soon angry we find how the Hypocrites in Esaias 58.2 Fasted for strife and debate and smote with the Fist of wickedness and exacted all their labours they brought forth their Bills and Bonds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Seventy have it whom the Arabick exactly follows and the Chaldee Syriack and other Interpreters agree thereto Although some of our Festival days are the common days of Payment of Rents and Debts yet we should not exact all our labours use our utmost rigor then upon failure Feasting uses to make Men placid and easie to be intreated and is then most pleasing to God as well as Fasting when Men deal their bread to the hungry and cover the naked and lodge the harbourless when they loose the bands of wickedness undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free and break every yoke moreover reconciling our selves to our Enemies and making up differences between Neighbours Catechising Children Visiting the Sick and all such works of Charity are proper works for a Holy day I need not tell you how Religious the first Christian Emperors were this way not only in giving but forgiving how at Easter they set all Prisoners at liberty except Traytors Murderers Ravishers of Women and such notorious Malefactors I could tell you how our Saxon Laws provided that no Man should be put to death upon the Lords day that the Ordeal Tryal should not be undergone upon any Feast or Fast day and took care for the relief of Prisoners every Lords day But these are things which no Man will gainsay and therefore I will pass on and come in the last place to enquire what are the causes of the great and general neglect of these days which the Lord hath made so signal and worthy to be observed I shall touch on three Superstition Profaneness and Covetousness First Superstition even the Superstition of those men that are most afraid of or most declame against Superstition their conceit is no less Superstitious than their Notation is fond in making it to be Quicquid super statutum I would ask them in this case what Statute have they that forbids the keeping of any other day besides the Lords day 1. If they say God is the Lord of time and he hath said Six days shalt thou labor I reply Those words are no part of the fourth Commandment I mean not of it as commanding but a permission incouraging the Observance of the thing commanded as if it were said the Lord allows you six days for your own business and may therefore more strictly require the seventh of you for his own service they are no more a Command than that in Gen. 3.19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread But the practice of the Objectors who have indicted Fasts and Thanksgivings on working days when and as often as they pleas'd is Confutation enough to the Objection But 2. They urge that to the Galat. 4.10 Ye observe days and months and times and years I reply again If the Context and Scope of the whole Epistle did not shew it plainly to be written to Judaising People those four words in the Text alledged would tell us the Apostle means the Jewish Festivals whereof they had four sorts But what is that to us that keep days in testification of our being Christians and disclaiming all Judaism and keep them not in imitation of the Jews no more than we do the Sabbath but rather in order to their invitation and bringing them over to the Christian Faith and to shew that Christ is greater than Moses But the great thing they insist on is 'T is against Gospel purity to have mixtures of Human Inventions with Divine Injunctions and this superstitious conceit is the great cause not only of this neglect but of Schism or unlawful Separation Ans I have already said To be thankful for benefits is a Law of Nature and no Human Invention and to give thanks yearly on those days whereon those Benefits were bestow'd rather than any other is so Natural hath so great a congruity in it that the Objectors themselves choose to do so But let them tell me is there any more of man in keeping an Easter-day than a Fifth of November in praising of God for the first planting of the Christian Religion than a late preservation of it But what Did they never hear of the Feast of Purim and that Feast of the Dedication whereat our Lord was present of the Seven days which King Solomon kept at the first Dedication of the Altar and the Seven days that King Hezekiah kept at the Feast of Unleavened bread over and above what the Law Commanded 2 Chron. 30.23 Of the four Fasts in Zech. 8.19 whereof but one was injoin'd But because they call us so often to the Pattern in the Mount we will take a View of that and shew you that the Israelites did not only Act super but contra statutum in several things yet no separation was made from Publick Communion with that Church and therefore every Imperfection can be no just cause of Separation nor every Supererogation I will give three notorious Instances whereof two concern Festivals The First shall be touching the Feast of Tabernacles whereof we read Nehem. 