sixe daies for a Sabbath you take but one day out of sixe daies not one day out of seven daies for one of the seven daies is exempted and excepted so as it may not be taken In case we were wont to choose a Major out of seven Citizens and now the King forbids us to choose the last man of the seven because he is sickly and like to dye or dead though antiently our choice was one out of seven yet now it is but one out of sixe God commands to keepe the seventh day holy but Mr Cawdry hath brought it down to one day of seven and upon further search it is come down to one day of sixe So far of this fourth Absurdity The fifth Absurdity It is absurd if not also impious and wicked to alter the exposition sense and meaning of the Ceremoniall Commandements and therefore it must be so to alter the exposition of the fourth Commandement or any of the ten morall Commandements take these instances first see Lev. 23.24 In the seventh month and the first day of the month ye shall have a Sabbath for the remembrance of blowing the Trumpet c. were it not an impious thing to alter the sense of this Commandement saying God intended no more by this ordinall number the seventh month but this that the people should give him a Sabbath in any one of the seven months Secondly see Lev. 25.4 Sixe yeares thou shalt sow thy field but the seventh yeare shall be a Sabbath c. Had Mr Cawdry wrote in Moses daies he could have taught the people that they might give God but some one or other of the seven yeares for a Sabbath Thirdly the Passeover was to be kept on the fourteenth day of the month I could Mr Cawdry say that is upon some one or other of the fourteene daies Fourthly the eighth day was appointed for Circumcision yet can Mr Cawdry say by this ordinall number the eighth may be meant one of the eight daies as the first or third c. Fifthly Christ rose the third day but it may be upon some one of the three daies as on the first day or second God commanded Circumcision on the eighth day may not Mr Cawdry say hence Christians be bound to baptize Children on the ninth day the day after or on the first day For he saith we are to keep our Sabbath on the eighth or first day Is not this to make the Scriptures a Nose of Waxe If it be absurd yea and wickedly done to alter the sense of of the Ceremoniall Laws is it not so too to alter the sense of a morall Law The sixth Absurdity Supposing but not granting that Mr Brabourne were bound in a bond to pay to Mr Cawdry twenty pounds upon Christmas day the twenty fifth day of December when Mr Cawdry can make him beleeve that this twenty pounds is due to him upon the first day of December or upon any one of the twenty five daies of December then shall he make him beleeve also that when God binds men in the bond of the fourth Commandement to sanctifie the Sabbath day the seventh day of the weeke then he binds men by his bond of the fourth Commandement to sanctifie the first day of the week the Lords day or any one of the seven daies Our common Lawyers in pleading a Bond before a Judge would be ashamed of such Law but our eminent Divines in preaching to the people of the bond of the fourth Commandement are â—ot ashamed of such Divinity Againe when Mr Cawdry will be willing to take for his tenth or tithe Lambe any one of the ten be it a rotten lame leane or blind Lambe then it may be he shall pâ—rswade me that by Gods seventh day we may understand some one day of the sixe working daies The seventh Absurdity All Divines that I have read confesse that the seventh day and Saturday-Sabbath was commanded to the Jews in the fourth Commandement and the Jews now living wheresoever do keepe the Saturday by the fourth Commandement yea and Mr Cawdry saith often in his Books of the Sabbath that the seventh and last day was appointed to the old world that is to the Jews but if now and â—ince Christ the Saturday and sevâ—nth-day-Sabbath be not comamnded in the fourth Commandement but some other one day of seven as the Lords day the first day of the weeke then the sense and meaning of the fourth Commandement is altered and changed from what it was antiently and a new sense and meaning is given of it if this be not an absurdity or rather a madnesse I know not what is Shall the words in the Scripture be thought to change their sense with the times Shall they have one sense to day and another to morrow Is not this the sin of him that thought he might change times and Laws Dan. 7.25 That one word in divers Texts may signifie divers things is nothing strange but that one and the same word in one and the same Text the fourth Commandement should signifie antiently one thing and in our daies another thing this is an absurdity matchlesse That by Sabbath and seventh day the fourth Commandement should â—â—joyne the Saturday to the Jews and the Sunday to the Gentiles the Saturday for thousands of years unto Christ and the Sunday for ever after Christ this may well be called the Queene of absurdities Hath the approach of the Gospell changed the meaning of the words in the Law If words in the Decalogue shall have one sense before Christ came and another sense after Christs comming there will be no certaine sense of any of the ten Commandements Were a Schoolemaster to construe Terence or other profane Author to his Scholars he would be ashamed to give any sense divers from an antient known sense but we have