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this occasion, as if they had done something wrong, and to them altogether unaccountable, and were we thence to infer that these rulers were unacquainted with the Sabbath, we must also of necessity infer that they were equally unacquainted with the command given them on the present occasion, though the people themselves understood and obeyed it without hesitation. This would be to the last degree absurd, for the rulers of course would be the first to receive the command, and would probably be the instruments of conveying it to the people. The remarks of Moses, in his reply to the rulers, evidently refer to the original consecration of the seventh day as the Sabbath.

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Milton again, like many others, has observed,* "Since the Sabbath was originally an ordinance of the Mosaic law, since it was given to the Israelites alone, and that for the express purpose of distinguishing them from other nations, it follows that if those who live under the gospel are emancipated from the ordinances of the law in general, least of all can they be considered as bound by that of the Sabbath, the distinction being abolished which was the special cause of its institution." The premises here being entirely erroneous, the inference also is wholly without foundation. The Sabbath is not an ordinance originating in the Mosaic law, if the account of it, by Moses himself, is to be received, neither was it given to the Israelites alone for the express purpose of distinguishing them from other nations, for we have shewn, that the appointment and observance of it took place before the Jewish law had existence, and were altogether independent of it; in other words, that the Sabbath was originally intended for the observance of all who should worship the sole Creator, to whatever nation they might belong.

This, as intimated in my first letter, receives sufficient confirmation, even from the fourth commandment itself, given to the Jews with all possible solemnity from Sinai, Exod. xx. 8, &c.: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, &c.; 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, and hallowed it.'

*Treatise of Christian Doctrine, &c., B. II. Ch. vii.

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Here then we remark, first, that the observance of the Sabbath is enjoined, not as a new ordinance, but as one that had been already instituted. Remember the Sabbathday, &c. Ancient customs are apt to decline gradually, and to grow out of recollection and regard: maintain, therefore, the observance of this with the greatest care and attention. Secondly, the expressions, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," evidently allude to the original appointment of the Sabbath, and imply that the day should be devoted perpetually and universally to holy, that is, to religious purposes; and, lastly, the reason here given for the institution, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth," &c., is the same as at the original consecration of the day, and so far from restricting the observance of it to the Jews, the obligation suggested by it applies equally to all mankind. And be it observed that this is the only reason given here, as at the first, for the setting apart one day in seven, not for rest only, but for special religious observance. The Sabbath, then, as Milton himself admits, was designed originally as a memorial of the creation of the world. It was intended to afford an opportunity, recurring frequently and perpetually, of celebrating the perfections and providence of God, as:

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* Milton's inconsistency is remarkable enough. He affirms in one place, (B. II. Ch. vii.,) that the seventh day was consecrated to God from the beginning of the world, and refers to Gen. ii. 3, and he speaks of it also as designed as a memorial of the creation; but, at the same time, he maintains that it was neither observed nor commanded till after the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt; and in another place, (B. I. Ch. x.,) he supposes that Moses inserted the sentence, Gen. ii. 2, 3, from the fourth commandment into what appeared a suitable place for it. With this supposition, however, we have no concern whatever; it is perfectly gratuitous, and serves only to shew that there was a difficulty on his side of the question which he knew not how otherwise to obviate. But if such liberties are to be taken with the Scriptures, they become a mere nose of wax to be moulded into any form that may suit a particular purpose. We shall take the narrative of Moses as it stands, and from that it appears, that the fourth commandment was founded upon the original institution of the Sabbath immediately after the creation of man, and was intended, not to establish a new ordinance, but to enforce and perpetuate an old one. What meaning, moreover, can there be in consecrating the day to God from the beginning of the world, and appointing it as a memorial of the creation, if the obligation to observe it were not made known, or if it were not intended to be practically attended to from the beginning? Such a supposition is in the highest degree absurd and contradictory.

displayed in his works, and diffusing life and enjoyment through an infinite variety of channels to all the creatures of his intelligence and power. What, therefore, it may be asked, could be more rational or appropriate than the origin of the Sabbath, or what more salutary or beneficial than its tendency and design?

