ration by an everlasting covenant, and he that did any work upon the sabbath day was to die the death. Now this covenant which stood in shadows and types, Christ came to take away, who is the end; and he that believes in Christ hath entered into his rest, and ceased from his own works, as God did from his.' And the apostle said, the first covenant was to decay, as in Heb.

P. Thou sayst, Such as obstruct the gospel privilege of God's sabbath, rectified by the son, and observed by the saints.'

A. But did ever Christ or the apostles, give a command to the Jews that they should observe it strictly, as it had been in the law before the substance was come, the body, which was Christ? Nay, you read no where that among them the apostles preached the gospel to, they laid any command upon the saints that they should keep the Jews' sabbath days, but told them they were shadows, and the body was Christ, and said, 'Let no man judge another in such things.' Now are you not come under the judgment of such things? And so the Lord of the sabbath ends the types in him, and in the saints, who are come to him who is the substance, the body and head, Christ Jesus. Read Col. ii.

And whereas thou speakest of changing laws or sabbaths, this thou mightest have charged on the apostles, who told the saints no where of keeping the sabbath days, but told them they were shadows, and that such as were there, were in their will-worships, neglecting the body; for the body and substance was Christ. And such were intruders, and so thou art comprehended to be one of the intruders into those things thou never saw, who art puffed up in thy fleshly mind, not holding the head and the Lord of the sabbath. The son of man is come, and the saints go not about to blot out the name of the sabbath; for the pure sabbath, the sanctified day was a sign and a figure of the pure Christ, the sanctification, by whom the day was made, and on which day the people and the beasts were to rest, and which was to be sanctified. And Christ, who was before the day, was the sanctification in which all the Lord's people have rest, who is Lord of the sabbath, and who was before the day was made, who fulfils the type, the shadow, the sign; the body is Christ, and the head is held. So you that are running to observe days and times, are they that the apostle speaks of, that he was afraid of, and that his labours he had bestowed in vain, and so are gone from the body into the shadow and the sign. Neither do you keep it as you ought to do who profess a sabbath; your horses and your cattle are doing work, drawing you to your worships; you are making fires through your congregations, you are bearing burthens, you are gathering your meat on that day that you call your sabbath. Now to all people you are dissemblers to what you profess, and pre

tenders to a thing to which you are not faithful; and so by the law
according to your own judgment, to be cut off, and to die as sabbath-
breakers; for they were not to make a fire, gather any meat, bear any
burthen, ox or ass, man-servant or maid-servant, or stranger, but were
to keep holy the sabbath of the Lord; if they did, the law took hold
of them; for six days they were to labour, and do all they had to do.
Now the law was received by the disposition of angels. So now the
law, the first covenant, the shadows, types, and figures, ye may run
into those things from the body, and so neglect the head, and neglect
the body, and go into the signs, and so come into the will-worship, and
the worshipping of angels, intruding yourselves into the things you
never saw, neglecting the body to satisfy the flesh, by which your vain
minds are puffed up. Now the enemies of the sabbath are such as
neglect the body, the substance, and him that is Lord of the sabbath.
P. And whereas thou sayst, They had eaten the bread of Christ,
and they had turned the heel against Christ.' And thou sayst, "The
Quakers, some notionists, and others, are against it.'

A. Our rest is in Christ the body, that ends the shadow, that ends the signs, who is the substance of the shadows and signs, and those notionists are such as thyself, and so the saints' rest is in the substance Christ, the end of the signs and shadows, who was before the sign was, the day was, in him is rest. Here all men rest from their works, and every soul that believes hath entered into his rest,' and hath come from shadows, signs, and types into the body, Christ, that ends them, and holds the head, and is out of the will-worship, worshipping of angels, and satisfying the flesh; for such as do these things are blinded as concerning the body, and come to be judged about the days, and they hold not the head, as they do who are come to the body and head, Christ Jesus, to whom all angels bow. For they that neglect the body will satisfy the flesh, and live in signs, and shadows, and will-worship, and worshipping of angels, and intrude into those things they never saw, who come to be judged in respect of days, which are but shadows. And such as are in those things satisfy the flesh, and keep themselves from the body, Christ, and hold not the head; and they that will rest in a shadow after the substance, the son of man, the Lord of the sabbath, is come, will rest in that which decays, and it is a false

rest.

