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<DATE>2008-08-04</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080716.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A78109">
<STC T="W">B64</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">45789144</BIBNO>
<VID>172457</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="notice">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 14 -->
<HEAD>To all that ob&s;erve Dayes.</HEAD>
<P>THe Lord is a witne&s;&s;e again&s;t all your Idolatry who are following Idols, and ob&s;erving dayes, and times, and &s;ea&s;ons, which is idolatry. Oh <HI>London!</HI> what, art thou falling back into Popi&s;h Idolatry again? which &s;ometime there hath been a &s;pirit in thee which hath denyed? What, have you lo&s;t your zeal for the Lord? and is your zeal quite dead which once was in you again&s;t the practices of the whore of <HI>Rome?</HI> Alas, what do you meane, in your ob&s;erving the Popi&s;h Ma&s;s-dayes, in ob&s;erving <HI>Chri&s;tmas,</HI> as you call it. I had thought that &s;pirit had been bani&s;hed; And I looked e're this, that ob&s;erving of dayes would have been quite extingui&s;hed; and I hoped that your mindes and hearts would have en|clined to better things, and would wholly have forgotten and left off all your &s;uper&s;titious practices, which had any foundation or &s;avour of the Popi&s;h Church. But alas, I &s;ee your zeal for God is grown dead, and the &s;pirit of Idolatry cleaves fa&s;t unto you; even &s;o fa&s;t is it &s;eated in your hearts, that an Act of Parliament, or any outward teaching or profe&s;&s;ion can &s;eparate you from Idolatry; and I perceive there is nothing till the ju&s;t judgement of God fall among you, becau&s;e of your &s;ins that can worke out of your hearts, the &s;pirit that runs after Idols. You &s;eem to be joyned to Idols, as if an Idol were your God; is not this idola|try? As if you kept dayes wholly to the Lord, you keep your Shops &s;hut, and you forbear all manner of worke, and you put on your fine apparell; and yet you go into vanity, into pride and wantonne&s;&s;e, and commits great wicked|ne&s;&s;e in the &s;ight of God, in plea&s;ures, in &s;ports, and lu&s;ts, and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and idlene&s;&s;e, and all this is idolatry. And thus you keep your holy-dayes, as you call them, &s;pending your time in vanity, both Ma&s;ters and &s;ervants, Pa|rents and children; And ye &s;ay ye will keep <HI>Chri&s;tmas,</HI> and ye are greatly offen|ded at them that will not, and cries again&s;t them, and &s;coffes at their godline&s;s; and thus are you glewed to the old cu&s;tomes of the Romi&s;h Church, that whore, from whence you have learned the&s;e things; for &s;he was the fir&s;t that ever in&s;ti|tuted and practiced the&s;e cur&s;ed abominations; and her practices which &s;he was the author of, are you zealou&s;ly performing even in <HI>London,</HI> the place of great Reformation as you profe&s;&s;e: And thus are you doing, that call your &s;elves the Reformed Churches, and that &s;eems in words to deny her; yet are you treading in her &s;teps of idolatry. What, ob&s;erving <HI>Chri&s;tmas</HI> in <HI>London</HI> yet? What, ye of the Reformed Churches? What, ye that have &s;eemed &s;ome years &s;ince to turne away from the&s;e things, are ye even again ob&s;erving the&s;e things? Oh! hypocri&s;ie and deceit fills your hearts. Oh yee hypocrites! that cries again&s;t the Romi&s;h Church, and yet are ob&s;erving of her practices, in fea&s;ting and ryoting and ry|otou&s;ne&s;s, in drinking and wantonne&s;&s;e, in idlene&s;s and &s;ports, and this ye call keeping the holy-dayes. Oh wretched idolatry! The Lords judgements will come upon the&s;e things, the Lord is a witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you. What, is all your profe&s;&s;ion come to this? Have not &s;ome of you cryed again&s;t the Pope and his in|ventions the&s;e many years? and are you &s;itten down in the practice of his inven|tions? It &s;eems you are but reformed in words, and onely hath denyed the Pope in words, but are beholding to him for an invention, that ye may keep Holy|days as ye &s;ay, which ye keep unholy; and manifold abominations in tho&s;e days do abound to your &s;hame. Therefore repent ye Idolaters, the time is at hand when the Lord will overturn, and overthrow all your idolatrous wayes, and practices. As for the <HI>Quakers,</HI> they feare God, and they dare not joyne with you in the&s;e abominations; and therefore you de&s;pi&s;e them, and &s;ay in your hearts, who &s;hall controul you; for the&s;e things will ye do, and none &s;hall prevent you. And thus is the Popi&s;h &s;pirit of Idolatry &s;hewed forth in thee, oh <HI>London,</HI> and thy reformed peeople are guilty of Popi&s;h &s;uper&s;titions and vain idolatries, till the judgements of the Lord enter upon you, and &s;mite you, you will not regard nor return.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>F. B.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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