declared in the first Psalm Sinners will then fall and be condemned This Daniel saw in that glorious Vision wherein the Judge of all shewed himself sitting upon his Throne having thousand times thousands ministring unto him and ten thousand times ten thousands standing before him Where Judgement set it self and the Books were opened Thus did Solomon close the Book of his Experiences of his folly in seeking a happiness in creature injoyments which were all vanities having minded others of the Day of their Death A serious Meditation of which might prove either a prevention or a remedying of this evil malady The Dust shall return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it He leaves behind him with those who came after him these acceptable words of Truth the end of the Word of all hath been heard these same Aelohim or adored Almighties in Father Son and holy Spirit fear thou and those Commandments of his keep thou because this all that Adam or for this all Adam or the whole of that first Adam or all of Man or the whole Man here is all the main of all our Religion when we have spoken and written and printed never so much about Religion this is our grand spiritual and eternal concern thine and mine and every other mans Because Aelohim will make to come into Judgement every Work all Work with all that is hidden be it kept never so secret from other men here if good and if evil or whether good and whether evil Wouldst thou who readest this have the Graces of the holy Spirit in wrought by him in the hearts of his Covenant people to pass under the same Scripture-examination Did not the Believers under the Old Testament Dispensation l obtain by Lot like precious Faith with those under the New Administration Hath not the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews given us a large Catalogue of such as were full of lively fruitful-working-Faith Doth he not give us an Historical Account of the Faith of Abel of Enoch of Noah of Abraham of Sarah of Isaac of Jacob of Joseph of Moses of Gideon of Barak of Sampson of Jephthah of David of Samuel and of the Prophets And of the wonderful Fruits and Effects of this Grace in them How eminent was Abraham more especially and particularly this way Who has this honourable Title put upon him that he is called The father of the faithful Did not James in his Epistle Exhort the Christian Brethren to take for an Example of suffering of evil and of long suffering the Prophets who have spoken in the Name of the LORD Behold said he we count them blessed that endure Ye have heard of the patience of Job and ye have seen the end of the LORD that the LORD is of so much Bowels and Compassionate How lively was Abraham's Hope who against Hope believed in Hope What a Man of Hope was David Who that savours of and that frames to his renewed Spirit can considerately read Davids Psalms and not see this Grace often put forth into Act by him How constant an expectant was he unto Jehovah Aelohim in variety of difficult and trying Cases And how often doth he call earnestly upon others to be much in this The good whereof he had so often proved to his great satisfaction and to his raised joy How full of love was his heart towards Christ and towards the Law of Christ So that when he could not express the whole of what he thus felt stirring within him he gives a vent to his heart by his Exclamations O how I Love And by his longings after more O what an holy Fear had he of this glorious God And O how much did David's heart stand in awe of his Word Shall I speak of Duties Was not this David the Man to whom God himself gave Testimony and said I have found David of Jesse a man after mine heart who shall will-do all my wills How full of Prayings Praisings Singings and of such like Religious Services is that one Book of Psalms Wouldst thou hear somewhat of their Priviledges Doth not James bear witness that Abraham was called a friend of God Did not Enoch walk with God Had he not Testimony that he pleased God Did not Noah find Grace in the Eyes of Jehovah Did not he also walk with God Were not the believing ones of the Israelites Sons and Daughters to Jehovah their Aelohim Were not they made partakers of the same Adoption and Love by Faith in Christ What a fulness of assurance of Faith had Abraham How filled with joy and peace in believing was David whilst he walked in the ways of Jehovah O what gladness was there often given into his heart How often was the Light of the Faces of Jehovah lifted up over him In this Light did the gracious Saints of old walk on who were marvellously separated unto Jehovah Aelohim In his Name were they glad all the day and in his Justice were they exalted for he was the Glory of their strength They were satisfied with his favourable acceptation and were full with his blessings The Sons of Israel were a people near him Halelujah Jehovah's portion was his people even then Jacob was the Line of his Inheritance they his portion and he theirs Hear some of their holy Breathings To me how precious are thy thoughts O God! How mightily increased are the summs of them Would I tell them they will be more than the sand I awake and still I with thee How precious thy mercy O Aelohim And the Sons of Adam hope for safety in the shadow of thy wings They shall be plenteously moistened with the fatness of thy house and the stream of thy pleasures thou wilt give them to drink Because with thee the Well of life In thy light we see light Extend thy mercy to them that know thee and thy justice to the right of heart How much thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them who fearing thee Were not these things forewritten for the use of Believers now When Jacob found Jehovah Christ in Bethel did he not there speak with praying Believers in after Ages When Aelohim turned the Sea into Dry When his people passed thorow the River on foot did not the Saints in after Generations there rejoyce in him The Faithful then and the Faithful now are fellow-servants and fellow-brethren and joynt-heirs of the same promised Glory They confessed that they were Guests and Strangers upon Earth they were desirous of and sought a better the heavenly Countrey Therefore God is not ashamed of them to be called their God Happy they who are in Abraham's bosom who are taken into intimate society conjunction love and glorious fellowship with him How full of heavenly joys is that blessed State of Christ's Spiritual Kingdom which is a Being with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all
ground and evidence enough in the things themselves thus made and Light and Reason enough in the Humane Intellect of Rational Beings to discern and to improve this to the very same ends Both these had Primitive concreated self-evidence however sin now have darkned and defaced things The indication of these Duties were at the first true real sufficient Some worn Letters of which original Ingraving are yet still remaining to be read These Laws resulting from the Humane Nature and from that Relation which created Man doth stand in to his creating Maker The Obligation which doth arise from hence must continue as long as the Humane Nature doth continue For it is Essential to our Formation and constitution as we are reasonable men and women and so is unchangeably binding And he that would make any one Law of pure primitive Nature alterable doth thereby though it may be not designedly yet eventually heave at the overturning of all the Laws of Nature This Primigenial Holiness and Righteousness in created Man bearing exact conformity to the holy Righteous Nature of creating Aelobim And Christ's coming was not to dissolve any one Law of the Decalogue or any thing of the Obligation to any Law therein but to maintain these Laws and their obliging All mankind brought under convincing demonstrations from distinguishing taste of the difference of good and of evil should acknowledge all and every of those holy just and good Laws to have a clear congruity to their Natures Who of all mankind that has the due exercise of rational abilities but must acknowledge that we ought to love the LORD our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbour as our selves On which two Commandments hang all the Laws and the Prophets For which we have the Authority of the LORD Jesus Christ himself He being the Law-giver and Law-Interpreter too Further yet People in some Scriptures are the Elect and Believers Whether of Jews or of Gentiles Who are also absolutely called People The Nations which shall be converted to the Faith of the Gospel renouncing Antichrist and his corrupt principles and practices are some of this people These both under the Old and New Testament Administration had this Law of the ten Words written not only in the Scripture Revelation but also on the two Tables of the Mind and Heart by the holy Spirit Thus is the Law of the ten Words specially and distinguishingly given to new Creatures and thus it will be renewed in the purer Churches in the later Days In this sense the Rule and Direction for renewed Holiness and for the Works and Duties of Grace and of Sanctification is called The new Law or Commandment the same with the Old only renewed Next of Ceremonials These are sometimes called The Law of Degrees placed in external Rites and by some such other Expressions These Rites were used about outward fleshie things such as Meats Drinks Washings and the like These so far as they were Typical Figuring and Representative of a Christ who was then to come to be born of a Virgin and to shed his blood were perfected and accomplished in Christ when he was so born and had so suffered was risen and had ascended And they did peculiarly belong to the People under the former dispensation Of this nature were some Ceremonies annexed to the Weekly-seventh-day Sabbath By these holy rites the Church and People of God under that administration were differenced and discerned as a People holy to God distinct from other prophane Nations An Old Testament Ceremonie is set out in Scripture by Flesh a carnal Ordinance an hand-writing of death an Element of the World weak and egene an Exemplar of Heavenly things unstable An Intolerable Yoak A shadow and such like Which are not properly applicable to the Seventh-day-Sabbath as such If any say it is an Exemplar of the Sabbatism in Heaven and so a Ceremonious Type Let then the Type stand as I have said till we can come at the Antitype Ceremonies sometimes do set out the inward spiritual things Graces Duties Priviledges which they did signify and teach A Ceremonie has been and is a Sign of somewhat that is natural and so they have been annexed to natural Spiritual Duties As Evening and Morning worshipping of God had divers Ceremonial Observances So the Weekly-Seventh-day-Sabbath Thus for Parents to give up themselves their Sons and Daughters to God is a natural dutie Yet this duty has Baptism even now under the new Testament-Ministration annexed to it Those things which are still of a concreated Spiritual Nature Were are and will be a duty The Epistle to the Hebrews is a Gospel-Exposition hereupon Though Multitudes of these Ceremonies were superadded to the Law of the ten Words as an Evangelical Explanation and Interpretation of them yet this doth not alter the true real nature of any of these ten words which are always a standing unalterable Rule of holy Righteous living As for the giving of this Law of the Ten words If this Law be considered As promulgated and proclaimed at Mount Sinai by Jehovah Aelohim thus there was somewhat in it which was a peculiar gift to the Israelitish Church and those who were proselyted to it beyond any other People As for the time when he brought them out of Egyptian bondage so for the place the Desert Jehovah gave them this in their Wildernesses condition At Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai in an Enemies Land that of the Amorites and of the Moabites Thus also For the persons They were those of that age who were then alive at that place who understood the Hebrew to whom He gave this Law So for the subservient Administrator by whose hand Jehovah Christ gave this Law to them Who was Moses there was Moses's a Ministery used in it Hence it is called the Law of Moses Moses wrote this Law in a Book Also for the manner of proclaiming With Trumpet Thunder Fire Audible Immediate voice of Aebolim himself and such like And thus too for the solemn imbodying of an whole nation into a Church-state These and some such other like were the peculiar Circumstances of that Promulgation in that day Yet is the Law still the same now The LORD Jesus Christ doth speak unto us even now in this Law of the ten Words What God did speak unto Moses He spake unto others in the days of Christs flesh when born of the Virgin Mary which was hundreds of Years after And these ten Words were written unto us If this Law be considered as the Law of nature so it was given to all mankind in Representative Adam As I have declared If it be looked on as Inwritten in the mind and Heart of the Regenerate by the Holy Spirit Thus it is peculiarly given to new Creatures As also I have manifested Thus I have laboured to clear and to
preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles as if this had scarce been their duty though it were expresly put into their Commission from the mouth of Christ Till Peter was righter informed by a Vision from Heaven The written word of Christ has an Authority above and beyond the Authority and Testimony of the most eminent Apostles or Angels of Heaven If a Paul had brought his own word contrary to Christs word what were Pauls saying It must be rejected and in that the hearers were to carry themselves towards Paul as if he had been an excommunicate If a Prophet bring a word contradictory to the word of the LORD he should not be hearkened unto If an Angel from Heaven speak otherwise than the God of Angels and would teach disobedience against the word of Jehovah Fellowship should not be kept up with him It is one erroneous part of Antichristianism to set up the Testimony of men or the Authority of the Church in the seat of Christ and of his written word The The Antichrist is the Anomous one the Lawless one the Antinomian And Anomy or Lawlesness or Antinomianism is the great comprehensive sin of the Latter daies And they are Lawless ones that are the erring seducing ones Men as to their Church state have their foundation and bottom their existence and life under a God in Christ from the written word of Christ whereas these Scriptures of Truth have not their groundwork and being from any meer man or men Church or Churches A Church is made up of Believers as the prefaces of the Epistles to the Churches do shew and Believers must have a word to sound and to live upon All true doctrines are to be fetched hence and to be grounded and proved here The Conventions of Pagans and the Synagogues of Sutan are not owned as Churches of Christ because they are not according to Christ and the word of Christ Men though passing into never-so-noted-a-Church-way yet may actually be in process of time so Obstinate in Heresies so Idolatrous in Worship and so scandalous in profaneness as to cease to be a true-Scripture-Church and must be separated from The Christian Church at Rome in Pauls time has another manner of Character given of it in his Epistle to them than the Satanical Synagogue at Rome has by John in the Revelation who saw in a Vision the foul Apostasie thereof Separation in such Cases is holy and a duty The holy Scriptures of Truth do not give a Sovereign Authority to the Testimony of men they did not send us to humane Witness to Church History to unwritten Tradition to fetch Credibility to it It is the Glorious excellency of this Word of Christ to be the one