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contain the formal reafon of the command: And in neither of thefe is the feventh day of the week spoke of; which notifies to us, that the observation of that precife day is not effential to the moral and ftanding law of the Sabbath, but feparable from it. If it be faid, that the command enforceth the obfervation of this day from God's example in refting upon it; I anfwer, that a feventh day's reft after fix days labour, is all the conformity which the fourth command requires of us to the example of God, i. e. any seventh day he pleaseth to appoint.

Moreover, our natural reason argueth for what is above afferted: For though the Jews, who lived in the land of Paleftine, might poffibly have obferved the precife seventh day from the creation; yet the joint obfervation of that precife time was impoffible to all others whom the fourth command doth concern, because of the difference of the climate where they live, which makes it night to many of them, when it was day to the Jews. Again, the computation of our time by weeks, confifting of seven days, each of twenty four hours length, was fo interrupted in the times of Joshua and Hezekiah, by the prodigious lengthening out of fome days, that I cannot fee how the precife feventh day could poffibly be moral, or perpetually binding. From all which I infer, that the change of the day, by inftituting the Lord's day, or firft day Sabbath, in the room of the feventh day Sabbath, doth noways repeal or infringe the morality and substance of the fourth

commandment.

Several proper queftions may be moved upon this head.

Quest. 1. By what authority came the day for the Sabbath to be changed? Anf. By the fame authority that first appointed the Sabbath, I mean that of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is true God, "the Lord of the Sabbath," and fovereign Head of his church.

There are indeed fome differences among divines about this matter, fome holding this change to have been made immediately by Chrift himself; others, that it was made by the apoftles: But both opinions come to one

thing, and equally establish the divine authority of the Lord's day; feeing the apoftles were divinely inspired, and infallibly guided by Chrift's Spirit, in their ecclefiaftical determinations, delivering nothing to be conftantly obferved in God's worship, but what they had the Lord's authority for, according to 1 Cor. xi. 23.

Athanafius painly affirms, that the change was made by the Lord himfelf; and indeed it is more than probable, that during Chrift's forty days ftay on earth after his refurrection, wherein he continued inftructing his disciples of the things relating to the gospel-church, " and giving his commandments to his apostles," Acts i. 2, 3. he, among other things, appointed this change, leaving it upon his apostles to make promulgation of it to the world after his afcenfion, and efpecially at Penticoft, at the extraordinary effufion of the Spirit on that day, whereby he publicly confirmed this charge.

When the ficred penman of the book of the As tells us, that Chritt continued for fo many days space after his refurrection, to speak to his apostles" of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, ie the gofpel church; he furely hath a special respect to the inftructions he gave them concerning the ordinances and inftitutions of the Chriftian church. And as he inftructed them how they thould change the carnal facrifices of beafts into the fpiritual facrifices of prayer and praife, the facrament of circumfion into that of baptifm, and the facrament of the paffover into that of the Lord's fupper; fo likewife he instructed them how to change the feventh-day Sabbath, into that of the Lord's day. All the primitive fathers are very pofitive concerning the divine authority of this change. Ignatius, who lived in the first century, faith (in his Epift.) concerning the Lord's day,' Omnis Chrifti ama'tor dominicum celebrat diem, reginam et principem 'dierum omnium.' Auguft. Serm. 151 de tempore, faith, 'Dominicum diem apoitoli religiofa folemnitate haben'dum, fanxerunt, quia, in eodem Redemptor nofter 'a mortuis refurrexerit, quique ideo Dominicus appellatur.'

Quell.

Quest 2. If it be asked, What was the neceffity of this change? I anfwer it was neceffary,

1. To manifeft Chrift's glory and equality with the Father; for Chrift faith, "That men shall honour the Son, as they honour the Father," John v. 23. Wherefore, as they honoured the Father with a Sabbath, upon account of his reft from creation; fo it was fit they fhould honour the Son with a Sabbath, upon account of his reft from redemption, which was a far more glorious work: And, therefore, in honour of the Son, the Christian Sabbath is, by the Spirit of God, called the Lord's day.

2. The change of the day was neceffary to manifeft Chrift's headship over his church, and that he is the fovereign Lord over his own houfe, worship and ordinanees; and, particularly, that he is "Lord of the Sabbath," which title he had affumed before in Mark ii. 28. And accordingly he would have this convin cingly difplayed to the world, by fhewing that he is able to change the day of his folemn worship.

