SEVENTH DAY.
ON THE SABBATH.
Sabbath Instituted -- Blessed and Sanctified -- Given to
Adam as a General Precept for his Posterity -- Renewed before
and at the giving of the Law -- A Sign between God and his
People -- Worldly Business prohibited -- Works of Necessity
and Mercy excepted -- Advantages resulting from observing it
-- A Seventh Day regarded by the Heathens -- The Sabbath of
universal and perpetual obligation -- The Lord’s Day.
When God had made the world, and furnished it with a variety of
creatures, suited to the different elements of which it is composed;
had created man after his own image, far superior to all the other
species of beings, endued with rational faculties, whom he therefore
constituted lord over them, situated in a residence curiously and
beautifully adorned, and plentifully stored with every thing adapted
for sustenance and delight; he exacted a reasonable service, which
consisted in the worship of himself, the one only true God, in
celebrating the expressions of his almighty power, infinite wisdom,
and boundless goodness, displayed in his works. And to perpetuate, as
well as give a solemnity to this worship, he set apart a portion of
time for the exercise of it; by the constant and regular observation
of which, a just sense of his infinite perfections, the recollection
of his wondrous works, and the true worship of him, might be retained
among men.
Moses, the sacred historian, says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them. And God rested the seventh day, and
sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which
God created and made.” Here we have the origin of the Sabbath, _because
that in it he rested_, says Moses; שבה _shebath_, from _shabath_, he
rested; and hence _sabbath_, the name of the seventh day, signifying
_a day of rest_. Not that he was weary with working, but he ceased to
work, or rested from making any more creatures, or species of beings,
all kinds being already either actually or virtually made. When he had
finished the works of creation, in which he was employed six days, he
rested on the seventh, and _blessed_ and _sanctified_ it; consecrated
it for man to rest from all secular labors, and religiously employ this
portion of time. This _blessing_ and _sanctifying_ the seventh day has
the force of a law or command. God separated it from a common to a
religious use, to be a standing memorial of his works of creation; and
to be a sign to Adam and his posterity, who, by working six days and
resting on the seventh, should show themselves to be the worshippers of
that Being who made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh.
The method pursued in creating the world, presenting a regular
succession of astonishing events, was doubtless intended to convey
useful instruction to mankind. Considering the almighty power of the
Creator, his _fiat_ would have been sufficient instantly to produce
the whole apparatus of nature, in beautiful and regular order. But he
proceeded by degrees in this work, probably to teach us, that, after
working six days, we also should rest on the seventh. What other reason
can be assigned for his procedure, when a more expeditious plan would
have been as easy to him, and more consonant to his omnipotence: but
only, that all mankind from this measure should have a perpetual reason
and obligation to consecrate a seventh day, after six days labor, to
be a holy rest to the Lord; and it is reasonable to suppose that God
expressly declared his will to our first parents as to this matter.
As the command for observing the seventh day was given to Adam, as
a general precept for all his posterity, no doubt he and his sons
regarded it. Afterwards, through the impiety of the ante-deluvians,
it might be obliterated in the earth, except in the solitary family
of Noah; who, being a preacher of righteousness, cannot be supposed
to have neglected the observation of this day, or to have omitted
recommending such an important point of religion to the new world after
the Flood. And though after this, when men were again multiplied on
the earth, wickedness and idolatry were introduced, and the lapse of
time had effaced from their minds this and other precepts of religion
received from Noah; yet, we cannot but suppose that this important
institution, with other things relating to the worship of God, was
retained in the family of Abraham, and the succeeding Patriarchs, till
their bondage in Egypt. But when, through the iniquity and idolatry
of succeeding generations, the particular time, at first designed and
allotted for this special service, became forgotten, and Divine worship
was entirely neglected by the generality of mankind, God then revealed
and instituted the Jewish religion, prescribed the mode of worship to
be used, and by a special law appointed a certain season for the more
solemn exercise of it; and to be a token of the sincere worshippers of
the true God, who created all things: and the day thus appointed and
consecrated to public worship, was called the _Sabbath_, on account of
the rest required to be strictly observed on it, and a command given to
all that they observe and sanctify it.
