A modest plea for the Lords Day or rather the summe of the plea made by divines for the Lords Day as the Christian Sabbath, against those who contend for the old Sabbath of the seventh day, in order from the creation / by J.C., D.D.

CHAP. IV. That the Lord Jesus Christ, was Lord of the Sabbath: and had a power as to alter all Laws relating to the acts of Worship, so this Law relating to the solemn time of Wor∣ship.

I Cannot but be so far charitable to our Brethren ingaged against us in this con∣troversie, as to believe they will yield us what we have hitherto contended for; so far as it extends only to a liberty for the Lord of Heaven and Earth, after his giving the fourth Commandement, to alter it, for though we cannot assert such a liberty, no not to the Eternal God, as to such things, in the ten Commandments, which con∣tain in them a morall goodness, antece∣daneous

to the Precept, (being made so by the Eternall will of God,) and the things being of that nature, that the contrary to them must necessarily impeach the glory of God, (which he cannot with consistency to his holy nature recede from) yet for such things, whose goodness meerly depends upon the Precept, certainly without dero∣gation to the Soveraign authority of God, we must acknowledge a power reserved unto God to make an alteration of them: So that though we cannot suppose that God should by any Precept, successive to the morall Law, give his creatures liberty not to glorifie him, or to blaspheme him, or to have any other gods besides him; yet we must acknowledge a liberty to God, if he pleased to alter the law for the time of his Worship, that being a thing from which no glory further ariseth to God, than as his will is obeyed. Now I presume it a prin∣ciple agreed betwixt us, and our Brethren, That Jesus Christ is God over all blessed for ever, the brightness of his Fathers Glory, the express image of his person (as the Apostle speaketh) And that in pursuance of an Eternal Covenant he was in the fulness of time ••••nt into the world, not only to work

out mans redemption, by his Active and passive obedience to the Law; But also (as the first Minister of the Gospel) as the head and Law-giver of the Gospel Church) to reveal his Fathers will for the Worship of God in it; to this purpose he tells us, Matth. 11.27. That all things were delivered him by the Father. Accordingly, Matth. 26. he instituteth the Lords Supper, and in Matth. 28.18. he instituteth the Ministry, preach∣ing the Gospel, and Baptisme, and Matth. 28.20. he authorizeth his Apostles to teach whatso∣ever he had commanded them. And lest we should think that although the alteration of the Acts of Worship were within Christs commission: yet the alteration of the so∣lemn time of Worship was not, he hath in∣spired three of the four Evangelists to tell us, what he asserted, that he was Lord of the Sabbath, Matth. 12.8. Mar. 2.28. Luk. 6.5. Texts which I wonder Mr. Titham should fancy to have any thing in them for the old Sabbath. For he who reads any of the Evangelists must yield the sense to be this at first sight: That he had authority to expound the Law of the Sabbath, con∣trary to the rigid sense of the Doctors of those times, so as it should allow a liberty

for acts of necessity, piety, and mercy. The words do plainly assert our Saviour an Au∣thority to alter the Sabbath, for he is Lord of it. Our Brethren by their daily practice, yield our Saviour a liberty to alter the Acts of Worship; hence they do not offer Sacri∣fices, as the Jews did (though by the way observe, our Saviour never said to us, You shall no longer Sacrifice) they allow of Bap∣tisme instead of Circumcision; though it be worthy of our Brethrens observation, that Mr. Titham and Mr. Pooly fell to Circumcisi∣on, and consequently to a denyall of Christ, and under the terror of that Text, If you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing. Our Brethren also allow the Ordinances of the Lords Supper, and Preaching: and cer∣tainly it is very unreasonable for our Bre∣thren, to allow their Lord and Saviour the authority to alter the Acts of Worship, and to deny him a power as to the time of Wor∣ship. Certainly, the time is not so conside∣rable as to the glory of God, as the Acts of Worship are; besides that (as I said be∣fore) to deny our Saviour this Authority, is to deny him to be God Equall with his Father, and to deny what three of the Evan∣gelists expresly assert with an even and also:

The Son of Man is Lord even or also of the Sabbath day.