The Lords Day, Book 1 · Chapter 5

The Lords Day · Book 1 · Chapter 5

p. 66CHAP. V.

The Reaſon of obſerving the Lords Day, was the Reſurrection of Chriſt on that day: it is called the first day of the week, by the Evangeliſts and Fathers, and Lords day, and Sunday alſo; and why the Sabbath, and Chriſtian Sabbath, whereupon the Fathers did rarely uſe the name of Sabbath; what the word Synaxis may ſignifie with the ancients.

THe things that are obſerved thus far have taught us, that the Lords day was alwaies ſolemnized in the Church of Chriſt, from his Reſurrection: now let us enter both upon opening the reaſons for which the Primitive Chriſtians were induced to this, and alſo the names by which they uſually called this day.

Firſt, one and the ſame reaſon of this days ſolemnity, is aſſigned every where in the Fathers: then it's pointed out by the ſelf-ſame names of them all, though far remote from one another: and the teſtimonies obſerved in the former Chapter do witneſs both theſe. The Fathers plainly affirm, that the Lords p. 67day was ſacred with the Chriſtians, by reaſonChriſts Reſurrection the cauſe of this ſolemnity. of the Lords Reſurrection, and that he had a feſtival ever ſince that time,. So Ignatius, Juſtin Martyr, Conſtant. Mag. Augustine, &c. in the places fore-cited. But we meet with the reaſon of this Feſtival no where more accurately, and to the life, as they ſay, painted out, than in Athanaſius de Sabb. & Circumciſ. Of which place this is the ſumm, (to which, becauſe it is large, I referr the Reader.) There Athanaſius mentions a double world, to the former whereof, he tells us the ſaving Paſſion of Chriſt, at which the Sun appeared not, put an end, and the beginning of a new creation came after it, which took its beginning in our Saviour.

The Church relying on this reaſon (which all the other Fathers acknowledge) hath hitherto alwaies from the Reſurrection of Chriſt, had in reverence the Lords day, namely, becauſe of the Lords Reſurrection: now the Reſurrection preſuppoſeth Chriſts Nativity and Death, or the Reſurrection is as it were the conſummation of our Redemption: therefore when the Apoſtles office is deſcribed of Luke, Acts 1. 22. they are called witneſſes of the Reſurrection; not becauſe they teſtified of the Reſurrection alone; but ſince the Reſurrection (without p. 68which, the Faith of Christians would be vain, the great Apoſtle being witneſs, 1 Cor. 15.) is the chief article of the Goſpel, when they are ſaid to give teſtimony of the Reſurrection, iqis as much as if they bore witneſs of the whole Goſpel. Hence it was that the ancients preferred the Paſſovers ſolemnity to all other Feſtivals. Greg. Nazianzen calls it, the festival of festivals, a ſolemnity of ſolemnities, which, ſaith he, doth ſo far excell all the other, not only the humane and earthly, but thoſe alſo of Chriſt himſelf, and are celebrated for his ſake, as the Sun excelleth the Stars: becauſe if he had not riſen again, neither had his Nativity, nor Baptiſm, nor the other Myſteries of Chriſt been confirmed, nor made us believe them. Therefore Gregory Nazianzen thinks the honour of that feſtival is far to be preferred to the ſolemnities of others, as his interpreter Nicetas thinks. Therefore, while the Fathers conſeſs, that the Lords day was conſecrated in memory of the Reſurrection, it's the ſame as if they had ſaid, in memory of our Redemption: which Reſurrection is the chief point of the Goſpel; to hear and handle which, on that day, the Church is ſequeſtred from Worldly affaires.

Some aſſign other reaſons, but this former p. 69is omitted by none, although to it other are added by others.

Nor is there leſs harmonious conſentLords day is prima Sabbati. amongſt the ancient Fathers of the Church, in the Name of this Feſtival, than in aſſigning its reaſon: and in its appellation they follow the Evangeliſts, agreeing amongſt themſelves, who were the Holy Ghoſts amanuenſes: in whom it's called by two names. Firſt, it's called by the Evangeliſts foreign, Mat. 28. Mar. 16. Luk. 24. Joh. 20. So Acts 20. 7. and 1 Cor. 16. 2. as we have obſerved in the ſecond Chapter. In which places una Sabbatoruni muſt be expounded by the Lords day, ſaith Chryſoſtom aaHom. 4…. in 1 Cor.. Whoſe interpretation Hierom follows, and expounds the reaſon thereof, Ad Hebidam, Queſt. 4. Becauſe, ſaith he, every week is divided into the Sabbath, and into the first, and ſecond, and third, and fourth, and fifth, and ſixth day; which the Heathens called by the names of their Idols and Elements: and therefore in thoſe Fathers opinion una Sabbatorum (by Enallage of the plural number for the ſingular; for its ſeldome read in the ſingular number in the Old Teſtament, which manner the Writers of the New Teſtament do imitate) and prima Sabbatorum are all one: for the name of Sabbath among the ancients denoteth not p. 70only the laſt day in the week, but the whole week alſo, which from finiſhing [the creation] and the day of reſt, is called the Sabbath, for its excellent dignity, as Theophylact in Luc. 18. 2. that is to ſay, for the reverence of this day, the Hebrews called the whole week the Sabbath. And in this ſenſe is the Phariſee to be underſtood about the Sabbath, when, being puffed up with extream Pride, amongſt other things, he glories of Faſting aaLuk. 18. 12.Luke 18:12, foreign, quaſi, twice a Sabbath. There by Sabbath we muſt of neceſſity underſtand the whole Week by an Hebraiſm, and not the laſt day thereof. For the Phariſees, (as the moſt learned ſearchers of Hebrew antiquity, have often obſerved, which thing alſo Epiphanius puts us in mind of) inſtituted two Faſts every week, namely, on Munday and Thurſday bbContr. Haer. l. 1. c. 10.: therefore the Lords day was called foreign, or una Sabbatorum, as in the Evangeliſts and Apoſtles, ſo in the Writers of the following age: he that will look into their writings, ſhall find examples enow.

