order of nature Answer this to God see if He will accept of your replie which we may heare anon Wee proceed Secondly They that have no faith are not to be admitted to the Lords Table not onely because they receive nothing there but because they fearefully prophane the Holy things there They have no knowledge of those things none at all and none they looke after their soule is not good it is starke naught as darke Prov. 19. 2. as a Dungeon for what should enlighten it as noysome and loathsome as an open Sepulchre or a vessell wherein is no pleasure Prov. 13. 5. for what should discover this their filthinesse to them that they may appeare such in their owne eyes that doe not beleive Rom 15. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are disobedient rebellious imperswadable ones unreasonable and wicked men that is the Apostles Character of them and he makes cleare proofe of it in these words they have no faith Are 2 Thes 3. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they at the Lords Table they are out of place sure as a swine is when he is in the Parlour absurd men so Erasmus Englisheth it though Beza liketh it not Quod mihi quidem absurdum videtur But our Learned Reinolds liketh it well The Apostle saith he calleth men without Faith Absurd men because it is an unreasonable and sottish thing for a workman to be without his cheifest Instrument and that is universally requisite to every one of his workes a husband-man without a plow or a builder without a rule preacher without a Bible or a Christian without faith are things equally absurd and unreasonable What reason have we to plead for those unreasonable men to be admitted to the Lords Table more than we have for the admitting of swine into our Parlour uncleane ones will make all things like themselves as uncleane too to themselves we meane Thirdly Persons that have no faith are not to be admitted to the Lords Table because they cannot shew the Lords death there 1 Cor. 11. 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Scripture Mr. Hâ— hath corrupted afâ—er his maÌ„ner with his glosse It is a grave and a weighty word that we English shew and we would rather leave it to you to unfold to your people whâ—ch may require one houâ—es worke But in a word a worthy receiver that brings faith with him he doth with all thankesgiving and praise shew forth the excellencies of Christ and the Glorious benefits of His bloodshed upon the Crosse the Bounties of His Goodnesse and Beauties of His Holinesse making an ostentation of them unto the world preaching to every one as he can This this is it wherein every true Christian is to glory and he orders his life accordingly The import of that word as we suppose Now they that Come to the Lords Table and have no faith are no more able to shew the Lords death there than a man of Clouts stuffed with Straw is able to gaine the victory in the day of warre Fourthly And to run over these Grave matters he that comes thither and brings no faith with him must needs receive unworthily that is other â—ise than is meete such mysteries should Neh. 27. be received And therefore shall be held as guilty before God as Judas was who betrayed the body of our Saviour or as the Jewes were who so villanously abused Him Binding His hands spitting in His sacred face and crowning Him with thornes and as the Souldiers were who peirced His sides and spilt His blood He shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Fifthly Free admission is not to be given those who cannot examine themselves about their faith that is search digg goe downe into the fouldings of their soules to enquire what their estate is what it is to be out of Christ or what it is to be in Him Infantes furiosos in verbo Dei minime instâ—uctos Bez. they cannot examine themselves about these matters no more than Children can for they are Children in understanding no more than mad men can for these are mad upon their Idol roprobates disallowed of God in a state of reprobation We will commend you to Beza's Annotations or rather those to you which we thought to have been large upon being so full to our purpose Sixthly Why should faithlesse men worse than Infidells because borne and bred in England a land of visions be suffered to come to the Lords Table They cannot discerne the Lords Body they can put no difference between that bread which represents the body of Christ Crucified and Common bread at their owne Tables nor between the wine there Sealeing to a worthy receiver a full discharge from all his sins in the blood of Jesus Christ No difference can he make betwixt this wine and common wine And now being suffered to come to the Lords Table he there drinks downe a Cup of damnation in stead of salvation a cup of cursing in stead of a cup of blessing and seales the Stone upon his graves mouth where he lies rotting in sinne as dead bodyes in their graves He eateth and drinketh damnation to himselfe not Verse 29. discerning the Lords body 1. As you have received mercy and now would shew mercy unto everlasting soules admit not these faithlesse these unreasoble and wicked ones that cannot shew forth the Lords death cannot examine themselves have no discernining of the Lords body admit them not to the Lords Table They have no faith then they must be full of themselves as a vessell being full and running over they cannot Eate and drinke there any other thing