out the obſervation of the old Sabbath, and takes all the honour of it to it ſelf; and this it doth by vertue of the fourth Commandment, which requires one day in ſeven: So then the old Sabbath being buried in its Grave, the Lords day is Heir apparent to it, and like Jam tempore gratiae revelatae, obſervatio illa ſabbati ablata eſt ab obſervatione fidelium. Aug. Gen. ad litter. lib. 4. cap. 13.another Phoenix ariſes out of its aſhes to ſucceed it. The ſubſtitution of the new Sabbath is the abrogation of the old; and the Lords day appearing (which ſhall be plentifully proved) the Saturday Sabbath vaniſheth, and is evaporate, as the ſcattered cloud at the breaking out of the Sun. In a word, God had his work, and ſo had Chriſt; p. 577God had his reſt, and ſo had Chriſt; God reſted after the work of Creation, and Chriſt after the work of Redemption; the ſeventh day Sabbath commemorates Gods reſt after the work of Creation, and the firſt day Sabbath commemorates Chriſts reſt after the work of Redemption, which is univerſally to be obſerved in the Chriſtian world.

It is rationally argued by a learned man, that the old Sabbath is aboliſhed by the death and reſurrection of Chriſt, Conſtat Apoſtolos biduò in maerore ſuiſſe, & propter motum Judaeorum ſe abſcondiſſe, qui die dominicâ ex hîlarati, non ſolùm illum feſtiviſſimum voluerunt, verùm etiam per omnes hebdomadas frequentandum eſſe duxerunt. Humb.and God Almighty hath appointed a new form of Divine worſhip according to the Evangelical law. Now the form of worſhip being changed, it was expedient that the outward circumſtances of place and ſolemn time ſhould likewiſe be altered from what they were before; and concerning the time of ſolemn worſhip, the Lords day ſucceeds, upon which Chriſt riſeth and reſteth from the great work of mans Redemption. Old Sabbaths and old ſacrifices being twins (though both honourable and ſerviceable in their time) yet like Hypocrates his twins, they muſt live and die together, and let both be buryed together: But let our Goſpel Sabbath take life from our Saviours Reſurrection, which brought with it a new creation, a new world, making all things new, and giving a new life to loſt mankind. Holy Ignatius contemporary for many years with the Apoſtle John with ſome indignation rejects the Jewiſh Sabbath, foreign, &c. Ignat.and charges us as we have any love to Jeſus Chriſt, to lay it aſide, and keep the Lords day, the ſupream and Queen of dayes: And this bleſſed Martyr ſpeaking of the Jews converted to Chriſt in his time, gives them this moſt Chriſtian character, viz. That they did no longer keep the Sabbath of the Jews, but led their life according to the Lords day, in which our life aroſe. Auguſtine brands the keeping of the old Sabbath, with the odious term of Judaizing. And Ne Judaizemus ſervando Sabbatum judaicum. Aug.indeed it can be n… leſs then great contempt caſt on our dear Meſſiah; It is well obſerved by one, We cannot poſſibly retain the old ſeventh day Sabbath, but we muſt Memorize our creation above our Redemption, which is to admire the Star more then the Sun, or the Candle more then the Star, and is expreſly contrary to the ancient, both promiſe p. 578and propheſie. The Council of Laodicea was ſo zealous Incongruum eſt veteris creationis Sabbatum novae creationi. Lightf.againſt the obſervation of the old Sabbath, that it pronounced an Anathema againſt the obſtinate obſervators of it. The words of the Council are theſe, Chriſtians ought not to Judaize, and to reſt from work on the Jewiſh Sabbath day, but prefer the Lords day before it, and reſt thereon from labour; if any ſhall be found to Judaize, let him be an Anathema. Here we may note, that this Venerable Iſta legalis ſeptimi diei deputatio, & conſecratio neminem conſtringit prater Judaeos, id que non niſi ad tempus; Non autem in Novo Teſtamento, quo lex Moſis una cum ſacerdotio Chriſto ſervatori ceſſit. Muſcul.Council which was held Anno Dom. 314. One of the moſt primitive Conventions of the Chriſtian Church, commands as under a ſevere penalty to follow our works on the Saturday Sabbath, and to put the crown of reſt and holineſs upon the head of the Lords day. I ſuppoſe the Canons of this Council are a good Comment upon the ſpirit of thoſe times. It is well obſerved by Muſculus, That the deputation of the ſeventh day Sabbath belonged only to the Jewiſh paedagogy; now the Jews being hiſſed off the ſtage by the juſt judgment of God, and being unchurched and unpeopled, their Sabbath is folded up in ſilence, and we have nothing to do with it, and ſo we fairly lay it to ſleep, and draw the curtains about it, no more expecting its riſe foreign. Athanaſ.or revival. Let me conclude this particular with a ſaying of Athanaſius, In the old time of the Jews, the ſeventh day Sabbath was highly eſteemed; but now under the Goſpel, the Lord hath changed it, and tranſlated it into the Lords day; for the old Sabbath appertained to their pedagogy, and to the rudiments of the law, and therefore when the great Maſter came and fulfilled all that which was prefigured by it, it then ceaſed, even as a Candle is put forth at the riſing and appearing of the Sun. Now what can be more evident for the diſmiſſion of the legal, and the admiſſion of the Evangelical Sabbath?

Queſt. The old Sabbath then is diſcharged, and is not the fourth Commandment diſcarded with it, & buryed in the ſame grave?

Anſw. Surely no, for the fourth Commandment enjoyned the ſanctification of the Sabbath indefinitely, not definitely, a ſeventh day, not the ſeventh day; a ſeventh day not in order, but proportion. Junius very well obſerves, That the natural p. 579equity of the fourth Commandment is, that one day Naturalis aequitas quarti praecepti eſt, unum è ſeptem diebus, deo et divino cultu… eſſe deſtinandum, &c. Jun.in ſeven be conſecrated to God, whether the firſt day, or the laſt day of the week; and the Scriptures telling us, it is now the firſt, we are ſtill obedient to the fourth Commandment. Indeed the law of ſanctifying the Sabbath is natural, and perfectly Moral in reſpect of the ſubſtance of it, which is this, That every ſeventh day is to be kept holy to the Lord, and this remaineth ſtill, though the very ſeventh day be changed. The equity of the fourth Commandment is drawn from the proportion of ſix dayes labour, and a ſeventh dayes reſt. One thus opens that phraſe in the fourth Commandment, Six dayes ſhalt thou labour, but the ſeventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. What ſeventh, ſaith he, Exod. 20. 8, 9.Exod 20:8Exod 20:9pray note it; the Lord ſaith not, the ſeventh from the Creation, if he had, the Law had confined us to that day, But becauſe the Law-giver intended to chooſe a new day, and not to change the old law, he hath left it at large in general terms, neither can it be reſtrained to one day more then to another: And though the old ſeventh day was occaſionally pointed at in the fourth Commandment, as a ſeventh day, which the Jews were to obſerve, as by the fifth Commandment they were bound to honour their Parents then living, yet theſe occaſional circumſtances might be, and were altered without any impeachment to the morality of theſe commands. The altering of a mutable circumſtance either of time, place, or perſon, is far from aboliſhing the ſubſtance of a law, and it is to be conſidered, That this proportion of one day in ſeven is no where directly ſtated by a perpetual precept, but in the fourth Commandment, and therefore there it muſt be determined; that it muſt be ſome where determined, is evident, becauſe it is ſubſtantially profitable to Religion, to the glory of God, and the good of ſouls: For if men were left to their own liberty, to chooſe their own proportion, in all probability Religion would be very much damniſied, and endangered, either it would be ſtarved with too little, or ſurfeited with too much Sabbath-time; either Popery would create almoſt every day in the week a holy day, or prophaneneſs would be content with one day in a monethmonth. Let ſinful p. 580man have liberty to pluck up Gods bounds and alter his proportion one way or another, and experience will ſhew the inconvenience and miſchief of it.

And that which is very obſervable in the fourth Commandment is, that the Lord bleſſed the Sabbath day; not the ſeventh day, but the Sabbath day, the day of reſt is bleſſed: And the fourth Commandment both opens and ſhuts, both begins and ends with the term Sabbath day, and not the ſeventh day; we muſt ſanctifie the Sabbath day, ſo in the beginning of the precept; and God bleſſed the Sabbath day, ſo in the cloſe of the Commandment. The word Sabbath, like a finger points forward and backward, directing us how to expound the whole precept in a large, and not a limited ſenſe. Doubtleſs if God had intended to tie up the Church in all ages to the ſeventh day from the Creation, he would have fixed the Commandment upon that day only, eſpecially in the concluſion of it; for why ſhould not that preciſe day be mention'd in the cloſe of the fourth Commandment, as well as in Gen. 2. 3. There God is ſaid to bleſs the ſeventh day, here only the Sabbath day, the moſt probable reaſon is, the Commandment is a larger extent then the inſtitution.

Moreover the learned, zealous, and pious ſervants of Dr. Bound on the Sab.God, affirm the ſame thing, viz. That the Commandment Willet Hexapl. in Gen.for the Sabbath is moral for one day in ſeven, and not for the old ſeventh day.Twiſſe Sect. 6.

Theſe Champions for the truth have given in their full atteſtation to this fair and true interpretation of the fourth Mr. Bern. Moſaic. Sab. p. 70.Commandment: And as Atterſoll very well obſerves, as in the firſt inſtitution of the Lords Supper, Chriſt made uſe of unleavened bread, yet his example binds us only to the uſe Mr. White in Gen. & Moral. of the 4th. Com.of bread, and not that which is unleavened; ſo for the firſt inſtitution of the Sabbath, God reſted on the ſeventh day from the Creation, yet his example binds us only to a day of that Mr. Byfield Doctr. of the Sab. vindicated. Mr. Fenner on the Sab. &c.number, and not that particular day. And if in the preceptive part of the fourth Commandment, Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day, this be reſtained to the ſeventh day in order, there was then a plain tautology in the command; p. 581it was, as if God ſhould ſay, Remember the ſeventh day Sabbath, for the ſeventh day is the Sabbath, which is a flat tautology, and unbecoming infinite wiſdom. No, it is evident, that the precept is comprehenſive and large, and not limited to one ſeventh day more then another; for Sabbath day in Quies foreign ceu quievit.the Hebrew is no more then a day of reſt, and that is any day ſet apart for holy worſhip, by Divine Authority, and is applicable to the firſt day of the week, as well as to the laſt, which may be illuſtrated by this inſtance. By the force of the fifth Commandment, we muſt honour the King; if Saul be King, honour him; and if he be dead or diſplaced, and David be King, then honour King David. To neither of 1 Pet. 2. 1….1 Pet 2:1them the Commandment is levell'd directly, but ſucceſſively, and ſo the Command is conſequentially accommodated to both. So, Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Whilſt the ſeventh day was a day of Reſt, the Jews were bound to ſanctifie that day; if that day be changed, and another ſucceed, if the firſt day be placed in its room, we are as much bound to ſanctifie that day; all this by the force of the fourth Commandment; for as the change of the perſon takes not away Hacratione nos quo que praeecptum hoc ſervamus; dum ſanctificamus diem dominicum, quia ſcil. eſt dies quietis nobis, ſicut judaeis fuit dies ſeptimus. Zanch.the precept of honouring the King, ſo the change of the day makes not void the Commandment for the Sabbath: And thus we Chriſtians in keeping holy the Lords day, keep the Sabbath as much as ever the Jews did; the Lords day being a day of holy reſt to us, as the ſeventh day Sabbath was to them.

Moreover let us a little further conſider; that in the firſt giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai in thunder, flames and lightning, the Sabbath is wholly enforced from the work of Creation, and Gods example in reſting from that ſtupendious work; but in the repetition, and the ſecond giving of this Law, by the hand of Moſes, a typical Mediatour, Exod. 20. 8, 9, 10, 11.Exod 20:8Exod 20:9Exod 20:10Exod 20:11Deut. 5. 14, 15. The reaſon from the Creation is quite left out; And the Sabbath is altogether enforced from a type of Deut. 5. 14, 15.Deut 5:14Deut 5:15our Redemption, (viz.) The deliverance of the people of Iſrael from their Aegyptian bondage; for ſo ſaith the Text, Deut. 5. 15. Remember that thou waſt a Servant in the Land of Aegypt, and the Lord brought thee thence by a mighty hand, p. 582therefore he commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day; lively intimating by all this, the ſiſtence and abiding of the fourth Commandment under the Goſpel, and the binding authority of it, by the incorporation of a new reaſon drawn from our redemption or ſpiritual deliverance by Chriſt, typified by the Jews deliverance from Aegypt, inſtead of the old reaſon drawn from the Creation, which is here wholly omitted; and we muſt take notice, that ſurely the Jews deliverance from Aegypt literally conſidered, was no way comparable to the work of the Creation, that it ſhould here in the ſecond giving of the Law by Moſes, be propounded as the reaſon of the Sabbath, and the other wholly left out, but only as a type of the moſt glorious and admirable work of our Redemption; ſo there came ſo much weight in it, that in the review of the Commandment, it became the reaſon of the Sabbath; and if the type it ſelf was ſo ſignificant, how much more the Ante-type, which excells all types in glory, as much as the Sun doth the flying and dark ſhadows? Thus we then ſee, the old ſeventh day Sabbath was never propounded as the ſubſtance or ſpecial ſubject of the fourth Commandment.

1Nay, reaſon it ſelf compells us to put this ſenſe and interpretation upon the fourth Commandment.

The order of the day is no way ſubſtantially profitable to Mandata legis ſancta ſunt, juſta & bona: ſancta quia praeſcribunt quomodo deus ſanctè coli debet; Juſta, quia praeſcribunt, ut proximum non laedas, ſed eiquod ſuum eſt tribuas; Bona, quia praeſcribunt ea, quibus quiſ que in ſe bonus ſit, et bonis moribus et virtute praeditus. Alap.religion, nor if altered, is any way prejudicial; we may be as holy, as heavenly and ſpiritual on the firſt, as on the laſt day of the week: Order only cannot elevate the mind, influence the heart, or work upon the ſoul and affections, it can contribute nothing to a holy ſublimation in us; one day is as good as another, ſo Divine appointment fix it. But now we muſt conſider, in all other Commandments of the firſt table, which concern Religion, only that which is ſubſtantially profitable is placed in them, and ſo they are concluded moral and perpetual; and ſo it muſt be in this fourth Commandment, that which is ſubſtantially profitable muſt be put into the command, and therefore the order of the day cannot be it. And what prejudice ariſes to Religion from the alteration of the day from the ſeventh to the firſt, ſo God p. 583make it? (which that he did, we ſhall ſee hereafter.) Cannot Chriſtians ſerve God with as much heavenly devotion, ſeraphical affection, nay, with as much care and circumſpection on the firſt day of the week, as the Jews did on the laſt? Well then, the order of the day cannot be the ſubſtance of the fourth Commandment: God doth not interlace his holy Commandments, eſpecially his Ten words, with things which are not ſubſtantially profitable.

2The reaſons in the Commandment are for the number, not the order; for a ſeventh, not the ſeventh day. The firſt reaſon Exod. 20. 9. Exod. 31. 15.Exod 20:9Exod 31:15in the Command to perſwade to the obſervation of the Sabbath, Luke 13. 14.Luke 13:14is taken from the conceſſion of ſix dayes for our own labours, ſix dayes ſhalt thou labour, but the ſeventh is the Sabbath, Auguſtini fuit expoſtulatio, qu… modo deus in Creatione mundi ſex dies inſumpſerit, cum in uno momento illud ſtupendum opus perficere potuerit; Reſpond. ut homines opera ſua mag… contemplarentur, et eum in operando ſex diebus, et quieſcendo uno faelicitèr imitarenter.&c. But theſe words are directly for the number, only indirectly for the order; and the genuine ſenſe of them is, thou art permitted to work ſix dayes, but on the ſeventh is the Sabbath, and then thou ſhalt abſtain from all kind of work; thou haſt ſix dayes for thy ſelf, and God muſt have the ſeventh, where moſt plainly number, not order is the ſubſtance and ſence of the command.

And 2. God wrought ſix dayes, no more, and no leſs, and reſted one, no more, or leſs, and therefore thou ſhalt labour ſix dayes, and reſt but one. Now if God did ſo, who needed not to have wrought one day, being able to have made all things in a moment, nor to have reſted one hour, as not being ſubject to any wearineſs, much more poor Man needs a competent time for his affairs, and for his reſt to the ſervice and worſhip of God, and for the refreſhing of his ſoul; and if God did that for man which he needed not to have done, (viz.) to work ſix dayes, and reſt one, how much more are we bound to obſerve the ſame proportion, and to imitate this bleſſed example? So that not order, but proportion is the ſoul of this Commandment.

3Thirdly, if the fourth Commandment did directly, and in the ſubſtance of it, command the ſeventh day Sabbath, and Nulla lex a Chriſto condita, Chriſtianis poteſtatem dedit ritus judaicos obſervandi; immò veró Apoſtolus illud planè voluit, dum non modo circumciſionem abrogabat, verum etiam hortabatur, ut de feſtis nulla ſit diſſentio. Socrat. Hiſt. Eccleſiaſtic. lib. 5. cap. 20.not the Sabbath indefinitely, then either we Chriſtians muſt keep that day ſtill, and ſo fall back to Judaiſm, and in effect deny the Lord that bought us, and caſt a damp upon the p. 584ever bleſſed Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt, or elſe the fourth Commandment is purely Ceremonial, and ſo utterly void and aboliſhed, all which hath been refuted already. Now both theſe conſequences are ſo oppoſite to truth, and ſo abhorrent to moſt Chriſtians, that it is far more rational to grant, the ſeventh day in proportion was commanded in that holy and immutable precept, then to daſh our ſelves upon either of theſe two rocks, which may be a Scylla or Charybdis to the ſoul.

4To aſſert, the fourth Commandment enjoynes the ſeventh day in order, draws a whole train of abſurdities after it.

1. Why a Ceremonial command ſhould be placed among all morals; ſo the fourth Command muſt be, if abrogated, and we obſerve another Sabbath differing from the ſeventh day.

