Ordinance or spiritual Government must be and how they must be qualified And thirdly and lastly I have shewed ye the danger that all those are in that rush upon this Ordinance without being dutly qualified and prepared for it both of Believers in a carnal frame of Heart and Hypocrites that are in a carnal dead state of Nature But it may be queried Whether this sacred Ordinance of the Lord's Supper may not be made a Civil Test also to accommodate Civil Government for the Admittance of Members thereunto and for their Confirmation therein and for a License to sell Ale by and other secular things in this nature as well as to be a Test for all them that belong to this spiritual Government Unto this I will answer in the Negative That it is not for not one Soul that ever did or that ever shall Receive this Holy and Blessed Ordinance out of such a base secular prophane end and design to qualifie them to come into the Government or to sell Ale or any such thing but what does highly provoke God in prophaning that sacred Ordinance not discerning the Lord's Body And so they make themselves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord which is to Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame They do eat and drink themselves into the very same Spirit with the unbelieving Jews which they had in them when they did literally and actually and maliciously Crucifie our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that according to this Testeering Law there must not one Soul come into the Government but what must first go and Crucifie to himself the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame God hath commanded People to Crucifie their Lusts before they can be meet or worthy to come into this spiritual Government and partake of the Lord's Supper and all other Church-Priviledges thereunto belonging But these Penal Laws or Test commands Men to go and Crucifie their Lord and Master before ever they can be permitted to partake of the Civil Government or any of the Priviledges thereunto belonging And is not this a dreadful Law think ye and such a mystery of Iniquity as is not to be parallel'd in all its Circumstances Would it not be a dreadful thing think ye if there was a Law made That no Man should come into the Government unless he would eat so much Rats-bane as would fetch off all his hair off of his head and face and fetch off all the nails from off of his fingers and toes and lay him under a declining wasting lingring Distemper so that his Life would be but a burden unto him Why I will be bold to say That infinitely worse is this Law of encouraging Persons to eat and drink Damnation to themselves to qualifie them to come into the Government For as the blessed Ordinance of the Lord's Supper is spiritual Food and also wholesome Physick for the worthy Receivers for in the former it feeds and strengthens the new Man viz. all the Graces of the Spirit that is in him and by the latter all his Sins are subdued and mortified and his Soul purged and so kept in spiritual health And thus it becomes both Food and Physick to the true Believers this is a branch of the Tree of Life the Leaves whereof are for the healing of the Nations And so on the other hand it becomes strong Poyson to spiritual Vermine namely Hypocrites It is the worst Poyson that ever can be thought on to them As it is the greatest Mercy on the one hand unto them that Receive it worthily because then they are as sure to go to Heaven as if they were there already whether they do know it or not know it themselves so on the other hand it is the greatest Judgment under Heaven for a Person to Receive it unworthily in a carnal unconverted state because he eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body This that is the greatest Mercy to a Child of God is turned into the greatest Judgment to a carnal Hypocrite that dare be so bold as to partake of this blessed Ordinance out of any other end and design than what the Holy God in his Infinite Wisdom has appointed it unto O dear Souls Do you that have been Test-Makers and Test-Takers and Test-Givers in this sinful way and manner tremble to think what will become of your precious Souls unless you do speedily vomit up again this deadly Poyson by unfeigned Repentance and thorow Reformation God hath said by his Servant St. Paul Let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup That is he must try himself whether God by his Holy Spirit hath made him meet and worthy to partake of this holy Ordinance that he may know in himself whether he be one of the Guest that is invited unto this blessed Feast where they are not only to feast with the Lord but upon the Lord by Faith John 6.47 48 50 63. 1 Cor. 10.1 2 3 4. And thereby are made worthy to take this spiritual Test of the Lord 's own appointment in his own way and manner and so to come into the spiritual heavenly Government and be made Members thereof For whosoever eateth and drinketh this Cup of the Lord unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body Here it is said Whosoever that is High or Low Rich or Poor Priest or People Lord or Commoner this is the unalterable Law and Magna Charta of Heaven God is no Respecter of Persons therefore look to it you that are great Ones And Death is no Respecter of Persons also for when he cometh with his Sythe he outs down a Lord as soon as a Beggar Well thus you do hear what the Law of Heaven saith unto all these things and now let us hear what the Laws of Men saith unto it also Why the Laws of the Church of England saith quite another thing for they say tacitly and consequentially Let them be examined whether they have eat and drank their own Damnation and Crucified unto themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame and so let them come into the Government both of Church and State For whosoever whether he be a Lord or Commoner that shall come into the Government without being thus sinfully qualified does incur to himself and Family the Danger or Condemnation of 500 l. damage not discerning or taking notice that the Law of the Church of E is against him and that they shall pay it every groat on 't when she hath the Whip in her hand again and the Nation under her feet Hence we may observe That if any Persons will come into the Government duly qualified according to the Law in that case made and provided they must enter in at Hells Gate they must pawn or even deposit their very Souls that precious Jewel that is more worth
by the Spirit of God to proceed in this untrodden singular way and by a new Rule that is given Him from Heaven the glorious Effects of which the Generations to come as well as this present Age will have cause to Bless and Praise God for and to honour his Majesties Memory Who then need be afraid to trust God and to fall in and comply with his Majesty in promoting this Glorious Undertaking to compleat the Restoring the Empire of Conscience and to Retrieve this poor distressed Nation that has Lain so long Bleeding under these intolerable Yokes and grievous Burdens of Oppression Namely all these Spiritual Penal Laws and Tests which suits better with the Turkish Alcaron than with the Christians Bible or then with your own 19th Article either The two latter of which I do own to be good true O my dear friends Let us take up such a resolution as the four Leprous Men did at the Siege of Samaria that said one to another Why sit we here until we Die If we say we will enter into the City then the Famine is in the City and we shall Die there and if we sit still here we Die also Now therefore come and let us fall to the Host of the Assyrians if they save us alive we shall Live and if they kill us we shall but Die. Even so let us say of these Penal Laws and Tests if they are continued and that the National Church should get the whipping Power in their hands again we are sure to be persecuted again as Bad if not worse than ever we were yet for they will then bring all their Ecclesiastical Thunder upon us again and Destroy us though blessed be God their Advocates does not find that the Royal Thunder is so easily brought over the head of his Majesties Gracious Declaration upon us as they would have made the World believe it would But if all the Penal Laws and Tests should be taken away and utterly abolished we may never suffer again But however we can but suffer But remember how it sared with these Leprous men they were not killed no more do I believe that we shall suffer by it Now in the fourth and last place I shall make Application of this Point in two Uses The First shall be an Use of Information And the Second shall be an Use of Exhortation In the first place is it so as you see clearly proved it is that it is such an evil and dangerous thing for any Persons to come into the Government loaden with all these abominable sinful qualifications then hence we may be informed what a mystery of Iniquity all those Gentlemen are guilty of that had their Heads and Hands and Hearts ingaged in the making of this Test and in Administring this Test and Receiving this Test Why what were they guilty of why they were vertually and consequentially guilty of horrible Murder what Murder why Murder of a double and treble nature Mystically and Sacramentally First They Murder the Eternal Son of God 1 Cor. 11.27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. All Persons whosoever whether Lord or Commoner Spiritual or Temporal for God is no Respecter of Persons But he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness shall be Accepted with him Secondly They Murder their own Souls vers 24. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body And thirdly and lastly They do Murder their own Bodies tacitly vers 30. