fubftance of this command,, or the great defign of the law, in what end of the 'week the Sabbath fhould be, whether the first or laft of the seven days fhould be confecrate for it; 'fince the scope of the fourth command is only, to bind us to confecrate the feventh part of our time, or one day in feven, to the Lord: This is the morality of the command, and what is of facred and perpetual obligation in it. For, obferve how the command runs, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy-Six days fhalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." He faith not," Remember the feventh day" to keep it holy, but, "Remember the Sabbath day," or "holy reft," whatever day it fhall be appoined on. Take the fix days for your labour, and let God have a feventh every week for his folemn worship; this is the design of the law: For when it is faid, "The feventh is the Sabbath of the Lord," it is not precisely meant of the seventh in the order, but the feventh in number; not the feventh day after the creation, but the day following the fix days allowed men to labour; that day is the Lord's, whatever day in the week it fall on. And though it be told in the end, that "God refted the feventh day," which indeed feems to be the feventh from the creation; yet it is faid, "He bleffed the Sabbath day," not the feventh day. So that it is plain, that, both in the beginning and end of the command, the Lord puts a remarkable difference betwixt the Sabbath or day of holy reft, and the feventh day of the week, the day of his own reft; implying, that the scope of the command is to bind us to fanctify one day in feven, whatever seventh the Lord pleases to chufe, whether it be the first or last day of the week: and that the obfervation of the feventh day from the creation, is to be diftinguished from the ftanding law of the Sabbath. ForRemember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," is the fourth command, and would have bound us, though it had stopt there, and faid no more. Though yet i grant, that the observation of the feventh or laft day of the week for the Sabbath, is fo enjoined by the fourth command, that none could have altered it from that day to another, but he that is Lord of the Sabbath.

Thus

Thus you fee in what fenfe the fourth command is moral, and of unalterable obligation; and how it perpetually binds all Chriftians as well as Jews, to fanctify one day in feven for a weekly Sabbath unto the Lord. And now the day being changed by divine authority, from the last to the first day of the week, (of which afterwards) the fubftance, fcope, or morality of the fourth command is nowife infringed; and it ftill retains its authority and obligatory force as much as ever, binding Chriftians to fanctify the first day of the week, as much as it did the Jews to fanctify the laft: Even as a law, commanding the keeping of an anniverfary day for the foverign's birth, doth equally apply itself to the birth-day of each fucceeding prince.

Queft IV. How may the morality of the Sabbath or the perpetual obligation of the fourth command, be demonftrated against those who deny it?

Anf There are many reafons which prove that the fourth command is moral, binding us by a facred and perpetual law, to keep holy one day in feven, to the end of the world; fuch as,

I If the law for the Sabbath was given to man, and binding upon him in a state of innocency, before there was any ceremony or type of Chrift inftituted; (for then man did not need a Redeemer, nor any rite or type relative to him) then confequently this command was not ceremonial, nor abolished by Chrift's coming, but is of moral and perpetual obligation: But the former is true; and therefore the latter. The confequence of the first propofition is certain, for the reafons mentioned; and alto from this, that the Sabbath was appointed to Adam upon a moral ground, which obliges all his pofterity; viz. That he might have freedom and opportunity for the folemn worthip of God, without any diverfion from worldly things. For Adam, in his best eftate, being but a finite creature, could not be intenfely taken up with fpiritual and temporal things both at once; his ordinary employment of dreffing the garden, would in fome measure have diverted his mind, that he could not wholly give himfelf to devotion, and the folemn worfbip of his Maker: Where

fore,

fore God faw it fit he should have a day fet apart, wherein he might have an uninterrupted freedom for it. Now, if Adam needed a Sabbath, for the grounds above mentioned; much more do we need one, who are not only finite creatures, but corrupt alfo; and have fo little grace and ftrength for fpiritual employment, and fo many corruptions, tentations and allurements to draw bur hearts from God through the week, which he had not.

Philip Limbroch and other Anti-sabbatarians, havė no way to answer this argument, but by denying fuch an early institution of the Sabbath, and afferting, that it was not appointed till Mofes, his time, when the ceremonies were inftituted. But the contrary is evident from several texts.

