various apprehensions about it, which, for brevity's sake, I shall
omit. The Scripture is plain, that from evening to evening is the set
time, or from the going down of the sun to the going down of the sun.
This is clear from the beginning, according to Gen. 1:5, _The evening
and the morning was the first day_. The evening and morning make a
complete natural day, and the evening goeth before the morning,
because the darkness was before the light.
_Obj._ But some will say, It is not said the evening and the morning
was the seventh day.
_Ans._ If the evening and the morning be the sixth day, the evening
and the morning must needs be the seventh day, unless we should think
that the seventh day hath no night belonging to it. Some think that
the reason why no mention is made of the evening of the seventh day,
is, because the Sabbath is a day of joy and delight, or an earnest of
the new Jerusalem state, wherein shall be no night. Rev. 21:25. Night
doth frequently, in the Scripture, hold forth a state of affliction,
but the Sabbath is a holy, sanctified time; on it the Creator rested
and was refreshed, and commanded the observation of it that his
creatures might be refreshed.
Nehemiah's practice is sufficient proof for the beginning of the
Sabbath at evening, (chap. 13:19,) who, when the gates of Jerusalem
began to be dark, commanded them to be shut till after the Sabbath.
And if you would know when the evening begins, the evangelist Mark
doth inform you in chapter 1:32, _At even, when the sun did set, they
brought unto him all that were diseased_. When the sun doth set, then
begins the evening, then begins the holy rest or seventh-day Sabbath.
So the disciples of Christ began the Sabbath; and so the Lord's
ancient people celebrate the Sabbath unto this day.
But what confusion are they in who say the Sabbath was changed from
the seventh day to the first day, and yet observe neither, but part of
the first day and part of the second day; for they begin their Sabbath
at midnight, when a good part of the first day is spent, and they end
at midnight, when a good part of the second day is spent; and yet they
will have this to be a Sabbath, yea, and a first day Sabbath, and will
highly charge a man to be an offender if he work one hour upon the
first day, though themselves work five; and thus we see how
anti-Christ hath changed times as well as laws; a first-day Sabbath
instead of a seventh-day Sabbath; instead of from even to even, from
midnight to midnight, when most are fast asleep, being insensible of
the beginning of their Sabbath, or the ending of it.
But, blessed be the Lord, that he hath revealed this his ancient,
useful, and honorable truth, to wit, the holy seventh-day Sabbath,
notwithstanding all the inventions of anti-Christ to bury it in
oblivion, and that he is pleased to separate a remnant, that are
resolved to search and try their ways, and to turn unto him, to follow
him in the ways of his precepts, (notwithstanding the dragon's wrath,)
who will not take things upon trust, nor go upon the legs of men, but
will try all things, and hold fast that which is good, for they are
virgins, and they will follow the Lamb, though their company be small
and their charge great. They will not be afraid of the Sabbath because
it was given to the Jews, any more than they are afraid of the
adoption, and the glory, and the promises, and the other nine lively
oracles, which were all given to the Jews. Rom. 9:4. And this I may
modestly say, to the praise of the Lord of the Sabbath, and without
boasting, that if the saints did know how the Lord delights to meet
with his people in this way of obedience in celebrating the Sabbath,
they would soon call the Sabbath _a delight, the holy of the Lord,
honorable_, and honor him by ceasing from their own works, as God did
from his, and doing those works which are suitable for the blessed
season. But I shall say no more at present, save only this, that
whoever they are that would follow the Lord in this appointment of
his, they must labor much in the strength of his Spirit to get this
world under them, for it stands in direct opposition to earthly men,
and earthly principles; therefore pray with the Psalmist, _Incline my
heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness_.
VINDICATION OF
THE TRUE SABBATH
IN TWO PARTS:
PART FIRST,
Narrative of Recent Events;
PART SECOND,
Divine Appointment of the Seventh Day.
BY J. W. MORTON,
LATE MISSIONARY OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
NEW-YORK:
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR,
AT THE SABBATH RECORDER OFFICE,
No. 9 Spruce Street.
PART I.
NARRATIVE OF RECENT EVENTS
CHAPTER I.
On the 13th of December, 1847, I landed with my family in
Port-au-Prince, Haïti, the first Foreign Missionary of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church in the United States. I began my labors soon
afterwards, and continued them, without serious interruption, till the
21st of April, 1849, when a train of circumstances, to which I am
about to advert, made it necessary that I should return home.
In the latter part of December, 1848, I was unexpectedly called upon
to defend the practice of keeping holy the first day of the week, in
place of the seventh. I had been taught from my infancy, that the
moral law, "summarily comprehended in the ten commandments," is the
only rule of moral conduct; and I had supposed, that it required me
and everybody else to keep the "Christian Sabbath" on the first day of
the week. On examination, however, I was forced to the conclusion,
that the fourth commandment enjoins nothing else than the
sanctification of the seventh day. Of course, then, I must either
renounce this precept, as a part of the rule of my life, or endeavor
to keep holy the seventh day of the week. The former I might not dare
to do; the latter I knew I might _attempt_, without offending God, or
insulting the majesty of his law.
The question then came up, Is there any scripture authority for
keeping holy the first day? Does God require it? I knew very well,
that if God does _not_ require it, I could not, as a Reformed
Presbyterian, bind my conscience to it. I took up the Bible, resolved
on a prayerful and thorough search. I wished to assure myself of the
divine authority of the first day, even after I was satisfied that the
claims of the seventh are indisputable. But how was it possible to
gain this object? Every text to which I was referred for proof seemed
to lack the very thing that I most wanted, _a certain testimony to the
institution of a Christian Sabbath_. I reasoned thus:--The fact that
Christ appeared once or twice to his disciples on the first day of the
week, and the fact that the disciples met _once_ on that day to break
bread, and the fact that Paul commanded the Corinthians and Galatians
to 'lay by them in store' on that day, as God had prospered
them--these facts, with a few others, _might_ shed light on the
_institution_, if _one single text_ could be found, to prove its
_existence_. But if this can not be found, they do not touch the
question at issue. And how I did long for that _one text_! How I
chided with the Apostles for not having made known more clearly what I
had determined to be the will of God! Never did Rachel mourn for her
children, as I mourned for that _one text_; but, like her, I could not
be comforted, because _it was not_!
I was thus driven to the conclusion, that, should I make conscience of
keeping holy the first day of the week, I would offer to God a service
that he did not require, and could not accept at my hands.
But what was I to do? This was the great _practical_ question. Could
I, with my then present views, continue to preach the gospel, as I had
done before, in that "land of darkness, and of the shadow of death?"
Could I teach the children in the school, as I had taught them before,
that God had changed the Sabbath to the first day of the week? Could I
proclaim to the benighted heathen, that they might habitually break
the fourth commandment with impunity? Could I, as a Protestant
missionary, become the partizan of him who thought "to change times
and laws,"[14] by assuring his blinded devotees, that his changes had
been made by divine authority? Or, on the other hand, could I carry
out my convictions of truth and duty, declaring the whole counsel of
God, as I then understood it, and retain, at the same time, my
connection with my brethren at home? Would they grant me this
privilege, and, if they would, could I accept it?
A little reflection served to convince me, that all these questions
must be answered in the negative. It was no small matter, to resolve
upon breaking those bonds of ecclesiastical fellowship that had so
sweetly bound me to the Reformed Presbyterian Church. A struggle,
painful indeed, but not protracted, ensued. I resolved at once to keep
the Sabbath in my family, though I feared it would not be honest to
make any _public_ exhibition of my views, while I continued to
minister by the authority of the Synod. I know not what I should have
done, had not my change of sentiments brought with it the needed
consolations. Whatever were the "vexing thoughts" with which my heart
was oppressed, during the first six days of the week, I found
invariably, in the quiet retreat of my little family, on the seventh,
that "peace of God that passeth all understanding." Yes, Haïti, when
the recollection of thy brilliant skies, thy evergreen mountains, and
thy sweet clear rivers, shall have ceased to awaken joy in my bosom,
the memory of thy Sabbaths shall be "my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage!"
CHAPTER II.
Convinced as I was, that something must be done
immediately to bring the subject of my change to
the attention of the rulers of our church, before the
next meeting of Synod, I prepared the following
Circular Letter, which I transmitted to more than
seventy ministers and elders, in different parts of the
United States.
CIRCULAR.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haïti, Jan. 17, 1849.
MY DEAR BROTHER,--The mutual relation existing between us, as members
of the same Synod, the glory of our common Lord, the interests of our
Mission, and a sacred regard for personal character, all require,
that the following statement be transmitted to you and my other
co-presbyters, with as little delay as possible. If I am not actuated
herein by a desire to promote God's glory and the salvation of men,
may the Lord rebuke and forgive me, and "let the righteous smite me,
it shall be a kindness!" May the Head of the Church grant to you, and
to all the other members of Synod, a disposition to hear, with
patience and candor, a narration of my recent experience, in which
perhaps you _may_ find things both "new and old."
My sentiments in relation to the "Sabbath of the Lord our God," have
undergone an important change; to which I now wish to call your
attention. Our Confession of Faith, Catechisms, and Testimony, all
teach that the first day of the week is, and has been ever since the
resurrection of Christ, the Christian Sabbath. This doctrine _alone_,
of all those contained in our Standards, though I did believe it till
lately, I can no longer receive. As to the _manner_ of sanctifying
the Sabbath, I believe all that you and I have always contended for;
but, for the present, I am constrained to believe, that the seventh
day of the week is the only weekly Sabbath that God has ever
appointed.
My attention was first called to this subject by Rev. W. M. Jones,
Missionary of the Baptist Church, who has recently abandoned his
earlier views and practice in regard to the Sabbath. He not only
argued the question with me at length, but gave me some publications
of the American Sabbath Tract Society, which, as they seemed to
breathe a spirit of ardent piety and zeal for God's law, I read with
attention. Both in my discussion with him, and in the reading of
those tracts, I struggled with all my might to convince myself, from
the Scriptures, of the divine appointment of the first-day, or
Christian Sabbath. But though I did not then doubt it, I was
astonished to find how hard it is to prove it.