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep that is die And for what cause was it why for eating and drinking at the Lord's Table unworthily as all them that take the Sacramental Civil Test must unavoidably do because it is essentially sinful in the very End and Design of it for it was never Instituted and Appointed for any such base low secular End by our Lord Jesus Christ Secondly This informs us that all them that are and have been Test-Givers namely the Clergy are guilty of a very hainous sin that have given the Sop of qualification to them that come into the Government and to Ale-house-keepers for by that they eat and drink Damnation to themselves and crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame Pray what opener shame could Christ the Son of God be put to then to be put to the Ale-Tub namely to make the Sacred Ordinance of the Lord's Supper a License to sell Ale by which is more liker to commemorate Bacchus the God of Drunkards than to commemorate Jesus the God of Believers they must go and crucifie him that should be their Lord and Saviour and eat and drink their own Damnation before they could be duly qualified to the Justices humour to sell a Cup of Ale. Mistake me not I do not despise the Calling but for the abuse of the holy Ordinance for the Calling is as lawful as any other Calling is if it be not abused for a godly Man or Woman that fells Ale having the Grace of God in their hearts have as good a right to that Ordinance as any other good People have that are of any other Calling for indeed none but good People ought to take up that Calling such as will not suffer Men to drink and swill until they are drunk which is a horrible abuse to People in this Nation when they shall make no Conscience of giving them drink as long as they can go or stand and longer too many times but this by the by I say again I do not despise the Calling but I speak against the abuse of the holy Ordinance for it would be as bad if a Merchant were not suffered to trade unless he did receive the Sacrament because the end is naught which is confuted by the common Proverb among us viz. the End crowns the Action which is a great truth for a bad end ever spoileth and marrs a good action and I will not speak without Book it is a very good thing to relieve the Poor and it is a brave thing for a Man to give his Body to be burnt for his Religion and yet these two brave things may be done and for want of a right end they are of no value 1 Cor. 13.3 And though I bestow all my Goods to feed the poor and though I give my Body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing You Gentlemen that give the Sacrament to these base secular Ends to qualifie Men to serve themselves of the Civil State you can be none of the Ministers of Jesus Christ you are but Mens Ministers at the very best that can be thought on And I pray you to hear what the Apostle saith of this forked kind of medly-profanation of the Lord's Table 1 Cor. 10.21 Ye cannot drink the Cup of the Lord and the cup of devils ye
from the beginning of Christ's Gospel-Church But this by the by But I am clearly for rendring unto Caesar the things that be Caesars and also to render unto God the things that are Gods. My dearly beloved Countrymen for so I will make bold to call you because I am an Englishman man born and therefore a Member of the Body Politick of the Nation Forasmuch as there is a great deal of stickling and strugling and sending and proving pro and con about these Penal Laws and Tests and much has been said for the continuance of them and much more has been said for the Abolishing of them insomuch that it is not only become a Table-talk but it is almost a National Text for all People to Comment and Preach upon therefore I shall single out one of these Tests to speak somewhat unto And that shall be the Sacramental Test and let us bring that to the Touchstone of Gods Word and let us take notice for what end that Ordinance of God was Instituted and Appointed and let us hear what God the Lord will speak unto us concerning this Sacramental Test And let God be true and every man a lyer Rom. 3.4 Should not a people seek unto their God To the Law and to the Testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them Isa 8. Now Gentlemen you shall have a Fair and Impartial Trial of this Test by the Word of God and by one of your own Articles of the Church of E. and there shall be none but clear and undeniable True Witnesses and not one Knight of the Post that swears for Bread among them all although their Late Fire of Persecution have bred whole swarms of those sort of Venemous Salamanders And the God who is Judge of all the Earth shall be the Judge between us which those that are Persecuters do own in Words though in Works they deny him Titus 1.16 They profess they know God but in works they deny him being Abominable and Disobedient and unto every good work reprobate A Persecuter while such must be such a person or else he cannot be a Judge and Lawgiver unto other Mens Consciences Now I say I will single out one of these Tests to speak somewhat unto namely the Sacramental Test that is so Universal a Test amongst them And let us try what that will afford us that so we may measure Hercules by his Foot. Now this Test was chiefly made and intended against all the Protestant Dissenters And for the better coming at the making an Upright and Impartial Judgment of this Test I shall do three things 1. The first thing shall be this I will lay down the Words of Institution of this holy and blessed Ordinance by our Lord Jesus Christ himself 2. And secondly I shall lay down the words of the Aposte Paul to the Church of Corinth and let us see what Light and Knowledge this will afford us in this matter which is that which the Test-Makers and the Test-Givers and the Test-Takers themselves do all profess to own and practice as well Ecclesiastical as Civil as well in their Church-Government as in the Civil State. 3. And thirdly and lastly I shall press into this service one of their own 39 Articles wherein they give the Definition of what a true Church is and then let us try this Sacramental Test by these Infallible Rules 1. First by the words of Institution by our Saviour Christ himself as it is laid down by three of the Evangelists Matt. 26.26 27 28. And as they were eating Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins Mark 14.22 23 24. And as they did eat Jesus took bread and blessed and brake it and gave to them and said Take eat this is my Body And he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and they all drank of it And he said unto them This is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many Luke 22.19 20. And he took Bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave unto them saying This is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also the Cup after supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you Thus you hear what our blessed Saviour saith by these three Witnesses in the words of Institution He did not say Do this to secure your selves in the Civil Government while you do Rob and Rape and Plunder and Imprison and Spoil your honest peaceable Neighbours But Do this in remembrance of me Here is not one word of making it a Civil Test to Insnare honest Men withall 2. But secondly Now we have heard the words of our blessed Redeemer Let us also hear the words of the Apostle Paul with a respect to the words of Institution of this blessed Ordinance of the Lord's Supper And also the threatnings that are Annexed thereunto against all Hypocritical unworthy Receivers that Prosane this Ordinance of the Lord's Supper 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you Hence you may observe by the way that Pastors or other Ministers of the Gospel ought to deliver nothing to the People but what they first Receive from the Lord and have his Word and Authority for so doing That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take eat this is my Body which was broken for you this do in remembrance of me It was broken for you Believers and for none else but such as do believe and that shall believe as if the Apostle should have said And for what end and purpose why to remember Christ's dear love and compassion in Dying for poor sinners and to feed and nourish the new Creature and to stir up and excite all the Graces of the Spirit that is in the Believer unto a holy Commemoration of the blessed Effects of his Death to the Believer and also to commemorate the transcendent Love and wonderful Wisdom and Grace and Goodness of God and the great condescention of God in which all his glorious Attributes were ingaged in the contriving bringing to pass this unparallel'd Merciful Piece of work namely of Man's Redemption But pray note by the way that this is not a converting Ordinance as some by mistake would have it to be because no Man must partake of it before he is converted because that then instead of being converted by it he eateth and drinketh unworthily and so eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the
Lord's body And therefore it is that we are commanded to Examine our selves before we partake of it to see whether we be born of God and so are in a converted Spiritual state of Grace and also to try our selves whether we be in a Spiritual frame of heart that we may know whether Grace be in Act and Exercise in us or not But to Return to the words of Institution After the same manner also he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood this do ye as oft as ye drink it in Remembrance of me for as often as ye eat this Bread and Drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's Death till he come Here is not one word of making this Sacred Ordinance a Test to accommodate the Civil State withall but on the contrary as you shall hear by and by For the Apostle bringeth it in Argumentatively with a Wherefore Whosoever shall eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord That is instead of commemorating Christ's Death and Sufferings and all the Benefits that floweth unto us from that Fountain of his precious Blood They do eat and drink their own Damnation without unfeigned Repentance and God's Infinite Mercy for they do crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame whosoever shall eat thus unworthily whether Lord or Commoner let them look to it for God is no respecter of Persons for he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness and none but such are or shall be accepted with him O that all they that are thus Guilty may tremble to think what is a coming upon them for this great Abomination of profaning the Lord's holy Supper by a Law which I had almost said is a National sin because the major part of the Governing Party have been thus Guilty Though I do hope and also believe That there was many in both Houses of Parliament both of Lords and Commoners when this Snare was made that had neither heart nor hand in it But yet notwithstanding the