This command originally given to Adam, was renewed before the giving
of either the moral, judicial, or ceremonial law. It is expressly
taken notice of at the fall of the manna, which was granted to the
children of Israel in the wilderness of Sin, before they came to
Sinai, Exod. xvi, 23-27. It was afterwards inserted in the body of
the moral law. Exod. xx, 8. It is annexed to the judicial laws; i.e.
the laws determining right between man and man, and the punishment of
transgressors, Exod. xxiii, 12. And it is added to the first part of
the ceremonial law, or Levitical rites and ceremonies, Exod. xxxi,
13-18; in which passage it is repeated four times in the compass of
four verses. In the fourth command God says, “Remember the Sabbath-day,
to keep it holy.” What day is meant, the following words determine,
“Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh is
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shall not do any work.”
That is after six days of labor, the seventh shall be a day of holy
rest, set apart for the public worship of God. The reason to enforce
this is added, “Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” The Jews,
in many of their feasts, were commanded to rest from servile labor,
on which account these are sometimes called _sabbaths_; but we also
read of one day, which, by way of eminence, is styled the Sabbath, or
day of rest. Thus we see, that the precept which God gave the Jews for
the observation of the Sabbath, appears to be only the repetition or
renewal of the law given to mankind from the beginning of the world,
and not the first publication of it. A new reason indeed is added for
the observation of it, namely, their redemption from Egyptian bondage,
which was effected on the seventh day of the week, when God overthrew
Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, and thereby delivered them.
“Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the
Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand, and by a
stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep
the Sabbath-day.” And the Jews kept their Sabbath on the seventh day of
the week, in remembrance of their redemption from slavery in Egypt.
It is worthy of remark, that the command for the religious observance
of the Sabbath, was delivered by Moses at Mount Sinai, in a way
different from all those ordinances which were only ceremonial. It was
written by the supreme Being himself on tables of stone, on which every
other thing written was confessedly moral, and of perpetual obligation:
but no part of the ceremonial law was written by the finger of God. The
fourth command was written on tables of stone, to signify that it was
to continue, as well as the other; and also it was put into the Ark,
with the rest of the moral precepts, and is referred to Deut. x, 4. as
being one of the number.
The sanctification of the Sabbath is considered as a _sign_ between
God and his people. “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a
sign between me and you, throughout your generations; that ye may know
that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you:” or, as the original may
be rendered, a sign to acknowledge that I Jehovah am your sanctifier.
Again--“And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and
you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Thus God made the
sanctification of the Sabbath a sign by which it might be known who
did belong to him. Working six days, and keeping a holy rest on the
seventh, is a sign of being the worshippers of the one living and true
God, who made heaven and earth in the space of six days, and rested the
seventh: consequently, the neglecting and profaning the Sabbath is a
tacit renouncing of him. Therefore the Jewish Rabbies have this saying
among them, Whoever breaks the other commands is a wicked Israelite;
but he who openly and avowedly profanes the Sabbath, is considered as
an infidel and idolater. Hence we read, that such were to be cut off
from the people, and put to death: as they would not comply with this
institution, so God would not own them as his people, but reject them.
To those who religiously observe the Sabbath, there are many particular
promises made. “If thou turn thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy
pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the Holy of
(or to) the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own
ways, not finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage
of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Here
God secures to such persons the good of the land of Canaan, which he
has promised as an heritage to Jacob and his seed. Plenty, honor, and
security in the enjoyment of temporal blessings, are annexed to a
religious performance of the duty; he will bless the honest labors of
those who faithfully serve him, on the six days of the week, which he
has appointed for secular employments. The more sincere and devout any
person is in keeping the Sabbath, the more will his business prosper
on other days. Promises of this nature have been accomplished in all
ages, to those who have sanctified the Sabbath; and no doubt they will
continue to be so in every subsequent period of time.
Attending to worldly business on the Sabbath, is a profanation of it,
and strictly prohibited. God says, “Thou shalt not do any work, thou,
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant,
nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.” Again: “Six
days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest;
ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your
dwellings.” The Sabbath was awfully profaned in the days of Nehemiah.
