tion of scripture. "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." The conduct of the Jews was just as hateful and wicked, as it would have been, if God had never formed any purpose respecting the crucifixion of the Divine Redeemer. And sinners are altogether criminal and odious in the sight of God, as much so as if he had never formed any decree respecting their conduct. For we have seen, that the decrees of God afford them not the least excuse for the least transgression. If, then, the decrees of God afford sinners no excuse for their transgressions, but they are altogether criminal in his sight; it is perfectly just and reasonable for God to punish them according to his decrees and according to their deserts. will not be able to find a single advocate in heaven, earth or hell.— God will then vindicate the per- 3 fections of his character, and his eternal determinations, to the eternal joy of all holy beings, and the eternal confusion of all his enemies. It will then appear to every intelligent being, that sinners have hated God without a cause, and never had the least reasonable excuse for their sinful conduct.It will then fully appear, that they have ever acted voluntarily in all their transgressions; that they have gone in defiance of the authority of God, against all his commands; and that their blood must ever lie upon their own guilty heads. They can never plead that the divine purposes laid them under any compulsion to do wrong; this is false. They can never plead, that the divine agency compelled them to do wrong; this is a refuge of lies.Finally. Since the decrees of They can never plead, that they God afford no excuse for the wick- were unable to do differently from ed conduct of mankind, sinners what they have done; common must eventually be stript of every sense and the consciousness of evplea, which they can possibly urge ery individual prove this to be conagainst either the divine purposes, trary to plain fact. Who then or the divine government, in vin- will rise up in the day of judgdication of their own characters. ment, in the face of Omnipotence, The light of our subject obviates and say, We were delivered, that every objection, which can possi-is, compelled to do all these abombly be urged against either election, or reprobation, or divine agency; or against any of the divine perfections, counsels or works. Sinners, then, must finally be divested of every possible excuse. When they come to stand at the judgment seat of Christ, their mouths must be shut. In vain will they look for a subterfuge, in vain will they seek a hiding place. The hail shall sweep away their refuges of lies, and the waters shall overflow their places of retreat.' They 6 inations? Ah! sinner, be assured, that God will plead with you, when he pleads with all flesh, and will surely bring you in guilty. Your tongue must faulter in your own defence; and the great JUDGE of quick and dead will say, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant." PHILO-HOPKINSIAN. The above piece has been delayed by the indisposition of the writer.-EDITOR. FOR THE HOPKINSIAN MAGAZINE. ON THE SABBATH. MR. EDITOR, Though it is of high importance that the Sabbath should be duly sanctified, it is awfully profaned. And doubtless the difference of opinion and practice among professing Christians as to the time, when the Sabbath begins, has no little influence in weakening, in the minds of people, a reverence for that sacred day. They observe professors conversing about the world, and attending to their secular concerns on both Saturday and Sabbath evening. Those of different practices will interrupt each other in their devotions, lead one another into worldly conversation, and insensibly lessen their respect for the holy Sabbath. I recently heard a complaint against a Minister, who observes Saturday evening, that he would go, on Sabbath evening, into the houses of his parishioners, who keep that evening as holy time, and introduce conversation on secular business. How desirable, then, that Christians should be agreed on this important point.And as discussion is calculated to cast light upon subjects, and afford means of forming a correct opinion, I will offer a few remarks upon the arguments usually adduced in favour of keeping Saturday evening as belonging to the Sabbath, and as holy time: and then consider what proof the scripture furnishes in favour of keeping Sabbath evening as holy time. But here I would premise that in determining which evening belongs to the Christian Sabbath, we ought to look particularly to the New Testament, and to the practice of the apostles. The first argument in favour of Saturday evening is drawn from Gen. i. 5, &c. "The evening and morning were the first day." As the evening is mentioned first, it is inferred that the day began with the evening preceding, and included that night; though in this same verse the day is mentioned before the night. