the Heavens Brass and the Earth Iron or bring other severe judgements every considering man may clearly discern that the abounding Wickednesse of the Sons of Men have provoked the Giver of all Goodness to take his Mercy away and may well read in all his stroaks a loud call to repentance But further if men do but humble themselves under his hand and return from their evil wayes how graciously doth he return to his ordinary way of shewing Mercy Also if we do consider his governing the World it most wonderfully declares his infinite and eternal Being Take these instances first the Sun Moon and Stats keeping so constant a course ordinarily from Age to Age as also Day and Night Summer and Winter Seed-time and Harvest following each other in a setled course And if the Lord at any time alter the course of any of his Creatures as when the Sun and Moon stood still in Joshua's dayes and came back in Hezekiah's dayes ten degrees the Red-sea divided in Moses's dayes and the River of Jordan driven back or any like act done it alwayes was brought to pass at such times and for some such noble ends as that it did alway more abundantly preach forth the Power Grace Wisdom Justice and unspeakable Goodness of an Eternal God Quest But how know you that these wonderful Works were done Answ Manifest it is that in no age no not in this we now live in can any of the great Works of God get any credit in the world till they are manifest beyond all possibility of dispute therefore there can be no ground for a doubt Secondly Consider his Strength Wisdom and Goodness in governing the World so as that his poor People live in it It is most manifest to all that do consider it that of them that love and fear God and are the most conscionable in minding and observing his Word Works and Worship that they are very few few few in comparison of the multitudes numberless multitudes of blasphemous-Atheists Idolaters prophane unjust deceitful Covenant-breakers with other like workers of Iniquity all setting themselves with open mouth to devour this little Remnant and diging to Hell for deep Counsels to destroy them and yet for all their unjust and cunning policies and oft-times open violence exercised against them through the rich Goodness divine Wisdom and Providence of God they have never yet been rooted out of the Earth but although they have been almost blotted out with the rage and persecution of the World yet hath the Most High still preserved a little Flock of Lambs amidst a world of wolves who fain would but never yet could wholly devour them which plainly proves that there is a God that hath more Power Wisdom Goodness than all their Enemies have strength or malice who ever lives to take care of them Again the Signs that God often sheweth in the sudden and unexpected overturning of their Enemies from time to time is of a very convincing nature to prove that certainly there is a God that judgeth the Earth Quest Seeing you have proved the undoubted and certain Being of a God what is the next weighty Truth that stands in need of proof Answ The next Truth most needful to be cleared is the holy Scriptures to be the Words and Counsels of God Quest Is there any with us do deny them Answ Yes there is some do deny them and more would if fear or shame did not stop their mouths as appears by their works Quest What Books do you mean by holy Scriptures Answ The Writings of Moses and the Prophets till Malachies dayes committed to the antient Church of the Jews and received by them as also the Books of the New Testament from Matthew to the Revelation Quest And wherefore do you reject those Books commonly called Apocrypha do you think the Spirit of God had no hand in the writing of them Answ It seems too hard to conclude that those that wrote those stories had no Light or aid from the Spirit of God in the writing of them they might be good men and hand forth some truths and useful things as many doubtless have done both in former and latter Ages who although we may make good use of their Books yet may we not receive them as infallible Prophets writings but receive or reject or suspend our judgements as we see they agree or disagree with the Word of Truth and clear Reason or appear doubtful Quest But is there reason to take this liberty with those Books what are your grounds to doubt of their infallability Answ Clear it is that however there are good Counsels in some of those Writings yet they seem to be written by some Jews in or after the captivity when their light in all probability was much dimmed and not by the Prophets Also how far from the language and stile of the infallible Spirit of God those Writings are some of them is evident the Spirit of God useth not to acknowledge infirmity and a doing as well as he can for he is perfect and therefore doth nothing meanly Again as there be absurdities not fit to be put upon the holy Spirit as this for one to go about to make us believe the Devil will be frighted away with smoak so also there is one stark lie so rank that a fool may discern it the same person that saith in one place he is the Son of Ananias saith in another he is an holy Angel There be other exceptions I will not now spend time about these may suffice to let you see some ground wherefore I cannot own them to be of divine Authority