Answer to Two Books of the Sabbath, Title page – To the reader
An Anſwer To M. Cawdry's two Books of the Sabbath, Lately come forth.
Wherein the Author doth two things: 1. He vindicates himſelfe from Mr Cawdrie's unfriendly abuſe of him, in fathering upon him three Texts of Scripture, and three Arguments deduced from them, to prove the perpetuity of the antient Sabbath, which the Author doth in no caſe own. 2. He vindicates the fourth Commandement from M. Cawdry's falſe Expoſition of it.
Wherein the Author hath 1. Anſwered and confuted all that Mr Cawdry hath wrote to corrupt the ſenſe and meaning of the Commandement. 2. He hath reſtored the antient, genuine, and proper ſenſe of the Commandement: and confirmed it by ſundry undeniable Arguments.
By Theophilus Brabourne.
Mat. 5 18, 19.
Ʋntill heaven and earth paſſe away, one jot, or one tittle ſhall in no wiſe paſſe from the Law. Whoſoever therefore ſhall break one of theſe leaſt Commandements, and ſhall teach men ſo, he ſhall be leaſt in the kingdome of heaven.
London, Printed for William Franklin, and are to be ſold at Norwich. 16…4.
To the Reader.
SAint Jude exhorts us, that we ſhould earneſtly contend for the truth, which was once delivered unto the Saints. And the Prophet Jeremiah complaines of men in his time, who bent their tongues like Bows for lies: but they were not valiant or couragious for the Truth, Jer. 9.3. If ever St Jude's Exhortation was needfull in the Church, it is now needfull: when the truth, or true doctrine of the Sabbath, once delivered to the Saints, is ſo ſhamefully corrupted and abuſed. If ever there was a time when the Prophet Jeremiah's complaint was verified, now is the time: Do not men now, yea, Miniſters, and of all miniſters thoſe accounted the moſt forward, hot, and zealous, do not theſe bend their tongues like bows for lies? And doth not Mr Cawdry appeare in the front, by his three books of about twelve ſhillings price, though to little purpoſe? Whether theſe expoſitions of the fourth Commandement be truths or falſities, I leave my Reader to judge, after he hath read this little Booke. They ſay, firſt, So be it we give God a day for his Sabbath, it matters not what day, be it Saturday or Sunday: As if God had never made choi…e of his day: They might as well ſay, So be it we have a man to diſpenſe the Sacraments, it matters not what man, be he Miniſter or Lay-man. Secondly, They ſay, God did not command in his fourth Commandement the Sabbath day, as of a certaine day definitely, but a Sabbath day, as of ſome uncertaine day indefinitely; as if God delivered his Commandements in ambiguous terms, and doubtfull words; as if no man could know by the Commandement what day God meant his people ſhould keep for his Sabbath day. Thirdly, They ſay, by the ordinall word ſeventh in the fourth Commandement, we need not underſtand Saturday the ſeventh and laſt day of the week; but any one day of the ſ…ven, as Sunday the firſt day of the weeke; as if when God commanded the laſt day of the week we may underſtand him of the firſt day of the weeke. Fourthly, whereas God reſted at the Creation on Saturday the ſeventh day for our imitation; they ſay, we may imitate Gods example if we reſt on Sunday the firſt day; as if we imitated Gods example by croſſing of it: for he reſted at the end of the weeke, and we reſt at the beginning of the weeke. Fifthly, They ſay, the fourth Commandement enjoyned the Jews to keep Saturday; & the ſame fourth Commandement enjoynes Chriſtians to keepe Sunday; as if one and the ſame Commandement ſhould enjoyns contrary things: as the Saturday, which they call Judaiſme, and the Sunday, or Lords day, which they call their Chriſtian Sabbath: and ſo it ſhall enjoyne both Judaiſme and Chriſtia…iſme: and ſo the fourth Commandement ſhall have one ſenſe and meaning yeſterday, and another this day: for thouſands of yeares till Chriſt it ſhall have one expoſitition, as for Saturday; and for ever after Chriſt it ſhall have another expoſition, as for Sunday. Now to make up the number of ſeven abominations Mr Cawdry will adde two more as theſe enſuing. Sixthly, The Sabbath day and ſeventh day, mentioned in the fourth Commandement, are not the ſubſtance of the fourth Commandement, but one day in ſeven is the ſubſtance: as if the words expreſſed in the Commandement ſhould be no ſubſtance, and yet one day in ſ…ven, which words are not expreſſed, ſhould be the ſubſtance of it. Seventhly, The Sabbath day and ſeventh day, mentioned in the fourth Commandement are indirectly commanded, but one day of ſeven, of which there are no ſuch words in the Commandement, and yet theſe are directly commanded, as he ſaith. Was there ever any of God's ten Commandements thus ſhattered by Jeſuites? and thus wrung and wreſted from the genuine and true ſenſe intended by God? and yet theſe are the expoſitions given by the godly Miniſters: Now may I not juſtly take up the Prophet Jeremiah's complaint of theſe ſo zealous Miniſters, ſaying, They bend their tongues like Bows to publiſh falſe Expoſitions of Gods fourth Commandement? The Lord threatned old Eli the Prieſt, ſaying, They that deſpiſe me ſhall be deſpiſed, 1 Sam. 2.30. And have not theſe Miniſters deſpiſed God by corrupting the ſenſe of one of his ten Commandements? And hath not God of late deſpiſed them? Never did God poure greater contempt upon Clergy men than in our daies, wherein they are aſhamed to weare black Coats, and turne into colours.