P. And whereas thou sayst, A filthy shift of God's sabbath, to say Christ is the sabbath."

A. This sabbath was for rest, and they were to rest on that day, and it was given as a sign and shadow, and in the first covenant. But Christ the second covenant, the perpetual and everlasting rest, the soul's rest of his people, says, 'Come unto me and ye shall have rest;' and so VOL. III.

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he is the end, the substance of the sign, and the shadow, who was, as I said before, before the day was, in whom is a rest for the people of God; for the sabbath being given as a sign, wherein all strangers, servants, beasts, horses, oxen, asses, and all cattle whatsoever might rest, it was given forth, and sanctified. For the whole creation was burthened, both horse, man, cattle, and servants; and mankind were oppressed by transgression. So the sabbath was a sign of rest, yea, to the stranger, to all that were within the gates, a figure of the restoration, and of the sanctifier, Christ Jesus, who destroys death, and the power of death, and the devil and his works, who is the cause and the author of the burthen of the whole creation, and of mankind. So the sabbath was a sign of rest from their labours, of Christ the restorer, and redeemer, and deliverer of the whole creation, who brings it to unity and reconciliation again to God, who is the rest both to man and beast; and the stranger should rest within the gates of the sabbath, within Christ. And much more is to be said of these things, of which this is but a touch, that which is further in the words, which might be declared.

Now as for the ten commandments, amongst which the sabbath is spoken, he that covets, he that steals, he that commits adultery and kills, he that sets up graven images, he that covets his neighbour's house, wife, or goods, or any thing that is his, or commits adultery, is departed from that principle of God in his own self; so the law was added upon him. He that is led by the spirit doth not transgress, nor doth oppress, nor covet, nor steal, nor bear false witness, and so love fulfils the law, and its commandments. And he that believes comes to Christ, the rest, before the day was, by whom it was made: and so Christ telling them what was done in the old time, for following the oath to the Lord, he brings them now not to swear,' into himself, the covenant of God; he brings them to the covenant of God, the oath of God, and so into himself, who is the restorer, before days were, as I said before. And the apostle likewise brought them off from circumcision without, which was an everlasting covenant, as well as the sabbath was a sign, he brings them off from that to the circumcision within, and so to that that answers the power, the life of God which hath been transgressed, where love is felt in the heart, that remains, and so the thing comes inward; for as it is said, 'he that believes hath entered into his rest.' And so Christ came not to break the law, but to fulfil it every tittle, who is the rest of his people, yea, and gives rest to the creation, destroys the oppressor of it, and the foundation of the oppressor; and so he was the Lord of the sabbath that fulfils it, for the sabbath was in the law, and Christ is the end of the law to every one that believes;' and he that is in Christ, who was before days were, pro

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fanes no day, is in his rest, and will give rest to his creatures, will
not oppress any thing at all, and comes into the wisdom of God by
which they were created, to order and use them to God's glory.
And whereas thou sayst, that Adam being in honour, did not abide
a night,' and brings Psalms for it, which doth not mention Adam, nor
night nor day; and as I said before, thou who art in the shadow, art in-
truding into the things thou never saw; for thou never saw where
Adam was before he fell, and therefore art corrected and judged.

P. And thou say st and confessest, The Jews' sabbath was given to the Jews for a sign.'

A. The apostle will tell thee that the body is Christ: if the sabbath be a sign to the children of Israel, it was a sign of something to them; for the other signs given were signs of something, and so something those signs did signify, which thing did end them. Sabbath signifyeth rest; for the earth shall enjoy her sabbaths.