1. From Gen. ii. 3. where we are told, before man's fall, or any word of it, that " God bleffed the feventh day, and fanctified it, because that in it he had restedfrom all his work." "Now, the fcripture notion of fanctifying any thing, is to feparate and fet it apart from common to facred ufes and purposes. And fo it is plain from this text, that God from the beginning of the world, did fanctify and fet apart one day in feven to be obferved by all mankind, as a day of facred reft, a day folemnly confecrated to his worship and fervice: And to lay a tie on us to obferve it, we have God's example, of refting this day from all his work, fet before our eyes. And feeing God from the beginning of the world had a church in it, who would certainly join together in performing public worthip and fervice to him; they be hoved to have fet times for it, and confequently a Sabbath: And what day fo fit for that purpose, as the day which God hath fanctified for facred reft? That this was the ancient practice, may be inferred from Gen. iv. 3. 4. where we read of Cain and Abel, their bringing offerings to the Lord, which was an inftance of public worthip. And, ver. 3 It is faid, In process of time, they brought offerings, &c. Now, thefe words, In procefs of time, may be as well rendered from the Hebrew, At the end of days and fo it is in the margin of bibles. Now, by the end of days, muft be meant the peVOL. IV. riod

riod of working days, which we call a week; and so it was on the feventh day, when folemn worship was (according to divine institution) to be performed, that men brought their offerings to the Lord. That God's reft on this day was exemplary to all mankind, appears from his taking fix feveral days to perform his works of creation, and the diftinct recording of each day's work, and his refting upon the feventh day. Certainly it had been as eafy for an Almighty power to have made the world in one day as in fix. He that faid, "Let there be light, let there be a firmanent," and it was fo, might, if he had pleased, affoon have faid, Let there be a world, and it had been fo. And why did he not? Surely for our inftruction and imitation, that we in like manner should sanctify every seventh day of our time after fix days labour. And this is given as the reason of the fourth command, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ;-for in fix days God made heaven and earth," &c.

...The Anti-fabbatarians are much gravelled with the forecited text, Gen. ii. 3. And, to evite the force of it, contrary to all reafon, they would alledge that the bleffing and fanctifying of the feventh day did not commence immediately from the creation, but only in the days of Mofes, when the command was given for the Sabbath, Exod. xx. and that Mofes only relates this in Gen. ii, by way of anticipation. But this opinion is contrary both to the text and context; for it is evident to every man that feriously reads them, that Mofes relates the fanctification of the Sabbath, as a thing done by the Lord immediately on the back of the creation, and nowife as a thing done or to be done by him two thousand years thereafter: For, affoon as he had faid, that God ended his work and rested on the feventh day, he adds immediately in words of the fame tenfe, "That God bleffed the Sabbath day and fanctified it.” And if we compare this place with Exod. xx. 11. " For in fix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the fea, and all that in them is, and rested the feventh day; wherefore the Lord bleffed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." It is manifeft, that there he brings in God's blefling

and

and fanctifying of the Sabbath, not as an action then firft done, but as that which God hath done long be fore, upon the creation of the world.

2. That this was done from the beginning, is further confirmed from Exod. xvi. 16 22. 23. from whence commentators juftly obferve, That the fanctification of the Sabbath, was a thing notour to the Ifraelites, before it was enjoined them by Mofes ; otherwise there would be a ftrange abruptnefs in the introducing of that matter. For, before ever there was any mention of the Sabbath, we find, ver. 22. that the Ifraelites of their own accord, gathered two days provision of manna on the fixth day of the week, reckoning that the gathering of manna was a fervile work, not proper on the Sabbath. But the rulers taking notice of this practice as done, not only without, but in appearance contrary to the orders given them, they bring the matter to Mofes, that they might know his thoughts of it. Whence it

appears, that the rulers doubted if the people had done right, feeing Mofes had commanded that every man fhould "gather it according to his eating, and lay up none till the next day," ver. 16. 19. and fo they might apprehend, that by virtue of this order they might lawfully gather it on the Sabbath alfo. But not being able to reconcile the feeming clashing of thefe two commands, of gathering manna every day, and refting on the seventh day, they come to Mofes in a folemn manner, for direction in this ftraitening cafe. Accordingly, ver. 23. Mofes gives them a refolution, and approves what the people had done, as agreeable to God's ancient law concerning the Sabbath, Gen. ii. which now was to be renewed and confirmed. "To morrow is the reft of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." He faith not to-morrow shall be the reft, but, to-morrow is the rest; fpeaking of it as a thing well known to them. Now, if Mofes had given them any previous direction about the keeping of the Sabbath, and gathering a double provifion of manna, what was the need of all the rulers coming fo folemnly to Mofes about this cafe? For, it is faid, ver. 22. "That all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mofes." From all which it is clear,