Section III. On the Public Institutions y Ordinances and Worship oj the Church. · Part 1

On the Public Institutions y and Worship of the Church.

SOCIAL and public worship, consisting in prayer, singing psalms or hymns, and in preaching and hearing the gospel, appears to be an institution of Christ, from what is recorded in scripture. The disciples of Christ, after his ascension, met together, and continued with one accord in prayer and ; being about an hundred and twenty. And when converts were multiplied, and a church was formed at Jerusalem, “they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and prayers. And continued daily with one accord in the temple, praising God.” At Antioch, Barnabas and Saul assembled themselves with the church a whole year, and taught much people. It appears, that the church at Corinth often came together into one place, to attend on the preaching of the gospel, prayer, singing psalms, and the administration of the . Christians had places convenient for them to convene in public assemblies, and attend on public worship. And they were commanded, “Not to forsake the assembling themselves together,” for public exhortation and mutual edification, &c.

Public worship being an institution of Christ, this necessarily implies a place where this may be attended decently, and with the greatest convenience to the members of the church; which is to be agreed upon and provided by the church, using all such help and assistance, as the head of the church shall, in his , afford them. They are to assemble on the first day of the week for public worship; and at any other time, which the church shall judge is agreeable to the will of Christ, as best suited to promote his cause, and their edification. And there may be special calls in divine , to public fasting and prayer, or thanksgiving. And particular circumstances may render it proper and important to meet oftener, and to spend more time in public worship, at some times, than at others.

It has been observed that the bishops, or overseers of the church, are to preach the word, and to preside and lead in public prayers, to which they are to devote themselves: And they are on this account to be counted worthy of double honour, and be decently supported with the necessaries and comforts of life. For Christ has ordained, that they who preach the gospel, should live of the gospel.

The stated time for public worship, is the first day of the week, which the apostles, under the inspiration and particular direction from Christ, fixed upon, and appointed to be the christian . The Jewish Seventh-day-, which was a type and shadow of that which was in a peculiar sense and degree effected by the sufferings and death of Christ, from which he rose on the first day of the week; and of the rest, into which the christian church entered, upon this ceased and was abolished; when the substance, and the things typified by it took place. With reference to this, the apostle Paul says to christians; “Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” The apostle has respect to the Jewish rites respecting meat and drink; and to their least days, new moons, and their weekly , and declares that christians, especially those who were , were not under any obligation to observe them. This has no respect to the christian . This was observed by the apostles and christian churches in their day. Christ having risen on the first day of the week, he appeared repeatedly to his disciples, while they were together on this first day. And on this first day of the week, “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, and they were all with one accord in one place,” the holy Spirit was poured out on them, and they spake with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance: And Peter preached to the multitude who were; collected on that occasion, and great numbers were . The day of Pentecost was always on the first day of the week. And this day of the week was honoured by this remarkable event, and not the seventh day of the week, which was the Jewish . And no reason can be given, why the church were together in one place on that day, but that it was the day of the week on which they were directed, and used to assemble for instruction and worship.

Accordingly, we find that on the first day of the week, christian churches used to assemble for public worship, with the apostles’ approbation. When the apostle Paul, and his companions in travelling, came to Troas, they continued there seven days, without meeting for public worship. “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.” By this it appears, that the first day of the week was the day on which christians used to meet for public worship. If the seventh day of the week had been their , why did they not meet on that day to hear Paul preach, and to break bread, that is, to partake of the ? That christian churches were wont to meet on the first day of the week for religious purposes, is evident from the following direction which this apostle gives to the church at Corinth. “Now, concerning the collection for the , as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye, upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when 1 come.” It appears from this, that christian churches in general, or rather universally assembled together on every first day of the week; the reason of which cannot be given, unless this were their , on which day they attended public worship: A. id this was a proper time to make a collection for the poor , which is to be considered as an act of public worship. Nor can it be supposed, that the churches would all agree in fixing on this day, to meet together for public worship, unless it were by the direction of the apostles, which they gave to all the churches, as from Christ, who had instructed them in this matter, before his ascension, or had since communicated it to them, by inspiration. In this view, there appears a consistency, in all the facts and assertions concerning this, which have been mentioned.

And the words of the apostle John are a confirmation of all this, when he says, “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” By the Lord’s day, he must mean some particular day of the week, which was known by this name to the churches of Christ, as distinguished from all other days; for otherwise, it would not be saying any thing, which would be intelligible to christians, or of any signification. It supposes there was one day in the week to the honour and service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this was therefore called, the Lord’s day; as that repast of bread and wine, which was instituted by Christ, and observed in the churches, in remembrance of him, was called the , to distinguish it from all other eating and drinking together, as peculiarly to his use and honour. And that this day, which for this reason the apostle John calls the Lord’s day, is the first day of the week, is evident beyond a doubt, in that this day, and no other day of the week has been distinguished and known by this name, in the church of Christ, from that day to this, of which there is incontestible evidence.

