Fourth Commandment.~- -I 29 i ~ abnlilh 'd .at his coming, but frill there Iyes a ftritt and indifpenfablc Obligatio11; upon us to obferv~ a Sabbath Holy unto the Lord. •' ' .J ' . Smndly, The Reafc>ns of this Command are all of them Moral and Pcqictual, and >- therefore filch is the Obligation of it to us Chrifrians. The Equity is the- fame ~6 liS, that it was to them, viz., That we fuonld allow on~ Day fn f~ven to the \iVdrJlup of that God, who fo liberally allows us fix for our ordmary Affiurs. The Eafc an<j Refrefhmentof our Bodies from the Labonrs of our Calllngs, is as ncceffary as then it was. And we are frill as. much obliged ~ith Than)cfulnefs to reh~ember a~d meditate upon t he·gteat Mercy of our CreatiOJ)., as they were; and t:hcr_efore, ,If thefc were fi1fficient Reafons, why the Jews fho~ld ·obferve <t 1particular Sabbath, they are· llill as forcible and cogent with u%. Again, · • c · Thirdly, Our Saviour foretelling theDellrul:tion of 'Jcruf•lem, bids his bifciples 3. pray that their·Flight m'3ht not be in the. Winter, ·nor on the ,Sitbbath ' D"".Y· And .Yet .the Mauh. :l.4; Deflruttion of that C1ty happened about fourty Y_ears · after the Death of •Chnft : :~o. And therefore, certainly tliofe who Were his Difciples, lay tmder an Obliga tion of obferving a S:1bb:1th-Day; becaufe ouT Sa:viour intimates, that it worild prove an.h~avy Addition to their Afflil:tion, · if they fbould be forced to take their Flight on 'tne Sabbath, when they ought and defired to b~ imployed in the Spiritual 'Exercife. 6f Devotion and Holy Duties proper to that Day. : But although the faul:tifyiug of a Sabbath be thus Obligatory to Chrifl:iahs, yet it is not the fame S.1bbath-Day, to the Obfervation of which ~he : Jews and the People of God, before Chrift's coming into the World, were bound. B1it · it is with good Ground, and upon good Authority, changed from the Jall: to the firll :Qay_of the \.\leek, frofn Saturdrry to Sunday; called now the Lord'S-Day, becaufe it .was that Day of the Week on which our Lord and Saviour rofe from the Dead; in Me~ mory of which, and in a Thankfu l Acknowledgment of the great Mercy of OUt_' Redemption, fully compleated by his Refurrel:tion, the Sabbath hath been trannatC<j to this Day, a1id is now rightly celebrated on this Day by all tfie .Clitlrches of Chtill: thrc;>ughont the World. · . 1 .' • And thisChange of the Sabbath is the Third Head 'which I promiferl to fpeak of: Now as the firft lnftitution of the Sabbath 'was by Divine Apthori~y; fo like- in. )vife is the Change of it. For as God relled from his Labour on the !all: Day of the Week; fo Chrift refted from an his Labour, Sbrrows and Affiictions on this Day, in which he fully complcated the Work of our Redemption, and manifcfted it to l;c perfel:ted liy hi• Refiu·rel:tion from the Dead. Therefore, as the Jewilh Sabbath was fandified, becaufe of the finilbing of the Work of Creation; fo w.:is the ChriJtian S1bbath, lx:caufe of the finilhing of the \Vol-k Of RedemptiOn; which is of far greater ImportanCe, anCl therefore deferves more to De celebrated than the 9ther. Chrift fan(}ificd this .Day by his Refurreaion ; ·.and the Apoftles confirmed ·the Obfcr vation of it, b:>thby their Writings and uniform Pfatl:icc; and it hath fuch an inviolable S,tam.p of Divinity upon it; that now· it iS no more alter:lble to the end of the WorkJ:: . ..N_or is it needful that an cxP:efs Comma rid of Chrift fhould be brought for thisChange out of the New Teftatnent; it is fufficieht if by necclfary Confequence it :lil~Y- be deduced from &ripttire.. And yetj · ' · ' • . ·' ' !J . c· · Firft, We have exprefs places of the Sqipture ,thus far, that the Firfi:. Day of r. ' th<f \¥ eek iS..rrrentioned as~!~ 1htcd ~ime_ fO_rChl-ifti?.fl~ to meet together, topreach, r Cor. H). ·to hear) alid t6ihx;ea.k ·B1•ead ~~r'l' tHe rrlolf Sactament Of the ·Lerd'.spSupper, and .J to r, :l.. 1>erform other Duties of !UliJilon: So Aa; 1<J, 'i-'. Vpon' : <be" jirf/ Day ;of ihe Wick; . when the Difciples came together ~~o break Bread, fftulfreached .unto. them•. . Which plainly declares that the folemn Me.tings- and Affemblies <>f Chrill:ians were then on .this Day;, the Jewifb__ Sab~th beg;in~ing to wear out; and the ChrHHap Sabbath, or tfic Lord s..nay, commg m to Its pfaCe and fl:ead. ~ ! :.. -' 1 - ' •....-. J. r - ,. Again, The publick Colletlions for 'the pooni Saints; weJ'e'ordain'd by tfie Apo1l:Ic to be made on. this D3y: ,J N()Tf) concerning · ~he .atkBion fof~ the ' $aims: upon,th~ firft Day. of the Week let roery one of you lay by htm m ftore, JU God hath profper(d lnm. And thiS very Rule and Cullom the Apollle faith, he bad before eftablifb'd in the ; ' ' L I · Church
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