Concerning the observation of the First Day to be kept above any other day, which is the world's old idol, wherein they satisfie their lusts in pride and idleness.

Concerning the observation of the First Day to be kept above any other day, which is the Worlds old Idol, wherein they satisfie their Lusts in pride and idleness.

COme Priests, where was this day commanded to be kept a Sabbath by the Lord, that is 〈◊〉〈◊〉, the first day for a Sabbath? And if you can prove it, bring out your best Weapons to uphold your Idol: What wil you sell your stuff, and not be reproved on that day, and that by an Hour-glass? Where did the Apostles so? Come Priests, guilty or not guilty? let the Witness of God speak; guilty, saith the Witness to the Priest.

Come Priests, you have been crying up the Lords day, when you could not prove it a Sabbath; and you have said it must be obser∣ved above other days; where had you this? What place of Scrip∣ture have you for it? Come, bring out your best Weapon to hold up your keeping of the first day above other days? is not every day the Lord's day? Wherein is there any day allowed of the Lord to do the Devils work in? If you can prove it by the Scriptures of truth, bring out your Weapon to uphold your Idol. Come Priests, let the Witness of God speak, Guilty or not guilty? Guilty, saith the Witness to the Priests.

Come Priests, let me reckon with you, What is the reason you must sell your Ware on that day, and I must not sell mine; it is ve∣ry unreasonable to me; for when I sell my Ware, I deliver it to him that I sell it to, but you sell your Ware, and yet keep it still; & you can go to one place, and sell that which you have took money for in another place. So yours is the most gainfullest trade in England; but this is very unreasonable that you should have a Market-day by your selves, and no other must fell but you; What, are you a∣fraid if others do fell as well as you, that your Ware wil not go off? Come Priests, guilty or not guilty? Let the Witness of God speak; Guilty, saith the Witness to the Priests.

Come Priests where did the Apostles go into any Town, and ask how big a Benefice did belong to the Town? And if it be smal, then

you wil go further; but if it be a great one, there you wil stay; if you can get under the hands of him or them that hath the giving of it, then how can you bend to the great ones, and creep and crouch, and smooth them up in their wickedness, let them be ne∣ver so proud or covetous, you wil feign and flatter with them for your God, which is your bellies, which is contrary to the Apostles, for they went into the Towns and Cities, and enquired who was worthy, and there abode their peace on them that received their Gospel; and they that did not, they were to shake off the dust off their feet for a testimony against them: Here was all their Law for them that obeyed not the Gospel; but you sue at your Law & say, The Labourer is worthy of his hire, when it may be the man ne∣ver hired thee, nor cannot hear thy dirty stuff for Conscience sake; but you Priests wil sue for tythes and offerings, and cannot be con∣tented without trebble damages, and it may be for trebble dama∣ges ye commonly take six times as much, and say it is your due; & the same Law you have to uphold your tithes and offerings, you have to uphold your old Idol. Come Priests, guilty or not guilty? Let the Witness of God speak: Guiltie saith the witness to the priests

Come Priests, where was ever the Apostles called of men Masters? But they that were the greatest amongst them, were to become ser∣vants: But you are called of men Master, and love to have it so, and the greetings in the Markets, & the uppermost rooms at Feasts: How can this hold together? When I pay Wages to a man, I do not call him Master, neither is it reason I should; but ye take Wages of men, but ye wil not be their servants, but Lord it over them; is this reason that ye should be maintained by others to be their Lords, and to Lord it over those that maintain you? is this reason∣able? Nay sure, for when I hire a servant, I commonly make my bargain what Wages I should give him, and so we are contented with our bargain; but it is nor so with you Priests, for a man is not sure of you, for when ye hear of more Wages, then ye presently leave your Flocks, and sel them for ten or twenty pounds in a year more, and yet ye are not ashamed to cry up this old Idol, and say it is the Lords day, whilst ye are doing the Devils Work. Come Priests, guiltie or not guiltie? Let the Witness of God speak; Guil∣tie saith the Witness to the Priests.

Come priests, where was this practised in the Apostles daies for a man to stand speaking in an old Masse-house an hour or two, and none else must speak, if so they do, then you calll out, Help Magi∣strates

or Wardens, Constables, or else our image wil down? I am sure it was not so in the Apostles times; for if any thing vvas revealed to them that stood by, the first was to hold his peace; this was to hold their order; but it is not so with you, for I have but ask∣ed a few sober questions, and the priest hath cryed out, He disturbs me, he disturbs me: Come priest, what wil a few sober words or questions disturb thee? Art thou so afraid of thy idol for fear it should fall? Hath it no better fastening then so, that a few sober questions wil make it shake? Come priests, Guilty or not guilty? Let the Witness of God speak; Guilty saith the Witnesse to the priests.

Come priests, bring out your best Weapons, for now you are cal∣led up before the Lambs bar of Judgement to be tried, and this is that which was spoken of by the holy men of God in times past, that when the wicked should be brought to judgement, that they should call to the Rocks and to the Mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb: And have ye not done so? For if one in the fear of the Lord God hath been made to bear a testimonie a∣gainst your old idol, then you have cried to the hard-hearted Ma∣gistrate, or to men of the wicked sort, to shelter you, or to cover you that ye might not be seen: But now you are seen, and your nakedness doth appear. Come priests, Guiltie or not guiltie; let the Witness of God speak, Guiltie saith the Witness to the priests.

