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

§. 41 It is indeed by many pretended, that the Command firstly and directly respecteth the seventh Day precisely, and one Day in seven, no otherwise than as it necessarily follows thereon. For where the seventh Day is required, one in seven is so consequentially. And they who thus pretend have a double Design, the one absolutely contradictory to the other. For those do so, who from thence conclude, that, the seventh Day precisely comprising the whole Nature of the Sabbath, that day is indispensably and everlastingly to be observed: And those do so, who with equal confidence draw their conclusion to the utter Abolition of the whole Sabbath, and the Law of it, in the taking away of the seventh Day it self. Such different Apprehensions have men of the use and improvement that may be made of the same Principles and Concessions. For those of the later sort hope, that if they can prove the Observation of the seventh Day precisely, and not one of seven but only consequentially, ⟨p. 180⟩to be the whole of what is intended in the fourth Commandment, that by virtue of the Apostles Rule, Col. 2. 16. (to which purpose he often elsewhere expresseth himself) they shall be able to prove, that it is utterly abolished. Those of the other sort suppose, that if they can make this to be the sense of the Commandment, they shall prevail to fix a perpetual Obligation on all men from thence unto the Observation of the seventh Day precisely, although the words of the Apostle seem to lye expressly against it.

§. 41 It is indeed by many pretended, that the Command firstly and directly respecteth the seventh Day precisely, and one Day in seven, no otherwise than as it necessarily follows thereon. For where the seventh Day is required, one in seven is so consequentially. And they who thus pretend have a double Design, the one absolutely contradictory to the other. For those do so, who from thence conclude, that, the seventh Day precisely comprizing the whole Nature of the Sabbath, that day is indispensibly and everlastingly to be observed: And those do so, who with equal confidence draw their conclusion to the utter Abolition of the whole Sabbath, and the Law of it, in the taking away of the seventh Day it self. Such different Apprehensions have men of the use and improvement that may be made of the same Principles and Concessions. For those of the later sort hope, that if they can prove the Observation of the seventh Day precisely, and not one of seven but only consequentially,