many Blessings and Deliverances which the Lord had given them the Lord gives them a charges Deut. 4.9 Take heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life but teach them to thy sans and to thy sons sons And this was their practise Psal 44.1 We have heard with our ears O God our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their days in the time of old how thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand and plantedst them how thou didst afflict the people and cast them out c. And Psal 78.3 I will speak that which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us we will not hide them from their children shewing to the generations to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done the Lord commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children that the generations to come might know them even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children c. Psal 102.18 This shall be written for the generations to come and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. Thus the people of God did not onely return thanks in an heat for their deliverances whiles the memory of the mercie was fresh but they made frequent and serious rehearsals of them to their children and their childrens children that for the mercie bestowed upon many thanks also might be given by many 2 Cor. 1.11 Fourthly That they might for ever retain in a thankful remembrance such gracious deliverances and that the generations to come and the children which should be born might praise the LORD for them they had also annuall festivities and stationary days which they yearly kept holy to the Lord and on such days thankfully celebrated the goodness of God for the particular mercies and deliverances received on those days as the annual Festivity of the Passeover Pentecost Expiation Tabernacles Trumpets c. all of them instituted to be thankful memorials of special mercies relating to those days and times So Exod. 12.14 This day shall be to thee for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever Here we have an Ordinance for an anniversary festival a day yearly and every year to be kept holy to the Lord for an yearly solemn remembrance of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt this day note the same day they were delivered the same day was to be kept yearly holy to the Lord for a memorial and a day of thanksgiving for that deliverance you shall keep it a feast Hebr. you shall keep it festivally that is with mirth rejoycing and jubilation as Nehem. 8.9.12 you shall keep it by an ordinance for ever Hebr. an everlasting ordinance an ordinance of perpetuity extending to all generations Exod. 12.17 This self same day have I brought out your Armies out of Egypt therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever and the same is repeated v. 24. So here we see a day was yearly and every year to be kept holy to the Lord by the ordinance of God in a thankful and moâ—e solemn remembrance of Israels deliverance from the hand of the Egyptians Nay and more then this howsoever Festivals and holy days have been in our times cried down by some as Popish matters of Superstition and Will-worship for which we have â—o ordinance or command from God yet we finde the ancient Church hath from time to time according to the emergent occasion without any express ordinance or commandment of God laudably and religiously appointed certain days to be kept yearly holy to the Lord in a thankful commemoration of mercies and deliverances received upon those days and such are the fifth of November and the three and twentieth of October with us days appointed to be kept holy e-every year for ever in a thankful remembrance of our Deliverances on those days So the days of Purim were ordained to be kept as Festivals and holy to the Lord by all the Jewes in a thankfull and joyfull remembranc of their deliverances from the mischief which Haman had devised against them Those dayes I say were ordained and commanded to be kept holy by Hester and Mordecai and afterwards ratified and confirmed by the Subscription of the whole Church as an Ordinance of perpetuity to continue to all generations for ever Hest 9.20,21,22,23,27,28 And we read Macc. 4.59 That the Church and the Congregation of Israel when they were delivered from their enemies and had restored the worship and service of God and dedicated the Altar for Sacrifice they made an Ordinance that certain dayes should be kept holy to the Lord yearly and for ever in a gratefull remembrance of that mercy and that festival was called the feast of dedication If any object the text is Apocryphal and therefore signifies little I answer that this Act of the Church had our Saviors approbation who honored it with his presence and preaching at that Solemnity Jâ—h 10.22 And thus the Church in the new Testament hath instituted and appointed certain dayes yearly to be kept Festivalls and holy to the Lord in a thankfull remembrance of some speciall and spirituall mercies solemnely to be celebrated on those dayes as the Nativity Circumcision Resurrection and Ascention of Christ which dayes St Augustine Ep. 118.119 avouches were observed by the whole Church of Christ from the time of the Apostles and by Apostolick tradition and the primitive Apostolick Church without any divine commandement that we read of appointed the first day of the week to be the Christian Sabbath and I see no reason but men may as well abrogate and cry down that Festivall as others that are of the same institution that day I say the primitive Apostolick Church ordained to be kept holy as the Christian Sabbath in a thankful remembrance of the glorious Resurrection of our Saviour Christ that day And these dayes so ordained by the Church to be kept Festivalls and holy to the Lord are called by the Fathers Festivall dayes holy dayes Solemne dayes Sacred dayes mystical dayes and were so kept and observed by them Thus in the fourth place the people of God that the memoriall of their deliverance might be derived to their posterities had yearly certain dayes set apart to be kept holy to the Lord to praise him for those particular mercies Then fifthly at such Solemne assemblies they did not onely rest from their labours and all servile works and keep a day holy to the Lord but also they expressed their thankfullnes for mercies and deliverances which they had received by Singing Psalmes and Hymns and Spirituall Songs in singing praises to their God in singing praises singing praises to their King Psal 47.6