and the only rule of Judging in all Cases both here now and at the Last Judgment day Which no Testimony of men is honoured withal The whole Scripture is God-inspired whose Testimony is the greatest and the most Credible so are not the after-humane-Testimonies Traditions Histories and Authorities The Books of Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy as commonly now called are more Antient than all other written printed bookes The true pure Word of God is of greatest Authority mens Writings are a Postscript The Grace of sound and of Saving Faith must have Almighty Power Infallible truthfulness unchangeable faithfulness and infinite Wisdom to bottom and to build firmly upon A Believers assent and consent to the Infallible Authority of the written word hath been is and may be brought forth without mens-Testimony History Tradition and Authority Many have been made to believe this before they came to any such Human helps and who neither knew read or considered such Church Histories and Traditions which therefore could not be the cause immediate Adequate and Efficient thereof Where the word it self doth work effectually and savingly in a believing heart there it is embraceingly recieved not the word of man but as it is in truth the word of God Saving Faith cannot bottom upon mens Testimonies which humane Writers will still be needing further Arguments and Testimonies to confirm it The Testimony of man can never of it self perswade and enable savingly to credit the infallible Authority of the written word till the Holy Spirit do infuse sound saving Faith and call and draw it forth into Act Though the other pretended cause of Humane Testimonies and Authorities be put into act yet this effect of sound believing doth not follow Many remain Infidels under the highest esteem and strongest perswasions of Church-Histories and of mens Testimonies and some tempted Saints yet cannot be cured of their unbelieving Fears and of their distrustful doubts by any humane Tradition History or Authority till the Spirit and word of Christ from the Father do come with Demonstration and with Power Saving Faith is Supernatural which mens Testimony from Extrascriptural Arguments is not they do each differ in their whole kind and one cannot be in another The best read Historians and other wise learned men of the World are not the soonest brought to assent and consent to the Authority of the word by the force of any or of all humane Arguments If this Faith which is greater in its self and in its Spiritual effects could be inwrought by mens Testimony then other particular objects of Faith or Truths or things to be beleived which are less Such as are the several Doctrines about Spiritual Eternals Invisibles but not these and therefore neither that also Even as to matters of Fact past besides knowing of them by Inspiration Voice or Visions and by natural causes arguing from them to the effects by humane Report which is called History or Tradition they may be known some other waies when they are needful to be known Matters of Fact past have been and still may be known by lots which where the Case and Cause do call for it is a way of natural appeal to the allknowing God Thus was Achans matter of past fact known and thus also was Jonathans past Fact discovered And thus also in the tryal of Jealousie past Facts of works of darkness in Adulterous Acts were brought to light by an Oath of Execration taken by the suspected party and a solemn address thereupon made to the Heart-searching all-knowing Aelohim And this also I would propound to the Ingenious and Studious for the advance and Augment of this best of Sciences Scripture-knowledges whether by lots and Oathes of Execration natural Appeals solemn-Addresses and by miracles other waies the truthfulness of Scripture-revelation would not yet under the present dispensation of Grace For I revive not any of the Old Testament Figures Types and shadows about any of these then used be thus still confirmed were a Spirit of Faith mingled with a word of Faith put into the prayer of Faith As for Humane report the experience that we have had of our own day and time doth inform us how partial men are in these
themselves till their hearts and lives in a way of growing conformity both in knowledge and in obedience be more and better reconciled to this Law of the ten Words Pure Primitive Created Natural Word self-love is eminent in an Universal Obedience unto all the Holy Righteous Just Laws of Jehrvah Aelohim They are good Laws good to the observer of them The LORD doth use this Argument whereby to prevail with true right self-lovers keep all my Commandments for thy good Thy the benefit and the advantage will be thy own Thy Obedience thereby will be profitable to thy self Every one of the ten Words being directed to men in the Second Person doth stir up their natural regular self-love Thou shalt or Thou shalt not It is thy own great concern For there is a lawful regular self-love as there is a sinful carnal self-love This also doth take in somewhat of another Instance of this Objector about taking greatest care to save our Souls above our Bodies For the Chain and the order Lines of Love is held forth in the Decalogue The Honour and the Glory of Jehovah Aelohim being commanded and commended in the first Table and then the Salvation and good of our selves and next to this the Salvation and good of others As has been already opened Further to tame and mortifie all our fleshly Lusts in order to our Salvation Is not this also precepted in the Decalogue Where any Duty is there commanded do not also the means pointed thereunto pass under precept Thus where any sin is forbidden are not there also the causes and occasions of such a sin forbidden And are not there also the means instituted for the avoyding such a sin injoyned Are not Lusts and Corruptions the whole old man of them the original indwelling sin which is the root and the corrupt Fountain whence all other sins and corruptions do spring and flow are not these forbidden in the Law of the ten Words Doth not Paul evidently argue this in the seventh Chapter of his Epistle to the Romans If we do not through the spirit mortifie the deeds of the body Is not this one way of self-murder forbidden in the sixth Word or Law And where a sin is forbidden is not the contrary Duty there commanded Are we not by virtue of this and of other of these Laws to forbear those acts of Gluttony Drunkenness Adultery and such like as they tend to our own damnation Where the express charges for mortification are given to us do they not evidently refer to the particular Laws of the ten Words Mortifie your members which are upon the Earth Fornication Uncleanness against the seventh Word Passion against the sixth Word Evil Concupiseence against the seventh Word in its limited restrained sense against the whole of this Law in a large sense Covetousness against the tenth VVord Which is Idolatry against the first Word We must put off all these Anger Wrath Malice against the sixth Word Blasphemy against the third Word when belched out against Jehovah against the ninth VVord when spoken evilly against our Neighbour Filthy communication out of our Mouths against the seventh VVord Lie not one to another against the ninth VVord Husbands be not bitter against your VVives Fathers give not ill words to your Children Servants do not wrong against the fifth VVord Do not not the Law and the Prophets under the old Administration call for the ploughing up of the sallow Ground for Circumcising themselves to Jehovah for taking away the Foreskin of their Hearts with other such like expressions And do these set out the mortification of the lusts VVhat was much of the Typical whole Burnt-offering but the mortifying and killing of sin So that as this is a Duty under the New so also it is a Duty under the Old And if so it must be by virtue of one or other of the ten VVords for on these do all the Law and the Prophets the whole Old Testament hang as to matters of commands or Prohibitions though it take in other matters too To deny all bodily Pleasure Profit Honour Liberty and Life for the securing of our Salvation regular self-love as it is a Law of Nature doth dictate and is a great part of that which the LORD Jesus Christ in that cutting of the ten VVords into two Comprehensives of them doth call the second Commandment For Love to the Honour of Jehovah Aelohim is the first and chief Commandment and must be mainly put forth in this case though it were to the parting with our any thing our all Are there not eminent Examples of this under the Old Testament which have an honourable Record in the New Did not Noah go far in this of self denyal when he opposed all that corrupt age VVhen he condemned the whole VVorld of sinful mankind as he could reach them and was not this to the saving not only of his house but of his soul VVas not Abraham eminent in this when he left his own Country and his Fathers House and at a call from the LORD went out not knowing whither he went to sojourn in a strange Country where he was in great danger And when at a word from the LORD he was ready to offer up his Isaac his only begotton beloved Son of whom it was said In Isaac shall the seed be called to thee Did not Moses excel here in when by Faith being grown big he refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter was not this a denying all bodily honour when he by Faith chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to have the Temporary Injoyment or Delight of sin VVas not this to deny all bodily pleasure when he by Faith esteemed the reproach of or for Christ observe there was a Christ then and Moses rejoyced in his being persecuted for Christ's sake because great was his reward in Heaven which is an answer to another Instance of this Objector greater riches than the Treasures in Egypt VVas not this to deny all profit when he by Faith forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he was constant as seeing him who is invisible VVas not this to deny all bodily liberty and life And were not these for the securing of his Salvation Is it not expresly spoken of him that Moses had respect unto the Recompence of Reward Did not he believe that there was an Heaven where the glorified Saints will be perfectly blessed in the Knowledge Love and Fruition of God VVhich doth also return a confutation to another Instance of the Objector VVas not Moses under some VVord-Law for all this Must not this Faith have some Word from Jehovah to bottom upon O how honourable are these things of this glorious Law This puts me on towards the closing of my great undertaking which is to shew That The Old Law of the ten Words is still the same both to Jew and Gentile It was the
the last and best day of the Week to take my sweet repose in him who formed all these things and who had brought forth such a world somewhat for me vile unworthy sinful me But that which was and is through the Grace of God an Holy Rest to me has been and is like further to be through the corruptions of men a troublesom Controversie from them Must I now be made a man of contention who have so much desired and endeavoured to be a man of Peace My LORD is going forth in his comely Honour riding upon the word of his Truth and he will prosper His Truth is victorious for this must I be valiant and earnestly contend in his strength For this end was he born and for this cause came he into the world that he should bear witness unto the Truth Every one that is of the Truth heareth his voice Happy is he who has a good report of the Truth it self In the Order of my pursuit after the refining and raising of useful Arts and profitable Knowledges I am now led to that day the Seventh which is the last day in the week wherein Aelohim the Creator himself did Sabbatize on this day he rested to contemplate his own Works For having now framed and disposed the glorious Fabrick and the goodly structure of the whole Universe and having put it into its beauteous ceconomy and regular Polity he closeth the week with a day blessed above all the other foregoing days of the Week The righteous cause of which sanctified Day I am now to plead against the many Contenders against it Having thus in a former Treatise attended followed and walked with Aelohim in some of his great Works on the several distinct six foregoing days of this created World I am now brought to Sabbatize and rest with and in Him on his Weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath There are divers profitable Disquisitions that might be made with respect to the Seventh which is the last Day of every Week For the advancement of this Holy Art and for the Improvement of this Spiritual Science which would be a great promoting to this useful Learning As Q. Whether every Day of the week be of equal length Particularly whether the Seventh-day which is the last day in every week be not longer in time and have more minutes in it than the First day of the week If the Seventh-day be found longer in time it has a concreated Excellency in nature unchangeable dignoscible to Sense Q. Whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be from Shabath or from Jachab If from Shabath there are many Truths and Duties which that word would clear up and also demonstrate the Observation of the weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath before the Promulgation of the Law of the Ten words at Mount Sinai Q. Whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do point out the daily and weekly seasons of created instituted time for daily-evening-and-morning-Worship and for weekly-Sabbath-Worship Q. Whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do not in divers Scriptures set out the Seventh the last day of the Week and this in some places before Aelohims proclaiming of the Ten words at Horeb Q. Whether the LORD Jesus Christ having risen again the Third day according to the Scriptures that Third day be the Full complete Third day from the time of his burial and what that particular large day of the week was and what the certain hour of that particular large day was in which He did actually arise and what Scripture-evidence there is of this which is queried not at all in the least to question the Truth of his Resurrection which we firmly believe but rather to strengthen our Faith therein and to promote Scripture-knowledg of the Doctrine of Christs Resurrection upon which the whole of the Christian Religion doth so much depend and for some other good ends For the present there are some weighty reasons why I do not interpose my own Apprehensions about these Quaeries but leave them to those who are of studious inquiring Spirits who by a deeper search into the word of Truth in the Supplies of the Holy Spirit may make those Discoveries that will at once both convince and shame the ignorant-mistaking-World Whilst for the better satisfaction of serious seekers after Christs mind about the weekly-Sabbath I shall in a Word-way through the whole Scripture where this Case is spoken to and of treat of this one Enquiry returning a plain and as I judge a full Answer thereunto Q. Whether the Seventh Day which is the last Day in and of the Week in the weekly Revolutions and orderly Returns thereof has been from the beginning and so continued to be all the old-Testament-administration of Grace through and be so under the New Testament Dispensation of Grace all along to this Age of the Church and will be so to the end of this World the weekly-Sabbath-day A. The Seventh-day which is the last day in and of the week in the weekly Revolutions and orderly Returns thereof has been from the beginning and so continued to be all the Old-Testament-Administration of Grace through and is so under the New-Testament-Dispensation of Grace all along to this Age of the Church and will be so to the end of this World the weekly-Sabbath-day The whole Scripture is profitable for this Doctrine and for this Duty This closing part of the History of the Creation is express for it When Jehovah Aelohim had finished all his Works relating unto the six foregoing days of this one week The LORD Christ now on the Seventh-day actually perfected and will continue actually perfect in the whole and in every part of it His delegated-work which he had made adornedly-really to exist preparedly perfected and He did then Sabbatize and his will was is and will be that from thence his people shall Sabbatize ceasing resting from other motion and work of the fore-mentioned creating kind In a Day that Seventh from all his Work the which he had made and he did and will bless in word and in deed in a continued way in the weekly revolutions of it as long as weeks shall last in this world That day That Seventh and he did and will sanctifie by severing it from a common use and destinating it to an Holy Use accomodating it to instituted Ordinances of solemn Worship the same because in it he hath sabbatized and will Sabbatize from all his work the which he had created pure without spot or blemish of corruptness or uncomeliness for to make This Seventh is a Number completely perfecting the Week For when such a number of days hath filled up the week then we begin again with one second third fourth fifth and sixth till it comes to another seventh And there the Week in the continued revolutions thereof doth still receive a perfective end The Greek Interpreters here as in a many of other Scriptures else where are Corrupters of the Hebrew Text who do translate in the sixth day for the Seventh and