2. Then why a ſpecial command concerning only the people of the Jews, (for we have rejected their Sabbath) ſhould be placed among general Commandments, which concern all the world; for the other nine do ſo, and is confeſſed by all, but Papiſts, Antinomians and Familiſts, and ſuch others of the litter of Hereticks.

3. If the ſeventh in order be the ſubſtance of the fourth Commandment, it thruſts men upon two dangerous rocks and extreams to the great diſquiet of the Churches peace: One, that the fourth Commandment is onelyonly ceremonial, which is a gate to licentious liberty: Or, Secondly, it is only moral for that ſeventh day, which is to bring us back into the Wilderneſs again of legal Rites and Judaiſme.

4. Thoſe who hold the ſeventh day in order, to be commanded in the fourth Commandment, are forced to fly to a miſerable diſtinction at the beſt, that the fourth Precept is partly moral, and partly ceremonial; for the ſubſtance of the command is, that a ſeventh day be conſecrated to divine worſhip, which if the day mentioned in the command be ceremonial, then the whole precept is ſo. And therefore to diſintangle our ſouls from theſe intricacies of errour and abſurdity, we muſt conclude, that a ſeventh day in proportion, and not the ſeventh day in order, is the ſubſtance and p. 585equity of the fourth Commandment; and ſo the practice of the Church in all ages, which is the beſt interpreter of this command, hath fully ſhewn and declared.

The fourth Commandment then enjoyns one day in ſeven to be weekly obſerved, and this is the reaſon and the ſubſtance of it. Now the old ſeventh day, which was the Jews Sabbath being antiquated and diſcharged, what day remains for the Chriſtian Sabbath, for the Diſciples of Chriſt to meet upon for holy and divine worſhip?

Queſt. Here the anſwer is ready, It is the firſt day of the week, the bleſſed day of our adored and admired Saviors Reſurrection.

Anſw. But ſtill the Query will be, By what Authority is this day made the Chriſtian Sabbath? To which it is anſwered,

1Not by Eccleſiaſtical Authority: And Mr. Perkins gives us the reaſon, The Church, ſaith he, hath no power to ordain a Sabbath, or to change the preſent Sabbath into any other day in the week, as to Tueſday, Wedneſday, &c. for time is the Lords, and the diſpoſing thereof in his hands; therefore Chriſt ſaith to his Diſciples, it is not for you to know the times and the ſeaſons, which the Father hath kept in his own hands: Now if God hath the diſpoſing of times in his hands, then it belongeth not to the Church to diſpoſe them: And it may be hence Acts 1. 7.Acts 1:7gathered, if that which is leſs belong not to the Church, then that which is more doth not: But the knowledge of times and ſeaſons, which God hath in his power belongs not to the Church, much leſs the diſpoſing of times and ſeaſons; I may add, and far leſs the appointing of a weekly Sabbath. And thus the Reverend and worthy Pe…k…ns: And indeed to ſublimate Church Authority ſo far, what is it, but to put man into Gods chair? And to make him King of the Church, and ſo take the Scepter out of Chriſts hand? It is a worthy ſaying of Biſhop Lake, The Church hath received the Lords day (not ordained it) not to be liberae obſervationis, of free obſervation, as if man might at pleaſure accept or refuſe it; but it is to be perpetually obſerved to the worlds end: For as God only hath power to apportion his time, ſo he only hath power to ſet out a day for his portion; he is the Lord of the Sabbath, the work of the day, is the ground of the hallowing of the day, and therefore p. 586Mark 2. 28.Mark 2:28as no man can tranſlate the work, ſo no man can tranſlate the day; and this is an undoubted rule in Theology. And thus this Learned Perſon hath both aſſerted the Divine Authority of the Lords day, and given us good reaſon for it. Man therefore being impotent and incapable to lay the foundation of a weekly Sabbath by ſome glorious work, eſpecially equivalent to the work of Creation or Redemption, let him never preſumptuouſly pretend to the appointment or inſtitution of it.

2Let us a little reaſon this caſe. We read there is one who is Lord of the Sabbath, Mark 2. 28. Now in reaſon, who ſhall appoint this day, but he who is Lord of it? And conſidering Mark 2. 28.Mark 2:28it is his holy day, and it is expreſly ſaid, Pſal. 118. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made, the whole Iſa. 58. …3.Isa 58:3ſtream of Interpreters expounding this text of the Lords day: So then the day is of the Lords making, and not of mans making; and moreover, there can be no cauſe why man ſhould deſire ſuch a liberty; for it is much to be feared, if there were twenty dayes in the weak, there would be twenty differences; every one, every Church at leaſt would chooſe its own day, and admire the iſſue of its own inſtitution. What jars and digladiations would this bring into the Church of Chriſt? how would this tear Chriſts ſeamleſs coat in pieces? The diſſentions between the Eaſtern and the Weſtern Churches about the obſervation of Eaſter day are not forgotten, when Victor, Biſhop of Rome, was ready Dr. Twiſſe treat on the Sab. pag. 141to draw the Sword of Excommunication. Indeed the appointing of a day for weekly worſhip and divine communion, is a task too great for weak and unſtable Man, and can be only the product of an infallible ſpirit: As Dr. Twiſſe happily and cloſely argues, Chriſt calls himſelf Lord of the Sabbath; and as he conſtituted it, ſo none but he can abrogate it, and place another in the room of it. And in the Apoſtles dayes, the firſt day of the week was ſet apart for the Chriſtians Sabbath, which could not be but by the joynt conſent of the Apoſtles.

3And how ſtrange is it, that the Church for 1500 years ſhould never offer to alter it, no not in the leaſt, if ſo be ſuch p. 587power and liberty was put into their hands as to ordain and Praetereà generalis omnium eccleſiarum conſenſus in hac feſſivitate divinam ejus auth…ritat…m …vinci…; et obſervandum eſt quòd in aliis obſervationibus, ab Apoſtolis non receptis, ſed à poſterà eccleſià ad tempus obſervatis eccleſiae à ſe invicem diſceſſerunt, veluti in Feſto Paſchatis, in jejuni…s obſervandis; Ita ſine dubio in Domini… celebrandâ contigiſſe…, ſi divinâ authoritate per Apoſtolos acceptâ ejus obſervatio apud Chriſtianos non conſtitua fuiſſet.appoint it. Among us nothing more uſual, then for one Parliament to unravel and diſanul what another hath done and enacted, as being unſatisfied in the thing it ſelf, or elſe to ſhew their own plenipotentiarineſs: And no doubt, had the Church been fledged with this power to ordain a Sabbath for the Church of Chriſt, in ſome age or another, they would have given us a caſt of this power, and would have attempted to pluck up a plant of their own planting, and would have inoculated the Sabbath into the ſtock of ſome other day: Darkneſs and Diviſion there hath been enough in the Church, to quarrel with inſtitutions and appointments of former times. But the perpetual ſilence of the Church in this particular, infallibly ſhews the Divine right of the Lords day: And the Churches are ſo huſh, becauſe they dare not attempt ſuch a piacular enterpriſe, as to raſe the foundation of a divine inſtitution: And in caſe they ſhould put in practice ſuch a pretended liberty, what inconvemences would fall out, to be bewailed with tears of bloud? for this liberty muſt be equal in every Church, and ſo our Engliſh Church might inſtitute the Monday, the French Church the Tueſday, the Belgick Church the Wedneſsday, the Germans might ordain the …urſday, the Danes the Friday; and other Churches might keep the preſent day to be the Lords day: And ſo, ſo many Churches, ſo many Sabbaths, and what int…llerable ſcandal would this procure to the Church of Chriſt; and what feuds would it diſſeminate among Chriſtians? Nay, how would this confuſion ſtrike the Chriſtian profeſſion under the fifth rib, and give it its mortal wound? This Eccleſiaſtick power and liberty, would likewiſe open a way to revive and reduce the Jewiſh Sabbath, Dies dominicus nomen ſuum adeptus fuit propter dominicae reſurrectionis memoriam ad finem uſ que mundi celebrandum. Muſcul.or the ſolemn day of the Turks, which is every Fryday; nay, we know not with what Heathens we might concur in their weekly ſolemnity: And when the Pagans ſhall well eſpy our diſſentions, how much we diſagree about our Sabbath, this may re-inforce their deteſtation both of us and our Religion. Now if the Church had power to ordain the Sabbath, they have likewiſe power to alter and change it, which p. 588we ſee, may be the womb of irreparable miſchiefs. Is it not then far more rational and convictive for the prevention of thoſe miſerable diſorders, to take the Sabbath as marked out by God himſelf, the inſtitution of Chriſt by his Apoſtles, which is now the firſt day of the week, a day founded and bottomed on Chriſts glorious Reſurrection? And thus the Church of Chriſt, his little, but precious flock, may keep the Luke 12. 32.Luke 12:32Ʋnity of the ſpirit in the bond of Peace: No doubt then, the Eph. 4. 3.Eph 4:3Lords day is of Divine, not Eccleſiaſtical Authority, otherwiſe Rom. 4. 25.Rom 4:25mens ſpirits would never have been ſo over-awed, and their hands tied from preſumptuous undertakings. The truth is, our Chriſtian Sabbath muſt be built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apoſtles, Jeſus Chriſt (by his Reſurrection) being the chief corner ſtone: And becauſe nothing can fall out in the world comparable to the Reſurrection of Chriſt in glory and power; therefore no day can be ſet up like unto this, neither can it be changed into any other. The like cauſe can never be offered to change this day, which at firſt occaſioned the choice of it; and therefore it muſt remain untill the end of all things. And they who ever they be who go about to raze this day, muſt firſt pick out Chriſts mark which he hath wrought into it by the work of Redemption, and ſo blot out the teſtimony of the four Evangeliſts concerning Chriſts Reſurrection on the firſt day of the week, the happy Baſis of our Sabbath.

4Moreover the obſervation of the Lords day being freſh and frequent in the Apoſtles dayes, they being yet alive, and excerciſing a ſuperintendency over the Church, who ſhould Stab Apoſtolis adhuc in v…vis dies dominicus obſervatus fuit meritò illorum ordinationi aſcribendus eſt. Aut enim per ipſos, & eorum authoritatem, aut per alios eccleſiae, doctores ſine illorum conſenſu inſtitutus erat, quorum poſterius eſt valde abſurdum, & inſul…um, non ſuit eccleſiae Apoſtolis leges praeſcribere.interpoſe to ordain this holy day of worſhip but themſelves? If any other Governors of the Church, they did it either with the conſent of the Apoſtles, and then their Authority was ſubordinate, and ſo ſwallowed up in the power Apoſtolical: For the Apoſtles were the Supream guides of the Church, and had the ordering of the affairs of Chriſts flock, the care of the Churches was in the firſt place committed to them, 2 Cor. 11. 28. Or elſe this Committee of Church Governors (who they were, where they met, or what they did, could never yet be diſcovered) did appoint the Chriſtian p. 589Sabbath againſt the conſent of the Apoſtles; and ſurely then, their preſumption would have been taxed in holy writ, for a perpetual reproach of the thing, or elſe they had fallen under the Pens of Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtorians: of all which ne quis quidem, not any thing appears to the moſt critical Obſervator, in their moſt curious ſearches and inquiſitions. But it can never be imagined, any ſhould dare to impoſe a day of their own invention upon the Church, the Apoſtles, thoſe infallible Spirits, being yet in the land 1 Cor. 2. 16.1 Cor 2:16of the living.

5Did the Church appoint the Chriſtian Sabbath, let her be called the Lady of it, and ſo Chriſt will loſe his title of Si beati Apoſtoli ex authoritate ſibi à Ch…iſto delegatâ Dominicum non inſtituiſſent, ſed ejus obſervationem liberam reliquiſſ…nt, tum meritò diceremus eccleſiam ipſam.Lord of it, Mark 2. 28. which as Paraeus obſerves, is one argument of Chriſts Divinity; for none can be Lord of the Sabbath, but he who appointed it, and he whoſe Sabbath it is: and ſurely ſuch an attempt can hardly be excuſed of the moſt daring Sacriledge; to rob God, not of his Tythes, but of his Titles, and ſo put Chriſts Armes into their Scutcheons, this indeed ſavours too much of arrogancy, and it cannot be faſtned on the Flock of Chriſt, who hears his voyce, and follows the accents of it. And how our Sabbath ſhould be the Lords day, and yet of humane inſtitution, is ſuch a knot I know not how to untye, and am not foreign quod tamen praeclarum teſtimonium eſt divinitatis Chriſti, quòd ipſe per Apoſtolos ſuos diem dominicum inſtituit. Par.over-hopeful to ſee the Riddle unfolded by any other. That the Church ſhould give the Sabbath a being, and the Lord ſhould give it a name, is ſuch a partage, I think few will own. Seyrus the Caſuiſt hath laid down a good Rule, viz. The Church can aboliſh holy days, becauſe ſhe determines them, and cuſtom prevails much among men, but the ſanctification of a day is onelyonly from a Divine Law. Let the Church then move in its own ſphere, and follow the letter of its Commiſſion; but to ſet apart a Sabbath for the World, let it not avouch any ſuch Authority; this is for the Spouſe Cant. 5. 4.Song 5:4of Chriſt to diſturb, and awaken her beloved.

6If the Church have any ſuch priviledge as to appoint a Sabbath for Mankind; let her ſhew her Charter and Commiſſion out of the Old or New Teſtament: But it is to be ſuppoſed, ſhe can ſhew none ſufficient to authorize her for p. 590this tranſcendent act, to determine the ſolemn and ſufficient Nemo eſt ſabbati dominus niſi qui ſabbatum inſtituit & cujus ſabbatum eſt. Par.time of Gods ſolemn and ordinary worſhip: Could ſhe have brought forth her Credentials, the world ſhould not have been kept in the dark ſo long? and if ſhe cannot, it is not ſo eaſie to impoſe upon mens belief: all Chriſtians are not acted by an implicite faith; nor will they lean too hard upon Eccleſiaſtical Authority, and ſubmit, becauſe Cant. 2 7.Song 2:7they ſay ſo; a bare and naked Aſſeveration will not ſalve all Cant. 3. 5.Song 3:5their doubts. Beſides, God appointed the Sabbath, which Cant. 8. 4.Song 8:4was celebrated in the times of the Law; and ſhall not he Eccleſia non debet, nec poteſt mutare ſabbatum, & qui aliter dicunt, falſo me interpretantur. Prideaux.appoint the Sabbath which is celebrated in the times of the Goſpel? Nay, is it not neceſſary, and agreeing to natural equity, that he who appoints the manner and matter of worſhip, ſhould alſo appoint the ſufficient and neceſſary time of worſhip? Are not all men, even the Governours of the Church, and the greateſt Potentates, obliged to render to God the homage of obſerving a ſufficient time for worſhip? Or ſhall we deny God the priviledge, which every common Landlord aſſumes to himſelf to appoint the days of payment of his own homage? What if the Church cannot Quando deus ſanctificat ſabbatum eſt ſanctificatto conſtitutiva. Cùm homo ſanctificat ſabbatum, eſt ſanctificatio invocativa. Weemſ.agree, if ſhe apoſtatize or grow heretical, which is no new thing in the world, where then ſhall God find his ſufficient time for Sabbath-obſervation? In a word, all the power of the Church is founded on the fifth Commandement, and not on the fourth, and ſhe may as well appoint the worſhip it ſelf required by the ſecond Commandement, as the ſufficient time of it required by the fourth. And it is well obſerved by the learned Weemes, God onelyonly may ſanctifie a Sabbath for himſelf, for the Sabbath is not to be reckoned among private goods, but it is to be reckoned among ſuch things as are common to all, as are the fire, and the water; therefore Tempus non eſt inter privata bona, ſed inter bona communia, qualia ſunt …er & aqua, & quod divini juris eſt nullius … bonis eſt. Weemſ.man cannot ſeparate time, as God doth, for his ſervice and worſhip, and there ſeparation is but occaſional, accidental, and mutable. Thus learnedly and rationally this worthy man argues, that the Sabbath being a common good to the world, the inſtitution of it is not to be attributed to any Convention of fallible men, but onelyonly to him who is the Lord of Heaven and Earth: And ſurely he who created p. 591the Sun, the Index of time, doth and muſt appoint the Sabbath, which is the quinteſſence and beſt part of time. Theſe ſublime inſtitutions, as the Sabbath, Sacraments, Ordinances, &c. which have a general concourſe in the good, and to the benefit of Mankind; as they ſpeak the glory, ſo they evidence the determination of God their Author.