He says, “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on
the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and leading asses; as also wine,
grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into
Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day
wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein,
which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath
unto the children of Judah and Jerusalem. Then I contended with the
nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye
do, and profane the Sabbath-day? Did not your fathers thus, and did
not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye
bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath. And it came
to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem begun to be dark before
the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged
that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my
servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought
in on the Sabbath-day. So the merchants, and sellers of all sorts
of ware, lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified
against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye
do so again I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no
more on the Sabbath.” This is a noble instance of well-directed zeal,
and successful effort, in that great and good governor. His example
ought to be followed by persons in authority, filling high official
situations. The prophet Jeremiah speaks to the same purpose, “Thus
saith the Lord, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the
Sabbath-day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem: neither carry
forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any
work, but hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers.”
Works of necessity and mercy are here to be excepted: these may be
done consistently with the sanctification of the Sabbath, though they
are servile and laborious. But great care must be taken, not to plead
necessity where there really is none. By such works are meant things of
importance, which could not be done the day before, nor postponed till
after the Sabbath. A necessity which is occasioned by negligence, or
want of thought, or is only necessary to some worldly advantage, will
not be a sufficient excuse in this case. In seasons when people have
more than ordinary business in their hands, and therefore are apt to
plead necessity for encroachments on the Sabbath; yet, even then, God
has particularly commanded them to rest. “Six days shalt thou work; but
on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing-time and harvest thou
shalt rest.”
The religious observance of the Sabbath is adapted to promote the
spiritual advantage of God’s people. Its exercises tend to wean them
from this present world, and raise them above the attractions of sense.
By this holy rest there is a pause made in their earthly pursuits,
and they are called more solemnly to reflect on the invisible and
important realities of a better world, in order to excite their devout
affections. Had they no such intervals, their hearts would soon be
overcharged with the labors and cares of this life, and they would
be too regardless of a better state. God has made it even unlawful
for them to follow any secular employments on this day, on purpose to
preserve them from the undue influence of the objects of sense, and
that they might with more intenseness pursue spiritual and eternal
things. It is certain, as one judiciously observes, that much of
the power of godliness consists in persons living above the present
world, in being dead to it, in viewing it with a holy indifference,
and in setting their affections on things above. But this would be
very difficult, or next to impossible, if they were to be constantly
employed in worldly affairs; and therefore he who best knows the
composition and constitution of man, has wisely and graciously
appointed one day in seven, as a rest from terrestrial pursuits, and as
a season wherein he should set himself more intensely to prepare for
the heavenly world. When thus withdrawn from earthly concerns, persons
can more impartially examine, weigh, and consider how unsuitable a
portion they are for an immaterial soul, immortal in its duration.
They have leisure to meditate with greater freedom on the Author of
their being, on his end or design in placing them on the earth, and
on the results of their conduct awaiting them in a future state.
They, therefore, who are duly informed of the worth of the soul, and
suitably impressed with the awfulness of that world to which they are
hastening; who desire the felicity of heaven, and dread the misery
of hell; will rejoice at the return of the Sabbath, wherein they are
called diligently to prepare for the one, and most cautiously to avoid
the other. While thus abstracted from all sublunary things, and engaged
in the exercise of devotion, they gain a more intimate communion with
God. “Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh
hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and
make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and
their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar.” When persons are
employed on this sacred day, in meditating on the infinite perfections
of God displayed in his works; when the desires of their souls are
after him, and they are engaged in offering up prayers and praises to
the glorious Author of their being and blessings; then he manifests
himself to them in a manner he does not to other men, sheds abroad his
love in their hearts, accepts their persons and services, and fills
them with joy and peace. This communion is most effectually promoted,
when they are disengaged from earthly things, and wholly employed in
the duties of religion: according to that very encouraging promise, “In
all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will
bless thee.”
The seventh day was observed by heathen nations, as well as the Jews.
