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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30730	Sabbatikh ʻhmepa ʻhmepa ʻimepa, Septima dies, dies desiderabilis, sabbatum Jehovae the seventh-day-sabbath the desirable day, the closing completing day of that first created week, which was, is, and will be, the just measure of all succeeding weeks in their successive courses, both for working in the six foregoing days, and for rest in the seventh, which is the last day, by an unchangeable law of well-established order, both in the revealed word and in created nature. The second part / by Francis Bampfield.	Bampfield, Francis, 1615 or 16-1683.	1677 (1677)	Wing B628; ESTC R13923	284,270	156

several of the Ecclesiastical Historians have been examined by me upon this subject matter and I have some Collections by me about it enough to shew how little credit is to be given unto those kind of Authorities which are so fallible and sometimes so self-contradicting and so altogether unsatisfying when the matter of Right comes to be Inquired after and determined any further than they do speak the mind of Christ in his word For either in these Cases of Conscience they write and speak according to the word or not If they do let these Scriptures be particularly pointed to with which they accord If not they are not to be received or followed Yet in regard that my design is to bring all to the Scriptures of truth referring this and all else under Aelohim to their Judgment I shall therefore now debate the Principle with this objector So much of matters of fact as do relate to matters of right and as are necessary for us to believe in order unto Salvation is Recorded in the word of truth Whereunto the whole Scripture is profitable which is enough for us if no more were written by me concerning this particular question in hand For that Scripture referred to is proper and pertinent to this purpose about Christ and his Resurrection and his appearing to his Disciples and his Blessing of them and conference with them as is plain in the foregoing part of the same Chapter and other Scriptures collated and compared with this do evidently speak it But we have yet much more to say about this To assert the perfection of the Scriptures is one of the great truths of the present Age The forces of Earth and of Hell are now joyning together and putting forth their strength to assault and to attempt the overthrow of this useful Doctrine As it was in the daies of Christs Flesh when he was familiarly Conversant here on Earth the Roman Power the Grecian Wisdom the Jewish Traditions Ethnick Philosophers and Diabolical possessions all the humane and devilish Force and Art and invention was called together to War against Christ and against his word So in the latter daies the Worldly might Old and New Philosophy Institutions and Impositions Histories and Traditions Inventions and Authorities of men unwritten pretended necessary verities Generall Councils sayings of those whom they call Fathers Articles of Faith composed by men Confessions and practise of Protestant Reformed Churches the judgment and practice of Learned and Godly men these and such like Extra-scriptural places are the swaying Authority with many whereby Antichristianism and Antiscripturalism in a many of particulars are still held up and maintained against the LORD and against his word who in this Providential day is pouring contempt upon all Flesh upon men and upon their sayings bringing a Blast upon them so far as they are contrary to sound Doctrine and do oppose the mind of Christs Revealed in the written word and is putting a Crown on Christ and an Honour upon his word the Testimony of men may be and often is in Fact Erring and Fallible uncertain and lying self-contradicting and unsatisfying Into which therefore the Christian Doctrine Faith and Religion is not to be resolved either in whole or in part For the word of Jehovah is like himself who is the Author of it of invaluable veracity and of unchangeable truthfulness He truth it self and his word The Truth He a God that is true and that cannot lye and his word That which is truly purely such the word of truth His Law is the truth The asserters of the Seventh day to be the Weekly Sabbath for which we have the whole Scripture are charged with Errour because we will not be resolved by humane Authorities to own the First day in the Room of it Whereas if men do err greatly err it is therefore because they know not the Scriptures nor the Power of God put forth in a word-way To assign somewhat else for a cause of this which is not a cause is a by-way of paralogizing-deception of sophistical-arguing and of Fallacious disputing The LORD Jesus Christ doth not in his word and where else as from him shall we look for it assign this as a cause of mans erring that they do not know the magistral dictates of humane Rabbies It is the proud Arrogance of the Antichristian usurper to impose his own placits upon the Churches as if he were imperial Dictator to mens Souls and vniversal Monarch over their Consciences Neither is their Erring from hence that they know not the Antient Records of uncanonicall Church Histories which do