P. And thou sayst, that the inventions of men's hearts have blotted out the remembrance of the sabbath day, they first cast it out of paradise, and shut it out till Moses' time.' And thou sayst, the sabbath was not all a type, or ceremonial.'

A. What is a shadow is a type, and a shadow and type are ceremonial; when the substance comes it ends, and in him is no shadow, as in James the first; who is the body, before the days were. And thou never read that the sabbath was spoken of from paradise until Moses, and then it was given unto him for a sign through the generations of the congregations of the children of Israel, not to gather meat, make a fire, nor bear burthens: so they who come to Christ, the body, the end of signs, the rest, who was before days were, bear no burthens, gather not their meat, make not a fire.

P. Thou sayst, It is an absurd conclusion, that we must offer sacrifices if we will keep a sabbath.'

A. Thou shalt offer sacrifices made by fire, of a sweet sacrifice unto the Lord, on a sabbath day.' Numb. xxviii. Now offerings were a shadow of Christ, the offering, and the sabbath was a shadow, and so if ye will observe one, ye must observe the other, and so deny the body, the substance Christ, the one offering, and so that is ceremonial.

And thou sayst, the law justified the disciples for plucking the ears of corn upon the sabbath day, and bringest Deut. xxxiii. which speaks nothing to the thing, and doth not mention the sabbath day: and so Christ the end of the law, who comes to fulfil it, is the Lord of the sabbath. And the disciples who followed him, in whom they had rest, saw over the day and the shadow, to Christ the substance, who forbade them not gathering meat on that day, the sabbath, the shadow, that was the law; but Christ the end of the law and shadows, the substance, the dis

ciples that were in him, plucked the ears of corn on that day. And so Christ did not break the sabbath, but came to fulfil the shadow, and was the substance, who was the end of it, the lord of it, and therefore might do what he would, being the Lord of the sabbath; what had any to do to question him?

P. And whereas thou sayst, The cripple carried his bed on the sabbath day, which the hypocrites speak against our saviour for.'

A. The law says, "Thou shalt not bear a burthen on the sabbath day.' Now Christ the end of the law, and the end of the shadow, that fulfils it, and is rest, often gives rest upon that day: yet he is not a breaker of the sabbath, but a fulfiller, and convinces the gainsayers, with this: Which of you having an ox or ass fallen into a ditch, would not pluck him out on that day. And the circumcision was to be on the eighth day, on which Christ rose, and on which the saints met in the circumcision of the spirit, in the spirit which circumcises, which puts off the body of sin, which hath laden them; in which spirit they have rest and are led withal up to God the father of spirits, and so come to know the first day, and him who was before it was made.

P. And thou sayst, and bringest the apostle's words, 'one man esteeming one day above another, and another esteeming every day alike.’

A. Now the apostle here did not lay any burthen upon the saints, or tell the saints of the sabbath day, nor burthen them concerning it; that if they did not keep it, they should die, as the law says, but that every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, and not to judge one another in such cases, but that every man stand or fall to his own master. Now these words were spoken among saints by the apostle, who was leading from meats and drinks, and days, to the truth, to the body Christ; and so he judged that judgment that was judging one another about the days, but brought every one to the truth in his own particular, wherewith he should stand or fall to his own master. For until they come to see clearly about shadows and signs, there is the weakness of the meats, of the days, before they come to see him who was before the days were, the Lord of the sabbath, and the everlasting offering, where ends the judgment, in whom they have peace.

P. Thou sayst the apostle says, ye observe meats, and drinks, and days, and months, and years." And thou sayst, will any be so bold as to say he doth reproach the sabbath?'

A. The apostle does not tell the Galatians who were running into circumcision and days, that they were to keep the outward sabbath; for circumcision was an everlasting covenant, as well as the sabbath, to the Jews, throughout all their generations: so they that draw people to circumcision without, and to days, draw them from the body, (mark his