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<DATE>2011-06-20</DATE>
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<NAME>Susie Lorand</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>CHRIST-MAS DAY,</P>
<LG>
<L>The old Heathens fea&s;ting Day, in honour to <HI>Sa|turn</HI> their Idol-God.</L>
<L>The Papi&s;ts Ma&s;&s;ing Day.</L>
<L>The Prophane mans Ranting Day.</L>
<L>The Super&s;titious mans Idol Day.</L>
<L>The Multitudes Idle Day.</L>
<L>Whereon, becau&s;e they cannot do <HI>Nothing: They</HI> do wor&s;e then <HI>Nothing.</HI></L>
<L>Satans, That Adver&s;aries Working-Day.</L>
<L>The true Chri&s;tian Mans Fa&s;ting-Day.</L>
</LG>
<P>Taking to Heart, the Heatheni&s;h Cu&s;tomes, Popi&s;h Super&s;titions, Rant|ing Fa&s;hions, Fearful Provocations, Horrible Abhominations committed again&s;t the Lord, and His Chri&s;t, on that Day, and Days following.</P>
<Q><BIBL>Ezek. 11. 12.</BIBL> <HI>Ye have done after the manner of the Heathen.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Jer. 7. 31.</BIBL> <HI>Which I commanded not, neither came it into my heart.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Gal. 4. 10. 11.</BIBL> <HI>Ye ob&s;erve days, I am afraid of you, le&s;t I have be&s;towed upon you labour in vain.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Ho&s;. 2. 17. compared with Exod. 23. 13. Deut. 12. 3.</BIBL><HI>I will take away the Names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they &s;hall no more be remembred by their name.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Henry Cripps,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop, in Popes-Head-Alley, neer <HI>Lumbard</HI> Street, 1656.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>_WE mu&s;t give out rea&s;on, though haply you may gue&s;&s;e at it, why we put the third Section fir&s;t. Plea&s;e you to con&s;ult the Epi|&s;tle to the Reverend Mini&s;ters, there you will find an account of our bu&s;ine&s;s, and Method of our proce&s;&s;e therein; and that this of Chri&s;tma&s;s, for we mu&s;t &s;peak that we may be under&s;tood, is the third part of enjoyned task. But con&s;idering that Day is now approaching, whereon the God of this world (as a world of men have made him, and do now as God honour him) will be together with the Belly another
<PB REF="3"> God (of the &s;ame make) mo&s;t &s;tudiou&s;ly &s;er|ved with a &s;ervice well becomming &s;uch Gods, Riotting and Drunkenne&s;s, Cham|bering and Wantonne&s;s: con&s;idering this time, as we &s;aid, together with thy good now and hereafter, we have offered this to thee fir&s;t, lea&s;t you &s;hould run with the mul|titude that keep Holy-day into all exce&s;s of riot, whereunto you will feel your &s;elfe dri|ven by a cunning Satan within, and another without, if a glorious Arm interpo&s;e not: For &s;o it mu&s;t needs be, where two Gods are &s;erved, The onely True One is bla&s;pheamed and abhorred. Con&s;idering, we &s;ay, all this we have done as you &s;ee, de&s;iring heartily, it may be a word well Timed, &s;poken in &s;ea|&s;on, and &s;et as upon the Wheel, Prov. 15. 23. 25. 11. 12. It is not proper for us now to Charge or to Coun&s;el, But wo to that man that will not hear the Charge of the Lord, and Coun&s;el from his mouth, for &s;o &s;aith the Lord. Therfore indeed of that wo let us pray That we may hear this charged upon us, by truely learned and Godly Mini&s;ters as deeply as Paul chargeth Timothy upon another ac|count 1. 5. 2. 11. <Q REND="margDblQuotes">we charge you before God,
<PB REF="3"> and the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &amp; the Elect An|gels,</Q> That ye enquire into the mind of Chri&s;t, in reference to the ob&s;ervation of tho&s;e dayes, we very ignorantly, and then as boldly, if not pre&s;umptiou&s;ly, call the Day of his Nativity and Circumci&s;ion-No more.</P>
<P>Then &s;econdly, that we hearken what God &s;aith by the &s;aid Me&s;&s;engers of the Churches and glory of Chri&s;t, and as dear chil|dren be followers of them, as they follow Chri&s;t, and tho&s;e truely called Chri&s;tians, who thorow faith and patience inherit the promi&s;es. And for other guides follow them, as they lead to Chri&s;t, and be com|manded by them, as they command for him: For there is One and but One, a Lea|der &amp; Commander for his people, I&s;a. 55. 4. He that rules over men &s;hould be ju&s;t, and command in the Lord; But be that at his pe|ril. Look we well to this, that we obey in the Lord. The greate&s;t Rulers in the world then much more our petty Rulers in our Towns (we will go no higher, that we may not out compa&s;s our knowledge) O how cro&s;&s;e and contrary they are, and as they are they run, &s;ome of them clean cro&s;&s;e to that
<PB REF="4"> Onely Leader and Commander, <Q REND="margSglQuotes">&s;tretching out the hand again&s;t God, and &s;trengthning them&s;elves again&s;t the Almighty, they run upon him. Some, yea too many of them, e|ven on his neck, upon the thick Bo&s;&s;es of his bucklers.</Q> So Job de&s;cribes a wicked man in his natural cour&s;e, ch. 15. 25. 26. Even &s;o our Rulers in &s;ome of our Towns do, what they do in Cities we enquire not. But we were &s;aying, the greate&s;t Rulers in the World are but Rules ruled. Je&s;us Chri&s;t alone is the Rule Ruling, <Q REND="margSglQuotes">Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions: for my Name is in him,</Q> &s;aith the Lord, Exod. 23. 21. If you &s;hall ob&s;erve this with all ob&s;ervation, you &s;hall do well.</P>
<TRAILER>Farewel.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>SECT. III.</HEAD>
<P>The Third Query is, whether the Day, commonly called <HI>Chri&s;tmas-Day,</HI> is to be kept holy? The Negative, That it is not to be kept holy, is under our Maintenance.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<P>WE would promi&s;e &s;ome things here al&s;o very brief|ly. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> Fir&s;t, to the Reader in common, then to the Reverend Mini&s;ter in &s;pecial that enjoyned this Task.</P>
<P>To the Reader, That he may be cleared in the progre&s;s of our enjoyned and undertaken &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">k, which was: To hold this forth from &s;acred Scripture, That, &s;upp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ing (for we may &s;up|po&s;e that of which we make no que&s;tion) <HI>Chri&s;tmas-Day is not to be kept holy:</HI> A godly Mini&s;ter ought to teach his people &s;o, and trouble them ab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ut it, and heat them off from that ob|&s;ervation whereunto they will feel them&s;elves <HI>driven</HI> by a cur&s;|ed thing within them. Indeed we hold to this, That he ought and mu&s;t <HI>drive</HI> his p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ople as he can from the ob&s;ervation of tho&s;e Times, which have not the impre&s;&s;ion and &s;tamp of God upon them. But this we &s;hall n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">t meddle with here, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e|ferring it to its proper place, the <HI>fift Section.</HI> This onely, as we &s;aid, falls under our maintenance here, <HI>[That</HI> the <HI>Day</HI> is not to be kept holy;] And if we are able to make good this Negitive, then you may think we have <HI>cau&s;am facilem,</HI> no hard task in our hand, to cleer this from Scripture, That a godly Mini&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">r mu&s;t tell his people &s;o, as afore&s;aid; and &s;hall we doubt not, through Divine A&s;&s;i&s;tance, be fully cleered here|after
<PB N="4" REF="5"> in the progre&s;s of our undertaken task. So much to thee Reader.</P>
<P>And nextly to your &s;elf. Sir, Before we enter upon the de|bate, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> and to maintain our undertaking, we hold it our duty, to cleer you as much as we can in this matter. And where we cannot, though we do what we can, there we will leave you to God to cleer your &s;elf before him. This we mu&s;t &s;peak out for your cleering. That you did not honour this day, while you were among&s;t us, with a Sermon, or any other &s;ervice upon that day, though importuned &s;o to do, as a &s;otti&s;h, bruti&s;h peo|ple u&s;e to do. That is all we can &s;ay for you; that which you &s;ay now, makes again&s;t you, as we &s;uppo&s;e, and now falls un|der debate, for you &s;ay, <Q REND="margDblQuotes"><HI>That holy men</HI> have done it, kept the day holy, and have maintained their doings in their writ|ings: And therefore you conclude, That other matters are to be handled, and that point of ob&s;ervation, as to that day, not to be dealt in before the people, (let them alone with their cu&s;tomes) It is a controverted point, holy men are for the ob&s;ervation of that day, and holy men again&s;t it;</Q> Let it be left in <HI>Medio,</HI> &s;peak neither for it nor again&s;t it, <HI>medio tu|ti&s;&s;imus ibis;</HI> this is your advice, and we judge it not, but thank you for it. Your intentions may be holy, your ends pure before your own eyes, and the eyes of others; And all that is nothing before God, unto which Ma&s;ter you &s;tand or fall: It is not what our <HI>intentions</HI> are, but what the <HI>word of in&s;titution is,</HI> for that carries it again&s;t all the godly and learned men of the world; &s;uppo&s;e them to be all and every one for the <HI>keeping holy</HI> that day; whereas we are verily per&s;waded, you will not find two godly men now adays, maintaining the Ob&s;ervation of that Fea&s;t, either by their writing, preaching or practi&s;e: yet if you &s;hould &s;pye out two, we humbly conceive, they are too many by two. And we could wi&s;h that you had not &s;po|ken a word in favour of it; for the lea&s;t word whi&s;pered in fa|vour of an <HI>Idol Day,</HI> &s;hould be as much avoided by a true Chri&s;tian, we think, as was the offering the lea&s;t <HI>Grain</HI> of In|cen&s;e to an Idol God, by the faithful Antipa&s;&s;es [Anti-papas] in days of old, whereof you have read &s;o much, that we will <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bright|man.</NOTE> tell you nothing.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="5">
