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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
rest_n	day_n	end_n	sabbath_n	3,443	5	9.5995	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89194	Christmas, the Christians grand feast: its original, growth, and observation, also of Easter, Whitsontide, and other holydayes modestly discussed and determined. Also the beginning of the yeare, and other things observable. Where also among other learned men, you have the judgment of those eminent men; Josephus Scaliger, Rodulphus Hospinian, Matthæus Beroaldus, Joh. Causabon, Doct. Fulk, M. Cartwright, Alsted, Hugh Broughton, Master Mead. / By Thomas Mocket; sometimes of Queens Colledge in Cambridge, and Mr. of Arts in both the Universities; and now pastor of Gildeston in Hartfordshire. Novemb. 26, 1650. Imprimatur, Edm. Calamy.	Mocket, Thomas, 1602-1670?.; Scaliger, Joseph Juste, 1540-1609.; Hospinian, Rudolf, 1547-1626.; Beroald, Matthieu, d. 1576.; Fulke, William, 1538-1589.; Alsted, Johann Heinrich, 1588-1638.; Broughton, Hugh, 1549-1612.; Cartwright, Thomas, 1535-1603.; Mede, Joseph, 1586-1638.; Casaubon, Isaac, 1559-1614.	1651 (1651)	Wing M2304; Thomason E619_4; ESTC R202886	21,287	27

of fasting and thankesgiving A. No because to fast on some speciall occasion● we have not onely an old Testament l Joel 1. 14 15. 2. 12. to 18. Isa 58. begin but also a new Testament 1 A Gospell approbation Mat. 6. 16 17 18. 2 A Gospel command Mat. 9. 15. 3 A Gospel example Acts 13. 2 3. So for dayes of thanksgiving we have sufficient warrant from Gods Word Psal 50. 14 15. Exod. 15. 2 Chron. 20. 26 27. Hester 4. 16. and 9. 17 18 19 20. but we have neither Scripture precept approbation nor practise for keeping of this nor the other holy days Ob. But some have said Our fathers and fore-fathers for many hundred years have observed these days especially Christmas Easter and Whitsontide and the observation of them hath been approved by Parliaments Councils and Synods and are now grown wiser than all those that we should now reject them A. I much reverence and honour Parliament Councils and Synods and forefathers but they were but men as we are and did erre fouly witnesse the establishing of Popery the Masse praying for the dead praying to Saints Angels Images Pictures and the Crosse yea and adoring and worshipping of them and of some Saints Saints Bones cloathes and other Reliques 2 They lived in times of lesse meanes of knowledge and more ignorance we of more means and knowledge 3 As godly and learned and wise men have in all ages disallowed and condemned the observation of these dayes as any that allowed approved of them And so hath our late English Assembly of Divines and Parliament also done whom I beleeve are as pious and learned as ever any in any former age in this Nation 4 The matter is not who is most learned pious and judicious but which party hath Gods Word on their side and sound reason and for this let the judicious Reader judge by what I have said I magnifie not my self but desire to prefer the wisedome and Authority of God before and above all mens whatsoever and so far only follow me as I have Gods Word for my warrant homo sum errare possum at haereticus esse nolo Q. But is it not meet that a day should be set a part in hand of Christ our Blessed Saviour A. Yes very fit but it must be only that day which himselfe hath appointed and sanctified to that end and therefore called it by his own name to appropriate it to himselfe viz The Lords day Revel 1. 10. and hath commanded us to remember to keep it holy Ex●d 20. 8 9 10. Remember the Sabboth day to keep it holy is the day of rest the Sabboth of the Lord thy God we may not set dayes a part of our own head and without his minde Neither may any impose the observation of any day for this end least they be found to be Intruders of humane inventions in stead of Gods Commandements on the consciences of Gods people whereof Christ only is King Ob. But many have religiously observed these dayes in preaching hearing praying singing holy conference c. And have gotten much good thereby A. True but ten to one have got more hurt and done more evil in these dayes than on any other time contracted more guilt and done Christ more dishonour than on all other dayes Besides the observation of dayes and times without Gods warrant and greviously abused to supperstition and prophanesse is not lawfull for Christians on pretence of some good gotten by duties of Gods worship on those dayes which may as well be on any other dayes Ob. But some say still I see no hurt in them they offend not me I observe them out of love and duty to my Saviour and with a good intention and well meaning I do no hurt to any man and therefore I hope it is no offence to Christ A. Good intentions and wel meanings cannot justifie any unwarrantable practise as good and well meaning Vzzah found by wofull experience 2 Sam. 6. 