vile and debauched that he is more like a Devill than a Disciple then admit him not but excommunicate him Cast him out We cannot thank the man for his remedie It is not worth so much if he had been serious therein which we think he was not being against his own principles for whether shall we cast him unles into the same place Mâ— Hs. deserves to be himselfe cast and it is his lightest punishment for indeed he hath offended the Lords little ones every Math. 18. 6. one of them we thought till we thought of you into the Sea with a mill-stone about his necke for all the dry Land is a Church as you so well know and can make full proofe In the next place SECT III. 3. WE would say in Allusion to excellent Calvin's words Si dimidio Christi convuti effemus if we could be content with half a Christ our work would quickly be at an end and we should agree So if we could be content with an halfe Reformation which will content the Godly party as the halfe of her deare Child the deare mother ye do not bid us the halfe no nor the least part or peice of Reformation for making no separation from the world at the Lords Table where or when will ye seperate All one at the Lords Table and every where one The world and you cannot be two while professedly one at the Lords Table We will take leave to set downe excellent Burroughs his words we have read or heard upon this subject Whensoever you receive the Communion with any Company Reade Master Palmer p. 100. you doe Confesse your selfe to be of the same body with that Company I must professe that I doe beleeve my selfe to be of the same Body that this drunkard is off this Idolater this covetous person is off this whore-master this swearer is off joyning with them to eate Bread at the Lords Table where these uncleane ones must needs be where all are admitted to be professing nothing against them nor taking any Course at all with them for the exclusion of them or purging of them-out Allowance of a thing done is as good as a Commission for the doeing of it Therefore it concernes us very much to looke unto it That it be an holy Communion we receive the bread and wine-in In the last place SECT IV. 4. WE would adde this That we are as unable to keepe silence Inveniar sanè superbus avarus omnium vitiorum reus modo impij silenâ—ij non arguar dum dominus â—atitur as we are to speake as the Learned doe observing the ordinance of our dearest Lord and Saviour so prophaned His owne order in His owne house whereof He is so tender so blasphemed and by those who should be most observant thereof His stewards there We professe we wish our eyes fountaines of teares and that our hearts could melt like wax and our Luth ep ad Staupitium bowells yearne upon these stewards in Gods house who admitt all to his Table come who will all are welcome Surely if they repent not of these horrid doings the Master of the house and Lord of the Table will rise-up against these stewards as once He did in Mount Perazim He will be wroth with them as in Mount Gibeon for by their meanes it is that a brutish sottish people admitted by them to eate and drinke at the Lords Table doe eate and drinke their owne damnation encreasing their guilt there and hardning themselves to their utter ruine and everlasting destruction And is this nothing Nothing saith Mr H s for which some other will deale with him assuredly and bray him in a morter that his folly may depart from him who saith in effect though not in terminis It is nothing to eate and drinke damnation to our selves as all must doe who eate and drinke unworthily upon account onely of Infant Baptism For by Comming or rashly like naturall bruite beasts rushing to the Lords Table before the word of life hath brought life to their soules they eate and drinke judgement to themselves and have put themselves into an utter incapacity or impossibility ever to be wrought upon thereby we meane as to the strength and power of ordinary meanes That worke on other men for their Conversion who have not willfully perverted the holy order of the Lord which He hath prescribed nor presumptuously passed over the ordinary meanes of Conversion They have hard hearts that doe not melt into teares beholding a poore sottish people encreasing their guilt every day and more and more hardning themselves to their eternall ruine Therefore for our deare Lords and Christs sake whose Body and Blood we cannot see with patience thus prostituted to dogges and swine for His Churches and Truths sake the onely two dearely beloved and regarded in the whole world for Soules sake purchased at so deare a rate which argues the pretiousnesse of them for your owne sakes whose foot stands fixed in Mr Hâ— way his owne a way of sin and death have we spoken hitherto and shall speake in these matters before us as we have beleived And as the Church of Christ hath practised in all times and ages though not with that freedome and blessed libertie as by the abundant riches of Gods goodnesse now they can doe for which liberty they blesse God night and day who hath so changed the times Time was and it was a sad time with all the godly Ministers and people all over the Land when there was no barre to keepe any from the Lords Table but one which superstition made And was it a just Greife to borrow Mr Sanders words then that there was no barre And is it your worke now to remove the Barres yea the Lords and his Churches antient Land-markes and lay all Common The Lord God of gods lookes upon this and will require it Therefore in our tenderest respects unto you we would Caution you in our entrance to this Treatise for with that or the like unto it we meane to end this of all murther take heed of Soules De Eccles lib. 2. murther your owne or others It is Salvians Caution It is true your people will be very wroth with you if you will not murther them let them eate and drinke damnation to themselves The most cruell bloody murther though Mr H s will not beleive it to suffer persons one or more to poison themselves with the Sacrament which workes strongly and kills presently as poison mixed with the strongest wine will doe Vineger you have read 't is filius vini and the sweetest wine degenerates into the sharpest * Gospel Coâ—dials to a fowle heart are thâ— deadliest pâ—yson Mr. Foâ—d Sp. Ad. 470. vineger As there are more liberall doles of Grace in time of the Gospell and specially given forth at the Lords Table to the worthy receivers So are there the largest violls of wrath there also given forth to eate and drinke downe by the unworthy
