The doctrine of the Sabbath vindicated in a confutation of a treatise of the Sabbath, written by M. Edward Breerwood against M. Nic. Byfield, wherein these five things are maintained: first, that the fourth Commandement is given to the servant and not to the master onely. Seecondly, that the fourth Commandement is morall. Thirdly, that our owne light workes as well as gainefull and toilesome are forbidden on the Sabbath. Fourthly, that the Lords day is of divine institution. Fifthly, that the Sabbath was instituted from the beginning. By the industrie of an unworthy labourer in Gods vineyard, Richard Byfield, pastor in Long Ditton in Surrey.

CHAP. I. Breerwood. Pag. 4. l. 29.

YOu are a teacher of Gods word, within the compasse of that word I will stay with you; and by it examine, with your patience, whe∣ther this frame of your Doctrine bee grounded on the rock, or on the sand, on the firme rock of Gods Law, or on the fickle sand of your own fantasie misunderstanding the Law, and so whether it tend to the edi∣fication or ruine of the Church. For touching the commandement of the Sabaoth (vpon which I averre this Doctrine of yours cannot bee grounded) lay it before you and consider it well, and tell me, to whom is the charge of servants ceasing from worke on the Sabaoth day gi∣ven? Is it to the servants themselves or to their masters? It is given of servants I confesse, their worke is the matter of the Com∣mandement. But I demand, whether it be given and imposed to the servants themselves, or to the masters whose servants they are? For if the Commandement bee not given to them, then doe they not transgresse the Commandements, if by their masters they bee set to

worke, but the masters to whom the Law was given, that the servant should not worke, and consequently the sinne is their masters and not theirs: so if the Law be not imposed to them, then it requireth no obe∣dience of them, it obligeth them not; therefore is neither the trans∣gression of it, any sinne to them, but only to those to whom it was gi∣ven as a Law.

Answer.

First, the Commandement is given to servants also, the Words are, Thou, nor thy servant, which referred to the for∣mer, Thou shalt doe no manner of worke, can have no other sense than this; thou shalt doe no manner of worke, that art the master, nor thy seruant shall do no manner of worke a: the Commandement of ceasing from worke not giuen of him onely, but to him also. For, how know you, that the com∣mandement is given to the master but because the Lord saith, thou (meaning, that hast a servant) shalt doe no man∣ner of worke? And can you bee so purblind as not to see, the Commandement is given aswell to the servant, when it is thus delivered in the same forme, Thy servant shall doe no manner of worke? Nay, consider, you the Publisher (for, as for the Author hee knoweth already by the issue whe∣ther his collection hence were sound or no, and if he might have the favour the Saints had that aroseat our Saviours re∣surrection, Iam perswaded hee would judge this Treatise to the fire, and therefore) you the Publisher I say, and all yee that feare God, and know that a bored eare is the best Sa∣crifice, consider, The Commandement is given to the ser∣vant, as a servant, and as thy servant. I will not worke, maiest thou say, but my servant shall, his worke is mine by Covenant. The Lord with whom there is neither bond nor free, interposeth, and saith not, thou shalt not command him to worke, but thus, thy servant shall not worke. What is this but to say, as servant and as thine, hee shall not worke. As if hee said, at other times his worke is thine, but now his worke is mine: thy covenant shall not infringe his covenant with his God. As thy servant, he is not thine in thy workes or servile workes that day, but the Lords freeman, yet thy ser∣vant

that day by thee to be injoyned to the Lords worke, Gods servant to be free from thy works. Thou must observe the Commandement in thine owne person, and preserve it in the persons under thy charge, thy servant must doe no manner of thy servile worke that day, but must bee thy ser∣vant to bee ordered for the Lords worke. Consider it well and see, the matter forbidden is the servile cares and labors of the houshold, both of masters about servants, and of Ser∣vants towards their Masters.

