Saturday No Sabbath, Title page – Dedication
SATURDAY NO SABBATH: Or, the SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH Proved To be of no force to the Beleeving Gentiles in the times of the Goſpel, By the Law of Nature, Moſes, Chriſt.
BEING An account of ſeveral publique Diſputations held at Stone-Chappel by Pauls, London; Between Dr. Chamberlain, Mr. Tillam, and Mr. Coppinger, of the one party, And JER. IVES of the other.
In which the Arguments and Anſwers on both ſides are impartially recommended to publique view.
Together With an Appendix, in which the ſaid Queſtion is more fully and plainly diſcuſſed for the better information of the weak, and wherein all the Arguments levied for the defence of the Jewiſh Sabbath are anſwered
By JER. IVES.
— Or of the New-moon, or of the SABBATH-days, which are a SHADOW of things to come; but the Body is of Chriſt,
Col. 2.16, 17.
Strangers not Circumciſed may do any work for themſelves on the (Jews) SABBATH-days: for the uncircumciſed ſtranger is not commanded to keep the (Jews) SABBATH-days,
Maim Treat. of the Sab Chap. 6. Sect. 1. Ch. 20 Sect. 14.
London, Printed for Dan. White at the ſeven Stars in Pauls Churchyard, and Fran Smith in flying-Horſe Court in Fleetſtreet. 1659.
To the Beleevers in Chriſt, eſpecially they who are in bondage to the Jewiſh Sabbath, and more particularly to thoſe in Colcheſter, Grace and Peace be multiplyed from the God of Peace.
IF our Souls were but affected with the ſad and deplorable condition of the Churches of Chriſt, by reaſon of thoſe great diviſions that are among them, upon the advancing of every novel opinion, we ſhould take up the wiſh of the Prophet, and ſay, Oh that our head were waters, and our eyes a fountain of tears! eſpecially if we conſider what great diſhonour it brings to God, who is and would be known to be a God of peace and not of confuſion in all the Churches of the Saints: and as God is diſhonoured, ſo the edification of the Churches are hindred; whilſt their Religious diſcords prove as great an obſtruction to their ſpiritual building, as the confuſion of Languages did to the building of Babylon: and as diſcord among Chriſtians hinders their edification, ſo it hinders the converſion of others; for if a Jew or an Infidel come among Chriſtians, and obſerves the ſeveral Opinions that are among them, may they not have juſt cauſe to ſay, You are mad? Oh then! as you tender Gods honour and your own edification, and the worlds converſion, follow the things that make for peace.
And in order hereunto, let me give you ſome Cautions.
Firſt, That you be careful how you take up an opinion, or receive anything for truth, before you have well weighed and conſidered of it. The fooliſh (ſaith Solomon) beleeveth EVERY thing: but the prudent will conſider his ſteps, Prov. 14.15. plainly ſhewing, that ſome are ſo fooliſh, that if they do but hear a thing, they will inconſiderately and raſhly receive it. Too much of this folly is at this time among profeſſors, who run to receive every new thing that they hear of, before they are able to give a Reaſon for the truth of the thing they ſo receive. Theſe men often prove troublers of the Churches peace; and turn the joy ſhe had of a ſudden Proſelite, into great ſorrow; & that either by their unruly and diſorderly promoting their new received opinions, to the diſturbance of the peace, and hinderance of the growth of the Churches; or elſe by their ſudden departing from thoſe Notions, that they haſtily and inconſiderately received. For it is worth obſerving, that thoſe that haſtily imbrace a thing (though it be truth) ſeldom do remain permanent Profeſſors of it: this our Lord Chriſt teacheth us in the parable of the ſower, Mat. 13.5. compared with the 20. where it is obſervable of the ſeed that fell among ſtony ground, how that ANON it ſprung up, but it SUDDENLY withered away for want of root: which Chriſt interprets to be for want of understanding, as appears, if you but compare this haſty Profeſſor with the profeſſor who is ſaid to receive with underſtanding, ver. 23. whereas the other is ſaid to receive it incontinently, ver. 20. he departeth from it as ſuddenly, ver. 21. I ſpeak not this to the end that I might diſcourage people from hasting to keep Gods commands; but that, according to the Proverb, they ſhould make no more haſt then good ſpeed: for ſad experience tells us, that the Churches have ſped very ill by ſuch raſh inconſiderate members, who have proved diſturbers of the peace, while they have been in; and many times have made havock of the Churches peace in their going out, by drawing others after them.