with him both together and at one instant which may make us more observant of the words that follow which we borrow of our Learned Reinolds Was a beast slaine for touching the Mount and shall not a man of vile and beastly affections be punished for touching the Table where our Lord is present No we would say The vile and beastly Minister deserveth rather of the two to be punished who admitts alloweth yea invites men of Beastly and vile affections to come to That Table where the Lord is present The allowance of a thing done which was said before and cannot be too often said is as good as the Commission for the doing of it said our excellent Jewell We would adde to this the prayer of a good man Lord deliver me from mine other mens sinnes which I may have made mine if not by Command Councell or Consent yet by Connivance give me Repentance for them good Lord and forgive them It is a knowne saying and bids you beware for qui in conspectu populi male vivit quantum in se est omnes se videntes interficit He that sinneth in the open view of the people doth as much as in him lyes to murther all that looke upon him and behold him sinning The application is easie and summed up in this the Presumers and the Consenters shall be punished together and which shall receive the sorest punishment is not hard to determine The actions of the Rulers being the Rules for the Ruled We beseech you all by the mercies of Christ we would peswade you by the terrour of the Lord whose Stewards you are and by the blessing yee expect from in and upon the Ministery of the Gospell that yee would Consider these things and greater things than these as the Spirit called upon in the reading His word may suggest unto you and fully resolve you at this point That your great Lord and Master to Whome yee are shortly to give an account of your Stewardship will not endure to have holy things prophaned as if Common and uncleane Therefore this is our perswasion grounded upon the word of God and practise of His people Ye must appoint time and place where and when your people may give you the meeting there to know the state of your flocke which yee can never Phil. 2. 19. Col. 4. 8. know at such a distance in the publique place You cannot there in that publique place doe as Paul did and as you ought to doe You know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father doth his Children every one of you he had them alone and apart sure there is a necessitie of it a Must for this yea though it were according to that offer or desire rather of your Learned Brother and Neighbour which is That all persons in a Christian Common-wealth should give an account of their Faith before they marry and become parents and why not before they are admitted to the Lords Table Wee professe heartily this were a notable expedient and would helpe much for the removeing of that Barr which hath letted and will lett till it be removed the admission of their Infants to Baptisme by Godly Ministers But wee may desire rather than hope that this Course will be taken That all before they marry and become Parents shall give an account of their Faith Though we conceive this Course ought to be taken with those who for nine Moneths have lived in uncleannesse That these should not be married the tenth moneth before they had made their Repentance as publique as their offence was For Certainly this ought not to be That a Couple be married to day and be made Parents tomorrow Surely They did not give an account of their faith This was done in the world the Nationall Church there in a Parochiall Church very few miles off from you for the part hath the same name with the whole and a part in this huge we had almost said monstrous Church is too great for such small things as these to be looked after Indeed Sirs ye must Contract and Epitomize your Church for if this Course were taken your Godly Brother prescribes here Notwithstanding you must have your private meetings with your people Surely after a serious debate betwixt your selves about these matters you will finde it we humbly conceive your onely way to Abridge and Contract your huge large volume of Beleivers who can shew no more for their faith but their Infant Baptisme into a little little volume they must and they will goe close together they will never be looked over else though every one of you had an hundred eyes taking one of an hundred and ten of a thousand and this may Comfort you in this troublesome and vexatious worke so flesh and blood will finde it yours and theirs That one believer indeed who can give a reason of the hope that is in him is more excellent than are an hundred of those who can alledge no more for the Cleansing of their hands and purifying their hearts but that when time was their faces were sprinkled with water Now when ye shall set upon this worke ye must we conceive appoint a set time and place to meete at Now because there is a spewing Cast upon these meetings in use onely as we conceive amongst the Brethren of the Congregationall way we meane all those that seperate from the world at the Lords Table for the word Independant is very unbecomeing