8.17 All the Congregation of them that were come again out of the Captivity made Booths and sate under the Booths for since the days of Joshua the Son of Nun unto that day had not the Children of Israel done so that is they had not kept the Feast of Tabernacles at least in that main circumstance of dwelling in Tents and Booths for a Thousand years together and that throughout the most flourishing time of that Church although it was expresly Commanded no less than four times in Moses It is a wonder how it came to pass that neither David nor Hezekiah nor Samuel nor Jehoiadah nor any other reforming King zealous Priest or inspired Prophet no answer by Vrim and Thummim corrected this neglect in so many Ages in all which time we find no secession made from the Church that then was My Second Instance shall be in a Holy year the Observation whereof is Commanded Levit. 25.2 c. When ye come into the Land which I give you then shall the Land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord thou shalt neither sow thy Seed nor prune thy Vineyard c. And now see the Omission in the Punishment threatned Levit. 26.34 c. inflicted 2 Chron. 36.21 untill the Land had injoyed her Sabbaths for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten Years So long the Babylonian Captivity lasted that the Land might rest and lie untill'd so many years as the Seventh or Sabbatick year had been unobserv'd Reckon and ye will find just Seventy sevens in four hundred ninety years so that for 490 years together they had broken the aforesaid Law to wit from the days of Samuel to the Captivity and yet no Separation all that while
The keeping of Holy Days Recommended in a SERMON PREACHED at HADHAM BEFORE THE Right Honorable and Right Reverend FATHER in GOD HENRY LORD Bishop OF LONDON c. AT His Lordships late Conference with his Clergy there By Thomas Leigh B. D. Vicar of Bishops STORTFORD LONDON Printed by H. Hills Jun. for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1684. Cujus mandato Hoc quicquid est dudum aures multorum Nunc oculos omnium metuit Villae meae natalis Domino primario Vicariatûs quo ibidem fungor Patrono extraordinario Ecclesiae Londini quaquà patemus Trinobantes Antistiti Vigilantissimo Ecclesiae Anglicanae Lumini Columini Pietatis primaevae Cultori Eximio Reformatae Religionis Adsertori fortissimo Cleri sui Inspectori simul Speculo Vindici pariter ac Judici integerrimo HENRICO Praenobilis COMPTO Norum Familiae Summo Decori Ornamento Viro nullis non nominibus Honorando Me meáque omnia Quantâ licet demissione atque observantiâ LMQDDCQ T. L. Psalm 118.24 This is the day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it THE Occasion of our present Meeting is to inquire into the reasons of setting apart and keeping certain days for the more special Worship of God which are therefore call'd Holy and into the reasons why they are no better kept The former I shall chiefly speak to from the words now read which the Jews understand of the Day of David's advancement to the Throne and accordingly the Chaldee Paraphrast renders the 22th ver thus The Builders despised the Youth that was among the Sons of Jesse and yet he deserv'd to be made King and Ruler and then brings in the Builders and the Sons of Jesse with others singing alternatim thus the Builders begin This is the Lords doing the Sons of Jesse answer It is marvellous in our eyes The Builders go on This is the day which the Lord hath made the Sons of Jesse Let us rejoyce and be glad in it The Builders again Save now we beseech thee O Lord then Jesse and his Wife O Lord we beseech thee send now prosperity and lastly David and Samuel and the whole Tribe of Judah are brought in bearing their parts in this Psalm of Thanksgiving And they had good reason to understand the Day spoken of to be the Day of David's coming to the Crown but we have greater to understand it of the Day of our Lord's Resurrection from the dead which was the Day whereon he began his Reign or the exercise of his Kingly Office For our Lord appropriates to himself those words of the 22d ver The stone which the Builders refus'd is become the head of the Corner Matt. 21.42 adding also the words of the 23. ver and St. Peter himself a great stone in that Building applies the same to our Lord after and upon account of his Resurrection Act. 4.11 1 Epistle 2.4 To which add the Hosanna and Benediction of the two following verses which were the Acclamations of the multitude when our Lord rode in Kinglike manner to Jerusalem Matt. 21.5 9. We have in the words the Constitution of a Holy or Festival day and the Celebration of it The Constitution This is the day which the Lord hath made The Celebration We will rejoyce and be glad in it First For the Constitution Here is the ground and reason for the ordaining and keeping of a Day Holy because it is that which