but damnation to themselves This Scripture also Mr H s the patron of fornicators and prophane persons as was Esau fearefully abuseth plucking out as he can the sting of it so as the most bruitelike person may come to the Lords Table and not be stung by it oh prophane man and past shame he and his booke stinketh in the nostrills of the Lord and of his people as the worst excrements of the Dragon doth 2. And now Sir we will spare you the labour if please you in making a reply to this and ours in making Answer thereunto This we heare is ordinarily said They were borne and Baptized in a Church and therefore beleivers we like not to make an Answer to such a foppery why but they say they beleive the same with the former they say it with their tongues what say they with their hands such are their words what are their workes They may say so and Blaspheme in so saying as was hinted more than once Rev. 2. 9. I pray you observe it and let this mocke-faith goe unlesse you will whip it like a vagrant and send it backe to the Devill whence it came We have been speaking of that faith which gives reall union and communion with Jesus Christ and of necessity brings forth good workes as a good tree good fruit he beares upon a
26. Incense before the Lord or as men and women of the world or Church there Children of Disobedâ—ence doe now adayes but have been withstood as he was and as these should be we thinke by the Ministers of the Lord and thrust away with the breath of tthose words spoken to Vzziah It belongeth not to you Sir how great soever you are at your owne Table to thrust into this before you have given satisfaction to the Church of Christ for your abhominable doeings against Him So they thrust him and them away and so they were reproved as you should thrust away your nominall Beleivers Disciples and Saints members of the world the Church there whose Christian Name doth adorne them as a Jewell doth a swine in his snout But thus it was once visible Duâ—â— promiscuè quâ—slibet admittunt porcis canibus c. Calv. Ep 278. Saints were to be admitted and surely if there be a Communion of Saints on Earth there they should be seene at the Lords Table and why now visible Devills SECT VII IN the 7th place we would mind you of what the Lord God of hosts saith to them that will contend with Him Remember the Battle doe no more If you will contend for this free admission you contend with God to whome you must answer this with other matters He saith and so say His faithfull Servants with Him Ye shall not prostitute these sacred things to swine and dogges But what shall we more say time would faile us to tell what Chrysostome had rather suffer even the spilling of his own heart blood rather than give out the Seale of the same to non-Disciples prophaners of it how high and great soever We purposely passe over what Cyprian Martyr Musculus Marlorate Ambrose See Marlor on Revel 11. 1 2. and those fore-mentioned about free admission to Baptisme what these said and did as to these matters very much to our purpose We will onely heare what Zanchi speakes to this and Calvin after him because it is urged very much That you doe your Potitur a me cura in Curatio duty when you bid your people beware No saith Zanchi yee doe not your duty you neglect the best part of it and so you pertake of their sinnes suffering unworthy ones to pertake at the Lords Table yee draw upon your selves Eli's vengeance by giving such an allowance When you doe not frowne upon these scattering them with your eye you violate Charity and are guiltie of iniquitie your owne and their's when you suffer men to damne themselves with a Sacrament when you might restraine yea yee are guilty of their damnation as we are of that man's death whome we suffer with his sword to stabb himselfe out of whose hands we could have kept that Instrument of death so farre Zanchi And give us leave to adde a word more thereunto because we know it is the Ministers common plea we warne all our people mention unto them the fiery indignation of the Lord against unworthy receivers This will not doe you admit them under the notion of Saints why should they thinke themselves Devills You may threaten hell to them but they will take heaven Read Mr. Coll. p. 14. and thinke they have good right so to doe while you bid them take and eate take and drinke you know what followes They never swallowed wine so sweetly at the Taverne as they doe now damnation at the Lords Table But they thinke not so because you have brought them into such a fooles Paradise by making them beleive they are what they are not no more than an Ape is a man Beleivers Disciples in name onely are Saints indeed O Sir what ever others doe be you aware here what you suffer the people to doe give them scope here we mean full liberty or free admission like a rope long enough to a wicked man and you may tell your selfe what he would doe by what you have seene him doe so often You know no creatures almost but man loves that which will be its owne bane indeed we have heard say that sheepe catch at that grasse most greedily which soonest rotts them we are sure it may be said of us men what the Greeke Father said of some in his time Give us that which is sweete though it choake us wine at the Lords Table Why because of the sweet words which follow but how mistaken onely wretched man seekes a blessing in a direct way to a Curse happinesse