I searched all the books I could find, bearing on this question, and
discovered, what I had never noticed before, that the early French
and Genevan Reformers, with Calvin at their head, had taught the
abrogation of the fourth commandment, as a ceremonial institution;
and that they contended for a Sabbath, or stated day of worship,
under the gospel, only as a wise and necessary human arrangement. I
found that even Turretin, at a later period, had taught that the
fourth commandment is _partly_ ceremonial, and that it was necessary
to change the Sabbath from the seventh day, in order to put a
difference between Jews and Christians. I found also, in my books,
quotations, containing similar sentiments, from the celebrated
Augsburg Confession. The only authors I could find who had attempted
to prove, from the Scriptures, that the Sabbath has been changed from
the seventh to the first day of the week, by divine authority, were,
Turretin, and the framers of our Standards. Those authors appeared to
depend _mainly_ for proof upon three texts of Scripture:--Acts 20:7;
1 Cor. 16:1, 2; and Rev. 1:10. When I came to examine these texts, I
was surprised and mortified, to find that they contain neither the
word "Sabbath," nor any other synonymous with it. True, I had always
thought that the "Lord's day," Rev. 1:10, was the first day of the
week; but my opponents contended that the terms refer more properly
to the seventh, which God styles "my holy day," Is. 58:13; and when I
remembered "his challenging a special propriety in the seventh," I
could not well deny it. Moreover, I could not find a single passage
asserting that the first is holier than any other day of the week, or
that Christians were, in the Apostles' days, in the habit of holding
religious meetings _regularly_ on that day. Neither could I discover
that Christ or his Apostles had ever spoken, directly or indirectly,
of keeping a day holy in honor of his resurrection; nor that that
event, which is always held up as the occasion of the change of the
Sabbath, is even once mentioned in connection with the first day,
unless where it is recorded as a historical fact. On the other hand,
I observed that Christ and his Apostles _were accustomed_ to enter
into the synagogue on the seventh day, or Sabbath, for public
worship. Luke 4:16; Acts 17:2, and elsewhere.
Thus, my dear brother, I saw at this critical moment all Scripture
evidence forsaking me, while every inch of ground on which I could
set my foot was trembling. It seemed as if the thunders of Sinai were
uttering anew their awful threatenings, while the "still small voice"
of "Him that dwelt in the bush" was whispering in my ears, "The
_seventh_ day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10. "I am
Jehovah, I change not." Mal. 3:6. "Verily, I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5:18. Still I hesitated.
For a moment I thought of "going down to Egypt for help." The
Fathers, thought I, have fixed the interpretation of these texts in
favor of the observance of the first day. But immediately I heard a
voice within me, saying, "Would you then observe a holy-day, whose
appointment cannot be proved from the Bible, without the aid of human
tradition? Could you admit the 'testimony of the Fathers,' to set
aside one of the plainest injunctions of the moral law, that law that
was written upon tables of stone, 'by the finger of God,' and styled,
by way of preëminence, '_the_ Testimony?'" No! I replied, with an
involuntary shudder; and another flood of Scriptures came rushing in,
like "deep waters," to the very soul. "The law of the Lord is
perfect." Ps. 19:7. "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."
Ps. 119:89. "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and
thy law is the truth." Ps. 119:142. "All his commandments are sure;
they stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and
uprightness." Ps. 111:7, 8. "Think not that I am come to destroy the
law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matt.
5:17. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea,
we establish the law." Rom. 3:31. O my brother, "the word of God is
quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword."
You have now my reasons for embracing a doctrine which is confessedly
at variance with our Standards. What I entreat of you is, that you
will once more examine this subject for yourself, and see whether
those Standards are consistent, on this point, either with the
Scriptures, or with themselves.
You perhaps think that I have forsaken the "footsteps of the flock,"
and that testimony which has been sealed with the blood of martyrs.
But tell me candidly, was there ever a martyr who died in defense of
the first-day Sabbath? Or, could _you_, my brother, collect from the
Scriptures evidence of its divine appointment, clear enough to solace
your soul in the midst of the flames? From my inmost soul I pity that
Covenanter who may be called to testify, at the stake, to the change
of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week.
Remember, too, that I am now in the path that was trodden by the
saints for more than four thousand years; and it is for _you_ to show
that that path was ever stopped up, unless by the presumption and
inexcusable neglect of man. Truly, I am "compassed about by a great
cloud of witnesses." I would follow the example of Jehovah himself,
who "blessed the seventh day and sanctified it," and by whom "the
Sabbath was made for man;" the example of Adam, Enoch, and Noah; of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve patriarchs; of Moses, Aaron,
and those millions of Pilgrim Covenanters who united in its
observance in the wilderness; the example of Samuel, David, and a
host of other prophets; of Jesus Christ, our Divine Mediator, and
"Lord of the Sabbath;" and of the Apostles of our Lord, together with
the churches established and watered by them;--in one word, the
example of all the saints, from Adam to the last Apostle; all of whom
kept and honored the seventh day as "the Sabbath of the Lord their
God," and, having finished their course with joy, are entered into
that heavenly rest, of which that Sabbath was, and still is, an
emblem.
I intend, if the Lord will, to be present at the next meeting of our
Synod, and meet my brethren face to face. I expect, of course,
nothing less than to be excluded from the privileges of the church;
but I rejoice that I have learned to respect the discipline of the
Lord's house. I desire, therefore, with a willing heart to approach
the altar, and, if the Head of the Church require it, to be "offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith," that God may be
glorified in my salvation, and not in my destruction. God forbid,
that either prejudice, willful ignorance, passion, or personal
resentment, should fan the flames of that altar!
In conclusion, rest assured of my continued and unabated attachment
to the cause of the Reformation, in general, and to the interests of
the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in particular; and allow me to
repeat what I have already intimated, that with every other doctrine
contained in our Standards I am, so far as I understand my
profession, entirely satisfied; nor have I abandoned _this one_, but
from a firm conviction that it is not taught in God's Word. I know
well, that trials sore and many await me. God doth know, that my
heart delighteth not in contention; but, my brother, have we not all
"entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which
was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and do all the
commandments of the Lord our God?" Neh. 10:29.
Your Brother in Gospel bonds,
J. W. MORTON,
Missionary of the Ref. Presb. Church
CHAPTER III.
On the 21st of April, 1819, I set sail, with my family, from
Port-au-Prince, bidding farewell to Haïti and her children, whom
perhaps we shall never see again in this vale of tears. We arrived at
Boston, all in good health, on the first Sabbath in May.
On the evening of Tuesday, May 22, the Synod was convened in
Philadelphia; and the next morning I appeared and took my seat with
the other members.
After noon, the same day, Rev. David Scott stated to Synod, that I had
made known a change of views in relation to the Sabbath, and moved
that a committee of three be appointed to confer with me, and report
what farther action should be taken in the case.
While this motion was pending, I stated, in substance, that, as I was
alone in a Synod of more than sixty members, without a single man to
plead my cause, I thought I had a right to _demand_ that the
proceedings should be instituted in strict accordance with the letter
of the law. I was here interrupted by the Moderator, who, having
informed me that I had no right to dictate to the Court the method of
proceeding with its own business, peremptorily ordered me to take my
seat. I obeyed, of course, though I could not see what dictation there
was in demanding a legal trial, according to the printed rules of
Synod. The motion was carried, and the committee appointed.
Next morning, May 24, I had a conference of half an hour with this
committee, and at noon another, that lasted about the same time. Their
principal object seemed to be, to ascertain whether I was ready to
_recant_, and submit to censure for my past errors, I assured them,
that while I had not the slightest wish to withdraw from the communion
of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, I adhered to every word in my
Circular, and must continue to do so, till convinced of error by the
infallible scriptures. The committee quoted several texts, and advised
me to read several authors, after which our conference was closed.
After noon they presented their report, recommending that the
following Libel be preferred against me by Synod:--
LIBEL PREFERRED AGAINST J. W. MORTON.
Whereas, denying that the first day of the week is the day on which
the Christian Sabbath should be kept, is a heinous sin and scandal,
contrary to the Word of God, and the Profession of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, founded thereon--_Acts_ 20:7, "And upon the
first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread," &c.; _Shorter Catechism_, "From the beginning of the world to
the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day of the week
to be the weekly Sabbath, and the first day of the week ever since,
to continue to the end of the world, which is the Christian Sabbath."
Yet true it is, that you, Rev. J. W. Morton, are guilty of the
scandal above stated, in so far as you, the said J. W, Morton, at
Port-au Prince, Haïti, 17th of January, 1849, did publish a Circular,
in which you oppugned and denied that the first day of the week is
the Christian Sabbath, which being found relevant, and proved against
you, you ought to be proceeded against by the censures of the Lord's
House.
A true copy. By order of the Synod.
[Signed] JOHN WALLACE, Ass't Clerk.
After some discussion, the above Libel was decided to be relevant, and
the Clerk was directed to serve a copy on me, with citation to appear
for trial the next day, after noon.
* * * * *
I went to my lodgings that evening with a heavy heart, I was
convinced, from the spirit of determined opposition that had been
manifested by many of the brethren, when the Libel was under
consideration, that the majority had already determined that I should
not be permitted to "speak for myself." True, I knew very well that
the Apostle Paul had once enjoyed this liberty, through the cool
civility of a Roman Governor, and afterwards, through that of a Roman
King; but I knew just _as_ well, that Felix and Aggrippa were
heathens, while my brethren are Christians; and that the dignity of a
court, composed of "worms of the dust," has been much better
understood, since the famous "Diet of Worms," than ever before.
Still, I could not forbear asking myself, Why is there now such bitter
opposition to an Institution that was once the delight of both God and
man? Why do men hate with such perfect hatred what Jehovah made, and
blessed, and sanctified, before sin had entered into the world? Why
should _this_ daughter of Innocence be spurned, from every door, and
loaded with the damning reproach of Judaism, while her twin sister,
Marriage, sucks the breasts, and is dandled upon the knees of
Orthodoxy? Why should I be ranked with thieves and murderers, for
believing that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord my God?"
Bitter were the tears that flowed; and more bitter still was the
reflection, that "when I wept, that was to my reproach."
I was hedged in round about, and what could I do? I could only
exclaim, with the "sweet Singer of Israel," "Let not them that wait on
thee, O Lord God of Hosts, be ashamed for my sake; let not those that
seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy
sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a
stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For
the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them
that reproached thee are fallen upon me." Never shall I forget the
sensation experienced while the last sentence was passing through my
mind: "_And the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen
upon me_." I know not how often, during that night, I repeated these
words, and compared them with the exhortation of the Apostle: "Let us
go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach."
These were the comforts, that, "in the multitude of my thoughts within
me," then delighted my soul. I was about to go forth "without the
camp;" and it was indeed refreshing, in that hour of trial, to
believe, that I was bearing a portion of the same burden that had once
bowed down the "Man of Sorrows."
CHAPTER IV.