Quest But how will you prove that those books known by the names of the Old and New Testaments are the infallible Words of God and so the safe Rule to lead men in the true Path of believing and obedience to Life everlasting Answ First They may be known by their noble stile as for example When you hear any persons express themselves judiciously acutely in excellent Language although you never saw them before yet may you safely conclude that they are persons of excellent breeding and quality although they should appear in never so mean a dress So may it much more be concluded concerning the Scriptures their dialect hath that Majesty Holiness Grace and high Wisdom in them most elegantly manifesting the perfections of a divine Being in them and declaring the judiciousness faithfulness and perfection of all his Intentions and Proceedings with the sons of men that it is not likely possible for any gracious considering man to call there Authority into question Secondly The blessed Intention and scope of them discover them to proceed from the holy Spirit all the Commandments Threatnings Promises Warnings Counsels Declarations contained in them unanimously tending to advance Godliness in the hearts and lives of men Thirdly The several Doctrines and points of Truth contained in them are so wisely and holily compacted standing in so sweet an Union together and so
nessecarily depending one upon another like the parts and members of a natural body most comely and beautiful so that the highest commendations Christ gives his Church in that book of the Canticles doth much more belong to that Body of Divinity held forth in the Scriptures by which she is begotten and conformed to his Image Add to this the consideration of the Pen-men thereof who being the Prophets and Apostles and living in several Ages yet without jarr have brought forth this noble work so that you may plainly see they were all guided by one and the same holy Spirit in the writing of them Fourthly The Effects and lively Power of them in the hearts of men declare from whence they are descended that which is spoken of their soul-searching and powerful piercing nature Heb. 4.12 every soul that seriously converseth with them findeth true He that in his old blind estate took his heart to be good when he comes to try it by the Scriptures finds it so notoriously filthy that he abhors himself and as it discovereth sin so it purgeth it out and makes the carnal heart spiritual and brings it unto the Love of God and Holiness which before he hated and works it up to the hatred of sin which before he loved so that its transforming nature plainly sheweth it to be the Words of God Quest But may not other Books perswade men as well as that how many are led by other books into error Answ Yea other books may over-come mens judgements but not transform their natures from carnal to be spiritual from earthlymindedness to be heavenly minded and to bring from the love of sin to the love of holiness as this blessed Book of the holy Scriptures doth Fifthly The constant fulfilling of the Prophecies of them preach to all men their â—nfallibility God made good his Promise to Abraham Gen. 15. as also that to David 2 Sam. 7.12 to the 17. Also his Threatnings to Jeroboam 1 Kings 13.2 As also the Promises made in the 2d of Haggai and 3d of Malachi concerning Christ's coming to the second Temple which is now fallen Also Christ's Prophecy of the fall of this Temple and of Jerusalem Mat. 23.37 38. 24.2 19 20 21 22. Luke 21.20 21 22 23 24. is also come to pass As also the Prophecy of Paul 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. is you see fulfilled to a tittle with many more instances if need were all proving their heavenly birth Sixthly The unsupportable burthen of a Conscience which God woundeth for sin The sealing Testimony of his Love by the Spirit to the soul of the true believer The gracious Answers to prayers made to God in the name of Christ with other like experiences give to all gracious hearts most full assurance that the Scriptures were endited by the Spirit of God Seventhly Jehovah himself hath born witness of them that they are his words beyond all contradiction 1. By declaring the ten Commandments with his own Voice with that terrour as is exprest Exod. 19. and writing them twice with his own hand these being the grand Law on which the whole Scriptures depend and being the foundation of all Religion as by and by will appear 2. The wonderful Signs and Miracles wrought to confirm them as the bringing Israel out of Egypt through the Red-Sea and the Wilderness and Jordan by a piller of a Cloud by day and a piller of Fire by night into Canaan to the terrour of all the Nations round about Also the Sun standing still and coming back The Resurrection of Christ which will be proved anon and the Resurrection of others by Christ with other numberless Miracles all preaching to the world that the Scriptures are the Counsel and Will of God Quest But how shall we know that these wonders have been wrought but by the Scriptures own Testimony or by the Church Answ It may be known if this be considered that the Scriptures have alwayes had and to this day have so many feigned friends open enemies either flatly opposing them or to their uttermost secretly undermining and