Ministers not ashamed to abuse their Auditors worse than a Schoolemaster would abuse his Schollers wherefore Schoolemasters shall rise up in judgement to condemne such Ministers God never bestowed wit and learning on such Ministers and I may say honesty too to corrupt his Scriptures and to abuse their Auditors Is this to take charge of the Soules of the people For my part laying aside the respects I beare to God and to the Scriptures I care not whether you keepe Saturday-Sabbath Sunday-Sabbath or Monday Sabbath and if we kept none at all it were best of all but if we have respect to God or to his Scriptures let us give him the day of his own choice not another let us not so shamefully and abominably corrupt his Scriptures by notorious false expositions it were far better for the Church and State to have no Scriptures than to have Scriptures falsely expounded to the people The eighth Absurdity Suppose we that Christ had left a Commandement in the New Testament for the Lords day as certainly God left a Commandement for Saturday the seventh day in the Old Testament and suppose that Christ had said Remember the Lords day
An Answer To M. Cawdry's two Books of the Sabbath Lately come forth Wherein the Author doth two things 1. He vindicates himselfe from Mr Cawdrie's unfriendly abuse of him in fathering upon him three Texts of Scripture and three Arguments deduced from them to prove the perpetuity of the antient Sabbath which the Author doth in no case own 2. He vindicates the fourth Commandement from M. Cawdry's false Exposition of it Wherein the Author hath 1. Answered and confuted all that Mr Cawdry hath wrote to corrupt the sense and meaning of the Commandement 2. He hath restored the antient genuine and proper sense of the Commandement and confirmed it by sundry undeniable Arguments By Theophilus Brabourne Mat. 5 18 19. Vntill heaven and earth passe away one jot or one tittle shall in no wise passe from the Law Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandements and shall teach men so he shall be least in the kingdome of heaven London Printed for William Franklin and are to be sold at Norwich 16â—4 To the Reader SAint Jude exhorts us that we should earnestly contend for the truth which was once delivered unto the Saints And the Prophet Jeremiah complaines of men in his time who bent their tongues like Bows for lies but they were not valiant or couragious for the Truth Jer. 9.3 If ever St Jude's Exhortation was needfull in the Church it is now needfull when the truth or true doctrine of the Sabbath once delivered to the Saints is so shamefully corrupted and abused If ever there was a time when the Prophet Jeremiah's complaint was verified now is the time Do not men now yea Ministers and of all ministers those accounted the most forward hot and zealous do not these bend their tongues like bows for lies And doth not Mr Cawdry appeare in the front by his three books of about twelve shillings price though to little purpose Whether these expositions of the fourth Commandement be truths or falsities I leave my Reader to judge after he hath read this little Booke They say first So be it we give God a day for his Sabbath it matters not what day be it Saturday or Sunday As if God had never made choiâ—e of his day They might as well say So be it we have a man to dispense the Sacraments it matters not what man be he Minister or Lay-man Secondly They say God did not command in his fourth Commandement the Sabbath day as of a certaine day definitely but a Sabbath day as of some uncertaine day indefinitely as if God delivered his Commandements in ambiguous terms and doubtfull words as if no man could know by the Commandement what day God meant his people should keep for his Sabbath day Thirdly They say by the ordinall word seventh in the fourth Commandement we need not understand Saturday the seventh and last day of the week but any one day of the sâ—ven as Sunday the first day of the weeke as if when God commanded the last day of the week we may understand him of the first day of the weeke Fourthly whereas God rested at the Creation on Saturday the seventh day for our imitation they say we may imitate Gods example if we rest on Sunday the first day as if we imitated Gods example by crossing of it for he rested at the end of the weeke and we rest at the beginning of the weeke Fifthly They say the fourth Commandement enjoyned the Jews to keep Saturday the same fourth Commandement enjoynes Christians to keepe Sunday as if one and the same Commandement should enjoyns contrary things as the Saturday which they call Judaisme and the Sunday or Lords day which they call their Christian Sabbath and so it shall enjoyne both Judaisme and Christiaâ—isme and so the fourth Commandement shall have one sense and meaning yesterday and another this day for thousands of yeares till Christ it shall have one expositition as for Saturday and for ever after Christ it shall have another exposition as for Sunday Now to make up the number of seven abominations Mr Cawdry will adde two more as these ensuing Sixthly The Sabbath day and seventh day mentioned in the fourth Commandement are not the substance of the fourth Commandement but one day in seven is the substance as if the words expressed in the Commandement should be no substance and yet one day in sâ—ven which words are not expressed should be the substance