And that the first day of the week is appointed by Christ to be the christian , to be observed by his church as holy time, and distinguished from other days by being devoted by them, in a peculiar manner, to his service and honour, will be further evident perhaps, and some objections removed, by the following observations.

1. It is evident from divine revelation, that it is the will of God, that one day in seven should be observed as a by his people, to the end of the world, and not under the Mosaic dispensation only.

This may be argued from the institution of a holy , which God blessed and , when he first made man: Having himself wrought six days, and finished the work of creation, he rested on the seventh. And this is mentioned in the fourth commandment as a reason, why men, after they had attended to secular business six days, should rest from such labour, and observe the seventh day as a holy .

And the command, to remember the day, to keep it holy. &c. being given from Mount Sinai, and written on one of the tables of stone, and put into the ark with the rest of the commands, containing the moral law, which is perpetually binding on all men, and in this way distinguished from those particular precepts which were temporary: This is a strong argument, that it is equally perpetual with the other nine commands, and points out the duty of all men, at all times, to whom this command shall be made known. If this command respected that nation only, and were to cease when the Mosaic dispensation ended, it cannot be accounted for, that it should be revealed in the same peculiar manner, with that in which the moral law was revealed, and incorporated with the moral law, written with it, on tables of stone, and put into the ark: It has all the external marks of being perpetual and binding on all men, which attend the rest of the commands of the moral law.

Moreover, there are some things said in the scripture which indicate, that it is the will and design of God, that the command to keep holy the day, should take place and be observed under the gospel. The fifty sixth chapter of Isaiah is evidently a prophecy of gospel times; and there, keeping the from polluting it, is repeatedly mentioned, as an important duty, to which promises are made. And in the eleventh chapter are these words, with reference to Christ and the gospel dispensation. “And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people: To it shall the seek, and his rest shall be glorious.” The word translated rest, is the same, which in other places is translated . His shall be glorious. And it is not improbable that the Psalmist has reference to the first day of the week, as distinguished and appointed by Christ, and made holy by him, as the day on which he rose from the dead. He foretells the resurrection of Christ in the following words. “The stone which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner.” These words are cited by the apostle Peter, and applied to the resurrection of Christ. The Psalmist adds, “This is the Lord’s doing, it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” These words, “This is the day which the Lord hath made,” considered in their connexion with the foregoing, and referring to the resurrection of Christ, may naturally be understood of the day on which Christ rose, as a day of the week, which should be a joyful day to the church, on which this great and happy event should be celebrated by believers in Christ to the end of the world; it being made by him, and appointed to be a holy of rest, and peculiar gladness and praise.

2. The fourth command in the decalogue does not specify any particular day of the week, to be kept holy as a ; but only commands men to observe one day in seven, as a holy . “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the of the Lord thy God.” We must look somewhere else in divine revelation, to find what day of the week is to be observed as a , and when to begin to reckon. The Israelites were told, which day of the week they should keep holy as a ; but not in this command. The clay of the week on which their should be, was made known to them, before this command was given from Mount Sinai; therefore, this command obliged them to keep the seventh day of the week as their . And when Christ made it known to his church, that it was his will, that the first day of the week, on which he rose from the dead, should be observed as a , he having abolished the Jewish ; this laid christians under as great obligations to keep the first day of the week as their , as the Jews were under to keep the seventh day; and this did not in the least degree set aside, or alter the fourth command; for christians remember the day to keep it holy, when they, having attended to their secular business six days, keep the seventh day as a holy day of rest from all unnecessary employment: And the fourth command as much binds them to keep their on the first day of the week, as it did the children of Israel to keep the seventh day. The evidence, that Christ has revealed this to be his will, has been briefly stated above.

3. The Jewish was not to be perpetual; but did cease and vanish away with other types and shadows of the Mosaic dispensation, being equally a shadow with them, and in some respects the greatest and most remarkable type, which will be more fully considered under the next particular. That the weekly Jewish is abolished seems to be expressly asserted by the apostle Paul, in the words which have been mentioned. But since the of the fourth command is to be perpetual; and the Jewish was not so; it follows, that another day of the week is appointed by Christ, who is Lord of the , to be observed by his church, which appears from what has been observed above, to be the first day of the week.

4. There is no evidence from scripture, that the , which God gave to the people of Israel, by Moses, was on the same day of the week with that, which was instituted when the work of creation was finished; but it is very probable, if not certain, that it was not.