major part of them must be for it or it could not have been made therefore I would not be found to grieve any of the Generation of the Righteous without a cause by condemning the Innocent with the guilty But as the Apostle saith Let every Man examine himself whether he be guilty or not But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. And here the holy Apostle is bringing it in again argumentatively by way of precaution for said he He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth drinketh damnation or condemnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep that is die For what cause was it why for profaning the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper And who was it the holy Apostle charged this Guilt upon why even upon some of the Corinthians that believed in Christ for he said some among you They were converted as to their Spiritual state they were in a state of Grace But yet notwithstanding that they were in a very carnal loose frame of heart They did eat and drink worthily as to their Spiritual state but yet nevertheless they did eat and drink unworthily as to their frame of heart and therefore God punished them with corporal sicknesses and death though they were free from Eternal Death and Condemnation by vertue of their Union with Christ and so in a state of Grace which can never be broken Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus that respects the Spiritual state of the Believer who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit The former that respects the State and this later respects the frame of heart in the former they are alive to God and in the later they walk with God The holy Apostle Peter was in a very carnal frame of heart when he would have disswaded our blessed Saviour from suffering Matt. 16.22 23. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying Be it far from thee Lord this shall not come unto thee But ne turned and said unto Peter Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men That is he was in a carnal frame of heart in a sudden passion of misguided Love and Zeal he was carnally minded and our Saviour Christ said unto Peter in another place of Scripture When thou art converted streng then thy Brethren this could not be meant of his first conversion into a state of Grace for so he was converted long before that time But it is meant of his after-conversion unto a more Spiritual frame of heart which he should be in after he had denied Christ And the Apostle Paul said Are ye not carnal and walk as men when one saith I am of Paul and another of Apollos and another of Cephas That is walk as men walketh in a carnal unregenerate state not that they were so but they were even like such And the two Disciples were in a very carnal unbelieving frame of heart even on that very Day that our Redeemer rose from the Dead Luke 24.21 25 26. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel and beside all this to day is the third day since these things were done They looked upon themselves to be deceived in effect but mind what our Saviour said unto them and also to us in them Then he said unto them O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory As if he should have said Did not all the Prophets prophesie of my coming in the flesh and dying in the flesh and rising again in the flesh and did you not see it with your own eyes or might have done it and did not I tell ye so my self that am the great Prophet the head of all the Prophets and will you not believe me nor my Prophets nor your own eyes neither as if Christ should have said This was a very carnal frame of heart indeed and it is said To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace Now there is a great deal of difference between being carnally minded and a carnal mind as much as there is between Light and Darkness or as there is between hardness of heart and a hard heart for the carnal mindedness in the believer brings a death upon all his Graces and spiritual Comforts he is as if he was in a carnal State with a respect to the comforting Evidence of it that all lieth dead and all the Graces of the Spirit lieth covered over with these Ashes of Carnality and that fills the Soul of the
A NEW Naked Truth OR THE SANDY FOUNDATION OF THE Sacramental Test SHAKEN BY A WARNING-PIECE Discharged from HEAVEN against all sorts of PERSECUTORS WHEREIN You may behold Christ Crucified Mystically and Sacramentally upon the Cross of the Sacramental Penal Test with all the rest of the Penal Laws and Tests Attending thereon and Contributing thereunto By Giles Shute a Friend to Christian Liberty With Allowance London Printed for the Author and are to be sold by George Larkin at the Two Swans without Bishopsgate 1688. A New Naked Truth Or The Sandy Foundation of the Sacramental Test shaken by a Warning-Piece discharged from Heaven against all sorts of Persecutors GEntlemen of England who are of Right all free born Subjects I am sorry that I have so black an Occasion of Addressing my self unto you in this following Discourse in which I must of necessity lay Open and Expose some very horrible sinful Practices that has been among some who profess themselves to be Protestants namely to them which pretend themselves to be the Most Infallible Sort too that are amongst us or else that Practice and Principle of theirs in making all other peoples Spiritual Sheaves bow down unto theirs is very unjustifiable and also unwarrantable from the Law of God and the Law and Light of Nature Dear Friends I humbly beseech you all to read what I shall here offer unto you without prejudice and consider it without partiality and apply it without delay and I shall further more beseech you to hear the whole conclusion of the Matter and do not take it up and read a little and throw it away out of your hands in Contempt and Scorn or with Malice and Rancour of Spirit but be advised by the Wiseman who hath said That the latter end of a thing is better than the beginning And be not prejudiced against the Truth because it cometh naked unto you without the Garments of Rhetorical Expressions or in the Ornaments of Humane Learning For if you be a Lover of the Truth you will imbrace it and find Garments for it in your own hearts you will take it in there and cloth it for there is the best clothing for Truth when all is said and done that can be O my dear Friends set open the Doors and Windows of your Souls to receive this Blessed Light and do not despise your own Mercy because it cometh unto you by an Illiterate Hand for it is said in Dan. 12.3 4. And they that be wise shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever But thou O Daniel shut up the words and seal the Book even to the time of the end many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased And also I precaution others that shall read this Book that they do not make so unchristian ill use of it as to take up any prejudice against any mans person who through Inadvertency are tardy of what this Discourse will find out and lay open for if you do though I write thus against their Principles and Practices yet I shall be a Witness against ye for I write in Love to their Souls and not in any prejudice to their Persons for that is no contradiction neither is it inconsistent one with the other to love a mans Person and yet at the same time to hate his Evil Principles and Practices It is a great Duty Incumbent upon every Christian so to do Matt. 5.44 But I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despightfully use you and persecute you Here you see is an Express Command from our Blessed Saviour and Redeemer to love the Persons of our Enemies but yet we are not to love their sinful Practises and Principles for we cannot do that but in the very Act we must sin against God for we are commanded to hate every abomination and every false way We are to hate what is evil in our own selves yet it would be a sin for us to hate our own Persons If I had an own Father that was a Drunkard or Whoremonger I ought not to love his Drunkenness and Whoredom yet I must not hate my Fathers Person though I hate his Practice therefore I do not write this to incense people against any mans person though I must contess this has been a Reigning Sin among the Persecuters And indeed there is a proneness in the best of men to this sin Christ's own Disciples themselves were not clear of this sin when they would have prayed for fire to come down from Heaven to destroy the very persons of those churlish Samaritans that refused to give entertainment to our Saviour Christ they were for destroying their Persons and therefore Christ rebuked them saying Ye know not what spirit ye are of I bless God I have a higher and nobler End and Design in what I shall here write than to draw out prejudice against any mans person however I may be censur'd for it I can appeal to God in sincerity and uprightness of Heart in this matter for I would not that any man should be wronged of a Hair of his Head by what I shall here Declare to the World but to awaken all to Repentance For the Lion hath roared who will not fear The Lord God hath spoken who can but prophesie Amos 3. I am not for Diminishing any Gentlemans Title of Honour or Dignity where it is properly due Fear to whom Fear is due and Honour to whom Honour is due Though I must confess my Ignorance in this Matter at the same time I cannot understand the meaning of Spiritual Lords because I can find no Scripture Authority for it at all but rather against it Matt. 20.25 26 27. But Jesus called them unto him and said Ye know that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise Dominion over them and they that are Great exercise Authority upon them but it shall not be so among you but whosoever will be Great among you let him be your Minister and whosoever will be Chief among you let him be your Servant 1 Pet. 5.2 3. Feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy Lucre but of a ready Mind neither as being Lords over Gods Heritage but being exsamples to the Flock Our Saviour Christ does singnifie unto us that this Lording Spirit did proceed from the Heathen Idolatrous Gentiles and that it was a usage among them and therefore in my Opinion it is pity that any Christian Ministers or Pastors should take it up and exercise it among them And the truth on it is It is a very dubious point with me to determine or conclude whether the true Ministers of Jesus Christ can be Spiritual Lords or whether these Spiritual Lords can be true Ministers of Jesus Christ because I cannot find that it was so