<P>And we are per&s;waded we could hold this forth (had you commanded us, but you con&s;idered our &s;trength, and dealt with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> us as with children in under&s;tanding; as indeed we are yet) able to cleer this from them uth of God, <HI>That this name Chri&s;tmas is not to be named,</HI> unle&s;s with indignation by a godly man, truly and indeed &s;uch an one, <HI>godly in Chri&s;t Je&s;us. Let</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 5. 1. Ho&s;. 2. 17. 1 Tim. 6. 20. See Cartw. p. 576. 577.</NOTE> <HI>us,</HI> &s;ay the <HI>Rhemi&s;ts,</HI> which is their councel al&s;o, "<HI>Keep to</HI> our fore-fathers words, and we &s;hall keep to our fore-fathers faith, [and be as Idolatrous &s;till as they were.] <HI>Keep up the Name of Chri&s;tmas,</HI> (<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">hat is one of their old words) and we &s;hall keep up [the &s;uper&s;titious Cu&s;tomes, and Heatheni&s;h practi&s;es in u&s;e among us at that time.] Do not you, (if our advice may take <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>We mu&s;t do what po&s;&s;i|bly we can, that the ve|ry names, terms and phra&s;es that Idolators have u&s;ed might be utterly abo|li&s;hed, and remembred no more,</HI> Exod. 23. 13 Deut. 12. 3.</NOTE> place) a low your people the <HI>Name,</HI> for then they will allow them&s;elves the <HI>thing,</HI> tho&s;e Idolatrous &s;ervices, cu&s;tomes and practi&s;es, before &s;poken of: If you will allow them an Inch here, as we &s;ay, <HI>indulgeban: &s;ibi latius,</HI> they will take an El. Certainly, Mini&s;ters &s;hould not &s;uffer us to come nigh Popery, they &s;hould bid us keep from the Verges of it; to ab&s;tain from the lea&s;t appearance of that great evil. Ye mu&s;t re&s;train us in our provoking ways, ye mu&s;t tell us we &s;tand not fa&s;t, while we &s;tand neer to danger, no more then we do, &s;tanding neer tho&s;e places where the Sea is bearing-in; yet if we will do &s;o, for we are very wilful; ye &s;hould <HI>frown upon us,</HI> we think, and re&s;train us what ye can; a&s;&s;uring us, <HI>nothing is little or &s;mall, as not</HI> in <HI>Gods Law,</HI> &s;o nor in <HI>His Wor&s;hip,</HI> nor in any of tho&s;e matters which lead on to the greate&s;t and highe&s;t pro|vocations. And if ye &s;hall not &s;o do, ye <HI>bid</HI> us, upon the mat|ter, to &s;peak and do as we have done: Name the 25. of <HI>De|cember</HI> as &s;uper&s;titiou&s;ly, as we commonly name the Lords day <NOTE PLACE="marg">qui non ve|lat cum po|te&s;t jubet.</NOTE> heathen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;hly: Ye mu&s;t e&s;train us in the&s;e things, el&s;e ye bid us do it; Keep-on your Heathen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;h Names and Cu&s;tomes &s;till. <HI>Let us,</HI> &s;ay the <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">emi&s;ts.</HI> in the place <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ore mentioned; <HI>take heed of the words of Hereticks</HI> (they mean tho&s;e truly godly, all over <NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 24. 14.</NOTE> the world, who can &s;peak of that <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> as <HI>Paul</HI> did:) And &s;hould not we &s;ay as much of tho&s;e Hereticks indeed, who&s;e Religion or way of Wor&s;hip is but <HI>meer error,</HI> as their head <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2. 3. merum &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">|lus. Bez.</NOTE> and body is but <HI>meer wickedne&s;s?</HI> Let us take heed of the words of the&s;e Hereticks, el&s;e we &s;hall never come off cleerly from
<PB N="6" REF="6"> their works. You teach your people, we think, we know it is your duty, That it is not enough that they <HI>forb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">a</HI> an <HI>Oath,</HI> but that they mu&s;t <HI>fear</HI> an Oath; not onely not to commit &s;in, but to hate, yea to abominate &s;o to do; &s;o i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> this ca&s;e, not enough not to ob&s;erve this Idol-day, but to loath to do it: We cannot <HI>choo&s;e</HI> or <HI>like</HI> that we do not <HI>love;</HI> not leave or decline that we do not <HI>loath.</HI> We mu&s;t hate every <HI>fal&s;e way,</HI> becau&s;e God ha|teth it: And with that excellent R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ler, contend again&s;t tho&s;e that will walk therein, &s;tirring up our &s;elves again&s;t &s;uper&s;tious per&s;ons and practi&s;es, as all that truly wor&s;hip the Father, mu&s;t do; &s;o they cannot but &s;hew how much they love him, what zeal they have for him, and with what indignation they are carried out again&s;t all that and onely that, their Lord hath indig|nation again&s;t.&mdash;But we will take no more work into our hands, but what you were plea&s;ed, con&s;idering our Shoulder (for which we thank you) to impo&s;e upon us, The maintaining the Nega|tive, <HI>That Chri&s;tmas Day,</HI> (commonly &s;o called by common and unclean tongues) <HI>is not to be kept</HI> holy, that the people are to be told &s;o, and beaten off from it, and no delay to be u&s;ed in the&s;e matters, &s;hall be we hope cleered, as was &s;aid in its re|&s;pective place.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. 2.</HEAD>
<P>HEere we mu&s;t excu&s;e you again; you like not that ancient plea for the ob&s;ervation of the day, <HI>old cu|&s;tomes,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> our Grand-parents kept this day, &s;o did our parents, and &s;o have we done hitherto, and &s;o we are re&s;olved to do while we live, <HI>&s;tubbornly enough.</HI> This is too rotten to hold, and as wil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> and &s;awey rea&s;onning it is, as theirs was, what our Fathers did, we will do, how abomi|nable &s;oever their doings were. And yet the little you have &s;aid, for the ob&s;ervation of the Day, hath no little force in it, being taken from Scripture, if your Allegation be right: that which you may borrow from the writings of holy men, and from their practi&s;e al&s;o, is of little or no account at all with us, though &s;omething may be &s;aid to it in due place: we would
<PB N="7" REF="6"> deliver our &s;elves from your <HI>Scripture allegation.</HI> Fir&s;t, for that will bear you out if any will, <HI>Scripture proof being &s;ure proof.</HI></P>
<P>Your Scripture (we call it yours, for po&s;&s;ibly it may be mi&s;|taken, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> if not perverted; <HI>&amp; male dum recitas incipit e&s;&s;e tuus)</HI> is taken out of <HI>John 10. 22. And it was at Jeru&s;alem, the Fea&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 10. 22. Vid. Bez.</NOTE> <HI>of Dedication, and it was Winter, and Je&s;us walked in the Temple,</HI> &amp;c. Now as we conceive, here is the very <HI>Hinge</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> the Argument from our Lords example, ob&s;erving that <HI>novel Fea&s;t</HI> (for that is the force of the word, is of the Argument.) Our Lord and Saviour ob&s;erved that <HI>Fea&s;t,</HI> a novel thing, and meerly of mans in&s;titution; Therefore may we ob&s;erve the Fea&s;t of his Nativity. Well, It is not a day for mirth, but rather in &s;ome re&s;pects of &s;igning, with breaking of the Loyns; yet we cannot pa&s;s over this without a &s;mile at lea&s;t, though we are &s;e|rious for the truth; and <HI>ridentem dicere, vere quis negat?</HI> &s;o we &s;ay on, and enquire into this farther, we mean, this <HI>Fea&s;t of Dedication,</HI> that &s;o we may try the &s;trength of this H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">e, whereon this Argument holds. We read the Temple was De|dicated three times: Fir&s;t by <HI>Solomon,</HI> in the &s;eventh Moneth, <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kings. 8.</NOTE> that was in the mid&s;t of <HI>Autum;</HI> Then after the Temple was re&s;tored and built again by <HI>Nehemiah</HI> and his fellow-workmen. It was Dedicated again by him, the third day of the twelfth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 12. 27.</NOTE> Moneth, which falls out in our twelfth and fir&s;t Moneths com|monly called <HI>February</HI> and <HI>March:</HI> It was a Fe&s;tival time with them, as we read; but it held but that time, we mean, it was not Anniver&s;ary, it was not ob&s;erved the Year after, neither by King <HI>Solomon,</HI> nor by that Prince-like Ruler <HI>Nehe|miah.</HI> The third time, after it was renewed and purged, De|dicated by <HI>Judas Machabaeus,</HI> in the Moneth <HI>Chi&s;ten,</HI> which an&s;wers our tenth Moneth, <HI>December;</HI> therefore it was &s;aid in the Text; <HI>And it was Winter. It was</HI> ordered al&s;o that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">he <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mac. 4. 59.</NOTE> Fea&s;t of Dedication be kept in its &s;ea&s;on from Year to Year, by the &s;pace of eight days; from the five and twentieth day of that Moneth, called with us <HI>December:</HI> Indeed to &s;peak our mind here in pa&s;&s;age onely, and then to go on. This their Fea&s;t, and th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s your Fea&s;t (we make bold to call it yours, becau&s;e you &s;eem to own it, and to hold for the ob&s;ervation of it (falling out pat