Theſe things premiſed, now I ſhall give my Reader an account how far I have anſwered Mr Cawdry's Books: He hath wrote three books of the Sabbath: the firſt part about ſeven yeares agone, the other two parts now lately; I do not undertake to anſwer all that he hath wrote, for many things he hath wrote, not againſt me, but in confutation of the Biſhop of Eli, Doctor White's Book, which was an Anſwer unto my ſecond Booke of the Sabbath: and particularly againſt what I wrote in it, in maintenance of the antient Sabbath: but granting what I wrote againſt the Lords day Sabbath: And divers things he hath wrote againſt Dr Heyline, and againſt Maſter Primroſe: Now I leave theſe things unto their proper Authors: I meddle with no more than with what he hath wrote againſt me, as touching the antient Sabbath, and the Lords-day Sabbath: as touching theſe two I give this account.
1. As touching the antient Sabbath, I do not endeavour punctually to confute any of his Anſwers made to divers of my twenty foure Arguments, left my books ſhould be cmmitted to the fire, and I ſhould offend the State: yet I have much ado to bridle my ſelfe ſo as to be ſilent in this quarrell: I only endeavour to vindicate my ſelfe from Mr Cawdry's unfriendly abuſe of me, by fathering upon me the things I never wrote: and to vindicate God's fourth Commandement from his falſe Expoſitions of it; and my hope is, that the State will permit a man to do ſo much for God, and for himſelfe.
2. As for the Lords day …abbath, ſo called, but never ſo proved, I ſhall not here alleadge any Scriptures againſt it; nor confute any of Mr Cawdry's replies, made by him, to my anſwers which I made to their ſeverall Texts of Scripture alleadged for the Lords day, nor ſhall I need: for Mr Cawdry hath rather replied to the anſwers of the Biſhop of Ely, to Dr Heyline, and to Mr Primroſe, than to my anſwers: and yet he hath carried it on ſo cunningly, as his Reader cannot but thinke he hath confuted Mr Brabourne alſo, and this muſt go among the Vulgar for an Anſwer to my Books; this is one peece of Mr Cawdry's Sophiſtry: he cannot be content to abuſe me with fathering upon me falſely three Texts of Scripture: but alſo he muſt make the world beleeve that he hath anſwered my books againſt the Lords-day Sabbath, whereas he hath done no ſuch thing: he hath indeed mentioned my name often, but never replied to my Anſwers: and if he hath mentioned any of them, inſtead of a Confutation he hath ſleightly paſſed by, and inſtead thereof he hath falne upon the Biſhop, Dr Heyline, or Mr. Primroſe; It is uſuall with moſt that write for the Lords day to have a fling at Mr B…abou ne; in one Page they among many things carpe at ſome one, and twenty or thirty Pages after they carpe at another; and perhaps fifty or ſixty Pages after they carpe at a third, and ſo much for confutation of M. Brabourne; thus have ſome done in their bookes from New-England, and many in their books in Old England; but none of them all dare undertake to confute all my Anſwers to their Texts: for I have given not only one Anſwer, but many Anſwers to every one of their Texts: So Mr Cawdry perhaps may ſtumble upon ſome one of my many Anſwers: but to go Text by Text, and confute all my Anſwers: anſwer by anſwer as is meete and reaſonable, I have not yet ſeene it, nor do I beleeve that ever I ſhall ſee it: his wit in paſſing theſe things by in ſilence ſo ſleightly, is to me an Argument that he is at a non-plus, and therefore is faine to make a colour of an Anſwer, and to bluſter among the people with the wind of three great books: ſo thinks
Theoph. Brabourne.