Believer full of Doubts and Fears with a respect to their spiritual State and puts them upon questioning all the Work of God upon their Soul. This carnally-mindedness respects a Child of God in a spiritual State but in a carnal frame of Heart and a carnal Mind respects a carnal dead Sinner in a state of Sin and Misery for it is said The carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not subject to the Will of God neither indeed can be There may be and too often there is an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table and that by two sorts of Persons First There is many times an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table by Believers themselves Secondly There is always an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table by carnal prophane Hypocrites as often as they do partake of that Ordinance whether Ecclesiastical or Civil for so we must distinguish now it seems for they have made it to have a double end Spiritual and Carnal There must ever be two things to make a Man a meet or worthy Partaker of this holy Ordinance because it is a Spiritual Feast as much now as it was under the Mosaical Law for they ate and drank Christ under the Law as well as we do now under the Gospel if you will believe the Apostle Paul who saith Moreover Brethren I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all Baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ 1 Cor. 10. First There must be a spiritual State all the Subjects of this Ordinance must be born again they must be born of Water and of the Spirit or else they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven here below which is the Church-Militant and if they be not so born they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven above namely the Church-Triumphant in Glory John 3. for until then they be spiritually dead And what shall a dead stinking rotten-hearted Hypocrite do at the King of Kings Table For Gods Eye is upon all his Guest his Eye is upon their very Heart for God sees not as Man seeth he can spy out any one Soul that comes to his Table without the Wedding-Garment God sees what every ones end and aim is in partaking of that Ordinance He seeth them that come to eat and drink themselves into the Government or into a good fat place of Profit and Trust and sees them that come to eat and drink at that Ordinance to sell Ale by vertue of it or to bear Arms in the Train'd-Bands And God saw them that were more guilty than they namely those that gave it unto them for all men by Nature are dead in Sins and Trespasses and all Children of Wrath Eph. 2. And therefore it may be said of every carnal Sinner as it is said of the carnal lewd Woman in the 1 Tim. 5.6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth Now such as these be can have no Right nor Worthiness at all in them to partake of the Lord's Supper no nor to administer it unto them neither for they are none of Christ's Shepherds that doth thus John 10.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. Matth. 15.14 Isai 9.16 Now all such as do exhibit this blessed Ordinance and those to whom it is exhibited that are not born of God can be but a Congregation of Hypocrites at the best Job 15.34 35. and are as loathsome as a dead stinking Corps would be to be placed at a Kings Table when he made a Royal Banquet for all his Nobles and far more loathsome too And therefore all such as these eateth and drinketh Damnation to themselves not discerning the Lord's Body And pray what can a dead Man discern And therefore all these do but make a Chain of that Ordinance for Satan to bind them faster to himself under the guilt of all their Sins instead of receiving any good or benefit by it whereas a Child of God that cometh in a right manner and to a right end goeth away from that Ordinance with all his Sins pardoned afresh and his Covenant renewed with the Lord and ratified and sealed in the Blood of Christ the others they go away with all the guilt of their Sins faster bound and his Covenant with Death and his Agreement with Hell renewed and ratified afresh and sealed Isai 28.15 And is not this a dreadful thing think ye The Lord awaken all that are thus guilty to unfeigned Repentance But Secondly There must not only be a spiritual State but there must be a spiritual frame of Heart also and this latter cannot be obtained before nor without the former There must be a spiritual State before ever there can be a spiritual frame of Heart therefore every one that does not come to the Table of the Lord thus spiritually qualified do come and eat and drink to themselves Damnation or Condemnation aye though he be a Child of God and in a spiritual State Nevertheless it is true he doth not eat and drink eternal Condemnation to himself and that because he is in Christ yet he may eat and drink the Merit of it vertually he may eat and drink temporal Condemnation to himself which may bring great temporal Judgments and Punishments upon him or them that thus do even corporal Sicknesses and Death Psal 89 30 31 32 33 34. If his Children that is Christ's Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments if they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments then will I visit their Transgressions with the Rod and their Iniquity with Stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my Lips. God my punish unworthy Receivers now though in a spiritual State as he did those unworthy Corinthians heretofore with Sickness and Death for their prophanation of the Lord's Supper when he may spare his Enemies in this Life to punish them in the World to come Thus I have shewed you briefly in part what the blessed End and Design of this holy Ordinance is and also the Nature and Tendency of it and you may observe that it is one of the great Tests that belongeth to the truly constituted Churches of Jesus Christ which was made and provided in the Great Charter of Heaven and lodged in the Church for all them and them only that belong to the spiritual Government of Heaven namely the true Members of Christs mystical Body the Church whereof he is the Supream Head and Governour namely the Universal Catholick Church And I have in the second place shewed what the Subjects of this
is an old trick of the Devil And thirdly and lastly binding over Persons for Worshipping God is a very ancient thing also A Persecutor is one that must abandon all moral Honesty he must do as he would not be done by he must sacrifiee his Conscience and pawn his Soul in the Hands of the Devil for he must persecute Christ Acts 9.4 5. and fight against God Acts 5.38 39. A Persecuter is one that bids Defiance to Heaven and is in open Hostility and Rebellion against the Almighty and he is striking at the Apple of God's Eye Zech. 2.8 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts after the Glory hath he sent me unto the Nations which spoised you do you hear you persecuting Spoilers of the Nation for he that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of his Eye that is of God's Eye Again A Persecuter is worse than the Devil in some Respects for the Devil cannot force a man to sin he can but tempt and suggest to Sin but the Persecutor does both he tempts them to conform to a Religion or Worship that they are convinc'd in their Consciences is not right because it has none of the Sanction of God's Authority upon it and if they refuse then he does what he can to force them by Indictments and Fines and Excommunications and Plundering and Imprisoning them and the like Now this the Devil cannot do himself personally therefore they are worse then the Devil Again Fourthly A Persecutor or one that hath this Cain-like Spirit in him every time he saith the Lord's Prayer he speaks Blasphemy for he does blaspheme the Name of God the Father the first Person in order in the Blessed and Glorious Trinity for he begins it in Blasphemy for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven And the holy Word of God saith That no man can call God Father but by his Spirit for let him that taketh the Name of the Lord in his Mouth Depart from Iniquity and the Apostle saith Know ye not that the Spirit of Christ is in ye except ye be Reprobate And our Lord Jesus Christ told the old Sect of Scribes and Pharisees that were Persecuters as our New-Gospel-Sect of the same Leven are in John 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Lusts of your Father ye will do He was a Murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth Why So all his Children departs from the Truth when they turn Persecuters they do not do as they would be done by they depart from that Truth which the very light of Nature doth teach us as well as the Word of God. Now can it ever be possible that a Child of the Devil can call God Father without being guilty of Blasphemy at the same time for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven when as his Father is the Devil so that by his Lye he does tacitly and consequentially pull God out of his Throne of Mercy and place his Father the Devil in his room upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven and puts up his Petition to the Devil instead of Praying unto God his Maker And is not this a dreadful Case Nay further in the fifth place for I have not done with ye yet When a Persecuter doth say the Lord's-Prayer he doth say Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven And no Persons are so great Opposers of Christ's Gospel-Kingdom coming as the Persecuters are and none does oppose the doing of God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven like them of a persecuting Spirit for in Heaven there God's Will is done uninterruptedly by Angels and all other Glorified Spirits there they Praise God in perfect Peace Love and Union there is no Persecuter there nor none to disturb nor make them afraid for there they are all of one Heart and of one Mind But so it cannot be done in Earth by the Persecuters who cannot sleep unless they do Mischief and they do hinder others from doing the Will of God in Earth as it is done in Heaven therefore a Persecuter cannot be sincere and in good earnest when he