My trial came on after noon, May 25th. The following extract from the
published Minutes of Synod is, I believe, a correct, and sufficiently
full, account of the final issue; only it makes no mention of the fact
that I protested against the proceedings, and appealed to the head of
the Church, for reasons to be given in afterwards. Why this fact was
not recorded, I have not been able to ascertain.
EXTRACT FROM MINUTES OF SYNOD.
Order of the day, viz., the case of Mr. Morton, called for. The libel
was then read by the Clerk; when Mr. Morton having, in reply to the
Moderator, answered that he was prepared for trial, the substance of
the libel was again stated in his hearing. Mr. Morton was then called
upon, according to the rule provided for in such cases, either to
confess the charge or put himself upon his trial. Mr. Morton in
return acknowledged that he had denied that the day commonly called
the Christian Sabbath is so by Divine appointment, and then proceeded
to plead the irrelevancy of the charge by endeavoring to prove the
perpetuity of the law for the observance of the seventh day. While so
doing, he was arrested by the Moderator, who informed him that the
charge contained in the libel was such that Mr. Morton could only
prove its irrelevancy to censure by proving that the appropriation of
the first day of the week, known as the Christian Sabbath, to secular
employments, or teaching so to do, is not relevant to censure, which
attempt the Moderator would consider disorderly, and would not allow.
From this decision J. M. Willson appealed, when the Moderator's
decision was unanimously sustained. Upon this Mr. Morton declined the
authority of the court.
_Resolved_, That Mr. Morton's appointment as missionary to Haïti be
revoked.
_Resolved_, That inasmuch as Mr. Morton has now publicly declined the
authority of this court, he be suspended from the exercise of the
Christian ministry, and from the privileges of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church.
The Moderator then publicly pronounced the sentence of suspension on
Mr. Morton, agreeably to the above resolution.
Not long afterwards I presented to the Moderator the following Reasons
of Protest and Appeal, with a request that he would allow them to be
laid before the court, which he utterly refused to do.
REASONS OF PROTEST AND APPEAL.
I do respectfully protest against the action of Synod in my case, on
the 24th of the present month, and appeal therefrom to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the King and Head of the Church, for the following reasons:--
1st. Because I was not allowed to prove the irrelevancy of the charge
made against me, by an appeal to the Bible, "the only rule of faith
and manners."
2nd. Because I believe that the statements, on the subject of the
Sabbath, set forth in our subordinate standards, are inconsistent
with one another, and in part contrary to the Word of God: yet it was
by these unscriptural portions, that I was tried and condemned.
Brethren, I entertain no hard feelings towards you. My daily prayer
to God is, that you may be saved, and led into all truth. I did hope
that you would hear and consider the claims of the Lord's holy
Sabbath, when presented in a mild and affectionate manner. But either
I have failed to present the question with sufficient tenderness, or
you have determined to avoid all discussion in regard to it.
It grieves me to the soul to bid you farewell. Both God and man will
bear witness, in the day of final reckoning, that you have trampled
down, by the resistless force of an overwhelming majority, one who
was endeavoring with both hands to hold up the standard of the great
Covenant God of our fathers. But though for the present cast down, I
am not dismayed. The Sabbath of the Lord God is a richer treasure
than the richest you can either give or take away. "Rejoice not
against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in
darkness, the Lord will be a light unto me. I will bear the
indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he
plead my cause, and execute judgment for me; he will bring me forth
to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness."
Brethren, I shall meet you before the judgment seat of Christ, on
that day when he shall come "with ten thousand of his saints."
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they
also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, amen."
J. W. MORTON
PHILADELPHIA, MAY 29th, 1849.
REFLECTIONS.
I did believe, and believe yet, that, had I been sustained by twenty
ministers and as many congregations, I should have had leave to defend
myself to my heart's content. But it was very evident to the Synod,
that I stood alone. They knew that I could do them no harm, by
fomenting discord; and--may I not add?--they knew that I was not the
man to be found employed in such a work. The only loss they could
sustain, in cutting me off, with all my adherents, was that of two
adults and as many little children. Indeed, many of the members
_seemed_ to regret the _trouble_ far more than the _necessity_ of
executing the law; and one aged father has remarked to me since, that
till then he never witnessed a trial, before a church court, in which
_there was not one atom of mercy_.
Now, is there not a reason for all this? Unquestionably there is. The
loose and unpresbyterial doctrine, that a majority has a right to
determine what _is_, and what _is not_ truth, and that the greater the
majority in favor of any dogma, the more firmly its truth is
established, has leavened, sadly and extensively, even the Reformed
Presbyterian Church. This is the reason why one who represents a lean
minority cannot be heard, even in defense of ecclesiastical life. The
majority have said, that the first day is the Sabbath, and who dare
call in question the assertion? A man may be denounced as a
covenant-breaker; yet, because he belongs to a small minority, he may
not attempt to prove his innocence of the crime. Thus the right of the
minority to vindicate themselves from the Scriptures, in defense of
which many of the old Covenanters bled, is practically denied by their
descendants. "O Lord, how long!"
Brethren, are you really so wedded to this _majority principle_? Know,
then, that _God is a majority_; and that those that are with _me_ are
more than those that are with _you_. God's testimony is worth more
than that of all men. What though millions _have_ affirmed, that the
seventh day is NOT the Sabbath? _He_ hath left us this imperishable
testimony: "The seventh day IS the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And
this is the testimony of the _greatest majority_ that ever gave
utterance to truth. But God hath not left himself without other
witnesses. Where are those myriads of angels who were present when
"the Sabbath was made for man?" Where are those "morning stars" who
"sang together," and those "sons of God" who "shouted for joy," when
our Father "laid the foundations of the earth?" They are not _now_
present with us, 'tis true, to bear their testimony; but they _will
be_ present, when you and I shall appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, to hear the decision of this controversy. And do you think
that you will then dare, on the authority of what is said in Acts
20:7, to lift up your hands, and swear "by Him that liveth forever and
ever," that the Sabbath has been "changed into the first day of the
week"--and that, too, in presence of those who saw the foundations of
the ancient Sabbath, like those of the earth itself, laid and balanced
upon God's eternal decree, and inwrought with the very stones of "the
everlasting hills?" No! No!! The Sabbath was one of those _pillars_ of
the ancient earth, which Christ, the Mediator, seized with the hand of
his omnipotence, and bare up, when "the earth and all its inhabitants"
were sinking into nothing. I repeat it--and who dare gainsay it?--the
Lord of Hosts is an overwhelming _majority_!
But this is not all. There is, indeed, no _greater_ witness than
these; but there is _other_ witness. Look into your own hearts, ye
children of God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and you will find
recorded there: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;
in it thou shalt not do any work." "For this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord;
I will put _my laws_ into their mind, and write them in their hearts."
Here there is not the least hint of any exception. The same moral law
that was written "with the finger of God," on tables of stone, is now
written "by the Spirit of the living God," on the fleshly tables of
_your_ hearts. Yes, brethren, turn your eyes inward, and you will
read, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou
shalt not do any work." If you say, We have sought this law, but find
it not--O brethren, you have not "sought it carefully with tears." It
is hidden among the rubbish, and you will never find it, till that be
removed. But I speak what I do know, when I assure you, that it _is_
recorded there; and in the day of the Lord Jesus, if not sooner, you
will find it there, to your unspeakable joy and satisfaction. O Lord,
"open thou our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of thy
law."
PART II.
DIVINE APPOINTMENT OF THE SEVENTH DAY
INTRODUCTION.
The following pages, containing a brief discussion of a small but
intensely interesting portion of the Sabbath controversy, are designed
especially for the perusal of those Christians, styled orthodox, who
do not keep holy the seventh day of the week.
Dear brethren, this is a subject of fearful importance. If the views
herein advocated are correct, _you_ are guilty both of breaking and of
teaching men to break one of God's holy commandments; if they are
incorrect, I am no less guilty. Need I say any thing more to convince
you that you ought to give this subject a candid and prayerful
examination? "Ye are the light of the world;" take heed, brethren,
that your light be not darkness! You know--you cannot but know--that
there is much, _very much_, said in the Bible about the Sabbath, and
that men are very often commanded to keep it holy. You must know,
also, that God has said in the fourth commandment, "The _seventh day_
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work;"
and that, for more than four thousand years, no other day of the week
ever claimed to be holy. Moreover, you cannot but know, if you have
read the Bible carefully, that the first day of the week, which you
call "the Christian Sabbath," is _very seldom_ mentioned; that there
are only six passages in which the name occurs, and that four of these
may be viewed as one, being the records of the same events, by
different Evangelists; and how can you have failed to notice the fact,
that in not one of these six passages are we, or any of our
fellow-creatures, commanded to keep the first day holy? Yet you are
convinced that the first day of the week is _the very Sabbath-day_,
while among all those Scripture commands, before referred to, you find
nothing to sustain the claims of the seventh. O brethren, you "put
darkness for light, and light for darkness." Let us bow before the
mercy-seat of Him who is the Author of life and light, and, renewing
our personal covenant with him, plead his precious promise: "If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
I shall endeavor, in the following pages, to establish the truth of
the following proposition:--
_That the seventh day of the week is the only weekly Sabbath of God's
appointment._
I intend to present and enforce _four reasons_ for believing this
proposition:--
First--Because the original Sabbath law requires the sanctification of
no other day.
Second--Because Adam and all his posterity have solemnly covenanted to
keep holy the seventh day.
Third--Because Christ and his Apostles honored this day; and did not
intimate that it would ever cease to be the Sabbath, but the contrary.
Fourth--Because God has never blessed and sanctified any day of the
week but the seventh.
As the discussion is limited by design to a narrow range, you will
please to bear in mind, that the following points are assumed as
true:--
First--The Sabbath was instituted before the fall of man.
Second--Adam represented all his posterity in the covenant of works.
Third--The Sabbath law is perpetual, "binding all men in all ages."
Fourth--The seventh day was the _only_ weekly Sabbath for at least
four thousand years.
Lord, sanctify us by thy truth. May the Holy Ghost, the Comforter,
whom thou sendest in the name of thy Son our Lord, abide in us and
preside in this controversy. May he teach us all things, and bring all
things to our remembrance. May all bitterness, and wrath, and malice,
and evil-speaking, be far from us; and may we love one another with
pure hearts fervently--for Christ's sake. Amen.
CHAPTER I.
PROPOSITION.
That the seventh day of the week is the only weekly sabbath of God's
appointment.
_First Reason._
My first reason for believing this proposition is, That the original
Sabbath law, referred to in Genesis 2:2, 3, and embodied in Exodus
20:8-11, requires the sanctification of no other day.
