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

Thirdly, Man is to be considered with especial Respect unto that Covenant under which he was created, which was a Covenant of Works. For herein Rest with God was proposed unto him, as the End or Reward of his own works, or of his Personal Obedience unto God, by absolute strict Righteousness and Holiness. And the peculiar form of this ⟨p. 135⟩Covenant, as relating unto the way of Gods entering into it, upon the finishing of his own works, designed the seventh day from the Beginning of the Creation, to be the Day precisely for the Observation of an holy Rest. As men then are always rational creatures, so some portion of Time is by them necessarily to be set apart to the solemn Worship of God. As they are under a Covenant, so this time was originally limited unto one day in seven. And as the Covenant may be varied, so may this day also, which under the Covenant of Works, was precisely limited unto the seventh day; and these things must be further illustrated and proved.

Thirdly, Man is to be considered with especial Respect unto that Covenant under which he was created, which was a Covenant of Works. For herein Rest with God was proposed unto him, as the End or Reward of his own works, or of his Personal Obedience unto God, by absolute strict Righteousness and Holiness. And the peculiar form of this ⟨p. 135⟩Covenant, as relating unto the way of Gods entring into it, upon the finishing of his own works, designed the seventh day from the Beginning of the Creation, to be the Day precisely for the Observation of an holy Rest. As men then are alwayes rational creatures, so some portion of Time is by them necessarily to be set apart to the solemn Worship of God. As they are under a Covenant, so this time was originally limited unto one day in seven. And as the Covenant may be varied, so may this day also, which under the Covenant of Works, was precisely limited unto the seventh day; and these things must be further illustrated and proved.

§. 11 This was the State and Condition wherein man was originally created. Our next enquiry is after the Law of his Creation, commonly called the Law of Nature, with what belongeth thereunto, or what is required of us, by virtue thereof. Now by the Law of Nature most understand the Dictates of Right Reason, which all men, or men generally consent in, and agree about. For we exclude wholly from this consideration the Instinct of Brute Creatures, which hath some Appearance of a Rule unto them. So Hesiod of old determined this matter, speaking of them.