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A44242
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The Holy time of Christmas defended against non-conformists and all others its prophaners and opposers, or, A discourse shewing that a religious observation of Christmas is apostolical and worthy every good Christian
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1676
(1676)
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Wing H2529; ESTC R28109
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8,613
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14
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away the whole New Testament For how can he tell St. Matthew wrote this Book St. Luke that and so of the rest but by the universal immemorial Testimony of several Christian Countrys If Almighty God will Oblige me to keep such Daies Holy as were so appointed and reverence such Books as Divine as were by Divine Inspiration written sixteen Hundred Years before I was born he cannot reasonably expect I should know and distinguish either the one or the other but by the immemorial Testimonys of my Ancestors in several Countries But how at the Day of Iudgment I should Answer the refusal of such a Book or the Non-Observance of such a Day So immemorially recommended by my Ancestors I cannot tell It belongs to the providence of our Blessed Saviour to take care that no Age should be so devilishly malitious universally to tell their Children a Book of their own forging the like may be said of a Holy-Day or other Ritual Observance was written by a Holy Apostle of Jesus Christ some hundred of Years before One Man may be presumed to be so Malicious whole Nations never did nor ever can do any such thing Nor does the Church of England in this differ from the Church of Rome as if she thought what the Apostles VVrit was of greater Authority then what they Taught or Ordained She willingly admits all Traditions of which she can have good proof that they come from the Apostles Such are the Observations of Christmass Lent Easter c. But if Christmas Day was taught the VVorld by the Apostles how comes it to pass we have no mention of it in all the New Testament VVhat daies were to be Observed by the Jews are made mention of over and over in the old Testament how comes it to pass if Christmas Day or other Days be to be Observed by Christians we find no mention of them in any of the Books of the New Scripture Reflect upon the nature of the Books of the two Testaments and the Reason is Manifest For if you consider the Old Testament you will find not only Historical Books such are the books of Judges the Kings c. and moral Books which treat of good Life c. such are the Proverbs Ecclesiastes others But besides these there are Ritual Books which by the very subject of them every one sees their Design was to describe the external Mosaical VVorship as to Observation of Daies Priestly Garments Sacrifices c. Such are the Books of Exodus Leviticus and Deuteronomy And therefore no wonder if you find exactly set down what Daies that people was to keep Holy How their Priests were to be Consecrated and how Vested in time of Divine Service c. But now cast your Eye upon all the Books of the New-Testament and you 'l not find one that you can reasonably presume the Author of it had a Design in it to Describe the External VVorship of the Gospel VVhat daies for Example we Christians are to observe in memory of Christian Mercies and Misters what Garments our Priests are to use in Divine Service c. And yet the Light of God within us tells us such Institutions are very useful to increase Piety when Religiously Observed and all History tells us that immemorially in all Nations there have been certain external Christian Rites not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures ever since the first planting of Christianity amongst them The four Gospels are a History of our Blessed Saviours Life and Death who lived as to the external Rites of Religion according to the Jewish Law and so we cannot reasonably in any of them expect what Days we Christians are to observe in the time of the Gospel Indeed had the Acts of the Apostles been intended as an exact Narration how the Apostles lived as to the whole course of their Life what Days they kept Holy and what Days they Fasted c. VVe might reasonably have expected some mention there of Christmas Day and Lent But that Holy Book making mention only of some few particular passages of two or three of the Apostles Lives the Apostles might well keep Christmas Day and Lent too and teach them also to their first Converts and yet there be a profound silence of such Observations in the Book of their Acts. As for St. Johns Prophetical Book it were no ways proper in it to treat either of Christmas Day or Lent Though I must tell you for ought you or I know when St. John says he was in the Spirit on the Lords Day he may mean the Day of our Lords Birth or the yearly Easter Day of his Resurrection as well as our VVeekly Sunday The rest of the New Testament are certain Epistles or Letters of spiritual Counsels written by St. Paul or some other Apostle to particular Persons or whole Cities already instructed in the Christian way of VVorship But why they should needs make mention therein of Christmas Day I understand not unless perchance the Persons they wrote unto had been deficient in keeping it Holy But does not St. Paul expresly deery the keeping of Christmass-Day in one of his Epistles and tells the Christians he wrote to he was afraid he had laboured in vain amongst them by reason of their Superstitious Observation of Dayes Gal. 4.9 10. How are ye Converted again to weak and beggarly Elements which you will Serve again Ye observe Dayes and Months and Times and Years I am afraid of you lest I should have laboured amongst you in Vain Was then the Holy Apostle afraid lest the Galations should leave Christianity and return to Judaism or Paganism because of their Observing Christmass-Day in Memory of our Blessed Saviour's Birth or Lent in Memory of his Fasting forty Dayes or Easter in Memory of his Resurrection Is this a likely Story Or is it not evident from the Context Of their returning again to weak and poor Elements that because of their returning to the Observation of Jewish-Dayes Commanded by Moses or Pagan Dayes in honour of Jupiter Mars or Saturn he was afraid they would Relinquish the Gospel by them Received and become Jews again or Pagans But still methinks I am afraid of Superstition and Will-Worship by observing a Day which I fear God has never Commanded me But you have more reason to be afraid of Prophaners in neglecting a Day which you have all reason to think God has Commanded you to keep Holy if you Reflect well upon what I have said above Seeing you are Commanded to keep Holy Christmass-Day by doing only such Actions as you acknowledge to be Christianly and Good What danger can there be of Superstition Especially when you are not Taught neither that such Actions are then more acceptable to God Almighty than at another times Only you are Commanded at that Set-Time to do them lest otherwise you should wholly omit Them My deerest Relations whom I pity with my Soul take heed whilst under pretence of Opposing Anti-Christ you be not one day