Again; it is to be observed, that the command enjoining the observance of the Sabbath was associated in the most solemn manner with others of a religious, moral and practical kind, all of which are admitted to be of universal obligation. It is one of the ten, of which Moses thus speaks to the people: "These words Jehovah spake unto all your assembly in the Mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, and he added no more; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone, and delivered them to me." Thus they were separated from the rest of the law by circumstances calculated to make the deepest impression on the mind, and afterward placed, by Divine command, in the ark, as a deposit the most sacred and inviolable. How comes it to pass, then, that one of these only is at present to be rejected? Nine of them at least are allowed to be independent of the Jewish or any other ritual, and why this should be thus classed in the most solemn manner with them, and held equally sacred, if it were not intended to be equally independent, and also of perpetual and universal obligation, it is difficult to imagine. Milton's assertion, that these commandments are evidently nothing more than a summary of the whole Mosaic law, as the fourth, in particular, is of the whole ceremonial, which, therefore, can contain nothing applicable to the gospel worship," is perfectly unfounded. The chief features of the Jewish law were circumcision, sacrifices, and the Levitical rites and ceremonies. Had these been briefly mentioned in the ten commandments, there might have been some reason for considering them as containing a summary of the whole law. But under what pretence the command to observe the Sabbath can be represented as a summary of the whole * of these extremely numerous, burdensome and expensive ceremonies, it is not easy to say. And upon this supposi

* Treatise, &c., B. II. Ch. vii.

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tion, as the Mosaic law is now abolished, so the ten com mandments being a summary of it, all of them are now alike deprived of this divine sanction. The conclusion appears to be inevitable, that the observance of the Sabbath is thus solemnly classed with duties of universal and indispensable obligation, in order to shew that this observance was intended to be also universal and perpetual.

The remaining notices of the Sabbath in the Hebrew Scriptures are indeed numerous, but as they are of less importance than the preceding, I shall pass them over as briefly as possible.

"Six

In Exod. xxiii. 12, the observance of the Sabbath is enforced from a motive that well deserves regard : days shalt thou do all thy work, and on the seventh day shalt thou rest; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thine handmaid, and the stranger may be refreshed." Those who are most disposed to think hardly of Jewish severity, and to quarrel with the Sabbath, will at least admire the humane and considerate purpose by which this institution is thus recommended.

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In Exod. xxxi. 12, &c., the injunction to observe the Sabbath is repeated with the greatest solemnity, and at considerable length: even the punishment of death is annexed to the smallest infringement of that holy rest with which it was then required to be kept sacred. The true reason for its original institution, and which, as insisted on before, is applicable to all mankind, is also given: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth." But I am aware that it will be objected that the Sabbath is mentioned here, and in other places, as a perpetual covenant, and a sign between Jehovah and the children of Israel for ever," and that, therefore, it was peculiar to them. The answer to this, however, is easy. All other nations were devoted to the abominable vices and follies of idolatry; but the Sabbath, being appointed as a memorial of the creation of the world, the Jews, by observing it, would shew their belief in the one living and true God, and their adherence to his service: this would be the test by which the true worshipers of God would be distinguished from idolaters; so that this language is in favour of the universal obligation to the observance of the Sabbath, rather than against it. It was inseparably annexed to the worship and service of the sole Creator of all things, and

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would be a sign, not to the Jews only, but to all others who lived in obedience to his commands, of their allegiance to him, and their submission to his will.

As this letter has already occupied too large a portion of your pages, I must defer my remarks on the remaining passages in the Old and New Testament on the Sabbath to a future opportunity.

THOS. MOORE.

Milton's Treatise of Christian Doctrine.

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SIR, Clapton, January 15, 1826. In your last. Volume, (p: 424,) I quoted Milton's satisfactory appeal to the recorded doctrine of Christ, who "has shewn in so many modes how he and the Father are one." Thus, " setting aside reason," and having course again to the language of scripture," we found him explaining John x. 20, (I and my Father are one,) that favourite text of the orthodox, and proving, from the conclusive testimony of scripture, that they are not essence, as it is commonly interpreted.'

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I now accompany Milton to the well-known passage on the heavenly witnesses, (1 John v. 7,) of which he says, that "according to the general opinion" it" affords the clearest foundation for the received doctrine of the essential unity of the three persons ;" and further (in Chap. VI.), that "it is on the authority of this text, almost exclusively, that the whole doctrine of the Trinity has been hastily adopted."

In assigning so much importance, in the judgment of the orthodox, to a passage which a great majority of learned modern Trinitarians have rejected as spurious, Milton was fully justified by what had passed in his own age and country. The Assembly of Divines were as ready to impose a religion, or at least the profession of it, on the people, under the authority of a Parliament who ought to have found other employment, as ever Laud had shewn himself, when sustained by the prerogative of an arbitrary nd misguided King. In 1648, the Assembly "presented o both Houses of Parliament," as the result of their learned theological labours, their "Confession of Faith, together with the larger and lesser Catechisms." These are now before me, as printed in 1658, and as still imposed for the only Christianity they are allowed to profess, on all

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