their pretended reason is frivolous lest the Heathen should think mistaking the phrase that Aelohim did work upon the Seventh-day-Sabbath Whereas he had finished the whole and every part of his creating work upon the several six foregoing days of this one week of the created world Only he did that on the Seventh-day which was proper Sabbath-Work As the making of the Seventh-day the resting from other Functions upon it to institute and observe Sabbath-duties employments and priviledges the blessing of it the sanctifying of it together with his preserving of the Creatures which he had made on the six foregoing days and with his and his Fathers providential working to the upholding of them in their Being Those who do call the First day the Seventh day and the Seventh day the sixth day making the First day to be both the First and the Seventh day and so do alter the names of the number of all the rest do invert the Order of nature in the First Creation For although in consistent quantity such as Extension of parts one beyond another there is not one second third fourth and so on or not one first and another last put into the nature of that created Being because these are not really in the confistent Nature thereof it being consistent altogether and so the first part may be the last part or the last part the first part according to mens common notion and reckoning and appointing of it to be so the LORD not having instituted herein any such Order of Numbring where we are to begin and how to go on and where to end yet in quantity successive as in duration and in time this is of a different consideration both in the nature of the thing and in Aelohims institution For this is really such in existence truly subsisting whether we imagine it or not neither is it left in our power to our disposal to put them into any other Order than the creating Messaiah hath so far as doth respect his established times and his instituted Seasons There is one day a second day a third day a fourth day a fifth day a sixth day and a seventh day in the several successive natures and durations of every one of them Here is part after part by temporary succession in a most direct line and in its proper Partitions and terminating points by an unchangeable Law and well-setled-order of the standing Creation The Work of the six foregoing Days Aelohim did rest from leaving man an example to follow him herein on the Seventh-day-Sabbath The Seventh-day is to be remitted unto Workers who laboured in their several lawful Functions on every day of the week before and therefore Aelohim blessed this Seventh-day because he himself rested on it and sanctified it unto Adam the Sabbath was made for Adam for all mankind in him He hath made he doth he will make it a blessed day in its weekly returns unto the due diligent observers thereof in obedience to his Command in obsequiousness to his Will in Conformity to his Example in Faith on his Truth Power and Promise For this Day hath he severed unto his own service along That Expression For-tomake or to-do doth not so appear to belong unto he had created as to relate unto he will sabbatize or ceasingly rest The preceding Hebrew accent doth somewhat teach this which doth often distinguish so that it signifies that Adam and his posterity ought to do this to observe the Seventh-day-Sabbath as holy and consecrated to Jehovah Aelohim it is their bounden duty to do the same The like phrase we find elsewhere in the Hebrew to make or to do the Day of Sabbath or the Sabbath Which is to observe to keep or to celebrate it The expression is full noting that that Instituted-Seventh-day-Sabbath-work may not be left undone for that time or put off to any other season either before or after Having thus somewhat explained and applyed the Expressions concerning the Weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath in its primitive Creation and unchanged Institution I am now to make a little way for the giving the Reader a more particular distinct full Account according to the Scriptures of Truth why I do judge that the Seventh-day which is the last day in every week in the weekly Returns of it is alone that particular peculiar day in every Week which is the Weekly Sabbath-day to be kept Holy unto Jehovah Aelohim in obedience to his command as such that is to say as the alone weekly Sabbath-day If any man hereafter will engage by Writing or Printing in this Controversie against me whereby to endeavour to build up if he could his first day on the ruines of the Seventh-day-Sabbath let him take notice and remember that I mention my Judgment on this as in other cases Subject-matter to be according to the Scriptures of Truth and that I expect both he and I should submit our Judgment and Practise unto the Autoritative decisive Judgment of the Spirit of Christ in the word of Truth Those that do resolve such cases of Conscience about Duty or Sin into other Authorities do judge but according to appearance That judgment which is righteous judgment is such as is according to the Scriptures Words of Rightness O how powerful are they As for other arguing it hath not that Efficacy of convincing Pauls way of reasoning was out of the Scriptures and his Method of proving was from the Scriptures and Apollos took the same course to convince the erroneous They are the Scriptures that we are to search which those of Berea did daily even when a Paul was the Speaker to them which did evidence them to be a good kind of Christians and Believers These Holy Scriptures are the Scriptures of Truth The Word of Christ is the Word of Truth It is The Truth If any bring a Doctrine or a Reproof or a Correction or an Instruction they should have whatsoever things were written aforetime to be written for these the whole Scripture must be shewn to be profitable for these it was given for such an end That the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works We may not add unto the Word which Jehovah doth command us neither are we to diminish ought from it that we may keep his Commandments who is the God of his people which he doth command us These Holy Scriptures are they which are able to make us wise to Salvation Though eminent Apostles or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto us than we have received we should carry our selves towards him as towards one excommunicate If any let him be what he will though he have never so great a name for Learning and for Religion do teach otherwise and come not up to wholesom Words the Words of our LORD Jesus Christ these are nourishing healthy food other words not agreeing with these are empty Chass and to the Doctrine which is according to right Worship we
should withdraw our selves from such It has been great encouragement and sweet satisfaction unto me for divers years that I have Christ and his Word his Will and his Law for me in this Holy Contest His ten Words or Commandments how perfect and complete how standing and unchangeable a Rule of life are they in all and every of the matters of Duty to be performed and of Sin to be avoided It was Jehovah Christ himself who by his Spirit from his Father wrote upon the two Tables the Words of the Covenant the ten Words or Precepts This Scripture more especially I undervalue not any of the rest though this have its signal remark cannot be broken This is a perfect Law These words Jehovah spake and he added no more Christ would not have us so much as think that he came to destroy to dissolve the Law he came not to dissolve but to fulfill He confirms it by an high Asseveration that till Heaven and Earth do pass one Jod or Chirek one either Consonant or Vowel or any thing else originally belonging thereunto shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments and such do the most of men compt the weekly Sabbath though misjudgingly and will teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven but whosoever shall do and teach men the same shall be called Great in the Kingdom of Heaven This Law is established This Law or Testimony is sure or faithful or firm or constant it endures for ever it is standing-abiding continuing firm yet and perpetually This is the Rule of the New Creature by this must we walk This is to be bound up and sealed among Christs Disciples To the Law and to the Testimony must we refer all our Controversies in Religion for Determination and Resolution If any speak not according to this Word it is because No morning-light is as yet in them Here is the full comprehensive of what is our Duty to do Where or for what no Law is there is no Transgression or neither a Transgression Sin is not imputed where is no Law for Sin is a Transgression of the Law Then a Soul is guilty when it sinneth against any of the Commandments of Jehova in what ought not to be done and shall do against any of them This Law of the Ten words was put into the Ark and this alone and nothing else but this put there in which it was so closed as that it was not to be taken out or changed having a Crown of gold by Jehovah's own appointment put round about it This particular Law of the weekly-seventh day-Sabbath has a special mark of remembrance fixt unto it at the very entrance into it This must not be forgotten to be kept Holy and the Works of our particular Functions are expresly prohibited to be done on it This Seventh-day must be sanctified as the weekly Sabbath of Jehovah our God because all and every of those weighty Reasons which Jehovah Aelohim the Law-maker the Law-giver himself hath assigned and rendred and no Reasons can be so demonstrative and convincing as those which he doth give who is only wise from whence to inforce and perswade Obedience to his Command in observing of a Weekly-Sabbath-day Holy to him do properly belong and are applicable to the Seventh which is the last day in every Week in Order of time in the weekly returns of it As the weekly Sabbath-day and to no other day of the Week as such neither to the first second third fourth fifth or sixth day Six daies in the week we are to labour and the Seventh day in the same week is the Sabbath The Seventh-day the seventh-day has its peculiar Note of Honour put upon it There can be but one Seventh day in one Week in the weekly Order and Succession of the Seven days though each of the other foregoing six days in the week are one of seven or one of the seven daily parts of weekly time Every one of the other days of the week have another name as one the second the third the fourth the fifth the sixth Only the last day of the week is called the Seventh day and the Sabbath day Weeks will be to the worlds end concluded within the compass of Seven days One of Aelohims Reasons is because he rested upon the seventh day upon that and that only which is the last day in the week and upon no other day in the week as a weekly Sabbath-day This History of the Creation doth go this day over three times on or in the Seventh-day the Seventh-day the Seventh-day Aelohim rested and again a second time He rested Afterwards in Moses time a little before Christ's Proclaiming of the Law of the Ten words at Mount Sinai the Seventh-day and the rest or Sabbath on it are several times mentioned the Seventh-day the Seventh-day the Seventh-day and a fourth time the Seventh-day The Rest of the Holy Sabbath or a Resting of Holy Rest for Sabbath signifies a Rest a Sabbath the Sabbath the Sabbath the People rested on it At the Promulgation of this Law this same Reason is resumed again For in six days Jehovah made the Heavens and the Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the Seventh-day and therefore His people ought to rest on the same day as the Holy-Sabbath-day The Scriptures do carry this further along after the Promulgation of it Six days shall men work but on the Seventh-day the Seventh-day a Sabbath a Sabbath of rest a Sabbath-day the Sabbath the Sabbath Jehovab rested on this day and refreshed himself Six days thou shalt work but on the seventh-day thou shalt rest thou shalt rest Six days shall work be done but on the Seventh-day there shall be to you an Holy-day a Sabbath of rest to Jehovah the seventh-day is the Sabbath of rest the Sabbath the seventh day is the Sabbath to Jehovah Thus also in the After-Prophets in Jeremiah's days Bear no burden on the Sabbath-day the Sabbath-day the Sabbath-day the Sabbath-day sanctifie the Sabbath-day to do no Work therein The Sabbath-day the Sabbath-day Thus in Nehemiah's time that zealous Reformer would not suffer Ware or any Victuals to be brought to be sold on the Sabbath-day on the Sabbath-day on the Holy-day the Sabbath-day the Sabbath the Sabbath-day the Sabbath the Sabbath the Sabbath No burden shall be brought in on the Sabbath-day the Sabbath the Sabbath-day The New Testament also doth take special notice of this The Seventh-day has the name of Sabbath or of Rest given it there above threeâ—â—ore times They rested Christs followers were silent from the Works of their particular Functions the seventh-day The Seventh-day God did rest the seventh-day from all his Works None of all this is said of any other day of the week Particularly not of the first and therein the LORD Jesus