7The ſame Authority which inſtitutes a day, may abrogate it, and alter it; but the Church cannot abrogate and alter Ejuſdem eſt refigere …ujus eſt fig…re.the Lords day: It is a Canon of the Civil Law, They who can enact, can repeal; and this may be inſtanced in the Feſtivals and Sabbath of the Old Teſtament; God alone ordained them, and he did cancel and abrogate them. Now it is the judgment of our moſt claſſick and authentical Divines, That the Church cannot alter the Lords day; So Certè quamvis dies dominicus ſit juris canonici conſuetudine, tamen nunquam abroga…tur. Azor. Quid ergò? An diem dominicum jure divino eſſe ſtabilitum aſſeremus? Ego quidem Auditores, ſine cujuſdam praejudicio, lubentiſſimè concedo in iſtam ſententiam. Prideaux.Dr. Fulk, that eminent Champion of the Proteſtant Religion, who profligated the Romiſh Cauſe, in anſwering the Rhemiſts Teſtament; he thus avers our Plea, To change the Lords day, ſaith he, and keep it on a Monday, or any other day, the Church hath no authority; for the Lords day is no matter of indifference, but a neceſſary preſcription of Chriſt himſelf, delivered to us by the Apoſtles. This is moſt clear and plain; and let the learned Profeſſor of Oxford, the famous Prideaux, give his opinion in this Cauſe; I am not ſatisfied, ſaith he, with the Ordinance of the Church for the Lords day, becauſe Church-Ordinances may with the ſame facility be broken, as they are made, which abſolutely to affirm of the Lords day were unadviſed. And beſides, could the Church remove the Lords day to Monday, Tueſday, or any other day, what becomes of the day of Chriſts reſurrection, the firſt day of the week? upon which not onelyonly the Fathers in the primitive times, but likewiſe our later Divines, do ſo confidently and truly bottom and found it? And will it not ſound very harſhly and unſeemly, that the Nox eſt tempus ante Chriſtum plaenum tenebris infidel…tatis, & peccati: ſed dies eſt tempus praeſens evangelii. quo Sol (i. e.) Chriſtus lucis ſuae, gratiae et amoris radios toto Orbe diffundit. Cyprian.great and eternal Jehovah ſhould ordain and appoint the Sabbath of the Old Teſtament; and a company of fallible men, ſubject to be attached by a writ of Error, ſhould inſtitute the Sabbath of the New Teſtament, when Religion ſhone with a brighter ray, and ſcriptural miniſtrations were p. 592far more glorious: Or to ſpeak in the Apoſtles language, When the Night was far ſpent, and the Day was at hand, Rom. 13. 12. That day ſo much rejoyced in by Abraham, and his believing Poſterity, ſo much admired by the Martyrs in the primitive times. Once God and Man wonderfully united in the ſame Perſon, made one Saviour, but God and Man ſtrangely are Copartners to make two Sabbaths: and that the old Sabbath now entombed in the Grave of Chriſt, ſhould have a divine Author, and the Chriſtian new Sabbath, which is to endure to the worlds end, ſhould onelyonly be fixed upon humane Authority, is, I ſuppoſe, beyond the reach of ordinary apprehenſions. But the learned Prideaux wiſely obſerves, The Canon of the Church doth not Dies dominicus practicè & moraliter eſt immutabilis. Suarez.give to this day any Divine Authority, which before it had not, but ſheweth rather what they received from their Anceſtors, to be tranſmitted by them to their poſterity. Nay, Suarez the Jeſuit will acknowledge, That the Lords day practically and morally is immutable, and ſubject to no alteration; and therefore it cannot be of humane Authority.

8And indeed it is a dangerous thing to the whole Fabrick of Religion, ſhould an humane Ordinance limit the neceſſary Eccleſiaſtica diſciplina, & Authoritas nimiâ facilitate enervatur, et irrita redditur. Alap.time of Gods worſhip, Or that the Church ſhould not aſſemble, but at the pleaſure of the Clergie, and then perhaps not well agreeing among themſelves: for what would men buſied about their Farms, their Yokes of Oxen, and domeſtick affairs; would not they ſet at naught a humane Ordinance? Would not prophane men eaſily diſpenſe with Nonnullum quod audivimus, aut vidimus, argumentum nos adhuc in contrarium flexerit, quin ut nomen illud foreign aequè reſpexerit inſtitutionem Chriſti ac reſurrectionem. Dr. Wells.their abſenting themſelves from prayers and preaching, and give themſelves the leave of doing, or neglecting, any thing, was there not ſomething found in Scripture, which more than any humane inſtitution can bind the Conſcience? Mans inſtitutions may over-awe the outward-man, they will little influence the inward; men may be ſhackled with ſomething from the ſacred Scriptures, but if they are looſe from thoſe Bonds, they will eaſily pleaſe themſelves in their fancied liberty. It is the rule of the word, not humane dictates, will bind men, and ſtake them down to Obedience: and it is no wonder if our Chriſtian Sabbath be thrown p. 593upon the Dunghil of prophaneneſs, if it hath nothing but Eccleſiaſtical Authority to ſhew for its inſtitution; if our Sabbath come among other holy days, and acknowledge no other founder, we cannot marvel, if ſports, and walks, and viſits be the uſual celebrations of it. The reſult then of the whole is, The Church in the earlieſt days obſerved, but not inſtituted our Chriſtian Sabbath, and the Lords day is ſo called, not onelyonly from Chriſts reſurrection, but his inſtitution.

The Lords day then is not of Eccleſiaſtical inſtitution; no Synod, no Council, no Convention of men ſubject to errour could give it its being, or adopt it into its honour, that John 1. 12.John 1:12that it ſhould have power to be called the Day of God: Something more than humane power muſt authorize this bleſſed day, and make it a weekly and ſtanding Feſtival to the Chriſtian Church.

Indeed ſome refer the inſtitution of it to Chriſt himſelf, foreign.and ſo run up the chryſtal ſtream to the fountain head. Athanaſius, who was the ſword, and the buckler of truth, and both received and repelled the darts of the Arrian World, He poſitively affirms Chriſt to be the inſtitutor of our Chriſtian Sabbath; Of old, ſaith he, The Sabbath was in great eſteem among the Ancients, but the Lord hath changed the Sabbath day into the Lords day. Now what can be more plain? Chryſoſtome in his tenth Homily upon Geneſis, calls God the Athanaſ. homil de Semente.Author of this inſtitution. And Euſebius in one of his Orations, in the praiſe of the Emperour Conſtantine, flies into a ſeraphick admiration of Jeſus Chriſt, and deriding the vanity of the Gentile Gods and Potentates, Who, ſaith he, among the Heathen Gods hath appointed a ſolemn day weekly to all the inhabitants of the world, whether they dwell on the Land, or travel on the Seas, to celebrate the Lords feſtival, and hath taken care, not only for the refreſhing of bodies with the proviſions of the creature, but for the feeding and ſupplies of the Soul with diſcipline and divine repaſts? Thus this worthy man, ſpeaking of the glory of his Maſter Jeſus Chriſt, produces this eminent argument for it, (viz.) He appoints a weekly Sabbath for all the world to obſerve and celebrate. p. 594Nor was this doctrine only authentical, and approved in the foreign, &c. Euſeb. de laudibus Conſt. Cauſa▪ mutationis eſt reſurrectio Chriſti, cujus beneficii commemoratio ſucceſſit mem… riae creati…nis, non traditione humanâ, ſed Chriſti ipſius obſervatione, et inſtituto. Jun. in Geneſ.primitive times of the Church, but in the latter dayes of Reformation, ſome of our choiſeſt Divines, have with much delight and reſolution embraced and publiſhed this truth. Learned Junius, one of that couple who made the Old Teſtament ſpeak Latine, and ſo brought the Scriptures ſomething nearer to the worlds underſtanding; he ſolemnly profeſſeth, That the old Sabbath is changed into the Lords day in the Chriſtian Church upon the account of Chriſts reſurrection; and that the Author of this change is not humane tradition, but Chriſts own obſervation and appointment. And Piſcator, a man eminent in the Church of Chriſt roundly aſſerts, That though there be no expreſs command for the Lords day in the Scriptures, yet the facts of Chriſt and his Apoſtles on that day, do undoubtedly declare its Divine Original and inſtitution. But not to ſurfet the Reader with too great a concourſe of teſtimonies concurrent in this opinion, there are not deficient many conſiderable and undeniable reaſons aſſerting and affirming the Lord Jeſus Chriſt to be the Author and Inſtitutor of his own bleſſed day.

Reaſ. 1 Whatſoever in holy Writ is ſaid to be the Lords denominatively, that he is the Author and Inſtitutor of; As for inſtance, The Lords Supper, becauſe he ordained it, 1 Cor. 11. 20, 23. The Sabbath of the Lord, Deut. 5. 12. Becauſe he commanded it; The Temple of the Lord, Jer. 7. 4. becauſe he appointed it: the people of the Lord, becauſe he choſe them, the Meſſengers of the Lord, becauſe he ſent Exod. 3. 7. 1. Cor. 4 9.Exod 3:71 Cor 4:9them; the Apoſtles of Chriſt, becauſe he put them into that office. And no inſtance can be ſhewed to the contrary, but the Chriſtian Sabbath is called the Lords day, Rev. 1. 10. Nay, and Beza notes, that he hath ſeen an old copy, that which is called the firſt day of the week, 1 Cor. 16. 2. ſtiled the foreign, the Lords day; not by Creation, for ſo every day is his from the beginning; not by deſtination, for ſo properly the day of judgement is called, the day of the Lord: But our Chriſtian Sabbath is called the Lords day by Divine Inſtitution, as other things are ſaid to be the Lords; and ſo Chriſt is the Author and appointer of it; and therefore Biſhop Andrews, p. 595that library of learning, in one of his Sermons upon Dies dominicus non ab alio, ſed ab ipſ… Chriſto eſt inſtitutus. …ilen. Synt. loc. 44. p. 2…6.the Reſurrection, puts the query; How can it be called the Lords day, but that the Lord made it? And Biſhop Lake in his Sermon on the Euchariſt, ſaith poſitively, That Chriſt did ſubſtitute the Lords day in the place of the Jewiſh Sabbath. Doctor Fulk fears not to affirm, That the Lords day is a neceſſary preſcription of Chriſt himſelf. And Doctor Lin… Biſhop of Brechen, in his Preface to the Aſſembly at Per…, and many other Divines heartily concur in this judgement.

If God by reſting from his work of Creation, and his bleſſing …eaſ. 2.of that ſeventh day, made it a holy day for his ſet and ſolemn worſhip and ſervice; then Jeſus Chriſt reſting from Gen. 2. 3.Gen 2:3the work of Redemption, and his bleſſing of that day, makes it a holy day for his ſolemn and ſet worſhip and ſervice; for there is the like, or greater excellency in the reſting of God the Son, and the bleſſing of his day, as there was in the reſting of God the Father, and his bleſſing of the ſeventh day. Chriſt's work of the worlds redemption, and the renovation 2 Cor. 5. 13. Fact… ſ…nt … nova, ut novum caſt…llum …. Bern.2 Cor 5:13thereof, the making of all things New, a new Heaven, and a new Earth, is equall with, if not …u…paſſing of the Fathers work of Creati…n: The S…ns bleſſing likewiſe of this day is of no leſs excellency then the Fathers bleſſing of the ſeventh day.

Nay, how many wayes did Jeſus Chriſt bleſs his own day?

1By his Glorious Reſurrecti…n, when the Sun of Righteouſneſs di… ri…e wi…h healing in his wings, to viſit and make Mal. 4. 2. Rom. 13. 12.Mal 4:2Rom 13:12happy the world, and to make it day among the Sons of Men.

2By his ſeveral apparitions on this day, when Chriſt did exhilarate and revive his ſadned and diſconſolat… Diſciples St. Aug. de C…vit. dei lib. 22. cap. 30.with the bright intervals of his pellucid and ſalvifical preſence. (But of this more hereafter.)

3By his heavenly inſtructions on this day, Luke 24. 25. when as Elijah, now he was going to heaven he dropt his Mantle, and ſhewed his Diſciples his mind by revelation, 2 Kings 2. 13.2 Kgs 2:13before he ſhewed them his face in glory.

4By illuminating the minds, and opening the underſtandings p. 596ings of his Diſciples more eminently on this day, Luke 24. John 20. 22. John 20. 28. Rev. 22. 16.John 20:22John 20:28Rev 22:1645. On this day, not only the morning ſtar aroſe in the World of inhabitants, but in the hearts of the Diſciples, and he opened not only the curtains of the grave, but of the minds of his Apoſtles by his redoubted and omnipotent operation.

5By breathing the Holy Ghoſt upon his Diſciples, John 20. 22. as on this day. When Chriſt did that by his breath, which the Miniſter cannot do by his Zeal, the Scholar by his Art, the Friend by his love, nay, Nature it ſelf by its force, Aug. Serm. 15. de verb. Apoſt.(viz.) inſpire the heart with holy principles, and the head with holy knowledge, and ſpiritual underſtanding.

6By the inſtallation of his Apoſtles into their ſupream juriſdiction; giving them power to bind and to looſe in heaven and in earth, John 20. 21, 22, 23. On this day the Apoſtles received, not their Miter, but their Miſſion; and the emblem of their dignity, was no ceremonial veſture, but a ſupereminent power; All which bleſſings Chriſt ſcattered on this ſolemne day, our Chriſtian Sabbath; and on this day, as an eſſay of converting power. Chriſt by the Miniſtry of Peter, turned three thouſand to his own Divine ſelf. Now all theſe bleſſings which Chriſt heaped on this day, Acts. 2. 41.Acts 2:41what are they but ſo many acts of conſecration? They are only the pouring out of the oyl, to anoint it to be far above its fellows, and to be the Chriſtians ſolemn and weekly feſtival. And thus Ignatius calls our Sabbath, the Higheſt and Pſal. 45. 7.Ps 45:7Queen of dayes. The argument then is very forcible à pari; if the Fathers bleſſing a day made it a Sabbath to the world before, and in the times of the Law, then the Sons bleſſing a day, muſt needs make it a Sabbath to the world in the foreign &c. Ignat. John 5. 23.John 5:23times of the Goſpel. And this is the more to be taken notice of, becauſe Chriſt ſaith expreſly, John 5. 23. That all men ſhall honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.

Reaſ. 3 Chriſts Faithfulneſs in his Church proclaims him the inſtitutor of his own day. God the Father, when he had ordained Expendendum eſt, quod non ſolùm ritus, et ceremonias populo ſuo dedit deus quibus▪ ad fidem, charitatem & gratiarum actionem, & obſervantiam dei imbuerentur; ſed et certa tempora praeſcripſit, in quibus vigore legis praeſcriptas Ceremonias exercerent: Haud permiſit illis libertatem ut ferias quas, et quando vellent pro ſuo libero arbitrio figerent, out refigerent, mutarent, tollerent, multiplicarent, minuorent, ſed ferias ſervandas tradid it ex quibus eſt Sabbati ſanctificatio. Muſcul.his worſhip, leaves it not to Moſes, nor to the people of Iſrael, to appoint a ſet and ſolemn day for it; but he himſelf firſt ordains it in paradiſe, Gen. 2. 3. and then revives and renews it on Mount Sinai, Exod. 20. 8. Nay, when the p. 597Idolaters among the people of Iſrael did invent a worſhip, they who invented it, inſtituted a day for it, Exod. 32. 5. Jeroboam when he deviſed a worſhip, he likewiſe ordained a day for it, 1 Kings 12. 32, 33. So Nebuchadnezzar when he ſet up an Idol, and appointed a worſhip for it, he ſet apart a day for the performance of this worſhip, Dan. 3. 2. The miſcreant Prophet Mahomet, as he gave laws to his Proſelytes, and preſcribed a form of worſhip, ſo he himſelf inſtituted his ſolemn day, viz. Every Fryday: And he did not leave it to the arbitrary will and pleaſure of his worſhippers to ordain or ſolemnize what day they pleaſed. Therefore from all this we may conclude, unleſs Chriſt ſhould fall ſhort of the example of his Father; Nay, of the very Idolaters; he muſt be the inſtitutor of his own day for it cannot be proved, that at any time, or in any age, that any publick worſhip was ever invented to be obſerved, but the Author and inſtitutor of it, was alſo the inſtitutor of the day for that worſhip, not leaving it to others will to appoint the ſame for him. Now Chriſt is the great Law-giver of his Church, the glorious founder of Goſpel-worſhip, the Sacraments were ordained by him, Prayers muſt be made in his name, Diſcipline is of his inſtitution, the Miniſtry of his calling and ſending; and ſhall our bleſſed Mediator be only excluded from the appointment of a day for weekly Mark 16. 16. Luke 22. 19, 20. John 20. 22. Mat. 21. 22. James 4. 12. Mat. 28. 19. Mat. 26. 26. John 14. 15. Mat. 18. 18. Rom. 1. 1. Cant. 2. 16. H…g. 2. 7. Rev. 15. 3. Eph. 1. 22. Mat. 18. 20. Pſal. 89. 7. Heb. 12. 2.Mark 16:16Luke 22:19Luke 22:20John 20:22Matt 21:22Jas 4:12Matt 28:19Matt 26:26John 14:15Matt 18:18Rom 1:1Song 2:16Rev 15:3Eph 1:22Matt 18:20Ps 89:7Heb 12:2and ſolemn worſhip? Shall that curſed caitiff Mahomet (as was hinted) conſtitute and appoint a weekly day for his worſhippers to obſerve to himſelf, and read that ſyſtem of Vanities, that miſcellany of lying inventions, the Alchoran; and ſhall not our beloved, the deſire of Nations, the King and Soveraign of his people, the Head of his Church, not only influential, but authoritative; ſhall not he be inveſted with a power to ſet apart a weekly Sabbath for his people, wherein they may meet in his name, and aſſemble in his fear, and congregate to hear his glorious Goſpel, and to participate of thoſe bleſſings which attend his ſalvifical preſence? Or did Chriſt forget his main import, when he aſcended to his Father, his approaching joy ſwallowing up his thoughts of, and care for his poor Church, which he left behind? Surely p. 598we muſt make Chriſt the inſtitutor of his own bleſſed day, or inveniencies too many will ariſe, which no ſalves will be able to ſmoother or ſuppreſs. Should Chriſt have left it to his Church to appoint a day, what end would be of the diſcord; and diſagreements which unavoidably follow? When ſhould the whole Church meet to enact ſuch a conſtitution? Or ſhall one part of the Church, being as is ſuppoſed, inferior, be concluded in the determination of another part, being, as is preſumed, of greater dignity? And from whence aroſe this inequality? Therefore intricacies and unanſwerable difficulties will multiply, unleſs we aſcribe to our dear Jeſus the appointment of his own day for weekly and ſolemn worſhip. Beſides, it is very conſiderable, that which is of univerſal obſervation, none but God can impoſe by his ſupream Authority, to which all are equally ſubject; and ſuch is the obſervation of the Lords day, which equally belongs to all perſons, at all times, and in all Acts 20. 24.Acts 20:24ages; there are none exempt from obedience to it, and Rev. 20. 12.Rev 20:12therefore no particular men could ordain this univerſal obſervance, Rom. 2. 16.Rom 2:16which muſt be ſubmitted to by all, who will give 2 Cor. 5. 10.2 Cor 5:10up their account with joy in the day of the Lord Jeſus.