in the way to misery life in the way to death heaven in the way to hell If you consider all this you will doe more than give your people warning against the next Communion day You will tell them and assure them you have Scripture warrant for so doing That they must shew more for their Admission to the Lords Table than this That they were borne and Baptized in a Church or else they shall be dealt with as doggs and swine And droven from the Lords Table as we drive swine from ours And you cannot doe them a greater reall favour than so to deale with them And to presse you and your brethren of the same perswasion with you unto this we will remember you of Calvin's Calâ— lib. 4. cap. 12. sect 5. words That a Minister who admitteth unworthy persons to Communicate at the Lords Table is altogether as guiltie of Sacriledge as if he should prostitute to dogges the Blessed Body of the Lord Sacramentally in the Bread And to prevent this horrid usage and Contempt done to that blessed thing he thus prescribes and expects it to be done Epiâ—l 302. Gaspaâ—i oleviano Let no person be admitted to the Lords Table till he hath professed his faith and put it not off to the day before the Supper be administred But goe to the man's house if he hath one and looke over his family let him give you an account what order he observeth in his owne house and at his owne Table before he be admitted to the Table of the Lord and how peaceable and helpfull he is among his neighbours and note well how well he ruleth his Children and Servants whether he hath these in subjection with all gravity observe also this with it or else you observe nothing to purpose whether there are not some sloathfull and wicked persons in his house who would runne to the Lords Table but are very slacke and more than slugges when they should goe to the place of hearing We see now how truely it was spoken of him he would choose an hundred deathes rather than suffer the prophanation of the Lords Supper This is so full to our purpose that we thinke fitt to make a full point here and Come in the next place CHAP. IV. TO tell you Mr Baxter's judgement as to this point of free admission Surely he is point blanke against it as farre from Mâ— Hs judgement as Mr H is from the Bap 96. Truth Thus saith M Baxter Though I admit
THE LORDS TABLE Whether it is to be spread like A Table in an Inne for all comers That it ought not so be done is here maintained Give not that which is holy unto the dogges Matth 7. 6. And he set the Porters at the Gates of the house of the Lord that none which was uncleane in any thing should enter-in 2 Chron. 23. 19. Suppose him to be the greatest person in the world and would receive the blessed Cup from my hand signing to all and sealing to every beleiver the Blood of That God-Man I would rather give him my heart blood than I would give that Cup unto him whilest he declares himselfe to be no Disciple Chrysost in Math 26. Hom 83. w. They that give The bread and wine to unworthy ones are as guiltie of Sacriledge every whit as he would be who could give the Sacred Body of Christ to be torne in peices and eaten by dogges or trampled-on by Swine Calv 4. book of Institutions Chap 12. 5. He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himselfe not discerning the Lords Body 1 Cor. 11. 29. LONDON Printed by M. S. for Henry Cripps in Popes-head-Alley 1656. THE SECOND TREATISE Relating to The Lords Supper And second Query thereupon Whether all are to be admitted to the Lords Table upon account onely of their Infant Baptism though aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of promise having no hope well set and setling and without God in the world Eph. 2. 12. The Negative here also is under our maintenance Here are foure things premised first Then is set downe what the contrary minded have to say for the holding forth the Affirmative In the next place we Argue the Negative CHAP. I. SECT I. THis being a matter of such high concernment to be cleare-in we will premise a few things here also to cleare our way into it and first 1. That we little thought any Godly Minister would have put this to Question Whether all persons pell mell tag rag as we commonly say how ignorant how prophane how notorious soever for their Deboiserie are to have admittance to the Lord's Table by priviledge of Infant Baptisme Surely this Question de Juro would have been exploded when our times were at worst Archbishops and Bishops at their Zenith or hight what ever their Vicars Curats and Parsons did de facto some of them as very varlets as were those they did admit But de jure this should not have been so as may be collected by him that is ordinarily versed in the old Service-Booke Specialle that place which relates to the order should be observed in thâ— administration of the Lords Supper together with other Constitutions and Canon's as to that sacred administration printed sixtie yeares agoe and reprinted a few yeares by-past Wee will quote two places onely one out of the Canons of our Church the other out of the Booke of Common Prayer The 26 Canon straitly chargeth every Minister That he shall not in any wise admit to the Communion any of his flock which be openly knowne to live in sin notorious without repentance And the Common prayer book in the Rubrick before the Communion commandeth That if any be an open and notorious evill-liver or have don any wrong to