sometimes write Contrary to themselves and to one another as those do understand who have been faithfull diligent comparers and collectors of such passages and this both in matters of Fact and in matters of Right and this Objector himself doth confess he Judgeth that some of the writings of these Antients are spurious and corrupt And how few are there of those to whom the Gospel is preached and upon whose Hearts that word of Grace and of Truth doth take most saving holds to which word the LORD himself doth bear witness are versed and read in this kind of Ecclesiastical History And which way shall they be ascertained that it has been all of it read over by others by their Guides and teachers particularly or that the report is faithfully brought to them or if that were whether they ought to be swayed by it Were Church-Histories unerringly inspired Who is so bold as downright to assert this Or if any were so daring how can he prove it Who of our plain Converted People had humane Histories in his thoughts when he was thorowly Regenerated and gratiously visited from Christ and from the Father of Christ by the Spirit of Christ in the word of Christ What a kind of Faith is that which doth ultimate it self into humane Church Histories He that would have judged of the state and Case of Jehovah's Church and people in the daies of Ezra by making search in the book of those Ecclesiastical Records and have judged according to what was Historifyed there would have brought in an hard Charge of Rebellion and of Sedition against them and have been ready to have irritated the powers that were over them against them as their Adversaries did Neither do men therefore err because they know not the Tradition of the Elders which has long obtained by common Custom and by little Controlled usage so as to plead prescription unscriptural Customes and Tradition is a part of that Redemption which our LORD has wrought out for his People And it is a choice Mercy to be throughly delivered from them For in the event and effect they would un LORD Christ and the word of Christ of his and of its due Autority For which he condemned those Scribes and Pharisees of his daies who would have obtruded these upon him and upon his Disciples but he confutes them by his

and they were at that meeting where Christ appeared to the Eleven The Sun was gone in before that time So that if this pretended Historical Hint be mistaken by those Objectors so then is the next also which they alledg of a second appearing as to the particular day of it the place it self doth expresly confute their assertion For that appearing was after eight Days After observe which could not therefore be that very day which they name Not the first day by their own Computation Besides what cogency is there in this kind of arguing from Christ's appearing to the Disciples For he appeared often to them in the forty days between his Resurrection and Ascension and once when they were Fishing which is no weekly-Sabbath-days-work and employment at which time also Christ did eat somewhat of what Fish they had taken Upon a due long serious Consideration of the whole of this matter There appears nothing to me not the least shew or colour of any sound Scriptural reasoning in all these Allegations which men in Reputation have been by a Traditionary Religion in this so fond of What a great way about do they go quite out of any Scripture-path to fetch in something that might look like an Argument with those who take up such matters of humane invention upon Trust from their misguiders who in this teach them to Err in a Dark-walk where they see not how nor whither they go and then tell them that the mind of Christ in this is a great Deep and not so easie for plain Understandings presently to fathom Whereas we who are brought under the New Testament-Administration of Grace are put into a state of clearer Light than those were in who were under the former Dispensation Doctrines Duties Graces Priviledges do shine forth in more Glory before us as the Apostle doth argue in the second of his Epistles to the Church at Corinth the design of which passage is to shew the New-Testament-Glory to be excelling They of old had a veil on their Ministration by Figures Types and Shadows whereas we now do at least we may and should behold things with unveiled Face As for the Laws of the Ten words particularly this of the Weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath they are clear as the Light And therefore the Holy Scriptures of Truth do give them that Name of Light of self-evidencing and clear-shining are they containing Commandments so right in all things so enlightening the eyes of mens understanding though otherwise they be but simple silly and weak the very opening entrance or door of which Word doth give light to make the silly ones to be understanding ones especially when the Commandment comes in the Demonstration of the Spirit and with Power and former pre-conceptions and prejudices are laid aside A Law so guiding the Obeyers of it to walk in such paths of Rightness a Law so true so holy so just so good so spiritual so perfect such a Law of Liberty setting a renewed enlarged heart so free