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from every sin, through the whole course of his life, that giving nothing but uneasiness, both to himself and his God. As the Lord complains, Isa. xliii. 22. " thou hast been weary of me, O Israel," and ver. 24. " thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities." By sínning, we dreadfully transgress against the rest of God, who cannot delight in a sinner, of whom and his work he says, Isa. i. 14. "they are a burthen to me, I am weary to bear them." But more especially, it is likewise man's duty, that as he is the concluding part of the works' of God, and the last of all the creatures, that came out of the hands of his Creator, not so to harrass and fatigue himself about the creatures, as to seek his happiness and good in them; but rather, by a holy elevation of mind, ascend to the Creator himself, and acquiesce in nothing short of the enjoyment of his unbounded goodness, of the imitation of the purest holiness, and of the expectation of the fullest rest, and intimate union with his God. This indeed is the true and spiritual rest, always to be meditated upon, sought after, and to be observed by man.

XI. Moreover, as man, even in the state of innocence, was to perform solemn acts of piety, together with his consort and children, and to be their mouth in prayer, thanksgiving, and praises; it was necessary, at that time, that laying aside all other occupations, and all cares about what related to the support of natural life, and ordering those about him to rest, he might, without any hindrance from the body, religiously apply himself to this one thing: which I hope none of my brethren will refuse. At least the celebrated Cocceius readily allows it. Whose words are these, Sum. Theol. c. 21. 10." It is right in itself, and a part of the image of God, that man should, as often as possible, employ himself in the worship of God (that is, laying aside the things pertaining to the body and its conveniences, be wholly taken up in those duties which become a soul delighting in God, glorifying him and celebrating his praise) and that too in the public assembly, for the common joy and elification of all.

XII. After man had sinned, the remembrance of God's resting and sanctifying the seventh day, ought to rouse him from his slowness and dulness, in the worship of God, in order to spend every seventh day therein, laying aside, for a while, all other employment. But it will be better to explain this in Calvin's words: "God therefore first rested, and then he blessed that rest, that it might be ever afterwards holy among men: or he set a part each seventh day for rest, that his VOL. I.

N. B. This is not to be understood, as if the blessed God could be wearied, buc only that if fuch thing was possible, En is of fuch a malgiast katuse, that would do it.

own example might be a standing rule." Martyr speaks to the same purpose : "Hence men are put in mind that, if the church enjoins them to set apart a certain day in the week for the worship of God, this is not altogether a human device, nor belongs only to the law of Moses, but likewise had its rise from hence, and is an imitation of God. All this is also approved of by Cocceius, whose excellent words we will subjoin from the place just quoted, § 12. "The consequence of these things in the sinner is,-that if encompassed with the infirmities of the flesh, and exposed to the troubles of life, he may at least each seventh day recollect, and give himself up to far preferable thoughts, and then chearfully, on account of that part of the worship of God which cannot be performed without disengaging from business, abstain from the work of his hands, and from seeking, preparing and gathering the fruits of the earth." And as this celebrated expositor approves of this, I know not why he should disapprove the elegant observation of Chrysostem, Not. at Heb. § 13. That, "hence as by certain preludes God hath enigmatically taught us to consecrate and set apart for spiritual employment each seventh day in the week." If we all agree, as I hope we may, in these positions, which seem not unhappily to explain the nature of the first sabbath; I truly reckon, that a way is paved and a great deal done, to compose those unhappy disputes about the sabbath ofthe decalogue, which for some years past, have made such noise in the Dutch universities and churches.

XIII. Having thus explained the nature of the first sabbath, we proceed to enquire into its spiritual and mystical signification; from whence it will be easy to conclude, that we have not improperly called it a sacrament; or which is the same, a sacred sign or seal (for, why should we wrangle about a word, not scriptural, when we agree about the thing?) of the promises of salvation made by God to Adam. We have Paul's authority to assert, that the sabbath had some mystical meaning, and respected an eternal and happy rest, Heb. iv. 4, 10. And this is justly supposed by the Apostle, as a thing well known to the Hebrews, and which is a corner stone or fundamental point with their doctors. It was a common proverb, quoted by Buxtorf, in Florilegio Hebræo, 299; "The sabbath is not given but to be a type of the life to come." To the same purpose is that which we have in Zohar, on Gen. fol. 5. chap. xv. "What is the sabbath day? A type of the land of the living, which is the world to come, the world of souls, the world of consolations. These things indeed, are not improper to be said in general; but as you will not readi

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ly find any where, [or in other authors] the analogy between the sabbath and eternal rest specially assigned; can it be thought improper, if by distinguishing between the rest of God, the rest of man, and the seventh day, on which both rested, we should distinctly propose the mystical meaning of each.

XIV. The rest of God from the work of the creation, was a type of a far more glorious rest of God from the work of the glorification of the whole universe. When God had created the first world, so as to be a commodious habitation for man during his probation, and an illustrious theatre of the perfections of the Creator; he took pleasure in this his work, and rested with delight. For he bestowed upon it all the perfection which was requisite to compleat that state. But he had resolved, one day, to produce a far more perfect universe, and by dissolving the elements by fire, to raise a new heaven and a new earth, as it were out of the ashes of the old; which new world, being blessed with his immutable happiness, was to be a far more august habitation for his glorified creatures; in which, as in the last display of his perfections, he was for ever to rest with the greatest complacency. And besides, as God according to his infinite wisdom, so very wisely connects. all his actions, that the preceding have a certain respect to the following; in like manner, since that rest of God after the creation was less complete than that other, when God shall have concluded the whole, and which is to be followed by no other labour or toil; it is proper to consider that first rest of God as a type, and a kind of prelude of that other, which is more perfect. It fine, because it tends to man's greatest happiness, that the whole universe be thus glorified, and himself in the universe, that God may altogether rest in him, as having now obtained his last degree of perfection, he is said "to enter into the rest of God," Heb. iv. 10.

