such labours of prouiding corporall foode vnlawfull any day they found none And Moyses sayd vnto them Behould God hath allotted you a Sabaoth giuing you double prouision of food on the sixt day to serue you the seauenth day wherfore let euery man remayne with himselfe or in his owne tent and let him not go out on the seauenth day and the people then sabathized or began to obserue the Sabaoth on the seauenth day first then being taught sayth Philo lib 1. de vita Moysis not only by Propheticall instruction but also by a most manifest argumēt of the Manna ceased to be rayned downe that day and continuing incorupted which was gathered in a double measure on the sixt day that the same was the seauenth day wherein God rested from his labours they hauing longe before desired to know the day of the worlds first creation and could not till then learne it which obseruance God afterwards cōmanded wrote in the first Table of the Decalogue willing his people not only to sanctify and keepe holy the seauenth day but expresly also forbidding them all sorts of externall labours in memory that him selfe had rested from his labours on that day calling it therfore in hebrew Saphath of the word Sacath which signifieth to rest QVESTION II. VVhether the precept of the Sabbaoth were Morall or Cerimoniall IOHN Traske seemeth not in any of his speaches or writings rightly to vnderstand wherein the morality of any Law or Precept consisteth neither doth Maister Cra. his superficiall aduersary indeauour in his confused answere to instruct him in the true vnderstanding thereof as he ought specially to haue done considering that all Traskes singuler opinions are chiefly grounded in a wrongefull conceyuing of some Moysaical precepts to haue ben morall and so consequently not abrogated by Christs coming which were indeed morally cerimoniall according to that precise figuratiue and mysterious manner at the least comaunded to the Iewes in the obseruance of them Heere therfore for both their instructions I define the morality of a law or precept to consist in that conformity which it hath to the naturall light of humane vnderstanding and iudgment taught in all true Philosophy to be the rule of naturall and morall actions and rightly tearmed by the Apostle ad Rom. cap. 2. vers 14. 15. A Law written by God euen in the hartes of such Gentills as had no knowledge of any other supernatural law approuing them in good and reprehending them in euill actions causing in them that practicall internall knowledge called Conscience and iustly seruing to condemne all such as contradict and do against it So that only such lawes and precepts are said to be morall which are conformable to this Synderesis and naturall light of humane iudgment perfected by grace aswell in the knowledge of naturall obiects as of supernaturall reuealed verities amongst which some are purely speculatiue and do only require a faithfull pious and firme assent of our iudgment vnto them and others contrarily are in their owne nature practicall precepts and diuine directions or laws commanding or forbidding things to be done by vs which if they be such according to the substance or manner of the act commaunded or forbidden by them as do appeare to humane vnderstanding and iudgment voluntarily to haue ben commaunded by God and exacted in due obedience from vs his Creatures for such mysterious respects as naturall iudgment cannot apprehend to be necessary or any way belonging to our direction in manners and morality of life towards God our selues or our neighbours those precepts are not to be accounted morall but mysterious and ceremoniall abrogated by Christ as Iohn Traske willingly confesseth Which true ground supposed briefly declaring the nature and condition of a morall law I answere thus to the difficulty of my Question heere proposed that the Commaundement giuen to the Iewes of keeping a Sabaoth or weekely day of rest was according to the substance and chiefe intention of that law morall Because naturall vnderstanding illuminated by faith teacheth it to be fit and expedient that all sorts of persons should abstaine from corporal labours so far forth as to allot certaine daies of their life to the especiall seruice and honour of Almighty God but the determination rather of the seauenth day in which God rested frō his labours then of the sixt in which man was created for to serue his creatour here in this world and to inioy him afterwards meerly depended on Gods free choyce and election misteriously resoluing to make the day of his owne rest the Sabaoth and resting day of his people also from corporall labours symbolizing therby that eternall day of clarity and rest which they were to inioy with himselfe afterwards As touching likewise the precise manner of rest from all sortes of labours euen such as were easily performed and belonged in a sort to the conuenient health and nourishment of their bodies commaunded to the Iewes on their Sabaoth as to light fire prepare meate c. I affirme and proue it to haue beene meerly cerimoniall naturall experience teaching vs first that the lighting of fire and such easy labours of preparing food on the Sabaoth for our selues or for the