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A47636 The keeping of holy days recommended in a sermon preached at Hadham before the Right Honourable and Right Reverend Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London, &c. at his Lordships late conference with his clergy there / by Thomas Leigh ... Leigh, Thomas, 1633 or 4-1686. 1684 (1684) Wing L1021; ESTC R13950 18,956 38

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My Third Instance tho not so near a kin yet not altogether forreign to our business shall be of a sin of Commission against a most plain and positive Command in Levit. 17.3 where 't is said What man soever there be of the House of Israel that kills an Ox or Lamb or Goat in the Camp or that killeth it out of the Camp and bringeth it not to the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation to Offer an Offering to the Lord before the Tabernacle of the Lord Blood shall be imputed to that man he hath shed Blood and that man shall be cut off from among his People The same denunciation recurs in the 8 and 9 ver taking in also the Sojourner and Stranger Ye see the heinousness of the Offence It was as bad as Bloodshed or Murder to offer else where And yet according to some the High Places were frequented soon after the days of Joshua and continued till the most thorough reformation of Hezekiah and that space makes near upon Seven hundred years But it is infallibly certain that for Three hundred years to wit from Solomon to Hezekiah they did Sacrifice in High Places It is said of Solomon himself 1 Kings 3.3 Solomon loved the Lord walking in the ways of David his Father only he Sacrificed and burnt Incense in high places and the King went to Gibeon and Sacrificed there for that was a great High Place a Thousand Burnt-Offerings did Solomon offer upon that Altar that is a Thousand Murders did he Commit there according to the forecited Law unless ye will say it was enough to free him from such an imputation that the Tabernacle was there although the Ark the Symbol of God's presence was at Jerusalem So indeed it is in 2 Chron. c. 1. v. 3 4. I will not dispute the thing so far it is enough that he sinned in burning Incense either there or in other High Places of that there need be no doubt Nor was it his sin alone the People did so too 1 Kings 3.2 Ye cannot think Rehoboam and Abija discontinued those High Places when ye find it an abatement in the Characters of those two good Kings Asa and Jehosaphat 1 Kings 15.14 2 Chron. 15.17 and 20.33 that they were not taken away Jehoram was so far from removing the old that he made new ones c. 21.11 The same exception is made in the Character of Amaziah 2 Kings 14.4 and his Son Azariah c. 15.4 and his Son Jotham v. 35. But the High Places were not removed c. Ahaz exceeded Jehoram in multiplying those forbidden Places 2 Chron. 28.4 25. at last came resolute Hezekiah and he swept them all away Examin the particular Texts and ye will find that to Sacrifice and burn Incense in High Places was grown a National Custom insomuch that though totally removed by Hezekiah they were so restored by his Son Manasseh that notwithstanding his deep Repentance and earnest Reformation of all other things these stood still 2. Chron. 33.17 Nevertheless the People did Sacrifice still in the High Places yet unto the Lord their God only that is they were great Transgressors but not real Idolaters These are three great Instances of the deviation of that only then true Church from the Pattern in the Mount and yet how many Thousands of good and holy Men liv'd and died in the Communion thereof notwithstanding I say three great Instances and I may dare to challenge any Man living to give any one Instance of so gross corruption and declension from the Commands of our Lord in this our Church of England Surely none will alledge the Omission of the Womens Veil and the holy Kiss the Non-abstinence from Blood and the like which yet were Apostolical Institutions for by such Allegations they will accuse themselves and afford more matter of Argument against their own Superstition and Separation But I hasten and say Secondly Profaneness is another cause of the neglect of the Holy Festivals Too many there are that have a secret quarrel against all serious Religion howsoever they pretend highly for the present establishment this they do not because it is the best but because it is the present they have not that value for what is Relatively Holy as its Relation to God requires neither for Person nor Thing nor Place nor Time 1. As for Persons they make nothing to miscall and deride misreport and belibel them unseen and unheard Private Persons usurp Episcopal Authority and others do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 superciliously mark and fault them that belong not to their Inspection and gladly receive an accusation against an Elder without any witnesses 2. And for Things Sacred they are ready upon all occasions to question dispute defalcate and intervert the dues of the Church as if there were no such sin as Sacrilege and they never heard of Ananias and Sapphira 3. The little esteem they have for Places is soon found when you come to crave their Benevolence for the building or repairing of them they are as ready as Judas to say Quorsum perditio haec 4ly and Lastly For Times all days are alike to them as appears by their neglect of the Prayers of the Church and other duties proper to them They are for the Festival but not for the Holy day for the Mirth but not for Religion of the time any farther than to keep their Credit and save their Purses and this brings to the Third cause of the neglect we complain of Covetousness under which we desire not to bring in the Day-labourer that hath as many Mouths to feed as there are days in the Week to work in nor the sweating Husbandman who must attend the seasons of Plowing and Sowing But those whose Trades and Imployments do allow them fair Intervals and Opportunities of attending Divine Worship These care not though the Church be shut if their Shops may stand open let others serve God they must serve their Customers and mind their Trade they spare not to say so There are 't is well known few Holy-days in the Year whereon there are not held some Marts and Fairs up and down the Country That of the Ascension of our Lord not excepted And there needs no bidding of these on the Sunday before nor Bells to toll the People to them thither they will flock and hasten without taking the Church in their way tho never so near it there they Buy and Sell and get gain it may be only go to see and be seen but must think of no other God to serve but the great Mammon Whether this Custom was begun by the Pardon-mongers that chose Sundays and other Holy-days to vend their Bulls and their Relicks on and so occasioning great Confluences of People in process of time Grants were obtain'd to Authorise and Perpetuate those Meetings which turn'd of themselves from the sale of seemingly holy to that of really useful things Or whatever were the cause it is certain if Fairs did not borrow their name from