disgracing them or exalting humane inventions above them in so much that no sober Christian can doubt but that if there had beene possibility to have denied the report of those Miracles in that day in which they are said to be done the World could not have wanted Volumes enough to have shaken the Faith of the Christian World so called long before this day but although they be carpt at and undermined yet may all that love them challenge all their enemies to produce one known and approved Author that hath undertaken to reprove the report of those glorious Miracles and if none can be found then have we the greatest assurance that can be desired that they are certainly true Eightly And lastly They have a Testimony in the consciences and mouths of those that like not to be ruled by them and therefore make as little use of them as possible they can in setting up Religion You have a clear instance of the Papists to go no further Evident it is that as many Decrees Canons Articles Traditions and Ceremonies as the Church of Rome hath yet with all these and her mass-Mass-book Pope and Councils to boot with all their pretended infalliability yet they cannot have a Religion without the holy Scriptures although it be a well-known truth that they love them not For all those that honour and obey them and dare not transgress those blessed Precepts are the only grand Hereticks with them And as for such as conform to their abominable Idolatries and superstitious Inventions pass for Catholick people with them although they be notorious transgressors of the Law of God and yet if these men did wholly cast off the Scriptures as ill as they love them their Religion could not have a Being I am neither insensible nor forgetful that there are both foolish subtile indeavours by several sorts of men besides these some of them I may meet with at another turn others a reasonable understanding will answer and therefore I will go no further in this Quest Have you not some other consideration about the Scriptures meet to be opened you spake a little before of the Dignity of the ten Commandments will you prove those sayings Answ I did so and before I go further I think it meet to do that work for now having proved the Scriptures to be of divine Authority we may with all boldness apply our selves unto them as a safe guide in Religion And first for the Dignity of the ten Commandments it is most evident that they are a superior Law on which all other Laws in the Scriptures depend For this see Christ's own Testimony Mat. 22.35 where giving us the sum of that divine Law consisting in Love to God and to our Neighbour he tells us in express words that the whole Law and the Prophets hang upon it and that this is not my own exposition of the Text but the Apostle Pauls see
Religion 〈…〉 with 〈◊〉 Law therefore as we love Religion and would see it prosper let uâ— be tender of the root Our Saviour tells us not one jor or tittle shall pass from this Law and that he that breaketh one of the least of them shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 5.18 19. And James will not allow the breach of it in one point but requires the fulfilling of it Jam. 2.8 9 10 11. Quest Doth the Law stand in the same force and power now as when it was at first given because the Scriptures speak of it as old and done away dead to us and we to it with such-like expressions which make some think it doth not continue to be a Rule of life Answ First The Law continues the same in it self for ever and is an everlasting Rule of Godliness and Righteousness to all Generations as hath been proved nevertheless the Law hath no power to help our distresses which we lie in now since the Fall but our help cometh by our Lord Jesus alone As for example It cannot justifie us not sanctifie us look Rom. 3d 4th 7th chapters with many more Texts like them It cannot now give us life although once it was ordained for that purpose but it is now become the Ministration of Condemnation a killing letter out of whose power there were no escaping were not its cursing Office taken out of its hands by Jesus Christ look Rom. 7. 2 Cor. 3. with other-like places but I cannot now stand to discourse this at large it would require a Book of it self nevertheless I was willing to give thee a little hint or notice of these things to preserve thee from stumbling at this holy Law as many blind and ignorant souls do who will not have it at all that because it will not serve them therefore they will not have it cendemn them nor shew them their sin but this Office it will have in the world to the end of it Rom. 3.20 Quest If the whole and every tittle of the Law be for ever binding then the fourth Command must be binding also and that almost all men are against some think it abolished and that we are bound to keep no Sabhath at all others think it partly moral and partly ceremonial others think the Church had power to change it others think the Apostles and Church in their dayes changed it others think that a seventh part of time at the will and pleasure of man is sufficient instead of it Answ I answer in the words of the Prophet The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men that they are vanity Psal 94.11 for there is no ground for any of these thoughts but the fourth Command is like