The summe of sacred diuinitie briefly & methodically propounded : more largly & cleerely handled and explaned / published by John Downame ...

CHAP. VIII.

Of the fourth Commandement.

THE fourth Commandement enioyneth a sanctifying of some time vnto his seruice, both other times, as occasion shall re∣quire, and especially some set and so∣lemne times, which first in a Family or for ones selfe apart, ought (ordinarily) to bee in the morning and euening euery day, as the Psal∣mist s saith, It is good to declare in the morning thy Kind∣nesse, and thy Truth in the night. Therefore was the morning and euening Sacrifice instituted of God, Exod. 29. 38, 39. Some mens zeale hath carryed them further, either in respect of the publike calamities of the Church, or their owne more speciall and priuate wants, to per∣forme this dutie both morning, euening, and at noone. Euening, morning and at noone will I meditate and pray a∣loud, saith DAVID, Psal. 55. 17. So Daniel thrice a day kneeled vpon his knees, and prayed and confessed before his God, Dan. 6. 11. which is there noted to haue beene his continuall course: or else this at noone haply may bee thought, when they came to receiue their meate with Prayer and Thankesgiuing.

Secondly, For publike exercises and meetings of the Church, we must doe it on such dayes and times of the day, as may stand with the conueniencie of that Church.

Thirdly, One whole day in seuen is of necessitie to be kept holy. This the Scripture calleth by excellencie the Sabbath Day, without a difference, as it were the elder brother to all the rest of the dayes of the weeke, which is called t Sabbaths in the plurall.

The parts of the sanctifying of this day are two: one, to rest from worldly businesses, and from those workes and duties of our calling, which at other times are not onely lawfull, but expedient and necessarie to bee done. The particular workes that we are thus to abstaine from, are of two kinds: First, great aswel as smal, and smal aswel as great. A greater and more excellent worke can hardly be imagined, then the building of Gods owne House, the materiall and outward Tabernacle, yet euen That the Lord by a strict & precise caution doth specially for∣bid vpon this day, Exod. 31. 13. Yet, saith hee, yee shall obserue my Sabbaths: Not setting your hand in that day vnto this worke, though it be most holy. Those holy wo∣men that had Odours, Oyntments, and all things in a readinesse, yet in a religious obseruation of Gods Ordi∣nance, forbare on the Sabbath to embalme the precious bodie of our Lord and Sauiour Christ, and are commen∣ded by the Holy Ghost for it. They u rested, saith LVKE, the Sabbath Day, according to the Commandement. A∣gaine, how small a thing is it to gather a few stickes! But when one presumed to doe this, and with an high hand in prophanation of the Sabbath, wee know what his doome was from the mouth of God himselfe, Numb. 15. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36.

In the second place come things both necessarie and delightfull, of profit, and of pleasure. In seed time and in haruest the fittest seasons for all worldly commodities,

thou shalt keepe Sabbath, saith the Holy Ghost, Exodus 34. 21. Of this kinde are trauailing and iournying vpon that Day; whereof the Law is giuen, Exodus 16. 29. Tarrie euery man in his place: Let no man goe out of his place the seuenth Day. Likewise Faires, Markets, and all kinde of buying and selling: for which cause x Nehemia that godly Magistrate, When the gates of Ierusalem began to bee darke before the Sabbath, commanded to shut the gates, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath, and set some of his seruants at the gates, that there should be no burden brought in vpon the Sabbath Day. Sporting al∣so, banquetting, and such like, which distract our minds from Gods Seruice, are then to be auoyded, which is that the Lord calleth, Not to do our owne delight vpon that Day, Esay 58. 13. The doing of which things, or of any of them, is contrarie to this outward sanctifying of the Sabbath.

Yet can we not say, that all these things are vtterly for∣bidden without exception: certaine cautions must bee made:

First, Things of common honestie, and for necessarie safegard of that which would otherwise perish, are law∣full vpon that Day. Our Sauiour taketh that for granted, euen amongst those that most straightly vrge the Letter of this Law, What y man is there among you, which hath a sheepe, and if it fall vpon the Sabbath Day into a Ditch, will not take it and plucke it out?

Secondly, Such are allowed as take vs not away from the Seruice of God, but serue for honest and needfull re∣creation, to make vs fitter for holy things.

Thirdly, Hither belong those labours and bodily workes which are done for the setting forth of Gods Glorie, as hee that being made whole, tooke vp his Bed and carryed it on the Sabbath Day, Iohn 5. 8, 9.

The next part of the sanctifying of this Day, is, to im∣ploy it in the Seruice of God, which is that whereunto

the outward rest tendeth, Esay 58. 13. If thou wilt turne away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thine owne will vpon mine Holiday, and call the Sabbath delight, holy to IE∣HOVAH, and honour him, not doing thine owne wayes, &c. Of this kind, are,

First, All religious and holy exercises, whereof these the Scripture noteth by name, as duties to be performed vpon that Day:

First, To heare the Word preached, Acts 13. 14. 15. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets in the Syna∣gogue on the Sabbath Day, the Ruler of the Synagogue sent vnto them, saying, Yee men and Brethren, if yee haue any word of exhortation for the People, say on. Acts 15. 21. MOSES of old time hath in euerie Citie those that preach him, being read in the Synagogues euery Sabbath Day.