saith Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Therefore all they of a persecuting Spirit do but dissemble and mock God and tell him a parcel of Lies to his very Face for they do say in Words that God's Will must be done in Earth as it is in Heaven but in Works they do utterly deny it for they Dethrone the Almighty who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords as much as in them lyes And the proud Persecuters do mount God's Throne here on Earth namely the Souls and Consciences of men and say to their Souls Bow down that we may go over They do rob God of his Sovereignty and become spiritual Legislators to make Laws and give Laws unto their Fellow-creatures to Worship God by as they pretend and so do wrest the Government out of God's Hand over the Souls and Consciences of men which is peculiarly belonging to the Great and Dread Sovereign Majesty of Heaven and Earth which is to do their Father the Devil's will on Earth as it is done in Hell And not to do God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven Again Sixthly A Persecuter as often as he saith the Lord's Prayer does in Effect Pray that God would not forgive him his Sins for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us Now a Persecuter cannot say this heartily and sincerely because that instead of praying to God he does imprecate the forest of Judgments upon himself for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us and the Persecuter did not nor yet does not forgive the Dissenters though but pretended Trespasses against them when some Persons have fallen into their hands by their Nonconformity in the matter of Worshipping of God when they have desired them to be favourable unto them and have told them if they did proceed to the Rigour of their Law they would ruine them and their Wife and Children they would not hearken unto them unless they would bow down their Soul unto them that they might go over namely to Conform so that they must Trespass against God or else they would not forgive them their pretended Trespasses against them which made the Remedy infinitely worse than the Disease and so they chose rather to lay their Bodies with the Ground and as the Street for them to go over then that they would sin against God by conforming which was passive Obedience of the right kind therefore the Persecuters do Pray that God would not forgive them their Sins for Christ hath said But if ye forgive not men their Trespasset neither will your Father forgive you your Trespasses Mat. 6.15 Now if the Persecuters did run their Hatred and Malice to the very uttermost Extent of the Persecuting Laws and further too and are now contending to keep the
tacitly and consequentially and unadvisedly choose rather that Christ should remain still Crucified by this horrible Law of the Sacramental Test which obligeth a Man to Crucifie his Redeemer that should be and that before he can be duely qualified to come into the Government then they will part with the Test that is against the Romanists These be the 19th Article-men of the Church of England and some other good Men who are afraid to part with the Test upon another account then that of the Persecuting part of the said Church are for the Persecuting part of it cannot think of being satisfied and content to enjoy what is their own proper Right and Priviledge but are like wicked Ahab they must be coveting their Brothers Vine-yard they cannot submit willingly to part with their Domineering Prelatick Lording Power over their Fellow-Subjects they must be Lording it over God's Heritage though we bring them the great Charter and Canon Law of Heaven that forbids it Pray read this part of the Charter of Heaven and there you may find Liberty of Conscience asserted without any Humane Test to prohibite it in the 1 Pet. 5.2 3. Feed the flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly Do you hear Gentlemen what your Duty is And also you may see what your Sin hath been you that have not kept to your 19th Article But stay the Apostle hath not done with you yet for as you must not be constrained to do your Duty but you must do it willingly so it must not be done in covetousness Not for filthy Lucre but of a ready Mind Neither as being Lords over Gods Heritage but being Ensamples to the Flock Thus you hear what St. Peter saith but it may be they may say of St. Peter as the Jews did say of him and St. John That they were Vnlearned and Ignorant Men Acts 4.13 And as they do Cavel and Quarrel with all them that Write Books or Preach the Gospel that do not understand Hebrew Greek and Latin well therefore let us hear what Learned St. Paul saith and hear whether he was for Liberty of Conscience or not and whether he was for having or appointing any Humane Test to secure our Christian Liberty unto us pray mind 2 Cor. 1.24 Not for that we have Dominion over your Faith. Here the Apostle disclaims all Lording Soveraignty over Men's Consciences there is your Liberty But are helpers of your Joy But they that are against Liberty of Conscience that Oppress the Consciences are the greatest Enemies to Joy in the whole World be they who they will For by Faith we stand Where was the Apostle when he said this Why even in the midst of all his Enemies Why surely St. Paul and our Humane Projecters were not of one and the same Opinion for they say That by the Test against the Romanists they stand But the holy Apostle when he was in Ten times more danger then we are said By Faith we stand There was his Test which he Relied on under God when he had not a Prince to stand by him and tell him that Conscience ought not to be restrained And it is said in the holy Scripture That the Liberal Man deviseth Liberal things and by Liberal things he shall stand Now can the Test against the Romanists be properly called a Liberal thing when it is a thing that keeps them out of their share of the Government on the account of Conscience Here is neither standing by Faith nor standing by Liberal things Which is the most Liberal thing think ye a firm Magna Charta to secure every Man in his Christian and Civil Liberty which his Majesty does propose to be devised by the Wisdom of the Nation in Parliament or this Old long Parliamentary Test Truly for my part I cannot see any kind of Liberality in the Test and I can see no kind of nigardly Churlishness that there can be in a firm Magna Charta for our Christian Liberty Thus you see these two holy Apostles were both for Liberty of Conscience and to make Faith their Test to stand upon and so am I not but that I am for all the Civil Security that can be made which does not tye up Mens Consciences in point of Christian Liberty I am not for knocking men in the head or ruining them because they are not of my Principle but let the Tares grow with the Wheat until the great Harvest and whosoever is not of this Mind is no Christian let him call himself what he please And I do not doubt but there are Honest Able Heads and Hearts at work a drawing up to themselves Propositions for the Establishing of our Christian Liberty against the time that the Great and Honourable Counsel of the Land shall meet together that will be satisfactory to all the honest Hearts that are willing to be satisfied Thus you see also that those that had rather that all the Penal Laws and Tests should be continued then that one Test against the Romanists should be taken away and Abolished do choose rather to sin against God now then to venture to suffer hereafter because the Penal Laws and Sacramental Test are Essentially sinful in themselves as you see clearly proved Fifthfly Is it so that Men must Eat and Drink their own Damnation to qualify them before ever they can be admitted to come into the Government or any place of Trust and Profit Why then this clearly Informs us that poor Deluded Men that do Obey these Laws do pawn that precious Jewel even their Souls in the Hands of the Devil and do choose rather to trust the Devil with their Souls then to trust God with their Estates or to give Wicked Men an advantage against them of bringing them into 500 l. Damage and none but Christ whom they do thus Crucify can Redeem them out of Satans Hands and that by his precious Blood in appeasing the Wrath of God and attoning them to God by giving them Unfeigned Repentance and Faith in him for none can come to God but in and through him alone the Lord of his Infinite Mercy awake ye all to Unfeigned Repentance before the Decree bringeth forth for if Death cuts you down in this Impenitent Condition you have no better hopes of Escaping the Damnation of Hell nor of Enjoying Eternal Happiness in Heaven then this which is a Dreadful deceitful one as you will find when it is too late Namely That the Word of God is not true which is in plain English without the help of Hebrew Greek or Latin to hope that God is a Lyar but let God be True and every Man a Lyar 3 Rom. 4. O Horrible Horrible Poor Deluded Sonls That ever there should be such a Device of the Devil promoted by Men for to Damn Men's Souls by Law What will after Ages think of such a Generation of Men as this O! that ever it should enter into the Hearts of Rational Men to