6. The action it selfe was good his ayme and end good and the man surely a good man yet he died by the immediate hand of God for touching of the Arke to save it when the Oxen shook it and it was in danger to be broken into pieces because he had no warrant to touch it being not a Le vite 2 Love to God must be shewed in obeying his commands Joh. 14. 15 21. 1 Joh. 2. 3 4. and 5 3. But the observation of this festivall in honour of Christ I thinke hath been clearly proved to be unwarrantable not of Christ's appointment of meer humane institution and therefore no duty to Christ It hath also been extreamly abused to superstition and prophanesse and is not on the day Christ was borne and against the command of the Magistrate and therefore is sinfull offensive to God and men at least to the most godly and judicious knowing Christians sinfull and dangerous to the soul and if thou be convinced that what I have here said is true then thy observation of it is a sin against conscience a presumptuous sin and so a dangerous sin which as David so all good men should carefully watch and pray against Psal 19. 13. Ob. But the poor complain saying This doth put down all good house keeping and hospitality Many Gentlemen hereby take occasion to lay aside all charity whereby the poor formerly had much relief at their tables and doors A. The more is their sin and shame who make that the occasion to withdraw more than is meet and a cloak for their covetousnesse I here speak not against charity but against the unwarrantable observation of this festivall and the superstition great abuses and disorders and prophanesse of the time Rich men may now with much lesse charge and trouble be much more beneficiall to the poor if they please and ought to be free-hearted and free-handed to the poor and to their neighbours And I earnestly intreat them in the fear of God to consider these Scriptures which are exceeding full of pressing arguments to encourage them to charity Pro. 11. 25. The liberall soul shall be made fat Pro. 21. 13. whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor their knowing cryes vvants and necessities though themselves out of shamefac'tnesse do not cry himself shall cry and not be heard 2 Cor. 9. 6. He that soweth sparingly shall reap sharingly but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully As full or more full are these follovving Eccles 11. 2. Pro. 11. 24 25. and 21. 15 26 and 22. 9. and 25. 21. Mat. 10. 42 43 and 19. 21. Luke 6. 38. Gal. 6. 7 8 9 10. 1 Tim. 6. 17 18. Jam. 5. 1 2 3 4 5. Ob. But then Servants and Touth shall have no time of liberty to refresh themselves visit their friends and mend their apparell A. 1 The Sabbath or Lords day is a day of rest from servile labour appointed by the Lord himself yet may not be spent any part of it in carnall delights but wholly in religious exercises 2 Other time I read of none in the Scripture 3 I am vvell contented there should be sometime allowed by the State for that end and if not sure I am Masters and Governours of families ought to allow some convenient time to their servants for such occasions and do freely do so my self Upon the fore-mentioned grounds and such like the Parliament and Assembly of England and Scotland have abolished and taken away the observation of December 25 and all other holy days forbidden us to observe And I hope no truly conscientious Christian well weighing the premisses will any more plead for the observation of that or any of those Paganish or Popish holy days nor observe them but rather study to honour Jesus Christ by sanctifying his Sabboth sincere obedience to his Commandements living soberly righteously and godly in this present world and labour to abound in all works of charity Howsoever I have discharged my duty and the Lord make his blessing go along vvith his truth FINIS LONDON Printed by R. L. for Richard Wodenothe and are to be sold at his shop at Peters Church in Cornhill 1651.