its fellows given at the beginning of the world and endures as long as the world endures Quest Will you speak a few words to prove its Perpetuity in particular Answ That I shall but seeing there are so many Treatises extant of so many Authors some dead and some living that have so fully proved it and answered all objections I shall say the less Brayborn Ocford Spitlehouse Stenit with many others I omit to name now yet notwithstanding I shall say something heat First It was given in a day of Innocency even the very first whole day of Adams being in the world which is enough to deliver it from all suspition of being ceremonial or changeable but a sanctified season to worship God in and to commemorate the Work of Creation for ever Quest The second of Genesis speaks of God's resting upon it and sanctifying it but is it plain that he gave it to Adam and so to the world Answ For answer to this when God sanctified the Sabbath it must be for Adam or for himself now it is so sorded to say or to think that he sanctified a Rest for himself that one would think that no man that is in his right mind would once imagine it As for outward Rest he cannot want Isa 40.28 and for inward Sanctification he can have as little want of that for who that owneth a God will not confess him to be perfect now if he had no need to sanctifie it for himself he did it for Adam or for no use at all but to judge him so vain in his actions is too great blasphemy for any to affirm that hath his reason and doth but use it Quest Have you any thing more to strengthen this proof Answ Yea when the Lord gave it with the other nine in the 20. of Exodus he placed it in the midst of his Law and wrote it with his own hand and put it into the Ark with its fellows and fenced it about with more Reasons to preserve it from violation than he did all the other six Commands following it and all those Reasons are of a moral nature not one of them otherwise so that here is no occasion given of mens so stumbling at it as they do but that the Duty is spiritual and mens hearts carnal and they love to be ruled by the flesh Quest But is there not ground to judge the Sabbath ceremonial from that 2d of the Colossians Answ Not at all if men did with care read and consider the Scriptures for evident it is that besides the New Moons and holy Dayes of which there were many there were four ceremonial Sabbaths in the seventh Month as appears Levit. 23.24 32 39. which if considered men would be wiser than to imploy that Text in that unworthy Service to take away the Seventh-Day-Sabbath especially seeing the Sabbaths there mentioned are of the nature of the New Moons holy Days shadows of things to come but the Seventh-Day-Sabbath appointed to commemorate the great Work past But further when God declared his ten Commandments in 〈…〉 of â—ny Sabbath but the Seventh-Day burgiveth his People in this Command as free leave to work the six dayes as if he never intended any other Sabbath should be kept at all and yet by Moses shortly after giveth command for them also All which sheweth plainly the difference between these two sorts of Sabbaths the one to contitute a Law for ever the other a shadow till the time of Reformation only Quest Seeing it is so opposed in the world speak one word or two more for its confirmation Answ Our Lord Jesus hath in the Now Testament sufficiently confirmed it First in general By telling that the Law in which the Sabbath is included shall remain in every jot and tittle of it till Heaven and Earth pass away and till all things be fulfilled now we know many great things spoken of in the Law and Prophets are not yet fulfilled neither is Heaven and Earth in any sence passed away and therefore the Sabbath must remain by that Rule without the diminishing of one tittle of it Mat. 5.17 18 19 20. these Texts are of a like import with that already named Luke 16.17 18. Jawes 2.8 10 11. Rev. 11.19 and 12.17
of Twenty Cubites long where it was by the Ministers of the Temple Christ's deadly enemies kept safe enough from any hand of earthly man none but a Messenger from Heaven could rent it again the Earth did quake and the Rocks rent which could not be but by an omnipotent Power all which made the Centurion and his Company though in all probability they were Heathens being Souldiers in Caesars Army cry out and say Truly this was the Son of God and if Souldiers who are commonly rude persons especially when they have such Masters as they had if they could not chuse but see this how much more should all men consider and take notice of God's Testimony so gloriously born on his behalf Thirdly The Resurrection of Christ proves it beyond exception Quest Yea but how shall that be proved clearly Answ There be three evident proofs of it 1. The witnesses of it are a considerable number not less than Five hundred at once 1 Cor. 15.6 7 8. and some of these died for this Testimony and what their holy Doctrine and Life was is to be seen in the New Testament and neither credit nor profit was to be gained by this Testimony besides two of these witnesses were such as had they not been extraordinarily convinced of the truth of it would not have believed it themselves Thomas proclaiming his unbelief till he felt and saw the print of the nailes and thrust his hand into his side