his Neighbour in word or deed so that the Congregation by him is offended the Minister shall call him and advertise him in any wise not to presume to the Lords-Table till he hath openly declared himselfe to have truely repented c. Therefore we doe not doubt but the Ministers of the Presbyterall way whose Plat-formes for Church-Discipline one of us have read will rise up in their might against Mr Hs and the men of his way and judgement who not onely admit but plead for admittance of any body how scandalous soever it is a wonder if those they admit are worse then themselves for their two pence leave so much behind them and take damnation with them did Judas doe worse that betrayed his Lord and Master This may minde some body of what he may have read was spoken of an Arian Heretick I shall account him a Mihi non alius quà m diabolus quam diu Arianus Devill as long as he is an Arian and perhaps he may apply it to this Gentleman the leader of that drove or herd of Ministers who are of the same perswasion with him For it may be doubted That he with his followers have to their power don more mischiefe to the Church of Christ than the most pernicious Heretick now a dayes hath don What! A Minister of Christ speak Qui non vivit ut ipse docuit certum id documentum est non esse Christianum and act so so contrary to all men who walk by the Rule prescribed them in Gods Word You know his practise and you shall heare by a little how much he speaks anon against our Lord and Master that you may know how well you have spoken in justification of him He may preach Christ but doing things most contrary to the minde of Christ he makes full proofe he is no Christian Christianity being nothing else but as faire and full a Christianismus est similitudo Dei quantum possibâ—ie est hamanae naturae Just Maâ—t orat ad Anti. Ratio naturalis potest altecari ubi deficis lex drought of God upon the Soule as the Soule is capable off in this body of death But see how justly Sin is called darknesse it hath darkned we feare the very light of nature in him or naturall reason which say the Lawyers may speake where the Law is silent so naturall reason where the word of God is silent but where the word of God speaketh reason must be dumb Sin hath darkned that common light in the man as may be feared And now read him in his writings how Crosse he standeth and acteth to the word of Christ His Blessed practise among His Disciples and Commission given them to the worlds end Therefore SECT II. 2. WE are Sir heartily sory this should grate so hard upon you but we cannot possibly help-it while you hold so fast to your fore-man his tenent as to free admission of all notorious for their obstinate and affected ignorance as some must be where all have free admission unto the Lords Table It will fare the worse for you because he is so bad yee agree so well here that we want skill to make difference betwixt you him therefore ye will pardon us if discerning no difference betwixt you we make none though full loth we are to Couple you together But sith you will have it so so it must be and possible with some men it may be for your honour but however we cannot helpe you at all nor we suppose can you helpe your selfe by that proviso you speake of which the man of your perswasion gives you excommunication If a person man or woman so notoriously
Lords Table for there you know the veriest varlet in the Towne if there be any such which perhaps you question may have admittance with his Children to Baptisme and if he please may come at the day appointed to the Lords Table as freely as you may come to an Inne and set up your beast in the stable And if you were questioned about your owne Towne where you give freedome enough to these fore-mentioned places the Font and the Table for you are of Mâ— Hs perswasion Wee beleive you could speake little of the good you have wrought among them by indulging that liberty to bring their Infants to Baptisme and anon after themselves to the Lords Table ignorant though they are some of them whome ye so freely admit as is ignorance it selfe Nay Sir to tell you our faith in these matters we verily beleive That Ministers generally all over the Nation having mightily obstructed their Gospell-worke in the Conversion of Sinners by suffering them to Come to the Table of the Lord there to receive Christ in the bread and wine before they could give any evidence they had received Him by the word of hearing we meane by the preaching of the Gospell You suffer them to step-over the Converting ordinance and admit them to the sealeing ordinance and now you may preach till your lungs are spent and doe no good among them Indeed this is our faith and which relating to such things that are the highest concernments of Gods Glory and good of His people we may not keepe in to our selves The great worke and buisinesse of preaching is you know to bring Christ and the soule together To call them in who are without then to confirme and strengthen them being brought in Now you should it is our faith waite Gods time till this be done till He hath by His Word and Spirit gathered a Church out of a Church we know this sounds harshly in your eares but why should it so till He hath gathered His Church out of your Church since you make it as wide as the little world in England till He hath taken them out of the world and added them to His Church set them in a safe * Act â— 4◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sure and immoveable state faâ—t upon their Rocke Christ as Mount Zion fast for evermore Doe you goe on now to doe your worke preach the Gospell and leave the Rest to God patiently waiting His time But in the meane time you shall never make us beleive had you the tongue of an Angell That wicked and unreasonable men for they have no faith which is the reason of the soule are the worse because they are denied the Seales of the Covenant But much worse which may be because they are admitted to pertake of those before their time for as once it was so it is now together with the bread and wine John 13. 