charitable releife of our brethren are no way repugnant to the morall end and intention for which the Sabaoth was chiefely ordayned to wit of yealding due honor and praise to God for his continuall blessinges and benefits towards vs which only requireth moderate rest from seruile and paineful labours wholy distrasting mens minds and making them vnapt for holy exercises of piety and deuotion Secondly experience likewise teacheth vs that mens dulnes and vnablenes ordinarily to be actuated any whole day togeather in prayer and prayses to God without ceasing is such as easy walking and other needfull or charitable exercises moderately vsed do help rather then hinder the frequent and feruent vse of mental and deuout exercises and serue to honour God and sanctify the Sabaoth more then superfluous sleep idle thoughts vnprofitable conuersation with others not expresly in that commaundement prohibited Which morall obseruation of the Sabaoth euen since Christs time religiously and vniuersally practised by Christian pastours people on the weekly day of our Sauiours Resurection was intimated by our Sauiour himselfe in many passages of the Ghospell doing for example many miracles on that day albeit he saw them by the Scribes and Pharisies scandalously apprehended to haue beene breaches of the Sabaoth Luk. 6. vers 9. Matth. 12. vers 10. c. commaunding such as he had cured to take vp theyr beds and go home to their owne houses which seemed a worke of toyle and labour forbidden to the Iewes on their Sabaoth Io. 5. vers 8. 10. defending his disciples for rubbing the eares of corne to eate Matth. 12. vers 1. Luc. 6. vers 1◠Marc. 2. v. 23. which the Iewes present reputed to haue beene a certaine laborious preparatiō of food seemingly forbiddē by God Exod. 35 vers 3.
praier preaching almes frequenting Sacraments c. mentioned by holy Iustin in Apolog. 2. to Marcus Antoninus and other Gouerners of the Empire in behalfe of Christians and sundry of those holy Fathers formerly mentioned Thirdly I make this Argument for obseruance of the sunday in place of the Sabaoth That day of the weeke is chiefly to be obserued by Christians which our Lord was pleased to make and haue called his owne day But our Lord did make and call his owne day the first day of the weeke and not the Iewish Sabaoth Therfore the first day of the weeke and not the Iewish Sabaoth is especially to be obserued by Christians The maior is certaine because as Christians are bound by their faithfull profession to honor Christ himselfe with thankefull humble seruices so doth the wisdome of faith teach them also especially to honor and esteeme that day of all others most holy which their Lord himselfe most respected and did choose to make and haue called his owne day For as to name any day the day of a King importeth that day to be specially regarded by the king himselfe and festiually obserued by his subiects in memory of some victory obteyned or memorable good happened to himselfe or his people on the same so for such holy and memorable respects the first day of the weeke is called our Lords day Apocalyp 2. 5. worthiest of all other daies of the weeke to be honored and festiually obserued by Christians as shall be particularly proued in my next Argument My minor is proued cleerely by that former text of S. Iohn expresly calling one day of the weeke or yeare as a familiar name knowne to all Christians in his time Diem Dominicum our Lords day to wit a day especially sanctified by Christ deuoted to his seruice which was not the Sabaoth of the Iewes no where els in Scripture so called nor any other day but vna or prima Sabbati the next after the sabaoth as S. Ignatius S. Iohns scholler testifieth epist. 6. ad Magnesianos saying that after the Sabaoth ech louer of Christ celebrateth Diem Dominicum our Lords day consecrated to our Lords Resurrection regina principium omnium dierum the cheifest and principallest of all other daies c. els where Epist 8. ad Philippenses he contesteth that if any Christian celebrateth his Easter with the Iews or their other Symbolicall festiuities amongst which the Sabaothes are included he maketh himselfe partaker with those who killed Christ and his Apostles S. Augustin also to omit many other like testimonies of ancient Fathers serm 251. de tempore teacheth the religions solemnization of our Lords day to haue beene instituted by the Apostles themselues because our Sauiour therein rose from death to life and to haue beene by them called our Lords day that we might learne by that name to abstaine therein from sin and earthly labours attending to diuine seruices And after much honourable mention made of that day he saith that therefore the holy Doctors of Christs Church meaning the Apostles decreed to transfer on that day al the glory of the Iewish Sabaoth that what they celebrated in Types we might celebrate in Verities c. Fourthly the precept of the Sabaoth obligeth Christians no further then it can be proued to conteyne a moral law necessary to direct them in their religious duty and thankfulnes towards Almighty God for benefitts But the obseruance of our Lords day is fitter to direct Christians in their duty towards God to put them in mind