Reaſ. 4 The ſeventh day Sabbath was by Gods immediate inſtitution, Gen. 2. 3. Exod. 20. 8. And therefore the change of it into the Lords day muſt be by the immediate inſtitutio… of Jeſus Chriſt: And the reaſon of it is, there hath never been a religious change made of any Ordinance of God immediately preſcribed by him, but by God himſelf, and by his own Authority: For if the inſtitution be immediate by him, the change into another muſt be by the like Authority alſo, for he who ordaineth hath only power …o alter.

1. Man cannot change ſuch an Ordinance, for it is complained of as a ſin for the people to change Gods Ordinances, Iſa. 24. 5. And if any but God have Authority to change his own Ordinances immediately appointed by himſelf, their Authority is equal with his: But to aſſert this, is both ridiculous and blaſphemous. No, the whole Church aſſembled together, hath no ſuch authority, it is but humane at the higheſt; and beſides, if unſtable man p. 599could alter an immediate Ordinance of God, what ſtability Lex dei eſt aeterna, et in aeternum d… ratura, et deus exſcindet eos, qui mutant jus, ▪i e) leges, et jura.could there be in theſe Ordinances, or what tie could they faſten upon mens conſciences?

2. All religious changes of every Ordinance of Gods own immediate appointment hath ever been by himſelf▪ and inſtances to the contrary cannot be alleadged. The Tabernacle was of Gods immediate inſtitution, and the Temple … rected in the ſtead of it was likewiſe of his own appointment; David minding to build it, and Nathan approving his 2 Sam 7. 2, 3.2 Sam 7:22 Sam 7:3intention, but without the command of God was afterwards prohibited: Neither did God leave it to the wiſdom of Solomon, though the wiſeſt of men, but he himſelf gave the pattern of it, 1 Chron. 28. 11, 12, 19. The time of celebrating the Paſſeover, was the fourteenth of the firſt MonethMonth appointed by God himſelf, Exod. 12. 6. which time Moſes durſt not diſpence with, nor allow any other day for ſome to keep it without Gods immediate warrant, Numb. 9. 8, 11. Times and ſeaſons are in Gods hands, Acts 1. 10. And therefore the MonethMonth Tiſri is turned into the MonethMonth Niſan to begin the year withall by Gods immediate command, Exod. 12. 2. And Antiochus Epiphanes is condemned Dan. 2. 21.Dan 2:21for changing times. Thus we ſee Gods Ordinances, for Dan. 7. 25.Dan 7:25Places, for Perſons, for Times, being immediately appointed by God, cannot be changed but by God; and therefore the ſeventh day being the immediate inſtitution of God, could not be changed into another day (as now it is) but by God Rom. 9. 5.Rom 9:5himſelf, even by Jeſus Chriſt, who when he was come in the fleſh, changed the place of worſhip, John 4. 20, 21. changed the Law and the Prieſthood, chap. 7. of the Hebrews, into the Doctrine and Miniſtry of the Goſpel; Prieſts and Levites he changed into Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, Miniſters; Eph. 4. 11. The carnal worſhip Chriſt changed into ſpiritual, John 4. 24. Circumciſion he changed into Baptiſm, the Paſſeover into the Lords Supper, and the ſeventh day Sabbath into our bleſſed Lords day.

Reaſ. 5 That day, the due …bſervation of which, tends to Gods glory, and his publick worſhip, to Mans inſtruction and building up in the moſt holy faith; which day was ſolemnized p. 600by the holy and heavenly inſpired Apoſtles, which likewiſe Chriſtus eſt dei ſapientia, tum foreign, quia eſt foreign aeterni Patris. Luke 11. 49. Tum Revelata, quia in Chriſti cognitione ſalutaris ſapientia eſt ſita. Par.Luke 11:49is approved, and greedily embraced with great ſpiritual comfort and joy by the moſt holy Profeſſors, zealous Miniſters, and fervent Proſelytes of the Goſpel; this day muſt needs call Chriſt its Author, and muſt needs be the inſtitution of him who is the wiſdom of the Father, 1 Cor. 1. 24. Nay that day which is diſputed againſt, cavilled at, withſtood and prophaned by the moſt carnal, ungodly, corrupt, and vain perſons, muſt needs be the appointment of the Holy One, as Chriſt is called, Pſal. 16. 10. Now ſuch a day is our Lords day. A cloud of witneſſes might here be raiſed to atteſt this undeniable aſſertion, but the mouth of conſtant experience hath ſpoken it, and what need we of any further witneſſes?

Chemnitius hath a notable deſcant upon Luke 8. 22. Sic paulatim diſcipulos ſuos Chriſtus deducere et docere voluit ad dici dominicae obſervantiam, et demonſtrare quae ſit vera illius ſanctificatio; nimirum, quando ex verbo ipſius praecipua ejus opera, quae illo ipſo die diverſis temporibus in mundo ad ſalutem humani generis edidit, conſideramus, et de illis diſſerimus; Qualia ſunt opera creationis, cujus initium fact…m eſt hoc ipſo die: Opus Redemptionis quod etiam hoc ipſo die perfectum eſt; opus ſanctifi…tionis qu… etiam hoc … coelitus …ſſo ſp. … …choatum eſt. Deinde etiam quando falſa doctrina l…xatur, vitia corriguntur, ſecuritas ſ…cta…rum verbi retunditur, & Pietas ex v…rbo dei plantatur, &c. Chemnit.where Chriſt is ſaid to launch forth with his Diſciples upon the firſt day of the week which is now our Chriſtian Sabbath; Chriſt by degrees, ſaith he, draweth his Diſciples to the obſervation of the Lords day, and would by little and little inſtruct them wherein the true ſanctification of it did conſiſt, viz. In a ſerious conſideration and diſcourſe of thoſe works which God wrought upon that day for the benefit of Mankind, and for the good of his Church; ſuch as the work of Creation which was began on that day, Gen. 1. 1. Such as the work of Redemption, which was finiſhed on that day, John 20. 1. Nay ſuch as the work of Sanctification: On that day the Holy Ghoſt deſcended viſibly on the bleſſed Apoſtles, Acts 2. 1, 2. not only as the reſult of the promiſe before, or as a token of honour which God put upon his bleſſed Apoſtles, but as an earneſt of that plenteous effuſion of the ſpirit which ſhould be in Goſpel-times. This day, ſaith the ſame Author, is ſanctified when we ſeriouſly conſider, that on it falſe Doctrine was plucked up by the foundations, the Calumnies of miſcreant calumniators were refelled and ſilenced, the ſecurity of Chriſts Diſciples was reproved and condemned, Vice was checkt and corrected, and piety propagated and diſſeminated. In the view and practice of thoſe things Sabbath ſanctification is fairly compriſed. p. 601But it is obſervable, that this learned man takes notice, that Chriſt began betimes to inſtruct his Apoſtles in the duties of the Lords day, the firſt day of the week, which doth evidently ſecure us, that the day it ſelf was the inſtitution of Chriſt himſelf. And we may juſtly retort upon thoſ… who faſten the Lords day upon humane Authority, from the beginning it was not ſo, Mat. 19. 8. But the riſing of the Sun of Righteouſneſs after the night of a Grave made our Sabbath day. And this weekly feſtival is given to the world both by Chriſts re-entry into it, from the dark ſhade of the grave, and by vertue of thoſe commands mentioned Acts 1. 2. the command for the Lords day being one of them without doubt or diſpute.

But that no beam of light may be withh…ld from making a full diſcovery of this truth, we will fetch our riſe from the earlieſt times of the world.

1The Lords day was typified by Circumciſi…n which was adminiſtred on the eighth day, the next day after the Jew…ſh Sabbath, and the very day of our Chriſtian. One of our Homilies ſaith; That the firſt day after the Jewiſh Sabbath is our Sunday; It is our Lords day, ſay the Divines of Ireland: and Auguſtine proveth, That by the eighth day of Auguſt. Epiſt. ad Januar. 119. cap. 13. Nam quia octavus dies (i. e.) poſt Sabbatum, primus dies futurus erat, quo dominus reſurgeret, & nos vivificaret, & ſpiritutlem nobis daret circum…iſionem, &c.Circumciſion, was ſhadowed forth our Lords day: And Cyprian ſaith, That Circumciſion was commanded on the eighth day, as a Sacrament of the eighth day, on which Chriſt ſhould riſe from the dead. And this holy Martyr proceeds, and gives us the reaſon of his words; for becauſe the eighth day, (i. e.) the day after the Sabbath, was to be the day on which the Lord ſhould riſe and quicken us, and give us the ſpiritual Circumciſion; this eighth day, (i. e.) the firſt day after the Jewiſh Sabbath went before in a ſhad…w. So then the preciſe time of the circumciſion of the fleſh, did onelyonly prefigure, the day of Chriſts reſurrection, or our Sabbath wherein Chriſt roſe for the circumciſion of the hea…t, for that which was ſpiritual, and ſo more effectual circumciſion. Dies ſabbati er…t dierum ordine poſterior, ſanctificatione autem in tempore legis Anterior, ſed ubi finis legis advenit, viz. Jeſus Chriſtus, & reſurrectione ſuâ Octavam ſanè ſanctificavit, caepit eadem prima eſſe, quae octava fuerat, habens ex numeri ordine praerogati…am ex reſurrectione domini ſanctitatem. Ambroſ.Hilany points at the ſame thing; Ʋpon the eighth day, ſaith he, which is alſo the firſt day, we rejoyce in the feſtivity of a perfect Sabbath: And this eminent perſon hath left a moſt p. 602memorable Record behind him, of the Churches practice in his time, which was about An. Dom. 355. Ambroſe moſt elegantly deſcants upon this ſubject; The Sabbath, ſaith he, was the laſt in order of days, but the firſt in ſanctification under the Law, but when the end of the law was come, Rom. 10, 4. viz. Jeſus Chriſt, and by his reſurrection had conſecrated the eighth day, that which was the eighth day began to be the firſt, being dignified by the precedency of the number, and ſanctified by the reſurrection of the Lord. Thus the primitive times, which are the beſt Comment on Goſpel Inſtitutions, as having the advantage of being nearer to the riſing Sun, could eaſily diſcern the thing typified in the type, the ſubſtance in the ſhadow; the eighth day, the uſual time of circumciſing the fleſh, clearly prefiguring the day of Chriſts glorious riſing to circumciſe the inward-man, the hidden man of the heart, and to purge away the pollutions and filthineſs both of fleſh and ſpirit. The Lords day was propheſied 1 Pet. 3. 4.1 Pet 3:4of by holy David, Pſal. 118. 24. This is the day which Ezek. 36. 25.Ezek 36:25the Lord hath made, we will rejoyce and be glad in it. It is not an eaſie thing, ſaith Dr. Ames, to reject this Scripture Neque facilitèr rej…ciendum eſt quod ab antiquis quibuſdam urgetur, Pſal. 118. 24. Eo enim loco agitur de reſurrectione Chriſti, ipſo Chriſto interprete. Matth. 21. 42. Ameſ. Cyprianus, Auguſtinus, & Ambroſius, hunc diem in Pſal. 118. 24. citatum, de reſurrectione Chriſti interpretantur.Ps 118:24Matt 21:42ſo much urged by the Ancients, and wholly and only applicable to Chriſts reſurrection-day, if Chriſt may interpret the meaning of the Prophet, Mal. 21. 42. Or if the Apoſtle may interpret the meaning of his Maſter, Acts 4. 11, 12. And a learned man obſerves, that the word hath made in the Text, foreign in the Hebrew ſignifies not ſimply to make, but to ſanctifie and to obſerve holy, as is moſt uſual, when it is referred to feaſts or days, as Deut. 5. 15, 16. Deut. 10. 13. The man then, who was after Gods own heart, and who was moſt likely to underſtand Gods own mind, he hath foretold this bleſſed day, when by a prophetick ſpirit fore-ſeeing the glory of the Reſurrection-day, as a moſt eminent day among the ſeven days, as the Sun among the ſeven Planets, ſalutes it with a magnificent ſtyle and Title, This is the day which the Lord hath made. Thus the Pſalmiſt did fore-ſee, that the Lord would magnifie and exalt his reſurrection day; and why? Becauſe on this day the glorious work of mans redemption was to be accompliſhed: The ſtone which the builders p. 603refuſed became the head ſtone of the Corner, Pſal. 118. 22. Dominicum ergo diem Apoſtoli, & Apoſtolici viri ideò religioſâ ſolennitate ſanxerunt, quia in eadem Redemptor noſter à mortuis reſurrexit. Aug.And thus is the reſurrection day prophetically crowned with honour above all other dayes, the Holy Ghoſt putting an emphaſis upon it. It is a day which the Lord hath made; how made? not by way of creation, for ſo it was made before, Gen. 1. 1. but by way of inſtitution; The day which the Lord hath made; what hath God made it, a working day? ſo it was before: If therefore he hath made it any thing, it muſt be a holy ſolemn day; a day more ſolemn, more ſacred, then all the dayes that God ever made before. So then it is evident, a day of ſolemn worſhip is here intended, and Chriſts Reſurrection day moſt clearly pointed at as a day which the Lord would inſtitute, as a day which the Church ſhould celebrate: we ſee then a clear Scripture proof for the Divine Authority of the Lords day; nay, in this text, Pſal. 118. 24. The Pſalmiſt proceeds to the prophetical delineation In diem ſolis laetitiae indulgemus. Tert.of the duties of this day, Let us be glad and rejoyce therein, as when the Temple was finiſhed, the head ſtone was brought forth with ſhouting, Zach. 4. 7. crying, Grace, grace; ſo when the work of our Redemption ſhall be finiſhed, Dies ille quem fecit dominus eſt dies dominicus. Arnob.and Chriſt exalted as head and corner ſtone of his Church by his triumphant Reſurrection; the Pſalmiſt intimates the ſolemn gratulation and publick praiſe, that the Church ſhould offer on that day, ſo Pſal. 118. 23. And indeed praiſe and thankſgiving is the moſt proper muſick of our Haec dies, quam fecit dominus; Haec ſunt verba populitrium phantis regno Davidis; ſed multò magis in glorioſâ reſurrectione Chriſti, omnium rerum, & dierum glorioſiſſimo. Heresbach.Chriſtian Sabbath. The learned Twiſſe obſerves, That if ever any day deſerved to be a feſtival, ſurely it was the day of our Saviours Reſurrection; and in that day to rejoyce in the Lord, according to Pſal. 118. 24. And the ancient Fathers, ſaith he, accommodate this place thereunto; the two preceding verſes carrying in their very fore-head a manifeſt relation unto Chriſt, as the proprietary of that renowned propheſie; for when was the ſtone which the builders refuſed made the head of the corner, but when Chriſt gloriouſly roſe from the dead? thereby mightily declaring himſelf to be the Son of God: And was there ever any work more marvellous in the eyes of Gods Servants then the Reſurrection of Chriſt? This ſcattered all the unbelief of the Diſciples, Luke 24. 21. This removed p. 604all the fears of the good Women, all the ſorrows of the Apoſtles; this gratified the hopes of all ſucceeding Chriſtians. Hierome avers, that all the Jews interpret this Hieronymus.text, Pſal. 118. 24. to be a propheſie concerning the Meſſiah, the Pſalmiſt, ſay they, Shewing his ignominious death, when he ſhould be a ſtone rejected of the builders, and his glorious Reſurrection, when he ſhould become the chief ſtone of the corner.

3The Lords day wa… …ſtituted upon the account of Chriſts moſt glorious Reſurrection. What a mark of honour, nay what a crown of glory is it to this day, that it had favour Dies dominicus Chriſti reſurrectione declaratus eſt, & ex illo cae…it habere feſtivitatem ſuam. Aug.above all the dayes of the week to be Chriſts Reſurrection day? The Sun in the firmament ariſes and ſhines upon other dayes as well as this; but the Sun of Righteouſneſs never aroſe upon any day but this: And indeed the inſtitution of the Lords day had its foundation here. The maxime of Divines here fully takes place, It is the work makes the day, ſome ſpecial work, alwayes makes ſome ſpecial day, the Lords Factum domini fecit diem dominicum.deed made the Lords day; and we cannot better keep alive the memory of this glorious mercy, viz. The bleſſed Reſurrection of Chriſt, then by keeping a day weekly in the ſolemn commemoration of it. This day brought the greateſt good John 10. 25.John 10:25to fallen man, even a compleat Redeemer, who on this day John 14. 19.John 14:19redeemed us with triumph from the tyranny of Satan, the domination of death and hell, and reſtored us to life and ſalvation, Nos obſervamus diem ſolis, ex uſu Apoſtolorum, & propter memoriam reſurrectionis domini, qui eſt verus Sol juſtitiae, et pleno immortalitatis jubare illo die eſt exertus. Alſted.yea aſſured it unto every believer. And becauſe nothing can ever fall out in this world comparable to Chriſts Reſurrection in glory and power, therefore no day can be ſet up like unto this day, neither can it be ever changed for any other; therefore men only kick againſt the pricks while they oppoſe the Lords day. It is a good ſaying of Auguſtine, The Lords riſing hath promiſed to us an eternal day, and conſecrated to us the Lords day, or the Dominical day of the Lord; that which is the Lords day, ſeems properly to belong to the Lord, becauſe on that day the Lord roſe again. And it is a moſt ſignificant and elegant obſervation of the great Athanaſius: Two worlds there are, ſaith he, The firſt ended at Chriſts Paſſion, the ſecond begins at Chriſts Reſurrection, and p. 605that bleſſed day is the feaſt of them, who are in Chriſt a new Creature. And it is obſervable, it is not ſaid by the Ancients, that the Church took occaſion from the reſurrection to conſecrate the Lords day; but that the Reſurrection it ſelf did conſecrate it, the reſurrection was a real conſecration. And if, as Biſhop Andrews ſpeaks, That the Acts of the Apoſtles, as well as their ſayings and writings were of Divine Authority, being inſpired by the Divine Spirit, how much more ſhall the Act of of their Lord and Maſters Reſurrection be a divine and ſufficient Authority to inſtitute the Lords day? The Reverend and Learned Hall ſpeaks well to this purpoſe; Becauſe the Sun Biſhop Hall Decad. 6. Epiſt. 1.of Righteouſneſs aroſe upon this day, and gave a new life to the world on it, and drew the ſtrength of Gods Moral Precept, (viz.) the fourth Commandment unto it; therefore juſtly do foreign Andr. Caeſar.we ſing with the Pſalmiſt, This is the day which the Lord hath made. But why ſhould we mention the Authorities and Teſtimonies of theſe latter dayes? Ignatius, who was as a morning ſtar in the Primitive Church, ſpeaks fully and home to this purpoſe; Setting aſide, ſaith he, the Jewiſh Sabbath, Let every one that loves Chriſt keep holy the Lords day, &c. To the ſame purpoſe Juſtin Martyr, Athanaſius, Auguſtine, Innat. Juſtin. Mart. Athanaſ. Auguſt, &c.&c. who bottom the Lords bleſſed day on the Lords bleſſed reſurrection, that glorious work which muſt be outvied, before any ſhadow of reaſon can be aſſigned, for the tranſmutation of it into any other day. Beſides the Sun which roſe this day will never admit a ſetting. The Chriſtians in the Deb…mus plus gaudere propter reſurrectionem glorioſam, quàm dolere, propter paſſi…nem Chriſt. ignominioſam. Lern.Primitive Church, were wont when they ſaw one another, to give this joyful ſalute, The Lord is riſen; and the others ordinary anſwer was, True, the Lord is riſen indeed. We ſhould not ſo much m…urn, ſaith Bernard, at Chriſts ignominious paſſion, as we ſhould rejoyce at his glorious reſurrection. The day therefore of Chriſts riſing, may well give being to our Chriſtian Sabbath.

