The Practice of Piety

4 Because Christ professeth,¹ that he came not to destroy the moral law: and that ⟨p. 518⟩the least of them should not be abrogated in his kingdom of the new Testament. Insomuch, that Whosoever breaketh one of the least of these ten commandments, and teacheth men so: ²he should be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, that is, he should have no place in his Church. Now the Moral Law commandeth one day of seven to be perpetually kept a holy Sabbath. And Christ himself expressly mentioneth the the keeping of a Sabbath among his Christians, at the destruction of Jerusalem, about 42. years after his Resurrection. By which time, all the Mosaical ceremonies (except eating of blood, and things strangled) were by a ⟨p. 519⟩public decree of all the Apostles quite abolished, ³and abrogated in Christian Churches. And therefore Christ admonished his Disciples,⁴ to pray that their flight be not in the Winter, nor on the Sabbath day. Not in the winter; for that (by reason of the foulness of the ways and weather) their flight should be more painful and troublesome unto them: not upon the Sabbath; because it would be more grievous to their hearts, to spend that day in toiling to save their lives: which the Lord had commanded to be spent in holy exercises, to comfort their souls. Now if the sanctifying of the Sabaoth on this day had been but ⟨p. 520⟩ceremonial: it had been no grief to have fled on this day no more then on any other day of the week. But in that Christ doth tender so much this fear and grief of being driven to fly on the Sabbath day: and therefore wisheth his to pray unto God to prevent such an occasion: he plainly demonstrates, that the observation of the Sabbath is no abrogated ceremony, but a Moral commandment, confirmed and established by Christ among Christians. If you would know the day whereupon Christ appointed Christians to keep the Sabbath; Saint John will tell you that it was on the Lords day.