to run in its Way A Law so comprehensive a Law so formed in right humane Nature being at the first concreated with it A Law so convincingly opening it self and its true mind and its proper meaning and so fully expounded throughout the whole Scripture which is a large exposition upon it insomuch as that all the rest of the Word so far as concerns Duties to be performed and sins to be avoided is but as it were Jehovah Aelohims Commentary upon and Interpretation of it So that here Those of an inquiring Spirit are led safely out of the Maze of those perplexing difficulties which the Objectors reasoning about the necessariness of human Histories to make up a full evidence of the Scriptures in the matter of the first day would hurry them into and such diligent re-searchers are brought into a plain way and the Good Old way or the way of hidden Ages or of Eternity The Words of this Law do carry a plain Evidence in them As all the rest so particularly the fourth Word or Command concerning the weekly-seventh-day-Sabbath It has in it self a common and familiar understanding the sense and meaning whereof doth appear at the very first sight It is but hear or read and every man that is endued with Reason and will exercise it without any prepossession or imposings will forthwith conceive aright of it That the weekly-Sabbath-day is the Seventh-day That the Seventh-day is the weekly-Sabbath-day This Objector doth assert it That it is agreed on that the Passover that year when Christ was cruci●yed fell on the Sabbath-day It must here be his meaning the Seventh which is the last day of the week which he takes to be the First day of that Feast of unleavened bread On which the Paschal Lamb according to Institution was to be eaten which was not the First day of the Week but the Seventh Upon this Supposition I would thus questioningly argue either Christ that year kept the very day of Passover according to Institution or not if Christ kept the true Passover-day as I do not at all doubt but that he did for he was to fulfill all righteous Observances and accordingly he did It being the Work which his Father gave him to do and which he finished The Antitype directly answering in every thing with great exactness to the Type And the History in the written Word which doth report this matter of Fact in Christ doth expresly call that day on which he did with his Disciples eat the Paschal Lamb the Passover-day as the Scriptures in the Margin will undeniably prove and he dying the same day which was the Passover-day If this be granted by this Opposer to be the Weekly Seventh-day-Sabbath what then becomes of all the rest of his arguing and pleading for the First day which according unto this Supposition was not that particular day of the Week on which Christ arose from the dead For according to this that First day was the next immediate day after his death and could in no Sense be called the Third day on which he rose again If he say That the true Passover-day which not Christ but the Jews kept was the day next after the death of Christ we call for an Answer to the forecited Scriptures in the Margin and expect a Word-proof for what he asserts Although if that could be cleared yet has it no Rightness or Forcibleness of arguing in it to demonstrate what it is brought for as to a First-day-Sabbath But if those Scriptures do in so many express Words give the day of Christs being apprehended and condemned and crucified and killed the First day of unleavened bread and the Passover-day whilst we have the Scripture thus speaking we have no cause to be moved at what Humane Authorities and Church-Histories do record to the contrary And this has now brought me to an Examination of the validity or invalidity of Church-histories and of humane Authorities in these matters Though

preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles as if this had scarce been their duty though it were expresly put into their Commission from the mouth of Christ Till Peter was righter informed by a Vision from Heaven The written word of Christ has an Authority above and beyond the Authority and Testimony of the most eminent Apostles or Angels of Heaven If a Paul had brought his own word contrary to Christs word what were Pauls saying It must be rejected and in that the hearers were to carry themselves towards Paul as if he had been an excommunicate If a Prophet bring a word contradictory to the word of the LORD he should not be hearkened unto If an Angel from Heaven speak otherwise than the God of Angels and would teach disobedience against the word of Jehovah Fellowship should not be kept up with him It is one erroneous part of Antichristianism to set up the Testimony of men or the Authority of the Church in the seat of Christ and of his written word The The Antichrist is the Anomous one the Lawless one the Antinomian And Anomy or Lawlesness or Antinomianism is the great comprehensive sin of the Latter daies And they are Lawless ones that are the erring seducing ones Men as to their Church state have their foundation and bottom their existence and life under a God in Christ from the written word of Christ whereas these Scriptures of Truth have not their