2. 29. 30. the Devill enters them too and now see them in their walke and you see Devills incarnate no difference in their walke for as they see him doe so doe they onely they have flesh and bones so hath not he SECT IX IN the 9th place and so to tell you all that hath been to our best remembrance told us thereby to justifie your doings in Gods house as to the handing forth those sacred things there If the people may not be suffered to come to the Lord's Table to receive there as they expresse it They will not come to the place of hearing to receive the word there drive them from th' one place and they le drive you from th' other or if that they cannot doe they will not come at you or if they doe come they will cast your pearles whereof you are dispensers the word of God or Counsells thereof behind their backes they will not hearken to you Mat. 7. 6. To this we would reply these foure things and first by way of Question 1. How would this have sounded in the Apostles eares Commissioned by their Lord to preach unto the Heathen should these Heathen have sayd to the Apostles If ye will not Baptize us first we will heare none of your preaching We say how would this have been taken by the Apostles supposed those Heathen had spoken unto them these words Verily for so it seemes to uâ— the Heathen people now adayes speaking after the rate of those words before suggested speake the very same thing And how uâ—reasonable and wicked they shew themselves to be in so speaking is left upon your thoughts with this earrest request that your thoughts may be serious 2 We thinke it will be granted That the Gospell is the greatest Treasure or Talent of price that can be entrusted with the Children of men It is that which listeth up a people whether ye speake of a Nation or a man onely we allude to that in Job as High as heaven It is the rod of His pâ—wer the â—câ—ptâ—r of His â—ob 34. â—â— Kingdome the grand Instrument we will borrow that excellently Learned man's words whereby He accomplisheth all His 〈…〉 designes in the world whether they be for life or for death 2 Cor. 2. 16. He hath given that a right to take possession in His Name and authority of all that He will owne in any Nation under heaven Now if this be rejected by us we will have none of it unlesse upon our owne termes and order of our own appointment give us the Body and Blood of Christ first As if we would say give us the seales of the Covenant but for the Covenant it selfe opned unto us in the Gospell we will have none of that We were saying If the Gospell of the Grace of God be put away Acts 20. 24. Acts 1â— 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maâ—h 21. 41. and driven with all our might from us as that which is most loathed by us or hatefull to us we shall be miserably destroyed anon as those Despizers for we are pointed at there But vestra res agitur You know your Lords order how tender He is of it and the judgement that is written shall be their portion who will remove the bounds that you may not doe like them Yee can take it into your Consideration and put it upon ours That if This Rich Talent we called the Gospell so laded with pearles be not used and improved first no other Talent can nor can we expect any other Talent given to us in mercy no more than we can another Gospell For the Lord doth not say as we foolishly may dreame and doe according as we have dreamed The man hath not improved his Talent nay he hath abused it What though give him another Talent No Take therefore the Talent from him and give Math 25. 28. it unto him which hath ten Talents The onely wise God will not doe as His unwise Stewards doe if He will owne them for His as to Gospell Administrations The man hath denied renounced his
more than touched upon three things specially the Word preached how they pressed to that place and listned to it when they came thither Secondly the Covenant of Gods free grace by Jesus Christ blessed for ever Thirdly Faith upon that we were the more large all beareing upon that being the hinge of all Now Sir this is our earnest desire That you with your Brethren would looke over this againe and lay your doctrines manner and practise before your people to that Standard for we choose to speake in that number And 1. Doe ye presse upon your people the necessitie of heareing and before you admit them to the Lords Table doe ye take time and place to search them to the bottome what they have profitted by heareing You know hereby they are hewen and made polished Stones and so fitted to be laid in the Lords building we trust you doe not doe as the Master of your Lord doth Polish your people at the Lords Table Surely they are to be made readie as those Stones were before they should have your admittance to 1 Kings 6. 