Secondly, Publike Prayer. Acts 16. 13. Vpon the Sab∣bath Day we went out of the City vnto a Riuer, where Prayer was wont to be.

Thirdly, To receiue the Sacraments at the times ap∣pointed. Acts 20. 7. The first Day of the Weeke, when the Disciples were gathered together to breake bread, PAVL preached vnto them, &c.

Fourthly, Collections and gathering for the Saints: 1. Cor. 16. 2. The first Day of the Weeke, let euery one lay aside by him, treasuring vp what hee hath beene prospered.

Fifthly, Priuate meditation, which was the exercise of Iohn the Apostle, at what time hee was banished into the Ile Pathmos for the Word of God: Vpon the Lords Day hee was rauished in Spirit, in sweete and heauenly Meditations, Reuel. 1. 10. wherein it is fit that by our selues, and in our Family we conferre together, and call to minde the things that in the publike Ministerie wee haue heard, z as the men of Berea did. And in this re∣spect▪ lest by the trauailing of our beasts, men, who are necessarily to be imployed about them, should be drawn from Gods Seruice, we are commanded, that they should

also rest: for whose ease otherwise the Sabbath was not any way ordayned.

Secondly, The duties of brotherly loue, as distribu∣ting to the poore, according to the good hand and bles∣sing of God vpon vs, visiting the sicke, helping our Neighbour, his Oxe, Asse, or any thing in distresse, when they are done, not for our owne lucre, but as workes of mercy and compassion. Thus did a Paul vpon that day restore him, that being ouercome with sleepe, while Paul was preaching, the night of the Sabbath Day, fell downe from the third Loft, and was taken vp dead, Acts 20. 9. And hither tendeth the saying of our Sauiour Christ, Marke 2. 27. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. The contrarie hereof is the out∣ward obseruation, without respect of inward godlinesse.

The Seuenth Day thus to bee kept holy, was in the b first institution the Seuenth Day from the Creation, when God resting from his owne worke of creating the World, which in six dayes he had finished, sanctified that Day for a Day of rest, and named it the Sabbath Day, beginning on the Euening of the day before, when c the Creation of the World was finished, as d all o∣ther Feasts vnder the Law did. To vs Christians it is the first Day of the Creation, as in his place shall bee de∣clared.

And this Seuenth Day is all to be kept holy, from the beginning to the end, rising vp early in the morning for the sanctifying of it, after the example of our Sauiour Christ, Marke 1. 35. continuing it till the night; and in the night, as the e Psalme made for the Day speaketh, that so our verie sleepe may bee the sweter to vs.

The obseruation of the Sabbath Day (which hath a speciall Item giuen to it, Remember the Sabbath Day that thou keepe it holy) is a morall and a perpetuall Law, not onely Ceremoniall and for a time: for

First, It is the same which was f instituted in Para∣dise,

before any promise of Christ, whom all Ceremonies doe respect.

Secondly, It is written by the finger of God, in the Tables of the Couenant, where there was nothing Cere∣moniall, but all Morall, and of perpetuall indurance.

Thirdly, Our Sauiour, Mat. 24. 40. willing them that long time after his death should bee aliue, to pray that their flight might not be on the Sabbath, sheweth, that it was not to haue an end by that Sacrifice of his, where∣by g all Ceremonies were abolished.

Howbeit, some way it was ceremoniall, representing a spirituall rest: but that was not of the Substance, nor in the first Institution, but afterwards annexed to it as a thing accidentall, which had his end in Christ.

Notes

• This is the man∣ner of Gods worship: A holy rest is the sanctifying of a time vnto his Seruice, which (beside other times, as occasion shall be offered) in a Family or for ones selfe a∣part, ought (or∣dinarily) to be in the morning and euening of euery day.
• s

  Psal. 92. 2.
• For Church∣meetings on such dayes & times of the day, as may stand with the conueniencie of that Church. But of necessi∣tie one whole day in seuen, is thus to bee kept holy,
• t

  Leuit. 23. 15. & 25. 8, 8. Mat. 28. 1. Acts 20. 7. 1. Cor. 16. 2. Marke: 6 2 9. Luke 24. 1. Iohn 20. 1.
• u

  Luke 23. 56.
• x

  Nehem. 13. 19 Reade Verse, 15 16, 17, 18.
• y

  Mat. 12. 11
• Both with publike and priuate ex∣ercises.
• z

  Acts 17. 11.
• In which num∣ber, the duties of brotherly loue, as distri∣buting to the poore accor∣ding to Gods blessing vpon vs, visiting the sicke, helping our Neighbor, or any thing that is his, in their distresse, come also to bee reckoned, when they are done as works of Mercie.
• a

  Acts 20 9.
• b

  Gen. 2. 3. Exod. 20. 10, 11. This day, in the first insti∣tution was the Seuenth Day from the Cre∣ation, and cal∣led the Sab∣bath Day.
• c

  Gen. 1. 31. Beginning on the euening of the Day be∣fore, when the Creation of the World was finished.
• d

  Leuit. 23. 32.
• e

  Psal. 92. 3.
• f

  Gen. 2, 2, 3.
• g

  Dan 9 24.