of his gracious benefitts towards them then the obseruance of the old Sabaoth Therfore our Lords day not the old Sabaoth is now commaunded and fittest to be obserned by Christians The maior is certaine because all cerimoniall and iudiciall precepts are confessed by Iohn Traske to haue beene abrogated by Christ and no law of the old Testament bindeth Christians which is not morally expedient and necessary to direct them in their Christian duty and seruice My minor may be best proued by examining and comparing the institution and ends for which our Lords day and the old Sabaoth were first ordayned and obserued The old Sabaoth was cheifely ordayned in memory of Gods rest from his labours of creating all things in six daies and therefore Philo lib. de opificio mundi wisely calleth it the worlds birth-day seruing for a continuall instruction of Gods people in the knowledge of their creator and to exclude the error of Philosophers commonly teaching the world to haue had no beginning Secondly it serued to represent vnto the Israelites that rest which God had giuen vnto them after their Egyptian seruitude and painefull labours ended as is expresly affirmed Deut. 5. vers 15. Thirdly it declared them to be a peculiar people sanctifyed by God and deuoted to his seruice Exod. 31 vers 13. Fourthly the Iewes Sabaoth allegorically prefigured Christs rest in his sepulcher after his paynefull labours for mans redemption ended as is insinuated by S. Paul ad Hebr. 4. vers 10. Fifthly in a tripologicall sense it signifyed the spirituall rest of soules after the seruile workes of sinne by Christs grace ended as S. Augustine teacheth vs tract 30. in Ioan. and in sundry other places Sixtly is was Anagogically a figure of that rest which holy soules after this laboursome life ended were to enioy in Abrahams bosome as is insinuated by S. Paul ad Hebr. 4. vers 6. 11. and is also taught by S. Augustine epist 119. For all which holy respects and mysterious significations it was expedient and necessary that the old Sabaoth should be changed by Christ into that blessed day on which himselfe was borne for mans redemption to wit the first day of the weeke as may be Mathematically demonstrated by searching backwards the Cicle of Dominical letters which will be found on the 25. of December in the second yeare of the hundred and ninty fourth Olympiade of Rome first built 754. from Cesars death 42. from the Triumuirate began by Augustus 41. of Herods raigne 29. when our Sauiour was certainly borne to haue beene B. Secondly on that first day of the weeke he rose and began humanely to lead his glorious immortall life as may be expresly gathered from the last chapter of all 4. Euangelists Thirdly on that day he visibly infused his holy spirit on the Apostles in the day of Pentecost to wit the fiftith day after the second of Azimes whē the Iews began to number their day of Pentecost which happened to be cōpletly ēded in the yeare of our Sauiours passiō on sunday as is learnedly proued by Ribera de festis Iudaeorum Cap. de Pentecoste by Bellar de Cultu Sanctorum lib. 3. Cap. 13. and sundry other authors So as three of the greatest mysteries of our Sauiours life and most singular benefitts that God could deuise to bestow on mankind happened on our Lords day to sanctify and make it more worthy then the Iewes Sabaoth to be by vs Christians weekely
Circumcision then of transferring the Sabaoth to an other more mysterious and memorable day the determination of the seauenth day rather then any other being as I haue els where declared immateriall to the religious obseruance of Gods Commandement binding only according to the morall end and intention thereof faithfull people to abstaine in one day of seauen from seruile labours and to deuote the same to Gods especiall honor and seruice whereas the practise of Circumcision giuen before Moyses as a couenant and signe distinguishing Abrahams holy posterity from other faithlesse people was wholy to be repealed notwithstanding the Iewes so highly regarded it as not to conuerse or admit into their Temple any one that wanted that holy seale and signe of Gods couenant with them Other arguments more friuolous lesse important I willingly omit being loath to detaine my Reader needlesly and impertinently in them wishing heere for a finall conclusion of this question that Io. Traske and his bretheren would maturely consider the finall issue of their vnchristian and exorbitant doctrines disliked by our Soueraigne and State contradicted by all learned men comming to heare of them and vtterly as yet vnheard of in other partes of Christendome so as the first Inuenters and obstinate Professers of them can truly belonge to no Christian Church present now or past in any age before them QVESTION V VVherein is proued that Christians are to celebrate the yearly day of our Sauiours Resurrection on Sunday and not on the 14. day of March-Moone as the Iewes celebrated their Paschall IOHN Traske in his humor of Iudaisme Hereticall innouation is lately growne so great an enemie to the weekely obseruance of our Lords day as he seemeth also to deny the yearely feast of our Sauiours Resurrection to be lawfully celebrated on any other