of it Seventhly The Sabbath day and seventh day mentioned in the fourth Commandement are indirectly commanded but one day of seven of which there are no such words in the Commandement and yet these are directly commanded as he saith Was there ever any of God's ten Commandements thus shattered by Jesuites and thus wrung and wrested from the genuine and true sense intended by God and yet these are the expositions given by the godly Ministers Now may I not justly take up the Prophet Jeremiah's complaint of these so zealous Ministers saying They bend their tongues like Bows to publish false Expositions of Gods fourth Commandement The Lord threatned old Eli the Priest saying They that despise me shall be despised 1 Sam. 2.30 And have not these Ministers despised God by corrupting the sense of one of his ten Commandements And hath not God of late despised them Never did God poure greater contempt upon Clergy men than in our daies wherein they are ashamed to weare black Coats and turne into colours These things premised now I shall give my Reader an account how far I have answered Mr Cawdry's Books He hath wrote three books of the Sabbath the first part about seven yeares agone the other two parts now lately I do not undertake to answer all that he hath wrote for many things he hath wrote not against me but in confutation of the Bishop of Eli Doctor White 's Book which was an Answer unto my second Booke of the Sabbath and particularly against what I wrote in it in maintenance of the antient Sabbath but granting what I wrote against the Lords day Sabbath And divers things he hath wrote against Dr Heyline and against Master Primrose Now I leave these things unto their proper Authors I meddle with no more than with what he hath wrote against me as touching the antient Sabbath and the Lords-day Sabbath as touching these two I give this account 1. As touching the antient Sabbath I do not endeavour punctually to confute any of his Answers made to divers of my twenty foure Arguments left my books should be cmmitted to the fire and I should offend the State yet I have much ado to bridle my selfe so as to be silent in this quarrell I only endeavour to vindicate my selfe from Mr Cawdry's unfriendly abuse of me by fathering upon me the things I never wrote and to vindicate God's fourth Commandement from his false Expositions of it and my hope is that the State will permit a man to do so much for God and for himselfe 2. As for the
time for Ecclesiasticall Hâ—storians antiently used the name Sabbath day for Saturday the Latines do so to this day and in England as in the case of a Writ we do the same as I have shewâ— before wherefore since there never was nor is known in the Churches any weekly day named Sabbath day but one namely Saturday therefore the fourth Commandement must be expounded of this one day Saturday the seventh and last day of the weeke and not of a Sabbath day indefinitely as uncertaine which day it is thus you have seene this Argument proved But it will be said Is not our Lords day commonly called Sabbath day in all Pulpits and in all Books I answer yea it is so called by such as love to miscall things and to nick-name daies so they may call if they please every Fast day every Thanksgiving day every Christmas day But sure I am this is but a novelty of yesterdaies standing and as the name is novell so is the observation of the Lords day as or for a Sabbath novell also as by and by you shall see For 1. The Lords day was never called Sabbath day in any Scripture of the New Testament let them shew us a Text for it if they can 2. These Authors before mentioned St Augustine Peter Martyr Calvin Zanchie Vrsinus Paraeus Chemnitius Melanchion with many others all these wrote of the Lords day that it is but an indifferent thing and of the same authority with Good Friday the Passion day Christmas day and o her holy daies of the Church and therefore these men could not think in their times the Lords day was a Sabbath or call the Lords day Sabbath day as we do in reference to the fourth Commandement 3. In the fifth yeare of Edward the sixth an Act was made for the keeping of Holy daies as Sunday St Matthews day St Marks day and the other holy daies In which Act both the King the Lords spirituall the Bishops the Lords Temporall and the House of Commons expressely confessed that they knew no Scripture for Sunday or the other Holy daies and therefore they could not call Sunday or St Matthews day Sabbath daies and therefore this nicknaming of daies as to call the Sunday and Lords day Sabbath day and to keepe it as a Sabbath is but a novelty and sprang up but since Edward the sixth his daies 4. I am sixty foure yeares of Age and so cannot remember much above fifty yeares yet I do remember such works commonly done on the Lords day as I am sure are no Sabbath days works For in the City of Norwich about fifty yeares ago the City Waits or Musitians were wont for divers weekes in the yeare to play upon the Market Crosse on the latter paâ—t of the Lords day thousands of people there assembled to heare them At the new elected Majors gate they played at Wasters or Cudgels on the latter part of the Lords day with hundreds of people looking on And the Sealing Office was open and Weavers carrying and recarrying their Sâ—uffs to be sealed The Merchants bought their Sâ—uff on the Lords day and packed them