make such a Heaven-Daring Law as this And that which encreaseth the wonder is this That there should be so many Pillars of their Church which are called Spiritual Lords and that ever they should consent to it that ought to have told those Gentlemen that promoted it the Danger and Evil of it for had they had any Honour for God and Value and Esteem for Christ and his Ordinance and Pity for Men's Souls they would never have made their Church Door so much wider then our Saviour Christ and his Apostles made it or then their own 19th Article made it to make the Church of God not only a Den of Robbers in his sight but also to make it a Herd of Swine And is this to separate the Precious from the Vile I think the Church of England ought not to value her self upon such Laws as these are above their Neighbours and truly she hath little cause to make her boast of these Laws and Tests which should rather be matter of shame unto them indeed Jer. 23.14 I have seen also in the Prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing they commit Adultery and walk in Lies they streng then also the Hands of evil doers that none doth return from his wickedness they are all unto me as Sodom and the Inhabitants as Gomorah Therefore the same Judgments that God brought upon these Prophets that was so guilty then may be expected to come upon those Prophets among us now or an Equivalent who are guilty of the same sins if not worse for if the Body of Sin and Iniquity now be of the same shape and bigness as it was then why then a Garment of Wrath and Vengeance of the same size now will fit it as did then therefore look for it and expect it without a speedy Repentance there will be a speedy Riddance Jer. 6.13 14. For from the least of them to the greatest of them every one is given to Covetousness and from the Prophet even unto the Priest every one dealeth falsly They have healed also the Hurt of the Daughter of my People slightly saying Peace Peace when there is no Peace Were they ashamed when they had committed Abomination Nay they were not at all ashamed neither could they Blush Therefore They shall fall among them that fall at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down saith the Lord. Thus you see what a dreadful Condition all they are in that are thus guilty now among us they are nothing of Kin to their own 19th Article Seventhly This informs us also that all those that do thus come into the Government Invested with these God-provoking most abominable Qualifications do Treasure up Wrath against the day of Wrath and Revelation of God's Righteous Judgments without a speedy and unfained Repentance and turning to God They do eat and drink their own Spiritual Bane and poyson and destroy their own Souls And What shall it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or What shall be given in Exchange for his Soul Saith our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Pray Gentlemen try your selves by these things Again Eighthly Is it so that all those that come into the Government Qualified according to the Sacramental Law Do Eat and Drink their own Damnation then this informs us that this Law is against the Statute standing unalterable Law of Heaven And our own Fundamental Law of the Land saith That whatsoever Laws are made against the Law of God are ipso facto void and null in themselves and therefore not to be regarded nor taken notice of no further than to loath it and to abhor it and destroy it And those Spiritual Gentlemen that had their Hands and Hearts engaged in the making of these Laws are the most to blame of all and the Blood of their Souls that have perished upon this Account will be required at their Hands Ezek. 3.20 Again when a Righteous Man doth turn from his Righteousness and commit Iniquity and I lay a stumbling Block before him he shall die in his Sin and his Righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembred But his Blood will I require at thine Hand But some will Object That no Man is forc'd to come into the Government and so no man is forc'd to receive the Sacrament on this Account But if they will come into the Government they must receive it You say no body is forc'd to come into the Government though if I mistake not as I am confident I do not there is a Law in being to force all Adult Persons to the Sacrament once a year at least at their Parish-Church or else Pray Why do they receive Three pence a Head for every Adult Person in your Family and have put Persons in the Exchequer for not paying of it But that by the By. Pray tell me Is there not an absolute necessity of Government Why yes no Man denies that for it is an Ordinance of God why if so then it follows that there is as absolute a necessity for Persons to come into the Government Here you do own that there is an absolute Necessity of Government and that from the most solid Ground and Reason that can be namely because it is an Ordinance of God and therefore it follows that there is an absolute Necessity of Persons to govern well What then Can it ever be imagined that God hath Ordained that any Man should Damn his Soul to partake of this Ordinance of God namely the Civil Government For you see clearly as this old way of governing by Penal Laws and Tests now stands no Man can come into it nor be rightly qualified for it before he hath been and Crucified to himself the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame And also Eat and Drink Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body so that this is the necessary Consequence of that Argument viz. That whosoever will partake of God's Ordinance of the Civil Government must first Murder our Saviour Christ Sacramentally and also Murder his own Soul Hypocritically And also it follows That there is an absolute Necessity of it too by the former Assertion namely the Laws and Ordinance of God and the Laws of Men or else Persons must sin against God by not obeying that Ordinance of his Appointment And then the Consequence that would follow must be this That there must be no Government at all So that it is brought to this Point either they must Crucifie Christ and Eat and Drink their own Damnation or else there must be no Government among us at all And what would the World be without Government It would be a meer Shambles For there is a great deal of Difficulty to keep People to rights where there is good Government and how much more difficult would it be to keep themselves within bounds if there was no Government Who should keep them Or say to him that is stronger than himself What dost thou
Friend that ever Sinful Man had And they must Pawn or Mortgage their Souls into the Hands of the Devil before they can be admitted thereunto then this Informs us of the Absolute Necessity and the Indispensible Duty for honest good Men of all sorts to come into the Goyernment and to destroy all the Works of the Devil Namely To Abolish for ever all these Sinful Laws and Tests that are against all Mens Consciences in meer Matters of Religion and let us all do as we would be done by is it ever to be imagined that men of such Vicious Profligate Lives and Ungodly Plundering Principles which cannot govern their own Consciences can be fit to govern other Peoples who stick at nothing but will Crucifie their Maker if he stands between them and Worldly Preferment Eleventhly and Lastly Is it so that Persons must Crucifie their Maker the Son of God and Pawn that Precious Jewel their Soul by Eating and Drinking their own Damnation in the Hands of the Devil Then hence we may be Informed that this old Government which is founded upon Penal Laws and Tests in meer Matters of Religion and Conscience lieth in the hands of the Wicked One namely the Prince of Darkness as the old Wicked World before the Flood did and therefore the Destruction of it in some sence will be like unto that for mind Psal 11.6 Vpon the Wicked he shall Rain Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest This shall be the Portion of their Cup. God Rains down a Flood of Snares of their own making upon them they have been making of them off and on about 120 years a little more or less and now God is Raining their own Snares upon them that is upon the old Government and the old Spirit of Persecution as Gods Spirit did strive with the old World and as God provided an Ark by Noah to save all his Family why even so God by his Majesty has provided an Ark for all his Good Subjects For a small moment have I forsaken thee but with great Mercies will I gather thee in a little Wrath I hid my Face from thee for a moment but with everlasting Kindness will I have Mercy on thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer for this is as the Waters of Noah unto me for as I have sworn that the Waters of Noah should no more go over the Earth so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor Rebuke thee that is for the Preservation of Gods People And here is the Destruction of the Snare-makers aluding to Noah's Flood also Isa 24.17 18 19. Fear and the Pit and the Snare are upon thee O Inhabitant of the Earth And it shall come to pass that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the Pit and he that cometh up out of the midst of the Pit shall be taken in the Snare for the Windows from on high are open and the Foundations of the Earth do shake the Earth is utterly broken down the Earth is clean dissolved the Earth is moved exceedingly Now in the 7 Gen. 11.12 there you have this 11 Psal 6. and this 24 Isa 18. taken by way of Allusion 2 Pet. 3.10 This is Metaphorically and not Literally and Properly meant nor of the End of the World for the 13 Verse may convince any man of that but this old way of Governing will pass away with a very great Noise and this Element wherein the Spirit of Persecution does live and breathe will be melted and the Generation of Persecuters must pass away this old corrupt Leven both in Church and State must be Purged out All Old things must be done away and all things must become New Psal 102.25 26. Yea all of them shall wax Old like a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed Thus you see this old way of Government so far as it consisteth in Sinful Penal Laws and Tests lieth in the Hands of Satars and these poor deluded Souls that are contending for it for Persecutions sake are his Bond-slaves they are taken Captive at his Will and the Dissenters are in Captivity to them and these Laws also So that in Effect we are all in Captivity and them that are for this Sacramental Test by which they must Eat and Drink Damnation to themselves are in the greatest Captivity of all So that it will be a greater Mercy to them for to have all these Yokes and Snares of the Devil broken than to any other Persons whatsoever though indeed it will be a very great Mercy to the whole Nation But Secondly and Lastly I am come to an Vse of Exhortation which shall be unto two sorts of Persons The first shall be unto all them that were Sacramental Test-Makers and Test-Givers and Test-Takers The second sort of Persons that I shall direct my Exhortation and Counsel unto shall be unto all them that are for the continuing of these Penal Laws and Tests for fear of Popery prevailing upon us And these are such as are not of a persecuting Spirit You see I have searched into this desperate Wound or Plague of Leprosie and I find it to be very dangerous and contagious It is gotten into the Plaister and Stones and into the very Timber of the House and therefore under God I will prescribe a Healing Plaister and a Sovereign Antidote for the making it a perfect Cure I would not leave your Wounds open and a bleeding Now they are searched into I will not leave the worst of you without Hopes of obtaining Pardoning Mercy in the Blood of Christ First of all In the first place I Exhort you all in the Name of my Great Lord and Master By whom Kings Reign and Princes Decree Justice especially you that have been Sacramental Test-Makers and Test-Givers and also Test-Takers that are guilty of Crucifying the Son of God afresh and putting him to an open Shame and Eating and Drinking your own Damnation or Condemnation to repent from the bottom of your Hearts Look upon him whom you have Crucified and Mourn over him and be in bitterness of Soul as one is in bitterness for his First-born O Sirs Be perswaded to expel the deadly Spiritual Poyson which you have swallowed down namely the Sacramental Test by Vnfained Repentance or it will kindle a Fire in you that will burn to the lowest Hell for there is a Death and Damnation too in that Cup for all the impenitent Partakers of it for as it is a Cup of Consolation and Salvation to the People of God so it is a Cup of Spiritual Poyson and Damnation to Carnal Prophane Hypocrites which are but Spiritual Vermine Secondly I Exhort you to Repent of all your ill-gotten plundered Goods and vomit them up again also by restoring it again unto them from whom you took it I mean in that way that His Majesty hath appointed under God and God hath said Ye shall do it Job 20.15 18. He hath swallowed down