on the Sabbath In obedience to this Law and Command of Christ it was that Paul preached and the People heard the word of God on this Sabbath-day some years after Christ was Ascended up into Glory Whither can the Observers of the First day as the Weekly Sabbath-day go to find out Commands in the whole Scripture for their day One of the adversaries of the seventh-day-Sabbath who appeared in Writing against a Letter of another to him upon his own desire which conteined some reasons and Scriptures for the weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath He in delivering his Judgment concerning the First day upon this Question whether there be any Express word for the Institution of the first day of the week to be observed as the Lords-day the day for his Weekly Sabbath has these passages we might say that it might be Instituted though it be not Recorded he meaneth in the Scriptures When and where and again t is acknowledged saith he we have no express word in so many letters and Words or Syllables for the Institution of the First day of seven And a Third time what if it should be said that he that is that Jesus Christ the Mediator did according to his Power actually change the day though when and how it be not recorded And a Fourth time why might he not Institute this he intends the first day although it be not expressed when or where and though it be not recorded Observe here thou who readest this with a desire to have the mind of Christ in this matter Suppose in the serious tenderness of thy Heart thou shouldest enquire of this Answerer whether there be any Institution of the First day of the week to be Observed as the Weekly Sabbath-day under the New-Testament in the Room of the weekly seventh-day-Sabbath and he should say there may be an Institution of the First day of the Week as the Weekly-Sabbath-day though it be not recorded Suppose thou shouldest further ask when for the time might this Institution be if it were at all And he should reply there might be an Institution though it be not recorded when for the time Put case thou demand of him further where for the Place might this supposed Institution be And he should tell thee there might be an Institution though it be not Recorded where for the place Upon this thou further propoundest this to him how is this pretended Institution for the occasion or manner that I might be somewhat Directed in my practise if it were manifested to be my Duty to observe the first day as the weekly Sabbath-day To which he should return thee these words there might be an Institution though it be not recorded how for the occasion or manner Can such answers as these give thee any Convincing Demonstration or satisfying Evidence What After all thy Trading in Sabbath-Religion wilt thou at last be sent thou knowest not whether to pretended unwritten verities for thy Religion Art thou under any Obligations of Conscience in these matters to beleive further than what is written Can thy spiritual Appetite savour in such Cases what is not written As for any other Framed Fancyed Forged Grounds of Instituting the First day as the weekly Sabbath-day from pretended practise of the Apostles for this end in this or any other Author I meet with or from what other Reasons Conjecturally unscripturally suggested it will be spoken unto in its place Only here is one part of the fore-mentioned passage which I would write somewhat about lest the force of the answerers Arguing should be thought to be passed by unobserved which is that expression according to his Power whereby the answerer intends that Jesus Christ as Mediator had Power to Change the Weekly Sabbath from the Seventh which is the last day to the First day of the Week What Power the LORD Jesus Christ as Mediator has received I thankfully acknowledge and through Mercy and Grace purchased by him for me and freely richly given from the Father to me in the supplies of the holy Spirit I have been for several years an applyer of a liver upon and somewhat an Improver of though I find great cause to be deeply humbled for that I have put it to no better use As for the Power of Christ considering him as mediator we have it from his own Mouth in his life time that the Father had given all Judgment unto the Son That the Father hath given unto Christ Power to do Judgment because he is the Son of Man that the Father hath given all things into his hand And a little before his death that the Father gave him power of all Flesh And after his Resurrection that unto him all Authoritative Power was given in Heaven and on Earth This is my Faith and my Food Yet withal it must be considered that Christ as Mediator was one put into Office by his Father and sent by him in a delegated Function having his proper work assigned him And thus his Power was Limited Let us search whether the whole Scripture be profitable for this In the Law of Moses there is a Prophesie that Jehovah the Aelohim of his People would raise up unto them a Prophet meaning the LORD Jesus Christ as is manifest by a collation of those other Scriptures which do so interpret this from the midst of them of their Brethren like unto Moses unto him they were to hearken and I said Jehovah the Father will give my words into his Mouth and he shall speak unto the People all that I shall Command him And it shall come to pass that the Man who will not hearken to my words which he shall speak in my name I will require it of him Remark here It was the Father who raised up Christ to this Office of being a Prophet they were the Fathers words which were given into Christs Mouth and Christ was to speak unto the People all that which the Father should Command him They must be the Fathers words and it must be in the Fathers Name that Christ was to speak To this Clause in the Commission must Christ keep close And accordingly so he did In the Book of the after-Prophets you may read Jehovah the Father thus speaking concerning his Son Christ behold my servant whom I uphold mine Elect my Soul delighteth I have given my spirit upon him he shall bring forth Judgment to the Nations Christ as Mediator was his Fathers Servant he took upon him the Form of a Servant and the Servant must keep close to the will and word and Command of him whose Servant he is especially in this case where all and every of the words and wills and Commands of the Father are Holy just and good And it is fore told of Christ that he would when he had a bodie Prepared for and taken to him thus bespeak his Father I take pleasure O my Aelohim to do thy well-pleasing thy will as Christ else where in the history of
word and for this they pretend and plead the example and Spirit of Elias as if their case and Spirit had been of the same kind when it was hellish Fire of their own kindling and of the Devils blowing up which they should rather have endeavoured to quench and to put out We must not beleive every Spirit but ought to try the Spirits whether they are of God The Spirit of others and our own Spirit that we may know the Spirit of truth according to Christ and his word and may difference it from the Spirit of Errour which is against Christ and his word There was a time when persecuting Saul verily thought with himself that he ought to do many contrary things to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth which when he was preaching Paul he discerned were his great Errour and his gross Sin and he openly condemns himself for and doth write his confession and retractation The Spirit who is the truth and the word which is the truth do go together Once more men do not therefore erâ— because they know not the doubtful Questionings of unsettled Sceptick's and of Cosmical Suspecters The Doctrine of Probabilities So the word signifies in that place to the Colossians cited in the margin is a misleading Doctrine It would beguil men by doubtful disputations and by deceitful conclusions with such cunning perswasions as do carry a fair shew such as Logicians and Rhetoricians Philosophers and Orators do usually bring under the shadowie colour of probable Reasons and likely Arguments to make nothing of all things and any thing of every thing by their sophistical Quidlibets and Fallacious Quodlibets But Sound serious well discerning right Judging beleivers should not suffer themselves thus to be imposed upon and deluded A thorow wholesome Scripture-knowledge is one approved remedy against Heart-doubtings either to prevent them or to cure them This would bring in sound Truth upon and leave them with a renewed Heart with a no-doubt there of them God cannot lye at any time though men do so too often He is true Whilst men are so overcome of doubtings and waverings not in the way which is sometimes the case of sound Beleivers but about the way how can they go on with such conviction and comfort with such sweetness and satisfaction Let not the Reader misjudge this a Diversion and that too long a one also For besides that it contains a direct answer to the Objection which did call for it so doth it fully promote the grand designe of this Treatise All unscriptural Antiscriptural waies methods arguings and endeavourings to turn any from the Errour of their way to the Truth is no adapted means for the attaining of this end And therefore in the Demonstrating proofs that I have brought for the confirming and establishing of the Seventh day the last day of the Week to be still the weekly Sabbath they are such as are carried through the whole Scripture and have their Foundation in pure primitive created Nature I do not send and refer them to humane Authorities and Histories and Traditions as this Objector doth The Scripture-way is the only convincing converting way Other Mediums by self-excogitated and man-invented Artifices are like to leave Erring men but the more profound Atheists the more learned Infidels and the more subtil Hereticks Though arguments as to men may be drawn from their own Concessions assertions histories and other Authorities of mens sayings writings and printings which was somewhat of the way that Paul sometimes took with Ethnicks and Philosophers whereby to stop their Mouths and to convince them from thence As Christ also will one day by the same Medium condemn many from their own acknowledged principles not improved yet this will not convincingly convert a plain sound believer having Spiritual discerning in the truths and things of the Spirit of God and being well acquainted with the Scriptures is far better secured against dangerous damnable Errours than the most learned of vain affecters of humane wisdom The only summary of all sound truth for the confuting and condemning of all Errour is to be searched after in the Scriptures of truth where the Restauration Proficiency and advancement of all useful learning is When can a serious inquiring Spirit come to any firm settlement and sound satisfaction if he were to refer all to the extrascriptural Judgment and Histories of Churches Heresies and Schisms profanenesses and disorders quickly crept in into particular Churches that were of Apostolical plantation As Pauls Epistles to them do evidently declare And since that one particular Church doth sometimes contradict another particular Church in their confessions of Faith and the contention is so hot and so high as that they withdraw from one another and will not have mutual Communion with each other As for the universal Church how shall a particular beleiver be well groundedly ascertained what is the concurrent Judgement of the Universal Church How fruitless and vain have their attempts hitherto been who have endeavoured by conference and Writing and Cost and Labour and Pains and Travel to be Church-Reconciliators Church-peace-makers They dyed away and never lived to see their designe accomplished Still there are differences and divisions kept up amongst the Churches one great cause whereof has been that the Attempters and promoters of Church-union and peace have been setting up some confession of Faith and Articles of Religion of humane Composure which they would have all to joyn in and subscribe to Which course will never be able to accomplish that designe The whole Scripture of Truth is the one and the only rule of this Suppose yet further that I knew that the Concurrent Judgment of all the Churches of Christ all the inhabited Earth over were of one mind and of one way in some things yet neither could this alone or mainly secure me from fears of Erring For the whole Church has erred and may actually err Under the Old Testament the LORD himself appointed a special Sacrifice for Atonement and reconciliation in this particular Case when the whole Congregation or Church of Israel did err through ignorance in omitting some commanded duty or in Committing some forbidden Sin And that they actually did thus ignorantly err for some hundreds of years together we have it recorded in the word Thus under the New Testament in Christs time the Church of the Jews which at that season was the only Church of God generally those of them that were in Judea and the scattered of the tribes in other parts did greatly Err about Christs Reign on Earth whom they concluded would be as a Temporal Prince to come with outward pomp and power for the raising of Israel to high promotion in the world and to restore again the Kingdom to Israel And this Corrupt leaven still sowred and swelled their Spirits even after that some of them became Disciples of Christ who still were stiff to this wrong Tenet and the good Apostles themselves did long mistake about
former dispensation which some way or other had not some Figures and shadows annexed to it There was blood of a Bull sprinkled on the Altar Christ and the Book of the Covenant it self and what shall we therefore lay aside Christ and his Book The particular commands of the ten words had some Types and Figures annexed to them Doctrines Duties Graces and Priviledges relating to the first and second words were set out by the Ark the Altars the Burnt offerings the Incense the Fire on the Altar and such like as any spiritual discerner may discover by comparing the Epistle to the Hebrews with the pattern in the Mount The third word or command in several duties of it had annexed Ceremonials as particularly about an Oath about a Vow Thus also about the sixth word or command as in a case of Murther about the seventh command as in a case of Jealousie about the eight word or command as in a case of Restitution and generally when a Soul did sin in omitting of some duty or in committing of a Trespass when it was ignorantly or in some other cases there were peculiar offerings that were appointed So that if this carnal reasoning did hold it would lay aside all and every of the other ten words This Epistle to the Colossians doth establish the Law of the ten words in the several particulars of it and the first word by forbidding the worshipping of Angels the second by condemning of Will-worship The third by taxing of Balsphemy especially when against the Holy Name of God The fourth word by shewing the accomplishment of the Ceremonials annexed to Sabbaths if it were admitted that the Seventh-day Sabbath were here included The fifth word by pressing to a discharge of Relation-duties The sixth by declaring against Anger Wrath and Malice The seventh by threatning of Fornicators and unclean Persons with the Wrath of God The eight by for bidding of wrong and commending of Justness and Equality in dealing The ninth by prohibiting of lying and evil speaking The tenth by charging of inordinate lusting to be Idolatry Which is also a breach of the first command Thus is the Decalogue confirmed in this Epistle The next premise is that the LORD Jesus Christ was Administrator under the Old as well as New Testament dispensation of Grace I take it to be one great occasion of many misapprehensions not only in the common sort of professing Christians but even in many who have gotten a name for Learning and for Godliness that they eye Christ as Christ and Redeemer only under the New Testament and God as Creator only under the Old Whereas Christ says of himself that he was anointed from the beginning before the Earth was as yet made and the Father speaks of this his Son under the Old Testament that he had anointed him Aelohim anointed him by pouring out of the Oyl of his Spirit upon him with an effusion of a fulness of Gifts and of Graces and of Joys mentioning it expresly as a matter of Fact done Mashiach or Christ or Anointed is one of the Mediators names often used in the Old Testament This is attributed to his substance The Father had ordained him to his Mediatoral Office of Priest King and