1. The first day of the week! Why it was the day of our life. "After two days he will revive us," and in the third day "we shall live in his sight." "After two days" there is the Jews" preparation, and seventh day sabbath, quite pa.s.sed over; and in the third day, that is the first day of the week, which is the day our Lord did rise from the dead, we began to live by him in the sight of G.o.d (Hosea 6:2; John 20:1; 1 Cor 15:4).
2. The first day of the week! That is the day in which, as I hinted before, our Lord was wont to preach to his disciples after he rose form the dead; in which also he did use to shew them his hands and his feet (Luke 24:38,39; John 20:25). To the end they might be confirmed in the truth of his victory over death and the grave for them. The day in which he made himself known to them in breaking bread. The day in which he so plentifully poured out the Holy Ghost upon them. The day in which the church, both at Jerusalem and those of the Gentiles, did use to perform to G.o.d divine worship: all which has before been sufficiently proved. And shall we not imitate our Lord, nor the church that was immediately acted[21]
by him in this, and the churches their fellows? Shall, I say, the Lord Jesus do all this in his church, and they together with him!
Shall the churches of the Gentiles also fall in with their Lord and with their mother at Jerusalem herein! And again, shall all this be so punctually committed to sacred story, with the day in which these things were done, under denomination, over and over, saying, These things were done on the first day, on the first day, on the first day of the week, while all other days are, as to name, buried in everlasting oblivion! And shall we not take that notice thereof as to follow the Lord Jesus and the churches herein?
Oh stupidity!
3. This day of the week! They that make but observation of what the Lord did of old, to as many sinners, and with his churches on this day, must needs conclude, that in this day the treasures of heaven were broken up, and the richest things therein communicated to his church. Shall the children of this world be, as to this also, wiser in their generations than the children of light, and former saints, upon whose shoulders we pretend to stand, go beyond us here also.
Jacob could by observation gather that the place where he lay down to sleep was no other but the house of G.o.d, and the very gate of heaven (Gen 28:17).
Laban could gather by observation, that the Lord blessed him for Jacob"s sake (Gen 30:27).
David could gather by what he met with upon Mount Moriah, that that was the place where G.o.d would have the temple builded, therefore he sacrificed there (1 Chron 21:26-28, 22:1,2; 2 Chron 3:1).
Ruth was to mark the place where Boaz lay down to sleep, and shall not Christians also mark the day in which our Lord rose from the dead (Ruth 3:4).
I say, shall we not mark it, when so many memorable things were done on it, for, and to and in the churches of G.o.d! Let saints be ashamed to think that such a day should be looked over, or counted common, when tempted to it by Satan, when [it was] kept to religious service of old, and when beautified with so many divine characters of sanct.i.ty as we have proved, by Christ, his church, the Holy Ghost, and the command of apostolical authority it was.
But why, I say, is this day, on which our Lord rose from the dead, nominated as it is? why was it not sufficient to say "he rose again," or, he rose again the third day? without a specification of the very name of the day. For, as was said afore, Christ appeared to his disciples, after his resurrection, on other days also, yea, and thereon did miracles to. Why then did not these days live?
Why was their name, for all that, blotted out, and this day only kept alive in the churches?
The day on which Christ was born of a virgin; the day of his circ.u.mcision, the day of his baptism, and of his transfiguration, are not by their names committed by the Holy Ghost to holy writ to be kept alive in the world, nor yet such days in which he did many great and wonderful things. But THIS day, this day is still nominated; the first day of the week is the day. I say, why are things thus left with us? But because we, as saints of old, should gather, and separate, what is of divine authority from the rest.
For in that this day is so often nominated while all other days lie dead in their graves, it is as much as if G.o.d should say, Remember the first day of the week to keep it holy to the Lord your G.o.d.
And set this aside, and I know not what reason can be rendered, or what prophecy should be fulfilled by the bare naming of the day.
When G.o.d, of old, did sanctify for the use of his church a day, as he did many, he always called them either by the name of the day of the month, or of the week, or by some other signal by which they might be certainly known, why should it not then be concluded, that for this very reason the first day of the week is thus often nominated by the Holy Ghost in the testament of Christ?
Moreover, he that takes away the first day, as to this service, leaves us now no day, as sanctified of G.o.d, for his solemn worship to be by his churches performed in. As for the seventh day sabbath, that, as we have seen, is gone to its grave with the signs and shadows of the Old Testament. Yea, and has such a dash left upon it by apostolical authority, that it is enough to make a Christian fly from it for ever (2 Cor 3).