And this for the firſt name of this day in the Scriptures. The ſecond is extant in Rev. 1. 10. where, that which was beforeWhy called the Lords day. called of all the Evangeliſts foreign, John calls it denominative, with an article, p. 71foreign, or the Lords Day; and is hitherto called by that agnomination amongſt the moſt ancient Fathers, both Greek and Latine, ſince the Apoſtles age: which he that will conſult them, ſhall not deny. So Ignatius Epiſt. ad Magneſ. Euſebius when he ſpeaks of the Ebionites, Hiſt. l. 3. c. 21. & de Dionyſio Corinthiaco, Hiſt. l. 4. c. 22. Cyp. Ep. 59, &c. after the name of our Saviour, Conſtantine the Great ſaith, it's called Dominicum aaEuſeb. de vit. Conſt. l. 4. c. 18.: becauſe, as Auſtin, the Lord made it bbq. ex utroque, q. 106.: This reaſon perhaps will be of no great weight with ſome, ſince the Lord made all other dayes: but he ſeems to have made this day after a ſpecial manner; namely, by his Reſurrection (the commemoration of which benefit ſucceedeth the memory of the Creation) from the dead, whereby he perfected our Salvation: or elſe becauſe it was then deſtinated for worſhipping our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, Auſtin aſſigneth both theſe reaſons, when he ſaith, ccDe verbis Apoſtoli Serm 15.the Lords Reſurrection hath conſecrated for us the Lords day, and it ſeems properly to belong to the Lord. It is therefore called the Lords, becauſe the Lord hath inſtituted its ſolemnity, as the Lords Prayer is ſo called, becauſe the Lord endited it, or the Lords Supper, becauſe Chriſt inſtituted it: or elſe becauſe it was chiefly inſtituted for p. 72the Lord, and his worſhip, while the Lord Chriſt is worſhipped upon it: but ſome others contend it is ſo called, becauſe that by the Lords Reſurrection a way is opened to an eternal Sabbath: but the former is more common, and received of moſt.

Justin Martyr calls it foreign,It's called Sunday. or Sunday, about the beginning of his ſecond Apology: and his follower, Tertullian, aaAp. adv. Gent. c. 16.writes, that he and the Church gave themſelves to rejoyce on the Sunday. But in this they agree with the Heathen, who uſe this word; to whom they both directed their Apologies, in which it is ſo named, and to whom the names uſed by the Church were unknown. For they diſtinguiſhed the names of the ſeven dayes in the week by the names of the Planets; yet in the Church it was called the Lords day (ſo Juſtin diſputing againſt bbDial. ad Tryphon.Trypho a Jew, uſeth a name accommodated to the man, and calleth the Lords day foreign. Tertullian alſo when he deals with the Chriſtians, uſeth the name Lords day, as in his Book de Corona, cap. 3. and lib. de Idol. c. 14.) and very ſeldome Sunday. Hierom, although ſpurious, yet very ccHieron. in Pſ. 117. T. 4.Ps 117willingly confeſſeth, that it may be called Sunday, becauſe on it light aroſe to the world, and the Sun of righteouſneſs with healing in his wings. A ſpeech alſo which is p. 73reckoned amongſt aaAmbroſ. Serm. 61.Ambroſe's, ſaith, that the day which is called the Lords day in the Church, by the men of the world is called Sunday: where the name is ſet down by which it was called both by the Church and others. In other Authors it is alſo called Sunday, but Auſtin ſhews us, that the Manichees rather than the Chriſtians called it ſo bbAug. contra Fauſt. Man. l. 18. c. 5.. Ye, ſaith he to the Manichees, worſhip the Sun on that day which they call Sunday: as we call the ſame the Lords day, becauſe on it we reverence not the Sun, but the Lords Reſurrection: And elſewhere he is earneſt that Chriſtians ſhould not call dayes by Heathen names ccAug. imp. in e…rr. in Pſ. 93.Ps 93. for the Church manner of ſpeaking comes better from a Chriſtian mouth.