Genesis 2:2, 3.--"And on the seventh day (_on day the seventh_) God
ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day
(_on day the seventh_) from all his work which he had made. And God
blessed the seventh DAY (_the day the seventh_,) and sanctified it:
because that in IT he had rested from all his work which God created
and made."
Exodus 20:8, 11.--"Remember the Sabbath-DAY, (_the day of the rest,
or Sabbath_,) to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all
thy work; but the seventh day (_day the seventh_) is the Sabbath
(_rest_) of the Lord thy God: _in it_ thou shalt not do any manner of
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy
maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that _is_ within thy
gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them _is_, and rested the seventh day (_on day the
seventh_;) wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-DAY (_the day of
the rest, or Sabbath_,) and hallowed IT."
The only object, direct or indirect, of this commandment, is "_the
day_." What are we commanded to remember? "The day." What are we
required to keep holy? "The day." What did the Lord bless and hallow?
"The day." In what are we forbidden to work? In "the day," Now let us
inquire--
1. What day? _Not_ the day of Adam's fall; nor the day Noah went into
the ark; nor the day of the overthrow of Sodom; nor the day of the
Exodus; nor the day of the Provocation; nor the day of the removal of
the ark; nor the day of Christ's birth; nor the day of his
crucifixion; nor the day of his resurrection; nor the day of his
ascension; nor the day of judgment. It may be, and certainly is,
proper, that we should remember all these; but we are not told to do
so in this commandment. Neither is it some one day of the week, but no
one in particular; for how could we remember "_the_ day," that is no
day in particular?--how could we keep holy "_the_ day" that has not
been specified?--and how could we say that God had blessed and
hallowed "_the_ day," that was no one day more than another? What day,
then? God says, Remember _the Sabbath-day_, or _the day of the
Sabbath_; Keep holy _the day of the Sabbath_; The Lord blessed and
hallowed _the day of the Sabbath_. He also says, _The seventh day_ is
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; _in it_ thou shalt not do any work.
This day, therefore, is "the seventh day," or "the day of the Sabbath."
2. What Sabbath? Not "_a_ Sabbath," or any Sabbath that man may
invent, or that God may hereafter keep; for that would be "some
Sabbath," but no one in particular. Not some institution yet
undetermined, that God may require man to observe weekly; for the
command is not, "Remember the Sabbath institution," but, "Remember the
_day_ of the Sabbath;" not, "Keep holy the Sabbath institution," but,
"Keep holy the _day_ of the Sabbath." The Lord did not bless and
hallow "the Sabbath institution," but "the _day_ of the Sabbath." We
are not forbidden to do work in "the Sabbath institution," but in "the
_seventh day_." In fact, the phrase "the Sabbath," in this
commandment, means neither more nor less than "the rest." It is not
_here_ the name of any institution at all, though it is often thus
used in other parts of the Bible. Hence, this Sabbath is "the Sabbath
or rest of the Lord thy God."
3. Which day of the week is "the day of the Sabbath?" No other than
that day on which the Lord rested; for the command refers to God's
Sabbath, On which day of the week did he rest? "And he rested on the
seventh day." Genesis 2:2. Therefore, "the day of the Sabbath" is the
same day of the week on which God rested from the work of creation;
and as he rested on the seventh day of the first week, and on no
other, the seventh and no other day of every other week must be the
only "day of the Sabbath."
Let it be particularly observed, that God does not say, Remember the
Sabbath, or, Remember the Sabbatic institution, though this is
necessarily implied in the command; but, Remember "the day of the
Sabbath"--the day on which I have ordained that the Sabbatic
institution be observed. As if he had said, There is little danger,
_comparatively_, that you will forget the fact of my having kept
Sabbath; nor is it likely that you will altogether neglect to observe
_some day_ of rest from your arduous toils, for you will be driven to
this by the ever returning demands of your exhausted bodies; but you
are, and always will be, in especial danger of forgetting the proper
day of the week for honoring me in my own institution. Satan, who
takes infinite delight in all kinds of "will-worship," while he hates
with a perfect hatred every act of strict obedience to my law, will do
all he can to persuade you that some other day will do just as well,
or even better. Remember, therefore, the day of my Sabbath, and keep
the same day holy in every week; for--mark the reason--I have myself
rested on the seventh day, and on that account I have blessed and
sanctified that and no other day of the week, that you may observe it,
and keep it holy, not because it is in itself better than any other
day, but because I have blessed and sanctified it.
But you say that the phrase, "the Sabbath-day," or "the day of the
Sabbath," does not mean any particular day, but "one day in seven," or
some one of the days of the week. You alledge that "the day of the
Sabbath," like "the Pope of Rome," "the Emperor of Russia," or "the
King of Denmark," is a generic term, alike applicable to all the
members of the same class. The phrase, "the Emperor of Russia," you
say, refers alike to Peter, to Alexander, and to Nicholas, though only
one of them could be Emperor at any given time; so "the day of the
Sabbath" refers alike to the seventh and to the first day of the week,
though there never was but one Sabbath at any one time. This is a very
ingenious and plausible method of evading the force of the Divine
testimony; but, as the reasoning by which it is sustained appears to
be entirely sophistical, I cannot but look upon the whole thing as a
fabrication. I believe that any man, possessing the requisite
qualifications, _may_ become "Emperor of Russia," but deny that any
day but one _can_ be the day of God's Sabbath, inasmuch as God had
never kept, at that time, but one Sabbath, and that occupied only one
day. There is only one day of American Independence; only one day of
the Resurrection of Christ; only one day of the birth of any one man;
and only one day of Judgment. And why? Because American Independence
was declared on but one day; Christ rose on but one day; the same man
cannot be born on two different days; and God hath appointed only one
day in which he will judge the world. Now, on the same principle,
there can be but one "day of the Sabbath" of the Lord our God. If I
should say that the day of Christ's Resurrection is not any particular
day of the week, but only "one day in seven," you would not hesitate
to call me a fool, while my ignorance would excite your deepest
sympathy; but when _you_ say that "the day of the Sabbath" does not
mean that particular day on which the Lord's Sabbath occurred, but
only "one day in seven," you expect me to receive your assertion as
the infallible teaching of superior wisdom. I cannot, however, so
receive it, for the following reasons:--
1. If God had meant "one day in seven," he would have said so. His
first and great design, in writing his law on tables of stone, was to
be understood by his creatures; but, for more than two thousand years
after he gave the law, no human being ever suspected that "the day of
the Sabbath" meant anything else than the seventh day of the week,
because it was commonly known that that day alone was in reality "the
day of the Sabbath." Indeed, this "one-day-in-seven" doctrine is known
to have been invented within a few hundred years, with the pious
design of accounting for a change of Sabbath, without the necessity of
repealing a portion of the moral law. It is matter of great surprise,
that those pious theologians, who first substituted "one day in seven"
for "the day of the Sabbath," did not shudder at the thought of
presuming to mend the language of the Holy Ghost. "The words of the
Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified
seven times." Ps. 12:6. Brethren, are you prepared to enter into
judgment, and answer for the liberties you have taken with God's word?
In substituting the vague and indefinite expression, "one day in
seven," for the definite and unequivocal terms, "the Sabbath-day," and
"the seventh day," you have as truly taken "away from the words of the
prophecy of this book," as if you had blotted the fourth commandment
from the Decalogue; while your leading object has been, to make way
for the introduction of a new command that, for aught the Scriptures
teach, it never entered into the heart of the Almighty to put into his
law. "A faithful witness will not lie," and when the world asks, Which
day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath? God
expects that you, as faithful witnesses, will not only "not lie," but
that you will not equivocate, or give with the gospel trumpet "an
uncertain sound." He does not expect that you will quote a text from the
Acts of the Apostles, that says not one word about Sabbath-keeping, to
prove that the fourth commandment enjoins the keeping holy of "one day
in seven," but of "no day in particular."
2. God never blessed "one day in seven," without blessing a particular
day. He either blessed some definite object, or nothing. You _may_
say, indeed, without falsehood, that God blessed "one day in seven;"
but if you mean that this act of blessing did not terminate on any
particular day, you ought to know, that you are asserting what is
naturally impossible. As well might you say of a band of robbers, that
they had killed "one man in seven," while in reality they had killed
no man in particular. No, brethren, yourselves know very well, that
God had not blessed and sanctified any day but _the seventh of the
seven_, prior to the giving of the written law. You know, that if God
blessed any day of the week at all, it was a definite day, distinct
from all the other days of the week. But this commandment says, that
"the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day." Therefore the Sabbath-day must be
a particular day of the week. Therefore "the Sabbath-day" is not "one
day in seven," or an indefinite seventh part of time. Therefore it is
not "one day in seven" that we are required to remember, and keep
holy, and in which we are forbidden to do any work; but "the seventh
day" of the week, which was then, is now, and will be till the end of
time, "the day of the Sabbath" of the Lord our God.
3. No day of the week but the seventh was ever called "the day of the
Sabbath," either by God or man, till long since the death of the last
inspired writer. Search both Testaments through and through, and you
will find no other day called "_the_ Sabbath," or even "_a_ Sabbath,"
except the ceremonial Sabbaths, with which, of course, we have nothing
to do in this controversy. And long after the close of the canon of
inspiration, the seventh day, and no other, was still called "the
Sabbath." If you can prove that any one man, among the millions of
Adam's children, from the beginning of the world till the _rise of
anti-Christ_, ever called the first day of the week "_the Sabbath_,"
you will shed a light upon this controversy, for which a host of able
writers have searched in vain.
But, farther; the first day of the week was not observed by any of the
children of men, _as a Sabbath_, for three hundred years after the
birth of Christ. Do you ask proof? I refer you to Theodore de Beza,
who plainly says so. If you are not satisfied with the witness, will
you have the goodness to prove the affirmative of the proposition?
I infer, therefore, that "the day of the Sabbath," or "the
Sabbath-day," is the proper name of the seventh day of the week, as
much so as "the day of Saturn;" and that to attach this proper name
_now_ to some other day of the week, and to affirm that God meant that
other day, as much as he did the seventh, when he wrote the law on
tables of stone, is as unreasonable as it is impious. If you say, that
when God speaks of "the Sabbath-day," he means "one day in seven, but
no day in particular," you are as far from the truth as if you said
that, when he speaks of Moses, he does not mean any particular man,
but "some one of the Israelites." Moses _was_ one of the Israelites,
just as the Sabbath-day _is_ one day in seven. But when God says
Moses, he means Moses the son of Amram; and when he says "the
Sabbath-day," he means the seventh day of the week. You _may_ give
different names to the same object, without interfering with its
identity; but to apply the same name to two different objects, and
then to affirm that these two objects are identically the same, so
that what is predicated of the one must be true of the other, is as
though a navigator should discover an island in the Southern Ocean,
and call it "England," and then affirm that the late work of Mr.