Josephus ventured to affirm, “There is no city, whether Grecian or
Barbarian, there is no nation, which does not rest on the seventh
day.” Philo Judæus stated many years before, that the seventh day
was a festival, not to one city or one country, but to all; and he,
therefore, calls it the _universal festival_. The heathen writers speak
of the Sabbath as a high day among them. Clemens Alexandrinus gives
quotations from Linus, Homer, Hesiod, and Callimachus, who speak of the
seventh day as a day on which the work of the creation was finished,
and call it _the holy day_, and _the birth day of the world_. Lucian
informs us, in his Pseudologista, that children at school were exempted
from study on the seventh day. This day Suetonius calls a _sabbath_.
If any should say, that the Heathen, from the acquaintance they had
with the Jews and the writings of Moses, knew that the seventh day was
to be kept holy: I would answer; that is not probable, for some of the
Heathen writers who speak of the seventh-day Sabbath, lived near the
time of Moses. Beside, the Greeks were at that time wholly ignorant
of his writings: the Jews thought it a profanation to communicate any
part of them to the Heathen. Nor were the writings of Moses translated
into the Greek language till several hundred years after Homer: the
translation was made in the days of Ptolemy the second, king of Egypt,
about three hundred years before the Christian era. And it is not
of the Jews Saturday-sabbath that the Heathen writers speak, but of
another day in the week. It was not the seventh day of the week to
which the ancient heathens confined their rest, but _a_ seventh day,
_one_ day in seven. Their Sabbath or high festival was that day of the
week on which they worshipped the sun, their chief god. It remains
then, that the notice of the seventh day among the Heathen came to
them originally from the Patriarchs, whose descendants, in their
several dispersions, carried along with them some impressions of the
true religion, which partially continued with them afterward, though
awfully corrupted with idolatry. To cure mankind of this idolatry, and
secure the worship of him who made the sun, and the whole universe,
Moses, by Divine direction, appointed the last day of the week to be
the Jewish sabbath. We may also state, that the reason which God has
assigned for sanctifying the seventh day to be the Jewish sabbath,
namely, his creating the world in six days, and resting the seventh,
not only concerns the Jews, but also the Heathens, who are equally
bound to remember and adore their Creator. Hence the _Strangers_, or
Gentiles, who sojourned among the Jews, and were not obliged to keep
the ceremonial law, were bound to keep holy the Sabbath.
Thus we perceive, that this command is of a moral nature, and,
therefore, of universal and perpetual obligation. The Sabbath was
instituted from the beginning of the world, while all things were
perfectly good, and our first parents were innocent and adorned with
the beauty of holiness: even then the Creator appointed that the
seventh day should be employed in his more immediate service. Some have
thought, that there is no express command for the observance of the
Sabbath, till after the children of Israel had come out of Egypt; and,
therefore, that all the obligations to observe it must be derived from
the law of Moses. But this command was given before sin had infected
human nature, consequently previous to the ceremonial law, which, in
all its parts, was contrived on account of sin, and intended to point
to a Saviour: for in a state of innocence, there could be no propriety
in the adoption of such shadows and ceremonies. Nay, as Archbishop
Usher observes, the appointment of the Sabbath was not only before any
part of the ceremonial law, but before any promise or prediction of
Christ, to whom all the ceremonies of the law had respect. Therefore we
may conclude, that a command which was to be observed though man had
never sinned, and which stood in full force from the creation of the
world, cannot be made a part of the ceremonial law, which was not given
till after the expiration of 2,500 years. This is a duty incumbent
on all mankind, as is evident from the reason and end of its first
institution; all men being alike God’s creatures, and as such equally
concerned to worship him and commemorate his works. The Sabbath is as
obligatory on all succeeding generations of men, as it was formerly on
the Jews, or before the Mosaic economy, on the Patriarchs and their
contemporaries. Every creature of God on earth, endued with reason, is
obliged to separate this day from his common time, and to keep it holy
to the Lord.
