I think it would appear from these passages that Irenæus was not in the habit of regarding the Christian practice of hallowing the Lord’s day as the explicit fulfilment of the fourth commandment. He lived so near the apostolical times that he no doubt observed it in obedience to Christ’s institution, without considering whether it was contemplated by the original institution of a holy day or not. But in common with other Christian writers, he did not think that the fulfilment of the fourth commandment lay in devoting any particular portion of time to the service of God; but in serving him continually as much as possible; and therefore, as a matter of course, in observing those times of sacred repose and divine worship which either the institution of Christ, or the common custom of Christians, or the rules of the Church, might have appointed(474). According to such a feeling, therefore, whilst _no_ particular portion of time would be kept with Jewish superstition, as though it were an end of itself, whatever time was kept would be _so_ kept as to ensure the ends proposed by its observance. And, if we revert to what has been before observed as to Irenæus’s view of the law of liberty, we shall see that he would be so far from supposing that this Christian freedom authorized us to dispense with devoting one day in seven to God’s service, that he would feel that it ought to lead those who had it in their power to devote even a larger portion. And such in fact was the practice of the Christians of those times. They assembled together not only on the morning and evening of the Sunday, but also throughout the east on the morning and evening of Saturday, and on the morning of Wednesday and Friday. When, therefore, there was so much zeal for the service of God, and the commandment was kept so amply in its spirit without thinking of the letter of it,—the warm feeling of Christians making them a law to themselves,—there was nothing to lead them to inquire critically how much the commandment actually required of them; and to have instituted such an inquiry would have appeared like putting a restriction upon the ardour of Christian love, and returning to the spirit of the Law of Moses. The true question, then, to ask is, _not_ why the first Christians did not put the Lord’s day upon the footing of the paradisiacal sabbath, _but_ why we are _called upon_ to do so in these latter days? And the true answer will be found in the fact that the great body of us have abused the law of liberty, as the Israelites of old had done, and therefore, like them, have need, in the providential dealings of God, to be put back under rules and restrictions again, until we are become fitted to act as _children_ of God: and when we are so, we have no wish to shake off such restrictions, but of our own accord go beyond them.