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night." And therefore, according to this mode of reasoning, we might infer that the day began in the morning, and included the following night. The evening and morning here include twenty-four hours; consequently, if the evening began at the time, when the sun set, it must have extended to sun-rise, and the morning from sun-rise to sun-set. But it is contrary to scripture and universal practice, to call the time from midnight to sun-rise evening, and from noon to sun-set morning. The time before sun-rise is often called morning: See Gen. xix. 5-23, Exodus xiv. 24, Ruth iii. 14, I. Sam. xxv. 22-34, Psalm cxix. 147, Daniel But if the vi. 19, Mark. i. 35. evening begins the day, and extends to sun-rise, then the time before sun-rise is not morning, but evening. As the evening follows the day, and as there was uninterrupted darkness till the light, was called, there could be no evening before there was a day, and the evening succeeding the day properly belongs to the day. Accordingly the scripture, no where that I can find, when the evening belonging to the day is designated, ever reckons the evening preceding as belonging to the day. And yet according to this mode of reckoning the day, as beginning at sunset, the evening preceding must always belong to the day, which follows it. And thus what is universally called Sabbath evening belongs to Monday, and is properly Monday evening. And how as tonishing, if the evening preced-into a state of salvation, before ing belongs to the day, and this was the manner of reckoning established by God in the beginning, it is never followed in his word, but the evening succeeding the day is called the evening of that day. Thus the evening, on which the passover was to be killed and eaten, which succeeded the 14th day of the month, is called the evening of the 14th day, Lev. xxiii. 5. The passover was to be killed at the going down of the sun, Deut. xvi. 6, and to be eaten in the evening or night, Exo. xii. 6, 8. The children of Israel were to keep up the paschal lamb from the 10th to the 14th day, and then kill it and eat it in the evening following that day, which is called the evening of the 14th day; whereas if the evening preceding the day belongs to the day, it was the evening of the 15th day. See Num. ix. 5-11, Ruth ii. 17-19, I. Sam. xx. 5, xxx. 17. If in Gen. i. 5, it had been said, The morning and the evening were the first day, I presume no one would ever have thought of beginning the day at sun-rise, and extending the morning to sun-set, and then extending the evening from sun-set to sun-rise. But, they would have considered the day as beginning at midnight, and the morning as extending from midnight to noon, and the evening as extending from noon to midnight, as we all, whatever we all, whatever evening we keep, reckon. All call the time from midnight to noon morning, and from noon to midnight evening. And why should so much stress be laid upon the mentioning of the evening first, when the order of time is so often inverted in scripture? In II. Tim. i. 9, Paul mentions salvation before calling. "Who hath saved us and called us," &c. But no one, I presume, would hence infer that sinners are saved, or brought they are called or regenerated. 2. Lev. xxiii. 32, "From even to even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath," is adduced to prove that the weekly Sabbath begins at sunset, though it has no reference to the weekly Sabbath, but to the great day of atonement. In this chapter several solemn feasts are enjoined, which are called Sabbaths. It is not said, "From even to even shall ye celebrate your Sabbaths," but Sabbath, evidently referring only to the day of atonement, of which Moses was then speaking. In the third verse the weekly Sabbath is enjoined, and nothing is said about the time of its beginning. The tenth day was to be celebrated as the day of atonement, verse 27, the evening preceding which belonged to the 10th day, according to the argument, which I am now considering. But in this 52d verse, it is called the evening of the 9th day. As the day of atonement was a peculiarly solemn day, in which the people were to afflict their souls," it is probable that both evenings were observed, which is the opinion of some commentators, who say it was kept from sun-set of the 9th day to midnight of the 10th day. 3. It is urged that the Jews brought their sick to Christ to be healed, in the evening after the Sabbath, because they considered it unlawful to heal on the Sabbath, and brought them there because the Sabbath ended at sunset. See Matt. viii. 14-16, Mark i. 21— 34. But there is no intimation that they viewed it unlawful to heal on the Sabhath, but the contrary, and no intimation that that was the reason of their bringing the sick to Christ in the evening. They knew that he healed on the Sabbath, for he had healed two that day; one in the synagogue, and Peter's wife's mother in the house. And when he went out of the synagogue into Peter's house, where she lay sick, "anon they tell him of her, and besought him for her," that he should heal her. But did they beseech him to do what they considered unlawful, and a breach of the Sabbath? There was no one who made any objection, or complaint against Christ for healing either of these on the Sabbath. On the contrary, "his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Gallilee," in consequence. But would they have spread abroad his fame for doing what was in their view a breach of the Sabbath? It is true that the Scribes and Pharisees, knowing that by his miracles, Christ was gaining credit and influence, not from conscientious scruples, but from hatred and "the hardness of their hearts," Mark iii. 5, condemned him for healing on the Sabbath. But it is equally true, that when he told them that each one of them would on the Sabbath "loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering," "all his adversaries were ashamed." They did not even attempt to prove that it was unlawful to heal on the Sabbath. "And all the people rejoiced." None of them thought he had done wrong, or broken the Sabbath. And yet on another occasion, when he had healed two on