Macaulay, entitled "The History of England," is a veritable and
authentic history of his newly-discovered empire. Which would you
wonder at most, the stupidity or the effrontery of that navigator?
I cannot close this chapter without reminding you that, in attempting
to refute the above reasoning, the main thing you will have to show
is, that "the Sabbath-day," or "the day of the Sabbath," is an
indefinite or general expression, applicable alike to at least two
different days of the week, and that it is used indefinitely in this
commandment. If it has been proved, that "the day of the Sabbath"
refers, and can refer, _only_ to the seventh day of the week, then it
is true, and will remain forever true, that the original Sabbath law
requires the sanctification of no other day. This is the truth which I
undertook to exhibit in this chapter, and is my first reason for
believing the proposition under consideration.
CHAPTER II.
_Second Reason._
My second reason for believing this proposition is, That Adam and all
his posterity have solemnly covenanted to keep holy the seventh day.
Genesis 2:15-17--"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. And the Lord God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die."
Romans 5:12, 19--"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned." "For as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners; so by the obedience of one many shall be made righteous."
Galatians 3:10--"For as many as are of the works of the law, are
under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law
to do them."
On these passages it may be remarked--
1. "God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which he bound
him, _and all his posterity_ to personal, exact, _entire_, and
_perpetual_ obedience."
2. "This law, after his fall, continued to be _a perfect rule of
righteousness_; and, _as such_, was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai
in ten commandments, and written in two tables." Therefore, the fourth
commandment and the Sabbath law of the covenant of works are _one and
the same law_; and all believers in Christ are now bound by this law,
_as a rule of life_, to remember and keep holy the _same Sabbath-day_
that Adam and all his posterity covenanted to remember and keep holy.
3. You admit that Adam, _and all his posterity_, pledged themselves to
keep holy the seventh day of every week, _and no other_. Therefore,
_we_ are all born under a solemn obligation, our own obligation in
Adam, to keep holy that same seventh day of every week as long as we
remain on earth: "_Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve
but much strengthen this obligation_."
4. It is now too late to alter the covenant of works, by substituting
some other day of the week for the seventh, for the following
reasons:--
First--Because the whole transaction was finished, in the person of
our representative, nearly six thousand years ago. The covenant was
made, the obligation assumed, the deed of transgression consummated,
the curse pronounced, and the bitter _death_ experienced, in _kind_,
though not _in degree_, and all this before the first revelation of
the mercy of God in Christ. We are, therefore, all of us, the very
moment we are born, accursed of God, for not having kept holy the
seventh day of the week, according to our covenant. And all who are
not redeemed therefrom by Christ, remain forever under this curse.
From which it is plain, that to substitute some other day for the
seventh, since the fall of man, is as impossible as it would be to
substitute _some other tree_ for the "tree of knowledge." To all who
admit that God made a covenant of works with all mankind _in Adam_,
these truths ought to be self-evident. Brethren, _we_ acknowledge that
we are all guilty before God of having eaten of the fruit of the tree
of knowledge, while we disclaim _any guilt whatever_ in regard to the
fruit of every other tree; so are we guilty of violating the rest of
the seventh day of the week, while we are not by nature guilty of
polluting any other day.
Second--Because such substitution would destroy an integral part of
the moral law. The law written on the heart of man said nothing about
keeping holy any other day than the seventh; for all admit that, had
Adam not fallen, there never would have been any other holy day. If,
then, this law does _not now_ require the sanctification of the
seventh day, _the fourth commandment must have been annihilated_; and
if another day is _now_ the Sabbath, a new commandment, requiring _for
a new reason_ the sanctification of a different day, must have been
substituted in its place. But this new law can be _no part of the
moral law_, because it was _not written on man's heart_, nor did any
human being know of its existence till thousands of God's people had
been taken home to glory. God gave to Adam _free permission_ to labor
and do work on every day but the seventh, and he, as a free moral
agent, accepted the proffered boon. Therefore, to labor on any one of
the first six days of the week is, under the covenant of works, _as
innocent in itself_ as to pray to the Creator of the Universe. It is
as much a natural and inalienable right, as "life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness." Now, if there is a law that requires the
keeping holy of some other day, it must have its origin in the
new-covenant grace of God; and if that other day, and not the seventh,
is _now_ the Sabbath, men are _now_ no more under a _natural_
obligation to keep a Sabbath than to be baptized, or to celebrate the
Lord's Supper. The obligation to keep it _must_, on your principle,
grow out of their new-covenant relation to God in Christ.
Let us now look for a moment at the consequences flowing from the
doctrine, that some other day--the first, for example--has been
substituted for the seventh. "Try the spirits." "By their fruits ye
shall know them."
1. If this doctrine be true, the doctrine _that Adam represented all
his posterity, must be false_; for, if Adam covenanted, as you admit
he did, to keep holy the seventh day of every week, and _we_ are not
bound to do so, he certainly did not represent us, neither in that nor
in any other part of the covenant; for, if we did not promise in Adam
to keep holy the Sabbath-day, we did not promise to keep any thing
else.
2. If this doctrine be true, _there is now no such thing as original
sin_. This follows as a matter of course; for, if Adam did not
represent us, we are not _born sinners_. The fact might be proved in
another way, but this is enough.
3. If this doctrine be true, and the law of the new Sabbath bind "all
men," as you say it does, it must bind _the heathen_, who are a part
of "all men." But if there is a new Sabbath instituted, it can only be
made known through the written word of God, of which the heathen _can
know nothing_. This new Sabbath has never been made known to them, nor
to any of their ancestors. Nevertheless, you say that they are bound
to observe it, _according to the written word_, and that they shall be
punished to all eternity for breaking it; which is contrary to the
teaching of the Apostle, (Rom. 2:12,) that the heathen shall be judged
and condemned, not by the written word, but by _the law of nature_,
which you know can reveal no Sabbath but that of the seventh day; for
Adam, who understood the law of nature better than any other mere man,
never thought of keeping holy any other day. And, moreover, the
heathen have, on your principle, only nine commandments to obey or
disobey; for they are under the law of nature, which says, "Keep holy
the seventh day:" but you say that God does not _now_ require this:
therefore they are released from the obligation. And, what is stranger
still, the heathen have no means of knowing that to keep the seventh
day _is a work of supererogation_. These are _a few_ of the
consequences of your doctrine of a change of Sabbath. What must be the
character of that tree which yields such fruits!
Let us now attend for a moment to your objections.
Do you say, Those who believe in Christ are redeemed, not only from
the curse of the Sabbath law, but also from the obligation to obey it
in future? If so, who can tell but we are redeemed from _every other_
moral obligation?
Or, do you alledge, that Christ makes a new contract with the sinner,
saying, If you keep holy the first day, I will release you from the
obligation to sanctify the seventh? "Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law," Rom. 3:31. But
perhaps you say, To change the Sabbath from one day to another is not
to make void the law; it is only to vary its application. I reply, It
_is_ to make void, to _annul_, to _annihilate_, one tenth part of that
law that God wrote on Adam's heart; for, as has been shown already,
that law required him to keep no day holy but the seventh.
Or, do you plead that, as God _has_ substituted the Lord Jesus Christ
for the sinner, without violating the moral law, so he _may_ have
substituted some other day for the seventh? I reply, The cases are not
parallel; for--
1. The substitution of Christ does not render a change of any part of
the law necessary; but the other does. Christ "came not to destroy"
the law, but to fulfill it; and in fulfilling it, he honored the
seventh day: but the substitution of some other day for the seventh,
had it taken place before Christ came, would have released him, as
well as us, from the obligation to obey a part of the law of the
covenant of works.
2. A change of Sabbath is not, like the substitution of Christ,
_necessary_ to the salvation of sinners; for God had saved thousands
before this change is alledged to have taken place.
3. The substitution of Christ changes the moral condition _of the
church only_; but the change of Sabbath would affect the moral
relations of all men; for the Sabbath was made, not for the church,
but "for man."
4. The evangelical doctrine of the substitutionary sacrifice of
Christ, of itself, proves the impossibility of a change of Sabbath.
All evangelical Christians hold, that believers are delivered, through
Christ, from the _curse_ of the law--the law of the covenant of
works--_but not from the obligation to obey it_. If, therefore, that
law required _Adam and his posterity_ to keep holy the seventh day of
the week, Christ has never redeemed them from the obligation to render
"_exact obedience_," in this particular, as in every other.
Do you plead, as a last resort, that, as the command not to eat of the
fruit of the tree of knowledge has passed away, so it may be with the
law of the seventh-day Sabbath? I reply, The cases are not parallel;
for that command never was a part of the moral law. It was never
written, either on man's heart, or on tables of stone; but this was.
Besides, the tree of knowledge has been destroyed from the face of the
earth, so that to eat of its fruit is now impossible; but the seventh
day will continue to return "while the earth remaineth."
Brethren, you bewilder yourselves and others, by adopting, as a moral
axiom, the false principle, that whatever is in its nature positive,
is _for that reason_, changeable. There is no principle more deadly
than this. Do you not know, that all our hopes, as Christians, for
time and for eternity, are suspended on the _immutability_ of that
_positive arrangement_ between the Father and the Son, which we call
the covenant of grace? Are not the decrees of God all _positive_, yet,
at the same time, immutable? So, also, the _Sabbath law_, though in
its nature positive, has been made unchangeable, by a solemn covenant
arrangement, "in which it was impossible for God to lie." If God had
not made the law, requiring the sanctification of the seventh day, an
essential part of the covenant of works, your doctrine of a change of
Sabbath would not be so preposterous. As it is, how can serious,
thinking men, help viewing it as a monstrous and impious absurdity!
CHAPTER III.
_Third Reason._
My third reason for believing this proposition is, That Christ and his
Apostles honored this day; and did not intimate that it would ever
cease to be the Sabbath, but the contrary.
1. Christ honored this day.
Luke 4:16--"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up:
and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the
Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read."
Luke 4:30, 31; (See also Mark 1:21)--"But he, passing through the
midst of them, went his way, and came down to Capernaum, a city of
Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath-days."
Luke 13:10--"And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the
Sabbath."
Mark 3:1, 2--"And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was
a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him whether
he would heal him on the Sabbath-day."
Mark 6:2--"And when the Sabbath-day was come, he began to teach in
the synagogue."
2. The Apostles honored this day. Read carefully the following
passages and their contexts.