3. Since he hath thought fit to appoint a new man ner of his worship, it was meet to appoint a new time of it also. The Levitical fervice and ceremonial wor fhip of the Sabbath day being changed, it was proper the day of the Sabbath fhould be changed alfo, to fhew the more clearly the expiration of that worship, and to induce the Jews the more eafily to lay it afide, and keep Christians the more from judaizing.

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4. There were fome things in the observation of the feventh day Sabbath peculiar to the Ifraelites, that be. longed properly to that nation, and not to others: As, 1. God defigned it to be a fignal or mark for diftinguishing that people from the reft of the world; therefore he calls the keeping of this day, a fign betwixt him and the children of Ifrael, throughout their generations," Exod. xxxi. 13. 17. i. e. a fign they were God's covenanted people, a nation that stood in a peculiar relation to God, above all others in the world. But, this relation coming at length to be altered, it was fit the fign fhould be alfo changed. 2. When God revived the inftitution of the Sabbath to the Jewish na

tion, he enjoined them to keep it in memory of their deliverance from Egypt, as well as the creation of the world: for it is very obfervable in Deut. v. when Mofes called the Ifraelites together in a folemn manner, to put them in mind of the covenant God had made with them in Horeb, he repeats the Ten Commandments to them: But, in repeating of the fourth, he leaves out the argument for keeping the Sabbath, taken from God's creating of the world in fix days, and resting the seventh; and, in the room of it, puts in their miraculous deliverance from Egypt: For, in the close of the fourth command, he fays, Deut. v. 15. "Remember that thou waft a fervant, in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God brought thee out thence, through a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." And hence fome think, that it was not precisely the feventh day from the creation that was appointed for the Jewish Sabbath, but the feventh day from their deliverance from Egypt. Laftly, This day was also appointed them, for to call to mind their wonderful deliverance at the Red-fea, which several learned writers are of opinion, was wrought for them on the morning of the Jewish Sabbath, and feems very probable from Exod. xii. 15. 16. 17. and hence they are enjoined to reft, and cease from their labour on this day, in rememberance of their being miraculously refcued on it from Egypt, and of their refting from the cruel bondage thereof. From all which it appears, that there was fomething in this commandment peculiar to the Jewish nation, and which belonged not to others. And whence I may well infer, that if the deliverance by Mofes, from Egypt and the Red fea, was a good reason for the Sabbath of the Jews, furely the eternal redemption by Chrift, from fin and hell, is a much stronger and better reafon for the Sabbath of the Chriftians.

5. In the command for the seventh day Sabbath, there were fome things typical and myftical, peculiar to the Old Teftament times, and which were to be fulfilled in the Meffiah and gospel times; and therefore to be abolished. 1. The feventh day Sabbath reprefentG

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ed Chrift, who is the only reft, centre, and satisfaction of our fouls; therefore the apoftle tells us, Col. ii. 17. That the Sabbath "was a fhadow of things to come, but the body is of Chrift," i. e. He is the fubftance which this fhadow or type represented.

2. It fignified the great Sabbath of the New Teftament, or the happy times of the gospel, wherein the faithful were to rest from the fervile rites and burden. fome ceremonies of the law.

3. The feventh day Sabbath being a "fhadow of things to come," typified the believer's reft and deliverance by Jefus Chrift from the bondage of fin, and being brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

4. The Jewish Sabbath, with its ceremonial and typical worship under the law, fhadowed forth the Chriftian Sabbath, with its pure and fpiritual worship under the gofpel, and fo is expired.

5. The rest of the feventh day Sabbath was a type and fhadow of Chrift's refting upon that day in the grave, and therefore could not be continued after his refurrection, more than any of the other types fulfilled in Chrift. Our Saviour, by choofing to ly buried throughout this day in the grave, did thereby bury the Jewish feventh day Sabbath with the rest of their types and fhadows. Hence it is that the apostle Paul, Col. ii. 16. 17. doth exprefsly number the Sabbath among the Old Testament fhadows, that ceafed upon their being accomplished in Christ the substance and Antitype, who came in place of all the legal fhadows. Now, it being evident from the forefaid text, that the Jewith Sabbath was abrogated by Chrift's death and refurrection; it is neceffary to believe that either Chritt, by himself or his apoftles, did appoint another day in lieu thereof, for the folemn worship of God; otherwise the ftate of the Christian church under the New Teftament would be far worse than that of the Jews under the Old, which is abfurd.

¡ 6. The two ages before and after Christ, are reckoned as two diverse worlds, Heb. ii. 5. wherefore as, when the first world was made by creation, there was a day

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