XV. This rest of God was after the creation, immediately succeeded by the rest of man. For, when he had formed man on the sixth day, (as possibly may be gathered from the simplicity of Moses's narrative) he had brought him into Paradise on the seventh, and put him, or, as others think the words may be translated, "he made him rest in the garden of Eden," Gen. ii. 15. Was not this a most delightful symbol or sign to Adam, that after having finished his course of labour on this earth, he should be translated from thence into a place far more pleasant, and to a rest far more delightful than that which he enjoyed in Paradise? And when at certain times he ceased from tilling the ground in Paradise,

and

and gave himself wholly up to the religious worship of God, with a soul delighting in God: was not this a certain earnest and a prelibation to him of that time, in which exempted from all care about this animal life, he should immediately delight himself in the intimate communion of God, in being joined with the choirs of angels, and in doing the works of angels?

XVI. May not this rest both of God and man, falling upon the seventh day, after the six of creation, properly denote, that the rest of the glory of God is then to be expected, after the week of this world is elapsed? And that man is not to enter into rest, till he has finished his course of probation, and God upon strictly examining it by the rule of his law, finds it complete and in every respect perfect? And are we to reject the learned observation of Peter Martyr; that "this seventh day is said to have neither morning nor evening, because this is a perpetual rest to those who are truly the sons of God?

XVII. It is indeed true, that upon Adam's sin, and violation of the covenant of works, the whole face of things was changed: but all these things [we have been speaking of] were such, as might have been signified and sealed by this sabbath to Adam, even in the state of innocence, and why might it not really have been so? For the Apostle expressly declares, that" God's resting from his works, from the foundation of the world," Heb. iv. 3. had a mystical signification. It is therefore our business to find out the agreement between the sign and the thing signified; for the greater analogy we observe between them, we shall the more clearly and with joy discover the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, various ways manifesting themselves. It cannot but tend to the praise of the divine architect, if we can observe many excellent resemblances between the picture given us by himself, and the copy. Indeed I deny not, that Paul when discoursing of the sabbath, leads us to that rest purchased for believers by the suf ferings of Christ. But it cannot thence be inferred, that after the entrance of sin, God's sabbath borrowed all its mysti cal signification from the covenant of grace. For, as to the substance of the thing, the glorious rest promised by the covenant of works, and now to be obtained by the covenant of grace, is one and the same, consisting in a blessed acquiescence or rest of the soul in God. As this was sealed to man in innocence by the sabbath, under the covenant of works ; so likewise it is sealed by the sabbath under the covenant of grace, though under another relation, and under other circumstan

For God having perfect knowledge, that man would not continue in the first covenant, had from all eternity decreed

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to set on foot a quite different order of things, and bring his elect by a new covenant of grace, to the most peaceful rest. Accordingly he settled in his unsearchable wisdom, whatever preceded the fall, in such a manner, that man viewing them after the fall with the enlightened eyes of faith, might discover still greater mysteries in them, which regarded Christ and the glory to be obtained by him. But we are not to speak of this here. Whoever desires a learned explanation of those mysteries, may consult Mestresat's sermons on the fourth chapter to the Hebrew,

XVIII. This sabbath also put man in mind of various duties to be performed by him, which having pointed out above, $ 10, 11. I think, needless to repeat now. And thus we have executed what we promised concerning the sacraments of the covenant of works.

XIX. And here I might conclude, did not a very learned man come in my way, whose thoughts on the first sabbath being widely different from the commonly received notions, I intend, with his permission, calmly to examine. He therefore maintains, that Adam, on the very day of his creation, being seduced by the devil, had involved himself and the whole world in the most wretched bondage of corruption: but that God on the seventh day restored all things thus corrupted by the devil and by man, by his gracious promise of the Messiah: upon this restoration he rested on that very day: and that rest, upon the reparation of the world, being peculiar to the seventh day, may be the foundation of the sabbath. Doubtless, on the sixth day, the heavens and the carth were finished, and all the host of them," Gen. ii. 1. And God beholding the works of his creation so perfect, pleasantly rested in them. This was the rest of the sixth day. But, on the same day, Satan corrupted all; for upon losing heaven, of whose host he was one, and which he greatly dimi nished by associating many other angels to himself, and so far rendered that habitation a desart; and on earth, by means of a calumnious lie he rendered man the prince of the terrestrial host, a subject to himself, a rebel to God, and destitute of life. This was the corruption of the earth. And thus heaven and earth so beautifully finished by God on the sixth day, were on the same basely defiled by Satan and by man. This occasioned God to be engaged in a new work on the seventh, even to restore what had been thus defiled and corrupted, and to complete them anew. Which he did on the seventh day, when the Mediator, God-man, was revealed by the Gospel, whom, in the promise, he appointed to triumph