Come priests, where is your zeal that you had in Oliver Cromwels days, and in his sons days? then how did you cry out against King and Kingly power? And then you got your Stocks and Whipping-posts, and your Cages rep•…•…ed and all your instruments you could devise to uphold your idol; for a man must not go nor ride on the first day, but he must pay a sum of money; so money might baile it off then in your greatest zeal; and see how your money and ye are perished together: And how did you cry up old Oliver Cromwel, and called him old Moses, and his Son your Joshua, and called old Oliver the breath of your nostrils, and his Son the Light of your eyes; and you promised to stand by them with your Lives and E∣states. Look over your old Covenants and Engagements that ye made in his days and there you wil find these things so: But where are all your promises now you are tried, and the breath of your no∣strils now, and the light of your eyes? What is all put out, and you left blind? Come priests, guilty or not guilty? Let the Witnesse of God speak: Guilty saith the Witness to the priests.

Come priests; And stil you said you would not let your God go until he had blessed old Oliver and his Son, you would so pray for him and his Son but where are your prayers now in the time of need? But you are hypocrites; for when they have most need then you are furthest off; and this hath been the practice of ma∣ny of you, to hearken what Religion a King or a Parliament is of, that ye might turn to them to save your Benefices; so you would turn any waies for your bellies, for ye know if your Benefices, then your Gospel wil go down; Why then do not they preach which have laid down their means? For if ye had the Gospel to preach you must not be silent because man commands you, for it was o∣therwaies with the Apostle, for he said, If I preach not the Gospel, wo unto me; but you can be silent when you wil, and flee when none pursue, or else turn to any thing: Have not your fruits made you manifest? For if you had the Spirit of truth on your sides, then you would not change so often, and keep silent; for truth is un∣changeable, but ye are changeable, and change again and again; for your own self ends; and one thing you wil cry up one while, and over a while cry it down again; for if Common-prayer-book were the way, ye ought to have walked in it; why did ye not preach it up in Olivers daies? but then you would cry out against it, and those that did profess it, and you covenanted against it, and cau∣sed the people so to do likewise; and then you cried up the first day to be kept, and set officers to look after the Ale-houses on that day, but other days they might have done what they would, and not be punished: Do but consider what is become of all this; Do you make no more of your Engagements ••••an thus? Come priests, Guiltie or not guiltie? Let the Witness of God speak; Guiltie saith the Witnesse to the priests.

Come priests; And if Common-prayer-book were not the way you ought to have walked in, why then do you turn so often, and take up that ye have hated so, and covenanted against it, and now cry up Common-prayer, and readie to engage against those that do own that waie which you covenanted for? is not this a hateful thing before the Lord and all sober men? But whatsoever ye did lose, you would hold up your Market-daie, and your tithes, and your black Coats. Come priests, guiltie or not guiltie? Let the Wit∣ness of God speak; Guiltie, saith the Witnesse to the priests.

Come priests, where had you all these things, the first daie for a Sabbath, and to call it the Lords Daie more then other daies, for

every day is the Lords day: Come tel us who was the first author of it? And for your tythes, who gave ye them, and the Law to sue for them, and your old Masse-house, with the Crosses, Funt, the Bells to call you together? And who made that place more holy then others? And who was the first Author of your Surplice, Tipit and Hood, and your Rails and high Altar, and your Organs and Singing-men, and Boys? Come priests, tel us where you had all these things? And as for your singing of psalms in rime and mee∣ter, crying it up an Ordinance, where was this practised in Davids daies? Or where did David say so, so many hundreds of years af∣ter his decease, his roarings, and groanings, and complaint should be put into rime and meeter, and drunkards and swearers should sing them as though they were glad at what was his sorrow? It is said in the Scripture, Whomsoever addeth to this Book or Prophesie, the plagues that are written in the Book of the Prophets, and Christ and the A∣postles, shall be added to them; and he that taketh away out of this Book, his Name shall be taken out of the Book of Life. Take the reading-Psalms and the singing, and see if you can find one verse alike, but they have added and taken out of the Reading-psalms, and so make them sing the plagues and judgements: is not this a sad thing that men should be so blind? And when you read that which is truth, you can sit with your hats on; but when ye sing what is false, ye pul your hats off; so you have more respect to that which is a lye; than to that which is truth; and herein you vvorship the Workmanship of your own hands. Come priests, vvho gave you that Authority for to take ten or tvventy shillings for a Sermon, and money for Christening and for Marrying, and for Burying, and your Garden-pence, and your Chimney smoke-penny, and Eggs, and Pigs, Apples and Pears, and Plumbs: Come priests, where had you all these things? I never read that the Apostles did any such thing, or had any such thing; and if you can prove it, bring it out, for now you are challenged into the field: And vvhy do you call the Pope of Rome to be the Whore, vvhen he hath been so kind to you to give you such a large maintenance, and a Law to uphold you? But it seems to me you are very ill-bred children, to call your Mother Whore: And if you had not these things from your Mo∣ther-Church, then tel us who vvas the first author of them, and see if you can clear your selves; for the Witness of God crieth you are guilty of these things; for now ye are brought up to the

Lambs bar of Judgement to say, Guilty or not guilty, saith the Witness to the priests.

This was written by Simon Adam in the County-Gaol at Colchester the ninth day of the second Month called April,