Theses Sabbaticæ, or, The doctrine of the Sabbath wherein the Sabbaths I. Morality, II. Change, III. Beginning. IV. Sanctification, are clearly discussed, which were first handled more largely in sundry sermons in Cambridge in New-England in opening of the Fourth COmmandment : in unfolding whereof many scriptures are cleared, divers cases of conscience resolved, and the morall law as a rule of life to a believer, occasionally and distinctly handled / by Thomas Shepard ...

Thesis 48.

The things which are morally enjoyned in this Com∣mandment, [ 48] are these two,

• 1. Some things are Primariò; i. Primarily, firstly and more generally morall.
• 2. Some things are secundariò; i. Secondarily, deriva∣tively and consequently morall.

A time, a day, a seventh day of rest are in the first respect moral, but in the other respect this or that particular se∣venth day may be said to be morall: Things primarily mo∣rall are perpetuall; things secondarily morall are not ne∣cessarily so: As for example, To honour superiors and fa∣thers, whether of Common-wealth or family, is primarily morall, but to honour these or those particular superiors is secondarily morall, because our honouring of them ariseth from that primary and generall law of morall equity, viz. that if our fathers are to be honoured, then in the second place it followes, that these and those particular persons be∣ing our lawfull fathers, are to be honoured also: To honor our fathers whom God hath set over us, is perpetuall; to ho∣nour these or those particular fathers, is not perpetuall, be∣cause themselves are not perpetuall but changeable. It was a morall duty to honour this particular King David, but it was not perpetuall, for when David was taken away, they were not bound to honour King David any more, when King Solomon his sonne became his successor: nor was it a ceremoniall duty to honour this or that particular King, because it was changeable from one to another, but it was a morall duty so to doe; wherein the law and rule is not changed (it being primarily morall) but onely the object, which wee are bound to honour se∣condarily in respect of the generall rule: So 'tis in this law of the Sabbath; To keep a day, a seventh dayes Sab∣bath, is perpetual, it being primarily morall, but to ob∣serve

this or that particular day, is of it selfe changeable being secondarily morall: For if it bee a morall duty to sanctifie a seventh day which God shall appoint, then it's morall (as it were) in the second place to sanctifie this or that seventh interchangeably which God doth appoint, and yet it doth not follow that this or that particular seventh is in it selfe ceremoniall, because it is changeable•• for in such a change the morall rule is not changed, but the mo∣rall object onely to which it is morally applyed; the duty is not changed, but onely the day: and in this respect it should not seem hard to make somethings morall which are not perpetuall; for lawes primarily morall are properly perpetuall, but lawes secondarily morall, not necessarily so, but changeable, because, as hath been said, herein there is no change of the rule, but onely of the object or applica∣tion of the rule, which may be variously and yet morally observed.