| | Jonathan EdwardsI have the great privelege of being a beta tester for Yale University's beta testing of their online archives for the works of Jonathan Edwards. This massive project seeks to make all of Edwards' known works accessable for reading as well as viewing in their original documents. Beta testers have the privelege of browsing those works which have been posted online and finding any bugs or typos and also providing any helpful suggestions for making the site better. The Edwards Center at Yale can be found here: http://edwards.yale.edu.
In perusing Edwards' miscellanies this afternoon, I came across this interesting statment regarding the Christian "Sabbath". I thought it quite insightful. Here it is:
1320. LORD’S DAY. That saying of our Savior to his disciples, “But pray
ye that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day”
(Matthew 24:20), is a very great evidence of the Christian sabbath. For
'tis quite incredible that Christ here meant that they should pray that
they might not be hindered from the usual observation of the Jewish
sabbath at that very time when he would utterly put an end to the
Jewish dispensation, and entirely abolish all remains of it in so
remarkable and extraordinary a manner, and should so greatly testify
his displeasure to the Jews for their adhering so strongly to it and
making so much of it. Not only was the destruction of Jerusalem a
dispensation by which God put a final end to that dispensation, but
such were the particular circumstances of that awful judgment as to
show remarkably that God poured contempt upon the festivals of that
dispensation, and its weekly sabbaths in particular (see “Miscellanies”
B. 5, No. 972, p. 13).
1
Now is it credible that Christ should direct Christians as to have so
great a regard to the Jewish sabbath at that very time which was
appointed for the entire abolishing of it and the pouring of contempt
of it? And is it credible that he should give such a direction-with
such circumstances as would tend to lead Christians to suppose that
Christ had so great a regard to the strict observation of the Jewish
sabbath at that time as particularly to direct 'em so long beforehand
to pray that they might not be interrupted in their observation of
it-when that was the very time appointed for his utterly abolishing of
it, and for an extraordinary, most visible and public testimony of his
utter disregard of it?
But 'tis evident it was the will of Christ that there should be some
sabbath that it was his will his church should have the most sacred
regard to, even at that time of his abolishing and most visibly
disregarding the Jewish sabbath. And what sabbath can this be but the
Christian sabbath?
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| | Posted 3/29/2006 11:37 PM - 4 comments
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