and riotous feast of Idoll Bacchus and Pan as Hospinian truly saith It is true also that Beroaldus observeth Bercald Chronicorum l. 4. c. 1. that the pretence of celebrating the memory and vertues of some eminent godly Christians brought in holy dayes Primum ad otium d●inde ad nequitiam ad caetera quae otium alit mala inducit and holy days idlenesse and idlenesse prophanenesse and all licentiousnesse but we may say of the observation of holy days as our Saviour in another case from the beginning it was not so The truth is that holy days Monkery Nunnery solitary life Images praying for the dead prayer to Saints departed and Angels as Mediatours were brought in by the factors for Antichrist yet with such specious pretences and seeming devotion and holinesse that even many good men were strangely deceived by them till it was too late to withstand them But by those Christmas sports carnall pleasures and delights God hath in those few holy days been more dishonoured the devill better served evill men more hardned in their wickednesse and good men more grieved and more souls sent head-long to hell than on any other day yea than on all the rest of the year beside Wherefore those godly Fathers Augustine c Augustine the father flourished A. C. 4 o died 433. B●llar de Script Eccles Alst●d Chronolog and others observing those growing evils that followed thereupon wished Pagan festivals had never been turned into Christian feasts but quite abolished the better to avoid all heathenish customes dissolute and prophane practises And although the disorders and abuses of those days were afterward condemned by Councils and Synods as by the Councill of Rhemes A. C. 1583 by the Synod of Toures in France the same year and by others before and since yet all in vain no rooting of them out but by taking away the observation of them wholly as experience sheweth Thus we see who first appointed those holy days we formerly kept as holy festivities viz. the Heathen Pagan Idolaters in honour of their idol devill gods the souls of some dead Heroes which all Christians ought to abominate and that long after such idolatrous use of them some seducing and seduced Christians turned the same days into Christian festivals in honour of Christ and the Saints in complyance with the Heathen Idolaters out of hope to draw them to a Christian Religion but though the corruption of mans nature especially they having no divine warrant from Iesus Christ so to do it turned to the hardning of the Heathens in their Idolatry and the universall and abominable corruption of the Church of Christ 5 Now let it be considered whether Christ was born as on that day which commonly goes under his name or about that time and surely upon inquiry wee shall finde that hee was not born then but rather about the end of September in October d Hospinian de orig fest Christia Matthaei Beroaldi Chron. l. 4 c 12. Hen. Wolphius in Ch●ō The Jews Ch●istian aera or a●coun● 〈◊〉 birth of Christ beginni●g in September Josephus S●aliger de Emend temporum Hugh Broughten in his Consent of Scripture in A. M. 3953. Jo ban Cansabon ●xe●c●t p. 91. Scaliger a so in Canonibus Isagogi●is p. 297. Mr. M●ad ●iatriba 3. part p. 617. c A●sted Praecog T●●ol p. 532 572. Alsted Chronol p. 19. 22 74. 120. Encyclop p 2998. Who addeth further ut docent e●uditi Chronol●gi It is the opinion of the most learned Chronologers saith Mr. Mead Di●triba 3 d. port p. 6. 8. Doctor Drakes sacred Chronog p. 72 73. Scharpius Symphon Veteres animad vert●sse Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum natum fuisse aquinoctio Autumnali quae cansa est ut annos inde sic exorsiprioris aetatis Christiani quos à Domini nativitate solita est inc●oare Vetus Ecclesia B●roaldi Chron. l. 4. p. 236. which I thus clear beside the learned Authors judgment mentioned in the margine First from the time of his conception which was towards the end of December or in Ianuary at the farthest and therefore his birth being full 9 moneths or 40 weeks after must fall about the end of September or in October which I think evident by laying down these Propositions which I believe are manifest truths 1 That the Jews Ecclesiasticall year began in Nisan alias Abib Exod 12. 2. This moneth shall be to you the beginning of moneths the moneth in which Israel came out of Egypt Exod. 13. 