4The Lords day was honoured with Chriſts frequent apparitions; Chriſts appearing on this day was moſt ſignal and remarkable; he ſhewed himſelf five times on that very day on which he aroſe. Firſt, to Mary Magdalen in the morning, Mark 16. 9. Secondly to the Women, Mat. 28. 9, 10. p. 606Thirdly, to the two Diſciples, Luke 24. 18. Fourthly, to Chriſtus notat non tantùm modum, ſed tempus ipſum apparitionis ſuae Diſcipulo, et Apoſtolo Thomae, diem ergo octavam, hebdomadae primum dominicum diem eſſe neceſſe eſt.Peter, Luk. 24. 33. Fifthly, to the Eleven, Mark 16. 14. excepting Thomas, John 20. 24. When the Diſciples were aſſembled, Chriſt came in, and he ſtood in the midſt among them, as the tree of life was in the midſt of Paradiſe; and unto his Diſciples, he ſpake Peace, and gave Power. And then the Diſciples rejoyced when they ſaw the Lord; never did their ſpirits ſo ſpring within them, never did ſuch a day of comfort dawn upon them: And this was part of thoſe triumphal hallelujahs which celebrated Chriſts glorious Reſurrection. And it is obſervable, he appeared not to all ſorts of perſons, but to ſome choſen witneſſes, who were either eminently devoted to his ſervice, or deſigned to teach, and inform others. Nor did Chriſt make his appearance every day, but principally and moſt uſually upon that day which was more immediately deſigned for his ſolemn worſhip and ſervice, being conſecrated by his ſtupendous and bleſſed reſurrection; So that Chriſt more eſpecially vouchſafed his viſits to holy men, for holy purpoſes, and to determine and define which ſhould be his holy day, our weekly Sabbath. However it may be ſuppoſed, that our Saviour did appear on other dayes, as once he did upon a week day, yet no other day hath the honour to be denominated the day of his appearing, but the firſt day of the week only, John 20. 19. And therefore it is moſt obſervable, it is never ſaid, Chriſt appeared on the ſecond, or on the third day, much leſs on the foreign. John 20. 19.John 20:19laſt day of the week, the day of the old Sabbath, but the firſt day is expreſly and emphatically noted by name in the forecited Text, John 20. 19. Nor muſt we over-paſs one remarkable more, (viz.) That Chriſt often appeared on his own reſurrection day, and ſaith the text, John 20. 26. After eight dayes; again his Diſciples were within, and Thomas with them; then came Jeſus, the doors being ſhut, and ſtood in the midſt of them, and ſaid, Peace be unto you. And this was the next firſt day of the week; and here Chriſt puts an Higgaion foreign. Nazianz.Selah upon it, and it is neceſſary this ſhould be the Lords day, ſay ſome of the Ancients. And Nazianzen upon this maketh an Oration on purpoſe, and ſtiles it foreign. p. 607foreign, The new Lords day: becauſe it was the firſt Lords day Cur verò illo ipſo die Reſurrectionis Chriſtus voluit diſcipulis apparere▪ tribuendum eſt hoc fervori charitatis, ut Chriſtus diſcipulos ab infidelitate liberaret praedictionis ſuae certitudinem, et reſurrectionis ſuae veritatem aſſereret. Ger.ſolemnized in the weekly revolution, after the Reſurrection day. And now may not this plea in conſociation with other arguments, ſufficiently evince any Chriſtian of the divine right of the Lords day? We ſee Chriſt Jeſus our Lord was often ſeen upon it, between his Reſurrection and Aſcention day; ſeen in the Aſſembly of his Saints, ſeen in his royal robes, ſeen in his ſtate of immortality; and not only ſeen but heard preaching peace to poor ſinners, opening Scriptures, clearing, quickning, warming cold and dead hearts, filling diſconſolate ſpirits with unuſual joy, John 20. 20. When the eleven Diſciples ſee him, then their hearts rejoyce, Joh. 20. 20. when the two Diſciples hear and ſee him, then their hearts burn, Luke 24. 33. And all this on the firſt day of the week. Nay, Junius is very confident, that the Lord John 20. 20. Luke 24. 33.John 20:20Luke 24:33appeared the firſt day of every week between his reſurrection and his aſcention. Dr. Lightfoot, and Mr. Fenner tell us, that Chriſts appearing on a Mountane in Galilee, mentioned Mat. 28. 16, 17, 18, &c. was likewiſe on the firſt day of the week.

The apparitions of Chriſt on the firſt day of the week, our Chriſtian Sabbath, are ſtill more conſiderable, if we take notice what Chriſt did in thoſe appearances; we may obſerve his gracious ſpeeches, his remarkable actions and tranſactions, tending chiefly to prove his reſurrection, the ground of our hope, and the hinge of our Sabbath, upon which it turns; and to this purpoſe we may obſerve, how ſweetly our gracious Redeemer condeſcended to his poor doubting, and perplexed. Diſciples, manifeſting himſelf to all their ſenſes:

1. To their hearing, by his heavenly voice.

2. To their ſeeing, by his viſible preſence.

3. To their feeling, by offering his ſacred body to be touched and handled by them, he was unwilling to leave the tincture of any doubt upon them; and therefore he gratified not only their graces, but their ſenſes. Nay,

4. He manifeſted himſelf to their taſting in feeding, and making a meal with them, John 21. 12, 13. Nor

5. Was their ſmelling forgotten in converſing with him, p. 608who was the Roſe of Sharon, Cant. 2. 1. Nor did Chriſt only Luke 24. 46.Luke 24:46gratifie the ſenſes, but the graces of his Diſciples.

1. By giving them heavenly inſtructions, and ſo increaſing John 20. 19.John 20:19their knowledge. Chriſt opens the Scriptures, and preaches peace to his Diſciples; and having ſlain enmity on the croſs, he now comes and preacheth peace on this firſt day, and brings an Olive branch to the world, and to his Diſciples in the firſt place.

2. Chriſt by convincing demonſtrations of his own reſurrection abundantly confirms the faith of the Diſciples, that now the Sun appearing, all the ſhades of doubt and unbelief might fly away. Thomas his hand of faith could tremble no more, after he had put his hand of fleſh into the ſide of his Redeemer.

3. Nor did Chriſt forget to fill up the joy of his Diſciples, when unexpected he mingles with them in their aſſembly, John 20. 19. and more then a cou…ting Angel, ſalutes the trembling fraternity. And theſe among others were the great tranſactions which Chriſt honoured this day with, inſtructing, inſpiring, bleſſing, and inaugurating his holy Apoſtles, and performing all theſe unwonted and ſolemn actions on this bleſſed day, ſpeaks fully Chriſts election of it for ſolemn and religious worſhip, for ſacred aſſemblies, and Sabbath exerciſes for his Church in all ages to the end of the world.

5The Lords day is yet more illuſtrious by the extraordinary d…ſcent of the Holy Ghoſt upon this day, Acts 2. 1, 2, 3. Chriſt Mat. 3. 16. Spiritus ſanctus dat homini triplex bonum. 1. Pignus eſt ſalutis teſtimonium, ſcil quod filii dei ſumus. 2. Robur eſt vitae, ut in laboribus, vigiliis, et in omnibus obſervantiis delectabiliter incedamus.Matt 3:16now aſcending up to his Father, ſends down his own bleſſed ſpirit in an extraordinary and amazing manner; the ſpirit comes not now in the ſhape of a D…ve, but in cl…ven tongues, as oppoſite to Satans cloven foot; ſo likewiſe to inſpire the Apoſtles with an unuſual elegance …f ſpeech, to captivate their auditours to the obedience of the Goſpel, and to prognoſticate theſe rare gifts, which being heated with the fire of divine zeal, ſhould fecundate and ſublimate the ſucceeding Church; but when was this unuſual illapſe and deſcent of the holy ſpirit? Why it was on the firſt day of the week, to put a fairer print upon the ſeal of our Chriſtian Sabbath. A p. 609bleſſed bargain was here made between Heaven and Earth. 3. Scientiae lumen eſt, et author ſpiritualis intelligentiae. Bern.To triumphing Saints was given the corporal preſence of Chriſt, to militant Saints was ſent the viſible efflux of the ſpirit: ſurely that cannot hut be a holy day, wherein the holy Ghoſt came down. And this is another indelible mark of honour, which Chriſt hath fixed on the firſt day of the week, Concludimus ergo diem hunc primum ſeptimanae ab Apoſtolis Sabbatho fuiſſe inſtitutum; et eccleſiae commendatum, non tantùm poteſtate ordinariâ, qualem omnes paſtores habent ſed poteſtate ſingulari, tanquam ab iis qui in univerſam Chriſti eccleſiam irſpectionem habuerunt, et quibus tanquam extraordinar…is miniſtris Chriſti concreditum eſt, ut fideles eſſent. Wal.our Chriſtian Sabbath; this was his royal gift when he came to heaven, ſuch a princely largeſs, ſuch a glorious donation as was never given before, but when God gave his own Son. God ſo loved the world, that he gave his Son, John 3. 16. And Chriſt ſo loved the world, that he gave his Spirit: And as Chriſt was given according to the fullneſs of the Promiſe, ſo was the holy Ghoſt given; And Chriſts reſurrection, and the ſpirits deſcention, were both upon the firſt day of the week: On this day then, the Church was viſited from on high, the promiſe of the Father was ſent, Acts 1. 4. The bleſſed ſpirit came, the Diſciples were aſſembled, thouſands were converted, as a hanſel of the ſpirits power, and a fruit of the ſpirits deſcent; and why was the Church aſſembled on that day? why the holy Ghoſt deſcended? why preaching? why converſion, and adminiſtration of Sacraments? why the promiſe of Chriſt accompliſhed, and all on this very day? But ſtill to declare the will and ordinance of Chriſt bleſſing and ſanctifying this day to the Church, and ſo marking it out for ſolemn and weekly worſhip, as a day, in all its prerogatives, ſuperlative to all other dayes; the day of our Saviours reſurrection, by which we are juſtified; the day of the holy Ghoſts deſcention, by which we are ſanctified. The learned Twiſſe obſerves, That Dies dominicus eſt Traditio vere Divina, et ab Apoſtolis ſpiritu dictante inſtituta. Beza.as at the firſt, the holy Ghoſt deſcended on the Apoſtles upon our Sabbath day, ſo ſtili the ſame ſpirit deſcends ordinarily on the ſame day upon his faithful Miniſters in the diſpenſation of the Word, and adminiſtration of the Sacraments, and in the puting up of prayers to the moſt high, for the ſanctifying and edifying the body of Chriſt, even the Church of God: The day of Chriſts Aſcenſion, he departed from the Apoſtles, as touching his preſence corporal; but on the day of Pentecoſt Chriſt came down upon them as touching his preſence ſpiritual, and ſo be p. 610doth ſtill in our Sabbath exerciſes, though not in an extraordinary manner, yet no leſs effectually to the edification and ſanctification of our ſouls. And here I cannot omit a rare ſpeech of the incomparable Biſhop of Armagh; At the time of the Paſſe…e…, ſaith he, Chriſt our Paſſeover was ſacrificed for us, 1 Cor. 5. 7. and lay in his grave the whole Sabbath following; ſo on the morrow after the Sabbath (when the ſheaf of the Biſhop Ʋſher in his Learned Letter to Dr. Twiſſe p. 91, 92.firſt fruits was offered to God) Chriſt aroſe from the dead, and became the firſt fruits of them wh… ſlept; many dead bodies of the Saints who ſ…ept, ariſing likewiſe after him; from whence was the count taken of the ſeven Sabbaths, or fifty dayes; and u…n the m…rr…w after the ſeventh Sabbath, which was our L…rds d…y, was that fam…us feaſt of weeks, the day of Pentecoſt, Numb. 28. 2.Num 28:2ſpoken …f Acts 2. 1. Ʋpon which day the Apoſtles having Exod. 34. 22.Exod 34:22themſelves re…eived the firſt fruits of the ſpirit, beg…t three Jam. 1. 18.Jas 1:18thouſand ſ…uls by the word of Truth; and preſented them as Rev. 4. 14.Rev 4:14the firſt fruits of the Chriſtian Church to God, and unto the 1 Cor. 15. 20.1 Cor 15:20Lamb: And from that time forward, doth Waldenſis note, Mat. 27. 52, 53.Matt 27:52Matt 27:53That the Lords day was obſerved in the Chriſtian Church, and was ſu…ſtituted in the place of the Jews Sabbath. Thus far Sicut paſcha typus e…t Chriſti, ſic pan…s …mi ſunt typus Chriſtianorum, eorum ſcil. innocentiae, & p…r…tatis. Alap.the famous Ʋſher. And to wind up this particular, the Holy Ghoſt being ſent down among the Diſciples in an eminent manner, was the ſpecial benediction of this day to ſuch ſolemn aſſ…mblies; to teach them, and the ſucceeding Church, when, and on what day they ſhould more eſpecially expect the ſweet illapſes and effectual deſcents of Gods holy and moſt bleſſed ſpirit.

6The Lords day was kept and ſanctified by the practice of the h…ly Apoſtles: Now the bleſſed Apoſtles were men intimately Praecipua regiminis eccleſiaſtici cura Apoſtolis deputata eſt, quorum unus quiſ que foreign. Deinde ſpeciali authoritate ad eccleſiam (cujus f…ndamenta jacere Apoſtolicae dignitatis eſt) ex pr…miſc…â omni… g…nti…m multitudi… … Chriſtus e…s miſit … ſp ſ gratiâ ab…nd…nte ad miniſterium ſibi à domino commendatum erant inſtructiſſimi ut foreign veritatem Evangelii praedicarent.acquainted w^th the ſecrets of Chriſt (being moſt of them trained up in his School) and perſonally converſant with him after his Reſurrection; beſides, they had immediate inſpiration from him, and auth…ritative miſſion to manage the publick affairs of the Church: Our Saviour gave them their credentials to preach in his name, and to act as his ſubſtitutes, as if he himſelf had been perſonally preſent, John 20. 21. Luke 10. 16. Mat. 28. 19, 20. 2 Cor. 5. 19, 20. Neither doth this extend only to verbal preaching, but to viſible preaching p. 611alſo, I mean, their practice, at leaſt in things Evangelical, Moral, and of general and perpetual concernm…nt to the Churches of Chriſt, otherwiſe why is their practice propounded as a pattern? Phil. 3. 17. Phil. 4. 19. 1 Cor. 11. 2. 1 Theſ. 2. 14. Now theſe bleſſed Apoſtles met for ſolemn worſhip on this day, our Chriſtian Sabbath, ſo Acts 20. 7. And upon the firſt day of the week, when as the Diſciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his ſpeech until midnight. Now the full diſcuſſion and ventilation of this ſolemn text will give much ſtrength to this great truth, viz. That the Lords day is of Divine Authority: In this text then note:

When this ſolemn aſſembly met together, on the firſt day of the week, ſaith the text, the day which all the Evangeliſts witneſs to be Chriſts Reſurrection day; on this day the Diſciples were congregated. But why the firſt day of the week? why not the laſt day of the week, which was the old Sabbath? ſtrange! if that had continued a Sabbath, that the Primitive Chriſtians had not m…t on that day, eſpecially ſeeing Ʋn… Sabbati (i e.) die domini…o, & dies domini…a eſt re…ord…tio domi…icae reſurrectionis. Vener. Beda in Act. 20. Tom. 5.Acts 20it was but the day before; yet more ſtrange, that we hear not a word of Pau…s keeping it, though he tarri…d at Troas ſeven dayes; but moſt ſtrange, that w… read not one word in all the New Teſtament, of Pauls owning that day in a Chriſtian Church, only he ſolemnly preaches to a Chriſtian Congregation on the firſt day of the week, Surely this is a pregnant argument, that the day was changed upon the account of our Saviours Reſurrection.

2The Church was aſſembled on the firſt day of the week; but how? Privately it may be, no, Publickly and openly; nay, moſt probably the comp…ny was very …, and Iſa. 60. 8.Isa 60:8the Congregation flocked as D…ves to the wind…ws.

3Here is then a full aſſembly m…t upon the …irſt …ay of the week; but for what? To …reak …read, ſaith the t…xt, to receive Mat. 26 26. Acts 2. 46. 1 Cor. 11. 24. Dies dominicus ab ipſis Apoſtolis ſacris actionibus eſt conſecratus. Bucer.Matt 26:26Acts 2:461 Cor 11:24the Euchariſt, ſaith the Syriack tranſlation; and what more ſeemly and ſuitable, then to receive th… Lords Supper upon the Lords day? And can this be done without preparatory prayer, and other Sabbath exerciſes? Surely this p. 612would have been a mutilated and a faint devotion; nay, and breaking of bread is here put by a Synechdoche, the part for the whole, and there no more reaſon to exclude prayer, Conſentaneum eſt Apoſlolos hanc ipſam ob cauſam mutoſ ſe diem. Melanct.ſinging of Pſalms, &c. becauſe they are not mentioned, then to exclude drinking of wine in the Sacrament, becauſe neither is that expreſſed, but breaking of bread only: So then, the firſt day of the week is here celebrated with a confluence of Goſpel-Ordinances.

