the first to the seventh day, to comport with their deliverance on that day from Egypt. Hence the fourth precept, viewed as a moral precept, and binding on the church in all ages, is enforced by the consideration of God's resting on that day, and sanctifying it. But, when it is applied to the particular case of the Jewish Church, that precept is enforced by another consideration— 'the Lord brought thee from Egypt,' &c.

"When therefore Judaism ceased, the seventh day Sabbath naturally ceased with it. And hence considering the divine command, that enjoined on Adam and his posterity the keeping of the Sabbath to be still in force, (and it never has been repealed by God): it is easy to see, that on the abolition of Judaism, the Sabbath reverted from the seventh to the first day of the week without the necessity of any additional command on the subject. The first man was created the last of living things, after the morning of the sixth day : hence the Jewish doctors say, man was created in the evening, that is, the beginning of the Sabbath."

Whether Dr. Brownlee's arguments and conclusions relative to the reckoning of time from the first day of Adam's existence, and its being observed as a Sabbath, and which go to prove that we now keep the same day that was originally kept, which is most probable, be correct or not, it should be distinctly understood that the settlement of this question, in no way affects the origin, perpetuity, or existence of the institution. We all agree on these points. Whether we keep the very day kept by Adam and the Patriarchs, we do not conceive essential, if one seventh part of the time be kept holy; and if all, for convenience sake, keep the same time, so far as may be. The inhabitants of Chiunless they observe ano

na cannot keep the same hours we do, ther day as the Sabbath. The most conclusive proof that Dr. Brownlee is correct is, that when the attention of the Jews was turned anew to this institution, they, to distinguish them from other nations, and keep them a distinct people, were directed to keep another day than that which had been previously observed. Hence when the Jewish dispensation was abolished at the death of Christ, it was perfectly natural that the Jews should revert back to the observance of the original day, and that any new

1

law, touching either the first or the seventh day Sabbath, should be wholly unnecessary; inasmuch as the original law of the Sabbath had never been repealed.

After the explicit, decisive, and concurrent testimony of the foregoing extracts, touching the practice of primitive Christians, can it be reasonably doubted whether the Christian Sabbath was observed, by the Apostolic Fathers and their followers, who during the first three centuries, almost uniformly kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath, instead of the seventh day, though some kept both? Are not the objectors' assertions, extracts, and arguments annihilated by the weight of evidence which has been adduced?

It is not a new thing to find men publishing assertions without proof. Those who write to destroy the Sabbath, rather than not effect their object, assert many things which need proof to gain credence among intelligent readers. Such we consider the assertions, that "There is no authority for the Sabbath,”"This authority binds only the Jews,"-" The law is abrogated,"

"The early Christians did not understand that they should keep it,"—"They did not keep it ;" and "The New Testament nowhere, either directly or by inference, teaches men to observe a Sabbath," &c. &c.

But, it is presumed, no one who lays any claim to intelligence and candor, will again, after duly considering this subject, assert that we have no testimony for the Sabbath. All such declarations have no foundation in truth. No one should be misled by them.

We have brought forward but few of the Scriptural arguments, in support of the positions taken, for they are mainly before the public, and in as favorable light, as can be desired; and they should be familiar to the minds of all who would benefit man or glorify God.

OBJECTION VI.-" DEUT. V. OPPOSED TO EX. XX."-" The command respecting the Sabbath in Ex. xx., is opposed to that in Deut. v., and the latter, if any, should be observed."

It is said that we ought to take the commandments as recorded in Deut. v. for the moral law, instead of those in Ex. xx., because

says,

Moses "These words the Lord spake unto all your assemblies; and he added no more." Thus they endeavor to avoid the difficulty of explaining away the reason given in the fourth commandment, as contained in Ex. xx., why the Sabbath should be kept. But let us see how it is.

The children of

From Ex. xix. it appears that the people were commanded to prepare themselves to hear what the Lord was about to say to them, that they might believe Moses for ever. Israel not only heard the thunderings but saw the lightnings, the thick cloud and the smoke; and heard the voice which caused them to tremble. The Lord talked with them face to face in the mount; and the people were greatly afraid. They heard the commands, and then said to Moses, "Speak thou with us," &c. Accordingly he did, and declared to them the ceremonial laws. Under these circumstances, the law was given, and written on tables of stone, and carried down the mountain, to be delivered to Israel. But the two tables containing them were broken.

