The Christian Sabbath defended against a crying evil in these times of the antisabitarians…

As touching the proportion of one day in seven days to be consecrated unto God, I never found any Divine ancient or modern busy his wits about devising any ceremoniality therein; neither did I observe any ancient produced to acknowledge any ceremoniality therein; but as it is fit we should wait upon God for designing the proportion of time, (in which respect divers count that positive) so God having designed unto us the ⟨p. 196⟩proportion of time, we are bold to say with Azorius, that rationi maxime comsentaneum est, It is most agreeable to reason after six work days to consecrate one unto God. As touching the particularity of the day, under the proportion of one in seven, there is to be considered, both rest and sanctification; As for sanctification, I never read nor heard any man that constituted any ceremoniality in the sanctification of the day, but only in the rest of the day; yet all these are shuffled together, and usually men talk of the ceremoniality of the fourth Commandment hand over-head without all distinction: Now, it is true, the ancient Fathers generally conceived a ceremoniality in the rest of the seventh day; but what was signified by this ceremony, I no where find expressly, neither in Master Broad, nor in this discourse. Other Divines of these days, had rather call it positive; but how? Surely in reference only to the particular day, not to the rest of it, there being a moral rest necessarily required to the sanctification of it, namely, so far forth in resting from our works, as they are avocamenta à sacris studiis & meditationibus, avocations from sacred studies and meditations, as Calvin expresseth it, and I know none that differ from him herein. Aquinas is of the same judgement; but withal he confesseth, that the Jews observed the rest of this day for a mysterious signification sake, which is as much as to say, ceremonially; in which respect it ought to be abrogated, when the body came that was signified thereby. So that this nothing hinders the morality of one day in seven, no nor the observation of any one particular day that Gods Word shall commend unto us for our Sabbath, and that unalterable, save by that authority whereby it was introduced; Neither had Moses any hand, that I know, in ordering the Decalogue, it being first pronounced by the mouth of God, and afterwards written in tables by the finger of God.

As touching the proportion of one day in seven dayes to be consecrated unto God, I never found any Divine ancient or moderne busie his wits about devising any ceremoniality therein; neither did I observe any ancient produced to acknowledge any ceremoniality therein; but as it is fit wee should wait upon God for designing the proportion of time, (in which respect divers count that positive) so God having designed unto us the