<PB N="8" REF="7"> upon one day, would make a wi&s;e man after the fle&s;h (as &s;ure|ly it doth) <HI>mad</HI> upon that <HI>Idol-day,</HI> to ob&s;erve it as an <HI>holy-day,</HI> and with more &s;trict and &s;olemn ob&s;ervation, then he will, or po&s;&s;ibly can, that onely <HI>Holy-Day</HI> which hath the &s;tamp of the Lord upon it: but of this anon. That which is now to be done, is to vindicate our <HI>Lord,</HI> going up to that Fea&s;t: And that in &s;o doing it will not ju&s;tifie us in our ob&s;ervation of that Fe&s;tival Day, the Church ob&s;erves all over the Nation, or the Natio|nal Church there.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then to ju&s;tifie our Lords practi&s;e, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> it needed ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> ju&s;ti|fication: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> This we &s;ay, That our Lord did not ob&s;erve the Fea&s;t, but the &s;ea&s;on or opportu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="4 letters">, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span"> of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> good: As <HI>Paul,</HI> who followed him ob&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span"> day of <HI>Prince?</HI> at <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and afterward <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>Ephe&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">, Acts 20. 16&punc; Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">. 16. 8.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">See Calvin upon the place.</NOTE> There he knew he &s;hould find a grea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span"> of people, very ob&s;ervant of their ow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> days, which are <HI>devi&s;ed</HI> of their own heart, as <HI>Jeroboams</HI> Fea&s;t was, and have their own &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span">on them; His heart was upon his work, the doing <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>will;</HI> He did it as chearfully as we eat and drink; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 span"> the &s;ea&s;ons and all advantages to do good, the manner of all that walk as he walked: He went up to the Fea&s;t, though of mans in&s;titution; and as the advi&s;e is, <HI>&s;pragit manum,</HI> &s;ome good might be done, &s;ome &s;eeds might take, as he well knew, that knew all things: And though i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> was winter, yet he went up: <Q REND="margDblQuotes">Be it fair or foul, Sun-&s;hine or rain, Summer or Winter, it hinders not a true Chri&s;tian from doing his duty;</Q> for he doth in de&s;ire and endeavour as Chri&s;t did. It is natu|ral to the new Creature, the divine Nature &s;o to do.</P>
<P>But now if it be replyed here, as we think it will, That a Mi|ni&s;ter is never like to find &s;uch a Concour&s;e of people at his meet|ing place, as he may do on that day; And therefore if all advan|tages of doing good may, and ought to be taken, why may not a Mini&s;ter preach a good may, and ought to be taken, why may not a Mini&s;ter preach a good Sermon on that day, and take his War|rant from his Lords practi&s;e, going up to <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> on that Fea&s;t day?</P>
<P>To this we would briefly reply the&s;e things. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 4. &para; 1.</NOTE></P>
<P>It is not always &s;afe to do what we read the Lord did, though we may urge him for our example. Our Lord went over the
<PB N="9" REF="7"> Sea on foot, he could that made the Sea, make the &s;ea &s;olid like the land, to bear him up: we mu&s;t not do &s;o unle&s;&s;e we have a more then his <HI>Example,</HI> his <HI>word</HI> too, as <HI>Peter</HI> had COME, A|gain, the Lord Chri&s;t went into a chiefe Phari&s;ees hou&s;e to din|ner <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 14. 29.</NOTE> on the Sabbath day, where there was great Company, and an&s;werably great Cheer; probable it is, it was a marriage fea&s;t. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 14. 1.</NOTE> He did not allow of the fea&s;t, nor of the u&s;age or manners of the gue&s;ts there, nor of our fea&s;tings on the Lords day: but there he took the &s;ea&s;on to do good, and to correct the ill, and being Lord of time, and Ma&s;ter of the <HI>means</HI> and <HI>end,</HI> could remove as plea&s;ed him, whatever hindered all this, which the be&s;t Mini|&s;ter in the world is not able to doe, which we take to be con&s;i|derable at this point.</P>
<P>Secondly, we &s;hould &s;ay granting this, that all advantages are to be taken for doing good: That as Ma&s;ter <HI>Burroughs,</HI> an ex|cellent preacher in his days &s;aith, A Sermon may be preached on that day, and another on the following day, it being a time of lei&s;ure, a vacant idle time (which no time &s;hould be, the lea&s;t minute whereof is too much to give to idlene&s;s or &s;in, which is all one, the one is the mother, the other the daughter) his mea|ning i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, A good Mini&s;ter &s;hould take all the advantages to doe good: why then, take the &s;ea&s;on, give the people their expe|ctation, a <HI>Sermon</HI> on this day, &s;o we may do, and do well too as he may choo&s;e his Text, and handle it before the people (which will be &s;ure enough, if he be a good Mini&s;ter and a Godly man too) to throw out the ob&s;ervation of this day, their &s;uper<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">iti|ons her in, and their heatheni&s;h cu&s;tomes, all that time along, (which wil not be a good Sermon in the peopl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s eares.) But if this Sermon be for the holding up of that day, the greater the concour&s;e of people &s;hall be, the more hurt and mi&s;chie&s;e he will do by his Sermon. It is the word of in&s;titution from the <HI>Lord,</HI> that makes the day holy. And the <HI>words</HI> which the Mini&s;ter &s;peaks to the people, mu&s;t have a <HI>word</HI> from God for it, el&s;e no <HI>word</HI> of ble&s;&s;ing can be expected from the Lord upon it. Gods word of ble&s;&s;ing goeth along wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">h his word of in&s;titution; So now we have done with the fir&s;t undertaking to ju&s;tifie our Lords pract<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e.</P>
<P>(2) The &s;econd is, that the fea&s;t of Dedication cannot ju&s;tifie <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 5.</NOTE>
<PB N="10" REF="8"> the ob&s;ervation of this imagenary fea&s;t <HI>devi&s;ed</HI> of our own heart, as <HI>Jeroboams</HI> was, celebrated as a memorial of our Saviours <HI>Na|tivity.</HI> Our Rea&s;on is but one, and we a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e not careful to &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ek, another for this place: This Dedication fea&s;t was a known, &s;et, and &s;tated day, returning every year in the return of &s;uch a month, and of &s;uch a day of the month, the Temple was reformed, pur|ged, dedicated. It cannot be &s;o &s;aid of this day, that it was the day on which our ble&s;&s;ed Lord and Saviour was born into the world. It is true many have been daring this way, and one a|mong the re&s;t in &s;ome of our hearing, from <HI>Luk.</HI> 2. 11. unto you is born this day (the 25. of <HI>December)</HI> But how hath God left them to their own &s;eeking? how bewildred have they been? how benighted at noon day? declaring to all whom the Lord hath in&s;tucted to di&s;c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">etion, that there is no morning in them; no light at all except it be that which is in the grave, <HI>where the light is as darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> and how great is that darkne&s;s? we take leave to &s;peak more to this. And,</P>
<P>That it hath po&s;ed the be&s;t &s;chollers in the world, we mean <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 6. &para;. 2.</NOTE> be&s;t &s;een in the Records of antient times, the two <HI>Scaligers,</HI> the Father and the Son, to &s;earch out our <HI>ble&s;&s;ed Saviours birth day;</HI> and after long &s;earch (we &s;peak it to our be&s;t remembrance, as we are helped by one that read it thirty yeares agone, and &s;o &s;ome mi&s;take may be, we were &s;aying after much &s;earch) to little purpo&s;e they gave i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> off, as impo&s;&s;ible to finde it out, as to finde the Philo&s;ophers &s;tone, as <HI>Mo&s;es his grave,</HI> whom the Lord God buried there. Others not halfe &s;o skilful, have adventured on this Search (as ever, the more blind, the more bold) and have given us the &s;et and &s;tated day, as you finde it in your Alma|nick, mi&s;taken as much in the day as in the weather; So as the proverb may be verified of the&s;e <HI>Searchers,</HI> as very lyars as the Alman<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ck is, which for one truth tells us ten lyes. The wi&s;e Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> befooling the Star-g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">zers, &s;till as once he did him in antient days (&s;o that noble <HI>Morneus</HI> tells us) who foretold a goodly and plea&s;ant year, the very year when the flood came, that Deluge of wrath, which &s;wallowed up <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ll. <HI>Princes,</HI> (as one &s;aith) <HI>keep State in their works,</HI> I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>all a mans-actions be level to the lowe&s;t, his per&s;on will be &s;o too.</HI> Much more the Prince of the Kings of the earth, as he doth not love to let the Creature look
<PB N="11" REF="8"> to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ words"> his de&s;igns, but hideth him&s;elfe, and as we may &s;ay, troubleth and muddeth his foot-&s;teps; the&s;e are as in the great waters, not p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ly known to us; the creature &s;hall not ken them, lea&s;t he &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>behold I know them:</HI> So al&s;o this <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 45. 15. 58. 7.</NOTE> onely Lord of time liketh it not, that we &s;hould pre&s;ume to know any more of the times and &s;ea&s;ons then he alloweth us to know, which is neither more nor le&s;&s;e then what he hath revealed to us in his word. <HI>This &s;ufficeth u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> to know, when the fulne&s;&s;e of time was come, God &s;ent forth his Son made of a Woman.</HI> Make we a full &s;top there; But if we will &s;earch farther, which is our du|ty to do, (&s;earch we this to the bottom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, and h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">re we may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e of the very day to) Is he <HI>born in our hearts?</HI> we mean, is hee <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 4. 19.</NOTE> conceived? is he formed in us? as our godly Mini&s;ters are: have we been in travel about it? that the &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ing knowl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">dge of Chri&s;t may be formed in us? till this be we are not <HI>forme<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> for Chri&s;tians; we may have a <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">me we live,</HI> but we are <HI>d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ad,</HI> And when we are upon this &s;earch, it will take up &s;o much of our time, that we &s;hall not have a minute to &s;pare in &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ching out the day he was born in the world: Nor &s;hall we regard two &s;traws what others &s;ay of it, that dares &s;ay and do any thing but what they &s;hould &s;ay and do, which &s;hould not be a <HI>word</HI> or a <HI>work</HI> more, but by warrant from his Word and light there, which mu&s;t be the Standard, whereat we <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> all we &s;ay or do in the matters of God, the neere&s;t con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="6 letters">t of his Glory and of our own Souls; for you know <HI>non loquenaum e&s;t de Deo &s;ine lumine.</HI> We will clo&s;e this quickly, we have bene longer in it, becau&s;e here is &s;omething of the Scripture, and from the practi&s;e of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, to bear out the ob&s;ervation of this day. Therefore we would adde this to that before, which indeed carrieth much with us.</P>