4Nor is it ſaid, that Paul called the Diſciples together, becauſe he was to depart the next day, or that they purpoſedly Hoc inſtitutum, ut dies dominicus in locum Sabbati ſub ſtitueretur, non ab hominibus, ſed ab Apoſtolis ſp. ſ. dictante, quo regebantur nos accepiſſe credendum eſt. Meritò dixerimus Apoſtolos ſp. ſ. duce pro ſeptimo illo die primum ſubſtituiſſe. Faius.declined the Lords Supper till that day, becauſe of Pauls departure: But the Text ſpeaks it as of a time, a day uſually obſerved by them before; and therefore Paul took his opportunity of preaching to them, and ſeems to ſtay on purpoſe, and wait ſeven dayes among them, Acts 20. 6. And at Troas, where theſe Ordinances were obſerved, and this day ſolemnly kept, was the Rendezvouz of Chriſtians to meet in the greater company, Acts 20. 5. And though Paul might privately teach and inſtruct the Profeſſors of Troas the other ſeven dayes, yet his preaching is now mention'd in regard of ſome ſpecial ſolemnity in their meeting on this day.

5The firſt day was honoured above any other day for theſe holy duties, or elſe why did not they meet on the ſeventh day Sabbath? and how comes that ſolemnity to be ſwallowed up in the ſolemn convention of the firſt day, when theſe holy exerciſes are performed? To ſpeak then plainly with Biſhop Andrews, It was, ſaith he, the Lords day on which the Apoſtles and Diſciples met; the Goſpels all four keep one word, and tell us, Chriſt roſe foreign, that is, after the Hebrew phraſe, the firſt day of the week; and the Apoſtles then held their Synaxes, their ſolemn conventions Mat. 28. 1.Matt 28:1and aſſemblies, to preach, to pray, to break bread, or Mark 16. 2Mark 16:2celebrate the Lords Supper, Acts 20. 7. foreign, Luke 24. 1.Luke 24:1the Lords Supper, on the Lords day, and this John 20. 1.John 20:1is the Apoſtolical phraſe: So far this learned man. So then, foreign. Biſhop of Ely.as another Biſhop ſpeaks, Our weekly obſervation of the Lords day is warranted by the example of the holy Apoſtles. One p. 613ſharply concludes, and ſaith, How can he have any grace in Petrus Al phonſ. in Dialog. contra. Jud. Tit. 12.his heart, who ſeeing ſo clearly the Lords day to have been inſtituted and ordained by the Apoſtles, will not acknowledge the keeping holy the Lords day to be a Commandment of the Lord. The very Jews, ſaith this learned man, confeſs this change of Chryſoſtomus, Ambroſius, Theophylactus, Beda, Anſelmus.the Sabbath to have been made by the Apoſtles; and therefore we may ſafely conclude with Gallaſius, Walaeus, Melancthon, Beza, Bucer, Faius, Junius, Piſcator, Perkins, and other eminent Divines of the Reformed Religion, that the Holy Sedulius et Primoſius unam Sabbati Act. 20 7. & 1 Cor. 16. 2. expreſſam, interpretantur diem dominicum.Acts 20:71 Cor 16:2Apoſtles, by the guidance of the infallible ſpirit, removed and ſuppreſſed the old legal Sabbath, and ſubſtituted the Lords day, the firſt day of the week, in its room and place.

Let us aſſume a ſecond text, which will further ſtrengthen this truth, viz. 1 Cor. 16. 2. Ʋpon the firſt day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in ſtore, as God hath proſpered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. This ſolemn and noted place hath many conſiderables in it, to prove the firſt day of the week to be the Chriſtian Sabbath, and that not ſo much by the Churches practice (that was cleared before) as by the Apoſtles precept, in which many things remarkable offer themſelves to our conſideration.

1Although it be true, that in ſome caſes collections may be made any day for the poor Saints; yet why doth the Apoſtle limit here to this day the performance of this duty? Surely ſomething there is in it more then ordinary.

2The Apoſtle doth not limit only the Corinthians to this 2 Cor. 11 28. Diei dominicae nomen et inſtitationem ab Ap…ſtolis derivatam, non eſt dubitandum. Eſtius.2 Cor 11:28day, but alſo all the Churches of Galatia, 1 Cor. 16. 1. and conſequently all other Churches, if that be true 2 Cor. 8. 13, 14. where the Apoſtle profeſſeth, he preſſeth not one Church that he might eaſe another, but that there might be an equality; and then why muſt all the Churches make their collections on the ſame day?

3The Apoſtle doth not limit them with wiſhes, and counſels onelyonly to do it, but foreign, as I have ordained, or inſtituted, In hoc Apoſtoli mandato, nihil eccleſiae Corinthi…cae mandetur, quod à totâ Chriſti. eccleſiâ non requiritur.and therefore binds their Conſciences to it: And if Paul ordained it, certainly he had it from Jeſus Chriſt, who firſt commanded him ſo to appoint it; for he ſolemnly p. 614profeſſeth, That what he received of the Lord, 1 Cor. 11. 23. that onelyonly he commanded them to do.

4If this day had not been more holy, and more ſit for this work of love, than any other day, the Apoſtle would not have limited them to this day; nor would he have honoured this day above the Jewiſh Sabbath: for the Apoſtle was always very tender of Chriſtian liberty, and would never bind, where the Lord hath left his people free; for in ſo doing, he ſhould rather make Snares than Laws, and go expreſly againſt his own doctrine, and that in this very point of the 1 Cor 7. 28. & 35. Gal. 5 1.1 Cor 7:281 Cor 7:35Gal 5:1obſervation of days, Gal. 4. 10. He may give his advice indeed in things propoſed, 1 Cor. 7. 25. but he always diſtinguiſheth between his own counſel, and Gods command, and makes the Command neceſſary, but the other onelyonly expedient.

5The Apoſtle doth not in this place immediately appoint and inſtitute a Sabbath, but ſuppoſeth it to be ſo already; and we know duties of Mercy and Charity, as well as of neceſſity Primr. part. 3. cap. 6.and piety, are Sabbath duties; for which end, this day was moſt fit for theſe collections, becauſe they uſually Quando quidem …poſtolus collectas die dominico faciendas ſtatuit, dubium non eſt, quin praecipiat ut diem ipſum celebrent, quando finem requirit, quid non & media ad finem du…entia praeſcribat.met togethet publickly on this day, and ſo then collections might be in a greater readineſs: and partly alſo that they might give more liberal…y, it being ſuppoſed, that upon this day, their hearts were more weaned from the World, and more warmed by the Word, and more elevated by other Ordinances to a vigorous faith, and a lively hope of better things to come; and ſo having received ſpiritual things from the Lord more plentifully on this day, every man would be the more free to impart his temporal good things for refreſhing the poor Saints.

6And why ſhould the Apoſtle limit the Church of Corinth to this day, either for extraordinary or private collections, and ſuch ſpecial acts of mercy, unleſs the Lord had hon…ured this day for acts of mercy, and much more of piety, above any Et ſi primaria Pauli intentio ſcil. collectam praecipere, tamen quia vult illam fieri d…e d…min…co▪ dubi…m no… eſt, q…n …raecip…t etiam ut Dominicum diem celebrent; qui enim vult finem, v…lt media.ordinary or common day? What then ſhould this day be but the Chriſtian Sabbath, impoſed by the Apoſtles, and magnified and honoured in all the Churches in thoſe days. It is rightly obſerved by Biſhop White, Although this p. 615Text of St. Paul, ſaith he, maketh no expreſs mention of Church-aſſemblies on this day; yet becauſe it was the cuſtome of Chriſtians, and ſo likewiſe it is a thing convenient, to give Alms on the days of Chriſtian Aſſemblies; it cannot well be gain-ſaid, but that if in Corinth and Galatia, the firſt day of every week was appointed to be the day for Alms and charitable contributions, the ſame alſo was the Chriſtians weekly holy-day for their religious Aſſemblies. Thus this learned man rightly and genuinely Vedel. Exercit. in Ignat. ad Magneſ. cap. 7.draws the inference; I… the firſt day of the week was the day for Alms, it was likewiſe the day for Worſhip. Chryſoſtom upon the evidence of this Text, concludes poſitively, That in the Churches of Corinth and Galatia, the Lords day was made a weekly holy day by the Apoſtles, for they governed theſe Churches at that time. Philo Judaeus and Philo Judaeus.Joſephus relate, That it was the cuſtom of the Jews who were ſcattered in other Countries, to make Collections every Joſephus.Sabbath-day, which were ſent by the hands of eminent perſons to Hieruſalem every year, and for the uſe of the Temple and the Levits; and this cuſtom the Apoſtle ſeems to follow in the Text, now under diſcuſſion, in enjoyning Collections every firſt day of the week, our Chriſtian Sabbath, to be ſent for the relief of the poor Saints at Hieruſalem, who were oppreſſed by a multitude of ſtrangers, and ſubjected to perſecutions and wants for their zeal and holy fervour to the bleſſed Goſpel.

7Once more, if it be deman…ed, why the Apoſtle enjoyns Collections on the Lords day, Chryſoſtom gives us a good anſwer, he ſaith, That was a Sacrament-day, and d…u…tleſs that was a powerful Argument to prompt them to liberality; it was ſtrange ingratitude to ſpare a little from the poor, when it is conſidered God ſpared not the blood of his own Son, which Chryſoſt.is lively repreſented in the ſacramental feaſt. Beza obſerves, Acts 20. 7.Acts 20:7That Juſtin Martyr after he had deſcribed the order and manner of the primitive times in ſacramental Adminiſtrations on the Lords day, he adds, That their Collections were made according to every ones free will, and thoſe Acts 1. 2. 4.Acts 1:2Acts 1:4Collections were diſtributed by the chief Miniſter, to p. 616Orphans, Widows, ſick perſons, and thoſe who were in want, for their relief and ſeaſonable ſupport. So that this ſacred cuſtom and holy day were propagated by the Apoſtle to the ſucceding ages of the Church. And indeed what better H…ctenus ex hiſce tribus locis ſcripturae, conjunctim conſideratis, & ex communi ſententiâ, quam tota fore reformata exleſia ex iis conſtantèr colligit, d…ei dominicae uſum ad Apoſtolos eſſe referendum. Wal.expoſition of an Apoſtolical Precept and practiſe can we meet withal, than the univerſal practiſe and obſervance of the Church of Chriſt? VVe muſt then ſhut up this particular, with what Walaeus takes notice of; For theſe two Texts, Acts 20. 7. 1 Cor. 16. 2. ſaith he, joyned with Revel. 1. 10. have cauſed almoſt all the reformed Churches to conclude, that undoubtedly the obſervation of the Lords day muſt neceſſarily be referred to the Apoſtles, as the Original Founders of it: And let this be added, That the Apoſtles tranſmitted the Lords day to the Church, moſt probably by the immediate command of Chriſt, moſt certainly by the infallible guidance of the Holy Ghoſt, that unerring conduct of them in the affairs of the Church.

7The Lords day is more illuſtrious from its eminent Title, Revel. 1. 10. where it is ſtiled, the Lords day. If ye ask why? Auguſtine will tell you, becauſe the Lord hath made it. This Ignat. Epiſt ad Magneſ. Euſeb. Eccleſ. Hiſtor. lib. 3. cap. 21. Diònyſ. Corinth. Hiſtor. lib 4 cap 22. Cyprian. Epiſt 59. Caeperatintereà poſt triſtia Sabbata foelix dies qui nominis alti culmen a domino dominante trahit, &c. Sedul.name and title was ſo ſweet to the Primitive Church, that moſt of the Fathers call our Sabbath by this name, and imbrace its honour with an holy and triumphant ambition; they took an advantage from the very Title, to uſe this bleſſed day with greater veneration, Titles among men commanding reſpect and ſubmiſſion. Our Sabbath is called the Lords day, ſaith a learned man,

1. Becauſe the Lord did conſtitute the ſolemnization of it; (as the Lords Prayer is ſo called, becauſe Chriſt did dictate it.)

2. Or becauſe on this day the Lord is more ſolemnly worſhipped.

3. Or becauſe Chriſt our Lord on this day roſe from the dead, opening a door for us to an everlaſting Sabbath and Reſt.

Surely it is ſome additional honour to this illuſtrious Day, that, as it was the firſt day of time, mentioned in the firſt Gen. 1. 1.Gen 1:1Book of the Bible, ſo it is the laſt day of fame, noted in p. 617the beginning of this laſt Book of the Bible, to the praiſe of Revel. 1. 10.Rev 1:10him, who is our Alpha and Omega, Revel. 1. 11. The very Omnes ferè ſacrae …cripturae interpretes, tam veteres, quàm recentiores, de primo die hebdomadis, Revel. 1. 10. intelligunt. Wal.Rev 1:10Name ſpeakes Chriſt the Author of this day; and his reſurrection (whereby he was declared both Lord and Chriſt) muſt needs be the occaſion of it. Ignatius who lived in the times of John the beloved Apoſtle, makes the Lords day the Chriſtians weekly Feſtival, which they then obſerved in the room of the Jews Sabbath; So doth Tertullian, Athanaſius, Hierom, Auguſtine, &c. and indeed who not? By this title of the Lords day we may trace it down from the Apoſtles times, through the Ocean of the Fathers, Councels, Schoolmen, Arguimus appellatione ejus, Revel. 1. 10. foreign, &c. Sic appellari non potuit ille dies, niſi eum dominus inſtituiſſet; ut in caerâ et Oratione dominicâ factum eſt. Eatonus p. 73.Rev 1:10to this preſent age in which we live. And to caſt our eye on Scripture; there ſeems to be much in that which Beza obſerves, out of an ancient Greek Manuſcript, wherein the firſt day of the week is called the Lords day: And the Syriack Tranſlation tells us, That the Chriſtians meeting together to receive the Lords Supper, 1 Cor. 11. 20. was upon the Lords day. Bucan ſaith, The Sacrament is called the Lords Supper, as in reſpect of the inſtitution, and the end of it, ſo alſo in reſpect of the day on which it was wont to be adminiſtred, (viz.) the Lords day: And we may fairly expound the Lords day, Rev. 1. 10. by the Lords Supper, 1 Cor. 11. 20. Here we may take notice, that the ſpirit of God, who had his choice of words, and never ſpake any thing but with admirable reaſon, never vouchſafed this title of honour in the Caena domini dicitur ab anthore, vel etiam à fine, nam à domino inſtituta eſt, et in ejus memoriam celebratur; vel etiam à tempore, quia diebus dominicis celebrari conſueviſſet. Bucan.New Teſtament, but only to the Supper and the Day, the Lords Supper, and the Lords day: Now therefore the phraſe being the ſame, and thus ſingular, the ſenſe muſt needs be the ſame: Look therefore in what notion the Supper is the Lords Supper, and in the ſame ſenſe is the day ſtyled the Lords day. The Supper is the Lords, becauſe the Lord Chriſt did inſtitute and ordain it, yea, and ſubſtitute it in the room of the Paſsover; And why not the day his becauſe he inſtituted it, and ſubſtituted it in the room of the Old Sabbath? It is evidently a day of Chriſts inſtitution, a day of the Lords making, and with reference to Chriſts reſurrection; and let any other day be ſet up in competition with it, and it will evidently and eaſily be non-ſuited. One well obſerves, p. 618That from theſe Texts, Acts 20. 7. 1 Cor. 16. 2. See Mr. Perkins in his caſes of Conſcience.Rev. 1. 10. may well be gathered the laudable and Evangelical practice of the Apoſtles, and the excellent confirmation, countenance and authority that God gave thereunto in this point of ſanctifying the Lords day: So that God did bear witneſs thereunto by ſigns and wonders: On this day Eutychus was raiſed from the dead, Acts 20. 10, 11. On this day three thouſand are raiſed from the grave, or rather from the hell of ſin, Acts 2. 37. And on this day John the Apoſtle is in his raptures and extaſies, Rev. 1. 10. And beſides the more remarkable Acts 1. 2, 4.Acts 1:2Acts 1:4benefits and fruits of this day, upon which the Holy Ghoſt hath put a Selah, ſtill the Lords day is a wonder-working day; What ſenſe have many of the Saints on this day of peace of conſcience, joy in the Holy Ghoſt, and great increaſe of grace, holy knowledge, and the fear of the Lord? And indeed the advantages and precious fruits of this day, are manifeſt to common and conſtant experience. Dies dominica dicitur, eadem ratione, qua ſacra Euchariſtiae caena vocatur caena domini, 1 Cor. 11. 12. quia ſcil. à domino noſtro Jeſu Chriſto fuit inſtituta, et ad eundem etiam dominum in fine et uſu refe…ri debet. Ameſ.1 Cor 11:12Learned Rivet tells us, that all Interpreters do expound Revel. 1. 10. of our Lords day, (viz.) the firſt day of the week, excepting one ſingle Gomarus; as when ever was truth publiſhed which was not ſnarled at by ſome humorous and impatient adverſary? And one thing more is very obſervable in Rev. 1. 10. It is called, foreign, not foreign, the Lords day, not the day of the Lord, for ſo is every day, he being the Lord and Maſter of time; but it is called the Lords day, by way of ſingularity and conſpicuous eminency.