The day on which God rested from the work of creation; and which he blessed and , to be an holy for man, was the seventh day from the beginning of the creation: but it was really the first day of Adam’s life. He was created on the latter part of the sixth day, but soon fell into a deep sleep, and had no great enjoyment or thought, till the next day. It is certain, the day was the first whole day of his life, and he would naturally begin to reckon time and weeks, from that day, as the first day in the rotation of weeks. This day was observed by the antideluvian church, and by Noah, and his posterity, as the first day of their week; which has continued by an uninterrupted rotation of weeks, to this day. When mankind, after the flood corrupted their religion, and apostatized from the instituted worship of the only true God, to idolatry, and deified, and worshipped the sun, moon and stars, which was the first kind of idolatry practised by mankind, they their which was the first day of their week, and considered as a high day, the most important and honourable of any of the days of the week, to the sun, which is the first and brightest luminary of the heavens, denoting this day to the worship of this god. And hence it obtained the name of Sunday: that is, the day of the sun, as it was devoted to the worship of this heavenly luminary; as most, or all the other days of the week, have had names given them from the particular planets, to the worship of which they were devoted. The original , or the first day of the week, being thus perverted, God saw fit, for this, and other reasons, some of which will be mentioned, to appoint another day of the week to be a to the children of Israel, when he brought them out of Egypt. He ordered it so that they should pass through the red sea, on the seventh day of the week, which completed their , and deliverance from Egypt; and he appointed that day of the week, to be their , in commemoration of this remarkable deliverance; on which day, they praised God, for this , and sang the song recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus. And in the next chapter this their is first mentioned; and was probably the statute, and which God made with that people, spoken of, chapter xv. verse 25. And when some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather manna, and found none, the Lord said, “See that the Lord hath given you the , therefore, he giveth you on the sixth day, the bread of two days.” The Lord hath given you the . This naturally expresses his having then appointed a day to be their , as peculiar to that people; and not that he had appointed a for all mankind, when men were first created. There were two reasons, if not more, for appointing this seventh day of the week, to be their .

First. This was suited, with many other laws, which were given to them, to keep them a distinct and separate people, from other nations, and prevent their joining with others in their idolatrous improvement of the first day of the week. This was then observed by the nations round them, as a high day, and a festival in honour of the sun, and other gods, which they worshipped, and it was of great importance, that they should be kept a distinct people, and not join with them. Their keeping another day of the week for their was suited to do this as much or more than any other law which was given to them, for this end, excepting circumcision.—Accordingly, they were, in after ages, mentioned with contempt, and ridiculed by the for this peculiarity.

Secondly. As their deliverance out of Egypt was a great and remarkable event, and a designed type and pledge of the and salvation of the church by Christ, it was proper, and of great importance, that it should be kept in mind, and commemorated by a day appointed to be observed out of a particular respect to that event. Therefore, that day of the week was fixed upon by God, to be their weekly , on which this deliverance was completed. This appears to be the truth respecting this appointment, from the words of Moses, when speaking to them of the command of God, to keep their , he says, God commanded them to keep it, out of respect to this deliverance. “Keep the day, to it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out , through a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm: Therefore, the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the day.” This must respect the Seventh-day-, which was peculiar to them, appointed out of respect to that deliverance, and more especially to commemorate that, not only as a great event in itself, but as a remarkable type of the spiritual and eternal of the church of Christ, which is mentioned and referred to in scripture, as such. This is the reason of God’s appointing the seventh day of the week for their , and commanding them to keep it as a -day; but is no reason why other nations and mankind at all times, should observe a . Therefore, in the fourth command, which was written on one of the tables of stone, and put into the ark, and is binding on all men, in all ages, this is not mentioned as a reason for observing it; nor is any particular day of the week pointed out, as has been observed. The seventh day of the week had been before given to the Israelites for their ; and Moses gives the reason for this particular appointment and command of God to them, in the words above rehearsed. And the fourth command, in the decalogue, was a command to them, to keep the seventh day of the week as a , because God had before fixed on this day for them to observe. But it prescribes no particular day to any other people; unless it be the first day of the week, by God, and handed down from the first ; and which has been established by Christ, to be the holy for christians; which lays the christian church under as great obligations from the fourth command, to observe the first day of the week, as their , as those under which the Israelites were, to observe the seventh day of the week as their .

The Seventh-day-, being given to the Mosaic church as a commemoration of their deliverance out of Egypt, which was a distinguished type in that typical church, was itself therefore a typical institution, and a shadow of good things to come, as was the passover, and other festivals in that church. Therefore, with truth and the greatest propriety, the apostle Paul mentions their weekly , with other Mosaic institutions, as shadows of things to come, which of course ceased and were done away, when the things of which they were types and shadows took place. And then the took place according to its original institution and course, on the first day of the week, and perfectly agreeable to the fourth command, and in a degree more so than the Jewish .