4. which contains the latter part of our March and the former part of our Aprill 2 That the Jewish year consisted of twelve moneths 3 That in those 12 monethes were 24 courses for the Priests to serve in the Temple each Priest fourteen days 1 Chron 24. v. 1 and 6. to 20. 4 That in Abiatus course c Alsted Chron. p. 19 20 74. which was the eighth course or fortnight from the beginning of Abib which began on the latter part of our March with our Marchmoon then That mistake that Zechary was high Priest and officiated in September in the feast of Tabernacles may easily be confuted from the text Luke 1. v. 1 8 9. the primitive practise of the Church of Alexandria which was very exact in their accounts they celebrated the birth of Iohn the Baptist Aprill 2● 13 the 28 mensis Pharmutii saith Cyrill in an Homily on that occasion Also by the perpetuall observation of the Jews and is fully done by S●harpius Scaliger Causabon Ber●●ldus Mead * Scharpi Symphon p. 471. Causahon out Scaliger Exercit p. 91. Bercald Chron. l. 4. c. 2. Meads Dia 〈◊〉 triba 3 pa t. p. 620. and others 5 That after Zecharies course of ministring in the Temple was ended and Zechary returned home his wife Elizabeth conceived him who was after called John Luke 1. 5 6 13 19 23 24 After these days that is the end of his course and ministery his wife Elizabeth conceived c. which was in the latter end of our July and John was born in the end of our Aprill f Scharp Sym. phon p. 473. Alsted Chron p. 20. 74. 121. Brough●ons Consent in A. M. 3953. Causabon out of Scaliger de Emendatione temporum in Canonibus Isagogi●is p. 29● Causa●●● Exercitati p 91. or thereabout 6 That our blessed Saviour was conceived in the wombe of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost six moneths after the conception of John the Baptist Luke 1. 7 26 27 to 36. which must fall out about the end of December or in January six moneths after the end of July the time of Johns conception These things being granted which I think cannot be denied it must of necessity follow that Christs birth which was nine moneths or forty weeks after must fall out about the end of September or in October especially he being her first-born Secondly I clear this assertion concerning the time of Christ's birth from the time of his suffering thus

10. §. 5. Matth. 2. Sect. 1 and that that time is the true time of the year and the same time it was when Christ was born viz. the day of the Winters Solstice yet is it not justifiable and warrantable for Christians who pretend to honour Christ to observe it 1 Because there is no precept example or approved ground in sacred Scripture for the observation of that day in houour of Christs birth if any such be let him that can shew it and I will imbrace it and recant my errour at Pauls-crosse or the Exchange but it is an humane invention and a meer tradition of men and was devised and the religious observation of it and other holy days were imposed and commanded meerly and only by man without any ground and warrant from Christ therefore they that will honour Christ as all ought to do must not observe it or them being without Christs direction It is an honour peculiar to Jesus Christ to prescribe times days and worships and an high intrenching on his Sovereign Authority and Kingly office to prescribe days and times therefore what Christ our Lord and Master doth not command or allow warrant to do we may not do we may not observe days or times without his appointment and warrant but punctually as neer as we can keep to his command Deut. 5. 32 3● Jerem. 7. 22 Isaiah 1. 12. Therefore Dr. Dr. Fulk in answer to the Rhem. Test on Luk. 24. 50. Fulk speaking of the signe of crosse in baptisme saith It cannot be a memoriall of Christs because Christ commanded it not and so may I say of this and all other the like holy days 2 Because these days have been and are elsewhere to this day greatly abused to all manner of prophanenesse dissoluetnesse and superstition whereby God hath been more dishonoured on the Christmas dayes and so on all other holy dayes also and the Devil more served than at any other time of the year yea than on all the rest of the year beside therefore they are to be abolished as Hezekiah did the Brazen Serpent when abused to Idolatry he brake it into pieces and called it Nehustan a contemptible piece of brasse though at first set up by Gods especiall command for an excellent end and did much good 2 Kings 18. 