upon as Part of the Duty of keeping holy the fabbath day.

stata.

600

There were likewife peculiar Offerings Numb. appropriated to this Day; and, at the xxviii. 9. fame Time, the Shew-Bread was to be chang'd for new; Aaron is commanded to provide it, and fet it in order before the xxiv. 8. Lox D, every fabbath-day continually. The Celebration of the Sabbath was to begin the Evening before; and continue to the

Lev.

V

Lev.

Xxiii. 32. Evening of the Sabbath-day. From even unto even fhall ye celebrate your fabbath.

SECT. IX.

The Feast of the PASSOVER.

Another great Festival among among them was the Feast of the Palover, and unleavened Bread. Which, tho' two diftinct Feasts, and inftituted in Commemoration of two different Tranfactions, yet because they happen'd at one and the fame Time, and related to one and the fame fignal Deliverance, (their being brought out of the Land of Egypt, from the House of Bondage, by the extraordinary Affiftance of

ཁམྨཾ།

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God)

-LAW

God) therefore were to be obferv'd * upon the fame Day of the Month, for ever. That of the Passover, in Remembrance Exod. xii.3.&c. of God's paffing over their Houses when he flew the First-born of the Egyptians; That of unleavened Bread, to fix and con- Exod. 39. tinue fuch Remembrance; by bringing to their Minds the great diftrefs and hurry they were in, at that Time, when they could not fo much as ftay to put Leaven in their Bread. Both typically predictive of Chrift our Paflover; who, becoming a Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World, will fave all thofe who, putting away the Cor. leaven of malice and wickedness, conform v. 7. themselves to his Inftitution, with the unleavened bread of fincerity and truth.

I

xvi. 5.

Again, Thou mayft not facrifice the Paf Deut. fover within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee; but at the

&c.

It was cuftomary to fpeak of them, as all one Feaft. Therefore St. Luke mentions them as one, The Feaft of unleavened Bread, which is call'd the Paffover. And, The Day of unleavened Bread when the Paffover muft be kill'd, Luke xxii. 1.7. and St. Matth. quite blends them together, by calling the Eve of the Paffover, the firft Day of unleavened Bread. Matth. 16. 17. and fo it Exod. 12. 18.

t was.

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place

Lov.

xxiii. 5. &e.

place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in. Therefore it was celebrated at first in Shiloh; and afterwards at Jerufalem. It was to be kept upon the fifteenth Day of the first Month, (March) to last seven Days, and (as all their Feafts were) to begin, the Evening before. In the fourteenth day of the first month, at even, is the LORD's paffover. And on the fifteenth day of the fame month, is the feaft of unleavened bread unto the LORD; Seven days fhall ye eat unleavened bread.

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Yet the Jews, in after times, made void, or difpens'd with, this Law by their Traditions, fo fir as, * by an Order of Council, to forbid its being kept upon either Monday, Wednesday or Friday, if it should happen to fall upon any of those Days; and to appoint the Observation of it, upon the Day following. At the time of our LORD'S Paffion therefore, tho' it fell upon the Friday, and he, who came to fulfil the Law, kept it accordingly, by eating the Pafchal Supper with his Difciples on Thursday Night; yet we find the

7

'

*Seder Olam.

Jews

Jews did not propose keeping it till Saturday. And, according to their Account, "Friday being the Eve or Preparation of it, they would not go into the judgment hall, Joh. left they should be defiled; fo Pilate was ob- xviii. 28. lig'd to go out to them, to know what they accused our LORD of. And, just before Pilates configns him over to Death, we are told, It was the preparation of the paf- Joh. fover, and about the fixth hour, or twelve o' xix. 14. clock at noon. The Jews therefore, (after Joh. he had hung above three Hours upon the xix. 31. Crofs, with the two Malefactors who were crucified with him) because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not ret main upon the cross on the fabbath-day (for that fabbath was an high day) befought Pilate, that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. It was an high day, because it was both the Sabbath and the Feast of the Passover.

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Thus therefore the other Evangelifts may be easily reconciled with St. John. They mention our LORD's eating the Paffover on Thursday, as the first day of it; which it really was according to the Inftitution of Mofes, which our LORD ob

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ferv'd;

1

ferv'd; He mentions Friday, as only the Preparation or Eve of the Paffover; which, according to the Jewish Act of Council, it was. So that, tho' they feemingly differ, yet in Reality, they harmoniously agree; and, accordingly, when they come to mention the Day of the Refurrection (which was to be, for ever after, the Sabbath of Chriftians) to prevent all Poffibility of mistaking about the Obfervance of it, They all declare, that it was very early upon the first Day of the Week; just as the Sabbath was ended *.

And that this Day was thereafter accordingly obferv'd as the great Day of Ceffation from fervile Work and Devotion to the Service of God and Works of Charity, we learn from the Ufage of the Christians in the Apoftolic Age; when, Acts xx. upon the first day of the week, the difciples came together to break bread, and Paul

7.

* Matt. xxviii. 1. As it began to dawn towards the first day of the week. Mark xvi. When the fabbath was past, very early in the morning, the first day of the week. Luke xxiv. 1. Upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning. firft day of the week, when it was dark.

John xx. 1 The

preach'd