Prophet even then It was Christ who was tempted by the unbelieving Israelites of old It was by Christ that all things were created Christ was the same under all Dispensations of Grace The Fathers purpose and election concerning his people was in Christ The whole Word is the Word of Christ Believers were reproached for Christ in Moses's time It was the Spirit of Christ who was in the Prophets and the Jews and Samaritans acknowledged the Messias before they knew who was the very person and this Christ acted as Mediator under the Old as well as under the New Testament Though his being born of a Virgin and so taking the Humane Nature to his Godhead were a great part of the New Testament Dispensation when in the days of his flesh here on earth he familiarly conversed with men For he had a way of appearing as Man to several Believers upon several occasions under the Old Testament as a forerunning discovery of this latter It was the Messiah or Christ who made himself known by open manifestation visibly audibly to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Moses and to several of the Prophets and to some others It was he who proclaimed the Law of the ten Words at Mount Sinai and who afterwards upon the same Mount gave the typical pattern for that Dispensation privately to Moses It was he who was with the Israelitish Church in the Wilderness he was the Mediator between God and Man even then he was the Reconciler even in those Ages This and more to this purpose I have already proved from the Scripture in this Book and therefore if the Reader would be further informed and inlightned in it I refer him to the Pages cited in the Margin This is he to whom all observe all It was the received and delivered Doctrine of them all the Prophets do give Witness that through the Name of the LORD Jesus Christ whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins A great full word this But a remark and observand a special one upon it It is acknowledged by this learned Man that it was the Son who from the Foundation of the World immediately in his own person transacted the Affairs of God with Men yet he opposeth the Seventh day Sabbath whereas it was a Law of Christ's giving to Mankind from the beginning Come we now unto the proofs of the several particulars forementioned whereof this is one that this New Heaven and this New Earth spoken of in prophetical Scripture this Renovation by a New Creation is not finished and completed but that it is yet to come in the large fufilling and accomplishing of it There will be New Heavens and a New Earth This we believe because the Scriptures have foretold it and we rejoyce in Hope of their Appearing For they are not as yet come These glorious Creatures are antedated by such Objectors by many hundreds of years For although there were some beginnings of a New Creation in the Days of Christ's Flesh here on Earth and after Christ's Ascension in the Apostle's time in Regenerations and Conversions as there were also in the Old For even there we may read of the creating of a clean Heart and of the renewing of a right constant Spirit Christ's name was filiated even under that Dispensation and there were Sons and Daughters new createdly born unto him even then and Believers were instated in the Messiah then As for that place in the second Epistle to the Corinthians If any man be in Christ he is a new creature Old things pass away beheld all things become new It doth speak a wonderful change in the New Creature The old carnal State the
Confirmer of the Covenant He who ever was is and will be the foundation the ground-work the substance the comprehensive of the whole Covenant of Grace He in whom all the Promises of God as many as there be are Yea and Amen Truth and firmness it self faithful and unchangeable as he himself is This Law it self had much of a Gospel Design in it In the preparation that was made for the giving and receiving of it there were precious Promises made to that people who were then about to be taken into Covenant with Jehovah Aelohim A God in Christ ingaged that if hearkning they would hearken to his Voice and keep his Covenant they should be a peculiar treasure unto him above all peoples He would take them for his own proper Goods The same thing is mentioned in the New Testament Christ purchased to himself a peculiar people So Paul kept close to this Expression and that of Peter is much the same in his first Epistle though expressed by another A people for peculiar possession these are they whom Christ Buys and Redeems to himself for his own special use and service they are singularly dear unto him So is that Prophesie and Promise in Malachi How rich how free is this Grace that Jehovah chose his people for his portion as Moses thankfully confesseth in the words of one of his last Songs They were that part which he had marvellously separated unto himself his Heritage as by Liâ—â— allotted to him whom none other can challenge as their Propriety This People he chose above all Peoples that are upon the faces of the earth Not for their Multitude above all Peoples did Jehovah set his love upon them and chuse them for they were the fewest of all peoples but because Jehovah loved them and because he would keep the Oath which he had sworn unto their Fathers did Jehovah bring them out with a strong hand and redeemed them The Election was of his Grace not of any worthiness in them This Jewel was dear unto him and he promised a further honour that he would put upon them They should be unto him a Kingdom of Priests and an holy Nation Is not this the self-same thing which is mentioned as the Covenant-privilege of God's chosen ones under the New Testament-dispensation of Grace For to this phrase doth Peter keep and so also does John in the Revelation who doth give glory unto the LORD Christ that he hath made his people such now unto God his Father How full are the treasures of this Grace O what an honour did Jehovah put upon that People whom he so brought unto himself How signal a favour was this to his Israel If we look into the Ten words themselves do they not begin with a gracious Covenant I Jehovah Thy God This he made over to his People in a special manner there being no higher no greater Good than himself none so high none so great as he He is all Good in one whatever Good there is it is in and from him They are the Blessed ones who have this Jehovah for their God O the Blessedness of such thus sweetly sung the Psalmist This is the choice part of their happiness who enjoy this privilege by his Gracious Covenant and peculiar favour Under every Dispensation of Grace this is mentioned as the summ of all good for this is all the Salvation and all the desire of Believers To be For or To a God unto that People is the substance of that Covenant of Grace which God hath made with his People in Christ So it has been to this day and so it is revealed that it will be renewed and revived in the purest and best days When he gives himself to any he gives an Inheritance of all things to such As this doth bring in the first great Word or Command so also is it expresly put into the Second into the Third and into the Fourth into every Word of Command of the First Table In the Second Table also we may find it in the Fifth Word And those that will diligently observe and duly apply it in their reading of the Holy Scriptures may discern it to be a rich Portion going along with every one of the Ten Words in particular as well as made over to all of them in general especially with respect to the Fourth Word It is remarkable in Moses's repeating of this Law that in his going over of the Law for the Seventh-Day-Sabbath this Covenant of Grace I am Jehovah Thy God is four times expresly mentioned besides the Type of Spiritual Redemption by Christ which is also about thirty nine years after Christ's first proclaiming of this Law at Mount Sinai superadded and expresly put into this Fourth Word as a forcible Reason to engage Obedience to this holy Precept The Figure of which Salvation by Christ and of his delivering of his people from their Spiritual bondage and misery under Sin and Satan is a choice part of the Covenant of Grace This is that which doth lead in the Ten Words By this manifested Grace doth he invite his people to Faith and Obedience His Israel of Old had Redeeming mercy put into the beginning of this Holy Just and Good Law who were redeemed not only from outward Slavery but also from the Idolatry of Egypt as the Prophet Ezekiel hath declared and from the false Gods there so hath Samuel discovered in his Second Book And they had a Promise of other mercy in the Second Word which Jehovah would do unto those who loving him and keeping his Commandments They should receive Mercies Benefits Loving kindnesses Bounties from him It is further note-worthy that most of the Ten Words even Eight of them as they are in the two Tables are exprest in that manner that they are Precepts and Promises too such is the significancy of that Future-tense in which they run and the other two that is to say the fourth and fifth are put into the same promising as well as commanding way in the same Book of Moses in another place and the particular Duties and Graces required in those ten Words are somewhere or other covenanted by Jehovah Aelohim to be given to his people in other Scriptures as to love him to fear him to delight in him and such like he will inwork in them what he doth require of them O what abundance of riches of Grace is here If you meditate upon what did accompany the ten Words and what was annexed to them what were all the Shadows and Figures and Types but a significant Commentary upon the Covenant of Grace What was the true spiritual meaning of all these superadded Patterns but to set out Christ and all those special benefits which Believers have and do injoy in him of which the followers of Christ under that Dispensation of Grace had a free participation as the Disciples of Christ have now they fed on Christ in their Manna
will remember unto them said Jehovah Aelohim speaking of his Covenanting Israel walking obediently the Covenant of Ancestors them whom I brought forth out of the Land of Egypt before the eyes of the Heathen to be unto them a God I Jehovah Thus did he often in that Book of Moses make over himself to his people in Christ such delight did he take in taking occasion to tell them that he was and would be a God unto them Was not here Covenanting Grace and Redeeming Love It was the faine that was made before with Jacob Isaac and Abraham as sometimes the order of words is In other places is mentioned from Abraham downwards to Isaac and Jacob But in one place of Moses's Book it is mentioned renewed and confirmed going upward from the people near a deliverance in Egypt to Jacob to Isaac to Abraham the Father of the Faithful Thus leading them to that former and more ancient Promise and Gospel-covenant of Grace in Christ Believers could say in the Psalmist's time that J. â—â—lohim was their portion for ever Hath the LORD graciously promised that a chosen People shall be his people So they were of old in Moses's days If ye shall walk in my Stntutes thus spake he to them and keep my Commandments and do them then I will walk among you and will be to you a God and you shall be to me a People Jehovah hath avouched or hath caused to say or to promise by giving his and by taking thy Word thee to be unto him for a People of peculiar Treasure as be hath spoken unto thee and to keep all his Commandments For Jehovah ' s Portion is his people Jacob the Line of his Inheritance Ho hath divided and separated them unto himself as his allotted part and peculiar Possession Hath he promised Covenant teaching and Knowledge This also was a Covenant privilege of Old He taught them his name Jehovah and made himself known to them by that name in putting a Being into his Promises made to their Fathers for their deliverance and proclaimed this Name to Moses His people sate down at his feet receiving of his Words Thus were Christ's Disciples even then taught by him as their Master Thou saith he to his people then hast been made see to know that Jehovah he Aelohim none else besides him And thou shalt know and cause to return into thy heart that Jehovah he Aelohim in the heavens above and on the earth beneath none else This doth particularly relate to their being instructed to acknowledge Christ's Jehovahship In David's time the Secret of Jehovah was to them who feared him and his Covenant to make them for to know He revealed in the inner Man of Believers the hidden Mysteries of Wisdom Will he be merciful to the unrighteousness of his Covenant-people no more remembring their sins and their iniquities The same free Mercy and Grace was manifested under the former Dispensation Christ hath put it into the second Word or Command and proclaimed it as his Name when Moses went up into Mount Sinai as Jehovah had commanded him taking in his hand the two Tables of Stone Jehovah Jehovah God pitiful and gracious long suffering and much in Mercy and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and trespass and sin Doth not the blessedness of man consist in this Whereupon Moses makes haste and bows himself and pleadeth this in Prayer Pardon thou O LORD our iniquity and our sin Was not this the meaning of the Sin Offerings and of the Trespass Offerings with the annexed promises of Pardon and of acceptation Did not the covering Merch seat which was altogether as broad as the Ark wherein were the two Tables preach this Did it not set out the merciful covering and propitiation of sins Was not this a precious Figure of Jesus Christ by and through whom received by and through Faith in him his peoples transgranssings of the Law of the ten Words are freely fully forgiven and wholly covered How full are the Books of Moses of the Psalms and of the Prophets of this comforting Doctrine So that all these Promises in the Covenant of Grace have been are and will be the same under both the Dispensations All the difference is that in the last days there will be a more clear discovery of this gracious Covenant A more glorious way of dispensing a more through inabling to the keeping of it For to this especially have the expressions of difference an eye and respect between the old and renewed Covenant Spoken of in Jeremiah and in the Epistle to the Hebrews compared There will be larger pouring out of the holy Spirit and blessing from the Father in the Name of the Son in those latter purer times that are near at hand So that this Covenant shall not be broken as it has been under former Dispensations of Grace but be better kept with more exactness and faithfulness with more intireness and continuedness in the fulness and perfection of it Halelujah I will confess Jehovah with all the heart Gracious He. He will Remember his Covenant for ever toward his people The secret of Jehovah to them who fearing him and his Covenant to make them for to know All the paths of Jehovah Mercy and Truth to them that keep his Covenant and Testimonies and that remember his precepts for to do them Have respect unto the Covenant For ever thou wilt keep for thy Saints thy excelling Ones thy Mercy and thy Covenant faithful to them The whole of the Christian Religion for Doctrines Graces Duties Priviledges and such like parts of that Religion is one and the same under both the Old and New Testament Is not the Word called the Word of Christ Is not Christ named the speaking-one both by Daniel and by the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews Doth not Christ call himself the Word and the Word of God Is not He the sum and the subject matter of the whole Scriptures Is not he the Author of them Hath he not said of himself he is the one Doctor or Teacher of his Disciples Is he not the great Prophet Is he not the LORD God of the holy Prophets Did he not at Mount Sinai speak by his own voice from Heaven Was it not his forewithessing Spirit who from him spake in the Prophets of old declaring the sufferings that should befal Christ and the glory that was to follow as saith Peter in his first Epistle Was not that passage in the ninety and fifth Psalm To day if you will hear his voice applyed to the voice of Christ in what was written to the Hebrews Has not Christ himself declared that those who searched the Scriptures might find them testifying of him And what other Scriptures had they at that time but those of the Old Testament When he himself in the days of his flesh did exercise his publick Ministery preaching the glad tydings of Justice in the
