Lord's day, did miss the sight of Christ and was unbelieving, Christ left him a whole week in his unbelief, and would not heal him till the next Lord's day, which he honoured with that cure. Then the disciples being met again, Christ came among them, and convinced Thomas.

On another Lord's day they were all with one accord in one place, and the Holy Ghost was in the extraordinary measure given them. And Acts xx. 7. it is mentioned as the custom of the disciples, to come together on the first day of the week to break bread; and Paul then preached to them even till midnight. And 1 Cor. xvi. 1,2. the collections for the saints were made every first day of the week in all the churches of Galatia, and at Corinth, because they had then their holy assemblies. And therefore Rev. i. 10. it is called peculiarly The Lord's day.

(2.) But to clear this past all rational doubting, we find in all the writings of the ancients, and histories of the church, that all the churches through the world unanimously observed the Lord's day as instituted by Christ, or the Holy Ghost in the apostles; none ever questioning or contradicting it, that I ever read of. He that hath read the writings of the ancients, and denieth this, is unworthy to be disputed with. The practice of the universal church is a full exposition of the forecited Scriptures; and though it be no law to us itself, yet is it a full discovery of the fact, (telling us what was the primitive practice,) and so a discovery of the law. And shall any private ignorant man come in after one thousand, six hundred and twenty-six years, and say the apostles and all the churches in the world have been deceived till this day, and we must rectify the mistake? Shall these fellows come in at the end of the world, and call the apostles and all the churches of all ages Puritans, for keeping holy the Lord's day? Or will any but a brain-sick person hearken to such shameless men as these?

Object. But the ancient churches did not keep that day as a sabbath, but only as a day for public worship.'

We

Answ. We will not stick with you for the name. urge you not to call it the sabbath, (though the ancients sometimes did so: see our Homilies" Of the Place and Time of Prayer,") if you will call it as Scripture and the churches did, by the name of the Lord's day. And it was then the custom of the churches to spend almost all the day

in public worship and holy communion, and therefore they had but little time for any private duties that day. And yet (though the private practices of particular persons on that day be little mentioned in church-history,) no man can prove that they used to spend any remaining hours of that day as common time in common business. So that to quarrel against the holy observation of the Lord's day, is but to quarrel with the Holy Ghost and the apostles, and all the churches of all ages since, and with the happiest season for the worshipping of God, and seeking our own and other men's edification.

7. What is there yet remaining then that you quarrel with as too much preciseness? Is it the strictness of men's lives in forbearing sin, and not doing as their neighbours do, in rioting, and vain recreations, and delights? For this I need not stand to justify them, with any impartial, sober man. If sin be evil, and displease God, and deserve damnation, he that most fully and carefully avoideth it, is the honestest and the wisest man. You will not blame your child or servant for being loath to offend and disobey you, even in the smallest matter. You like not him that offereth you the least abuse, so well as him that offereth you none. You had rather be well than have the least disease. You will not take a little poison; nor would you feel a little of hell. Why then should we not avoid the least sin so far as we are able? If sinning be good, then devils are the best creatures, and angels and Christ (in his manhood) the worst. But if sin be the greatest evil, what will you call those men that do not only wilfully commit it, but plead for it, and reproach those that would fain avoid it? Or what if some of those that you reproach, are mistaken in some point, and take that to be a sin that is none? Or what if you think it to be no sin which they scruple? Will you blame a man that loves God, to be afraid of that which he suspecteth may offend him? Or will you blame him that cares for his sal vation, to make as sure of it as he can, and to keep as far from the brink of hell as he is able? How is it that you observe not that your very reproaches do confute themselves? What is it that you are offended at in the servants of the Lord? Is it good or evil?. Surely it is some fault or other of theirs, that you will pretend to be the cause. For scarce any but the devil himself will openly and professedly oppose goodness under the name of goodness.