Secondly, As I would caution you to be careful in receiving, ſo I would likewiſe have you careful in the promoting any thing that you have ſo received.
In the firſt place, take heed of being too haſty in the venting that thou haſt newly received: for if once a man hath vented an opinion in publick, it will be hard to recant, though it prove very erronious: how ſad is it then to ſee men diſpute in publick for that to day, when they doubted of the truth of it but yeſterday!
2. Be careful in promoting of any thing thou hast received paſſionately and uncharitably, branding all that differ from thee as Law-breakers and denyers of Scriptures, calling all Ranters, Quakers, Papiſts, Atheiſts, &c. that deny the truth of thy opinion, as Mr. Tillam doth in his Treatiſe of the Sabbath, pag. 6. & accuſers of Chriſt, and reproachers of the Apoſtle Paul, pag. 122, 123. again, he calls thoſe that do not agree with him in this point about the keeping of the ſeventh-day Sabbath, baſeborn muck-worms, pag. 26. But no wonder Mr. Tillam ſpeakes at this rate, ſince as he confeſſeth in his Book, That ſometimes his affection did out-run his judgment.
Likewiſe Mr. Spittlehouſe in his Book called, Error blaſted, wherein he uſeth a great many words in Capital Letters, inſtead of Capital Arguments; taking that for granted which he ought to have proved (viz.) Thát the Seventh-day Sabbath is a moral precept: then having ſhamefully begged the Queſtion, he manfully infers, That all that are otherwiſe minded, are breakers of Jehovahs Royal Law; when he himſelf (from that Text much inſiſted on by them, Mat. 5.17. to prove the Seventh-day Sabbath a command to beleeving Gentiles) faints in the way of his proof, by ſaying, It is PROBABLE Chriſt preached that Sermon to the multitude, as well as to the twelve among whom there were Gentiles. But what if one ſhould ſay, It is certain that this was preached while the firſt Tabernacle was ſtanding? and that it is improbable that he preached to Gentiles, becauſe preaching to the Gentiles ſeemed ſo ſtrange to Peter, Acts the 10? might not a man have better ground to evince the one, then he hath to infer the other, (viz.) becauſe Chriſt preached to the multitude, that therefore two of the twelve were Gentiles? and yet for all he confeſſeth, that it is but a PROBABLE conjecture, yet he hath the confidence to imbark himſelf in a Paper Frigot, manned with great words, to incounter with all for Law-breakers, that are not Seventh-day Sabbath-keepers. Comparing Mr. Ives who diſputed againſt his opinion, to a beaten Cock, that was ready to hide his head in any hole, pag. 27. Which if he did, this enſuing account of the Diſputations will make appear.
In the mean time, let every one that reads Mr. Spittlchouſe his forementioned Book, ſee how he rather blasts himſelf then his erring Adverſary: for he goeth to prove againſt Mr. Ives, That the Sabbath ought to be kept by the Law of Nature, in his Poſtſcript, pag. 26. and yet in pag. 28. he cries out againſt Mr. Ives, for that he went to diſprove the Morality of it by the light of Nature; comparing him to the Quakers, that adhere to the light within them: you may ſee then how miſchievous a thing it is for a man paſſionately to promote an opinion; it makes his affection out-run his judgment, or elſe ſurely Mr. Spittlehouſe would not have taken Arguments out of Natures Oracle to confute Mr. Ives (as he thought) and after decry Nature as corrupt, blaming Mr. Ives, for adhering to her dictates when he had laboured as in the fire, but two pages before, to prove the Law of Nature holy, juſt, and good: How much then doth it concern us to lay aſide paſſion in the promotion of that we conceive to be true, leſt we pull down that with one hand we ſet up with the other?