Secondly, and seeing we are afforded by your good leave to consider the Commandement, let us with your patience (for I cannot but thinke the heart of any deceiving or de∣ceived, is not onely stumbled but convinced by the former words) weigh the Words of the precept, from which I thus reason:

First, The servant, eo nomine as a servant, is commanded to remember the day, therefore as a servant the Comman∣dement is given to him to cease from his servile work, or the worke of a servant. For is hee to remember a part and not all the precept? Or may hee earth himselfe in forgetfulnes, and put all on his masters memory.

Againe, the servant as a servant is commanded to keepe the day holy. If any deny this, then God and Caesar cannot have their due, God & callings cannot stand together, God and societies must subvert each other; and is this your quiet peaceable doctrine, that ruines all and brings confusion? Yeeld the Antecedent and then this conclusion will follow, that hee is a a servant commanded not to worke: For rest on the day is injoyned, that holinesse may be followed, and cessation from worke forbidden, to whom holinesse is com∣manded, as the words runne, Remember the Sabbath or resting day, to keepe it holy.

Besides, That permissive mandate is not onely given of, but to the servant, sixe daies thou shalt labour and do all that thou hast to do, therefore the command for the seventh daies rest is not only given of, but to the servant: for the com∣mands of both, respect the same persons.

Likewise this Command, Thou shalt not do any work, is gi∣ven to him that is contained in the word, Thou: but the ser∣vant as thy servant is contained in the word, thou; and is it not given to him then? For the words following expound the first Thou, Thou shalt not. Who meane you by this Thou? who but thou master, thy servant; thou father, thy sonne; thou mother, thy daughter, &c.

Further, the Commandement is given to them to whom the reasons of the Command reach, but they reach alike to thy servant as to thee; therefore the Command reacheth alike to thy servant as to thee. And if you say, yea, the rea∣sons reach to all alike to perswade to sanctifie, but not to all alike to forbeare work; It is false: for, besides that there can be no sanctification without cessation from servile workes, the reasons do equally and strongly bend to perswade ces∣sation from worke; as the reason from the right of the Law∣giver appropriating it to himselfe and his worship, the e∣quity of the Law which giveth sixe for worke, and re∣straines but for one day, the example of God, and the spe∣ciall blessing given to the day.

To come to handy-gripes with you: you yeeld, the ser∣vants worke is forbidden. I demand, Is it forbidden; because it hinders the master onely from sanctifying the day, or the servant also? Surely, because it hinders the servant cheif∣ly, and not the master, or not chiefely: his worke crosseth the end of the Sabbath in him, if therefore the command of sanctifying the day bee to him as a servant, the command of ceasing from worke is to him as a servant.

Let mee againe reason with you from the command; if the negative bee of the servant, and not to the servant, then also is the affirmative, which is this, Thou shalt doe the workes of holinesse that day: and from hence will follow this grosse absurdity, that if the servant goe not to the assem∣blies, nor apply himselfe to workes of holinesse, and the master also doe not bid him, his master onely sinneth, and not the servant; because according to your new learning, the master is charged with the servant for the workes of holi∣nesse,

and the servants holinesse that day is the matter only of the Command: the master and not the servant is the subject person commanded. This Command, Thou shalt doe the workes of holinesse, is of the servants holy worke, but no precept to the servant. It may be you will flee off here-from, but you are caught in your owne net, as sure as the negative precept hath his affirmative every way pro∣portionable.

Thirdly, and seeing store is no sore, where each apart will make a party good b, I adde: He that gave the Law, know∣eth best the meaning of his owne Law; let us see from his Word in other Texts the persons that stand expressely char∣ged. To whom is it given? In Ier. 17. 20. to the Kings of Iu∣dah, to all Iudah, to all the Inhabitants of Ierusalem that entred in by those gates was this Command given of cea∣sing from work; of bearing no burden on the Sabbath day: Were the Iewish servants none of Iudah, none of Ierusa∣lems inhabitants, none of those that entred in and went out by Ierusalems gates? To whom is the Command of the Sabbath rest given? In Exod. 34. 21. to him that serves, these are the words of the Text, Sixe dayes thou shalt serve c, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in eating time and in harvest thou shalt rest. Now who serveth so properly as a servant; and is not the originall word the same that notes is that serving, and a servant d, save that one is the Verbe, and the other the Noune? And what serving doth it signifie? No other than that service of servants, e of houshold ser∣vants, of such as till the ground. There can bee no way to exclude the servant at all from the charge of this precept.