the Lord hath made where by making 1. We don't understand the creating of a Day which is done by dividing the Darkness from the Light for so all days are of Gods making and made without any distinction of Festi Profesti Fasti Nefasti Holy and Unholy Lucky and Unlucky or any other differences than what the course of the Sun and the seasons of the year do necessarily cause 2. Nor do we understand here only Gods appointing of a Day to be kept for Religious purposes for that hath and may be done by man But We understand thereby the making of a Day signal and remarkable by some extraordinary deliverance or other Mercy bestow'd upon Mankind in general or some Nation or great body of Men in particular Such a Mercy such a Deliverance leaves a certain stamp or impression upon that Day whereon it was bestow'd as to make it be call'd a Holy day a High day a day of days a day more extraordinary and notable than its fellows Such was the day of David's Exaltation to the Throne a Day of great Mercy and Deliverance to the People of Israel and such was the Day of our Lord's Resurrection a Day of great Mercy and Deliverance to all mankind Such Days are if I may so call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Days of a singular make and which God hath as it were redeem'd and purchas'd to himself from the rest of the days of the year Grant me this ground to go upon and I shall hope to give you some tolerable account of the Institution of Holy days What I have to say shall be comprehended under a very few Heads First Upon this ground it is that we hear of no special Day set apart for above two thousand years unless that of the Sabbath For altho I doubt not but that as there were some days whereon the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord as we find twice in Job so there was also some time whereon the Sons of Men made their Religious addresses to Him And I understand when 't is said after the birth of Enos Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord thus Then men being increased into a multitude the Worship of God became more publick Yet I say we are not sure whether the time was fix'd and unalterable or whether chosen or commanded upon occasion We read of Holy Persons or Priests of Holy things as Sacrifices and Tithes and of Holy places often before the Deliverance out of Egypt but not of Holy times Altars several built by Noah Abraham Isaac and Jacob and several of them upon the score of Gods appearing to them when it might have been said to them as it was to Moses and Joshua upon the same account The ground whereon thou standest is Holy and they might have said as the Psalmist does here of a Day This is the Place which the Lord hath made that is signalised by his special appearance in a way of Mercy But no fix'd times because God for the first Two thousand years of the World had rather given publick tokens of his Justice and Displeasure than of his Goodness and Mercy as in the drowning of the Old World the burning of Sodom and the three neighbouring Cities the confounding of Tongues several Famines and Plagues The favours which God bestow'd at any time were only on single Persons or their Familes which although we need not doubt but they did most thankfully acknowledge yet if we grant they did
days intitl'd to our Church their own private Persuasion Surely our Church intended a difference when Ordaining the incomparable Litany to be always a part of the Service of the Lord's day which is only accidentally a part of any other Festival Service and certainly the Solemn recital of the Ten Commandments and the Fourth among them with the same ejaculatory Prayer on the Peoples part is very tempting to them to think that our Church had her Eye chiefly on this Day having told us nothing of her mind to the contrary Nay I think who ever can construe English will find how in the Homily of the Place and Time of Prayer the far greatest stress is laid upon this day and no Comments or Distinctions have yet evinced the contrary Add that no Apocryphal Lesson is appointed for any Lord's day throughout the whole year but for other Holy days several Add how in the Explications of the said Fourth Commandment in the Catechism of King Edward VI. and in the Greater Catechism set forth in the days of Queen Elizabeth which only is allow'd to be taught with the Lesser by the Canons of 1571. and the Canons of the first of King James there is no notice taken of any other but our Lords Day As for any Statutes made on this behalf as one or more have been in every Reign of our Reformed Princes I leave you to the Learned in the Law observing this only that care hath been taken for the Suppression of all Markets and Fairs on this day And what if after all this Tindall said that our Lords Day might be translated from Sunday to Monday and Calvin would have it to Thursday what is that to our Church I think they are much mistaken if the ground whereon I build