Now what was done? In Ex. xxxiv., we learn that the Lord said to Moses, "Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest." Here we have the promise of God, that he would write, not only the substance of the commands, but the words, that were written on the first tables. This promise he must have broken, if there was the least variation in them.

When the commands were written the second time, no such display was made, as in the first instance. Moses went up to the mount without ceremony. The people were not summoned to attend. While Moses was on the mount, the Lord talked with him about the ceremonial law, what he would do for his people, &c.; and it would seem that as soon as Moses had reached the place where God communed with him, that the Lord took charge of the tables; and after forty days, when he had made an end of talking with Moses, God gave him the two tables, on which he had written the ten commandments, as he had promised, Ex. xxxiv. In all probability, these moral precepts were not again recapitulated in the mount.

But in Deut. v., it appears that Moses, now the preacher and not the lawgiver, called the people together, and said, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears," not which the Lord speaks or spake, but which I speak. "The Lord made a covenant," not makes a covenant, but made, forty years ago, at a great distance, in Horeb. "The Lord talked," not talks; "I stood between the Lord and you at that time," not stand; that, not this time; "for ye were," not are, “afraid." Now under these circumstances, and just before his death, he recapitulates, nearly verbatim, the ten commandments as written on the tables, which were then and had long been in the ark. Here, in this recapitulation, Moses mentions an additional reason," and remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt," &c., which the Lord had previously given, why Israel should keep the Sabbath. This reason was applicable to the Jews only, hence this only was mentioned; while the first reason, viz. "for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, wherefore" &c., was left out; that being applicable to the whole world. As the law, the ten commandments, as God wrote them, was given for all men, in every age, the reason was given, as in Ex. xx. That reason was applicable to Jew and Gentile, while the last reason was applicable to the Jew only, and must have been spoken at another time, as was this also, "that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.”

"These word," [or similar,] "the Lord spake unto all your assemblies in the mount," &c. Now if it be not true, that Moses did not intend to repeat the law verbatim, but merely to give the substance of it; but, on the contrary, that the words now repeated, were actually engraven on the two tables, instead of those recorded in Ex. xx., then it is evident that the two statements contradict each other. For though the law, as given in Ex. xx., did not contain the additional reason to which we have alluded, viz. "that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou," Moses here in Deut. v. 25, says, "the Lord spake these words unto them in the mount.” We know he spoke the words written on the first tables to them in the mount, but he did not speak these, for Moses expressly tells

us, in the commencement of this sermon, that he spake them in their ears, and they did not go up the second time into the mount. The remainder of this chapter, and the one preceding, show conclusively, that this whole transaction was merely a recapitulation of what had long before transpired, and was not understood to be the original transaction.

But it is objected that Moses said, “and he [the Lord] added no more," and therefore the reason, "for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it," does not now belong to the commandments. But let the objector know that in Deut. v. 12, Moses says, "keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee;" hath commanded thee, not doth command thee.

Here is all the evidence that is needed, to settle the whole question. It is manifest therefore that the Lord did add more, as above written, and that all Moses meant in the expression was, "the ten commandments, the sum and substance of which I now have given you, is all that the Lord added in your hearing, because you became afraid of his terrible majesty, and besought me to pray the Lord not to speak any more in your hearing, but to speak to me, and you would obey. He then called me up into the mount, where he spoke many other things, among which was the ceremonial law, which I afterward made known to you." Deut. iv. may be read in further proof of this opinion.

We hope no one will again say, that the commandments, recapitulated by Moses in Deut. v., are the identical ones, verbatim, written on the second two tables of stone, and that those recorded in Exodus, do not concern us, and are not the commands which were on the second tables.

It is hoped that every candid inquirer after truth, who has followed us thus far, is fully satisfied that the positions we have attempted to establish, are sustained; for it is for the benefit of such that we are writing.