in great packs the same day and the Carts loaded the Stuffs the same day at night and went towards London by foure a clock the next morning these things were done with the knowledge of all the Magistrates and without contradiction of the most godly Ministers I have been credibly informed that about ten yeares before my time a religious Grocer in the City did open his shop ordinarily on the Lords day and Mr Moore the most religious Minister then in the City hath come into the Shop seeing them buying and selling Grocery wares and did never rebuke them for it or say why do you so And another antient and religious man a Shooemaker told me this day that in his younger time Shooemakers sold shooes on the Lords day ordinarily wherefore the observation of the Lords day as a Sabbath day is but a novelâ—y and they that thus kept it could not thinke it was a Sabbath day or call it a Sabbath day so far of my fifth Argument Argument the sixth If the fourth Commandement was expounded by Moses and the Prophets for Saturday the seventh and last day of the weeke and not for Sunday the first day of the weeke or any one day of the seven then the fourth Commandement is now to be expounded for Saturday the seventh and last day of the weâ—ke and not for Sunday the first day of the weeke or for any one day of the seven But the fourth Commandement was expounded by Moses and the Prophets for Saturday the seventh and last day of the weeke and not for Sunday â—he first day of the weeke or for one daâ— of seven Therefore the fourth Commandement ought in our times to be expounded for Saturday the seventh and last day of the weeke not for Sunday the first day of the weeke or for any one day of the seven As for the fiâ—st proposition it stands firme by this reason Looke what was once the true sense and meaning of Gods Laws the same is the sense and meaning of it for ever after for the sense and meaning of Scripture do not vary and change with the change of timeâ— as if Scripture had one exposition and meaning to day and another to morrow we can find no better rule for the expounding of any Text of Scripture in the Old Testament than to expound it as Moses and the Prophets did antiently If therefore the fourth Commandement was antiently expounded for Saturday it must be so expounded still and in our times Take a ceremoniall Law as that of Circumcision or the Passeover and if you will expound and open the sense of it now you must render the same sense of it now which Moses and the Prophets gave of it antiently or else your exposition is false I do not say a ceremoniall Law binds now as it did antiently but yet I say the exposition of it is the same now which it was antiently as if you fall upon exposition of the time and day of Circumcision or the Passover you must expound it now of the eighth day not of the seventh or ninth day and of the foureteenth day of the month not of the foureteenth day of the yeare and so you must deale with every of the ten morall Commandements or else you deale falsely with them As for the second Preposition it is cleare that Moses and the Prophets did expound the fourth Commandement to their people the Jews for Saturday the seventh and last day of the weeke not for Sunday the first day of the weeke or for any one day of the seven because the Church of the Jews who were taught and instructed by Moses and the Prophets kept the Saturday and not the Sunday by the fourth Commandement yea this Mr Cawdry confesseth saying The seventh and last day of the weeke was appointed to the old world that is to the Jews so far of
to sanctifie it the first day of the weeke is the Lords day in it thou shalt do no worke for the Lord Christ reâ—â—ed or rose from the dead on the first day of the weeke and therefore the Lord Christ blessed the Lords day and sanctified it If now Mr Brabourne should preach on this Commandement or write a book for the true Exposition of it and instruct the people of the Land saying 1. By the Lords day you are to understand a Lords day but not the Lords day for every day of the weeke is the Lord Christs day in some sense 2. By the first day of the weeke you may understand some one day of the weeke or other 3. We may imitate Christs resting or rising from death on the first day of the weeke if we Christians rest upon some one or other day of the weeke as on Saturday the last day of the weeke 4. The Lords day was appointed to the Grecians in the first Age of the Church but Saturday the seventh day to us Christians 5. The Lords day and first day of the weeke are not the substance of Christs Commandement but Saturday the last of the weeke 6 The Lords day and first day of the weeke are indirectly commanded by Christ but Saturday the seventh day of the weeke are directly commanded Should I thus expound this Commandement of Christ oh how would the Patrons of the Lords day rage stampe and storme at me Saying how shamefully doth this Brabourne corrupt Christ his Law for the Lords day How abominably doth he abuse Gods people by his false Expositions Never did Jesuite so abuse and corrupt any Texts of Scripture as this man hath abused our Lord Christ his Commandement the Devils themselves did never so abuse the Scriptures it is pitty the man is suffered to live any longer hanging is too good for him burne him like an Heretick I cannot expresse the one halfe of their zeale in this kind