4. Tertullian e Tertull. de Corona Milit proves at large in his book of the crown of souldiers that when lawfull things are abused by Pagans or Idolaters Christians may not use them unlesse they have Gods warrant for them And Augustine shews f Aug. Epist 86. ad Casub That the Church of Christ left off to fast on the Lords day because the Manichees had taken up that day to fast on Also Bishop Jewell g Jewels Defence of Apologie p. 441. gives many like examples yea and the very Popes law h P●pes Law distinct 63. Quia Sancta resolveth That if our Predecessours have done things well in their time and afterward they be turned to errour or superstition they must without any delay be reformed Indeed things necessary though formerly grosly abused as houses churches wine c. may not therefore be abolished or laid aside but the abuse removed as the Popish abuses and corruptions in both the Sacraments c. but things only lawful unnecessary and not commanded of God ought to be abolished when grosly abused Beside let it be also remembred that many of our English or rather of Romish holy dayes were dedicated to Saints as the names of the days do witnesse as St. Stephen St. John St. Peter St. James Innocents-day c. which alone maketh the retention and observation of them sinfull and Idolatrous 3 Because the observation of this feast and other holy days so called is now against the command of the Supream Authority and Magistracy in this Land as divers of the Ordinances of both Houses of Parliament do witnesse and is wel known And doubtlesse we are in conscience bound to obey Authority in all things lawful and do sin in a wilful disobeying them Rom. 13. 1 2 3 4 5. 1 Pet. 2. 13 14 15 and do herein plainly contradict at least in practise their proceedings in order to Reformation 4 Because our solemn League and Covenant binds us under an oath To endeavour the extirpation of Popery Prelacy Superstition Heresie Schisme Prophanesse and whatsoever shall be found to be contrary to sound doctrine and the power of Godlinesse least we pertake in other mens sins c. And sure I am the observation of these Heathenish Popish holy days comes under some of these heads and so under our Covenant to reform 5 The Jewish traditions of the Elders as of washing pots cups hands c. received from their fore-fathers without warrant from Gods Word for the religious observation of them though with good intention was reproved and condemned by our Saviour i Mark 7. 3 4 7 8 9. therefore the observation of these also is justly reproveable Matth. 15. 2 3 5 7 13. being meer inventions of men and having been grosly abused and prophaned 6 The Jewish ceremoniall dayes and observations though commanded of God himself under the law are now long since abolished and unlawfull for Jews much more for Christians under the Gospel and as a burthen too heavy for their fore-fathers to bear therefore much more the religious observation of these days which are onely the commandements of men as unlawfull for us Christians Gentiles 7 Because the observation of them is a conformity to Pagan and Popish customes and practises which a Christian ought to abhorre and abominate and flee from them as much as may be instance in lesser matters than this the cutting off the hair of the head beard and the like though otherwise lawfull enough meerly because Idolaters did so Leuit. 19. 27 28. 8 Christians are not bound to rejoyce at the birth of Christ on that 25 day of December which many superstitiously call Christ-mas day more than at other times therefore neither to observe it more than any other day 9 The very name with which the Pope and Papists have christened it Christ-mas is enough to make all true Christians to abhorre the observation of it Christ-mas because the Papists had on that day a peculiar Masse pretendly in honour of Christ but to his great dishonour it being a most detestable Masse of Idolatry in divers perticulars as these Protestant Divines writing against the Papists doctrines do unanimously affirm and some have set them out k See Dr. Barns Du Plessis Bishop Jewell alios quàm plurimos perticularly 10 The 4 Commandement enjoyns us to work on the six days and keep holy the seventh day Exod. 20. 8 9 10. so that if we observe Gods Commandement there is no room left for holy dayes dayes of idlenesse superstition and prophanenesse Object But it may be some will say is there not room for Christs-day and other hoyldayes as well as for dayes