3. In the promoting of thy Opinion, be more studious for Arguments then Rhetorical flouriſhes, which (together with railing Accuſations) uſually ſupply the place of Arguments; a ſtrong ſign of a weak Cauſe. And of this Mr. Tillam is ſufficiently guilty: though at our Diſputation he decryed Syllogiſms, and refuſed to anſwer them; calling them the intiſing words of mans wiſdom, when his Book is full of ſuch kind of Humane wiſdom, almoſt in every page, where he Courts all the Liberal Sciences for terms of Art to garniſh his Book: as first, Grammatical terms, telling his Reader of a Future Tenſe, and a Gerund in do, pag. 15, 73. and as though he were writing an Almanack, he abounds with Aſtronomical Phraſes, as Meridian-Heights, the Suns Station & Retrogradation, Meridian glory, the celerity of the Sun when mounting the other Hemiſpere, the interpoſition of the Terreſtrial Globe, makes their Meridian the Antipodes Midnight, Cloudy Speculations; the Moon in her conſtant inconſtancie, and the Stars in the expanded Firmament, the Empyreal Heavens, &c. pag, 8, 36, 42, 44, 166. Neither doth his book want Rhetorical expreſſions to carry on that which he wants Arguments to maintain; calling thoſe that are Proſolited to his ſeventh-Day Sabbath-keeping, Ingenious, mounting, refined Spirits; and others, baſe-born muck-worms, pag. 28.
Again, He calls the contrary Opinion, A ſhadie Speculation, pag. 8. Again, he is full of ſuch Phraſes as theſe, (viz.) Ideas of the Deity, Igitur, Emphatical, Demonſtrative Particles, High Encomiums, Intrinſical, Abſtruſe and intricate Perſpicuity, the ſuperlative preſence, celerity, diſtracting Labyrinth, &c. pag. 9, 12, 92, 47, 54, 82. Logical and Poetical terms are frequently found in his writing: as Dilemma's, Scylla and Charybdis, Meanders, Ariadnes Clue, the Father of Daemons, &c. Who would think that aeman ſhould garniſh his Book with ſuch Phraſs as theſe, and yet reſuſe Academical Learning in Diſputation, as ſavouring of fleſhly wiſdom? nay, though he decryed Syllogiſms as a carnal way of Diſcourſe, yet he ſometimes doth Syllogiſe in his Book, as the Reader may ſee in p. 19. *I cite not theſe paſſages to the end that I might be thought to be a hater of humane learning, for I know it is of great uſe, and deſervedly to be honoured; but to the end that the Reader may take notice that Mr. Tillam can caſt honour upon learning when he thinks it will honor his Cauſe, but when it is uſed againſt him, or makes for the detecting his error, then he decries it as vain, and ſaith, he is ſure that it is not of God, &c.& its worth obſerving, that while Dr. Chamberlain did Diſpute Syllogiſtically, when he was Mr. Ives his opponent, Mr. Tillam did not ſhew any publike diſlike of ſuch kind of diſputation: but when Mr. Tillam came to reſpond to Mr. Ives his Arguments, then he inveig'd againſt it as a carnal thing: and yet for all this, when Mr. Tillam came to take upon him the part of an Opponent the next day, Mr. Ives deſired him if he would not diſcourſe Syllogiſtically, that he would prove the Poſition by plain Scripture; to which Mr. Tillam replyed, That there was no Text that in ſo many words would prove what he had aſſerted. Then Mr. Ives asked him why he blamed people for proving their practiſe by a Conſequence, as he did in his Book, pag. 96. if he could not prove his own practiſe without a Conſequence? hereupon he was forced to take Sanctuary at a Syllogiſm, as hereafter will appear, though all along he blamed Mr. Ives very ſharply for uſing ſuch a carnal weapon to diſcourſe withal.