and I confesse all this were worthily spoken against me if I had so done but now I pray compare my supposed Exposition of Christs supposed Commandement with Mr Cawdrie's reall Exposition of Gods reall fourth Commandement in the sixe particulars mentioned and behold how paralell and alike they are one to the other point by point now if my Exposition be abominably absurd what then is theirs and if Jesuits yea and the Devill never did the like what may too many of our most zealous Ministers thinke of themselves who do the same dâ—yly and are the most forward and stirring in this kind of exposition so far of the Absurdities and now I come to my Conclusion The Conclusion HAving vindicated God's fourth Commandement from Mr Cawdrie's false Expositions of it now it will be expected that I should proceed in answer to other passages of his Books and in particular to confute his answers made unto divers of my twenty foure Arguments for the antient Sabbath and to answer or confute his Texts alleaged by him in maintenance of the Lords-day-Sabbath as it is called now adaies touching these two I shall give this account First concerning the antient Sabbath if I should maintaine my twenty foure Arguments Mr Cawdry or some of his friends for him might complaine to the State and procure my book to be answered by fire as Jewish for so was Mr Ockfords book of like kind but I am resolved that no provocations shall force me to proceed so far againe having vindicated the fourth Commandement from this false exposition of one day in seven I have confuted the most of his Answers given by him to many of my 24 Arguments so as it is needlesse for me to proceed any further Now as touching Mr Cawdrie's Texts alledged by him to prove the Lords day to be kept for a Sabbath if I should answer them as nothing is more facile and easie to be done I might so also run the hazzard of having my books burnt with fire but I will not offend the State so far I shall therefore satisfie my selfe with this that I have many yeares since discharged my conscience by writing of two severall books wherein I have made answers plentifully to every one of their Texts of Scripture and given not one but many answers unto every one of their Texts of Scripture the which answers were never yet confuted by any man and yet it is about twenty sixe yeares since I wrote my first book and about twenty two yeares since I wrote my second booke nor hath Mr Cawdry now confuted those answers albeit he hath made a great flourish with three great books saying he will confute all gainsayers but it is very false for he hath not confuted Mr Brabourne I observe that albeit M. Cawdry is larger upon the Sabbath than any man yet hath he nothing new or more for matter than others have wrote many yeares agone new books but old matter more words but no more matter the Practice of Piety in a few leaves is as large for matter as M. Cawdries three large books of twelve shillings price now since Mr Cawdry hath brought no new Texts of Scripture to light or new Arguments for the Lords day wherefore should I blot paper and spend inke to answer that in him which I have fully answered long since to others who have wrote the same things before him Whilest I was in writing of my first booke of the Sabbath and in answering the Texts of Scripture alledged for the Lords day me thought they were such simple and silly things for that purpose as my thoughts often checked me for vouchsafing an answer to them fearing understanding Divines would secretly thinke that Brabourne was some Ignoramus or some vainglorious man labouring to gaine credit by fighting with a shaddow and confuting what no judicious Schollar would â—aintaine I remember that divers times I tooke off my Pen to pause whether I should go on or not and doubtlesse I had then broke off but that I saw so many of our most zealous Ministers so far from being ashamed of it as they with a deale of not zeale maintained it but I may say of them as once Saint Paul said of those superstitious Jews They have the zeale of God but not according to knowledge Rom. 10.2 And as Christ said to the Scribes and Pharisees Woe be unto you blind guides for misleading the devout people of the Land Mat. 23. and so I end FINIS
in my other booke but cannot find any where that I alledged this text to prove the perpetuity of the seventh day-Saturday-Sabbath wherefore I disclaime this text also as none of mine but of Mr Cawdry's own devising As for his answer to it doth Mr Cawdry thinke Mr Brabourne so rash in choosing a Text to prove the Sabbaths perpetuity as to make choice of this text where the Sabbath is not preferred above the New Moons for perpetuity But Mr Cawdry it seems knew no better way to bring Mr Brabourne into contempt with his Reader than to forge such shallow-brain'd things as this is and then to father them upon Mr Brabourne Having spoken of the three texts severally now I shall speake of them joyntly Mr Cawdry placeth these his and not mine three texts in the front before my two texts which I owne of which too by and by here I note his sophistry and carnall policy hoping by the weaknesse of these three Texts and my arguing so weakely from them to bring me and my two texts following into a weake estimation with his Reader that so he may thinke there is no more strength of Argument in my two following texts than is in the three