Acts 13:14--"But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch
in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and sat
down."
Acts 13:44--"And the next Sabbath-day came almost the whole city
together to hear the word of God." (That is, to hear Paul and
Barnabas preach.)
Acts 14:1--"And it came to pass in Iconium, that they (Paul and
Barnabas) went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so
spake, that a great multitude, both of the Jews, and also of the
Greeks, believed."
Acts 16:23--"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river
side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake
unto the women which resorted thither."
Acts 17:2--"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three
Sabbath-days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures."
Acts 18:4--"And he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath,
and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."
Brethren, if you produce one solitary apostolic example of unnecessary
labor performed on the seventh day, I will at once give up the
argument in its favor.
3. Neither Christ nor his Apostles intimated that the seventh day
would cease to be the Sabbath.
This being a negative assertion, I am not bound to prove it, of
course. If you assert that they did, I demand the proof of it.
4. Christ has very plainly intimated the contrary.
Matthew 24:20--"But pray ye that your flight be not in winter,
neither on the Sabbath-day."
The "flight" here spoken of was to take place about the time of the
destruction of Jerusalem; and the Saviour admonishes his disciples to
pray that it might not happen on the Sabbath-day. Now, if he knew that
the Sabbath-day would be changed into the "Lord's day," forty years
before the event he had just alluded to, why did he speak of it as a
thing that would be then in existence? Many are the efforts that have
been made to evade the force of the argument from this text; but they
are all unavailing.
Matthew 5:17, 19--"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I
say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven."
It is almost universally admitted, that the Saviour, in these verses,
refers principally to the ten commandments, which were then, as now,
called, by way of preëminence, "_the_ law." That he may have referred
also to the ceremonial code, which he came to fulfill, we do not deny.
But this has nothing to do with our present purpose.
That the fourth commandment enjoins the sanctification of the seventh
day of the week, no man in his senses denies. But you alledge that
that part of it has been taken away, so that it does not now bind us.
Now, in making this assertion, you either affirm what is positively
denied in the above quotation, or you make this commandment at least
_partly_ ceremonial, and _peculiar to the Jews_. This will appear
evident from the following considerations:--
First--The command to keep holy the seventh day of the week, is far
more than "one jot or one tittle" of this law. It could be no less,
but it is much more. Indeed, it is very certain, that Adam considered
it a very important part of the law; and so did Christ, when he
uttered those words, for he kept the Sabbath as devoutly as Adam ever
did.
Second--Heaven and earth have not yet passed away; but you say that
this seventh-day law has; therefore, much more than "one jot or one
tittle" has passed from the law--which is contrary to Christ's
assertion.
Third--If you say that Christ has fulfilled this law, and so taken it
away, you make it a ceremony, like the Passover. You know that Christ
never fulfilled, _so as to take away_, any law but those that he
"nailed to his cross," and that he never nailed to his cross any law
that bindeth "all men in all ages." If, then, the law requiring the
sanctification of the seventh day of the week has been nailed to the
cross of Christ, it must have been a ceremony peculiar to the Jews,
and to which the Gentiles were never bound. Was Adam a Jew? Was Enoch
a Jew? Were Noah and his sons Jews? But these all kept the seventh
day, _and no other_.[15]
Brethren, it has been proved, in the first chapter of this treatise,
that the fourth commandment requires simply the observance of the
seventh day of the week. I will not repeat what is there said. I now
ask you, as candid inquirers after truth, to place this commandment
and our Saviour's declarations, quoted above, side by side, and see if
_your_ conduct is not at war with both. You neglect the only day that
God's law requires you to remember, while Christ assures you, in the
most solemn manner, that "one jot or one tittle" shall in no wise pass
from the law, "till heaven and earth pass," or till time shall be no
more.
There is a little commandment in that law that says, "The seventh day
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work."
Christ says, that whosoever doeth and teacheth this commandment "shall
be called great in the kingdom of heaven." But this hath been my only
crime. God knows, and you know, that the only thing I have done to
offend you is, that I endeavor to refrain from doing work on the
seventh day, and to "teach men so." Yet for this I am declared to be
the "least in the kingdom of heaven," and no longer worthy of a seat
at the table of Him who said, that "one jot or one tittle" should _in
no wise_ pass from the law.
Blessed be God! it is a light thing to be judged of man's judgment.
But I confess that sometimes my blood runs cold, when I think of this
solemn declaration of the same "Lord of the Sabbath," (John 12:48,)
"He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that
judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
the last day." "Never man spake like this man." O, brethren, are you
ready for that awful judgment day? Nothing but God's _word_ will avail
you there. If you are determined to go on, appropriating the seventh
day to secular purposes, and "teaching men so," I cannot help it; but
I call heaven and earth to witness, that, in regard to every reader of
these pages, my skirts are henceforth clear. On your own souls will
rest the responsibility of rejecting these solemn words of Christ. And
you who are ministers--how will you answer for the wanderings of those
lambs of Christ's fold, whom you are leading into strange pastures?
CHAPTER IV.
_Fourth Reason._
My fourth reason for believing this proposition is, That God has never
blessed and sanctified any day of the week but the seventh.
In sustaining this reason, as I occupy negative ground, I shall simply
defend it against your usual scripture arguments in defense of your
favorite doctrine, that God blessed and sanctified the first day of
the week, in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ.
In arguing this doctrine, you do not pretend to offer _positive_, but
only _inferential_ proof. You quote certain texts, and say, Hence we
infer that the first day of the week is the Sabbath. Now, as there are
many possible, and even plausible, inferences, that are not
necessarily true, I intend to be governed, in the examination of your
scripture proofs, by the following rule of interpretation:--
"The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own
glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down
in scripture, or _by good and necessary consequence_ may be deduced
from scripture."
Brethren, I intend, with God's help, to show that, according to the
above rule, which you admit to be correct, all your inferences in
favor of a first-day Sabbath are _unnecessary_, and some of them
wholly inadmissible.
YOUR FIRST PROOF.
Hebrews 4:9, 10--"There remaineth, therefore, a rest (sabbatism) to
the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
Your premises consist of four assertions:--First, That the rest, or
sabbatism, that remaineth, is something different from the ancient
Sabbath. Second, That the person who "hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from his," is the Lord Jesus Christ. These two assertions I
most cheerfully admit. Third, That Christ entered into his rest on the
day of his resurrection. Fourth, That the sabbatism of God's people is
enjoyed in this life. These last two assertions I utterly deny.
Your inference is, That the first day of every week, that being the
day of the week on which Christ rose, is the sabbatism of God's
people. Of course, if I prove that the last two assertions are false,
your inference will be shown to be inadmissible.
I assert, then,--
1. That Christ did _not_ "enter into his rest" on the day of his
resurrection; for the following reasons:--First, Because the
Scriptures do not say so. Second, Because this earth is not the place
of his rest. He was, to the last day he spent here, "a pilgrim and a
stranger in the earth," and had not therein "where to lay his head."
But his resurrection took place on earth, and he continued on earth
for "forty days" afterwards. Third, Because the scriptures plainly
teach, that the Mediator _did_ "enter into his rest," when he "sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Heb. 1:3. "Arise, O
Lord, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy strength." Ps. 132:2.
This was the prayer of David and the congregation of Israel, when they
removed the ark from the house of Obed-Edom to the place "that David
had pitched for it." When Solomon and the Elders of Israel brought up
the ark from the city of David, and placed it in the holy of holies,
in the temple "made with hands," they prayed in like manner, "Now
therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark
of thy strength." 2 Chron. 6:41. Now the ark was a type of Christ,
while "heaven itself" is the true "holy of holies," "whither the
forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek." Heb. 6:20. If, then, the ark entered
into its rest, when it was placed in the holy of holies, Jesus Christ,
the anti-typical ark, entered into _his_ rest when he sat down on the
right hand of God, in the anti-typical holy of holies. Fourth, Because
the Apostle's great design, in this epistle, was to convince the
church, and especially the Hebrews, that Christ, having "by himself
purged our sins," as they all admitted he had done, "sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high," (ch. 1:3,) as our ever-living
Intercessor. Yes, the "one idea," that runs through the whole Epistle,
is to illustrate and magnify the doctrine of the glorious intercession
of Christ the Mediator, who, "after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God." Do you ask proof?
Take, then, the apostle's own assertion, (ch. 8:1,) "Now, of the
things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such a high
priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man." All that is said in the third
and fourth chapters, about the rest of Christ and the sabbatism of the
people of God, is included in this summary; so that it is to Christ's
eternal rest in the heavens that the verses under consideration refer.
Indeed, we have evidence of this fact, satisfactory enough, in the
immediate context, (ch. 3:4,) "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our
profession, Christ Jesus"--compared with ch. 4:14--"Seeing, then, that
we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Fifth, Because there
is not, in this epistle, one solitary reference to the resurrection of
Christ, except in the concluding benediction; but it abounds in
references to his ascension and intercession.
2. If I have reasoned correctly above, your assertion, that the
sabbatism of God's people is enjoyed in this life, scarcely needs
refutation. As Christ entered into his rest, when he received the
crown of glory from the Father; so believers shall enter into his
rest, when they "shall be glorified with him." Moreover, as Christ did
not enter into his rest on the first day of the week, your inference,
that that day is the Sabbath, is not only _unnecessary_, but wholly
inadmissible.
Bear in mind also, brethren, that, if Christ did not enter into his
rest on the first day of the week, then your great philosophical
argument for the first-day Sabbath, founded upon the fact, that the
work of redemption is greater than that of creation, vanishes at once
into smoke, or, at least, becomes useless for your purpose.
YOUR SECOND PROOF.
Psalm 118:22, 24--"The stone which the builders refused is become the
head-stone of the corner." "This is the day which the Lord hath made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Acts 4:10, 11--"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man
stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at
nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."
You premise, that "the day which the Lord hath made" is the day of the
resurrection of Christ. Whence you infer, that the first day of the
week is the Sabbath.