5. Upon the whole, it must be observed, that some time should be fixed upon, and set apart, and distinguished from ether time, to be in a peculiar manner devoted to the exercises of piety, and public worship, in which all pious men and christians should agree and unite, appears reasonable, desirable and important. If this were left to men, they would not be competent judges of the proportion of time, that it would be most suitable and proper to be set apart for those purposes; and could never agree in the particular days, and the precise proportion of time that should be thus distinguished and improved. And if they could do all this, they have no power or authority, to make one part of time, or one day more sacred or relatively holy, than another. God alone, who is the owner and Lord of time, and of all things, can make this distinction, and in this sense any day or part of time, and set it apart for particular holy purposes; and he only has authority to command men to observe it accordingly, and keep it holy. And he only knows what proportion of time is wisest and best to be thus ; so as to be best suited to answer the purposes of it, and circumstances of man, to promote the good of his church. It is therefore desirable, and to be expected that God would determine this in the revelation which he gives to the world. Accordingly, we find he has done it, when he first made man, specifying the day which he blessed and , and setting an example to man, that after six days of labour, he should rest from his business on the seventh day, and keep it holy. This he afterwards inserted among those commands containing a perpetual moral law, commanding men, all men, without distinction, to observe the , and keep one day in seven holy, or the seventh day, after six days labour. In the mean time, for particular, wise, important reasons, he separated a people from all other nations, and formed them into a church, giving them laws and statutes, suited to keep them separate from the idolatrous nations, and to point out by types and emblems the Redeemer of man, and the great salvation by him; and to prepare the way for his coming into the world, dying and rising again, and setting up his kingdom on earth: And. among the rest, they received a command to keep the seventh day of the week as a holy , which was much insisted upon during that dispensation, as an important article, which should be to them a constant visible sin, that they were a holy people, devoted to God. When the end of this Seventh-day- was fully answered, and the thing of which this, and the event it was to commemorate, were a type and shadow, took place, it was abolished, and the of the first day of the week took place by his order and command, who is Lord of the , in commemoration of his resurrection from the dead, and the eternal of the church which he had obtained by his blood, and which he arose to accomplish.

And nothing could be more suited by this institution to gratify and please the friends of Christ, than to have the first day of the week, on which their dear Lord arose from the dead, and ; that they may keep a holy on this day, and honour and praise him, and celebrate the work of . This has been to the people of God in general, in the christian church ever since, a high day, a delight, holy of the Lord, and honourable; and is so even now. And if any of the true servants of Christ be otherwise minded, God will show it unto them.

It has been a question upon which professing christians have been divided, when a christian begins? At what time of the twenty four hours of the day it commences? Whether at the setting of the sun, at midnight, or when the light comes on in the morning? Some have supposed that it cannot be certainly determined; and that it is of no importance, when it begins; that if persons act conscientiously, and according to their own judgment, though they differ, and one observes the night preceding the day; and the other the night following the day; they are equally right, and do equally well. Others, being at a loss about the time of beginning the , will observe both the evening before, and that after the day, that they may be sure to keep the right.

Perhaps the following observations may give some light on this point. They are offered to the serious, attentive, and unprejudiced.

1. If God has one day in seven, or the first day of the week, all the hours of that day, being twenty-four, are holy time; and there is a time when they begin independent of us, or our opinion or practice. Man cannot make any time holy. If God have not done it, there is no holy time; and if it be made holy by him, it is so, independent of man; and the hours which are are fixed and stated, so that when the first hour of that time comes, it is holy time, and continues so, till twenty-four hours be passed, and then holy time ceases, till another comes on, and commences at the same hour that the preceding did. And men cannot change or commute it, by neglecting that time which God has , and keeping some other day, or hours of another day, as holy time. Therefore, if the first day of the week be , the precise hours of that day, from beginning to end, and when they begin, are fixed, and all those hours are holy time, and not those which precede or follow; and it is a piece of superstition to keep them as holy time. Therefore,

2. We have reason to believe and be sure, that there is light enough in the Bible to discover to every christian who will faithfully use the advantages he has, to get light on this head, when, or at what time the begins, as well as what day of the week is as a . For if such light and information be not given, the command to keep the day holy cannot reach him, as he has no capacity to obey it. There may be light enough in the scripture to determine this; and yet not be seen by christians, through some blameable defect in them. They may be too inattentive, or prejudiced, or both, and follow the opinion of others, without properly examining for themselves, with that care and honest impartiality, which becomes a christian; and be satisfied with arguments, which really have no weight in them. If this be not decided by any one express declaration m scripture, telling when the is to begin, it may be as clearly revealed otherwise, to an attentive, honest, discerning mind. Whatever proposition or truth, clearly follows from what God has said in his word, from beginning to end, is part of divine revelation, and is the light and truth it contains, or is discovered by it.