Riches and he shall vomit them up again God shall cast them out of his Belly That which he laboured for shall he Restore that is they laboured for it in a wrong illegal way as we use to say Prank more labour than Thank who required it at their Hands according to his Substance shall the Restitution be and he shall not rejoice therein It may be you will say You had a Law on your side Why So the old Gang of Scribes and Pharisees could boast of a Law they had on their side by which they did literally and wickedly Crucifie our Lord and Saviour We have a Law and by our Law this Man ought to die And here is a Law of the very same Complection of yours if not Prophetically spoken of the same in Isa 10.1 2. With a Wo pronounced against the Legislators thereof Wo unto them that Decree Vnrighteous Decrees and that write Grievousness which they have Prescribed To turn aside the needy from Judgment and to take away the Right from the poor of my People that Widows may be their Prey and that they may Rob the Fatherless Here you see a Law made against God's People And those that make such Laws as these are are Persons that have no Communion or Fellowship with God Psal 94.20 23. Shall the Throne of Iniquity have Fellowship with thee which frameth Mischief by a Law Pray mark What will be the End of such And he shall bring upon them their own Iniquity and shall cut them off in their own Wickedness Yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Psal 7.15 16. He made a Pit and digged it and is fallen into the Ditch which he made His Mischief shall return upon his own Head and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own Pate That is God does bring it down upon them which is a fulfilling the Words of our Saviour who hath said That the same Measure ye make shall be made unto you again O Sirs I beseech ye to take shame to your selves before the Lord for all your Abominations that you may not be put to shame by the Lord Eye the just Hand of God in all these Great Providences Humble your selves in Dust and Ashes Acknowledge and Confess all your Sins and break off from Sin by Righteousness and cry mightily to God for pardoning Mercy in the Blood and Merits of Jesus Christ But it may be or I hope at least-wise that some of ye will say I am guilty of all these Abominations and of Multitudes more I have been a sierce Persecuter a Blasphemer and an Injurious Person I have been a Whoremonger a Drunkard and a Lier and I have often Crucified the Son of God and made his Wounds bleed afresh and put him to an open Shame by Eating and Drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table and I have had a hand in Imprisoning and Impoverishing the Saints and Servants of God by which means some of them have perished in stinking nasty Goals and is there any Hopes of pardoning Mercy for such a horrible Sinner as I am Yes I tell thee in the Name of God who is a God that delighteth in Mercy if thou dost ask this Question in good earnest I tell thee from God's own Word that there is hopes of Mercy for thee Dear Soul if thou do from the bottom of thy Heart confess and forsake thy Sins and turn to God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Kiss the Son least he be angry with ye and ye perish from the Way when his Wrath is kindled but a little And Pray for your Encouragement Read and Consider well of the 1st of Isa 16 17 18 19 20. And Isa 55.6 7 8.9 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Let the Wicked forsake his way and the Vnrighteout Man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon For my Thoughts are not your Thoughts neither are your Ways my Ways saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so are my Ways higher than your Ways and my Thoughts than your Thoughts With Reverence be it spoken What can the Lord say more unto you for your Encouragement to cast your selves upon his pardoning Mercy and Free Grace For there is more Vertue and Merit in the least drop of Christ's Blood to pardon and save you then there is Malignity in all your Sins to damn and destroy you if you will but believe in Christ and come unto him and resign up the Government and Conduct of your Souls unto him for he calls the weary and heavy-laden Sinners unto him and promises to give them Rest Matth. 11.28 29 30. Nothing but Unbelief and Despair can with-hold God's Merciful Hard from Extending Pardoning Grace unto you It is not the Greatness nor the Hainousness nor the Multitudes of your Sins that can hinder Pardoning Mercy from you if your own Unbelief do not And I will not speak without Book but I will give you several Instances of as Vile Persons as ever you have been if not Viler that have been Pardoned and Saved that are left upon Record in the holy Scripture as Monuments of Gods Infinite Mercy and Free Grace But let me give you this Precaution that you do not presume upon Gods Mercy to go on any longer and further into Sin You must not continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid that ever you should make such an evil use of it to turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness but it is that you may not despair and pine away in your own Iniquity nor go any further on this Black Score And the first Person that I shall Instance in shall be Manasseh who was a Cruel Bloody Idolater as you may read 2 Kings 21. and yet notwithstanding all that Manasseh Repented and was Pardoned and Saved 2 Chron. 33.12 13. And when he was in affliction he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his Fathers and prayed unto him and he was intreated of him and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his Kingdom then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. He never knew God until he was Converted no nor no other Sinner does neither let him have what Notional Knowledge he will in his Head if he have not Sanctifying Saving Grace in his Heart It is said That Manasseb made the Streets of Jerusalem to run with Blood as Water and caused his own Children to pass through the Fire and was guilty of Witchcraft and Idolatry and other Hainous Sins his Sins reached as high as Heaven yet Gods Mercy being higher than the Heavens that overlooked all his Sins and God cast them behind his Back and blotted them out of his Book and drowned all his Spiritual Aegyptians in the Red-Sea of Christ's Blood and did pardon and save him What dost thou
think now Dear Soul Hast thou any room left to despair of the Mercies of God A second Instance is that of Persecuting Saul whom God in Infinite Mercy Pardoned and made a Preaching and Praying Apostle Paul afterward Acts 9.3 4 5 11. 1 Tim. 1.13.14 14 15. There Paul acknowledged the free Grace of God in Pardoning of him who was before a Blasphemer and a Persecuter and an Injurious Person Acts 22.4 There he confessed himself a Bloody Persecutor yet as Vile as he was all his Sins were pardoned in the Blood of Christ A third Instance of Gods free Grace and Pardoning Mercy in the Blood of Christ was that of the Cruel sturdy Jaylor Acts 16. And a fourth Instance of Gods Pardoning of most notorious Vile Sinners that was found Guilty of that filthy notorious Bed-Roll of the Sin of Sodomy and Idolatry and Whoredom and Drunkenness and Theft is in the 1 Cor. 6.9 10 11. And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And there was Mary Magdalen a very hainous Sinner yet she was washed in the Blood of the Lamb of God that taketh away Sin and she was made a precious Saint And there was some of them very Persons that had their Hands Imbrued in Christ's Blood we read on in the Acts of the Apostles yet they were washed in Christs Blood and pardoned in his Merits and saved by his Grace Thus you see here is encouragement enough for the Vilest of Men that have been Sacramental Mystical Crucifiers of Christ and Persecuters and Whoremongers and Drunkards and Thieves and Idolaters to come unto Christ for Pardoning-Grace and Mercy And whosoever doth so come to Christ while he is upon the Mercy-Seat He hath said that He will in no wise cast out Secondly I Exuort all you that were Test Makers and Test Givers and Test Takers in this Sacramental way and manner not to flatter your selves with the hopes of ever getting that Predominating Persecuting Power again But be contented with your share and proportion of the Government with all other free Dennisons of England that have every whit as much and just Right unto it as your selves remember Covetouseess is the Root of all Evil God will not trust you with the sole Management of the Government of the Nation any longer to be a Scourge to your honest peaceable Neighbours Nahum 1.7 8 9. The Lord is good a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him But with an overflowing flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof and Darkness shall pursue his Enemies What do ye imagine against the Lord He will make an