<P>2. That this birth day of Chri&s;t in the world, lyeth as hid|den, <NOTE PLACE="marg">S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ct. 7. &para;. 1.</NOTE> and as we may &s;ay buried to us, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> body was: and the &s;ame God hid the one who buried the other: And wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">l he take it well, if we &s;earch into that he hath hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">? and is it not ob|&s;ervable, that none of the Evangeli&s;ts tell us what &s;hape or pro|portion our Lords body had; that none might adventure to picture him &s;ure; for he that pictureth him a <HI>Man,</HI> di&s;honou|reth him as much, as if he had pictured him a <HI>Worm:</HI> as he that
<PB N="12" REF="9"> pre&s;umeth to &s;hew us the likene&s;&s;e of God by an Angel, di&s;honou|reth God as much as they, who made him like a <HI>Calfe,</HI> if we do make him like <HI>any thing,</HI> we make him <HI>nothing.</HI> And &s;o of this day: there is <HI>altum &s;ilentium, ne <GAP DESC="foreign"> quidem,</HI> not a &s;yl|lable, not a <HI>title</HI> &s;ounding that way. And hath the Lord God hid it from us, among the <HI>&s;ecrets of his wi&s;edom?</HI> He hath. Then it is <HI>folly</HI> and more: it is <HI>m&agrave;dne&s;&s;e</HI> for a man to &s;earch into tho&s;e &s;ecrets, to pluck out that <HI>Day</HI> thence, and &s;hew it openly to the world, <HI>this is the day.</HI> The Sun will not be looked into, nor gazed upon, it is &s;uch a <HI>vehemens &s;en&s;ibile,</HI> that it will make the eye &s;tark blind, which is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">eadfa&s;tly fixed upon the ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ide of it. You may &s;ee, work, and walk by it, the light from it: but if you wil &s;ee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">nto the body of this light, you &s;hall neither &s;ee it, nor your work, nor your walk, for the Sun will put out the eye that dares &s;o gaze upon it. And will the Maker of the Sun, the <HI>Father of lights,</HI> &s;uffer man, wre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ched man, to neglect things revealed (for that is th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> manner) and &s;earch into things hidden, the &s;ecrets of his Wi&s;edome? we leave this upon your inmo&s;t thoughts. We will end with this plaine &s;aying, and &s;o the better befitting us: <HI>Where the Scripture hath no tongus, we mu&s;t have no ears.</HI></P>
<P>The Scripture is &s;ilent here as to the day of Chri&s;t birth, if we will be &s;peaking to it, it is not &s;peaking, but prating and talking like Children and foole<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">; or if we &s;hall think that &s;omething we <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tim. 5 13. 3 Joh. 10.</NOTE> have done, we have but <HI>magno ni&s;u &s;u nugas,</HI> thrown a Feather with &s;trongth of arm. And &s;o we are come off from your Scrip|ture Argument, taken from the practi&s;e of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t going up to <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> at the fea&s;t of Dedication. This proves no more, as we conceive, the ob&s;ervation of Chri&s;tmas fea&s;t, then mid-day proves it is mid night, or mid night proves it is mid-day with us.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="13" REF="9">
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<P>HAving now don with your Scripture Proof, &s;uch as it was, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> and proved it (we think) to be invalid, of no fore, and to prove nothing but what makes again&s;t you: We doube not, but we &s;hall turn over that which followeth, with a lighter hand, which is, your allegations from the writings and practi&s;e of men; for be they in repute never &s;o holy, it is not much with ns, what they &s;ay or do, as to tho&s;e matters; the very be&s;t of them are but men at the be&s;t: Yet we will hear what you &s;ay of them, They have kept the Day holy, and they have maintained their &s;o doing by their writings.</P>
<P>This now we take upon your bare word, as it is meet for us to do: And we &s;hall not here remind you what was &s;poken touching the Torrent of former times; <HI>Tyranny</HI> of Cu&s;tome, practi&s;e of our fore-men, or leaders. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> bearing down, like a &s;pring-tide, or Torrent, all before it. We do not doubt but the Day hath been ob&s;erved by &s;ome, with all ob&s;ervation, and with an hone&s;t heart: And po&s;&s;ibly at this day, &s;ome o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e or two may be found, we know not where, who can &s;ay as to the ob|&s;ervation of this day, as <HI>Abimelech</HI> in a different cau&s;e, in the <HI>&s;implicity of my heart;</HI> we <HI>have,</HI> and do <HI>now ob&s;erve this day.</HI> But <HI>aliquid dicit nil probat.</HI> This proves nothing, though in|deed had you not told us &s;o, we could not have beleeved it &s;o to be: Tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> many learned and godly hold for that day. We verily thought that here one, and there one learned and godly, had be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n too many by two, to hold the ob&s;ervation of that day, as was hinted before. You mentioned, if we forget not, Reverend <HI>Studder,</HI> &s;peaking &s;omething that way, how long &s;ince we can|not tell; but &s;ure it was before &s;ome of us were born; dark times then, or not &s;o light as the&s;e are now: You remembred al&s;o, for it makes for your purpo&s;e, That Dr. <HI>Ham</HI> hath &s;poke<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="14" REF="10"> much that way after his manner, and doth <HI>opero&s;&egrave;</HI> contend for the holine&s;s of that day. He is as in charity may be judged, a god|ly man, as may be evidenced by his <HI>practical Catechi&s;ms;</HI> and his an&s;wer to Dr. <HI>Cheniel,</HI> taking, as &s;ome may &s;ay, &s;ome incon|&s;iderable exceptions again&s;t it: His good learning, right under|&s;tanding, and &s;ound judgment in the <HI>my&s;tery of godline&s;s,</HI> may appear al&s;o in his Scripture Expo&s;itions, or Anotations thereup|on, very well becoming, in whole and in part, an <HI>Admirer of Grotius.</HI> But what&s;oever he be, how learned and godly &s;oever, it maketh no matter to us; for <HI>Mans &s;aying,</HI> is but the &s;ay|ing of a man: <HI>Grotius</HI> him&s;elf, that Admired man, had his fail|ings &s;ome might add, and very gro&s;s ones, &s;peaking very much without <HI>the Book,</HI> &s;ome may &s;ay, and very much again&s;t what he found writte<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">: So po&s;&s;ibly might his Admirer too. But as to that matter now under dehate, you can tell us what An&s;wer hath been made to that &s;aid learned Man, by one learned and go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">|ly al&s;o, we think without exception. We &s;hould not have men|tioned all this or any of it, had we not p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ived you &s;po<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">king a little, and a little might be too much, in favour of this day; enough of this. We have a cloud of witne&s;&s;es, onely mind we it well, that we follow the light &s;ide of the Cloud, and &s;o, ac|cording to the Coun&s;el, <HI>Be followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promi&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>We mu&s;t remember here your whole&s;om coun&s;el, in reference <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> to this day, and thanking you for it, &s;peak a word to it. You would have out Mini&s;ter deal in <HI>nece&s;&s;ary</HI> things, and not to pronounce or define matters of doubtful con&s;truction, or things that neither help nor hinder, whether they be &s;o or no. You pro|po&s;ed al&s;o an example of a very excellent man; the <HI>olde&s;t De&s;ci|ple</HI> the Lord Chri&s;t had in this N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">tion; and we beleeve made as many, gaining them to Chri&s;t, as any of his fellow workman there. We &s;hall take it in anon after, in its order. Truly we like this coun&s;el the better, becau&s;e it &s;avoure h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;o much o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> ex|cellent <HI>Tindals</HI> &s;pirit, breathed forth in a L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">tter, to his dear Friend <HI>Jacob,</HI> indeed called <HI>John Frith.</HI> It is very good, what he &s;pake once to hear it twice, with the &s;en&s;ible and inte<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">l Ctual ear both: <HI>There is not a man in the warld, in whom my heart rejoyceth as in you; not the thou&s;and part &s;o much for your</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="10"> <HI>learning, and what other gifts el&s;e you have, as that you will creep alow with the ground, and walk in tho&s;e things that the</HI> con&s;cience <HI>may feel, and not the imaginations of the brain; In fear and not in boldne&s;s; In open nece&s;&s;ary things; but in things that may abide lei&s;ure, you will defer: In unity, and not in &s;editiou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> opinions.</HI> We &s;hall not willingly turn from our &s;cope, if we &s;et down here the two heads of Doctrine, which he would have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">i, dear friend pre&s;s upon his hearers: <HI>expound the Law truly, and open the Vail o&s;</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>to condemn all fle&s;h and prove all men &s;inners, and all deeds under the Law, before mercy hath taken away the condemnation thereof to be &s;in and d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">mnable; and then as a faithful Mini&s;ter,</HI> &s;et abroach the mercy <HI>of onr Lord Je&s;us, and let the wounded con&s;ciences drink of the water of him. And all Doctrine that ca&s;teth a mi&s;t on the&s;e, to &s;hadow and hide them, I mean, the</HI> Law of God, and Mercy of Chri&s;t, <HI>that re&s;i&s;t you, with all your power; and &s;hew you Scriptures for what you &s;peak: and let Adver&s;aries talk what they will, &s;tick you &s;tifly and &s;tubbornly, in earne&s;t and nece&s;&s;ary things.</HI></P>