the Sabbath, and no one made any objection, it is supposed the people were afraid to bring their sick to Christ to be healed on the Sabbath, and waited till sun-set, because the Sabbath was then ended! But even admitting that they deferred bringing them in the day time, because they considered it inconsistent with the holy rest of the Sabbath, it would not prove that the Sabbath ended at sun-set. For in Christian countries, many observe the day with much more strictness than the evening. And how could we be certain, that it was not the case with the Jews? But they might not have time, after the synagogue service, and Christ's fame reached them, to bring their sick before evening. Or, which is more probable, as it is said that in that hot country the air in the evening is more wholesome than in the heat of the day, they might bring them in the evening out of regard to their comfort. 4. It is said that it has been the practice of the Jews to regard the evening preceding, as belonging to the Sabbath. I know of no record respecting their practice,written before their rejection of Christ, except what is in the bible, which we ought principally to regard, in deciding the question. After they had crucified the Lord of glory, their enmity to Christians might lead them to observe a different evening, as well as a different day from the Christians, as the Sabbath. And after all their dispersions and changes, it is hardly worth while for us Christians, who have the whole scriptures of the Old and New Testament in our hands, to go to them to learn gospel institutions. I now proceed to examine the evidence in favour of regarding the evening after the Sabbath as holy time. My first argument I shall adduce from Neh. xiii. 16-19. At that time the men of Tyre brought fish and all manner of ware, and sold in Jerusalem on the Sabbath." To prevent this profanation of the Sabbath, "when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, Nehemiah commanded that the gates should be shut." It could not begin to be dark before sun-set; and therefore the gates were not shut before sun-set; and consequently were not shut before the Sabbath, if the Sabbath begun at sun-set., And yet it is expressly said that they were shut before the Sabbath. And is it not evident, that such a zealous reformer as Nehemiah would command the work of shutting the gates to be done before the Sabbath, and not after the Sabbath began, as must have been the case, if the Sabbath began at sunset? If it be enquired why the gates were shut at dark, if the Sabbath were not begun till midnight, I answer, if the Tyrians had been permitted to enter after dark, they could not have sold their wares that night, and would have lodged in the city, and sold them on the Sabbath; consequently the evil which Nehemiah designed to remedy would still exist." 2. In Matt. xxvi. 17 and Mark xiv. 12, speaking of Christ's sending two of his disciples to prepare the passover, the evangelists call the fourteenth day of the month the first day of unleavened bread, which it could not be, if it ended at sun.set. The passover was to be eaten in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. And no leavened bread was to be eaten afterwards for seven days. Ex. xii. 28. The fifteenth day was therefore properly the first day of unleavened bread. But as leaven was put away, and they began to eat unleavened bread after, or with, the passover; that evening, if the fifteenth day did not begin at sun-set, was a part of the fourteenth day. Hence the fourteenth day might be called the first day of unleavened bread. But if the fourteenth day, which was the day on which the passover was killed, ended at sun-set, it could not, with any propriety, be called the first day of unleavened bread, because leaven was not put away till it ended, and unleavened bread was not eaten till the beginning of the fifteenth day. And yet Matthew and Mark both call the fourteenth day the first day of unleavened bread. 3. The circumstances attending the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Christ, afford strong, and I conceive decisive evidence, that the Sabbath did not begin at sun-set. It was three o'clock in the afternoon when Christ cried the first time, and expired some time, though probably not long, after. And when "the even was come, Joseph of Arimathea came to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus." The even here could not be the first evening, which began at noon, but the second evening, which began at sunset. For 1. Jesus had been palai, a long time dead. Mark xv. 46. That this is the meaning of palai, see Matt. xi. 21, Luke x. 13, II. Pet. ii. 3. 2. The expression, "When even was come," in other places means at or after sun-set. Matt. viii. 16, compared with Mark i. 36, Matt. xx. 8, 9, 11; Matt. xxvi. 20, compared with Deut. xvi. 6; John vi. 16, 17. 3. The evening generally means at, or after, sun-set. Josh. x. 26, 27, II. Chron. xviii. 34, Ezek. xii. 7, Ps. civ. 23. 4. If the expression," When the even was come, "does not mean the second evening, or sun-set, I am confident, no one can tell what it does mean, or what time had come. It is therefore manifest, that it was sun-set, when Joseph" took the body of Jesus." And then he and Nicodemus, having "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds weight," embalmed the body, "as the manner of the Jews was to bury." John xix. 39, 40: which must have taken till some time in the evening. And as it was full moon, it was sufficiently light to do all that they did without inconvenience. And af |