1. If what you premise were true, the inference does not follow. The
prophet does not say, We will rejoice and be glad in the same day of
every week; but, We will rejoice and be glad _in it_, that is, in that
day, whatever it may be. Now Christ did not rise on the first day of
every week, but on one single day; and we may very well rejoice and be
glad in that one day, without keeping any Sabbath in connection with
it. Abraham rejoiced and was glad in the day of Christ; but he kept no
Sabbath in honor of it. So, doubtless, _you_ rejoice and are glad in
the day of his crucifixion, though you do not celebrate it on any
particular day of the week. But--
2. You are evidently mistaken in referring this language of the
Psalmist to the resurrection of Christ--for the following reasons:--
First--Because "the day which the Lord hath made" is the same in which
Christ went in by the gates of righteousness. Verses 19 and 20. "Open
to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will
praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall
enter." Now, though Christ _did_ come up from "the gates of death" on
the day of his resurrection, he _did not_ formally "enter" by "the
gates of righteousness," till that day when he ascended from Mount
Olivet, which was not the first day of the week. His almighty power
and eternal Sonship were declared most gloriously on the day of his
resurrection; but it was on the day of his ascension that his
mediatorial righteousness was formally approved by the Father; while
it was visibly manifested, in the presence of the universe, that the
door of heaven had been opened to all true believers. Then shouted the
seraphim, and all the host of heaven, while the door-posts of the New
Jerusalem trembled at the voice, "Arise, O Jehovah, into thy rest,
thou, and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with
righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy!" Therefore, this is
not the day of Christ's resurrection, but that of his ascension.
Second--Because "the day which the Lord hath made" is the same in
which "the stone which the builders refused" became "the head-stone of
the corner," (verse 22.) Christ did not become "the head of the
corner," till he "sat down on the right hand of God." You assert that
he did, and refer to Acts 4:10, 11, quoted above, as proof. From what
the apostle there sets forth, you draw the inference, that, as he was
set at nought by the builders, when he was crucified, so he became the
head of the corner, when God raised him from the dead. The apostle
does not say, however, that this took place on the same day that he
rose from the dead; and all that we must _necessarily_ infer from what
he _does say_, is, that he became the head of the corner since his
resurrection, which is cheerfully admitted. But whether it was on the
same day, or two, or ten, or forty days after, the apostle saith not.
Still your inference would be entirely natural and proper, if it were
not contrary to the analogy of faith, and to the teachings of the same
spirit in other parts of the Scriptures.
I suppose it will be admitted, that when Christ became the head of the
corner, he became "the head over all things to the church," and that
then "all things were put under his feet." Now the apostle clearly
teaches, that these things took place when he sat down on the right
hand of God, as appears from the following texts:--
Ephesians 1:20-22--"Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead, (or, having raised him from the dead,) and set him at
his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over
all things to the church."
Hebrews 2:8, 9--"But now we see not yet all things put under him
(man;) but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,
for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor." Observe,
that the Apostle's great object in this epistle is, to show that
Christ is _in heaven_, forever interceding for the church.
Now, is it not manifest from these texts, that Christ became the head
of the corner when he ascended to his Father and our Father, to his
God and our God? Nor is there any thing in Acts 4:10, 11, that
contradicts this idea.
Brethren, the glorious building of grace has its foundation, not on
earth, where we are pilgrims and strangers, but in heaven, where
Jesus, the corner-stone, "elect and precious," sitteth at the right
hand of God, and is constantly occupied in gathering from afar the
"lively stones" of the glorious edifice. Blessed forever be his holy
name!
YOUR THIRD PROOF.
John 20:19, 26--"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of
the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled
for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith
unto them, Peace be unto you." "And after eight days again his
disciples were within, and Thomas with them; then came Jesus; the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you."--See also Luke 24:26.
You premise, that the disciples, on the two days referred to above,
one of which certainly was, and the other may have been, the first day
of the week, had met together for public or social worship, when
Christ appeared to them. Whence you infer, that the first day of the
week is the Sabbath.
Now, what you premise _seems_ to be a mere assumption, for which there
is not a shadow of proof, either in the text or context. No one of the
Evangelists says that they met for worship; nor did they worship, so
far as we know, when met together. In regard to the first of those
occasions, we are told, that they "were assembled for fear of the
Jews;" and, as to the second, we are simply informed, that they "were
within," which means, probably, that they were _at home_; for Luke
tells us, that, on the day of the ascension, the eleven "abode" in an
upper room. Acts 1:13.
Again, your inference is not _necessary_; for the matter may be
explained thus: On the day of the resurrection, the eleven, having
procured a common lodging-room, "assembled for fear of the Jews;" and
Christ appeared to them before the close of the same day, in order
that they, who were to be witnesses of his resurrection, might have
ocular demonstration of the fact, that he rose "according to the
scriptures." On the other occasion, "after eight days," he met them,
probably, "as they sat at meat," (Mark 16:14,) because Thomas, who had
not seen him since his resurrection, was then with them.
These reasons are surely sufficient to account for his appearing on
those occasions. But why demand reasons at all? Had he not a right to
meet his disciples on any day of the week that he chose, without
telling us why? Can you tell us why he appeared to the brethren when
they were fishing? Christ has done many things for which the only
reason we can give is, that it seemed good to him.
YOUR FOURTH PROOF.
Acts 2:1--"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place."
Your premises are--1. That the Feast of Pentecost fell that year on
the first day of the week. 2. That the disciples were, _for that
reason_, with one accord in one place. Whence you infer, that the
first day of the week is the Sabbath. I reply--
Whether the Feast of Pentecost fell that year on the first day of the
week, or not, the disciples did not meet to keep the Sabbath, but to
celebrate Pentecost. They would have been, in like manner "with one
accord in one place," if it had been the fourth day of the week,
because it was the day of Pentecost. Therefore, your inference is not
only _unnecessary_, but wholly inadmissible.
YOUR FIFTH PROOF.
Acts 20:7--"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to
depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."
You premise, that the disciples came together, in this instance, to
celebrate the Lord's Supper, and to hear the word. Whence you infer,
that the first day of the week is the Sabbath.
What you premise is very uncertain; for--
1. There is no evidence that they met to hear the word. The object of
the meeting was "to break bread;" and the preaching of Paul seems to
have been _incidental_, and not by appointment.
2. It is not certain that "to break bread" means to partake of the
Lord's Supper. The Greek word, translated, _to break_, is used very
often in the New Testament in reference to ordinary meals. An instance
occurs in Luke 24:35--"And they told what things were done in the way,
and how he was known of them _in breaking of bread_."
But if what you assert were true, your inference is not _necessary_;
for--
1. It is entirely proper, for aught we know to the contrary, to
celebrate the Lord's Supper and hear preaching on any day of the week.
2. Perhaps this meeting was held at that particular time, because the
Apostle and his company were "ready to depart on the morrow." It was
probably a farewell meeting, as many learned men think, and the text
itself _seems_ to hint.
3. There is not one word said in the text about Sabbath-keeping; nor
is there the least intimation, either in the text or context, that the
disciples were _accustomed_ to meet on the first day of the week for
any purpose whatever.
But you say, Paul waited there seven days, and we have no account of
his preaching till the last night of his stay, which was the first of
the week. We reply, This is no evidence that he did not preach during
the other six days. Luke tells us, in this same chapter, verses 2 and
3, that "he came into Greece, and there abode three months;" and he
does not say that he preached once during that time. But a small part,
indeed, of the doings of the Apostles is recorded.
It is a remarkable fact, that this text, which is the only one in the
New Testament that speaks of public religious exercises on the first
day of the week, is, at the same time, the only one in the Bible that
directly proves, that this day is _not_ the Sabbath. I have already
proposed to give up the argument in favor of the seventh day, if you
produce one apostolic example of unnecessary labor performed therein.
Will you give up your argument for the first day on the same
condition? I believe this verse furnishes such an example.
The text proves nothing for you, if Paul's sermon and the breaking of
bread were not on the first day. The sermon was preached between
evening and midnight, and the bread was broken between midnight and
break of day, and then Paul set out on his journey. According to the
Roman method of computing time, the breaking of bread, at least, was
in the morning of the same day in which Paul traveled from Troas to
Assos, and thence to Mitylene; and, according to the Jewish method,
the sermon, the breaking of bread, and the journey from Troas to
Mitylene, were all within the compass of the same "first day of the
week." That Luke should follow the unnatural Roman method, is so
unlikely as hardly to be supposable. Now, if Paul traveled
unnecessarily from Troas to Mitylene, as it seems he did, on the first
day of the week, surely that day was not then the Sabbath of the
fourth commandment. This text, therefore, _proves positively that the
first day is not the Sabbath_, on which account it is of no little
value in this controversy.
YOUR SIXTH PROOF.
1 Corinthians 16:2--"Upon the first day of the week, let every one of
you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no
gatherings when I come."
Your premises are--1. That the Apostle here commands the Corinthians
to make public collections on the first day of the week. 2. That,
therefore, public assemblies were accustomed to be held on that day.
Whence you infer, that the first day of the week is the Sabbath.
I deny both your premises. The apostle simply orders, that each one of
the Corinthian brethren should lay up _at home_ some portion of his
weekly gains on the first day of the week. The whole question turns
upon the meaning of the expression, "by him;" and I marvel greatly how
you can imagine that it means "in the collection box of the
congregation." Greenfield, in his Lexicon, translates the Greek term,
"_by one's self, i. e. at home_." Two Latin versions, the Vulgate and
that of Castellio, render it, "_apud se_," with one's self, at home.
Three French translations, those of Martin, Osterwald, and De Sacy,
"_chez soi_," at his own house, at home. The German of Luther, "_bei
sich selbst_," by himself, at home. The Dutch, "_by hemselven_," same
as the German. The Italian of Diodati "_appresso di se_," in his own
presence, at home. The Spanish of Felipe Scio, "_en su casa_," in his
own house. The Portuguese of Ferreira, "_para isso_," with himself.
The Swedish, "_nær sig sielf_," near himself. I know not how much this
list of authorities might be swelled, for I have not examined one
translation that differs from those quoted above. Now, if your
premises are false, your inference is not only _unnecessary_, but
wholly inadmissible.
YOUR SEVENTH PROOF.
Revelations 1:10--"I was in the spirit on the Lord's day."
You premise, that the "Lord's day" is the first day of the week.
Whence you infer, that the first day of the week is the Sabbath.
You here assume the principal point in dispute, namely, that God has
appointed the first day of every week to be kept in commemoration of
the resurrection of Christ. Is every Friday the "Lord's day," because
he was crucified on Friday? You answer, No. Is every Thursday the
"Lord's day," because he ascended on Thursday? You answer, No. So,
when you ask, Is every first day of the week the "Lord's day," because
he rose on the first day? I answer, No. And is it too much that I
should ask you to prove your assumption? I have never yet met with an
attempt to prove it.
But, were this even proved, your inference would not be _necessary_.
The first day _might_ be the "Lord's day," and yet not the Sabbath.