Instruments Meats and to other things It is also applyed to the Seventh-day Sabbath which Aelohim did sanctifie for holy Uses and to no other day of the whole week as such at the first Creation according to the Nature of its Essence in the order of its being before those after superadded Ceremonies and Shadows So that in this sense Right Reason would inform all reasonable men and women in the World that the Seventh the last day in every week has a concreated adaptness to be a day of holy Rest for the worship of their Maker and that they themselves should be an holy people separated to the service of the holy God Though his Church and People are thus sanctified and severed from other people by Jehovah in a peculiar especial manner his Elect yet more especially As for the Law of the ten Words if we look upon it in its superadded Ceremonies and some such other intermixed Annexes so it had somewhat peculiarly belonging to the Israelitish Church and people in Moses's time and to those of other Nations who were prosâ—lited to that Ceremonial Typical way under that Administration Whereas we under the New Testament have another manner of Dispensation of the same Grace in a more spiritual heavenly glorious way Although this Typical Figuring part made no real change even of old upon the Law of the ten Words If this be considered as it is an absolute and perfect Rule of Life comprehending all duties whatsoever and being that Image and Samplar unto which all mankind at the beginning in their representative Head were created in Wisdom in Holiness and in Righteousness which was afterwards promulgated and proclaimed by Jehovah Christ with a Covenant of Grace intermingled so it is that Law of Nature which inlightned Intellect or right Reason doth teach some notions whereof are still retained even now in man's fallen corrupted estate There are some Seeds of those Eternal Truths and Things some common principles of good and of evil both for the knowledge of God and of his Service and for those Duties which we owe unto our selves and unto our Neighbours This is born and bred with reasonable man every one doth carry it about with him every one coming into this World is inlightned therewithal which Remnants of this Law do serve for many good uses and purposes in civil converse amongst men and for some other ends In this sense the Law of the ten Words particularly that of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath is given to the whole World All mankind had it in their common representative the first Adam clearly fully perfectly and have still some Relicks of it left within them by the Law of Nature in the Light of Reason demonstrated by concreated Principles the foundations and grounds of which are knowable by Humane Intellect In this sense the Law of the ten Words particularly that of the weekly Seventh day Sabbath is given to the whole World all mankind had it in their common representative and have still some indwelling Notions of it left within them This Law in some parts of the natural Duties of it may yet by the Institution of Jehovah Aelohim be a sign of some mystical thing signified which doth make any real change in the natural Duty it self this standing still in its due force as before but it may have something further significant in it by the LORD 's special appointment As the State Duty and Priviledge of Marriage in the fifth and seventh Words Instituted in Paradise doth figure the great Mystery of that Mystical Union which is between Christ and his Church People come next to be considered People are sometimes in some Scriptures more especially taken for the Israelites and the Jews These are sometimes in the plural Number called Peoples This People had some peculiar Priviledges beyond other Peoples particularly as to the kingly manner of proclaiming and revealing the Law of the ten Words more in their sight and hearing at Mount Horeb and as to some things afterwards annexed to it which was the Pattern in the Mount Thus Jehovah's holy Sabbath was made known unto the Israelites after another manner than to other Nations Whilst they walked by this Rule of Life they were a wise and prudent people But when they transgressed greatly they were a rebellious people The Israelitish people so constituted as it then was are called The people of God The people of the God of Abraham These had some distinguishing favours in that day People in some other Scriptures are some times taken for all Nations besides Israel and besides those other Lands who were brought over to the true Religion Thus the Uncircumcised Nations strangers from the Covenant of God Indels profane and ungodly they also are called People and the People of the Earth and the abominable People Though these whilst such did not share in choice special Church-Priviledges yet some ways they had the Law of the ten words and amongst others the Law of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath particularly As this Law of the Decalogue is the natural concreated Law There are divers Records in Humane Authors for those to search after who are curious in such Disquisitions which do evidence that the Seventh-day Sabbath was generally observed by the Pagans as the weekly Holy Day The remaining Relicks of their Natural Life and Right Reason dictating the equity of this Law which also might be traditioned down to them The Pagan Idolaters so far conforming to the Laws and Practice of the Church of God They acknowledged the Seventh-day as more holy and owned its Rest from labour And the Ethnick Doctors in this way of teaching would Philosophize only on the Seventh-day Sabbath Then did they frequent their Temples and then some of them sung their Hymns to their Idol God These Precepts of the Decalogue were the Law of our Creation they are the natural Dictates of the Humane Essence in its rational Exercise ingraft Notions concreated Characters wrought into the essential composition of our natural Being the Sanction whereof has more or less a living impression in the Humane Existence The very order of the Days in the first created Week did teach the observation in the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath and made it a part of the Law of Nature Aelobim's Method in the Creatures Production which did so dispose of his Works and of his Rest hath confirmed this Order in laying its foundation in created Beings And this is a very forcible way of right arguing used by the LORD himself in his Word in divers cases The six forgoing Days of the Week for Work and the seventh the last Day of the Week for Rest These were from the beginning of the Creation Designed they were thus originally appointed by the Creator himself and so laid as a standing Law upon the Rational Creatures The natural equity whereof man's Representative in Adam readily submitted and subjected and conformed to there being both
not so commend it self to God not being well testified before him who searcheth the Heart and who being a Spirit will be worshipped in Spirit and if there be only inward worship without the outward worship there the worship is not well witnessed before Men and Angels The outward bodily part of idolatrous worship by gesture and posture as a testification of homage is for that cause a sin because that is given to an Idol which is an honour due peculiarly unto Jehovah Aelohim himself it belongs properly unto the great Creator and should not be sacrilegiously stollen from him to be bestowed upon a creature Where there is a daring scorning and a presumptuous neglecting of the outward part of solemn worship there the guilt of hainous sinning is chargeable upon such and of provoking asfront to the Heavenly Majesty A decent comly dress and deportment in the acts of outward worship and service doth well become the Saints Further yet those Ceremonial Rites of old are called the Elements of the World weak and egene such as by which the Israel of God were instituted in their minority who were Children and Disciples under the Mosaick Paedogogy which although under that old ministration they were profitable exercises leading Believers unto the promised Messiah yet after the manifestation of Christ in the flesh their external use ceased and their observation would be noxious Those paedagogical rudiments with which the LORD taught his Church under the former dispensation when it was in its infancy are now vanished being shadowy Rites which had annexed to them an open professed declaration of their Faith concerning the Messias who was then to come in the flesh to be born of a Virgin and to expiate the sins of mankind and therefore are not to be observed now by the New Testament Churches grown to their ripe age for so is the force of Paul's arguing set against those who would have brought in the Mosaick Rites into the New Testament Church and have mingled them with the Evangelical Doctrine I draw another argument from those various phrases in the New Testament which do express the doing away of those ceremonial Rites such as to loose or to disbind which doth denote its abrogation and that it doth not now bind Believers to its observation Christ having taken away the bond of it To destroy or to abolish to cause to loyter behind or to render improfitable so has Christ dealt with those Mosaick Ceremonies To be changed to be carried from one place or thing to another to be transported conveyed turned so it is with ritual institutes they are passed into somewhat more spiritual heavenly and glorious To be abrogated to be abolished to be razed out to be put out or away so that there is a disanulling of these ceremonial Rites To take away so has Christ removed out of the way that handwriting in ritual injunctions To rail it to affix it to the Cross the forementioned Handwriting of Figuring Ceremonies under that former Dispensation Christ did this fastning it to his Cross To blot it out to obliterate to wipe off the Oyntment to wipe out thus the Chirograph spoken of but just before was blâ—â—ted out by Christ Christ cancelled the bond tare it in pieces cut it into small parcels with those nails as it were with which he was nailed to the Cross Christ having paid the debt and fully discharged all the demands of his Fathers Justice it was equal that the bonds subscribed should no longer stand in force To pass away the Priesthood of Christ is an eternal Priesthood which doth not pass from one unto another either by descent or by succession as the Levitical Priesthood did Christ's Priesthood was so personal as for ever to abide in himself whereas in the Levitical Priesthood the Priests dyed one after another and the Priesthood it self was changed being translated unto another Tribe from Levi to Judah from which Tribe of Judah our LORD sprâ—ng so that the Levitical Priesthood having now passed into Christ that Priesthood ceaseth and the ceremonial Rites belonging to it To cease and to be taken out of the way if those shadowy Sacrifices which of old they offered year by year continually could have made the comers thereunto perfect would they not then have ceased to be offered For so it should be rendred interrogatively undoubtedly they would have so ceased this therefore being now perfected by the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ once the Sacrifices must necessarily cease To be dead The ceremonial Statutes obliged for a certain time as in the Ordinance of Marriage which doth bind till death but death doth unloose that Matrimonial Bond so here Believers under this new Administration are freed from those ritual observations and therefore when all this is put together let those who would still be serving the old Tabernacle remember that thereby they deprive themselves of having any right to eat of the spiritual Altar and that so long and so far Christ's coming in the flesh doth profit them nothing and they betray that Liberty which Christ hath purchased and intangle themselves by thrusting their necks still under that Yoke of Bondage which Christ has broken If these Mosaick Rites should still continue in the later-day-Glory then their Glory in those later days as to the outward Administration of Grace will be less than our Glory now is whereas we have a better ministration now more spiritual more heavenly more glorious than the former dispensation of Grace under the old Testament was and the later-day-Glory will be yet more excelling what there is of perpetual equity in those figuring Types and shadowy Signs and how far in Christ who is the Truth of them they have an everlasting continuance in which regard they are called everlasting Ordinances and Ordinances from Generation to Generation this is a matter though of very useful yet of far distinct inquiry from what has been now under my Disquisition For it sets out the inward spiritual part the things signified by those external Signs such Truths Duties Graces and Priviledges as are some way or other contained in one or other of the Laws of the ten Words and are one of the strong arguments for their cessation now upon the change of the dispensation the external fleshy obscure earthy veiled part being now passed into the inward spiritual glorious heavenly unveiled part I hasten now to evidence in the Word of Truth That The Law of Faith was a Law under the Old Testament Dispensation Here to avoid mistakes and cavils for we are for standing upon plain firm ground having the whole Scripture in plain express words for the Weekly Seventh day Sabbath I notice the Reader that to believe actually in the Messiah as Mediator between God and Man and actually to believe in this Messiah as he that was in the Fulness of Time to come in the Flesh born of