which the Spear had made John 20.24 25. And as for Paul he persecuted this Testimony unto the death and had his hand in the blood of Stephen for it not altering his bloody purpose till by a Voice and a Light from Heaven he was smitten blind and unto the earth and he made to know that that Jesus whom he persecuted in his People was risien and ascended 2. The miserable excuse that was made to blind the Peoples understandings that they might not believe he was risen proves it evidently for he was laid in a Tomb which had a stone so great on the top of it that the good women were in care to get it removed when they came to anoint him Also there was a strong guard of Souldiers set to watch lest his Disciples should steal him who were so afraid of their own lives that they durst not meet but in the night an unlikely company to steal their Masters dead body from a band of Souldiers But now to make the world believe that these poor frighted men stole him away while they slept is most impossible for who can believe that the whole Guard should be asleep all at once or who can believe his Disciples durst venture to roul off that Stone in the midst of those Armed men to steal his Corps from them they being set there on purpose to prevent them from this act muchless was it possible for them to be able to give a just account whether he were stollen away or risen again if they had been all asleep indeed and it is not at all likely that those armed Souldiers ran from the Sepulchre to the High Priest in such a fear because the Disciples had stole him but indeed because the Angel of the Lord terrified them away from that fruitless work Neither yet can it enter into any mans heart to believe that ever the Priests and Elders of the Jews would ever go about to perswade the Governour to peace and reconciliation with those Souldiers that had so much neglected their duty to suffer him to be stole if indeed he had been stole but they would much rather have perswaded him to take them and hang them up every man of them for their negligence if it had not manifestly appeared that Jesus whom they caused to be crucified was indeed risen again from the dead Thirdly and lastly Besides the wonderful Miracles his Apostles did work in his Name the Gifts bestowed upon them so suddenly after his Ascention according to the Promise made to them the which we read of Acts 2.1 to the 11. proves it clearly for from whence could poor Fisher-men ignorant and unlearned at an instance attain such Gifts of Knowledge Courage Utterance as is there exprest but that it must needs be by the Power of the holy Spirit To all which I only ask this question I desire that the most unbelieving Jews will tell me what they expect from the Messiah they look for or what they can think he should be that Jesus Christ is not When this is soberly answered I will set Pen to Paper again if the Lord please that I live to see it in the mean time as one desiring the Salvation both of Jews and Gentiles I intreat all men to consider the main grounds of Religion and to get such sound Principles for the Foundation thereof as will substantially bear up the whole body of it A brief Answer to William Russel in a Book of his entituled No Seventh-Day-Sabbath in Christ's New Testament ALthough that which I have written already is enough to stop the mouths of all Opposers of God's most holy Law yet because the ignorance and folly of men is so great in this day I shall add a few words to what I have written already upon the occasion of a late Book I have seen intituled The Seventh-Day-Sabbath not Commanded by Jesus Christ in the New Testament but I desire thee good Reader not to expect that I should waste my time or be at the cost to follow William Russel with a Reply to that green-headed Piece of his that consisteth for the most part of it of Debates and Reasonings of other men but I shall apply my self to touch briefly some few passages asserted by William himself And first to that learned Assertion in the 12th page of his Book where he concludeth since his eyes were opened that the Ten Words being abolished as the first Covenant to do for Life they cannot continue as a Rule of Life the distinction is so nice that it is groundless To which I answer It is well you confess them to be the first Covenant and once given for Life the good Lord give thee and others Wisdom to take notice of the time when it was so given for it could never give Life therefore it must be in that day when it would have continued Life to eternity if it had been kept and therefore be not so witless as to think that when God gave his Law at Sinai as a Rule of Life for thy self confessest that so he did to Jews and Proselytes that then he intended it as a Covenant to do for Life for if he did he must intend to condemn them all for nothing is more evident than that they were all sinners and impossible it is that thou canst deny it to be against this Law they sinned For thou affirmest in the 37 page of thy Book That the New Covenant was not in force till after the Death of Christ therefore they could not according to thy judgement