When the Jewish ceremonial law was abrogated by Christ, the fourth
command continued in force, and was observed. Speaking of the moral
law, our Saviour says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or
the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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.” Now if not one
י _yod_, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, or _tittle_, or
_point_, κεραια, either meaning those _points_, as a learned author
remarks, which serve for vowels in this language, if they then existed;
or the _apices_, or points of certain letters, such as ר _resh_, or
ד _daleth_, ה _he_, or ח _cheth_, as the change of any of these into
the other would make a most essential alteration in the sense; I say,
if not one of these was to pass from the law, surely not the command
which is the longest of all the ten, is the only one to which a memento
is prefixed, and has more reasons to enforce it than any of the other
nine! Yea, so far from abolishing this command, our Saviour explains
it, in the case of his disciples plucking the ears of corn on the
Sabbath; which is a manifest proof that he intended it to be continued
for the use of the Christian Church. He also enjoined his disciples
to pray, when Jerusalem should be destroyed, which did not occur till
forty years after his death, and the consequent abolishing of all the
Jewish rites and ceremonies, that their _flight_ might not be on the
_Sabbath-day_.
From the beginning of the world to the Christian dispensation, the
seventh day of the week was the Sabbath: ever since the resurrection
of Christ from the dead, the first day of the week is the Christian
Sabbath. Our Saviour, who is “Lord of the Sabbath,” changed it from
the seventh to the first day of the week; which does not in the
least derogate from the honor and glory of God. If one Sabbath had
been abolished and not another instituted in the room of it, then he
would lose the honor of public worship, which he has appointed to be
performed on that day. However, if there be a greater work than that
of creation to be remembered and celebrated, to appoint a day for that
special purpose, tends much more to advance the glory of God, than if
it should be wholly neglected. And if “all men should honor the Son,
even as they honor the Father,” then it is expedient that a day should
be set apart for this worship, namely, the day on which Christ rested
from the work of redemption, or, as the apostle expresses it, “ceased
from his own works, as God did from his.” In altering the Sabbath,
from the seventh to the first day of the week, our Saviour displayed
his sovereign authority; herein he enjoined what time he would have
consecrated for his worship under the Gospel dispensation, as well as
what worship he would have performed on that day. In observing the
Christian sabbath, we express our faith in a public manner, that Christ
is come in the flesh, and has completed the work of our redemption;
and, consequently, that there is a way prepared for our justification,
access to God, and hope of finding pardon, acceptance, sanctification,
and eternal life. And as all the ordinances of Gospel-worship have a
peculiar relation to Christ, it is proper that the time in which they
are performed should likewise have respect to him; and, therefore, the
first day of the week is set apart in commemoration of his finishing
the work of our redemption.
That the Sabbath was actually changed from the seventh to the first day
of the week, appears from the example of the apostles, who, after the
resurrection of Christ, celebrated that day as a Sabbath. It was on the
first day of the week that the Holy Ghost was poured down in a most
miraculous manner on the apostles, to qualify them for the ministry,
and render them fit instruments for propagating Christianity in the
world. While St. Paul was at Troas, we read, that “upon the first day
of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,” i.e.
to receive the Holy Sacrament, “Paul preached unto them.” This was
not a private, but a public meeting of the Church; nor was it a day
occasionally appointed by the apostle, but the stated time of their
meeting; and it was usual for the Christians on their Sabbath to
receive the Lord’s Supper. The apostle had continued at Troas seven
days; why did they not meet together, and he preach to them, on the
seventh day of the week? because it was no longer the Sabbath, but
changed to the first day. It was on the first day of the week that the
primitive Christians made collections for the poor.--“Now concerning
the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of
Galatia, even so do ye. 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.” Every man at the conclusion of the week, was
to cast up his weekly earnings, and see how much God had prospered him;
and then to bring a right proportion, on the first day of the week, as
is most likely, to the church or assembly, that it might be put in the
common treasury. Thus it appears, as a learned commentator remarks,
that the first day of the week, which is the Christian sabbath, was the
day on which their principal religious meetings were held in Corinth,
and the churches of Galatia; and, consequently, in all other places
where Christianity had prevailed. The apostle John speaks of the Lord’s
day, “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” He calls it the _Lord’s
day_, because on it Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and had appointed
it to be the Christian sabbath: thus one Gospel ordinance is called
the Lord’s Supper, from its having been instituted by Christ.--If any
should inquire when it was that Christ gave instruction to his apostles
concerning the change of the Sabbath; we may reply, that it was in
that interval of time, during which he “showed himself alive after his
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God;” of which we
may reckon the change of the Sabbath to have been one. But if this
should not be deemed sufficiently satisfactory, we have the highest
reason to conclude, that information was given to the apostles by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whom Christ had promised to send them,
and that should guide them into all truth. And surely there could not
have been a more proper day fixed on for the Christian sabbath; and
which the Christian church has ever since continued to observe, and of
which God himself has signified his approbation. And as the reason of
the change now stands, we can neither observe the Jewish seventh-day
Sabbath, without disowning the redemption which Christ has accomplished
for us; nor can we refuse to comply with this alteration, and keep holy
the Lord’s day, without a manifest contempt not only of our Creator,
but of our gracious and merciful Redeemer, who, on this day of the
week, rose from the dead, and thereby confirmed our redemption from
sin, Satan, spiritual thraldom, and everlasting misery.
