Positive, however, properly speaking, as the obligation to observe any weekly sabbath whatever, as well.as a certain day, cannot but be, in my opinion, I am not unwilling to call it moral in a qualified sense, on account of several extraordinary circumstances, which, as appears from Revelation, attend it: such as that it was instituted as early as there was any human being to observe it-that it was made known as soon as any precept can be known, which is, strictly speaking, moral-that it was discovered in the same way as moral obligations were themselves at first discovered; that is to say, by Revelation-that it was founded on a reason peculiarly great and important, and which, like moral duties, concerns all mankind in all ages and places, namely, the Deity's rest after the Creation-and, finally, that it was placed by divine authority, not merely among other precepts, some of which are moral, and others positive, because the purpose for which they were mentioned made it of importance to separate them, but in the middle of a code that is confessedly moral, in opposition to other codes which are as confessedly positive. Should any one think that the obligation to observe a weekly sabbath is entitled to the high and weighty designation of moral for these reasons, and that it was intended by the Divine Legislator to be so

considered and treated by mankind, I own that though I cannot admit the designation to be its undoubted right, yet I am far from objecting to the Fourth Commandment's having it, when the claim is made for it, or allowed by others.* But then, in admitting the obligation of keeping a weekly sabbath to be moral on such grounds, it will be indispensably necessary to admit the morality of keeping the seventh or last day of the week, since (as will be proved hereafter) those grounds apply solely to that day, and not to the seventh part of time abstractedly-they relate to that day directly, and to the seventh part of time only by necessary consequence, since it was impossible to consecrate the former without consecrating the latter at the same time. The last day of the first week was the subject of the institution, and nothing else; nor does the reason assigned for it accord with any thing else.

I have only to remark further, before I conclude this Chapter, that though I consider the observance of a weekly sabbath, including the particular day to be kept, as a positive institution, and not, properly speaking, a moral duty, yet it does not necessarily follow, in my opinion, that the institution is temporary. It only fol

Upon the same principle, sabbath-breaking, as before explained, may not improperly be termed immorality.

lows, that man would not have been obliged, by the law of nature, to keep a weekly sabbath, had there been no positive institution, and that the blessed God could revoke the institution, with or without a view to the making a different one, if he pleased. Whether he has done either, or not, I shall not now inquire. I shall merely remark, at present, that if what I stated should be proved, namely, that the seventh part of time is no otherwise instituted than as the seventh day is instituted, the seventh part of time will of course be abrogated, whenever the seventh day is abrogated; nor can it ever be renewed, except by another positive institution, that appoints it either abstractedly, or in consequence of appointing another day. In such a case, the new institution would stand upon its own ground, and would have no occasion to seek authority, confirmation, or explanation, from the abrogated one; nor could it derive any one of these advantages from that quarter, if it wanted help ever so much.

Differences of Opinion concerning the Antiquity of the Seventh Day Weekly Sabbath.

MANY learned and pious writers, who observe the first day as the weekly sabbath, are of opinion, that the passage in Gen. 2. 2, 3. relative to the Divine Being's blessing and sanctifying the sabbath day, which was the day after the Creation, is an anticipation of the Fourth Commandment, expressing what was to take place, not directly, but a long time after, namely, when the Jews arrived in the Wilderness. Of course, the holders of this opinion do not think, with the generality of Christians and myself, that the observance of a weekly sabbath on one day, or on another, is of serious importance to the interests of humanity, of civilizaton, and of religion. For if they do think this, they must also think that the duty must have been known as early as the existence of man and of human society, and that therefore, as it could not be known by reason, (as had already been proved,) a positive institution of the Deity, which was absolutely requisite to the knowledge of it, in being announced just after the Creation, was not brought forward a moment before it was wanted; being wanted

immediately, as well as at the distance of two thousand years afterwards.

It must, indeed, be admitted, that the older the world grew, and the more populous it became, the more it would need an appointment that tended so materially to its civil and religious improvement. But there were considerable nations long before the time of Moses; and though not tribes, there were individuals and domestic society from the very beginning. These, notwithstanding their inferiority in largeness and number to the bodies of people that existed at a later period, were far too important to be passed by, since they needed the benefits of the sabbath, as well as those who lived in the more populous ages that were to follow.

Another observation proper to be made, concerning the holders of the opinion that Gen. 2. 2, 3. contains only an anticipation of the Fourth Commandment, is, that they at least consider, agreeably to the general sentiment and my own, the seventh day which is appointed by that Commandment as being the same in rotation with that which is mentioned in Genesis. Were this not the case, the latter would not be an anticipation of the commandment, but a different institution. This, indeed, is the opinion of some great and good men; but whether upon just grounds or not, it is not yet my business to ex