Treatise Against the Profanation of the Lords Day, Chapter 3
CHAP. III. The manie reaſon's, firſt, taken from Chriſts honouring the LORDS day, why all true Christians hauehave ever, and ſtill ſhould honour the ſame.
THE firſt and mayne reaſon, then, why our morall duetie, commanded in the fourth Precept, doeth now chiefelie appertayne to the LORDS Day, and conſequentlie why all Chriſtians hauehave ever, and ſtill ſhould, obſerue the Lords Day, is, Becauſe our Saviour, the Lord Ieſus, roſe from death to lyfe that day; and ſo, victoriouſlie triumphed over His and our enemies: by vertue of which His Reſurrection, wee are raiſed ſpirituallie from ſinne, to grace heere, and ſhall be raiſed corporally from the graue, to glorie heereafter. Therefore ſaid IGNATIUS, Biſhop of ANTIOCH, who lived in Sainct IOHNS time,Ignat. ad Magneſian. epiſt. 3. Let every one who loveth CHRIST, keepe holie the LORD'S Day, renowned by His Reſurrection, which is the Queene of dayes wherein Death was over-come, and Lyfe ſprang vp in Christ againe. And agayne (ſayth AUGUSTINE) Domini reſuſcitatio promiſit nobis aeternum diem, Aug. de verb. Apoſtoli, ſerm. 15.& conſecravit nobis Dominicum diem: that is, The LORDS ryſing from dead, hath promiſed vntounto vsus an eternall Day of rest, and hath conſecrated vntounto vsus the LORDS Day. Chryſoſt. in Pſal. 118. & ſerm. 5. de reſurr. See alſo Aug. l. 22. de civit. Dei cap. 30.Qui propterea quod Dominus in eo ad vitam a morte redierit, Dominicus appellatur (ſayth CHRYSOSTOME:) that is, Which for this cauſe is called the LORDS Day, becauſe on it the LORD Himſelfe returned from death to lyfe againe. So that as the Lords owne reſting the ſeaventh day which the IEWES kept,Athanaſius in Matth. 11.27. recommended their Sabbath to bee kept by them; ſo the Lords owne ryſing from death this ſeaventh day which Chriſtians obſerue,Iuſtin. Martyr. Apol. 2. recommends juſtlie the Lords Day to bee kept by vsus:Sozom. l. 1. cap. 8. and whoſoever wilfullie prophaneth the ſame, (as our Salmond-fiſhers doe in tyme of Divyne Service) preferring Gaine to Godlineſſe, they ſhow that they neyther louelove Chriſt (as Ignatius ſayeth) nor celebrate, as they ought, thankfullie the memorie of His bleſſed Reſurrection.
Next, as it is renowned by the Lords Reſurrection, ſo it is honoured by His Name, which as an honourable ſtampe and impreſſion, the Spirit of GOD and Pen of the beloved Apoſtle hath fixed and ſet thereon,Revel. 1.10. calling it THE LORDS DAY. So that as the Iewiſh Sabbath vnderunder the Law, and which was conſecrated to the Lords worſhip then, was called by the Prophet, HIS HOLIE DAY. Iſai 18.1….So juſtlie may the Lords Day vnderunder the Goſpell, which is now conſecrated to His worſhip, bee called, CHRISTS HOLIE DAY. Wherefore ſayeth AUGUSTINE, Qui vocatur Dominicus, Aug. Serm. 15. de verbis Apostoli.ipſe videtur propriè ad Dominum pertinere, quia in eo Dominus reſurrexit: that is, That day which is called the LORD'S DAY, appeareth properlie to belong to the LORD Himſelfe, becauſe on it the LORD did aryſe. And agayne ſayeth PROCOPIVS,Procopius in Geneſ. 1. Ab ipſo DOMINO cognomen deſumpturus erat, ut diceretur dies Dominicus, tanquam ſoli DOMINO conſecratus: that is, It was to take the denomination from the LORD Himſelfe, to bee called the LORD'S Day, becauſe it is conſecrated onlie vntounto the LORD. And therefore, whoſoever prophaneth the ſame, neglecting His worſhip thereon, and onelie giuegive themſelues to their filthie Lucre, whereas they ſhould giuegive vntounto GOD, that which is GOD'S, on the contrarie they are ſacrilegious robbers of GOD, (which is the worſt ſort of Athieſt.) And if they ſay with the Iewes in MALACHIE, Whereof hauehave wee robbed Him? Malac. 3.8He… will tell them in the day of their dreadfull account, Of My Day, dedicated to My holie Worſhip, and of the ſolemne honour and worſhip due to Mee thereon; and ſo of that which is moſt ſacred …n the higheſt degree, as all things are, which are ſo ſtamped with His Name and Superſcription.
Thirdlie; Hee honoured that Day alſo by His firſt apparition thereon, (after His victorious Reſurrection) vntounto His Diſciples, being aſſembled together;Iohn 20.19. at what tyme alſo He bleſſed them, & by breathing vponupon them, Hee gaue them the holie Ghoſt. And in lyke manner, vponupon the ſame day, (being the Pentecoſt) after His glorious Aſcention into Heaven,Act. 8.4. when His Apoſtles were all aſſembled together in one place, Hee ſent downe the holie Ghoſt, in ſhape of …eloven fyrie Tongues, plentifullie vponupon them, whereby they were enabled miraculouſlie to ſpeake to everie nation, according to their language: And vponupon which day alſo they firſt began the publicke exerciſe of their holie Miniſtrie, which was crowned that daye with the converſion of three thouſand ſoules. Who-ſo-ever, then, will prophane wilfullie that day, and ſpend the ſame onelie and whollie in perſuing their vnlawfull gayne thereon, it is evident, that they are not led by that Spirit, which came downe on the Apoſtles that day.Rom. 8.14 And whoſoever are not led by the Spirit of GOD, they are not the ſonnes of GOD, as teſtifieth the Apoſtle.
Fourthlie; Our Saviour graced that day of His Reſurrection, in lyke manner, by revealing thereon vntounto His beloved Diſciple ſaynct IOHN, thoſe high and heavenlie Myſteries, which make vp the propheticall part of the New Teſtament, and are contayned in that tranſcendant Booke of the APOCALYPSE, and Clauſule of the whole Scripture.
From all which ſeverall ſortes of our Saviour's honouring His owne Daye, therefore did the ancient Fathers giuegive it ſuch honourable Titles,Ignat. ad Magneſ. Chryſost. Hom. 5. de Reſurr. Gregor. Nazianz. oratio 43. August. de Temp. ſerm. 251. as Ignatius calleth it the Queene of Dayes; Saynct Chryſostome, the Royall Daye; Gregorie Nazianzene, Higher than the highest; and, with admiration, wonderfull amongst dayes, (even as the Virgine MARIE was bleſſed amongſt Women) And Auguſtine applyeth theſe wordes of the Pſalme vntounto it, This is the Day which the LORD hath made: Pſal. 118.24.let vsus bee glad and rejoyce in it. So that as the Palmiſt ſayde of HIERUSALEM, Glorious thinges are ſpoken of thee, O Citie of GOD: So, in ſome ſort, wee may ſay the lyke of this Daye; Glorious thinges are ſpoken of thee, O thou Day of the LORD.