groundwork and being from any meer man or men Church or Churches A Church is made up of Believers as the prefaces of the Epistles to the Churches do shew and Believers must have a word to sound and to live upon All true doctrines are to be fetched hence and to be grounded and proved here The Conventions of Pagans and the Synagogues of Sutan are not owned as Churches of Christ because they are not according to Christ and the word of Christ Men though passing into never-so-noted-a-Church-way yet may actually be in process of time so Obstinate in Heresies so Idolatrous in Worship and so scandalous in profaneness as to cease to be a true-Scripture-Church and must be separated from The Christian Church at Rome in Pauls time has another manner of Character given of it in his Epistle to them than the Satanical Synagogue at Rome has by John in the Revelation who saw in a Vision the foul Apostasie thereof Separation in such Cases is holy and a duty The holy Scriptures of Truth do not give a Sovereign Authority to the Testimony of men they did not send us to humane Witness to Church History to unwritten Tradition to fetch Credibility to it It is the Glorious excellency of this Word of Christ to be the one and the only rule of Judging in all Cases both here now and at the Last Judgment day Which no Testimony of men is honoured withal The whole Scripture is God-inspired whose Testimony is the greatest and the most Credible so are not the after-humane-Testimonies Traditions Histories and Authorities The Books of Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy as commonly now called are more Antient than all other written printed bookes The true pure Word of God is of greatest Authority mens Writings are a Postscript The Grace of sound and of Saving Faith must have Almighty Power Infallible truthfulness unchangeable faithfulness and infinite Wisdom to bottom and to build firmly upon A Believers assent and consent to the Infallible Authority of the written word hath been is and may be brought forth without mens-Testimony History Tradition and Authority Many have been made to believe this before they came to any such Human helps and who neither knew read or considered such Church Histories and Traditions which therefore could not be the cause immediate Adequate and Efficient thereof Where the word it self doth work effectually and savingly in a believing heart there it is embraceingly recieved not the word of man but as it is in truth the word of God Saving Faith cannot bottom upon mens Testimonies which humane Writers will still be needing further Arguments and Testimonies to confirm it The Testimony of man can never of it self perswade and enable savingly to credit the infallible Authority of the written word till the Holy Spirit do infuse sound saving Faith and call and draw it forth into Act Though the other pretended cause of Humane Testimonies and Authorities be put into act yet this effect of sound believing doth not follow Many remain Infidels under the highest esteem and strongest perswasions of Church-Histories and of mens Testimonies and some tempted Saints yet cannot be cured of their unbelieving Fears and of their distrustful doubts by any humane Tradition History or Authority till the Spirit and word of Christ from the Father do come with Demonstration and with Power Saving Faith is Supernatural which mens Testimony from Extrascriptural Arguments is not they do each differ in their whole kind and one cannot be in another The best read Historians and other wise learned men of the World are not the soonest brought to assent and consent to the Authority of the word by the force of any or of all humane Arguments If this Faith which is greater in its self and in its Spiritual effects could be inwrought by mens Testimony then other particular objects of Faith or Truths or things to be beleived which are less Such as are the several Doctrines about Spiritual Eternals Invisibles but not these and therefore neither that also Even as to matters of Fact past besides knowing of them by Inspiration Voice or Visions and by natural causes arguing from them to the effects by humane Report which is called History or Tradition they may be known some other waies when they are needful to be known Matters of Fact past have been and still may be known by lots which where the Case and Cause do call for it is a way of natural appeal to the allknowing God Thus was Achans matter of past fact known and thus also was Jonathans past Fact discovered And thus also in the tryal of Jealousie past Facts of works of darkness in Adulterous Acts were brought to light by an Oath of Execration taken by the suspected party and a solemn address thereupon made to the Heart-searching all-knowing Aelohim And this also I would propound to the Ingenious and Studious for the advance and Augment of this best of Sciences Scripture-knowledges whether by lots and Oathes of Execration natural Appeals solemn-Addresses and by miracles other waies the truthfulness of Scripture-revelation would not yet under the present dispensation of Grace For I revive not any of the Old Testament Figures Types and shadows about any of these then used be thus still confirmed were a Spirit of Faith mingled with a word of Faith put into the prayer of Faith As for Humane report the experience that we have had of our own day and time doth inform us how partial men are in these