<P>Sir, Your &s;avory words by way of good coun&s;el to our Pa|&s;tor, put us in mind of tho&s;e, and we ble&s;s God for it, that al <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> this fell in together with your good coun&s;el. Now it is a point of high di&s;cretion (too high for us, unle&s;s the mo&s;t high God for ever more come into us) where to take and where to leave. But according to our mea&s;ure, thus we under&s;tand matters with reference, as your words tended to the ob&s;ervation of that day. That the taking an hours time at the fitte&s;t &s;ea&s;on for the throw|ing down that <HI>Idol day,</HI> &s;o highly exalted, by bruti&s;hly ignorant per&s;ons, is not again&s;t the mind of Chri&s;t, or rule given us in his word or practi&s;e of his holy ones, all along the Scriptures of God, and ages of men: None preacht Chri&s;t Crucified more feelingly then <HI>Paul</HI> did? and none to our &s;eeming, doth &s;o thunder and lighten as he doth again&s;t tho&s;e fal&s;e Teachers, who preached up <HI>Circumci&s;ion,</HI> and the <HI>ob&s;ervation of days;</HI> &s;o as he prote&s;ted before them in &s;ome heat of &s;pirit (for as he had much light, &s;o h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d he much heat too) much after the rate of tho&s;e words, That if they drank in tho&s;e da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">nable Doctrines, they would <HI>&s;pew</HI> out Chri&s;t, or ca&s;t their &s;pewings upon him. And for the ob&s;erva|tion
<PB N="16" REF="11"> of days, he &s;peaks much after the &s;ame rate; They had in|deed the &s;tamp of God upon them (&s;o hath not this day where|of hereafter) and were to be ob&s;erved with all ob&s;ervatio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, hol|ding forth to the eye of faith the <HI>Day of Chri&s;t</HI> to come into the world. But when that day came, called by the Apo&s;tle the <HI>ful|ne&s;s of time,</HI> and he was exhibited and <HI>manife&s;t in the</HI> fle&s;h, then the ob&s;ervation of days mu&s;t cea&s;e, and the &s;tamp or in&s;titution of God before upon them, &s;hall be taken off from them; and a cur&s;e &s;tampt upon tho&s;e per&s;ons, which, without repentance, &s;hall cleave unto them that will be &s;o daringly bold, as to revive the memory of tho&s;e days, and give their ob&s;ervation to them. And to all this (which we may find through out the Epi&s;tle, be|ginning at the fir&s;t Chapter, 8. 9. ver&s;es) he addeth, That if they did ob&s;erve days, they could not ob&s;erve his words, &s;o all his pains was lo&s;t upon them: he had be&s;towed upon <HI>them labor in vain. I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">deed</HI> Sir, This Ob&s;ervation you wot of is not of doubt|ful con&s;truction, nor in the number of tho&s;e matters, which may abide lei&s;ure for determination. We thought it re&s;olved long ago, from the Word of God: <HI>The Day</HI> is not to be ob&s;erved which hath no word or command for it: What the State hath done as to the ob&s;ervation of that Day, is known to all that would know: what the State will do more we know not; but this you know, for we &s;uppo&s;e you have read, <HI>Chri&s;t will not wait the lei&s;ure of the State;</HI> and all true Chri&s;tians have the mind of Chri&s;t, &s;o that is their mind too. Yet as was &s;aid in ano|ther ca&s;e, and to allude to it, what &s;hould the State do <HI>after the King</HI> of Kings hath &s;o clearly re&s;olved the ca&s;e, as to the ob&s;er|vation onely of his Holy-Day, returning to us once a Week: <HI>qui deliberavit, de&s;ivit:</HI> He that makes que&s;tion here, is a &s;uper&s;ti|tious per&s;on, pa&s;t all que&s;tion. But more nece&s;&s;ary truths are to be preached fir&s;t, &s;ay you: We grant you, If there be a more nece&s;&s;ary truth then this, That what oppo&s;eth our Lord Chri&s;ts his truths, mu&s;t be thru&s;t away as an abomination: Let that be preached fir&s;t, but then this mu&s;t follow: for we are pea&s;wad|ed, no one thing more hindreth the Go&s;pel work, all the year long, then doth the ob&s;ervation of that Idol day once in a year, having &s;o many days of cur&s;ed ob&s;ervation with it. It was &s;mart|ly &s;poken by a Heathen man, and as wittily, for &s;o Heathen
<PB N="17" REF="11"> Chri&s;tians were reproved in ancient days, rioting in <HI>December:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">December men&s;is erat nune anuus e&s;t</NOTE> <HI>It was a Moneth returning once a yeer, before tho&s;e Chri&s;tians came among&s;t us;</HI> but now <HI>December is all the year long.</HI></P>
<P>But we will not prevent our &s;elves. <HI>WHAT</HI> did Father <HI>Dod,</HI> in a ca&s;e very different from ours, who&s;e pretious name is like an oyn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ment poured out, no &s;ooner named, but the place is filled with the &s;avour thereof, what did he? Thus, as we have heard, (onely a mi&s;take there may be, but not con&s;iderable be|twix: your relation and ours) being to deal with a great Man, that had an head of hair, <HI>Ab&s;olom-</HI>like, &s;o we read (with a Lady &s;o, if we mi&s;take not, gari&s;hly attired you read) &s;eeks in the fir&s;t place to hide pride from his eyes, and take down that Idol in the heart.</P>
<P>A &s;ure way &s;ure, for if the Idol within falls, it will not &s;tand without. This was the way that <HI>Luther</HI> took al&s;o, he would not contend with the Popes <HI>Miter,</HI> or the Monks <HI>Bellies;</HI> nei|ther the one nor the other had any cars; and it were as if a man would buffet a way the darkne&s;s: he would preach Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lord unto them, which is, as the b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">inging of light into a <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Principate crimen ge|ner is huma|ni &s;ummus &s;iculi reasus tota cau&s;a judicii Ido|latrie.</HI> It is the princi|pal hainous crime of mankind: It is the chief guilt of the world, and the onely or whole cau&s;e of judgment in the world Idolat. <HI>Tert.</HI></NOTE> dark place, the darkne&s;s is gone, for the light is come: And yet he that &s;hall read his Sermons, will find, that this was his practi&s;e, as it was, (if we mi&s;take not his coun&s;e) <HI>omnis &s;ermo adaptandus e&s;t contra Idolatriam,</HI> every Sermon mu&s;t be pointed again&s;t Idolatry: And truly, many a by-blow did he lay upon e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rors, while he was holding out the truth; As a Mini&s;ter may &s;trike down that day, by holding up the Lords. Day. And yet &s;ometimes he, as a good Mini&s;ter may do, may take a Text pur|po&s;ely for the throwi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">g down the Idol before the eye, as of that in the heart, wherefore el&s;e have we that choi&s;e in the Scriptures? <HI>Luther</HI> had to deal, as our Mini&s;ters now, wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">h no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> very intelli|gent and under&s;tanding people, being enemies to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, making their <HI>Belly their God,</HI> and their &s;hame their glo|ry: Therefore the people, at we now, were very <HI>horn skinned,</HI> they feel you not till you pierce them to the quick; when is that? when you &s;trike at their <HI>Heatheni&s;h Cu&s;tomes,</HI> and their <HI>Belly chear:</HI> they feel no quick fle&s;h, till then: And &s;o having in de&s;ire and endeavour made the be&s;t u&s;e of your good coun&s;el; we come to make proof from the holy Scriptures; That it is the du|ty
<PB N="18" REF="12"> of every good Mini&s;ter to bend his &s;peech, when the &s;ea&s;on is again&s;t the ob&s;ervation of this Idol-day.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV.</HEAD>
<P>For the fir&s;t, how el&s;e &s;hall he di&s;charge a good con&s;cience? <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> or an&s;wer his matters to God? The people go on holding fa&s;t to their Heatheni&s;h Cu&s;tomes, and abominable Idolatries, and think they do well: They never heard their Mini&s;ter repro|ving it, or re&s;training them from it: The Mini&s;ter knows if he knows any thing in the&s;e matters, whence our <HI>Fea&s;ts</HI> (as the days of the week, and moneths of the year, commonly called) had their fir&s;t ri&s;e, ground or original. The fir&s;t of <HI>November, a memorial of all their Gods;</HI> which &s;ounded not well in the ears of tho&s;e that were newly b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">come Chri&s;tians: change therefore the name, and for <HI>Gods</HI> &s;ay <HI>Saints;</HI> and keep your Fea&s;ts &s;till, In <HI>December</HI> they had their <HI>Saturnalia,</HI> and eight days to ce|lebrate their <HI>Fea&s;t;</HI> but being newly turned from Pagani&s;m, they mu&s;t not keep the Fea&s;t as they did before, to the honour of <HI>Sa|turn,</HI> but of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> (&s;hould we mention the&s;e things and not with indignation?) and to gratifie them further upon that &s;core, they &s;hould have four days added to the number; before but eight, now twelve, very plea&s;ing to the people then, as now: for who ever heard them &s;ay, as of the Lords Day, <HI>what a wea|rine&s;s?</HI> It is not plea&s;ing to us to proceed to tell you the&s;e mat|ters which you mu&s;t know much better then &s;ome of us, though you have read but only <HI>Poludore Virgil,</HI> &s;uffi&s;eth it to know, That the&s;e <HI>Fe&s;ts</HI> are <HI>Heatheni&s;h</HI> not <HI>Chri&s;tian:</HI> And &s;o it hath been ob&s;erved over &s;ince in an Heatheni&s;h manner, quite c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ntrary, and &s;haming Chri&s;tians; n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">y they were a &s;hame to the very Hea|then too, the better part of them, and the more mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">alized men: for one among the re&s;t you know, &s;aith <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">hus of them: <HI>Chri&s;ti|ans are mad once a year,</HI> that is in the Moneth of <HI>December;</HI> nay, they are &s;o habi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">ed to a <HI>ranting</HI> fa&s;hion that Moneth,
