A treatise of the Sabbath and the Lords-day Distinguished into foure parts. Wherein is declared both the nature, originall, and observation, as well of the one under the Old, as of the other under the New Testament. Written in French by David Primerose Batchelour in Divinitie in the Vniversity of Oxford, and minister of the Gospell in the Protestant Church of Roven. Englished out of his French manuscript by his father G.P. D.D.

CHAPTER First.

REASON I.

1. First Reason. The times and places of Gods service, are ac∣cidentall circumstances, and have no morall equity in them, but depend on a particular institution.

2. GOD tooke occasion of his resting on the Seventh day to in∣stitute that day.

3. Confession of some that are of the contrary opinion.

1 TO establish the second of these two opinions a∣fore mentioned, and to refute the first, whereby the observation of one day of rest in the weeke is affirmed to be a morall duty, I say First, that the nature of the thing called in question is repug∣nant to this opinio. For it is a thing evident of it selfe, that as the places, even so the times of Gods service are acciden∣tall circumstances, which have no foundation in any naturall and

essentiall justice and equitie, nor any necessity inherent in them, but depend absolutely on the ordinance of God, or of men. What hath in it one day of seven, more than one of a greater or lesser number, wherefore we should affirme, that the observation of that day, rather than of another day, is a morall duty, appertaining, yea necessary to whole mankinde, that thereby it may attaine unto the end for which man was created, therfore it hath an obligatory pow∣er over all nations in all ages, which may bee demonstrated and shewed perspicuously by naturall reasons, as some have too hardily pronounced, but without any evidence produced, saving their sim∣ple word, which to men that have eyes in their heads, and scorne to be Pythagoras Disciples is no good payment.

2 It was the Creation of the world in sixe dayes, and Gods rest on the seventh day, that was to God the occasion of the appointing of the seventh day, for his service: Now who can shew in that wonderfull worke of the Creation in sixe dayes, and in Gods rest on the seventh day the least appearance of morality? As there ap∣peareth no such thing unto us, so no other reason of this dispensati∣on is made manifest unto us, saving the good pleasure of GOD, who would have it so. For who can conceive, and farre lesse ex∣presse and shew by words, any essentiall justice in the observation of this number of dayes that God pitched upon for the framing of his workes, and his resting from them?

3 Some of them against whom I have undertaken this brotherly disputation, have acknowledged and said, that we observe not one day of seven under the New Testament, as a part of Gods service, but only as the time thereof, which sheweth that it is not a morall thing. For if it were, it should bee essentially a part of Gods ser∣vice, as is universally whatsoever is morall. Vnder the Old Testa∣ment it made a part of Gods service, not of the morall, but of the ceremoniall and typike service, established then in the infancy of the Church, and which was not to continue but during that time, as we shall see hereafter.