Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world." (Matt. xxviii. 20.)

"And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts i. 4. 8.)

By these texts it is most evident, that Christ promiseth the apostles an extraordinary Spirit, or measure of the Spirit, so to enable them to deliver his commands, and execute their commission, as that he will own what they do by the guidance thereof; and the churches may rest upon it as the infallible Revelation of the Will of God.

CHAPTER IV.

PROP. 3. Christ performed all these Promises to his Apostles, and gave them his Spirit to enable them for all their Commismissioned Work.

THIS is proved both from the fidelity of Christ, and from the express assertions of the Scripture. "He is faithful that hath promised." (Heb. x. 23.) "God that cannot lie, hath promised." (Titus i. 2.) "As God is true" (2 Cor. i. 18.) "How long, O Lord, holy and true-" (Rev. vi. 10.) “He was called Faithful and True" (Rev. xix. 11.) "Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Rom. iii. 4.) "He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar.” (1 John v. 10.)

"He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." (John xx. 22.)

Acts ii. containeth the narrative of the coming down of the Holy Ghost upon them, at large.

"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us." (Acts xv. 28.)

"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and

wonders, and with divers mighty works, and distributions of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will." (Heb. ii. 4.)

"The things which are now reported unto you, by them that have preached the Gospel unto you, by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven" (1 Peter i. 12.)

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.” (Rom. xv. 19.)

Read all the texts in Acts and elsewhere, that speak of all the apostles' miracles, and their giving of the Holy Ghost, &c; and 1 Cor. vii. 40; Acts iv. 8.31; v. 3; vi. 3; vii. 51. 55; viii. 15. 17—19; ix. 17; x. 44, 45. 47; xi. 15, 16. 24; xiii. 2. 4. 9. 52; xvi. 6; Rom. v. 5; ix. 1; 1 Cor. ii. 13; 2 Tim. i. 1. 14; 1 Cor. xii; Ephes. iv. 7, 8, &c.; and iii. 5. But this proposition is confessed by all Christians.

CHAPTER V.

PROP. 4. The Apostles did actually separate and appoint the First Day of the Week for Holy Worship, especially in ChurchAssemblies.

HERE the reader must remember, that it is mere matter of fact, that is to be proved in the proof of this proposition; and that all till this, is clearly and undeniably proved; so that the whole controversy resteth upon the proof of the fact, That indeed the apostles did set apart this day for ordinary (public) worship.

And in order to the fuller proof of this, I have these subordinate propositions to prove.

Prop. 1. Matter of past fact is to be known to us by history,' (written, verbal or practical.)

This is evident in the nature of the thing. History is the narration of facts that are past. We speak not of the fact of mere natural agents, but of moral human facts. It may be known without history what eclipses there have been of the sun; what changes of the moon, &c; but not what in particular morals have been done by man.

The necessity of other distinct ways of knowledge, are easily disproved. 1. It need not be known by Divine supernatural revelation. Otherwise no men could know what

is past, but prophets or inspired persons: Nor prophets, but in few things; for it cannot be proved, that God ever revealed to prophets or inspired persons, the general knowledge of things past; but only some particulars of special use (the creation to Moses, &c.); so that if revelation by inspiration, voice or visions, were necessary, Scripture itself could be understood by none but inspired persons, or that had such revelation.

2. It is not known by natural causes, and by arguing from the natural cause to the effects. It is no more possible to know all things past this way (by knowing the causes), than all things future. Therefore it must be ordinarily known by human report, which we call history or tradition. Prop. 2. Scripture history is not the only certan history; much less the only credible.'

Without Scripture-history we may be certain that there was in 1666 a great fire in London, and a great plague in 1665, and that there were wars in England in 1642, 1643, &c., and that there have been parliaments in England which have made the statutes now in force; and that there have been such kings of England for many ages, as our records and histories mention, &c.

Prop. 3. Scripture-history is not the only certain history of the things of the ages in which it was written, or of former ages; much less the only credible history of them.'

We may know by other history certainly, that there were such persons as Cyrus, Alexander, &c. That the Macedonians had a large extended empire; that the Romans after by many victories obtained a spacious empire; that there were such persons as Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, &c.