day in the yeare then the 14. of March-moone wherin the Iewes were commaunded by God to celebrate their Passouer And vpon his late reading in Eusebius lib 5. hist cap. 22. Policrates epistle directed to Victor Bishop of Rome concerning the Asian custome of keeping easter with the Iews S. Irenaus his iudgment that Victor did with ouer much seuerity excomunicate many Easterne Churches for persisting in that wonted Quartadeciman manner of celebrating the yearly day of our Sauiours Resurrection togeather with the Iewes Paschall he will arrogantly presume to call Victor that holy Bishop Martyr famously mentioned in ancient histories a proud Prelate and not sticke to accuse other ancient Fathers of ignorance in censuring afterwards and condemning for heretikes the Quartadeciman obseruers of Easter God himselfe saith he hauing expresly commanded Christ himselfe with his Apostles celebrated on that day his Paschall festiuity And not contented with this hereticall temerity of renewing the Quartadeciman heresy he surpasseth Blastus himself in his Iewish manner of keeping Easter For as I haue touched in my Preface he by his eating of vnleuened bread seauen dayes togeather after the 14. of March-Moone and by sundry speaches vttered to some of his fellow prisoners hath giuen great suspitions that lately he hath obserued the feast of Azimes togeather with his disciples The next yeare peradueuture they will haue profited in Iudaisme so far as to sacrifice a Paschall Lambe also And lastly it is to be feared that falling more and more from their Christiā profession they will with Adam Neuserus Bernardinus Ochinus and other Puritan Deuines finally forsake Christ and imbrace Iudaisme or Turcisme the fearefull sequell and iust punishment of such fantastical spirits as will imbrace no Religion but of their owne deuising nor be obedient children to any Church but of their owne raising But let Iohn Traske and his Disciples celebrate what Paschall they will and on what day they please our Paschal-Lambe according to the Apostle 1. Corinth 5. vers 7. 8. is Christ sacrificed in the euening of the world for our redemption and our festiuall azimes are to be as neere as by the assistance of diuine graces we shall be able to arriue vnto the sincerity of holy actions and verity of doctrines whereby our soules may be happily nourished after their spirituall flight out of Aegypt and conducted towards the eternal inheritance of heauen through the merit of Christs holy life and passion prepared for vs humbling our selues heer to be els where eternally exalted eschewing any temper as neere as we can of that Pharisaicall leauen with which Traskes speaches and actions are as it may be probably ghessed in Gods sight abhominably corrupted who with his disciples will not seem to be sicut ceteri homines in any thing shewing all those simptoms wherby the spirituall Phisitian of soules was pleased to describe the infection of the Scribes and Pharisyes rightly by him compared to dead mens sepulchers painted and polished without but internally filled with all guile and malice The Apostle telleth the Galathians cap. 5. vers 2. 3. that whosoeuer circumciseth himselfe maketh himselfe a debtour of the whole law and Christs death profiteth him not and so it may be proportionably auerred of Traske that in teaching the festiuall obseruance of Azimes he is consequently also bound by the same reason to obserue the entire Law of Moyses so cannot be longer a Christian He was wont heeretofore to vnderstand that text of the Apostle ad Coloss 2. Let not man iudge or discouer you in meate or drinke or new moones or part of a festiuall day c. of the Ceremoniall feasts of the Iewes mentioned Leuitic 23. abrogated by Christ amongst which the feast of Azimes is first mentioned But he hath as it should seeme since altered his iudgment as Ebion his disciples were wont little I feare doth he regard any doctrine contayned in S. Paules Epistles Policrates Epistle neuer taught him to conioyne the Iudaicall feasts of Azimes with our Christian Passouer only that ancient Bishop of Ephesus in a preposterous zeale of obseruing the yearly memory of our Sauiours resurrection as S. Policarpe and other great Saintes had done before him in those partes of Asia wrote very ernestly in the defence of that Quartadeciman Custome Whose authority hath as it should seeme much moued Iohn Traske who either out of ignorance had neuer before read or out of rashenes neuer marked far more conuincing proofes for the Dominicall obseruance of Easter For long before Victors decree thereof Pius his holy predecessor as Eusebius recounteth in his Chronicle declared it to haue byn an Apostolicall doctrine that Christians should keep their Easter on the Sunday and not on the 14. of March-moone as the Iewes celebrated their Paschall Socrates also lib. 5. hist cap. 21. expresly affirmeth that S. Peter S. Paul taught in the Roman and other Western Churches the like Dominicall obseruaunce of Easter which is also testified by S. Protenius Patriarch of Alexandria in his Epistly to S. Leo wherein he testifieth also that S. Marke introduced the same manner of keeping Easter in the Egyptian Churches S. Ignatius