their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their men of understanding shall hide it self though they hide their Counsels never so deep Where is the wise where is the Scribe Where is the Inquirer of this Age Hath not God made Foolish the wisdom of this world which doth measure and judge of the truths and things of God by unscriptural Rules How do such Arguers say then we are wise and the Law of Jehovah is with us Lo certainly in vain worketh the false pen of the Scribes There will be a time when such wise men will be ashamed affrighted and taken Behold they have rejected the word of Jehovah Wisdom-what to them They steal away the word from Aelohim's People which word would be Wheat wholsome nourishing Bread and Food to them and bring unscriptural empty Chaff in the room but these are not ready Scribes in the Law as Ezra was Even a Paul himself is no further to be hearkened unto and followed than he speaks according to the word and is a Follower of Christ Neither doth Errour arise from hence that men do not know or conform to National establishments in the matters of Doctrine and of worship in their humanely-invented and imposed confessions of Faith and stinted Liturgies it has been one of the main Occasions of most of the persecutions that have been carryed on by Adversaries against the Church and People of God in all Ages the inventing Instituting and imposing of unscriptural modes and forms of Worship exclusive of all other which are Regular according to the word and then framing it into a Law with inflicted penalties upon all Non-Conformists And what strong Rationalists do some take themselves to be in pleading and arguing for this and producing many humane Authorities in Church-Histories for this and there want not flatterers at Court who perswade Governours that the main of their Authority and power doth consist in determining of such matters of Indifferency as they miscall them That the appointing of times and seasons and daies for publick worship is left wholly in the Hand and power of the Magistrate and that the way of maintaining peace and preserving Religion in the Land is to enforce uniformity in the service and worship of God according to such National Statutes by seeing mulcts to be inflicted on all Recusants and dissenters Whereas Christ tells us that it is vain worship such humane-traditionary-Worship teaching Doctrines the commandments of men And that every such Plantation in the matters of Corrupt both Doctrine and worship which is not of his Fathers Planting shall be rooted up The LORD reproves the People when they keep Idolatrous superstitious Statutes Too much advantage has been given by the Non-Conformists in their writings and conferences against the Formalists and ceremonialists in that they have not in downright express Terms condemned all humanely-invented-instituted-imposed forms and ceremonies in the matters of Worship as sinful and unlawful especially when they enjoyn them as exclusive of other worship where these are not conformed unto and when they impose them as necessary terms of Church Communion whereas they are expresly in the very letter and meaning of the second Commandment forbidden For we are not to make unto our selves all Form any Form every such Form which men of their own head and out of the device of their own brain do thus make unto themselves and so to others also is under a plain prohibition by this Holy righteous just and good law of the LORD How many have been brought into Courts and Condemned sentenced and fined and Imprisoned as Routers Rioters ill-behaviour'd Schismatical Seditious Turbulent ones for conforming to Christs Laws and for not conforming to the customes and Laws of the Land but doing contrary to mans decrees because they Worship God according to his institutions but not according to mens Ordinances Whereas we are expresly charged not to give our selves to such commandments of men as turn away the truth from us or would turn us away from the Truth And yet they urge a mis-translated Scripture as if we must submit to every Ordinance of man Whereas it is to every humane Creature There is an Honour due to all men as men to some more than to others to the King as superior as having Authority over and above others and to others in their Inferiour places It is because or for the word that Persecution ariseth For the Receiving of this word and a conforming unto it by the Disciples of Christ that they are hated of the World If National establishments were the Rule and measure of Truth and errour were to be judged of by a contrariety to that Then the same thing would be one while Truth and another while Errour when National establishments do upon turns of times and changes of Laws make contradictory Decrees So it was in the Reigns of the Kings of Judah One sets up Idolatry another pulls it down One commands Right Worship according to Institution Another brings in corrupt mixtures Such interchangeable vicissitudes there were in the