the Sign of Circumcision as a Seal of this Righteousness of Faith which was thus imputed to him Is not Abraham propounded as an Example to after-Believers in this being called the Father of all that believe in the Foot steps of whose Faith after-Believers are to walk For what was so counted to him for Righteousness was written not for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for the sake of Paul and of others in Paul's time and so still for our sakes in the present day to whom it shall be imputed namely to them that do believe in him what Moses doth speak of the Duties of the Law Paul doth interpret of the Faith of the Gospel It would fill up much paper to inlarge in all the other instances of the old Testament-Believers recorded in the new particularly in that eleventh Chapter to the Hebrews There is one Faith one and the same Doctrine of Faith to be believed and one and the same Grace of Faith by which men do believe for Justification and Salvation both under the Old and New Testament It was the open confession of Peter's Faith in one of the first Councils or Synods held in the New Testament when the Apostles and Elders were assembled together to debate some weighty Question of the Christian Religion We believe saith he by the Grace of the LORD Jesus Christ to be saved in such manner as they also as the believing Fore-fathers under the Old Testament were merely through free Grace by Faith in Grace by Faith in Christ in his righteousness They by Faith in Christ who was then to come to be in due time born of the Virgin which was held forth in Types of old to this end We in Christ as the perfect Anti-type thus already come The Analogy of Faith in both Testaments should be attended unto by a diligent discerning Reader of the Word a due proportional collating of them between and to each other would discover the uniformness and well-agreingness of the Will of our LORD in them both by a particular right application and limitation of their Analogy the orderly regulation whereof must be made according to that measure and number of proportion which the different manner of dispensing doth call for and no further is it to be admitted as to any substantial and essential part of the Christian Religion there is a likeness of Word a sameness of Sense a oneness of intendment on them both unto which Analogy he must keep close who would give forth a true explication of sound Doctrine That Faith which is required and promised in the Covenant of Grace is for the substance of it one and the same Grace which is commanded in the Law of the ten Words and let it be further researched into by the ingenuous for the augment of this Spiritual Science Whether the Faith of Adam in his innocence I do not put here into this inquiry as to the special use and the proper object of it were not for the substance of the Grace one and the same with the New Covenant Grace of Faith Was not Adam in all things to give confident credence to all as to every Truth which Aelohim his Creator had revealed or should further reveal was he not bound to believe in the promised Messiah by the Law of Creation and of Nature as soon as ever Jehovah should reveal this to him The whole Scripture is profitable for this doctrine of the oneness and sameness of old and New Testament Faith and I am perswaded after some years research into the word of Truth about this matter and long experience suited thereunto that one great occasion at least if not cause of the Apostasies and Backslidings of some of the loose ungospel-like and ill-principled-conversation of others and of the practical Atheism and Infidelity of some others and of the doubts and fears and unprofitable walking of other some has been men's unscriptural unwarrantable setting up of so many different Religions in the Old and New Testament and the urging of some one or a few misunderstood misinterpreted Scriptures wrested and wryed to some particular purpose contrary to the drift and intent and scope of the whole Scripture besides which doth write about that Case Whereas the whole Scripture is uniform and harmonious speaking with one mouth one and the same thing The only difference between the Old and the New being in the mode of Administration as has been opened once and again Let me here further add seeing this Objector doth call this a New Law of Faith as a part of the the New Creation brought in and perfected particularly and only upon the first day of the Week and upon no other day as he pretends that this Grace of Faith was put into a Law under the Old Testament Dispensation for besides that if there had been no Law for this Faith under that Dispensation it had been no sin no transgression not to have believed with that Faith for sin is the transgression of some Law and I have shewn it was Christ manifesting himself to Moses in Egypt and in the wilderness whom the Israelites did so often tempt grieve provoke and not not believe But further Faith in that Jehovah Aelohim who proclaimed the ten words at Mount Sinai was a plain duty injoyned in the first word or command and that Promulgator I have proved to be the Messiah or Christ So that it was a duty actually to believe him to believe in him Faith in the Lawgiver is one of the ways and commandments of this Jehovah I had here given a dismiss unto this that I might hasten to the last particular but that I called to mind how another adversary of and objector against the Seventh-day Sabbath had affirmed that the Decalogue had less in it than the Law of Nature and that therefore it was never intended for a mere or perfect Transcript of the Law of Nature Although if he had improved his own concession he might have seen how he tacitely gave an answer to his own Objection for he says That the chief Heads of Natutes Law are contained in the Decalogue He gives instances in divers particulars some of the chief of them in which he seems much to glory I shall examine In which he judgeth the Decalogue is defective such as the belief of the Soul to love our selves with a just and necessary Love to fame and mortifie all our fleshly lusts in order to our Salvation to deny all bodily Pleasure Profit Honour Liberty and Life for the securing of our Salvation Let the considerate Reader now spiritually according to the Word of Truth discern in these matters If the Scripture-rules of interpreting these ten Words Laws or Commands be observed allowed and applyed it will be manifest That they are a comprehensive as for other things so for the particulars specified so far as doth concern the discharge of Duty and the avoiding of Sin These general Laws do take
in more particulars than is commonly observed for the particulars are expressed by some word or other in the general Law which by collating of other Scriptures in the Original words and phrases doth evidently demonstrate this which is well worth the noting and improving for the advancement of this decalogue-Science The definition of every one of the ten Words is so fully and comprehensively fitted as they take in all the Laws of Natural Holiness and Righteousness So that we may say with the Psalmist In all perfection I have seen an end but thy commandment O Jehovah is very large O how I love thy Law To believe that the Soul is what Scripture and Nature do say that it is is comprehended in the Decalogue The Maker and Giver of this Law is the best Interpreter of it When the Lawyer asked Christ which was the great Commandment in the Law The LORD Jesus answered him Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thine understanding and with all thy strength This is the first and the great Commandment and the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self On these two Commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets Observe here Is not the Soul particularly taken notice of in the expression And that too as a distinct essential constitutive part of man from the spirit and body And is not this a Word to be believed Is it not plain here that the Scripture Doctrine of the Soul is to be believed And this as comprehended within the due bounds of the Decalogue That Christ doth here speak of the Law of the ten words is evident by collating of other Scriptures which do historically relate the same thing where the Preface Hear O Israel doth shew that it is meant of this Law of the ten words seeing there is a particular enumeration of several of the ten Words in express terms Which ten Words do summarily contain the whole Doctrine of Holiness and of Righteousness whatsoever the Law and the Prophets do speak of And how much is there in these concerning the Doctrine of the Soul This exposition of the Law-maker himself is a sufficient warranting of this interpretation For he doth make the sum of the first Table to which the four first words do belong to be the loving of Jehovah our Aelohim with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might And the sum of the second Table which takes in the six last words to be Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self And the expressions which Christ doth use are remarkable the whole Heart the whole Soul the whole Strength the whole Mind which words do take in the whole Power and Powers of the inner and outer man The whole strength doth more properly set out the might of the Body in the external Members Limbs and Parts of it The whole Heart doth express all the Inwards of the bodily fleshy part of man The whole Mind doth call for the Vigour and Activity the light and life of the Spirit of Man The spirit of a Man is naturally Luminous and has Light enough in it to demonstrate his Being to be distinct from the respiring faculty in Man So that the whole in his All and in every part of him is concerned and engaged in this Love And all these words thus put together do discover and declare that this Law of the Ten Words doth extend to Spirit Soul and Body both the External and Internal parts of the Body which three do constitute and make up a complete Man And the LORD can make this good use of this part of the Answer to put the Readers upon further Inquiries into the Word of Truth after the true nature and proper difference of their Spirits Souls and Bodies and what the distinct duties of each are and wherein they must all joyntly agree in obeying this precept of Love The Fourth Word doth declare Jehovah Aelohim to be the Maker of the Heavens and of the Earth and of all things that are therein and the Soul of Man is one of these things which he created and made It is of the Law of Nature agreeably to the Word to believe that souls are and that there is a Maker of them And that it is a duty both to get more of the knowledge of our souls and with our souls to love and honour the Creator of them To love our selves with a just and necessary Love as such is of the Law of Nature He that doth it not is a Self Murderer he doth kill somewhat or other of himself which is against the express Letter of the Sixth Word Those that by sinning against and hating of the LORD Christ are Oppressors Wrongers Abusers of their own Souls and love death they do that by which they bring death and destruction upon themselves and so do not discharge that duty which under and for him they owe unto themselves To love our Neighbour as our selues is of the Law of Nature in the Decalogue which is the sense that the Law-giver himself doth give of his own Law This Objector himself doth acknowledge all the Duties of self-love to be deeply written in Man's Nature but in this he doth mistake in that he saith That all the Duties of self love as such are passed by as supposed in Moses's Decalogue In the way men should use more tenderness in their expressions about these holy Laws of Christ upon which he himself doth put so much honour This Adversary doth sometimes call it a Jewish Law and here Moses's Decalogue when he had before and after written so much diminitively about these ten Words whereas the Scriptures do name them with more honour the Words of the Covenant the ten Words the ten Words which Jehovah spake which he gave unto Moses Moses called them the ten Words of Jehovah's Covenant which Jehovah wrote upon two Tables of Stone with many more of such glorious Names and Titles But to my matter in hand If these Duties of self love are supposed where are they supposed if not in this present comprehensive Law which doth include all Duties Christ's Rules of Interpreting do expresly take in self-love making this commanded Duty of self-love to be the measure of our Love to our Neighbour the one must be regulated by the other according to the Word In his own Commentary upon his own Law he doth affirm all the Law and the Prophets to make a regular Love to our selves to be the measure of our Love to others This Law of self-love is not then so passed by but that in express terms if we will take Christ for an Interpreter it is a Duty required in the Law of the ten Words Both Old and New Testament do speak one and the same thing in this matter And men will never be thorowly true right lovers of
spake all and every one of them in a singular emiment manner at the Mount Sinai he spake at other Seasons but this Law was spoken with more solemnity of proclaiming This is that Law which the Apostate Angels were and are trangressors of Satan is the Evil one he sets himself up as a God to be worshiped which is against the first and second he is a blaspheming spirit against the third Word He keeps not the Seventh-day Sabbath and tempts men to profane it against the fourth Words He has broken the Law of his Relation and tempts all both Superiors and Inferiors to break the established order according to the fifth Word Christ calls him a Murderer against the sixth Word An unclean spirit against the seventh Word He is a Thief a Robber a Stealer Robbs men of their holiness and happiness steals away the Word out of their hearts against the eighth Word He is a Lyar against the ninth Word A covetous craver of what is not his own And he sollicits men to covet what is their Neighbours against the tenth Word For this Decalogue is the Rule of Holiness and of Righteousness given to Angelical Natures who were summoned to appear at the solemn promulgation and proclaiming of this Law Even the Holy Spirits are doers of Jehovah's Commandments and they hearken unto the Voice of his Word And what is more yet this Law will be the perfect establish'd continud Law and Rule of Holiness and of Righteousness of the glorified ones for ever in Heaven How great therefore is there ignorance and how gross their mistake and dangerous their errour who daringly assert that this Law was temporay given only to one national people of Israel and some few more as if others were not under the obligation of it at least in part if not in whole Whereas it is a Kingly Law to which all mankind ought to be subject and conforming all being concern'd in this Law all being to be judged by this Law all sin and duty being to be measured by this Law There must an universal regard had to all and to every one of the Commands in the Decalogue both by Prince Minister and People There is a note of universality requiring Obedience to all these Commands and a word of singularity forbidding the breach and violation of any one of them Though Christ have Redeemed his people from the Curse of this Law yet not from the Rule of it the Redemption from the Curse of it doth still establish the Rule of it And as to this particular Law of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath there was a mixed multitude of others with the Israelites at the very time of proclaiming it And the Stranger yea the very Cattel are expresly comprehended within the bounds and in the very Letter of this Word and natural Reason for the observation thereof And if men will still be so adventurous in this age of clear Light and of shining discovery as to go on to do the labour and work of their particular Functions and Imployments on the Seventh-day there is no Word of God that doth dispense with this neither can any word of man bear them out in it against a direct prohibition The ten words or the Law of the Decalogue being that perfect Image and exact Sampler according to which all Mankind in the loyns of Adam were at the first created in all Wisdom Holiness and Righteousness as their finite Capacities could take in and it being still the Rule and Direction for the renewing and restoring of Wisdom Holiness and Righteousness in any of the sons and daughters of men it is therefore in a proper sense the Law of Nature and it being so it hath some foundation in the Humane Nature and so doth respect all Mankind Jew and Gentile Male and Female no Sex nor Age no Language nor People excepted which Law when proclaimed at Mount Sinai universally concerned all the men and women that then were since have been now are and that shall be in the after Generations the Head and Representative of us all was under the Direction and Obligation of this Law and so are all the Posterity of Adam Sin was in the World from Adam even unto Moses and Death was reigning in the World from Adam even