<PB N="19" REF="12"> that they are &s;carce &s;ober all the year after: <HI>December was but one Moneth, now it is a yeer;</HI> it hath been &s;poken twice, that ye might hear it once, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ell the people the very truth in this matter, That they honour the Devil &s;o devou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ly at that time, that they cannot cea&s;e from his wor&s;hip, no more then he or they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>cea&s;e from &s;in</HI> all the year after. We will &s;upply you with an Argument or two more &s;ince you have put this &s;ervice upon us whereby to throw down this Idol day.</P>
<P>Hear how the people cry it up? It is certainly a day of their <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> own, as their &s;in is, they like it &s;o well; were there any thing of God in it, we mean, had it Gods &s;tamp upon it, how would they abhor it! how would they ri&s;e up in indignation again&s;t it? as they do again&s;t the ob&s;ervation of the Lords Day? The Ruler in the Country Town, or City, may (we hear they did not) &s;ave his breath in forbidding marketting on that Idol day: (clean contrary, that <HI>December,</HI> 1652. re&s;olved by the Parliament, that the Marqu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ts be kept to morrow, being the 25 of <HI>Decem|ber,</HI> and that no ob&s;ervation &s;hall be had of the Day, commonly called Chri&s;tmas Day, nor any Solemnity u&s;ed or exerci&s;ed in Churches upon that Day, in re&s;pect thereof) we were &s;aying, The <HI>Ruler</HI> need not forbid Marquetting on that day, but how hardly have they been kept from keeping Fairs on the Lords-Day? Excellent <HI>Perkins</HI> will tell you, if you plea&s;e to con&s;ult with his writings: would you have a vi&s;ible Character of Gods way and his Command to walk in it? of mans way and his command to walk therein? A&s;&s;uredly this is it: There is a <HI>&s;pirit</HI> of <HI>oppo&s;ition</HI> again&s;t the way that God hath &s;et; there is a ri&s;ing of the heart with indignation again&s;t any thing; every thing that hath God in it: the &s;tamp of God upon it. But now for mans way, a way of &s;in and death, how plea&s;ing in mans eye? And if a Ruler &s;hall give a command for it, he will not do it &s;ure, or if he have, he will &s;hame him&s;elf before the Lord for what he hath done; for he that ruleth over men, mu&s;t be ju&s;t, command and do ju&s;t things: I but if he do command &s;uch a thing, we will (that have not another &s;pirit) follow the Commandment: <HI>Non ju|bentur</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Civ. Dei lib. 1. dec. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>dura non prohibenter impura,</HI> no hard things are com|manded no unclean things are forbiden: to u&s;e <HI>Aug.</HI> words, &s;it <HI>down to eat,</HI> and <HI>drink, and ri&s;e up to play;</HI> what more plea&s;|ing
<PB N="20" REF="13"> or de&s;ireable to fle&s;h and blood? Indeed we need not a com|mand for it, our natural cour&s;e is to run from God, as the &s;tream runs from the Fountain: but when we have a commandment for it, as &s;o daring man may be: then we are carryed &s;torm-like, or like a mighty Torrent, wind and tide with us: And now if an Almighty Hand give us no check by the way, we &s;hall arrive at our own place, as &s;oon as the &s;tream will be at its Center the Sea; for we have but a <HI>velliety,</HI> a faint will or wi&s;h Heaven|ward: The will in the &s;trength and power of it, beareth us down Hell-wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d: The Argument is &s;trong and will hold: There is nothing of God in the ob&s;ervation of this Day, for the men of the world, of a national Church there (who have nothing to plead for their Chri&s;tianity, but that they were born Chri&s;tians, being bapiz<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d pre&s;ently after they were born) without <HI>Chri&s;t, Aliens</HI> from <HI>the Covenant,</HI> &s;trangers <HI>to the promi&s;es</HI> without hope &s;urely <HI>&s;et</HI> and <HI>&s;etling,</HI> without God in the world, the&s;e men of the world ob&s;erve this Day; there is nothing of God in it, for what is of God they abhor, their hearts are carryed out in oppo&s;ition again&s;t it: But it is of the <HI>will</HI> of man and of the <HI>fle&s;h,</HI> and mo&s;t plea&s;ing to the fle&s;h, Fea&s;ts and merry m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">tings are: It is not of God, but of him that is the god of the world, and rule<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the darkne&s;s of the world, mightily in the children of di&s;obedience: What is of God, we mea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters"> every Command|ment of God: <HI>jubet dura,</HI> he commands ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d things, grievous to be born, yea impo&s;&s;ible to fle&s;h and blood: They will not move it with one of their fingers, <HI>i. e.</HI> not practi&s;e them in the lea&s;t degree, being yet not &s;ubdued, not conquered, <HI>The carnal mind,</HI> the godli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;s thereof, the mo&s;t excellent thing there, is <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>enmity</HI> again&s;t God, it deadly hateth and mon&s;trou&s;ly oppo&s;eth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8. 7. <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>See Beza, Mr. P. G.</HI></NOTE> God: nay the word is plural, <HI>enmities</HI> again&s;t God, importing as one &s;aith, multiplied perver&s;ne&s;s. As there are many <HI>excel|lencies</HI> in God for man, &s;o there are many <HI>enmities</HI> in man again&s;t God, enmities again&s;t all the Atitibutes of God, enmities again&s;t all the Ordinances of God: &s;o many commands, &s;o many en|mities, &s;aith <HI>Salvian:</HI> enmities again&s;t all the actings of God in the world. The &s;pirit of man from his birth, is bitterly bent and utterly turned again&s;t God: he doth act up his &s;pirit in re|bellion again&s;t God, ble&s;&s;ed for ever: nor is it po&s;&s;ible to be
<PB N="21" REF="13"> otherwi&s;e till this <HI>enmity</HI> be &s;lain; and &s;o it follows, This car|nal mind is not &s;ubject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be; for the Law of God <HI>prohibet impura,</HI> it forbids all impurity, be ye &s;eparate from among them, and <HI>touch</HI> not the <HI>unclean</HI> thing. Thus we have the di&s;tingui&s;hing Character, <HI>what is of God, what is of Man.</HI> The heart ri&s;eth up with indignation, again&s;t that which is of God. It runs out with the Commandments of man, the&s;e never put the fle&s;h to co&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> THen happily it may be &s;aid, are not <HI>fa&s;ting</HI> days, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> thanksgiving days <HI>(loquendum e&s;t cum vu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">go)</HI> ap|pointed by man? and being &s;o appoin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ed do not the&s;e command ob&s;ervation from men?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Surely yes, when it is appointed of God, that men <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>A Governor is not impe|rious, but where his command is injurious, nor is there pride, but when due di|&s;cipline is neglected and contem|ned.</HI> Au&s;tins <HI>Latine en|gli&s;hed by Mr.</HI> P. G. 206.</NOTE> &s;hould appoint &s;uch days, fa&s;ting days, wherein to <HI>afflict the &s;oul</HI> before God for all we have done again&s;t him: And <HI>fea&s;ting dayes</HI> called <HI>good days</HI> in Scripture, wherein to lift up the high prai&s;es of our God for the riches of his goodne&s;s towards us all, bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> (in &s;pecial) for the wonderful Salvations he hath wrought for his Church, &s;o that in all this we do not more obey man then God: The <HI>State</HI> we mean, our Ruler or Rulers there, may and ought appoint a &s;et and &s;tated day, whereon to afflict our &s;oules before God; and a day al&s;o whereon to rejoyce, before him. But then they mu&s;t eye and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">b&s;erve well Gods providence, call<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ng them forth to all this. And &s;o here humbly to give our opinion, be|ing called f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">rth unto it, and pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">wa&s;ion in this matter, we are per&s;waded that our excellent <HI>Burroughs</HI> was right in this thing, That no Chri&s;tian <HI>State</HI> &s;hould appoint a day once every yeare (much le&s;&s;e once a month) to be a <HI>fa&s;ting</HI> day or a <HI>fea&s;ting</HI> day; and he gives his rea&s;on, becau&s;e they do not know, bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> God may call them to rejoycing upon that day, which they have ap|pointed for mourning. All that the Rulers can do is this, when