daies of Abaz Hezekiah Manasseh and Josiah They are to be avoided who ever they be that do cause divisions and offences contrary to received-Scripture-doctrine Then do men err when they go astray from Jehovah's Commandments from his precepts from his statutes They are Humane lies that cause men to erre and to despise the Law of Aelohim Errour proceeds from not knowing and not observing all his Commandments then do a People err in their Hearts when they have not known his waies Unscriptural Establishments in the matters of worship are the work of Errours Further yet neither do men err therefore because they do not know man-invented-Arts and sciences of Philosophical knowledges and of University-humane-learning Nicodemus was a master of Arts and a Doctor of Sciences and yet he greatly erred in the necessary Doctrine of Regeneration Paul greatly erred from the great Truths of the Christian Religion whilst he sat at the feet of Gamaliel a Pharisee a Doctor of the Law held in esteem by all the People one of the Chief in the privy Council of the Jews This Grave tutor of Paul perfectly instructed his attentive diligent Pupil in that kind of Pharisaical Learning and way of Worship and he was a sharpwitted Disciple But when the LORD Christ Revealed himself to and in Paul now he saw how much he had erred from saving Truth and Paul a Convert differed much in his Apprehensions from Paul a Pharisee All other knowledge now in comparison with right Scripture-knowledge with the eminent Excellency of the knowledg of Jesus Christ and of him Crucifyed and of the way of Justification and of Salvation by Faith in him and in his Blood and in his Righteousness he Judgeth as nothing as Dung as Loss as Dogs meat And he saw the gross mistakes of the Learned-University-men at Athens endeavouring to convince them of their Infidel-Errours Antichristian mistakes and Philosophical-falsehoods Now he commends to

Histories where private interest and particular partyship do incline them to write over favourably of themselves and of their own Facts and how hatred of and prejudice against others who are of contrary Principles and practises do put them upon hard misconstruings and wrong misreportings of the Actions of their Adversaries So that it is a rare Ingenuity in an Historian to give a true Narrative of the matter of Fact in the several Circumstances of it under the opposition of an Enemy Especially if some Ages have passed away since the matter of Fact there is the less certainty and credibility And more especially yet if there have been such ages coming between which were Ages of thick darkness of prevailing Ignorance and of gross imposture and when in such cases as wherein Antichrist has imposed much upon the Churches by his Humane Additions Supplements and Traditions thereby to obscure or to corrupt or to thrust out to take from or to add to what is Christ's mind in his Word which is the present case And he who reads the story of Eustathius the Popes Legat in Roger Hoveden by what counterfeit Artifices and false Pretences and forged Visions feigned Voices and lying Wonders he introduced the observation of the first Day of the Week here into England no longer ago than in the Reign of King John may unless he very much dote on such humane fallible Testimonies see cause enough to give little credit to such Church-Histories as would so report the matter of Fact as thereby to determine the matter of right which those who go this way generally do whilst they place the first day in the Week in the room of the seventh day as the weekly Sabbath-day under the New Testament ministration So that I am the less fond or rather not at all fond of Humane Histories in these matters relating to sin or duty from cited Church Authorities in matters of Fact having my esteem heightned from Scripture Records and word-commands chiefly in such cases where the whole Scripture doth contain such Reasons of the LORD 's own assigning founded in the very Nature of Created Existences such names and things such Precepts and Prohibitions such Promises and Threatnings such suitable Examples and such like as these which do uniformly throughout speak a quite contrary thing and go a quite different way from those sayings which Church-Registers do wrong tell me and from that By-path into which Humane Histories would mislead me as they would in this case when they would take me off from the due observation of the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath to drag me along to keep the first day as a separated day for holy Worship I am bound to believe Scripture History as a true report from the infallible veracity of a truthful Aelohim it is necessary this Faith to my Salvation But I am not under such an obligation neither is it so necessary for me to believe Humane History so many hundreds of years ago especially such circumstances as have been mentioned before in such matters of fact as are but pretended to be transacted in Scripture times chiefly to whom they are so argued against the whole of other Scripture How can this objector prove to me that those Ecclesiastical Histories whose certainty and credibility of reporting this he so much cryeth up were