unto Moses and the Law was existing in the World from Adam even unto Moses when it was a new promulgated for where the Law is not in being sin is not reckoned Thus was the first Adam the representing Type of all Mankind who had this complete Law concreated with the Humane Nature This Decalogical Holiness and Righteousness though not the very natural Essence and real Substance of the Humane Nature nor necessarily flowing from the very principles of that Humane Nature yet was a concreated perfection in him and a connatural suitableness to him it was implanted in Adam's heat which Law and Obedience thereunto was the greatest part of his resembling the Image and likeness of his Creators and Makers it being after the same Pattern a Law commanding all Good and forbidding all Evil a Law of hidden ages without limitation of any time place or person serving all times all places all persons being an absolute full Directory both before and since the Fall whether this Law were given outwardly by the Creator to Adam by word and voice is not now the matter of inquiry Let it suffice that it was given to Adam which all his Postery should conform unto It was continued in the Church all along as a Rule of Life so it was to Noah one of the Fathers of the Gentile Nations who was a just man perfect in his Generations walking with Aelohim and finding Grace in the Eyes of Jehovah he was a Preacher of Righteousness a very Holy Righteous Man and an Obedient Believer The Anomous or lawless times of the later days are compared to Noah's days in that corrupt age Thus also to Abraham who was the Father of many Gentile-Nations of a multitude of them this Abraham had an express full Testimony from the LORD himself that he was such a one as obeyed the voice of Jehovah and kept his charge his commandments and Laws which three words are the same that are afterwards used by which to express the ten Commandments the Judgement and the Statutes which God gave by Moses Aelohim knew Abraham how that he would command his sons and his house after him and they should keep the way of Jehovah to do Justice and Judgement Thus also to Moses and to those of his time before the promulgation of this Law of the ten Words at Mount Sinai Jehovah Aelohim by Moses rebuked those who contrary to their LORD's commandment went out to seek food on the Seventh-day Sabbath and he expresseth himself thus in his convincing reproof How long will ye refuse to keep my commandments and laws the same words again implying that that rebellious disobedient people did continue on to be transgressors
World made known in every Nation to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews all Mankind being concerned therein as to their Eternal Estate so that if as Adversaries have confessed it were the Gentiles Duty to observe the Law of the ten Words as soon as these were made known unto them which have so much of self-evidence in them commending themselves to every man's conscience at first view we take then their own concession and would improve what they grant for their own conviction that seeing besides what was made manifest to Gentile Nations of these Laws before Moses's time there were many present at the very time of Promulgation of the Decalogue of Mount Sinai and who knows how many more might hear the sound of Christ's Voice at that time and there was one and the same Law to Israelite and to Gentile and seeing in the after-dispersions of the Israelites and Jews unto the several Nations into all Nations these Laws were published abroad among the Gentiles that therefore the Gentiles also who had or at least might have had the knowledge of these Laws were under the obligatory power of them Come we now to the New Testament This doth not run in the stile nor carry the form of enacting new Laws which were never before but as to the Matter in hand it doth confirm and established the Old Law of the ten Word This was the constant Doctrine of Christ when he spake to this subject This Decalogical Doctrine and Rule of Life was not at all disanulled or any way dissolved by this Lawgiver but he made it to stand firmly in his place and to preach the good old Gospel of Reconciliation through his Name he being that very Messiah who was foretold of should come in the flesh born of a Virgin and to declare the sound old Doctrine of Faith for the comfort of such converted Souls as turned from sin to a Saviour and so obtained Justification and Salvation by Faith in Christ which was the same in all ages of the Church under the several dispensations of Grace unto all and upon all that believe which Truth hath Testimony from the Law and from the Prophets This Law of the ten Words the Apostles by Commission from the LORD Jesus Christ commend and command to all rational Creature as a Rule of Life in their Preaching and Uniting to the Gentile Nations not as by way of new constituting and re-enacting of Laws as if they had been no Laws to them before but reviving and re-inforcing of these old Laws upon their Conscience and this they often bring in especially Paul sometimes to prove a Doctrine othertimes convincingly to reprove for a sin or reformingly to correct some Error or Vice or chastizingly to instruct some Duty of Holiness and Righteousness according as the particular occasions for these were taking it for granted that they were a Directory for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews The Apostles when they preached to Jew or Gentile before the New Testament was written were it a Doctrine or a Duty or what else which they pressed upon the hearers still they proved what they taught out of the Scriptures of the Old Testament as that which did and doth bind I speak of the Law of the ten Words both Jew and Gentile this was a part of that word-foundation on which all the Jewish and Gentile Churches were built Examine we some passages in the Epistles to this end There were Gentiles in the Church at Rome and Paul in his writing to them doth evidently declare That they were under the Obligation of those Commandments which were delivered from God by Moses giving particular instances in several of the Laws of the ten Words as the Marginal references will inform And commending of this Law in the general at large There were Gentiles in the Church at Corinth and Paul in his first Epistle to them doth convince them both of sin and duty from what was written in the Law of Moses There were Gentiles in the Church of Galatia yet Paul doth convince them of their guilt and cursedness whilst they were in their sinful state from those things which were written in the Book of the Law and sheweth them the necessity of Faith as to Justification which he proveth out of the writings of an Old Testament Prophet and as for Love he declares unto them that all the Law is fulfilled in one Word Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self which was the same Doctrine with that of Moses and of Christ There were Gentiles in the Church at Ephesus yet was that Church built upon the foundation of the Prophets of the Old Testament whose writings were much of them a Commentary upon the Law of the ten Words as well as under the Apostles of the New he urgeth upon them obedience to the Decalogical Law and particularly doth single one out of the Ten about honouring of the Father and the Mother which was the first Commandment of the second Table with promise An industrious Reader and a diligent observer may quickly carry this through the New Testament and spare me the further labour by his own unprejudiced ingenuity The Gentiles as well as the Jews are in their natural corrupt state in Sin and under the Curse which sin is a Transgression of this Law The Light of Nature in the Gentiles especially when rightly and throughly informed by the Word of God approves of every one of the Laws of the ten Words There is but one only Lawgiver who has mere and direct Empire over the consciences of all Mankind even Jehovah Aelohim who is able to save and to destroy according as men obey him or not And there is one only perfect Rule of Life to which all thoughts words and actions should be conformed and by which we shall be judged at that last Great Day even the Word of God the ten Words summarily this is the chief the principle the supreme Directory Whatsoever is written in the heart of the Pagans so far as it is right is concordant unto this Law The Will of the LORD concerning what is or is not to be done which way soever he has revealed it to all or to any of Mankind is still the same with this holy righteous Law when ever he has signified to man what his requirements from man in these matters are Unto his Will must the will of all Mankind be conformed all Mankind is always bound to will that which God would have them to will all Mankind who have the use and the exercise of right Reason cannot but acknowledge that the two great comprehensive Summaries of the ten Words do bind them all which are To love the LORD our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbour as our selves all are reduced to this bipartite Universal Law Though the LORD variously reveal his Will and his Word for
not the lips of Knowledge go we from him his foolishness is deceitful Sophistry deceptory fraud But the Wisdom of the Acute is to understand his way of practical business Philosophical Folly has too long been made an Hereditary Possession one Generation to another Inâ—pt Opinions have been pertinaciously reteined But the Wittily-ingenious who take up with naked Truth in naked Souls they crown themselves with Knowledge and they put a Crown upon Knowledge Wisdom is their rich and royal Ornament The tongue of the Wise maketh knowledge good grateful commendate renders it amiable adapting of it and opportunely using it to time place person and case Speech when according to the Laws of the Heavenly Apothecary-Art salutiâ—erously compounded of proper Scripture Ingredients is Healthfulness curing the unsoundness the grief of mind There is healing Medicine in such a tongue The lips of the Wise do sow Science they winnow it first sever it from chaffy Philosophy and then sow it pure That is the true good Knowledge which the Wisdom of God doth teach in the Word The best Intelligence is that which is grounded upon the Word To this should we attend and bend our mind referring all our study hither especially the teachers of others they of all men should be in these written Words They are then in their proper Studies and Places it should be their Being and Life This makes men wise in heart it doth prudentiate and intellectuate them The suavity the sweetness of the lips will add Doctrine by a commodious aptness of savoury Expressions and by a pleasing elegancy of winning Eloquence we should be Lords Masters Possessors of this The heart of savoury wise ones will make their mouth to understand it will suggest to the tongue what how when where and to whom to speak A more inner understanding of a Truth or Thing doth much help the Faculty of Speech about that Truth and Thing New noble Conceipts will still be under-begotten It expedites the lips when the Rule of all is this Word Savoury knowledge may be seen and read in the faces of such prudent ones It puts a placidness modesty right-composedness upon their Countenance which is an Index of their Wisdom Such are Cool of Spirit Moderate placid sedate not hot and hasty and rash to pour out Words Those who have all their desire and delectation in this to find out in a way of searching all solid Science and useful Wisdom they withdraw themselves from Philosophick and over-worldly Diversions to immix themselves in those Holy Studies that do bring in durable Essence Their Understanding has depth of living Waters and their Vein is flowing over with it To be without the knowledge of the Soul or for the Soul to be without Knowledge not good this How can such an one govern his Actions and order his Affairs with judgment and discretion That is Wisdom which will be found and acknowledged to be Wisdom at the last in thy last or utmost end Cease we therefore from erring and straying out of the way of those written words of Wisdom O prize we this for the lips of Wisdom are Gold and a multitude of Gems and a precious Vessel Vain affectation of Humane Wisdom is drossy strawy broken and earthy He that wanders out of the Way of Understanding from this prescript word of the LORD will in the end remain in the Cougregation of the incurably-dead To keep the words of the Wise in the belly is sweetly delectable they will be aptly put together in the lips Study Wisdom that thou maist trust in Aelohim he makes known Wisdom to thee to this for this end They are his written Words that do teach it In the Scripture are those excellent Counsels that do tend to true and to sound Knowledge The Counsels and Knowledges that are found here are the Justness or Rectitude of Truth or certainty of the words of Truth every way true It is the truth that is here learnt To make to return words of truth to those who send thee words truth when others do send their Questions and propound their Cases to thee for resolution and satisfaction We should make our heart and our ears to enter into Discipline into the Words of Knowledge The seat of Wisdom is in the heart when that doth rejoyce to see and to hear others to be wise the whole man rejoyceth The reins of a Teacher do rejoyce when the lips of a Scholar do speak Rightnesses When the prescript word and not our own or others carnal corrupt reason is followed we shall make a blessed progress in holy Sciences Here is truth which we should acquire into our possession the right knowledge of Naturals and Spirituals not parting with it upon any terms That is Wisdom Instruction and Understanding which is Scripture-Truth He who is thus wise is manly in strength A man of Knowledge has fortifying Prowess It doth increase his inner and outer vigor These Word-wisdoms are unreached heights 100 sublime for and to an evil-fool lofty excellencies which he cannot come at whilst such But to know these is to the inlightned Soul as honey or the distillings of the honey-Comb sweet and nourishing what natural causality honey may have this way for the sharpning quickning clearing of Ingeny let others inquire If thou have found it it shall be a last reward It would be the Glory of Kings to search out a Word in all their warlick and civil as well as Religious transactions to inquire after those treasured senses of Scripture which would direct them in this It would teach all to word their words over its circumstance or Modes aptly opportunely as if it moved aright upon Wheels No answers but are Scriptural concordant thereunto are sapid Counsel or savoury Advice judicious Reason returned to inquirers Those who in this way do seek Jehovah shall understand all whatsoever it be that doth belong to their Office and Duty A Prince a Leader in State or Church or Field of all men should not want understanding in Scripture Sciences in word acts He should be well skilled in all sorts of useful Learning otherwise their imprudent misgovernment will put them upon oppressing and misguiding their people O love we this Wisdom and this way of VVisdom The Primitive Understanding of Adam which he had concreated with him is not now to us we are corruptly bruitish as to the answering of difficult Questions it is only to be had from Christ in the Word who is able and willing He the God-man For the knowledge of holy Ones Angelical heavenly Ones is not so with us now not so born and bred with us of our own but is a gift from him who is all VVisdom Reades let thine eyes therefore be now up to him that thou mayst be one of the God-taught Ones that thy knowledge may even whilst thou art here on Earth more grow up to answer the knowledge of those