ORIGIN OF THE FIRST SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST CHURCH IN AMERICA.
The next meeting Bro. Debill was called to give the reason of his not sitting down at the table of the Lord; to which he answered, "that he could not sit down with them who keep the seventh day, fearing they have left Christ." Upon which Mr. Tory said (by laying it some to the consciences of those persons), "How sad a thing it is, that you should be the cause to turn a brother out of his way and to stumble." To which Mr. H. answered, "It is a sad thing that an old disciple of Christ should be offended at his brethren for their keeping God's commandments, and it is a sad thing, and offensive to good men in other colonies, to hear that the elders of this church should deny the ten words to be a rule in gospel times; it is a stink in their nostrils." With too much commotion of spirit, Mr. Luker said, "If there be any stink, you it is that have made it." "No," said Mr. Hiscox, "'tis you, the leaders of the congregation being yea and nay in this matter, that is of so bad a savor." At the meeting, after it was broken up, there was much discourse, and sometimes too hot words on both sides; Mr. H. discoursing with Mr. Wilds (one of them that laid down the observation of the seventh day), about his denying of the law; to whom he replied, "Who denies it?" Upon which Mr. Tory said, "I do." To which Mr. Wild said, "What! deny them?" And he answered, "Yes, and that with open face, and I do affirm that the ten words were never written in any Gentile's heart." Then Mr. Hiscox said, "Seeing you are not agreed in it, I shall leave you to debate the matter among yourselves." The next meeting was spent in endeavoring to remove Mr. Hiscox's grounds, and there was much reasoning concerning the elders denying the ten words to be any rule to the Gentiles; they then endeavoring to show that they were never commanded to keep any part of the law; to which those who were in the observation of the seventh day replied, "that under the former dispensation there was a church and a world as there is now; and as it is the duty of the world now to repent and believe in the gospel, so it was the duty of the world to be proselyted and joined to the then church of God." This was by most of the elders denied, by affirming that God made not the covenant with the Gentiles; and therefore no sin in them; though they walked contrary to it. And others of the church said, "they did not think the Gentiles would ever be blamed for the breach of the ten words." Upon which they said, and endeavored to produce Scriptures to prove, "all under sin, and all to have gone out of the way, and that whatsoever the law saith it saith to them that are under the law, that all the world might become guilty before God; and that they owned that by the deeds of the law none should be justified, yet by the law is the knowledge of sin, both to Jews and Gentiles." Then Mr. Tory replied, "It is a sad thing that we should thus abuse the Scriptures." To which Mr. Hiscox said, "I never met with any that did understand them otherwise, but yourselves." So by this time there was too much heat of spirit. Hereupon, Mr. Holmes told the brethren, that "he judged they were beside the work," saying, "he thought they should put Bro. Hiscox on it to prove his seventh day practice, or else to fall under." Upon which Mr. Hiscox said, "Bro. Holmes, you are not right there; you shan't slip your neck out of the collar so; for the ground of our difference is, that you and others deny God's law." To which Mr. Holmes replied, with much concern, "You are deluded, and ought to be made sensible of it." Then Mr. Hiscox answered, "You have said more than this before now, as that we have denied Christ, and had not conscience toward God in these matters." Upon which Mr. Holmes said, "I again say, I do judge you have and still do deny Christ, and that you have not conscience in it, for if you had, you could not have walked with us till now, but must have done otherwise, for had I been of your judgment, I must have stoned you all to death before now." Mr. Hiscox replied, "The more wicked you would have been for your pains, for God requires no such thing of us or you." Mr. Tory said, "that he judged that when the church had endeavored to convince them, if they remained refractory, then the church should wait awhile, and after that to declare such to be none of them." "What!" said Mr. Hiscox, "must we be forced to walk by your legs, and see by your eyes? You may do what you please in that matter." At that meeting, as well as at most others, they were blamed for not taking advice of the leading brethren before they stepped forward. Mr. Clarke often told Mr. Hiscox "that he stole into the practice." To which those who were in the practice of the seventh day said, "What need is there of us to come to you, since we know your judgment well enough, and that for a long time; and since the matter hath been debated in the church before all, we might wait long enough before we could have leave given us to do that which you would not do your selves; and though we do own the church, and the officers that God hath set there, yet God hath sometimes made known part of his will to weak ones, that others might not glory;" and by applying themselves to Mr. Tory, said "that notwithstanding he was an elder, yet he was not perfect in his knowledge, but might stand in need of the meanest of the church." At that meeting, everything appeared dark, as though there was no likelihood of accommodation to be one church. Hereupon Mr. Hiscox desired to propose something to the church, that since there was an apparent difference between them, and if they could not go on as formerly, he, in behalf of the rest, desired the church seriously to consider whether it would not be more for the glory of God, and both their comforts, to let them have their liberty to walk by themselves, as they were persuaded, and so to maintain as much love as possible, seeing there is no likelihood of their agreeing. Many, being weary of the contest, said, "It is time to set one against the other." To which Mr. Tory replied, "I will never yield to it as long as I live;" and Mr. Holmes backed the expression, "Nor I neither." Upon which Mr. Clarke said, "What rule have you for this matter?" Mr. Hiscox answered, "To do to others as we would they should do to us; would not you have had the same liberty at Seconk, and elsewhere, when you differed from other churches that you had walked with?" Upon which it was answered, "That scripture was too short, for that had relation to outward things." Mr. Hiscox—"There is that word, 'How can two walk together except they are agreed?'