texts going before The fourth and fifth Texts Sâ—e Mr Cawdry in page 431. thus writing Objection the fourth The fourth is taken out of the New Testament Mat. 5.17 18. where our Saviour ratifies the morall Law the Decalogue till the end of the world whence thus he argueth If every jot and tittle of the Law be in force untill the worlds end then these letters and words the seventh day is the Sabbath are in force untill the worlds end But the former is true by the Text alledged Mat. 5.17 18. Ergo c. Objection the fifth The last Text is Mat. 24.20 whence thus he argues Their destruction was forty yeares after Christs death yet he bids them pray that their flight might not be in the winter nor on the Sabbath day and therefore Christ foresaw that the Sabbath day should be in force still and kept after his death These two texts indeed I own for mine and the substance of the two Arguments deduced from them though but unhandsomly laid down by Mr Cawdry now let the Reader judge whether there be not better force of proofe in these two texts than there was in the three texts set before them in the front on purpose to disgrace me and these two texts As for the Text Mat. 5.17 18. I allow it as Mr Cawdry hath laid it downe As for the other text Mat 24.20 Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day this flight was to be at the destruction of Jerusalem about fifty years after Christs death whence I thus argue that Chrâ—st allowed of the antient Sabbath as a Christian Ordinance in the Church all times of the Gospell after his death and had it been a dying Ceremony as many fancy Christ would not have bidden Christians to pray to God to prevent their profanation of it for this had been a profanation of the sacred duty of Prayer as if a Papist should pray not to travell on Christmas day Having by these two Texts proved the perpetuity of the antient seventh day and Saturday-Sabbath it will be expected by my Reader that I should confute Mr Cawdry's answers to them which thing I professe I can easily doe without much study but no provocations shall make me go beyond the bounds I have set to my selfe I have resolved to handle but two things the one is to vindicate my selfe from the abuse of the three forged Texts the other is to vindicate God's fourth Commandement from Mr Cawdry's false glosses and corrupt Expositions of it saying God commanded not the seventh day in order but one day in the seven without order and by this false Exposition he makes his answer to many of my twenty foure Arguments My hope is that as our State do allow liberty of Conscience to some in some cases so they will allow me a liberty in these two things first to vindicate my selfe from slanders Secondly to vindicate Gods fourth Commandement from false Expositions I dare not go farther lest I should offend the State and have my books burnt one Mr Ockford about two yeares past wrote a booke in defence of my way against the Lords day and for the old day the seventh day but as saith Mr Cawdry it was answered by fire being ordered to be burnt as I remember Mr Tyndals Translation of the New Testament long since was ordered to be burnt too and was not Paâ—eus on the Romans burnt also in King James his daies And I feare me so it would be with this my book if I should exceed my bounds Let not therefore Mr Cawdry thinke that I do not reply to his answers because I cannot but because I dare not if I durst and had but this faire dealing to have the Presse as open to me as it is to him he should soone see that I would make his weaknesse in arguing to appeare unto all men I had rather be engaged in this quarrell than go to my dinner or supper When two Souldiers are to fight the odds is too great to give al encouragements and conveniences to the one and bind the hands of the other behind him or hold a cudgell over his head if he strikes a blow it is my unhappy condition to suffer this odds to have the fire prepared for my books and the benefit of the Presse denied me unlesse I Print by stealth So far for vindication of my selfe and now for the vindication of the fourth Commandement Of the vindication of Gods fourth Commandement Before I fall close upon this point I shall premise five things tending to the vindication of this Commandement 1. What may be the reason of Mr Cawdry's wresting these words in the fourth Commandement The seventh day is the Sabbath from the proper sense of the ordinall number seventh which signifies not only one of seven but more as the lâ—st of seven and that single one which followes the sixe dâ—ies labour and why would he instead of this bring in one day of seven indefinitely His tacite reason I beleeve is this that having no precept for the Lords day in the New Testament and none but poore probable reasons ab exemplo therefore he would faine incorporate the Lords day into the fourth Commandement to strengthen it so it having no legs of its own to stand on he would be so friendly to it as to borrow a paire of legs from the fourth Commandement and then it shall be able to stand in the opinion of the deluded multitude As for his Arguments ab exemplo from example as is the supposed practice of the Apostles however it go current in the Pulpit yet Sir if you know it not let me informe you that an Argument ab exemplo in Disputation is next unto nothing try it when you will For my part if it could be proved