But to draw towards a concluſion in the diſcuſſion of this particular, of much moment indeed, and therefore of more curious diſquiſition: We may take notice, that the Riv. Diſſert. de Orig. Sab. cap. 10.Lords day is not only the moſt proper name of our Sabbath, and moſt in uſe in the dayes of the Apoſtles; but it is moſt expreſſive, being both an Hiſtorian and a Preacher; For the Huc facit quodLords day looking backward mindeth us what the Lord hath Johan. Apoſt. in die dominico correptus fuit, ita ut ſpiritu viderit, & audiverit Apocalypſi… de ſtatu eccleſiae deinceps futuro, unde colligitur eum tum ſanctis meditationibus, quae diem dominicum decebant va…aſſe. Piſcat.done for us, as on that day, (viz.) He aroſe from the dead; And looking forward, it admoniſheth us, what we ought to do for him on the ſame day, (viz.) ſpend it to the honour of the Lord in the proper and ſacred duties of it.

p. 619In a word, In the Lords day three things are conſiderable:

1. A day founded on the light of Nature. Meer Pagans deſtinate whole dayes to their idolatrous ſervice.

2. One day in ſeven, grounded on the moral equity of the fourth Commandement, which is perpetual and inalterable.

3. Our ſeventh day, being indeed the eighth from the Creation, but one of the ſeven in the week; and this is built on Divine Right, having analogy in the Old, and inſinuations G…oria aeterni regis glorioſa ſuâ reſurrectione emicans; primatum cum religime diei dominicae conceſſum voluit ſanctos retinere Sedul.demonſtrative in the New Teſtament, with the univerſal practice of the Church in all ages.

Thus we have traced the Divine Right of the Lords day, which appears clear and orient to every unprejudiced eye. We will now purſue it to all ages, and here will come in a full concourſe of witneſſes to atteſt the Honour and Authority of it.

1Our Chriſtian Sabbath is confirmed by all laws; not only by divine law, (as hath already been largely proved) but by Die dominico nihil agendum, n…ſi deo vacandum, nulla opera…io in eâ die agatur niſi tantum hymnis, et Pſalmis, et ca… ticis ſpiritualibus, dies illa tranſigatur. Linw.Canon law. Linwood the Canoniſt tells us, That we are to do nothing on the Lords day, but to be at leiſure for God: No work muſt be done on that day, but ſinging of Pſalms, chaunting of Hymns, and warbling forth ſpiritual Songs to the praiſe and glory of our dear and bleſſed Redeemer. Spiritual work beſt becomes this ſacred day. Nay, the Canon law takes ſo much notice of our bleſſed Sabbath, that many learned men have faſtned it, upon the Authority of the Canon law. So Cajetan, Thomas Aquinas, Turrecremata, Scotus, Tabienſis, Navarrus, and many others. Panormitan ſaith, That all the Canoniſts who write of Feſtivals, teach that the Lords day is Aquin. 2da 2dae queſt. 122 Turrec. cap. 1 de conſecrat. Diſt. 3. Wal. de ſacramental. lib. 16. Scot lib. 2. de inſtit. queſt. 4. Tabienſ. in verbo dominic. num. 2.carefully to be obſerved and ſanctified, in Cap. pronunciandum de Sab. And if the Canon law lay claim to the inſtitution of the Lords day, much more to the confirmation and eſtabliſhment of it. In the Decretals of the Church then, we find our Chriſtian Sabbath both owned and honoured. And indeed in the whole body of the canon Law, the law for Sabbath-obſervation muſt needs be the head, and moſt eminent conſtitution.

p. 6202Our Chriſtian Sabbath hath been eſtabliſhed by the Civil law. Conſtantine the firſt Chriſtian Emperour, who thought Euſeb. de vitâ Conſtant. lib. 4. cap. 18. Conſtantinus legem tulit, ut die dominico omnes ab obeundis negotiis vacarent. Sozom. lib. 1. cap. 8.the chiefeſt, and moſt proper day for the Devotion of his Subjects, was the Lords day, thus declared his pleaſure, and enacted, That every one who lived in the Roman Empire ſhould reſt on that day weekly, which is inſtituted to our Saviour, and to lay aſide all buſineſſes, and wholly on that day to attend the Lord. An excellent Pattern here is for Princes; On the Lords day, ſay the Imperial Conſtitutions, The whole minds of Chriſtians and Believers ſhould be buſied in the worſhip of God. Leo the Emperour follows the ſteps of his Predeceſſour L. Omnes cap. de Feriis.Conſtantine, and makes this remarkable ſanction; It is our will, ſaith he, according to the meaning of the Holy Ghoſt, and of the Apoſtles by him directed, that on the ſacred day wherein we were reſtored to our integrity; all men ſhould reſt themſelves, and ſurceaſe from labour; for if the Jews did ſo much reverence their Sabbath, which only was a ſhadow of ours, are not we which inhabit light, and the truth of grace, obliged to honour that day, which the Lord hath honoured, and therein delivered us from diſhonour and death? Are not we bound to Leo Conſtit. 54. God. lib. 3. tit. 12. de feriis, et Juſtinian. lib. 3. tit. 12.keep it ſingularly and inviolably, and ſufficiently contented with a liberal grant of all the reſt, and not encroaching on that one, which God hath choſen for his ſervice; nay, were it not a retchleſs ſlighting and contemning of all Religion, to make that day common, and ſo think we may do thereon, as we did on others? A moſt excellent and truly imperial law, fit to be written upon the Ga…es of every City, upon the doors of every Houſe, upon the thoughts of every Chriſtian. And this law, the Reverend Hooker takes notice of, with a juſt emphaſis of Hooker Eccl. Polit. lib. 5. ſect. 72. p. 385.praiſe and commendation, as being a ſeaſonable corroſive of former remiſneſs in the Empire; the Lords day before being in an exinanition by neglect and want of due ſeverity, & by degrees fainting into contempt and diſregard. The Emperour Theodoſius, a moſt worthy Prince, enacted; That Cod. Theod. An. 384.peoples minds ſhould be wholly bent to the ſervice of God, and that all Theatres and Cirques ſhould be ſhut up on the Lords day, and that no law-ſuit, or pecuniary affairs ſhould pollute that day; that no officers of the Exchequer ſhould p. 621be moleſted by any perſons addreſſing themſelves to them, Nullus die ſolis ſpectaculum praebeat, nec divinam venerationem conſectâ ſolennitate confundat. Theodor.on that holy and venerable day. Such care did this excellent Prince take for the obſervation of our bleſſed Sabbath. And that famous and renowned Charles the Great, An. Dom. 789. publiſhed his Royal Edict, ſaying, We do Ordain, according as it is commanded in the law of God, that no man do ſervile works upon the Lords day, but that they come to Church to divine worſhip, and magnifie the Lord their God for thoſe good things, which on that day he Grat. Valent. Cod. Theodoſ. lib. 15. Tit. 5. Lex. 5.hath done for them. Here we may hear the victorious Emperour, juſtly called the Great, not onelyonly clearly acknowledging the Divine inſtitution, but likewiſe ſtrictly commanding the Divine obſervation of the Lords day. And the Emperour Ludovicus Pius, the good Son of a Noble Father, (viz.) Charles the Great, enacts this Conſtitution; It Ludov. Pius leg. Eccleſ. lib. 6. cap. 202. & addit. cap. 9.is our pleaſure, That all the faithful do reverently obſerve the Lords day, in which the Lord roſe again; for if Pagans for the memory and reverence of their Gods, do celebrate certain dayes, and the Jews do devoutly obſerve their Sabbath, how much more ought this Day to be honourably obſerved and celebrated of Chriſtians: Let not Chriſtians upon this holy day attend upon Fables, &c. but let Believers do ſo, that all may know ſuch to be true Chriſtians. Thus ſtill the ſame ſtrain of ſpiritual and holy zeal runs in the Acts and Edicts of theſe worthy Potentates. And the proſperous Juſtinian the great Compiler of the Civil Laws, and therfore the body of them is called Juſtinians Code, when he was Emperour of Conſtantinople, Juſtinian. Cod. lib. 15. tit 5.he enacted this ſavoury and rare Conſtitution; On the Lords day, ſaith he, which of the whole week is the firſt, let the whole mind of Chriſtians be taken up and occupied in the ſervice of God, let them know there is a great difference between times of prayers, and times of pleaſures; and therefore avoiding all Jewiſh impiety, and deviliſh Paganiſm, let them be wholly implied in the duties of the day. Thus that magnanimous and judicious Emperour. And it is very obſervable, Juſtinian doth not onelyonly enjoyn the obſervance, but takes for granted the divine inſtitution of our chriſtian Sabbath; as p. 622Charles the Great before him. And one thing more is moſt obſervable, That theſe Emperours, who took moſt care of the Lords Day, and eſtabliſhed it by their Authority, they were moſt ſound in their judgments, moſt ſucceſsful in their atchievements, moſt eminent in their perſons, and moſt famous in their eſteem throughout the world; indeed they were the greateſt Ornaments of the Imperial Throne: as Conſtantine the Great conquered the Pagan, and Charles the Great conquered the Martial World; and Religion ſpake them both truly the Great. So Ludovicus Pius was a Pattern of Patience, and Juſtinian an example of adviſed wiſdome. But I ſhall not clog the Reader, leſt a Surfeit take away the taſte of thoſe ſweets which have been ſpread before him.

3Nay, our Chriſtian Sabbath hath not onelyonly been honoured and eſtabliſhed by Divine Canon and Civil Law, but likewiſe by Common Law; and here I ſhall confine my ſelf to our own Nation. King Alured about the year 900, did publickly King Alured.prohibit all marketting on the Lords Day, as all other work whatſoever, and laid ſevere Penalties on the tranſgreſſors of this Proclamation. Canutus went a little further, King Canutusand forbad not onelyonly Markettings, but Courts or publick Meetings, and executions of Malefactors, as alſo hunting, and all kind of ſecular imployments. But to draw nearer to K. Edward the ſixth.our times, King Edward the ſixth, our Engliſh Joſiah, Enacted in Parliament, For as much as men be not at all times ſo mindful to laud and praiſe God, ſo ready to reſort to hear Gods word; and to come to the holy Communion, as their bounden duty doth require; therefore it hath been wholſomly provided, that there ſhould be certain days appointed, wherein Chriſtians ſhould ceaſe from all kind of labour, and apply themſelves wholly and onelyonly unto the aforeſaid holy works, properly pertaining to true Religion: Be it therefore Enacted, &c. And ſo the King and his great Council go on to eſtabliſh Sabbath-obſervation by a Law. Queen Elizabeth that Renowned Q. Elizabeth.Princeſs, initiates and begins her Reigne with a ſevere Injunction for the holy obſervation of the Lords Day. Let us take p. 623a taſte of her Langague, All the Queens faithful Subjects ſhall from henceforth celebrate and keep their holy day according to Gods holy will and pleaſure, that is, in hearing the word read and taught, in private and publick prayers, in acknowledgment of their offences, and the amendment of the ſame, in often receiving the Communion of the body and blood of Chriſt, uſing all ſoberneſs and godly converſation. Thus this happy Princeſs laid the foundation of her future proſperous Reign in that which is better then Saphires. The like was decreed in Parliament the ſame year, when this worthy Queen made good her Motto, Semper eadem, Always the ſame, joyning heartily with her great Council in reſtraining the prophanation, and promoting the ſanctification of Gods holy and bleſſed Day And her Succeſſor King James over-hears the Eccho, and K. James.takes it at the rebound, and expreſſes his zeal for the Lords Day in this Royal Proclamation, Whereas I have been informed, that there hath been in former times a great neglect in keeping the Sabbath-day, therefore for the better obſerving of it, and for avoiding all impious prophanation of it, I ſtraightly charge and command, that no Bearbaitings, Interludes, Common Plays, or other like diſordered Exerciſes or Paſtimes be frequented; kept, or uſed at any time hereafter on the Sabbath-day. And thus King James begins his Reign, and layes his firſt ſtep to the Engliſh Throne, not in poliſhed Ma…hle, but in pious devotion. And King Charles the firſt, following the ſteps of his Father, was pleaſed in his firſt Parliament, to Enact a Law K. Charles the firſt.promoting Sabbath-obſervation; the tenour of the Law runs thus, That from henceforth there ſhould be no Meetings, Aſſemblies, or concourſe of people out of the Pariſhes on the Lords Day, for any Sports or Paſtimes whatſoever. And in this Law it is taken care, that the High-ways ſhould not be frequented by the Traveller, nor the Shop viſited by the Labourer, but there muſt be a ceſſation of all unneceſſaries and ſeculars, to give way to more ſublime, and to uſe Chryſoſtoms phraſe, and ſpiritual obſervations. Thus the Engliſh Statute-book, as well as Juſtinians Code, proclaims the honour of the Lords Day.

p. 6244Nor is our Chriſtian Sabbath honoured and eſtabliſhed onelyonly by the Statutes of the Realm, but by the Conſtitutions and Canons of ſeveral Councils, that Church and State may both cry out, Thus ſhall it be done to the day which the Eſth. 6. 11. The Councils of Carth…ge. Arragon. Orleance. Maſcon. Angiers. Collen. Friuli. Aken. Rome. Petricow. Eliberis. Laodicea, &c. All confirming and eſtabliſhing the Lords day, and Enacting Canons for the due obſervation of it. To which may be added Concil. Agath Can. 47. Concil. Aurelian. Can. 27. Concil. Pariſ. Can. 50. Concil. Rhemenſ. Can. 43. Concil. Antiſidor. Can. 16. Concil. Tral lan. Can. 19. Concil Conſtantinop. Can. 8.Esth 6:11Lord hath honoured. The Council of Carthage decreed to petition the Emperour, That there might be no Shews or any ſinful Vanities on the Lords Day. The Council of Arragon prohibits by Canon, All Suits of Law, and ſuch litigious Controverſies on the Lords Day. The Council of Orleance, Prohibited all ſervile works on the Lords Day. The Council of Maſcon decreed, That the Lords Day ſhould be kept holy, for it is the day of our new Birth, inſinuated unto us under the ſhadow of the ſeventh-day Sabbath in the times of the Law; and therefore the people muſt go to Church on that day, and there pour out their Souls in tears and prayers, and celebrate the day with one accord, and offer unto God their free and voluntary ſervice, exerciſing themſelves in Hymns, and ſinging praiſes to God, being intent thereon in mind and body. In the Council of Angiers, it was decreed, That no Tradeſman ſhould follow his Calling on the Lords Day. The Council of Collen decreed, That the people ſhould be diligently admoniſhed, why the Lords Day, which hath been famous in the Church from the Apoſtles time, was inſtituted, that all might equally come together to hear the word of the Lord, to receive the Sacraments, to apply their minds to God alone, and this day to be ſpent onelyonly in Prayers and Hymns, in Pſalms and ſpiritual Songs. The Council of Friuli decreed, That all Chriſtians ſhould with all reverence and devotion honour the Lords Day, and abſtain from all carnal actions, and all earthly labours, and go to the publick Aſſemblies devoutly. The Council of Aken, which was held 800 years ago, Forbids all Marriages on the Lords Day, as being too often introductive of unſeemly vanities, moſt improper for that holy day. In a Council at Rome it was decreed, That no Market ſhould be kept on the Lords Day, no ſentence ſhould be paſt, though the offence of the Malefactor ſhould p. 625require it. In a Council at Coy it was decreed; That men ſhould do no ſervile work, nor take any journey on this day. At a Council in Petricow, it was decreed, That Tavernmeetings, Dice, Cards, and ſuch like paſtimes ſhould be abandoned on this Holy day. The Council of Eliberis decreed, If any man inhabiting the City come not to Church for three Lords days together, let him to kept ſo long from the Sacrament, that he may well ſeem corrected for it. And the famous Council of Laodicea decreed, That Chriſtians ought not to Judaize and to reſt from work on the Jewiſh Sabbath, but prefer the Lords day before it, and reſt thereon from labour, If any be found to Judaize, let him be Anathema. And thus we may ſay with the wiſe man, Prov. 11. 14. In the multitude of Counſellors there is ſafety, the Governors of the Church in their grave and ſolemn Conventions, have in all ages remembred to eſtabliſh the honour and Holy obſervation of the Lords day.

5The Lords day hath met with acceptance and veneration in all ages of the Church. In the Primitive times, it was univerſally Ignat. Epiſt. ad Magneſ. 4. Iren. l. 4. c 19, 20. Tertul. Apol. c. 39. Orig. contra celſum. Ambroſ. Serm. 62. Auguſt. tract. 5. in Joan. Euſeb. eccleſ. Hiſt. l 4. c. 23. Hieron. Epiſt. ad Euſtochium. Cyril. in Joan. l. 12. c. 58. Greg. l. 11. Epiſt. 3. Juſtin Mart. Apolog. 2.embraced, owned, and obſerved: And Ignatius, Juſtin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Baſil, Athanaſius, Chryſoſtom, Hierome, Ambroſe, and Auguſtine, &c. were but the trumpets of its praiſe. Theſe famous lights in the beſt dayes of the Church liberally contributed to the glory of the Lords day, and caſt in freely to the treaſury of its commendation and obſervance: And theſe Orthodoxal Fathers, both Greek and Latin, do with one mouth teſtifie concerning the Chriſtian Sabbath,

1. The Original thereof, which they ſay was firſt eſtabliſhed by Chriſts own bleſſed and inſpired Apoſtles.

2. The cauſe and occaſion of this day: In memory of the reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt our Lord, who roſe as upon this day, and triumphed over death and hell.

3. They bear honourable teſtimony, exhibit general approbation, and give notice of their continual practice in the ſanctifying of the Lords day in their ſeveral times and ages.

p. 6264. They effectually eſtabliſhed it by their practice, preaching, Athanaſ. de circumciſ & Sabbat. Chryſoſt. Serm. 5 de Reſur. Feliſ. f. 292. Vaulx Cath. c. 3. Ribera in Apoc. Catech. Roman. part 3. f. 319. Stella in Luc. Rhem. Teſt. in Apoc. Eccii. Enchyrid tit. de ſeſtis fol. 134. Hoſ. confeſſ. fol. 300.and writings, that the memory of it might never be l…ſt, nor the prefixed time be changed or altered.

The Papiſts coming between the primitive and the later purity (as a Nettle between two Roſes) as they kept the Letter of Gods word, the matter of Baptiſm, the Doctrine of the Trinity, ſo they kept the time and doctrine of the Lords day. And they did always acknowledge,

1. That the Lords day was by the Apoſtles themſelves eſtabliſhed; and ſome of them ſay, Dominico juſſu, by the command of the Lord himſelf.