<PB N="22" REF="14"> God calleth to fa&s;ting, they mu&s;t appoint dayes of fa&s;ting; and when God calls to rejoycing, they mu&s;t appoint dayes of rejoy|cing.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why then is not (for we mu&s;t tell you that we have <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> heard to ju&s;tifie the ob&s;ervation of this f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tival day) the five and twentieth of <HI>December,</HI> rightly appointed by man? and to bee ob&s;erved by us; thereon to give thanks to God the Father for the marvelous R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">mp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ion wrought for us by his Son Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lord? I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> is alwayes &s;ea&s;onable to give thanks to God for this un&s;peakable gift, and wonderful Salvation wrought by him; Is it not?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. It is &s;o; But why o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ce in the year, which is &s;ea&s;on|able, yea r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">quired of us (as we &s;hall hear pre&s;ently) every day? do we put no difference betwixt a temporal Saviour as <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> was, and all tho&s;e Saviours were and now are, which the Lord hath cau&s;ed to <HI>come up on mount Zion,</HI> to jude the mount of <HI>E&s;au?</HI> and him that is the Eternal <HI>Saviour,</HI> and everla&s;ting <HI>Re|deemer?</HI> no difference betwixt the&s;e? though the difference be as great as is betwixt the Creature and the Creator, in who&s;e &s;trength of hand the Crea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e moves; and doth all, and being laid out of that hand, it moves no more then an in&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ument can that is laid out of our hand, and now hangs up by the wall. All our prayers for our Saviours hands, that they may be &s;ufficient for them, will prevail nothing, unle&s;&s;e we pray this may be ad|ded, <HI>And be thou an help to them,</HI> D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ut. 33. 7. No difference then betwixt <HI>men-Saviours</HI> and the Lord God the Salvation of his people? upon which bottom God builds up as we may have leave to &s;ay all the <HI>piles</HI> and <HI>&s;tories</HI> of Salvation? What? <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">o difference betwixt the Salvation of our bodies and outward man and the concernments hereof, and the Salvation of ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> Eter|nal Soules? &s;urely the people of God, the redeemed of the Lord di&s;cern a marvelous difference here, and accordingly they behave them&s;elves as to the&s;e matters, not keeping a day once a yeare for a memoral of the&s;e things.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. We &s;ay, That this is an high pre&s;umption to ap|point a day once in the year, whereon to honour the Son, as if man were more regard<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ul of the Sons honour, then the Father is, though he hath commanded <HI>that all men &s;hould honour the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John</HI> 5. 23.</NOTE>
<PB N="23" REF="14"> <HI>Son, even as they honour the Father.</HI> Now to doe more then is commanded, is as di&s;plea&s;ing unto God as to do le&s;&s;e. The Father was honoured by the ob&s;ervation of one day returning once a week, whereon his people made his name glorious for the work of Creation. And hath appointed his Son to be honoured w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">th a day al&s;o, wherein his people &s;ing the high prai&s;es of their God for the&mdash;glorious work of Redemption, making all new, Heavens and Earth and all.</P>
<P>Yea but this is not enough, &s;aith pre&s;umptious man, the <HI>Son</HI> &s;hall have two dayes, the one returning once a week, the other once in the year: if this be not the highe&s;t pre&s;umption, what is?</P>
<P>Be we at the allowance of the onely wi&s;e God? he is all &s;uf|ficient to provide for his Sons honour, and for his Churches ho|nor <NOTE PLACE="marg">&dagger; 1.</NOTE> too; Sons and Daughters adopted in him, they &s;hall have a day, a &s;tated day, return unto them once a week, whereon to record the whole <HI>hum<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">liation</HI> of Chri&s;t, his <HI>incarnation,</HI> &s;orrow|full <HI>life,</HI> cur&s;ed <HI>death,</HI> his Re&s;urrection al&s;o, with his A&s;cen&s;ion and Interce&s;&s;ion, for is Chri&s;t divided? or have we need of a part and not of the whole? we mu&s;t not parcel out his Re|demption, wrought for us, taking it out by pieces, and appoint one day for a memorial of his <HI>birth,</HI> another of his <HI>death,</HI> a third of his <HI>re&s;urrecti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">n:</HI> No, there is one day appointed for all this, to be a memorial of all together, the day of his Re&s;u|rection, appointed by God, as the old Sabbath wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> to be a <HI>&s;ign betwixt the Lord and his people,</HI> That <HI>he is the Lord God that &s;anctified them,</HI> affording unto them the means of Sanctifi|cation in his Son preached on that &s;tated day, wherein we are to &s;anctifie a <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> that we may attend upon God in the Con|&s;cionable u&s;e of means, for our &s;anctification, who&s;e <HI>will</HI> and <HI>work</HI> it is.</P>
<P>And &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e yet farther, how the <HI>Father</HI> hath provided for his <NOTE PLACE="marg">&dagger; 2.</NOTE> Sons honour, he hath not onely appointed a day wherein by his Herolds to proclaim him to the world, and &s;alvation by him; but al&s;o thus th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Father hath appointed, That when&s;oever we call him Father, we mu&s;t call his Son Lord; and through him and his Mediat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">on, have acce&s;&s;e unto him, and acceptance with him. So then, when&s;oever we come unto God praying for the &s;upply
<PB N="24" REF="15"> of what we want as we are &s;till wanting, or prai&s;ing him for what we have, we mu&s;t make hearty mention of the Lord Chri&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t. 2. 18. 3. 12. 5. 20. Col. 3. 17. 1 Pet.</HI> 1. 21.</NOTE> here, or el&s;e all is vain: every time we come to God, we tender up a <HI>Mediatour</HI> to him, el&s;e we can have nothing from him but wrath and vengeance. O its terrible, &s;aith you know who, to <HI>think of God out of Chri&s;t.</HI> Therefore, &s;aith <HI>Luther,</HI> upon P&s;al. 130. <Q REND="margSglQuotes">I inculcate this to my Hearers, that they &s;hould &s;hut their eyes and their ears, and &s;ay we know no God out of Chri&s;t, nor do we expect the lea&s;t crumb of mercy, but through him, and for his &s;ake.</Q> So now, &s;ith in &s;eeking he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ace of our God the great King, we mu&s;t take up his Son in the a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">m of our <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">aith, (to allude to that know<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tory) el&s;e we &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ev<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">r <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">s face. We have dayly, if not hou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ly cau&s;e to make m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="3 letters">ion of him; And be|&s;ides all this we have a <HI>&s;tated day</HI> returning <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">nce a week, whereon we may hear a voice from Heaven, the voice of Chri&s;t in the Go|&s;pel, and the voice of the Father again <HI>Hear Him.</HI> It is pre|&s;umption <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>John 5. 25. Eph.</HI> 5. 12.</NOTE> then that reaches to Heaven, to appoint a day of our own, whereon to celebrate the memorial of all this.</P>
<P>But now &s;uppo&s;e in the la&s;t place, any of us did as devou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ly &s;erve God and his Chri&s;t on that day, as the mo&s;t of the Natio|nal <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> Church do &s;erve the Devil on that day, and the twelve dayes following. Suppo&s;e it &s;o, we did pray to God, and prai&s;e God all day long, and night al&s;o (oh how devout are we on the birth day of ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> bl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ed Savion<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">!) &s;uppo&s;e it &s;o, as doub<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">le&s;s &s;uch de|vout per&s;ons men and women, there may be not a few more de|vour that day then any day: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">or it is a day devi&s;ed of our own hearts: we will be devout on that day, how d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;olu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ver on the L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">rds day: the manner of the&s;e d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">vout ones, they will do no manner of work on this day; as they &s;ay, the <HI>Bird</HI> will no carry a &s;traw to i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">s ne&s;t on A&s;cen&s;ion day, it will on the Re&s;urrection day, though it mour<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> all good Friday. But as we were &s;aying, &s;uppo&s;e it &s;o, we were as devoue as devotion it &s;elfe ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> that day, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter"> on &s;ome of the twelved dayes following. Hear what that ex|cellently Learned Man D. <HI>Owen</HI> &s;aith, for it is not po&s;&s;ible to find words more fit for our purpo&s;e. <Q REND="margSglQuotes">The mo&s;t &s;topendious endea|vours of men, the mo&s;t laborious drudgery of their Souls in du|ties <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Pag.</HI> 230.</NOTE> not commanded, are &s;o far from obedience, that they are as high rebellions again&s;t God, as they can po&s;&s;ibly engage them|&s;elves into.</Q></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="25" REF="15">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<P>WEe will now offer four things to your con&s;iderati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">n, hoping you will allow them &s;ome weight in your &s;eri|our thoughts.</P>