have any solidity in it Sunday is that day on the Week which our Lord hath made made more signal than all the rest by his Resurrection from the dead and raising us up from the state of death c. And now my Christian Friends tell me what harm is done if the Queen take place of the Ladies of Honor and they are not at all shut out but admitted in their proper orders For Secondly There is some difference to be made and hath always been between the rest of the Holy days though all are Holy Precedence hath been given especially to those that record some Eminent Particularities of our Lords great Undertaking such as his Nativity Passion Resurrection Ascension and Mission of the Holy Ghost Which are too great Mysteries either to be huddled up all in one day and not Celebrated distinctly on some peculiar days or to be no more regarded than the deaths of our fellow-Christians Three of them have a more than ordinary mark set upon them as they are Antitypes to three Typical Feasts of the Jews or if that Phrase please not as they are successive to them and commemorative of greater Things which those lesser Celebrated by them did but fore-shadow For First As the Deliverance out of Egypt did Typifie our Redemption from a greater Bondage so the Feast kept in memory of the former might justly Typifie or Usher in or give sufficient Intimation for the keeping of a Feast in honor of the later both happening at the same time of the Year Secondly As the Feast of Weeks did commemorate the giving of the Law upon Mount Sinai so doth our Whit-Sunday the publishing of the Law of the Spirit or Doctrine of the Gospel upon Mount Sion in a no less extraordinary manner upon the same day and therefore the later Feast deservedly took place or came in the room of the former Thirdly If the Feast of Tabernacles did prefigure our Lords Nativity as the Learned Mede not unhappily conjectures for then the Word was made Flesh and Tabernacled among us then the Feast of the Nativity rightly succeeds in the room thereof I will not meddle with the contemporising those two great Feasts much hath been said pro and con but instead thereof ask how or when that Prophecy of Zachary was fulfill'd but by the Succession of this later Feast in room of the former That I mean of c. 14.16 It shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the Nations that come or shall come against Jerusalem for so it may be rendred and is by the Chaldee Syriack and Arabick 〈◊〉 the Latin of Arias Montanus and the Tigurin Translators rendred in the present or future Tense shall even go up from year to year to worship the King the Lord of Hosts and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles This Prophecy certainly was not fulfill'd by the famous Feast of Tabernacles kept in Nehemia's time See Nehem. c. 8. v. 14 and 17. For according to the Law but newly read to the People they that kept that Feast were to be Israelites born See Levit. 23.42 when yet of the Passover strangers were bound to eat The Jews themselves think it was not then fulfill'd for as S. Hierom on the place says Haec Judaei cassâ spe in mille annorum Regno futura promittunt That it 's only an Israelism I am not yet persuaded to think Whereto give me leave to add that the Sacrifices of that Feast had according to the Jews a peculiar respect to the Gentiles For whereas on the first day they Offer'd thirteen Bullocks on the second twelve and so abated every day one insomuch that on the seventh day there were but seven Offer'd but in the whole Seventy according to the number of the Nations This say they signifies the gradual diminution of the Nations until they should all submit to the Kingdom of the Messiah who was to be the desire of all Nations See Menass Ben Israel Vindic. Jud. p. 22. Hospin de Orig. Fest Jud. p. 41. How the day of Atonement did Typify that of our Lords Passion though at a different time of the year I will not now undertake to shew because it is not a Festival day and falls not so properly under our consideration we will therefore pass on Thirdly And now after these why may not the Memories of the Apostles be preserv'd on certain days whereon without doing any Worship to them we bless God for the excellent Graces and Virtues wherewith he inabled them to be successful Preachers and Champions of the Holy Gospel so successful that among other Nations We in this Outskirt of the World in this remote Isle heard the joyful Sound within five years after our Lords Ascension that is before Rome it self according to Gildas I say why on those days which God hath made so remarkable with the Martyrdoms of the Apostles should we not glorifie God on that behalf These were according to St. Paul Eph. 2.20 the Founders under our Lord of the Christian Church and the Representatives of the same according to the Revelation of St. John and the Patriarchs of us Gentiles by whose Ministry all the Kingdoms of the World have become the Kingdoms of our