Moreover alſo, I am not ignorant, that other of the Fathers do ſometime expreſs this day otherwiſe, ddEp. 59. de Idol. cap. Conc. 1. de Lazaro. 1. 5. p. 257.Cyprian ſometimes calleth it the eighth, becauſe it is the eighth from the beginning of the Creation, ſometimes the firſt after the Sabbath, So Tertullian. Of Baſil it is called the onelyonly, the firſt, the eighth, de Sp. Sanct. c. 27. By Hilary the eighth, and firſt; in his Prol. to the Expoſ. of the Pſalms. So Aug. Epiſt. 119. c. 13. While Chryſoſtom nippeth the Jews for abuſing the Sabbath to idleneſs, he ſharply taxeth others alſo that indulged their vices on feſtival dayes (under the name of the Sabbath.) The Feaſts p. 74of Chriſtians are called Sabbaths by aain Pſ. 47.Ps 47Ruffinus: the enemies, ſaith he, do deride our Sabbaths. Ruffinus ſpeaks there of the Chriſtian, not Jewiſh Sabbaths. Athanaſius ſays, that he obſerved the Sabbath day, not as itbbAthan. de Sab. & circum. Hom. 23. in num. was prima aetate, in the beginning of the world. The Lords day with Origen is the Sabbath, and the Chriſtian Sabbath. Where, without doubt, Origen ſpeaks of the Lords day, otherwiſe men muſt ceaſe all the dayes of their life from worldly affairs, which is required on the Chriſtian Sabbath, ibidem. In the Council of Friuli Can. 13. the Sabbath is called Dedicatum Domini, i. e. Dedicated to the Lord.

But although the ancients have ſometimesWhy the Lords day is ſeldome called the Sabbath by the ancients. called the Lords day the Sabbath, from its parent, as it were the Jewiſh Sabbath, as in the Scriptures the Holy Ghoſt calls Baptiſm Circumciſion: yet it's certain they very rarely do note this day by the name of the Sabbath: eſpecially becauſe they oppoſed the Jews that gloried in the Sabbaths ſolemnity (whoſe obſervation they judged neceſſary to obtain eternal life, as appears from Trypho in Juſtin Martyr) andDial. cum… Tryphone. that contemned the Goſpel. And like as the Chriſtians had nothing to do with the Jews in celebrating the Feaſt of the Paſſover, becauſe they abhorred to keep it with them at p. 75the ſame time, as witneſſeth Socrates, lib. 5. cap. 22. ſo they abſtained from names of Feaſts in uſe with the Jews, leſt (as St. Auſtin, Ep. 200.when he enquires, whether a true Chriſtian be to be called a Jew or Iſraelite?) for the ambiguity of the word, which uſual ſpeech diſcerneth not, that might ſeem to be uttered which is an enemy to the Chriſtian name: we ought not to confound the cuſtome of mans ſpeech by fooliſh loquacity; for this reaſon we meet with the name of Sabbath rarely amongſt the ancients. This is alſo to be added, becauſe while the firſt Fathers were alive, both the Sabbath and Lords day were obſerved of the Church, although not in the ſame manner, as we have before ſhewed out of the Fathers. While therefore they ſpake of the Lords day, they were forced to abſtain from the word Sabbath, that they might diſtinguiſh the Lords day from it: and that difference they have alſo obſerved ſtrictly in other things. Like as what Collecta is with the Latines, with the Greeks it is Synaxis, namely, a meeting of the Church, as the word means. And although it be derived foreign, whence alſo the word Synagogue; yet the firſt Chriſtians (which the learned aaExercit. 16. ad Bar.Caſaubon obſerveth) for the nonce have abſtained from the word Synagogue, that they might diſcriminate p. 76the Chriſtian meetings from the Jewiſh Synagogues: therefore they called their aſſemblies Synaxes, not Synagogues: & by Synaxin is meant the meeting of the Church it's plain from aal. 5. c. 22.Socrates, ſpeaking of the Alexandrians adminiſtring all things pertaining ad Synaxin foreign, i. e. beſides the celebration of the Myſteries; where he plainly diſtinguiſheth between Synaxin and Eucharistiae adminiſtrationem. So not once in Chryſoſtom, the name of Synaxis is general, which comprizeth all things that were wont to be done in the Chriſtian aſſemblies, and is diſtinguiſhed from their oblation, Hom. 18. in Act. Ap. where he teaches, that in the Churches of Villages and Towns, the Sacrament was wont to be celebrated only on Lords dayes, but Prayers, and hymns, and Synaxes every day. But this by the bye, that it may appear to us, how it was ordinary with Chriſtians to abſtain from words in uſe with the Jews; therefore they are read ſeldome to have uſed the word Sabbath: but as once bbpart. 3. qu. 32.Alexander Hales, becauſe the Sabbath day taken in determinately, is called the day of reſt, or vacation to God, after this manner the Lords day may be called the Sabbath day, without any prejudice of the Christian name, or ſcandal of Chriſtians.

p. 77More names of this day do alſo occurr in other of the Fathers, who only obiter, & ex re nata, have ſo named that day: but when they ſpeak of it properly, then they call it the Lords day, which cannot but appear to him that vieweth their writings. And thus far of the reaſon of obſerving this ſolemnity, and of its names.