utter end affliction shall not rise up the second time God is speaking this unto us at this time as I Humbly conceive by his Anointed Servant the Kings Majesty for he saith That he is resolved to make an utter end of all Persecuting Penal Laws and Tests whatsoever and that they shall not rise up a second time to afflict his Subjects any more And God is a pursuing his Persecuting Enemies at this time in this dark Providence and Dispensation to them by the Just Proceedings of his Gracious Majesty in calling them to an account for all the Moneys and Goods which they have taken from the Dissenters of all sorts of late years and he is giving them a Purge and a Vomit too which God hath prepared in his Word for all them that have this foul Stomach O! Sirs do not strive to be Rampant and Exalt your selves above your Neighbours and to get the Whip in your hands again for God will not trust such Unjust Stewards as you have been with so great a Betrustment But God is a calling you to an Account for your Stewardship for you may no longer be Stewards for now your Stewardship is ended as to Persecution your Account for Plundering beginneth the Robbery of the Wicked shall destroy them because they refuse to do Judgment O! Sirs do not Delude your selves for it is the Just Lord that loveth Righteousness and that hateth Robbery for Burnt-Offering that does all these things Do you not see that God is calling you to an Account for your Violence done to himself for as he that Persecutes Christ's Flock Persecutes Christ himself so also they that Rob God's People Robs God himself Mal. 3.9 Ye are Cursed with a Curse for ye have Robbed me even this whole Nation This was spoken to the Jews for he that toucheth Gods People by Violence doth touch the Apple of Gods Eye by Wickedness Zech. 2.8 And God hath sent his Servant unto you that spoiled his People to call you to an Account for it O! Friends I beseech ye to Eye the Just Hand of God in all this for until then you cannot make a right Improvement of these great Providences as you ought to do and Justifie God and Condemn your selves and do not entertain hard Thoughts of his Servant which is the Instrument in his Hand by which he doth it for it is God that does all these things it is he that putteth down one and seueth up another These great things does not come by luck or chance Affliction it self does not rise up out of the Dust for if a Sparrow that is but of half a Farthing Price cannot fall to the Ground without Gods Providence Mat. 10.29 30 Much less can such wonderful great Providences and Dispensations as we have seen and yet shall further see come without the Hand of our Heavenly Fathers putting it into the King his Servants Heart to do it among us Psal 75.6 7 8 9 10. For Promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South But God is the Judge he putteth down one and setteth up another for in the Hand of the Lord there is a Cup and the Wine is Red and full of Mixture and he poureth out of the same but the Dregs thereof all the Wicked of the Earth shall wring them out and Drink them But I will dealare for ever I will Sing Praises to the God of Jacob all the Horns of the Wicked also will I cut off That is All their Persecuting Power and Strength But the People of God viz. That is all them that truly feareth God and worketh Righteousness their Horn shall be Exalted O Sirs Do not you that are of a persecuting Spirit imagine that God will ever permit you to get up unto your Old Trade of Plundering and Spoiling and making Havock of the Churches again after so great a Rebuke from Heaven for those many Heaven-daring Abominations that you are and have been Guilty of do but consider well what you have been doing For you have been Plowing Iniquity and sowing Wickedness and therefore now you must Reap Shame and Contempt For the Hand of the Lord is lifted up against the Spirit of Persecution and is falling upon
shut doth agree as well as in many other things which I could Observe concerning this Christian Liberty which he hath given us or restored unto us out of the Hands of them that had Usurped it and Detained it from us and that is this Enter thou into THY Chambers Which notes unto us that it is the Christians Right as his Gracious Majesty hath well Observed That Conscience ought not to be Restrained in meer Matters of Religion which is the same thing in effect Whence we may Observe from the Word of God and from the the Kings Declaration That Christian Liberty is a Man 's own property My Beloved be not afraid to come into the Government upon this Topic and act Couragiously with his Majesty for Establishing of this our Christian Liberty which you see is our own property I do not doubt but his Majesty is Acted by the Divine Over-Ruling Hand which Directs him to take such just Methods as never any of his Predecessours did in this nature he is acted by a new Rule given him down from Heaven he Treads in an Uncouth Path that never was Troden before by any Prince of the World and therefore the Glory of the Wisdom of God the Efficient first moving Cause does shine forth the more Splendidly and Conspicuous even him by whom Kings Reign and Princes Decree Justice in whose Hand the King's Heart is and as the Rivers of Waters he turneth it wheresoever he will. And what a brave Confession did Darius make of the Soveraignty of God Dan. 6.26 27. I make a Decree that in every Dominion of my Kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel Why what was the matter Why their Penal Laws and Tests had cast Daniel into the Lyons Den fore against the Kings Will his Nobles had got his Royal Assent unto it under a specious Pretence of Loyalty to the King which was only to make a Snare to catch Daniel in for they had no way to Insnare him but in the matters of Religion and Conscience Dan. 6.3 4 5 6 7. Hence we way Observe that pretended Loyalty has been a Cloak of Old to Hypocrisie they got a Law made viz. That if any Person should put a Petition to any God or Man for thirty days save of thee O King he shall be cast into the Lyons Den. They knew this would do Daniel's business for him and destroy the best Subject or Slave that the King had as by their own Confession V. 5. Then said these men We shall not find any Occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him concerning the Law of his God. Hence we may observe by the way that Men of Principles has been very faithful to Princes when they have imposed any Trust in them as Joseph to Pharaoh and Obadiah and Nehemiah and these Three Worthies in Daniel and Mordecai who saved King Ahasuerus Life though all of them Dissenters from the National Worship but this by the by But to return to Daniel in particular They had nothing against him to fasten any Snare upon him but for praying to his God. And for that he was cast into the Lyons Den but God shut the Mouths of the Lyons so that they did not hurt him But the King caused the Executioners of that Law to be cast into the Lyons Dens themselves and then the Lyons Mouths was opened and they Devoured them Verse 24. So that it is no new thing for Persecuters to be taken in their own Snares But to return to the Kings Confession of the Deity for says he He is the Living God and stedfast for ever and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his Dominion shall be even unto the end he Delivereth and Rescueth and he worketh Signs and Wonders in Heaven and in Earth who hath Delivered Daniel from the power of the Lyons And yet this King was not of Daniels Religion notwithstanding all his Love and Kindness unto him but he was acted by the Divine Influence of Heaven his Heart was in God's Hand as all Kings Hearts are and that was the reason on it O Sirs Do not think that these great Providences and Dispensations cometh out of the Dust or by Luck or Chance or men's Projects These great things that we have seen do not come of themselves neither do they come in vain or to little purpose but as they are Influenced by the Almighty Hand of God who hath the Reins of all Power and Government his own Hand and turneth them this way or that way or which way soever he pleaseth for the fulfilling of his Predeterminate Counsels and Glorious Designs in the World and for the bringing forth of his Eternal Decrees which the Womb of Providence is now Traveling with and will bring forth and our present Providences are as so many Blessed Harbingers and fore-runners of Glorious things that are yet to be accomplished in this latter Age of the World that is even at the Door both at home and abroad look for it and expect it and also prepare for it Fourthly Let us all be of a forgiving Disposition and frame of Heart Let us be ready and willing to forgive our Enemies But yet notwithstanding we must do it according to the Rule and Way which our Saviour Christ himself hath prescribed in his holy Word Mat. 18.21 22. Then came Peter to him and said Lord how oft shall my Brother Sin against me and I forgive him Vntil seven times Jesus saith unto him I say not unto thee Vntil seven times But until seventy times seven Here is the Duty but in Luke 17.3 4. there our Saviour hath laid down the manner and conditions on which it must be done therefore pray mind it narrowly Take heed to your selves if thy Brother Trespass against thee Rebuke him and if he Repent Forgive him and if he Trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day return unto thee saying I Repent thou shalt forgive him Here you see is the Duty and on what Conditions this great piece of Christian Duty must be performed in a right Gospel manner even to an Offending Brother But some will say That we ought to forgive our Persecuting Enemies which is true I am clearly for it provided they come within the Verge of Christ's Command But I do not find that we ought to forgive them if they do not Repent and Confess and make Restitution for the Wrongs and Injuries they have done us It is true We are to Love our Enemies and Bless them that Curse us and to do good to them that Hate us and to pray for them which Despightfully Vse us and Persecute us Mat. 5.44 We must not entertain any Personal Prejudice against them we must so Forgive them in our Hearts But some pretend to forgive our Persecuting Enemies though we do not see at all that they do Repent and Turn to us by asking of Forgiveness of us though they have Robbed many of us of