And if it be a (real or supposed fault that you speak against them for, doth it not intimate that they should avoid all faults, as far as they are able? And yet will you at the same time reproach them for being too strict, and fearful to offend as if it were their fault that they are unwilling to be faulty?

"Abstain "But I say

But let us hear what God saith of this. "Fools make a mock at sin;" Prov. xiv. 9. "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people;" ver. 34. And yet you make the avoiding it a reproach. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door;" Gen. iv. 7. "Be sure your sin will find you out;" Numb. xxxii. 23. "Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death;" James i. 15.from all appearance of evil;" 1 Thess. v. 22. unto you, that for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified; and by thy words thou shalt be condemned;" Matt. xii. 36.37. "Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven;" Matt. v. 19. "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire;" ver. 22. "I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart;" ver. 28. "I say unto you, swear not at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: * but let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil;" ver. 34-37. "But above all things, my brethren, swear not; neither by heaven, neither by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, lest you fall into condemnation ;" "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named amongst you as becometh saints: neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks;" Ephes. v. 3, 4. An hundred such passages of Scripture I might recite, that might quickly satisfy you what Godexpecteth, and whether it be too much preciseness to fear the smallest sin.

but

8. But perhaps it is the rigor of their church discipline that maketh you offended with those that you count too pure and precise; because they will not let other men alone, but are reproving them, and bringing them to open penitence and confession of their open sins, and casting those out of the communion of the church, which do refuse it. Answ. But do they do this of themselves, or doth God command it them? Do you think that the communion of saints is to be turned into a rabble of impiety; and the church into a swine-sty? Do you not know that the canons of the ancient churches for many hundred years after Christ, are stricter in this discipline by far, than those that now offend you by their strictness? And hear what the Holy Ghost saith," Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him;" Lev. xix. 17. "If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man or a publican;" Matt. xviii. 15-17. "For I verily as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already as though I were present concerning him that hath done this deed, that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one to satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus-Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven Now I have written to you not to keep company; if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no not to eat therefore put away from among yourselves the wicked person;" 1 Cor. v. "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us -And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be

ashamed;" 2 Thess. iii. 6. 14. "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds;" 2 John 10, 11. "Confess your faults one to another;" James v. 16. "Give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him, and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me;" Josh. vii. 19. 66 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy;" Prov. xxviii. 13. Doth not all this justify the exercise of discipline, and condemn the neglect of it?

9. But, (saith the impious person,) why make they such a difference between themselves and other men; extolling themselves as the only servants of the Lord, and condemning others as ungodly and children of the devil, and terrifying men's consciences with the fears of hell?

Answ. If any do so against such as are sanctified and renewed, and have the Spirit of Christ, and live to God, they deal uncharitably: and if you dislike their censoriousness, so do I, and so do all the sober, considerate servants of the Lord. But if it be only against the carnal, unsanctified world that they do thus, it is God that maketh the difference, and not they. Do you not find the whole Scripture dividing all the world into two ranks, the godly and the ungodly? the regenerate and the unregenerate? the converted and unconverted? the sanctified and unsanctified? the carnal and the spiritual? the earthlyminded and the heavenlyminded? the pardoned and unpardoned? the justified and unjustified? the children of God and the enemies of God? the servants of God and of the devil? the heirs of heaven and the heirs of hell? To prove this would be to repeat the Bible. Read Psalm i. x. xv. xxvii. Matt. v. Rom. viii. John iii. Matt. xiii. 1 John iii. &c. Do you not find Christ himself acquainting you beforehand that one sort shall be set at his right hand in judgment, and the other at his left? and one part sent to life everlasting, and the other to everlasting punishment? Matt. xxv. Do they speak any more of the everlasting torments, the worm that dieth not, the fire that is unquenchable, than Christ himself hath done? Matt. xiii. 2. 2 Thess. i. &c. Do you love to be flattered into hell, and deceived in a matter of everlasting consequence? Is it not better for you to search your hearts,