Other grounds of this question I might produce, but at present I will stop here, and conclude, That if a seventh day sabbath was an essential necessary to the instituted worship of God, then itself also as to its sanction for that work, was not founded but by a positive precept; consequently not known of man at first, but by revelation of God.
QUESTION II.
Whether the seventh day sabbath, as to man's keeping of it holy, was ever made known to, or imposed by, a positive precept upon him until the time of Moses? which from Adam was about two thousand years.
Something must also be here premised, in order to my propounding of my grounds for this question; and that is, That the seventh day was sanctified so soon as it had being in the world, unto the rest of God, as it is Genesis 2:2, 3 and he did rest, from all his works which he had made therein. But the question is, Whether when God did thus sanctify this day to his own rest, he did also by the space of time above-mentioned, impose it as an holy sabbath of rest upon men; to the end they might solemnize worship to him in special manner thereon? And I question this,
First, Because we read not that it was. And reading, I mean, of the divine testimony, is ordained of God, for us to find out the mind of God, both as to faith and our performance of acceptable service to him.
In reading also, we are to have regard to two things.
I. To see if we can find a precept: or,
II. A countenanced practice for what we do. For both these ways we are to search, that we may find out what is that good, that acceptable will of God.
For the first of these we have Genesis 2:16, 17 and for the second,
Genesis 8:20, 21 [as to public worship but not on a stated day].
Now as to the imposing of a seventh day sabbath upon men from Adam to Moses, of that we find nothing in holy writ either from precept or example. True, we find that solemn worship was performed by the saints that then lived: for both Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, sacrificed unto God (Gen 4:4, 8:20,21, 12:7, 13:4, 35:1), but we read not that the seventh day was the time prefixed of God for their so worshipping, or that they took any notice of it. Some say, that Adam in eating the forbidden fruit, brake also the seventh day sabbath, because he fell on that day;[8] but we read not that the breach of a sabbath was charged upon him. That which we read is this; 'Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?' (Gen 3:11). Some say also that Cain killed Abel on a sabbath day;[9] but we read not that, in his charge, God laid any such thing at his door. This was it of which he stood guilty before God; namely, That his brother's blood cried unto God against him from the ground (Gen 4:10).