As the redemption of the Jews out of Egypt was typical of our
redemption by Christ, and the Jews on their Sabbath were to keep their
deliverance in remembrance; so surely Christians are under the greatest
obligations on the first day of the week to remember their redemption
by Christ. On this day our blessed Saviour rose from the dead, and his
resurrection is a demonstrative evidence that the Supreme Judge is
fully satisfied, and become the God of peace. There is no dispensing
with the honor of the moral law, no receding from the sacred rights of
justice. The obedience and death of Christ, as our surety, were such as
the law and justice required; and by which the honor of God is secured,
and of which he has most expressly declared his acceptance. When Christ
had laid down his life, in as ignominious death, which was all that
the law and justice could insist on, God himself unloosed the fetters
of the grave, threw open the prison door, and in his resurrection from
the dead, gave an evident and solemn testimony of his approval. This
was the accomplishment of the words of the prophet, “He was taken from
prison, and from judgment;” released and discharged, in full evidence
that he had made satisfaction, and that God had accepted the payment
at his hands. The apostle remarks on this important point, “Whom God
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not
possible that he should be holden of it.” Not possible, as it is not
just or righteous that a prisoner, who has satisfied every demand that
the law has on him, should be kept longer in prison. The resurrection
of Christ, therefore, was an open and authentic acknowledgment, that
God, considered as the moral Governor and Supreme Judge of mankind,
acquiesced in his death, as a proper, full, and perfect satisfaction
to Divine justice for sin. Hence he is represented, in raising Christ
from the dead, as acting under the peculiar character of the God of
peace. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of
the everlasting covenant.” What a delightful view does this present
of the resurrection of Christ--a risen Saviour, and a reconciled God!
How safely may men trust in the one, and with what humble confidence
may they apply to the other, for pardon, holiness, and heaven. With
what holy joy should they on the Lord’s day call to remembrance his
resurrection, and meditate on the greatness of his love in shedding his
blood for “the remission of sins,” and to secure for them everlasting
happiness.
The ardent desire he manifested for our welfare was not extinguished,
or even abated, by the most discouraging considerations: not by the
unworthiness of those who were the objects of his compassion; not by
the thoughts of obscuring his Divine glory with frail humanity; not by
the prospect of being exposed to the contempt of men and contradiction
of sinners; not by the view of meeting with very ungrateful usage from
his friends, and falling under the most bitter persecutions of his
enemies; not by the necessity, arising from a covenant engagement,
of suffering the punishment due to sin, and submitting to a most
ignominious and painful death. In opposition to these formidable
obstacles, our blessed Redeemer resolutely and immoveably persevered
in his benevolent design of dying for us, and thereby effecting our
salvation; and when suspended on the cross, he cried, “It is finished,”
and gave up the ghost. For calling this to remembrance, was the
Christian sabbath instituted; and if the consideration of the love of
Christ in being “delivered for our offences, and rising again for our
justification,” will not constrain us to sanctify the Lord’s day, every
other motive or reason will fail.
THE END.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation has been standardised.
Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_.
Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps.
Non-printable superscripts are represented by a caret
followed by the character(s) placed in {}, i.e. x^{23}.
This book was written in a period when many words had not
become standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have
multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the
text. These have been left unchanged while obvious spelling
mistakes have been repaired. Non-typical corrections are noted
below:
Pg 57 - Location of footnote 33 was not marked in the
original text