Exercitations concerning the name, original, nature, use, and continuance of a day of sacred…

§. 6 Moreover, there are some who stay not here; but contend that the precise Observation of the seventh Day in the Hebdomadal Revolution, lieth under a Command Moral and indispensable. For God they say, who is the Sovereign Lord of us and our Times, hath taken by an Everlasting Law this Day unto himself for his honour and service; And he hath therein obliged all men to an holy Rest, not on some certain fixed and stated time, not on one Day in seven originally, as the first Intention of his Command, but on the seventh Day ⟨p. 124⟩precisely, whereunto those other considerations of some stated and fixed time, and of one Day in seven are Consequential, and far from previous foundations of it. The seventh Day, as the seventh Day, is they say, the first proper Object of the Command; the other things mentioned of a stated Time, and of one Day in seven, do only follow thereon; and by virtue thereof belong to the Command of the Sabbath, and no otherwise. Herein great Honour indeed is done unto the seventh Day, above all other Ordinances of Worship whatever, even of the Gospel it self; but whether with sufficient Warranty we must afterwards enquire. At present, I shall only observe, that this Observation of the seventh Day precisely, is resolved into the Sovereignty of God, over us and our Times, and into an Occasion respecting purely the Covenant of Works; on which bottoms it is hard to fix it in an absolute unvariable station.

§. 6 Moreover, there are some who stay not here; but contend that the precise Observation of the seventh Day in the Hebdomadal Revolution, lyeth under a Command Moral and indispensible. For God they say, who is the Soveraign Lord of us and our Times, hath taken by an Everlasting Law this Day unto himself for his honour and service; And he hath therein obliged all men to an holy Rest, not on some certain fixed and stated time, not on one Day in seven originally, as the first Intention of his Command, but on the seventh Day ⟨p. 124⟩precisely, whereunto those other considerations of some stated and fixed time, and of one Day in seven are Consequential, and far from previous foundations of it. The seventh Day, as the seventh Day, is they say, the first proper Object of the Command; the other things mentioned of a stated Time, and of one Day in seven, do only follow thereon; and by vertue thereof belong to the Command of the Sabbath, and no otherwise. Herein great Honour indeed is done unto the seventh Day, above all other Ordinances of Worship whatever, even of the Gospel it self; but whether with sufficient Warranty we must afterwards enquire. At present, I shall only observe, that this Observation of the seventh Day precisely, is resolved into the Soveraignty of God, over us and our Times, and into an Occasion respecting purely the Covenant of Works; on which bottoms it is hard to fix it in an absolute unvariable station.