directed and dictated thereunto by the Spirit of Truth in this matter And if not how can my Faith be swayed by their Authorities Jehovah Aelohim himself appointed Scripture Histories to be written by the Prophets and Priests these Historiographers were ocular Witnesses in much of that which they wrote and registred and in this as also in the rest they were God inspired So were those Evangelists and Apostles also who wrote the New Testament History As for Tradition we receive what is scriptural Believers are delivered from Patro-traditional conversation such as is unscriptural we receive the commandments which Christ hath delivered but we reject Humane Traditions which are not according to Christ and his Word If the case were so that all the Men and Speakers and Writers and Printers and Books and what other humane Authorities did tell me what I know evidently is expresly otherwise in Christ and in the Word of Christ it were of no validity with me The Prophets and the LORD Jesus Christ the sender of his Prophets did refer the Jews not to the Traditions of Rabbines especially when they were such Traditions as would have UNLORDED him and his Word of his and of its due Authority but to the Law to the Scriptures Scripture Traditions which are allowed of in the Word of Christ we approve of about sound Doctrine and Faith of the Truth and holy conversation and about observing of a naturally comly decent order in Church-assemblies But we reject what is of mens own and in their own name It is an Observand in Scripture that the Scriptures do refer to Scriptures often may we meet with such expressions it is written and as it is written and for it is written and according to that which is written This is under the LORD the Judging Rule and the Lawful Determiner in all cases By this were Truths confirmed and by this were errours confuted Even whilst the Apostles were alive there were false supposititious writings thrust upon some as if they had been the Apostles own true Writing and therefore the Apostles subscribed their Epistles with their own hands they used some peculiar subscription such a subsigning as was well known to the Churches How much more was the World like to be imposed upon when they were dead and gone by the writings of men who would be fathering of their own unscriptural brats of false tenets upon the Apostles there being many Antichrists gone forth even in John's time Paul whilst living to confute the falshood yet was strongly charged with saying and asserting of that which he utterly denies though others would affirm it to be so he was evil-spoken of and wrongfully accused as if he had expresly taught a damnable Doctrine which he wholly disowneth And if they were so bold in his days how can we be so over confident of a matter of fact reported by a mere humane traditionary Knowledge above sixteen hundred years ago without any God-inspired Scripture Revelation or Natural Demonstration How can any man to his own or others satisfaction affirm that by Humane History he certainly knows that all the Christian Churches have constantly set apart and observed the first day for holy Worship when he cannot certainly know that he hath read all humane Histories that have recorded that particular matter of fact Or that no humane History hath recorded a quite different both Principle Judgement and Practice in some particular Church or Churches and when the matter of fact for any evidence he hath to the contrary may have been quite otherwise in some Church or Churches which yet is not recorded in any humane History This

writing and to keep the Records of it well attested especially when another doth claim a former Title for some hundreds of years As this of the seventh-day Sabbath did for some thousands of years for some ages beyond the memory of man and when they could not but foresee that their Title would be so much called in question and controverted and especially too where the Matter of Fact is pretended as it is by this Author so much to prove the Matter of Right All Matters of Fact that do pass into Historical Writing are fittest to be written in the same age wherein they were done as being then better known in their circumstances by sensible demonstrations which cannot be so well discerned in after ages How fond are Traditionists of unscriptural humane Antiquities and Universalities Whereas Errors have been ancient even as long full home to the times of the Apostles Even then did the Mystery of iniquity begin to work there were even then many Antichrists and Malignant Assemblies and when the Antichrist shall be revealed there would be a great Apostasie and Defection from the Truth The Revelation hath foretold that all the World would go a whoring after the Beast and would worship the Beast and the Dragon that gave him power yet are these some of their Notes of a visible Church Antiquity and Universality which that they might be the sooner imposed upon the hoodwinck'd credulous World have another vain pretence going along with them altogether as unscriptural and vain as they that is that the Church cannot err And they falsly call their particular Romish Synagogue the Catholick Church I expectingly