Now, I say, since that is removed by G.o.d: if we should suffer the first day also to be taken away by man, what day that has a divine stamp upon it, would be left for us to worship G.o.d in?
Alas! the first day of the week is the Christian"s market day, that which they so solemnly trade in for sole provision for all the week following. This is the day that they gather manna in. To be sure the seventh day sabbath is not that. For of old the people of G.o.d could never find manna on that day. "On the seventh day [said Moses] which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none" (Exo 16:26).
Any day of the week manna could be found, but on that day it was not to be found upon the face of the ground. But now our first day is the manna day; the only day that the churches of the New Testament, even of old, did gather manna in. But more of this anon.
Nor will it out of my mind but that it is a very high piece of ingrat.i.tude, and of uncomely behaviour, to deny the Son of G.o.d his day, the Lord"s day, the day that he has made. And as we have shewed already, this first day of the week is it; yea, and a great piece of unmannerliness is it too, for any, notwithstanding the old seventh day is so degraded as it is, to attempt to impose it on the Son of G.o.d. To impose a day upon him which yet Paul denies to be a branch of the ministration of the Spirit, and of righteousness.
Yea, to impose a part of that ministration which he says plainly "which was done away," for that a better ministration stript it of its glory, is a high attempt indeed (2 Cor 3).
Yet again, the apostle smites the teachers of the law upon the mouth, saying, "understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (1 Tim 1:7).
The seventh day sabbath, was indeed G.o.d"s rest from the works of creation; but yet the rest that he found in what the first day of the week did produce, for Christ was born from the dead on it, more pleased him than did all the seventh days that ever the world brought forth: wherefore, as I said before, it cannot be but that the well-bred Christian must set apart this day for solemn worship to G.o.d, and to sanctify his name therein.
Must the church of old be bound to remember that night in which they did come out of Egypt! must Jephtha"s daughter have four days for the virgins of Israel yearly to lament her hard case in! Yea, must two days be kept by the church of old, yearly, for their being delivered from Haman"s fury! And must not one to the world"s end be kept by the saints for the Son of G.o.d their Redeemer, for all he has delivered them from a worse than Pharaoh or Haman, even from the devil, and death, and sin, and h.e.l.l! Oh stupidity! (Exo 12:24; Judg 11:39,40; Esth 9:26-32).
A day! say some, G.o.d forbid but he should have a day. But what day? Oh! The old day comprised within the bounds and bowels of the ministration of death.
And is this the love that thou hast to thy Redeemer, to keep that day to him for all the service that he hath done for thee, which has a natural tendency in it to draw thee off from the consideration of the works of thy redemption, to the creation of the world! Oh stupidity!
But why must he be imposed upon? Has he chosen that day? Did he finish his work thereon? Is there in all the New Testament of our Lord, from the day he rose from the dead, to the end of his holy book, one syllable that signifies in the least the tenth part of such a thing? where is the scripture that saith that this Lord of the sabbath commanded his church, from that time, to do any part of church service thereon? Where do we find the churches to gather together thereon?
But why the seventh day? What is it? Take but the shadow thereof away. Or what shadow now is left in it since its inst.i.tution as to divine service is taken long since from it?
Is there any thing in the works that was done in that day, more than shadow, or that in the least tends otherwise to put us in mind of Christ; and he being come, what need have we of that shadow?
And I say again, since that day was to be observed by a ceremonial method, and no way else, as we find; and since ceremonies have ceased, what way of divine appointment is there left to keep that old sabbath by Christians in?
If they say, ceremonies have ceased. By the same argument, so is the sanction of the day in which they were to be performed. I would gladly see the place, if it is to be found, where it is said, That day retains its sanction, which yet has lost that method of service which was of G.o.d appointed for the performance of worship to him thereon.
When Canaan worship fell, the sanction of Canaan fell. When temple worship, and altar worship, and the sacrifices of the Levitical priesthood fell, down also came the things themselves. Likewise so, when the service, or shadow and ceremonies of the seventh day sabbath fell, the seventh day sabbath fell likewise.
On the seventh day sabbath, as I told you, manna was not to be found.