this were indeed true we might well give over writing Books about Religion for there could be no possibility of Salvation neither for Jew nor Gentile For if Christ were a sinner his blood could take away no sin and a sinner he must needs be if he broke Sabbath and taught others so to do in a very high degree although the Sabbath had been but ceremonial for there was no shadow of the Law could be neglected the smallest of all the Ceremonies without sin till by Christs Death they were abolished But if William had had so much charity for his Saviour as to have judged him a better expounder of the Law than the Pharisees he had not fallen into this blasphemy Is it not enough for the Pharisees to lay that sin to his charge but you must second it to the hardening of the poor Jews and the destroying of the Faith of the Gentiles as much as in you lieth Therefore if the Sabbath-keepers be ignorant of Christ's Mediation as you tell your Reader they be if they come to you for knowledge they are like to be well helpt up As for your discourse about what is naturally moral and positively moral it is not worth a dispute there is so little between them the one as truly binding the Conscience as the other but for the Sabbath I have some reason to believe that it is naturally moral First There was never any people professing a God but kept one day in seven for his Worship And there is no Precept of the first Table that men do come nearer to ordinarily that have not the express Letter of the Law for their Rule Secondly The time is yet to come that ever I heard or saw any man dispute or write or preach against the Sabbath but he at that very time and in that very work asserted some thing that did plainly manifest that it was fairely written in his heart or else run himself upon this Rock that he shamefully broke the fifth Commandment to dispute down the fourth as I could give instance if need were But answer The first is Wherefore I am so sharp in my Answer to W. Russel To this I say I am taught of Solomon so to do in such a case as this Prov. 26.3 4.5 2. I was in fear he would greatly dishonour the Gospel when he was going to print and desired to see his Copy and to reason with him first but he would not and 't is just to lash him that is past Counsel The second Question I expect is Wherefore I do not as well answer Mr. Ives as he To this I say For his Book Mr. Braborn hath answered it but for his dispute I have in part and shall in a few words more give some little account of it the naming whereof is answer enough When he began he denied the Seventh-day-Sabbath upon this account That it was never given to the Gentiles neither by the Law of Nature nor by the Law of Moses nor yet by the Law of Christ and his whole discourse was to this effect so that the Appendix of his dispute is in those words which to answer is enough and truly the answer to them is needless if we lived in an Age where Wisdom is to be found For what man of any reasonable understanding but must needs see that this Arrow is shot at the heart of the Scriptures as well as the Sabbath the whole Old Testament being as well denied to be a Rule of Life to the Gentiles as the fourth Commandment for all men know that as many as ever the Old Testament was given to the Sabbath was given to and he all along throughout the whole dispute made it his business to deny the Sabbath was ever given to any People or the observation thereof required at their hands save the Stock of Israel and those that Proselyted themselves and came and lived in the Confines of Palestina and it was no slip of the tongue nor an Arrow shot at a venture but his mind and intention to exclude all the Scriptures that ever were written to the Jews from being any Law or Rule of Life to us Gentiles is manifest in that he denied the Gospel of Matthew the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistle of James only for that reason because they were written to the Jews and so concerned not us Gentiles And his exception against the Sabbath was not that which is common to some others namely that it was of a differing nature from the other nine but because it was Moses's Law and therefore never given to the Gentiles I need give no answer to this having said enough to this point before in the former part of my Book neither when I began to write did I intend to meddle with disputes but did think this Errour so sordid that it would die of it self and I had no pleasure to give it a resurrection but finding the contrary that it is as a spreading Leproâ—â— spanâ— there be yet some no wiser than to build upon this man as an Orâ—â—â—â— therefore I have given thee good Reader a true account of that Dispute so much magnified Now for to follow these men with any further reply than barely to discover their Errours I cannot see it reasonably to be expected until first themselves have declared what Books or parts of Books of the New Testament they do own as a Rule of Life to bind the Consciences of believing Gentiles that we may know by what Texts of holy Scripture the controversy shall be decided for if we should prove the Sabbath a duty from Matthew the Acts or James and they or any of them that deny the ten Commandments should answer These Books were given to the Jews and concern not the Gentiles all our labour is lost but when you have called a Council and agreed this among your selves then shall you have a fuller Answer if it be needful and required if I live to see it THE END