Fourthly, besides all this, how is your doctrine built on the words of this Commandement; the Law saith, Thou and thy servant shall doe no worke; you say, it onely saith, Thou shalt not command thy servant to worke. Againe, take your saying, the Law bindeth the Master from comman∣ding, and will this follow, therefore it binds the servant to obey his master, if he should be so wicked as to command what God prohibits him. This is a plaine non-sequitur, and

can not hold together by all the Geometry in the World, nor can any Carpenter make this joyne, but such loose rea∣sonings hold best for them that would goe in a broad way. Now weaken these following arguments if you can.

Fifthly, hee that is circumcised is bound to keepe the whole Law, and none is bound by your owne confession, but he to whom the Law is given: the Iewish servant then, being circumcised, was bound to keepe this Law as given to him. The circumcised, saith the Apostle, is a debtor to doe the whole Law f.

Sixthly, he that wrought on the Sabbath being a stran∣ger, was not fit for communion and ordinary conversing with the Iewes, as appeareth by the words of the Comman∣dement, that charged the stranger within the gate to rest that day, and by the practice of Nehemiah, that drave such from within and without the Citie Ierusalem, and by a like instance of leaven at the Feast of the Passeover, and of un∣leavened bread. For if the stranger that sojourned onely, and was not borne in the Land, did this while eate that which was leavened, he was to be cut off from the Congre∣gation of Israel g. Now shall the servant be left to the subje∣ction to that command, that makes him unfit for communi∣on with the people of God? God forbid. Yet thus would you provide for servants, and be such a sinner against their soules.

Seventhly, how much better might you have tuned to Lyra's Harpe, than to runne a new straine; he saith thus h, he speaketh not of those of ripe age, which did now know the Law of the Sabbath, because they are forbidden toge∣ther with their parents: but this is added for childrens sake, that knew not the Law, which ought not to bee per∣mitted to doe any workes on the Sabbath day. This inter∣pretation hee had from Rabbi Solomon. I doe not say, it is the truth of the place, but this I say, you have neither truth nor patron for your abortive opinion.

Let all Christians be warned how they receive every one that pretends Scripture; all Heretikes were such, accor∣ding to that of Irenaeu••, they were evill Expositors of things

well spoken i: Satan laid his most dangerous assaults a∣gainst Christ, and would perswade them by Scripture too. Behold here one professing to stay within the compasse of the Word, and by a futilous distinction of of, and to, erres from the A. B. C. Such words fiet like a Canker or Gan∣greene k.

It shall be your wisedome, not to serve God by distincti∣ons, and to learne Divinitie of your Teachers, and not Divi∣sions of Sophisters.

Notes

• a

  Father and sonne, sonne and daughter, bond and free, were bound re∣ligiously to ob∣serve it. Doct. Slater, in the Ministers por∣tion, pag. 95.
• b

  Quae pros••nt singula multa juvant.
• c

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• d

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• e

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• Servitus, mini∣sterium, samula∣tus, cultura.
• f

  Gal. 5. 3.
• g

  Exod. 12. 19. See Junius on the place.
• h

  Non loquitur de adultis, qui jam sciebant legem Sabbati, quia prohibiti sunt simul cum parentibus: sed hoc additur pro¦pueris ignoran∣tibus legem, qui non debebant permitti dpa∣rentibus aliquid operari in diem Sabbati. Lyra.
• i

  Pravi exposi∣tores probè di∣ctorum. Iraeneus l. 1. advers. Hae∣res. in prooem.
• k

  2 Tim. 2. 17, 18. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.