1 APPEL'DIX TO THE FIRST DISCOURSE, Shaving the Testimonies of the Primitive Fathers to the Lord's- day. DOCTOR Young, and Mr. Baxter, in their discourses on the Lord's-day, Mr. Placette in his " Dissertation de Morale et de Theologie," Doctor Wright on the" Observation of the Lord's-day," and several others, have repeated these testimoniesof the ancients. Andthe late learnedand honour- able Lord King., in his second part of the " Enquiry into the Primitive Churches," has particularly given us this account, which I shall here repre- sent, or rather epitomised, changing some ofhis translations a little nearer to the words of the original. See page 155. § 5, 6-1 t. "That there are particular seasons appointed for public and solemn wor- ship, appears from Clemens Romauus ; he says, God bath requited us to servehim in the appointed times and seasons : And in two other places of his firstepistle, speaks of those " determined and commanded seasons," in which, whenwe worship, we maybeblessed and accepted by kim. And Pliny, the heathen,reports, " that the christians in his time met together on an appoint- ed day, to sing praises to Christ as to a God, and to bind themselves by a sacrament. Now the chiefest of these appointed times was thefirst day of (he week, on which they constantly met, toperform their religious services. So writes Justin Martyr, "On the day that is called Sunday, all that dwell in the cities or the country come together in one place, or for the same end : The writings of the apostles or prophets are read, &c." with other religious exercises. And upon this account those parts of God's public worship are shied byTurtullian, the "Lord's Solemnities, or Dominica Solemnia ;" and Cypriots tells us, that the reader, or clerk, " reads on the Lord's-day :" And Victorious Petavionensis says, "On the Lord's-day, we go forth to eat bread with giving of thanks," which is the eucharist, or Lord's-supper: And Minucins Felix mentions thechristians assembling to a festival on a so- lemn day." "Clemens Alexandrinus, calls it the chief of days, and our rest indeed." " On Sunday we give ourselves to gladness," saith Tertullian : And before him St. Barnabas says, " we keep the eighth day with gladness, on which Jesus arose from the dead :" And the learned author supposes, that Ignatius means the observation of theLord's day, by banishing every appearance of grief and sorrowat that time, insomuch that Tertulliian says, " on the Lord's- day, we think it amiss or sinful, either to fast or to kneel in worship :" And even when hewas a Montonist he excepted the sabbaths and the Lord's-day from fasting. " Dionysius, bishopof Corinth, inhis letter to the church of Rome, says, to -daybeing theLord's-day, we keep it holy, and therein we have read your epistle, and the first epistle of Clemens," who was pastor at Rome. Clemens of Alexandria writes, " that atrue christian, according to the com- mandsof the gospel, observes theLard's-day, by casting out all evil thoughts and entertaining profitable ones, glorifying the resurrection of the Lord thereby."
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