believe and hopingly wait for a coming day when our plain tender sincere upright-hearted people will be undeceived and no longer to suffer themselves to be deluded and imposed upon by such confident Assertions as this Objector doth bring them As if that which beyond all doubt must assure them that de facto the first day was by the Apostles separated for holy Worship especially in publick Church Assemblies is the full and unquestionable expository evidence of the practice of all the Churches in the World since the very days of the Apostles For so has this Learned Author affirmed Reader bethink thy self what thy Faith must resolve it self into if it will follow this misguiding How can such believers as never traded in this kind of humane Learning ever come to undoubted assurance about the matter How can they be fully ascertained of this who were never versed nor are ever like to be neither are under any such obligation by any Scripture Precept to be throughly versed and understandingly read in all and every of the Writings of all and every of the Ecclesiastical Histories that do write about this Or if it were possible and facible that they could compass this of which I can see no end who yet have more helps and advantages this way than the most How can they unquessionably be confirmed in this perswasion that there never was any one Church of Christ that did escape the Humane Church-Record and History And if so who can tell them but that that particular Church might be of a different judgement and practice What doth this kind of arguing in this Author mean What would it have our people to resolve their satisfaction and assurance concerning the pretended first day Sabbath into that report which their humane fallible Guides do make unto them of this without their tryal of it The Word of Christ doth call upon them to try the spirits whether they be of God and to prove all things that are thus brought them by Teachers by the Scripture-canon and Touch stone as the one and the only infallible Rule What a kind of Faith is that which is a trusting of fallible men without tryal a depending upon Humane Authorities without Scripture Evidence The God-inspired Authority of Christ and of his Word is fully attested within the holy Scriptures own bounds and needs not step out to Humane Histories Authorities and Traditions However this Author would buz into the ear such amazing expressions as this that it is impossible it should be otherwise than as such Humane Historie doth record of the practice of all the Churches since the times of the Apostles and that this Testimony is infallible Humane History and that part of it which they call Ecclesiastical History however it be a pleasant study and an employ someways in its place profitable yet of all kinds of Scientifick Learning is one of the weakest common places of arguing and the least convincing for demonstration because it doth resolve its probations into the fallible Testimonies of lying men and so doth not cannot give any firm full satisfaction to an inquiring Spirit and studious Mind who will still be doubtful and afraid how he doth bottom his Faith in so weighty a case as is now before him upon such an unsure and unsafe ground as he can build no firmness of belief and certainty of knowledge upon even the uncertain witness of deceivable men what their eyes and ears and tongues and pens have reported to us who are so many hundred years come into the World after they were dead and gone that way of disputing therefore which this mighty man of Humane Reason has walked in to find out some place if he could where to make his First day Sabbath cause to stand is such a by-path as doth mislead his Reader into bogs where he cannot settle and stay with any good confidence and sound comfort Such arguments may take with over credulous minds and with passive intellects who through idleness and guile of spirit in a matter which would ingage them in so much of self-denyal and of cross bearing had rather use another man's writings and reasonings than be at the pains of studying of the Scriptures and of exercising their own understanding What has at large been written in trying this Objectors spirit upon the former Scriptures in an answer also to the next mentioned by him in the Revelation which he calleth another Historical hint of the New Testament How can a change of the weekly Sabbath-day from one day to another from the seventh to the first be soundly proved from this other Scripture where he that is of a serious spirit and doth diligently inquire after word-satisfaction about this matter cannot find either Sabbath or First day either in terms plainly expressed or clearly implyed or necessarily inferred in this place or in the context or in the design of the Holy Spirit here or by comparing of it with other places of Scripture Those that would lay the foundation of so great a change should see their Scripture grounds to be more evident convincing and firm What one Word is there in this Scripture that doth warrant any new Instition from Christ for the observing of the First day as the weekly Sabbath-day What one word is there here of command so to observe the First day What one word