<P>God hath aboli&s;hed his own d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">yes, Jewi&s;h we mean, all tho&s;e fe&s;tivals that had his own &s;tamp of in&s;titution upon them. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 1.</NOTE> can we think, and think like men, that he will give liberty to man to &s;et up other dayes, as they did their Idols of old <HI>accor|ding to their own under&s;tauding?</HI> If this could be imagined, that upon Gods aboli&s;hing his own, men &s;hould have liberty to &s;et up theirs, then the Chri&s;tians were under a more heavy bondage and grievous paedagogue, then ever the Jewes were: <Q>'for it is better to have an hundred days of Gods 'appointment, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&V;pon Ho&s;.</HI> 2. 403.</NOTE> then one of mans:</Q> it is more honourable &s;aid excellent <HI>Bur|roughs.</HI></P>
<P>Con&s;ider whether the <HI>ri&s;ing</HI> of this day in the heart, as to the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 2.</NOTE> ob&s;ervation of it, be not the <HI>&s;inking</HI> of the Lords day; we mean whether the ob&s;ervers of this day; are not mo&s;t notorious pro|faners of the Lords day? and from both the horrible contempt <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 3.</NOTE> and prophanation of the Lords day; and more then heatheni&s;h <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bad joy &s;trips God of all. No evil carries the heart &s;o totally from God as e|vil joy. It car|ries away the heart, and eve|ry heart &s;tring. A man is very heartily, very totally wicke<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">, every faculty, every &s;innew &s;tretch them|&s;elves to &s;in when &s;inrul in|joys. Mr. Lockr. Col. 1. p. 234.</NOTE> ob&s;ervation of this day, whether a deluge of damnable errors and pernicious opinions threatning a d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">luge of wrath be not bro|ken in upon us.</P>
<P>Be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider whether the Devil be &s;erved by us &s;o affectedly, &s;o zealou&s;ly, &s;o indu&s;triou&s;ly, &s;o warrantably (as the people think, taking a command from men, and their own lu&s;t for a law) any &s;ea&s;on of the year, as at this &s;ea&s;on? Not to tell you the ob&s;ervation of the Heathen, which was hinted before, do men and women &s;o exceed in the plea&s;ures of &s;in, in rioting and drunkenne&s;s, in chambering and wontonne&s;&s;e, in all exce&s;&s;e of wickedne&s;s, as they do at this time you call Chri&s;tma&s;s? It is true, the Lords day is fearfully profanned, as if it had its name from the name <HI>Bacchus,</HI> which was <HI>Plutarchs</HI> conceit, that &s;igni|fies to live <HI>jovially,</HI> as we &s;ay, and to &s;peud the day <HI>riotou&s;ly,</HI> and in mad merriment. Yet they onely &s;o &s;pend the Lords day, making
<PB N="26" REF="16"> it the Devils day, who are mad upon that Idol day, making it as to their ob&s;ervation of it, the Lords day. So true is that &s;aying, we are marvelou&s;ly plea&s;ed with our own inventions, &s;pecially tho&s;e that plea&s;eth fle&s;h (as &s;eldom or never do we invent that which cro&s;&s;eth the fle&s;h, unle&s;&s;e upon an after advantage, which to our &s;eeming, &s;hall reach as high as heaven, and &s;o may cro&s;&s;e the fle&s;h at pre&s;ent, in hope of after glory, the meritorious pro|duct of that Cro&s;&s;e.) You may have read al&s;o what a Child in years, but a Man in under&s;tanding hath written. <Q REND="margSglQuotes">Mans idle time <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Ven|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">ing.</NOTE> is the Devils working time; he doth mo&s;t when men do lea&s;t.</Q> For as holy <HI>Latimer</HI> &s;aid after his manner, The Devil hath more &s;ervice done him in one day we call holy, then in many working dayes. Therefore in the la&s;t place,</P>
<P>Con&s;ider what you may have read, That a whole National Church (how is ours declined now, <HI>&amp; tantum non</HI> unchurched <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sect. 4.</NOTE> her &s;elf<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">) &s;ome hundred years ago, appointed a &s;olemn <HI>Fa&s;t</HI> up|on tho&s;e very dayes; we fooli&s;hly without a Scripture warrant, call the <HI>birth</HI> and <HI>circumci&s;ion day</HI> of Chri&s;t, becau&s;e of the notorious abu&s;es, heatheni&s;h cu&s;tomes, and dam<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="2 letters">ble u|&s;ages wont to be upon tho&s;e days; we &s;trange that they &s;aw more clearly in their mid-night then we do in our mid-day; Are we not dark with light? we proceed to tell you our hope, and &s;o to an end of this matter.</P>
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<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<P>WE believe Sir by this time, you &s;ee cau&s;e enough to im|prove all your Rhetorick among your people, for the throwing down of this Idol day. Y<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="apex" EXTENT="1 letter">t if you have not enough, we will make bold to remember you one thing more, and &s;o draw to a clo&s;e, we read the Jewes &s;ome of them, put this que&s;tion to them&s;elves: <Q REND="margSglQuotes">What &s;hould that &s;in be, which provokes God more again&s;t us then ever he was provoked? &s;urely &s;aid they, there is &s;ome greater &s;in then we yet have committed,</Q> but we cannot finde any offence be&s;ide the killing of Chri&s;t, to be a grea|ter
<PB N="27" REF="16"> offence then Idolatry: &s;urely then the great &s;in is the rejecting and crucifying the Son of God. If we &s;hould put this Que&s;tion to our &s;elves, what is the &s;in which provokes God more again&s;t us then ever he was provoked? Judge you whether this mu&s;t not be the an&s;wer. We reject Chri&s;t in the offers and tenders of the Go&s;pel, yet pretend to receive him at the Lords Table; We have no appetite, no de&s;ire after him at the hearing place; but a <HI>Dogs appetite</HI> we have to the bread on his Table, repre&s;en|ting his &s;acred body there. Again, we wor&s;hip him according to our <HI>own under&s;tanding;</HI> we for the mo&s;t part all the Natio|nal Church over, and in every parochial Church there, put all the di&s;honours upon the Lord Chri&s;t, and his onely holy day, &s;uch a Church are we, &s;o notorious for our bruti&s;hne&s;s, while yet we give honour to this day of his Birth, as we call it, and &s;erve him all the day long after our own manner. Shall not God be aven|ged of &s;uch Idolaters as we are? &s;hall not he &s;end a cur&s;e upon us? will he not cur&s;e our ble&s;&s;ings? yea hath he not cur&s;ed them already, becau&s;e we lay it not to heart? Hath he not puni&s;hed us with the &s;ore&s;t puni&s;hment? what is that? <HI>A puni&s;hment made of &s;in.</HI> The Lord hath delivered us up, even the greate&s;t part of that bulky body, the National Church into a reprobate mind, void of judgement: we are abominable Idolaters, we Idolize days and places, and duties, and the graces, tho&s;e we have, we idolize too: we lean to any thing, to every thing, but him whom onely we &s;hould make our <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ean to. A ju&s;t judgement upon &s;uch Idola|ters as are we, and now our eares are &s;eated again&s;t in&s;truction. Thunder in the eare of an Idolater, a &s;trict ob&s;erver of this day, and other dayes of mans in&s;titution, and he hears no more then doth the deaf &s;tone, nor doth he move any more then a Mill-Po&s;t. A &s;ore judgment upon Idolaters, a &s;uper&s;titious Chri&s;tian, a ceremonial Hypocrite, he ob&s;erves a day <HI>devi&s;ed</HI> of his own heart; he is more hard and Rocky then a Turk is, Jews or Pagans are, and he is as cruel too, as cruelty it &s;elf: A bloody man, if he be a &s;uper<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">itious man, &s;o &s;aith <HI>Luther,</HI> as bloody as <HI>Paul,</HI> while he was in his Cell; <HI>though my &s;houl|ders are weak</HI> with fa&s;ting, yet had he lived in tho&s;e times, he
<PB N="28" REF="17"> would have carried &s;ome Faggots to make the fire wherein <HI>John, Hu&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Hirron</HI> of <HI>Prague</HI> were burnt more burning. Ido|laters, all and every one of them, men and women and all are hard-hearted and bloody ones all, as <HI>Edom</HI> was, he did pur&s;ue his brother with the &s;word, and did ca&s;t off all piety, his anger did tear perpetually, and kept his w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ath for ever: So true is that which that excellent man hath upon <HI>Jer. 15. 19. Super&s;tition</HI> and per&s;ecu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ion, <HI>will-wor&s;hip</HI> and tyranny are in&s;eparable conco|mitants. Therefore Sir, bend your Tongue again&s;t the&s;e &s;uper|&s;titious per&s;ons, el&s;e it may be feared you will bend your Tongue the other way; and &s;peak to your &s;elf in <HI>Pauls</HI> Language, <HI>your labour is in vain,</HI> with your people, if you prevail not with them in this thing, mind well that learned mans words, Docter <HI>Owen,</HI> of <HI>Tol. p.</HI> 78. in a ca&s;e not very differing. Your not <HI>oppo&s;ing</HI> here is providing you allow that you oppo&s;e not, there being no mid|dle thing betwixt tho&s;e two. Lift up Chri&s;t Je&s;us the Lord, and you lift up his day too, and throw down man, and you throw down his Idol day al&s;o: where Chri&s;t is lifted up, &s;elf is aba&s;ed, and the ri&s;ing of his day will be the falling of the other. The &s;pirit that &s;toopeth lowe&s;t, you have hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">d, and we hope you know, is be&s;t prepared to become a thrown for Chri&s;t. And to &s;hut up, if you know tho&s;e, as &s;ure enough you do, that lift up this day, which every good man (we think) will throw down, till him or them, they have no <HI>morning</HI> in them, their light is like that in the grave, where the light is darkne&s;s, and how great is that darkne&s;&s;e. But here is a double comfort, (1) The folly of the&s;e is now manife&s;t to all m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">n, they &s;hall not proceed much farther. (2) the Devils are Chri&s;ts pri&s;oners, and &s;hould not be &s;uffered to walk up and down in the world, but that there is need of them. And for your &s;el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e Sir, we hope you know your duty, and are learning it every day more perfectly, and to do what you know looking up to him, and calling for his &s;pirit, which leadeth us by the light of his word into all nece&s;&s;ary truths, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
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