7. Come thither And to proceed doe you aske what is that grace they must have before they can profit In our zeale for the Lords Christ yours and your peoples precious soules we shall question you in these grave points and so returne in all thankfullnesse your godly jealousies touching us and our way by putting it upon your thoughts what your way is with your people and how with them They with you walke therein You know but have you as you can made your people know it That preaching is the Chariot that carrieth Christ all about the Nationall Church we had almost said the world And the onely Appointment of God in the Spirits Hand to plucke them out thence as Lot out of Sodome It is the Ordinance sanctified of God for the begetting of faith in the beginning or Alpha of it so in the encreasings of it to the Omega or perfecting of the same It is that â—hereby that which is begun is perfected and that maintained which is begun It is that whereby the abundant riches of Grace through Jesus Christ are Conveyed unto us by Covenant we have said all 2 Tim 1. by Covenant life and immortality is brought to light by the Gospell preached the Ministery thereof there is not onely an unfolding of the gloriously excellent things of Christ but there is grace given by the Spirit to beleive them Thereby th' understanding that everlasting dore is opned to Jesus Christ Him that is true the true God and eternall life Now th' understanding closes with 1 Joh. 5. 20. Him or rather He by His Spirit with the understanding He is Truth The will and affections are drawn-out to Him also Oh how good is He to the Soule what a lovely object altogether desires By preaching all this is done it is the Chariot of the Cant. 5. Spirit it is the meanes that worketh faith which is the marriage of the Soule to Christ uniteth the soule to Him planteth it in Him maketh it one with Him And now she begins to know the abundant riches and glorious excellencies of Her Husband and the way of Conveyance of all these unto her by Covenant but still the first doore that is opned to all this is the eare and it is opned by heareing by heareing the eare is made able to heare we meane by the word the Spirit boreth it and now faith comes-in and fetcheth all-in the soule stands in need of Christ and all and all as sure as a Covenant of God with His people in Christ can make it Hold you to this still we meane hold your people to it faith comes by heareing it hath the stamp and institution John 10. 17. of God upon it and heareing by the word of God This was the ground of the Apostles faith not all the miracles they had seene John 2. 22. They Beleived the Scriptures and the word which Jesus had said Eph. 1. 13. The ground of the Ephesians faith also In whom ye also trusted after that ye HEARD the word of truth the Gospell of our Salvation The very end of all that is written touching Christ John 20. 31. and is preached of Him that ye might beleive c. Chaâ—ge this point home so your Lord Chargeth you and examine your people about their faith in God They will say they beleâ—ve Numb 22. 18. They will say as Balaam did My God and so will they say our God Hosea 8. 2 we know Thee Tit. 1. 16. Heare them now how they can make out what they say Doe they know Him whom they call theirs here you are like to find your people as grossely ignorant as were their fore-fathers of whome ye say saith our Blessed Lord That He is your God Joh. 8. 54 55. yet ye have not knowne Him We that have accustomed our tongues to lying ever since we were borne must not be credited in what we say till you have heard us making out what we say by giving a reason of the hope that is in us for truely thus it is with us for the most part We understand neither what we say nor what we affirme in God's matters Yea we commonly say we know the Father and the Son when we oppose the meanes appointed by God to convey this knowledge to us Now you shall doe well to tell us rebus sic stantibus That we are as well qualified to have Communion with Christ at His Table as a Wadd of dried stubble is to have Communion with a Consuming fire and doe no more enjoy Him there than midnight enjoyes the Sunne And that we doe indeed and in truth no more desire Communion with Christ the King at His Table or in any other place than darknesse can desire Communion with light or Beliall with Christ We are grossely ignorant of what we doe when we approach by your allowance the Lords Table It is not possible Fruimur Cognitis Ignoâ—i multa Cupido we can enjoy that we have no knowledge off or acquaintance with nor can our desires move towards an unknowne object Good Sir speake these things out to us your people we meane We are somewhat the larger here a point of so high concernment being Confident also of this very thing That you find your people cleane crosse to their Rule as your Brethren doe every where slow to heare and swift to speake for the Lords Supper We conceive the reason thereof to be this In a heareing place they cannot heare one word if it be the true word of God which is pleasing to flesh and blood it speakes death to their lusts if ever it speakes life to their soules Therefore they hate the word a killing word deadly because they love their lusts dearely They will have none of that meate which endureth to everlasting life none of the wine of the Gospell but as much bread and wine as you