THE HOLY TIME OF CHRISTMAS Defended Against NON-CONFORMISTS and all others its Prophaners and Opposers OR A Discourse shewing That a Religious Observation of CHRISTMAS is Apostolical and Worthy every good Christian LONDON Printed in the Year MDCLXXVI Christmas Defended against it's Prophaners UNhappy times in which we live That we should all believe that sixteen Hundred years ago a certain Man who was also God called Jesus was born in a Stable for the Salvation of Mankind and yet that there should be certain amongst us who should count it a piece of Religion not to keep Holy the Day on the which our said Great Redeemer was born O unhappy Times O cross Manners of mis-instructed Zelots Does not Reason the Light of God within us tell us that if the Consubstantial Son of the Almighty has been so Good as for our sakes to become Man cloathing himself with the Raggs of our Mortality We ought with Joy and Thanksgiving to remember so high a Favour And does not the same Reason and Experience teach us that the setting a part that particular Day as near as we can guess on which some notable Accident has happened in Memory of it does strangely help us more livelily freshly and affectionatly to commemorate the said Wonder Tell me candidly your Thoughts Should we by no other Memorial but the History of Boscobel relate to Posterity the wonderful Restauration of our Gracious Soveraign how little knowledge and how faint a Belief think you would there be all over England of that strange Wonder and all it's circumstances a thousand years hence We cannot reasonably imagin but the generality of the common People would be wholly ignorant of it and we may without rash Judgment surmize there would not want Cavilling Wits who would call in question the whole Story and for some seemingly unlikely circumstances condemn the whole Narration as fabulous or at best of very doubtful and uncertain credit So that in effect Posterity some Ages hence would have little more Belief of that undoubted History than we have now of the Fable of Guy of Warwick But let us go on as we have begun to commemorate that strange accident with a Day set a part on purpose Religiously to be observed in all the Parishes of England by publick Prayers and Sermons suited to the occasion and 't is not possible but till Dooms-day come there shall be an assured Belief and fresh Memory of it in the generality of all English Hearts Has Nature then made us so cunning for ever to keep in memory what we have a mind should never be forgotten And can you think Grace or the Holy Ghost was wanting to make the first Planters of Christianity so wise as to think upon a happy Expedient how all Generations all the World over might have a fresh Memory and assured Faith of the wonderful Nativity of their Lord and Saviour especially when the lively Memory of the said their Lord's Nativity with all it's circumstances is strangely conducing to the Salvation of the World But why do I urge the authority of Reason and Nature Did not infinit unerring Wisdom and the God of Nature use this very Means to propagate to posterity the Memory of the stupendious Wonders he wrought amidst his beloved People the Jews by the hand of his Servant Moses Read from the sixth Chapter to the fourteenth in the Book of Exodus and take notice of those strange VVonders Almighty God wrought to compel Pharaoh to let his chosen People go into the VVilderness to worship him turning all the Rivers of Egypt into Blood filling the whole Country in their very houses with Froggs c. and finally killing all their First-born both of Man and Beasts And now because a lively Memory of these VVonders to all Generations would be of admirable benefit to every Age as well to preserve in them a strong actual Faith of the true God the Author of all those Miracles as a Holy Dread of the same Divine Majesty and care to observe his Commandements Almighty God ordained that for ever that very day on which his People came out of Egypt should be Solemn and Sacred and observed with such Ceremonies as might make Posterity even see their Ancestors going out of Egypt many hundreds of years before They must kill a Lamb and eat the flesh of the same Lamb with Unleavened Bread c. in token of what their Ancestors did in like manner in Egypt and to remember the great haste in which they departed with unleavened Dough on their backs and for ever offer to Almighty God their First-born both of Man and Beasts in memory of his killing the Firstlings of the Egyptians and sparing theirs And this account they were to give of this Ceremonial observance when they should in future Generations be asked the reason of it by their Children Exod. 13. v. 14. When thy Son shall ask thee to Morrow saying What is this Thou shalt answer him in a strong hand the Lord brought us out of the Land of Egypt For when Pharaoh was hardned and would not let us goe the Lord killed all the First-born in the Land of Egypt from the First born of Man to the Firstling of Beasts therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that opens the Womb of the Masculine Sex and all the First-begotten of my Sons I redeem Such a provision as this made it utterly impossible to the Jews ever to forget for all Generations what the Almighty had wrought in favour of their Ancestors in bringing them out of Egypt And he must be out of his VVits or devoid of common sense that could question a matter of Fact so solemnly immemorially commemorated and so particularly recounted in a Book which a whole People time out of mind has venerated as a most true History For had the Rivers of Egypt not been turned into Blood the like I say of the rest of the VVonders no man could have had the impudence to have committed to VVriting as most certain Truths what thousands must necessarily have known to be most notorious Lyes Much less could any one have prevailed with many thousands in a most serious and solemn manner to commemorate yearly with thanksgiving to God what they all knew had never happened And can it now enter into any Christian mans heart to think that Moses was more faithful and careful to preserve in the Memories of the Jews the VVonders the Almighty wrought to deliver that particular People from under the Bondage of Pharaoh Then was Jesus Christ and his Apostles to keep in the fresh memory of all Christians the stupendious VVonders wrought to deliver the whole VVorld from the Eternal slavery of Sin and Devils Let it be Four of our Lords followers have left written Memorials of his Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven But had all his first Missionaries to the VVorld ordained in every County converted by them to the Christian Faith that they should yearly spend the Day