—we differ in matters of great weight, though you make light of them; there is that saying also, 'As many grains of wheat make one bread, so should the saints be one in heart;' and it is plain we ain't so, for some can't sit down at the table of the Lord because of us. Bro. Deuel and Mr. Mann and others say we have left Christ and gone to Moses, because we plead the morality of the ten words; others say we undervalue Christ by taking precepts from Moses." After this debate, it was by some proposed, that though they did plead for the law, and the church did esteem it an error, whether it is such an error as to exclude a brother. Hereupon Bro. Wild made answer, that "they should be tender of conscience, if they walked orderly, according to Christ's last will and testament after his resurrection." Mr. Hiscox answered, "Not the commands of Christ before his death? Ain't they as binding as those after?" To which Mr. Tory replied, "Are they so to you?" Mr. Hiscox answered, "The commands of my Lord are equal to me, whether before or after his death." Hereupon Mr. Tory replied, "I am sorry for your ignorance." After many things of this nature, and being weary of the contest, those five Sabbatarians met together to consider what they may with safety do, and answer a good conscience; whether to go on with the church as heretofore, or to declare their dissent from them, as such as did speak evil of the law; and, since they had given them the reason of not sitting down at the table of the Lord with them, they were the more earnestly called forth in preaching against the observation of the law than before; and, instead of finding out some middle way to ease things, every affair was drove to the last extremity, by showing the law to be the first covenant, and the seventh-day Sabbath to be a sign of the covenant, and done away; and though not in express words, they were often called delinquents, yet in words implying the same; and that the church had given the first cause of grief to them. Being unwilling to separate from them, if they could be easy, after seeking the Lord, they five concluded to withdraw, since there was no hope of peace in the church while they remained. Hereupon they chose Mr. Hiscox to be their mouth and declare this. The next meeting, the four elders were there, though not so many others as at some other times. Mr. Clarke having sought the Lord by prayer, then Mr. Holmes informed the church that "he had something that day with weight on his heart to declare unto them; and that is," said he, "1st. Bro. Hiscox's slandering the leading brethren in saying they deny the law. 2d. His charging those four persons as apostates, saying, in his judgment, the church ought to make Bro. Hiscox see his evil in charging them so highly, or else that the church ought to look at them as such, and declare against them. 3d. It is reported that Bro. Hiscox did work one first day till meeting time, and then came and stood up in the church to speak and pray. 4th. That he hath broke bread on the seventh of the week. 5th. That in so doing he hath held communion with such as were not owned by the church." These five things Mr. Holmes declared to have been matter of great grief to him; and hereupon called for the help of the church to deal with Mr. Hiscox for them as great evils, though he never told him of these things in the prescribed order. Hereupon Mr. Hiscox said, If you have done, Bro. Holmes, I shall give you answer to these things, for I am glad that I have now a time to speak to them, for I have heard that you, or some others, have spoke of such things abroad, though not to me. And as to the first, that I have slandered the leading brethren in saying they have denied the law or ten words to be a rule to us Gentiles, either before or after faith, I have so said, and do say so still, and if Bro. Holmes, or any other, do deny it, their last sin would be as bad as the first; having done it publicly and privately, should you deny it, 't would only be adding sin to sin. As to the second charge, for my calling those four persons apostates, we can look on them no better; for what is apostasy but the denial of that which persons once professed to be the mind and will of God, in a back way? Would you not count us such, if we should deny water baptism, and turn our backs upon it, and plead for the baptism of the Spirit only, as too many do at this day?" To which Mr. Tory replied, "that if apostasy meant to deny that which persons once professed, then that most of his church are apostates." Mr. Hiscox replied, "Look you to that; if you have done anything in the name of the Lord, and have forsook it, then you have need to repent of it. As to the third thing Bro. Holmes said, it is grossly false; for I never in all my life came from my work to speak and pray in the church but once, and that was many years ago, and that was upon a more than ordinary occasion, when Bro. Clarke was sick;" and further said, "I cannot but wonder at you, Bro. Holmes, of whom I heard, before I saw your face, 'that you could as freely weave a yard of cloth on a first-day, before meeting, as at any other time.'" To which Mr. Holmes replied, "Did you ever see me do it?" "No," said Mr. Hiscox, "but I have seen you come to meeting on a first-day with your leather apron on, as if you had come from your work, which made me think it might be true; especially hearing you oftimes say you 'knew no Sabbath but Christ.'"41By the time he had so far proceeded, there was so much disorder in the meeting, that the other things were not spoke to. Upon which Mr. Hiscox desired to offer some scriptures to prove that it was lawful to set precepts of holiness from the Old Testament, as that of Peter, "Be ye holy, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy," and some other places. Hereupon Mr. Clarke said, "You undervalue the Son to take precepts from the servant." Mr. Tory then said to the church, "that he thought they had spent time enough with Mr. Hiscox," &c. All these left the church, Dec. 7, 1671.