Ans. The old seventh-day sabbath (whicli was the Jewish sabbath) is abrogated, and in the room of it the first day of the Aveek (which is the Christian sabbath) succeeds. The morality or substance of the fourth commandment doth not lie in keeping the seventh day precisely, but in keeping one day in seven, which God hath apj)<)inted.
Quest. But how comes thejirst day iu the week to be substituted in the room of the se- venth day ?
Ans. Not by ecclesiastic authority. Tho church (saith Mr. Perkins) hath no power to ordain a sabbath. But,
1. The change of the sabbath from tlie last day of the week to the first, was by
OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.
277
Christ's own appointment. Christ is " Lord of tlie sabbath," Mark ii. 28. And who shall appoint a day but he wlio is Lord of it? He made this day, Ps. cxviii. 24., " This is tbc day which the Lord hath madt'." Arnobius, and the cnrrcnt of ex- positors, uiulerstand it of our Christian sab- bath, and it is called the " Lords day," Rev. i. 10. As it is called the " Lord's supper," because of the Lord's institutin*;^ the bread and wine, and setting it apart from a common to a more special and sacred use : so it is called the Lord's day, l>ecause of the Lord's insntuting it, and setting it aj)art from common days to his special worship and service. Christ arose on the fust day of the week out of the grave, and appeared twice on this day to his disciples, John xx. 19, 26., which was to intimate to the dis- ciples (say Austin and Athanasius) that he transferred, the Jewish sabbath to the Lord's day.
2. The keeping of the first day (which is the Lord's day) was the practice of the apost'es, I Cor. xvi. 2. Acts xx. 7., " On the first day of the week, when tlie disci- ples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them." Here was both preaching and breaking of bread on this day. Austin, and Inocentius, and Isidore, make the keeping of our gospel-sabbath to be an apostolical sanction, and affirm, that by virtue of the apostles' practice, this Lord's day is to be sequestei'ed and set apart for divine worship. What the apostles did. they did it by divine authority, for they were inspired by the Holy Ghost.
3. Besides, the primitive church had the Lord's day — which we now celebrate — in high estimation : it was a great badge of their religion to observe this day. Igna- tius the most ancient father, who lived in the time of St. John the apostle, hath these words, " Let every one that loveth Christ, keep holy the first day of the week, the Lord's day." This day hath been observ- ed by the church of Christ, above sixteen hundred years, as learned Bucer notes. Thus you see how the seventh-day sab- bath comes to be chanjred to the first-dav sabbath.
Now there is a grand reason for chang- ing of the Jewish sabbath to the Lord's
day, because this puts us in mind of tlie " Mystery of our redemption by Christ." The reason why God did institute the old sabbath was, because God would have it kept as a memorial of the creation; but the Lord hath now brought the first day of the week in the room of it, in memory of a more glorious work than creation, and that is redemj)tion.
Great was the work of creation, but greater was the work of redem|)tion. As it was said, Hag. ii. 9., " The glory of the second temple was greater than the glory of the first temple : so the glory of the re- demption was greater than the glory of the creation. Great wisdom was seen in the curious making us, — but more miraculous wisdom in saving us. Great power was seen in bringing us out of nothing, — but greater power in helping us when we were worse than nothing. It cost more to re- deem us than to create us. In the creation there was but ' speaking a word,' Ps. cxlviii. 5. ; in the redeeming us, there was shedding of blood, 1 Pet. i. 19. The crea- tion was the work of God's fingers, Ps. viii. 3. ; redemption was the work of his arm, Luke i. 5. In the creation, God gave us ourselves; in the redemption, he gave us himself. By creation, we have a life in Adam; by redemption, we have a life in Christ, Col. iii. 3. By creation, we liad a right to an earthly paradise ; by redemp- tion, we have a title to an heavenly king- dom. So that well Christ might change the seventh day of t!ie week into the first, because this day puts us in mind of our redemption, which is a more glorious work than tlie creation.
Use. The use I shall make, is, that we should have this Christian sabbath we now celebrate in high veneration. The Jews called the sabbath, " The desire of days, and the Queen of davs ;" it is a day of sweet rest. This day we must call a " de- light, the holy of the Lord, honourable," Isa. I viii. 13. 'Metal that hath the king's stamp upon it is honourable, and of great value. God hath set his royal stamp upon the sabbath; it is the sabbath of the Lord, this makes it honourable. This day we should look upon as the best day in the week. What the Pluenix is among the
27S
OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.