The True Doctrine of the Sabbath

by Nicholas Bownd, Christopher Coldwell (editor)

No book had more influence in confirming a Sabbatarian “heart” to Puritanism than that of Nicholas Bownd (d.1613). The Doctrine of the Sabbath was the first scholarly treatment defending the concept of the Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day, later embodied in the Westminster Standards. Not reprinted since 1606, this influential work is presented afresh in a new critical edition.

For most of his ministry, Nicholas Bownd (1551?–1613) was the pastor of a country church in rural England. Judging from the sermons he published, his ministry exhibited the practical divinity taught by his stepfather, Richard Greenham, which focused on the means of grace. The crucial ‘mean of the means’ whereby all these means of grace were made available to the people of God was the weekly gatherings on the Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day. In 1595, Bownd published True Doctrine of the Sabbath, which derived from sermons preached about 1586. This book embroiled him in a singular controversy with a troublesome neighbor, which resulted in the first Sabbatarian controversy in England, and also led to a vindicating expanded edition in 1606. For the last two years of his life he ministered at St. Andrew in Norwich, the highest call a man of his puritan convictions could have attained in those days.

Genres: Theology

482 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Daniel Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me to understand the teaching of the Westminster Standards, the Savoy Declaration and the 1689 London Baptist Confession on the Sabbath day, which has taught me to observe and guard this holy day with great delight in the Lord.

It is lamentable that this has been neglected and wrongfully denied in our day, which has only proved detrimental to the spiritual state of the church today.

May Christians return to this right and biblical practice, that they may learn to find great delight in the Lord by it.

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
- Isaiah 58:13‭-‬14

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look at whether the Sabbath is continuing for Christians and, answering in the affirmative, how to observe it. This was one of the first treatments of the Sabbath in the English language and I don't doubt that it remains one of the best. Bownds is very readable, thorough, and practical and I learned something in nearly every section. He found some excellent sources in Augustin, Calvin, Beza, Zanchius, and some of the early church fathers, so he did wonderfully with what he had. That said, some of the later Puritan works have some more mature thoughts on the subject, but may not have the simplicity and originality of this volume. Definitely worth a read.

[Ryan Londeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough treatment of the doctrine of the Christian Sabbath. The front end dealt with defense of the doctrine with many of the objections that he answered being relevant today. The 2nd half of the book moved into application. The end of the book, where he deals with application in his early 17th century English context, was hard to get through since it is only marginally relevant to a 21st century context.

Some issues that I had: he often cites Augustine, but the source he uses has been determined to have been misattributed to Augustine (as the intro of the book explains). He makes hearsay claims that diminish the weight of his arguments (e.g. a river that recedes every 7th day, specific instances of people being stricken for violating the sabbath, etc).

[Gabriel Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Puritan work on the Christian Sabbath!!! This book influenced the Westminster divines on their view of the Sabbath. This volume is two books, book one really handles the doctrine of the Sabbath, and book two tackles the application and proper conduct on the Sabbath. I heartily recommend this work!