Would the bare mention of this day by the Apostle John, even if it
were certain that he referred to the first day of the week, repeal or
alter the fourth commandment? Certainly not. But you ask, What day did
he mean? I reply, Most probably he meant the seventh, since we know
from several scriptures that this _is in fact the Lord's day_. See
Nehemiah 9:14, and Isaiah 58:13. But you ask again, Why did he not say
"the Sabbath," if he meant it? I reply by asking you, Why did he not
say "the first day," if he meant it?
Brethren, who can say, that, from any or all of the texts commented
upon above, the inference is _necessary_, that the first day of the
week _is_, and that the seventh _is not_, _holy_? But this is
precisely what _you_ infer from them. On the sole authority of these
passages, together with that one in which Christ says, that he is
"Lord of the Sabbath," you have no hesitation in affirming that the
first day of the week is the very Sabbath day spoken of in the fourth
commandment, and that the seventh day of the week is not _now_ more
holy than any other; or, in other words, that the blessing which God
put upon it in the beginning, (Gen. 2:21,) has been taken from it, and
given to another day. What! because "there remaineth a sabbatism to
the people of God," therefore the seventh day _must_ have ceased to be
the Sabbath! Because "we will be glad and rejoice" in "the day which
the Lord hath made," therefore the seventh day _must_ have ceased to
be holy! Because Christ showed himself to his disciples once or twice
on the first day of the week, therefore the seventh day _cannot_ be
the Sabbath! Because the Pentecostal effusion of the Holy Ghost
happened on the first day of the week, as is clearly demonstrated by
arithmetical calculation, therefore the seventh day _cannot_ claim to
be the Sabbath! Because the disciples met _once_ "to break bread" on
the first day of the week, therefore God _must_ have unsanctified the
seventh day! Because the Corinthian and Galatian Christians were
commanded to "lay by them in store" on the first day of the week, for
the relief of the poor saints, therefore the seventh day _can be
nothing more_ than a working day! Because John was "in the spirit on
the Lord's day," therefore the seventh day _cannot_ be "the Lord's
day," as it used to be! Because Jesus Christ is "Lord of the Sabbath,"
and has the right to change it, or even to annihilate it, (?)
therefore the seventh day _must_ have ceased to be a day of rest! O
brethren, you dare not say, that any of these inferences flow from the
Scriptures as _necessary consequences_. But if they are not
_necessary_--if there is any way of avoiding them, without doing
violence either to the text or context--how _can_ you ask me to
believe that the first day _is_, and that the seventh _is not_, holy?
CONCLUSION.
"The Sabbath was made for man." I am a man; therefore, the Sabbath was
made for me. God has blessed and sanctified _the seventh day_ of the
week, and commanded me to keep it holy _for that reason_; therefore,
as long as the seventh day continues to be divinely blessed and
sanctified, I am bound to keep it holy. But it is nowhere said in the
Bible that God has removed the blessing from this day, or that he has
unsanctified it. _You_ say so, indeed; but you are neither the authors
nor the finishers of my faith; nor will your unsupported assertion, a
thousand times repeated, amount to a divine revelation. If you assert
that it is the will of God that I should cease to regard the seventh
day as holy, I ask, Where is this revealed? What Prophet or Apostle
has said so, _directly or indirectly_? It is not enough for you to
answer, that the first day has been blessed and sanctified, as a
memorial of the work of redemption. That assertion, if it were true,
would not prove that the seventh day _is not holy_. No, brethren, your
own conscience must tell you, that there is not one syllable in the
Bible on which to ground the doctrine that God has _unsanctified_ the
seventh day of the week.
But one of your ministers has told me, that God did not bless and
sanctify any particular day of the week, but only the Sabbath
Institution. To this I have only to say, "Let God be true, and every
man a liar." The Holy Ghost says, (Gen. 2:2,) "And God blessed the
_seventh day_, and sanctified it;" and again, (Exod. 20:11,)
"Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath DAY, and hallowed it." Now, if
you assert, with these scriptures staring you in the face, that God
never blessed and sanctified any particular day, but only the Sabbath
Institution, do you not make God a liar, in order to excuse your own
rebellion? O brethren, I perceive that these texts are an eye-sore to
you, and that in your hearts you wish they were out of the Bible. If
you loved them you would not flatly contradict them. I appeal to your
own consciousness, is it not your great effort, when you take up the
fourth commandment, to convince yourselves and others, that God's
Spirit _does not mean_ what he says, in as plain language as any
Sabbatarian could employ; that is, that 'the seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord thy God.' And, when you take up these passages in
the New Testament, which have been considered above, do you not labor
to convince yourselves, that the same Spirit _does mean_ what he _does
not say_; that is, that the first day is the Sabbath?
You do not believe that what God says a dozen times, or more, _can_ be
true; but you are sure, that what he _does not say even once_ is
infallibly true; and that nothing but stupidity or scepticism would
presume to doubt it. When you are told that the seventh day is the
Sabbath, and the testimony of God's Spirit, plainly uttered in one
dozen passages, together with the uniform practice of the church as
long as we can trace the inspired history of the Sabbath, is offered
in proof of the assertion, you shut your eyes, and declare that you
can see nothing, and that all this proves nothing. But when you tell
me, that the first day _is_, and that the seventh _is not_, the
Sabbath, and quote, as proof, Acts 20:7, and a few other passages, not
one of which says one word about the Sabbath, or the seventh day, or a
day of rest, or holy time, or exercises which are proper only on the
Sabbath, you affirm, that you have proved your position beyond all
doubt, and that the only reason why I cannot see the evidence is
because the vail of Judaism is over my eyes. The moral law says, "The
seventh day is the Sabbath;" but you say, "No, the seventh day is not
the Sabbath; you do not understand the law; you mistake its meaning."
Neither that law, nor any other in the Bible, says, "The first day is
the Sabbath." Notwithstanding, you dare to lift up your hands, and
swear by the living God, that the first day _is_ the Sabbath. But this
is not all. Oh! that it were! The Holy Ghost has said, not only in the
record that God made on Adam's heart, and in the covenant of works,
but also in the written law given at Mount Sinai, and in several other
passages of Scripture, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
God." But you have repeatedly sworn by the infinite, eternal, and
unchangeable Jehovah, that _this assertion is not true_--that the
seventh day is _not_ the Sabbath of the Lord our God--that it is a
common working day. Because I can no longer join you in this
heaven-daring oath, you have declared me unworthy of the confidence of
a Christian people, and forbidden me to perform any longer the
functions of a missionary of the cross. You have told the church,
that, having violated my ordination vows, I have forfeited my
ministry, and that my seat at the Lord's table is vacant. You have
thus flung upon the heedless winds the mad-dog cry of "suspended
minister," "covenant-breaker," and "disturber of the church's peace."
But think not, brethren, beloved in the Lord, that the treatment which
I have received at your hands shall deter me from proclaiming what I
believe to be God's truth, as God may give me utterance. That you wish
to do what is right, I do not doubt. That you believe you do God
service in thrusting me from your Christian embraces, is evident
enough. That many of you love me yet, and pray for me, I can but hope.
But that you all sin in not searching the Scriptures daily to see
whether these things are so, I do firmly believe.
And now, brethren, I cannot close this treatise without uttering a
word of warning to every one of you, which will, I fear, be very
generally disregarded by you. Yet "wo is me" if I utter it not! Do
not, I beseech you, be angry at any thing I have written, or refuse to
hear my parting words because I am a "suspended minister." You have
loaded me with reproach, not because I have committed any crime, but
because I have plead for the integrity and immutability of the moral
law. I am neither a thief, nor a murderer, nor a robber of churches,
but I do most firmly believe, that the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord my God, and that you, and all others who do not keep it holy,
are guilty before God of a gross violation of the moral law. And can
I, under those circumstances, regard your reproaches as a legitimate
expression of the Divine displeasure? No. That I am really unworthy of
the gospel ministry, I confess. That I am not sufficient for these
things, I know. But, after having been regularly called to this
responsible work, I will not be driven from it, for such a cause. Know
then, ye rulers in the house of God, that I am still a minister of
Jesus Christ, sent forth to proclaim the terrors of God's law to the
rebellious and impenitent, and to promise the grace of the gospel to
the penitent and believing. Know also, ye professors of the Christian
religion who neglect the sanctification of the seventh day, and
especially ye ministers of Jesus who "teach men so," that you make
dark what God has made plain; that you pluck out of the hand of God's
schoolmaster one of those rods wherewith he would lash the carnal
heart; that you hide one of God's candles under a bushel, and compass
yourselves about with sparks, and a fire of your own kindling; that
you provoke the Holy Spirit, in rejecting his testimony, and teaching
for doctrine the commandments of men. Yes, brethren, though my words
fall upon your ears as an idle tale that you believe not, I declare to
you, in the name of Him whom your doctrine dishonors and your
philosophy insults--in the name of that _suspended Minister_, to whom
all the ends of the earth shall look for salvation--that, if you
repent not, the Holy Ghost will bear witness against you, in the awful
day of retribution, that you have refused his words, and that you have
"put darkness for light, and light for darkness!"
Think not that I am your enemy, because I thus speak. Think not that I
have no confidence in your piety, because I rebuke you sharply. Think
not that I am proud, boastful, and self-confident, because I dare to
approach _you_, who are vastly my superiors in knowledge, and remind
you of your duty. I would gladly have avoided this public exhibition
of my sentiments. Had it been possible to withhold my testimony, you
would never have seen these pages. But "necessity is laid upon me."
And think not, I beseech you, that I am against the church of our
Redeemer, or would hinder her prosperity, because I oppose a human
institution which Christians very generally observe. "If I forget
thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not
remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I
prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."
[14] I believe, that the prophecy in Dan. 7:25, refers mainly to the
change of Sabbath-time, and Sabbath-law. What time, of divine
appointment, it may be asked, was ever changed, except the time of the
Sabbath?
[15] Some of my Reformed Presbyterian brethren appear to be as far
from believing "the whole doctrine of the Westminster Confession of
Faith" as myself, only they are a little more guarded in the choice of
words. That Confession says, (ch. 21, sec. 7,)"--so, in his word, by a
positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, _binding all men in all
ages_, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath,
to be kept holy unto him." But Rev. Andrew Stephenson, in a letter to
me, speaking of the seventh-day Sabbath, styles it, "This relict of
Judaism;" and Rev. James Milligan, in a recent letter, asks me, "Why
has not the Lord's day as good a right to take the place of the
seventh day, as the Lord's Supper has to take the place of the
Passover?" Query--Are Reformed Presbyterians, who hold such
sentiments, any better qualified to judge their brethren for
Sabbath-breaking, than I would be to judge them for a like offense?