Let me beſeech you therefore, from what hath been ſaid, to ſuſpect thoſe men who are full of entiſing words, and empty of ſolid Arguments: and this is not only my advice, but the Apopostle's, who tells us, 2 Pet. 2. That with fained words ſome ſhall make merchandiſe of Gods people; and therefore he bids the Coloſſians, in the 2 Chapter of that Epiſtle, To take heed leſt any man beguiled them through intiſing words. You ſee then, that good men may be ſpoyled of their joy, and Churches of their peace, by ſuch who by good words and fair ſpeeches deceive the hearts of the ſimple, Rom. 16.18. Be ready therefore to vent nothing for truth, but what you may be able to give a REASON of to them that ask you, with meekneſs and fear, 1 Pet. 3.15.
Laſtly, Let me Caution thee to have a care not only how thou receiveſt an opinion, and how thou promoteſt it, but alſo how thou keepeſt and retaineſt it: if thou findest that it is truth thou haſt received, know, that her price is far above rubies, and no pleaſure is to be compared to it, ſaith Solomon, Prov. 8.11.
This the Poet ſaw, when he elegantly expreſſed the eſtate of that man that had gained the knowledge of the Truth, ſaying, That it was a pleaſure to ſtand upon the ſhore and to ſee ſhips toſſed upon the Sea, and to ſtand in the window of a Caſtle to ſee a Battle and the adventures thereof below; but no pleaſure is comparable to the ſtanding upon the vantage ground of truth, (a hill not to be commanded, and where the Air is always clear and ſerene) and to ſee the errors, and wrandrings, and miſts, and tempeſts in the vale below: provided that this proſpect be with pity, and not with ſwelling or pride. And as another ſaith well, It is a Heaven upon Earth to have a mans minde move in Charity, reſt in Providence, and turn upon the Poles of Truth: Oh then! when you ſhall have received the truth as it is in Jeſus, walk in it, and be not eaſily perſwaded to move from the truth unto which thou art called, for any baſe or by-end whatever; and the God of truth ſhall at laſt recompence all thy Labours in it, and thy ſufferings for it.
But is thou art convinced that ſome things whereof thou haſt been perſwaded are errors, be not aſhamed to confeſs thy mistakes; knowing, that it is ſo far from tending to thy ſhame, (whatever Satan or thy own heart ſhall perſwade thee) that it will be a crown of glory and honour upon thy head, Prov. 4.8, 9.
And in hold and contending for the Truth have a care leſt thou over-valuest or undervalueſt the truth thou makeſt profeſſion of, by counting thoſe Truths eſſential to ſalvation & Church Communion, which are not ſo; or on the other hand by counting the Fundamentals of Chriſtian Religion, but circumſtantial things, and things without which a man may be ſaved: have a care then, lest thou by thy rigidneſs in things of leſs moment, ſhouldst diſturb the peace of the Church, and offend the Conſciences of thy weak Brethren for whom Christ died: the like care ought to be taken of the other extream of judging the Subſtantials of Religion as circumſtances, leſt by ſo doing we break down the whole Fabrick of the Christian Religion, and lay waſt the profeſſion thereof, by counting the props and ſtays of it as indifferent things.
Having cautioned you about the receiving, maintaining, and retaining of the truth, my deſire is, that you make uſe thereof in judging theſe inſuing Conferences about the ſeventh-day Sabbath, which I have carefully publiſhed for the ſtopping of ſlanderous mouths, who have miſrepreſented the Diſputations; and alſo for the ſatisfying them that doubt, and confirming of thoſe that are weak, that they be not carried about with divers and ſtrange Doctrines, and toſſed to and fro with every wind. If then by theſe threſhings there be any thing beat out (that lay hid before) by which thy ſoul may be ſtrengthened, and thy hungry deſire after truth ſatisfied, give God the glory; and if by the light hereof any darkneſs or weakneſs is diſcovered, bleſs the Father of lights; and if you do receive light, walk in it; that you may be found the children of it: and that this may be the end of our writing, and reading, praying, preaching, and diſputing, is the prayer and deſire of
Your affectionate friend and Brother in the faith, I. I.