But why? For that that day was of Moses and of the ministration of death. But manna was not of him. Moses, saith Christ, "gave you not that bread of heaven" (John 6:31,32). Moses, as was said, gave that sabbath in tables of stone, and G.o.d gave that manna from heaven. Christ, nor his Father, gives grace by the law; no not by that law in which is contained the old seventh day sabbath itself.
The law is not of faith, why then should grace be by Christians expected by observation of the law? The law, even the law written and engraven in stones, enjoins perfect obedience thereto on pain of the curse of G.o.d. Nor can that part of it now under consideration, according as is required, be fulfilled by any man, was the ceremony thereto belonging, allowed to be laid aside (Isa 58:13). Never man yet did keep it perfectly, except he whose name is Jesus Christ: in him therefore we have kept it, and by him are set free from that law, and brought under the ministration of the Spirit.
But why should we be bound to seek manna on that day, on which G.o.d says, none shall be found.
Perhaps it will be said, that the sanction of that day would not admit that manna should be gathered on it.
But that was not all, for on that day there was none to be found.
And might I choose, I had rather sanctify that day to G.o.d on which I might gather this bread of G.o.d all day long, then set my mind at all upon that in which no such bread was to be had.
The Lord"s day, as was said, is to the Christians the princ.i.p.al manna day.
On this day, even on it manna in the morning very early was gathered by the disciples of our Lord, as newly springing out of the ground.
The true bread of G.o.d: the sheaf of first fruits, which is Christ from the dead, was ordained to be waved before the Lord on the morrow after the sabbath, the day on which our Lord ceased from his own work as G.o.d did from his (Lev 23).
Now therefore the disciples found their green ears of corn indeed!
Now they read life, both in and out of the sepulchre in which the Lord was laid. Now they could not come together nor speak one to another, but either their Lord was with them, or they had heart enflaming tidings from him. Now cries one and says, The Lord is risen: And then another and says, He hath appeared to such and such.
Now comes tidings to the eleven that their women were early at the sepulchre, where they had a vision of angels that told them their Lord was risen: Then comes another and says, The Lord is risen indeed. Two also came from Emmaus and cried, We have seen the Lord: and by and by, while they yet were speaking, their Lord shows himself in the midst of them.
Now he calls to their mind some of their eminent pa.s.sages of his life, and eats and drinks in their presence, and opens the scriptures to them: yea, and opens their understanding too, that their hearing might not be unprofitable to them; all which continued from early in the morning till late at night. Oh! what a manna day was this to the church. And more than all this you will find, if you read but the four evangelists upon this subject.
Thus began the day after the sabbath, and thus it has continued through all ages to this very day. Never did the seventh day sabbath yield manna to Christians. A new world was now begun with the poor church of G.o.d, for so said the Lord of the sabbath, "Behold, I make all things new." A new covenant, and why not then a new resting day to the church? Or why must the old sabbath be joined to this new ministration? let him that can, show a reason for it.
Christians, if I have not been so large upon things as some might expect; know, that my brevity on this subject is, from consideration that must needs not be spoken thereto, and because I may have occasion to write a second part.
Christians, beware of being entangled with old testament ministrations, lest by one you be brought into many inconveniencies.
I have observed, that though the Jewish rites have lost their sanction, yet some that are weak in judgment, do bring themselves into bondage by them. Yea, so high have some been carried as to a pretended conscience to these that they have at last proceeded to circ.u.mcision, to many wives, and the observation of many bad things besides.
Yea, I have talked with some pretending to Christianity, who have said, and affirmed, as well as they could, that the Jewish sacrifices must up again.
But do you give no heed to these Jewish fables "That turn from the truth" (t.i.tus 1:14). Do you, I say, that love the Lord Jesus, keep close to his testament, his word, his gospel, and observe HIS holy day.
And this caution in conclusion I would give, to put stop to this Jewish ceremony, to wit, That a seventh day sabbath pursued according to its imposition by law, (and I know not that it is imposed by the apostles) leads to blood and stoning to death those that do but gather sticks thereon (Num 15:32-36). A thing which no way becomes the gospel, that ministration of the Spirit and of righteousness (2 Cor 3). Nor yet the professors thereof (Luke 9:54-56).
Nor can it with fairness be said, that that sabbath day remains, although the law thereof is repealed. For confident I am, that there is no more ground to make such a conclusion, than there is to say, that circ.u.mcision is still of force, though the law for cutting of the uncirc.u.mcised is by the gospel made null and void.