2. That this was done by them in the memorial of the Lords reſurrection.

3. That thoſe texts of Scripture, Acts 20. 7. 1 Cor. 16. 2. Rev. 1. 10. do manifeſtly confirm this day.

4. That it is a day above all other dayes to be honoured and eſteemed.

5. That the obſervation thereof is, pars cultus divini, part of divine worſhip, and ſo conſequently jure divino, of divine right: All this the Papiſts have freely acknowledged, although they are ſo ſubject to the epilepſie of errour, and the ſpiritual falling-ſickneſs; nay, although they are ſo byaſſed by intereſt, their fundamental maxime, and ſo cloſely chained to the Popes Chair: But in this particular we will grant them infallibility.

Nay in the darkeſt times of the Church, when the Sun of Abbas in cap. de feriis, A…gelus in verbo Feriae. Sylveſter in verbo Dominici. Quaeſt. 1. Et dicit hanc eſſe communem opinionem, quod dies dominicus eſt jure divino. Piſanella in verbo dominicatruth ſhone moſt faintly, and was behind the blackeſt cloud, even then many School-men of note and eminency acknowledged the Divine right of the Lords day, and gave in their plentiful atteſtations to that important truth. And Sylveſter, one of them, is bold to aſſert, that this was the common opinion among them; the Lords day was ſo venerable in the Church, it could not be contemptible in the Sch…l….

Learning in the very worſt times, knew not how to become ſacrilegious, and to rob the Lords day of the honour of its di…ine original; it knew not how in the very midſt of the triumphs of Idolatry (which was moſt rampant in the middle p. 627times of the Church) to ſink down the Lords day into An. Dom. 189. An. Dom. 822.an humane Ordinance. And one thing is obſervable, that thoſe two famous Edicts of Charles the Great, and his Son Ludovicus Pius, concerning the holy obſervation of the Lords day, were dated from thoſe times when the Church of Chriſt was covered with the blackneſs of darkneſs, and the Spouſe had on her the thickeſt veil.

As for the times of Reformation, theſe latter ages of the Melanct in Catecheſ. Bu…r de regno Chriſti Gallaſ. in Ex…d Jun. in …eneſ. Faius in Theſ. Zanch. in quartum praecept. Chemnit. harm. Evangel. Beza in Th… Geneven. Piſcat. in obſervat. in Gen 2 3.Gen 2:3world have not blemiſhed the glorious work of reformation with degrading the Lords day from its due, juſt, and Scriptural honour: More then a Jury of Forraign Divines acquitting this bleſſed day from the mean original of an humane inſtitution: And if they ſhall be called in, they are ready to avouch it. Beza, Junius, Piſeator, Rolloche, Chemnitius, Walaeus, Bucer, Melancton, Gallaſius, Viretus, Ameſus, Peter Martyr, Zanchius, Pareus, and Faius, &c. all concurring in their ſentence, That the Lords day was conſecra…e… …y the holy and infallible Apoſtles. Nor are there deficient, Divines of note of our own, who give in the ſame verdict, and joyn iſſue with the ſuffrages of thoſe beyond the Seas: what the eminent Perkins his opinion was in this cauſe, hath already been ſuggeſted: Let me now produce the teſtimony of the famous Mr. Joſeph Me…e, whoſe worth and learning was not of an ordinary ſ…ture, and thus he expreſſeth himhimſelf, I ſay therefore, that the Chriſtian as well as the Jew after ſix dayes ſpent in his own works, is to ſanctifie Mr. Joſeph Mede in a little tract on the Sabbath.the ſeventh, that he may profeſs himſelf thereby a ſervant of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth; for the quotum then, how much time, the Jew and the Chriſtian agree, but in the deſignation of the day they differ; for the Chriſtians keep for their holy day, that which with the Jews was the firſt day of the week, and call it Dominicum, the Lords day, that they might thereby profeſs themſelves the ſervants of that God, who as on the morning of that day vanquiſhed Satan, the ſpiritual Pharaoh, and redeemed us from our ſpiritual thraldom; by praiſing Jeſus Chriſt our Lord riſen from the dead, begetting us unto, inſtead of an earthly Canaan, an inheritance incorruptible in the heavens. p. 628In a word, the Chriſtian by the day he hallows, profeſſeth himſelf a Chriſtian (that is) as St. Paul ſpeaks, to believe on him who raiſed up Jeſus Chriſt from the dead. But might not (you will ſay) the Chriſtian as well have obſerved the Jewiſh Sabbath for his ſeventh day, as the day he doth? I anſwer no, he might not, for in ſo doing, he ſhould ſeem not to acknowledge his redemption to be already performed, but ſtill expected; for the deliverance of Iſrael out of Egypt by the Miniſtry of Moſes, was intended for a type or pledge of the ſpiritual deliverance to come by Jeſus Chriſt; their Canaan alſo to which they marched, being a type of that heavenly inheritance which the redeemed by Chriſt do look for; ſince then the ſhadow is now made void by the coming of the ſubſtance, the relation is changed, and God is no longer to be worſhipped as a God fore-ſhewing and aſſuring by types, but as a God who hath performed the ſubſtance of what he promiſed; and this is that which St. Paul means, Col. 2. 16, 17. where he ſaith, Let no man henceforth judge you in reſpect of a Feaſt day, New Moons, or Sabbath day, which were a ſhadow of things to come, but the body is Chriſt. Thus largely this worthy man ſhews us, that the foundation of the old Sabbath is raſed and plucked up, and the new Sabbath is ſetled upon as ſtrong a Baſis, even upon the accompliſhment 2 Tim. 2. 19.2 Tim 2:19of the glorious work of our redemption in the bleſſed reſurrection of Chriſt, and we may now ſay, This foundation ſtands ſure, the Lord knows which day for weekly ſolemnity is his, the time of our Sabbath is ſet by that riſing Sun which will decline no mor…. And we are as much bound to keep our Sabbath upon the account of the work of Redemption, as the Jews were upon the account of the work of creation, or their Egyptian deliverance; the work makes the day in both, and therefore no human device or inſtitution can here lay the leaſt claim.

Thus let us run the ſtage of every Century, we ſhall never want thoſe who had ſo much Scripture Heraldry, as to know that the Lords day was divinely born; and that at leaſt the holy Apoſtles, both by their practice, Acts 20. 7. and precept, 1. Cor. 16. 2. give life to it, that it might ſurvive in the p. 629Church, till the end of all things and times.

6And as no age was ſo corrupt to diſown, ſo no place was ſo barbarous as to ſhut out the Lords day. But in all places where Chriſtianity was embraced, they ſang Hoſanna to the higheſt of dayes. The obſervation of this day was much ſcattered in the very Apoſtles dayes: It was obſerved at Hieruſalem, Dominica ideò nobis eſt venerabilis, at que ſolennis, quia in eâ Salvator noſter. velut Sol Oriens, diſcuſſis infernonorum tenebris; luce Reſurrectionis emicuit, & proptereà ea dies ab hominibus ſeculidies ſolis vocatur, quòd Chriſtus, Sol juſtitiae, eam lucidiſſimè illuminavit.John 20. 19, 26. at Troas, Acts 20. 7. in the Churches of Galatia and Corinth, 1 Cor. 16. 1, 2. Then in Patmos, Rev. 1. 10. and the leſſer Aſia, then in the Grecian Churches, as the Greek Fathers before-mentioned teſtifie; then in the Latine Churches, as appears by the Latin Fathers called before to witneſs and atteſt it, which they plentifully declare, and in proceſs of time, the fame and obſervance of this bleſſed day was ſcattered far and wide. It was obſerved in Africk by the injunction of the Council of Carthage; it was obſerved in Spain by the decrees of the Councils of Arragon and Eliberis; it was ſolemnly kept and obſerved in France by the decrees and Canons of the Council of Orleance, Paris, Rhemes, Angiers; it was obſerved in Italy by the Canons of the Councils of Friuli & Rome; it was kept in Germany by the ſtrict injunction of the Councils of Aquiſgrane, Mentz, and Collen; it was obſerved in Poland by impoſition and advice of the Council of Petricow; it was Author. Clem. conſtit. l. 5. c. 13.kept in Lydia, a Province of the leſſer Aſia, by the determination of the Council of Laodicea, which ſolemn convention gave much honour to our Chriſtian Sabbath; it was obſerved in Greece by the ſtrict injunction of the Council of Conſtantinople; it was obſerved in England in the early dayes and dawnings of the Goſpel, by the advice and Canon of the Council of Cloveſhow, as ſome ſay, near Canterbury. Thus in every place, where the Chriſtian Religion was planted, the Lords day was inaugurated with praiſe and obſervation; ſo that we may here apply that of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 68. 11. The Lord gave the word, and great was the company of thoſe that publiſhed it. The Goſpel and the day of Pſal. 68. 11.Ps 68:11Chriſt both kept equal pace, and travelled in company together through all converted Nations. To entertain a Saviour, and not a Sabbath, the Lords will declared in the Goſpel; p. 630not the Lords day was ever a ſoloeciſm, and an abſur…ity in the world.

7Nor can I ſee, if our Sabbath be only jure humano, an humane ordinance, how we can expect the ſame bleſſing on our Sabbath, which the Jews might or did on theirs? for ſurely divine inſtitution entails divine benediction; God doth not water plants with the dews of his bleſſing, which are Mat 15. 13.Matt 15:13not of his own planting: But he often complains of introductions Satanas habet plantationes quae ſunt zizania, et homines habent plantationes quae ſunt traditiones, ſed ambae ſunt eradicandae, et evellendae. Chemnit.into his worſhip, by the deviſe and counſels of men, Jer. 7. 31. How the Sabbath of the Jews had manifeſtly a divine inſtitution, which is undoubted and undenied by all; If ours therefore want a divine authority to appoint and ordain it, their fleece may be ſtill wet with bleſſing and denediction, and ours wholly dry. It is not eaſily to be imagined, that an Eccleſiaſtical conſtitution (as ſome make our Sabbath to be) can fall under the ſame ſmiles and influences with a divine ordinance, enlivened by Chriſts command, or midwived into the world by Apoſtolical precept or practiſe. The infinite diſtance between the Authorities muſt needs conclude a vaſt difference between the benedictions; nor can the Canon of a Council tie conſcience ſo faſt, or bleſs the obedient ſo much, as the Canon of Scripture, our enemies themſelves being Judges; nor can in the leaſt any Scripture be produced to authorize the Church, to ſet up a Sabbath for the Chriſtian World. God uſually bleſſeth his own inſtitutions. Prayer is powerful, becauſe He commands it; Preaching John 14. 15.John 14:15effectual, becauſe He en…oyns it; the Sacraments comfortable, Mat. 28. 19, 20.Matt 28:19Matt 28:20becauſe He ordains them; and ſo the Lords Day is often Luk. 22. 19, 20.Luke 22:19Luke 22:20bedewed with ſhowers of the choiceſt love and benediction, becauſe it was Chriſts inſtitution, either more immediately by his perſonal command, or elſe mediately by his inſpired and infallible Apoſtles: And therefore let us fall down before the force of truth, and conclude, the bleſſings of our Sabbath, ſpeak the beginnings of our Sabbath, to be in Gods breaſt, and not in mans will; God uſually accepting the worſhip at Jeruſalem, and not that at Dan and Bethel; he loves thoſe feſtivals of which himſelf is the Author.

p. 6318And let us fetch a pregnant argument from Providence. What ſignal judgements hath God puniſhed the prophaners of Peccatum eſt dei…idium, … Chriſtici…um▪ eſt ſummum malum, ſpomane… infania, ſomnus et mors anima, ex ſui naturâ mortem meretur, grav… eſt onus animum deprimens, cibus durus nullo ſtomacho digeſtibilis, & morbus peſti lentiſſimus, & putidiſſima corruptio. Alap.the Lords day with? (as ſhall be ſhewn more fully hereafter.) Now the prophaning of the Lords day, muſt needs be a breach of the law of God, or elſe how can it be a provocation of the wrath of God. God puniſheth only for ſin, which the Apoſtle ſaith, is foreign, a tranſgreſſion of the Law, 1 John 3. 4. Now if our Chriſtian Sabbath be only a law of Man, where is the poſitive and provoking ſin in the violation of it, where is the infinite evil which ſhould ſo inflame divine diſpleaſure, as to pour out his fury on the violatours of it, and to follow them with tremendous judgements? Is it probable, that God would ſtrike ſo deeply, and puniſh ſo fearfully and wonderfully, for the breach of a Canon of the Church, or a Decree of a Council? It is true, was the Lords day bottom'd on Eccleſiaſtical authority, it would be a piece of diſobedience to the Church, to violate it; but ſtill where is the infinite evil, (as every ſin is) to ſtir up ſo much indignation in the Almighty? Surely the breach of a humane conſtitution could never raiſe ſuch ſtorms in the world, nor pelt ſo many untimely into their duſt, and oftentimes on a ſudden, and in a ſtupendous and terrible manner, (as ſhall be fully ſhewed hereafter:) And again, we meet with no ſuch tragedies in our ſporting upon holy dayes, and thoſe feſtivals which are of the Churches appointment; thoſe dayes run waſte in mirth and jollity: nor do we meet with broken limbs, ſudden deaths, fearfull diſeaſes, unexpected blindneſs, &c. the common iſſues of the prophanation of the Lords day, to be the ſucceſs and conſequence of that vanity. Providence then makes the diſtinction between dayes of the Churches appointment, and that bleſſed day, our Chriſtian Sabbath, which is of divine inſtitution.

To conclude then this particular, Let us cloath the Lords Quid hac die f…icius eſt, quâ domin… judae… mortuus eſt, & nobis reſurrexit? In quâ cultus Synagogae oc…ubuit, et eſt ortus eccleſiae, in quâ nos homines fecit ſurgere, et vivere ſecum, et ſedere in coeleſtibus. Haec eſt dies quem fecit dominus, exultemus, et laetetemur in illo: Omnes dies fecit dominus, ſed caeteri dies poſſunt eſſe ju daeorum, poſſunt eſſe Haereticorum, poſſunt eſſe Gentilium, ſed dies dominica dies eſt reſurrectionis, dies Chriſtianorum eſt, dies noſtra eſt. Hier.day in all its royal Apparel, and put on all its Jewels and Ornaments, and then we ſhall ſee this Queen of dayes in all its ſplendour and glory. A day it is of honour and renown above all dayes, that ever the Sun ſhone in; the moſt gloririous day that ever God created; the moſt ſolemn day that p. 632ever the Church celebrated; a day which Chriſt hath crowned with the greateſt glory of any day that ever dawned upon the world: It is a day of the Lords power, a day of his perfection, the day of his praiſe and glory, and a day of his b…nty and bleſſings, the day of his eſpouſals, and of the gladneſs of his heart. When Chriſt was born, the Angels celebrated that day with Songs and triumphs, Luke 2. 13. When Chriſt roſe from the dead, (or elſe why was he born?) Let the Saints celebrate that day with weekly ſolemnities and praiſes, and not paſſe away their laud in a tranſient muſick, as the Angels did; On this day, (our Chriſtian Sabbath day) there was a confluence of wonders, and wonderfull tranſactions wrought by him, whoſe name is wonderfull, Iſa. 9. 6. In a word, this day is the highly favoured of God, a map of Heaven, a taſte of Glory, the golden ſpot of time, the market day of ſouls, the day break of eternal brightneſs, a day to be marked of thouſands for their new birth day; a day on which many have been redeemed from more then Aegyptian bondage; a day of light, of joy, of love and delight; a day which is truly, delitiae humani generis, the delight of mankind, as once Titus was called. Ah! how do men flutter up and down on the week dayes, as the Dove on Rom. 1. 4. Luke 13. 32. John 20. 22, 23.Rom 1:4Luke 13:32John 20:22John 20:23the waters, and can find no reſt for their ſouls, till they come to this day, as to an Arke, and this day takes them in? On this day the light was created, the Holy Spirit deſcended, life hath been reſtored; Satan ſubdued, Sin mortified, Souls ſanctified, Cant. 3. 11. Hoſ. 2. 19, 20. Acts 13. 34. Sex praerogativae recenſentur ad diem dominicum propiiſſimè pertinentes. Beda in lib. de officiis Eccleſ. Cap. 1.Song 3:11Hos 2:19Hos 2:20Acts 13:34the Grave, Hell and Death conquered. O! the mountings of mind, the raviſhings of heart, the ſolace of ſoul, which on this day men enjoy in their deareſt Saviour. Our Lords day is the firſt day of the week, was the firſt day of the world; On it the Elements were formed, the light was created, the Angels were produced; On it Manna was firſt rained down; On it, ſay the Fathers of the ſixt General Council, was Chriſt born; On it did the Star firſt appear to the wiſe men who came out of the Eaſt; On it was Chriſt baptized in Jordan by John the Baptiſt, as the Council of Paris obſerve; Sextum Concilium generale Conſtantinopoli celebratum.On it, ſaith a learned man, Chriſt wrought his firſt Miracle by turning water into wine: And on this day, p. 633ſaith Junius, the Iſraelites paſſed the Red Sea on dry ground Concil. Pariſ. ſub Ludovico Pio, et Lothario celebratum.ſecurely by the help of a Miracle. And to wind up all, on this day the light of the firmament, and the Sun of Righteouſneſs firſt roſe, and appeared from darkneſs and death.

And thus the Lords day is brought to its Throne; and let Jun. in Deut.all who love Chriſt, ſay, God ſave the Chriſtian Sabbath, and preſerve it from the fury and rage of malevolent perſ… cutors, John 2. 49.John 2:49from the virulent and ſophiſtical pens of adverſaries, from the fancies of familiſtical and enthuſiaſtical hereticks, and from the blemiſhes, and diſcrediting practices of prophane perſons. And let our fervent prayers to the Lord of the Sabbath Mark 2. 28.Mark 2:28be, that as this bleſſed day had a divine inſtitution, ſo it may be ever honoured and celebrated with a ſpiritual and heavenly obſervation.