Prop. 4. Scripture-history is not the only means appointed by God, to help us to the knowledge of ecclesiastical matters of fact, transacted in Scripture-times.'

1. For if human history be certain or credible in other cases, it is certain or credible in these. There being no reason why these things or much of them, should not be as capable of a certain delivery to us by human history, as other matters. As that there were Christians in those times, may be known by what Tacitus, Suetonius, &c. say. And the ancient writers often appeal in many cases to the heathen's own history. And no man pretendeth, as to the

civil matters mentioned in the Scriptures, that no other history of the same is credible or certain. As of the government of Augustus, Tiberius, Herod, Pilate, Felix, Festus, &c.

2. There are other certain means known to us; of which I must refer the reader to what I have written in my Reasons of the Christian Religion," part 2. chap. vii.

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3. No man can doubt but that the Christians of that same age, (as till the year one hundred) might easily and certainly know such a matter of public fact, as whether the Lord'sday was constantly set apart and observed by all the Christian churches for holy worship. For 1. It is certain that they did know it by sight and sense, and therefore had no need of history. 2. It is certain that they knew it before the Scriptures were written, which we now speak of; for it is not possible that for all those years time before any of the New Testament was written, the Christians who assembled to worship God, should not know on what day they used to assemble.

And if they knew it in the year 100, they must needs know it as well in the year 101, and 102, and 103, and so on. For those that were young Christians fifty years after Christ, would be aged at an hundred: and those that were young at an hundred, would be aged at an hundred and fifty, and so on. So that an age of people, not ending at the age of a single person, congregations and societies are like rivers, that keep the same channel, and name, while one part of water followeth another. Nay, some of the same men are there anno 100, who were there anno 50, some anno 150, who were there anno 100, and so on. Ten thousand thousand men, women and children, can tell on what day the congregations of England use to assemble; whereas if the apostle were among us, and should write on what day we assemble, fewer would know it by that means; and they that knew it but by his writing, would know it less confidently, than they who knew it by sense and experience.

Yet forget not, that I am far from ascribing a certainty or a credibility to all human history; much more from equalling any with the credit of Divine history; but only I say, 1. That sense is more assuring, as to the subject, than any history whatever. 2. And that this instance of the day on which all churches in the world assembled for holy worship,

is one of the most palpable for certainty that possibly could be imagined.

4. And I add, that if some human history or tradition be not certain, there can be no certainty of much of the Divine history, to any but the persons who were themselves inspired, or that saw the visions, or miracles that confirmed them. For as internal sense or intuition must assure the inspired persons themselves, and external sense must assure those that saw the matters of fact; so the rest have no way to know them, but either still by a succession of new revelations from heaven (which God doth not give), or else by report. And I can no otherwise know what was revealed to an apostle, nor what was done in those times. (Of which more anon.)

Prop. 5. The first institution of church-offices, and orders, and so of the Lord's-day, was not by Scripture.'

The proof is undeniable; because the Old Testament did not contain the institution, (e. g.) of particular churches, sacraments, presbyters, deacons, deaconesses, and the Lord'sday, &c.; and the New Testament was none of it written till anno 40, at soonest, when some (as Bucholtzer, Bellarmine, &c.) think Matthew's Gospel was written (though others say many years after), and it was not all written till anno 99. Now it is certain that the church was not all these days without the orders now in question, nor without a day to meet on for public worship. Even as baptism and the Lord'ssupper were instituted by Christ himself, long before the writing of any part of the New Testament, and the church was in long possession of them, upon the bare verbal declaration of the apostles.

Prop. 6. Therefore it is certain that no part of the New Testament was written to any such end as to institute sacraments, or church-offices, or standing orders; but to instruct men about those that were already instituted (as to the use of those times).'

For it could not be written to institute that which was instituted before, so many years.

Prop. 7. No part of the New Testament was written to make known to the churches of those times the said sacraments, offices, stated orders and time of worship.' (Still observe that by a part, I mean any book; and I except the decree, written in a letter of the apostles, elders and brethren, (Acts xv.) concerning circumcision, not to be imposed on