Churches or Creatures it was Cast-in by the enemy and adversary of all righteousnesse we were saying because this way and these meetings lie open to much Obloquie from that wicked one the Father of lyes and all His Children as that these meetings are the Nurse or vis plastica the very fomenting Cause of errors and heresies besides it Chargeth the Holy Brethren with separation or making a schisme or Rent from their Brethren and so in a manner excommunicates them from their Company Wee intend with Gods helpe to speake something to this but because this part of our worke hath exceeded its proportion the gravity and weight of the matters here under debate and maintenance so requiring wee thinke it fitt to deferre it to the Last and to close with it and our Spirits if the Lord be pleased alltogether and all in one for wee intend to turne-in unto you after our manner at the end of our worke Now in the Close of this Chapter we would speake to the Christian Reader whose eternall good is full in our eye which makes us to bend after it night and day in our Reinolds words Though we may have our Minister's leave and free admission to the Lords Table yet let us not venter to receive such sacred things with unwashed hands as matters of meere Custome fashion or formalitie But let us looke unto that High Authority That ordeined them on that holy Mouth That Blessed them on That Arme of Mercy That exhibits them being ever assured That as Christ hath one hand of Bounty and Redemption which reacheth forth life to the worthy Receivers So hath He another of Justice and power ready to avenge the injuries and Contempt that shall be done to His owne holy Institution A little after he speakes to Ministers and people to Ministers Let not your hands againe play the Judas by delivering Him againe unto Jewish and sinnefull soules which will Crucifie againe unto themselves the Lord of glory To us the people Let not us take His pretious blood into our hands rather to shed it than to drinke it and by Receiving the body of Christ unworthily make it as the sop was to Judas even an Harbenger to provide roome for Satan Who is wise and he shall understand these things prudent and he shall know them for the wayes of the Lord are right and the Just shall walke in them but the transgressors shall fall therein That ye may be such we Commend you all to God and the word of His Grace which is able to build-you up and to give you an inheritance among all that are sanctified The Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirits Grace be with you AMEN ⸪ FINIS
receivers very likely your people will not apply their heart to this no not to this But if they may not have the Lords Supper as formerly they have had once a yeare at least which now will not serve their turne or thrice or since they are used to it once a moneth they will crie-out against you all the yeare long and Curse too to whom God hath not made it manifest that they themselves are beasts These ignorant unreasonable and wicked persons will so doe if you will not suffer them to drinke downe a Curse and destroy themselves for ever if you will not take the readiest way to destroy them by admitting them so unworthy to the Lords Table They will destroy you at least they will doe what they can Why but as the Counsell is to the Parent Correcting his Child Let not thy soule spare for his crying So regard not their Crie nor their Curse neither But though they Curse Blesse them which you cannot doe but in bidding them attend diligently upon the Converting ordinance and forbeare comming to the Lords Table till the Word preached hath done its worke Then come and wellcome But we shall contribute more to this at the end of this Treatise And now before we come to argue the Negative That Children in understanding willfully such Children of Belial alwayes are not to be admitted to the Lords Table We will with your leave heare you make out the Affimative first That Children in understanding are to be admitted to the Lords Table We have heard you we shall alledge nothing from what we have read and those in your way with you make it out thus and so this is your first proofe CHAP. II. SECT I. SUâ—ely all our forefathers were not all mistaken but they gave it forth to all all along till within these very few yeares which they had not done if they had not thought it lawfull to be done It is hard to prove this nay we thinke it is impossible Though we grant that many the excellent of the earth did give forth these It is hard even for good men not to be câ—râ—ied dowâ—e the streame when at once they goe with the wind of example and tide of Nature Read Mr. Phil. â— Evang. 〈◊〉 pag. 227 228. c. seales to as many as came for them and that was just as you say to all And truely much might be said to excuse these excellent of the Earth à tanto if not à toto The tyranny of Custome as a tide or torrent impetuously running all one way and carrying all with it The Tyranny of Bishops also as fast friends to Christ many of them as were these excellent of the Earth then and now fast friends to Anti-christ Indeed Issachars we had almost said curse but to all His God turned it into a blessing was upon the good Ministers and people they lay couching under burdens and this dispirits both Ministers and people so that with him in Tacitus if we may alude to it gemens sequitur tamen they sighed and they groaned yet they followed the Commandement And surely we may adde this how did they breath after Reformation in these matters And when they saw no amendment we know whether some of them went for it is knowne in all the Earth and how did they there And the faithfull here wrestle with their God about these things And what thankes can they Render to God for what He hath done in way of Answer to their prayers Time was when another Girded these faithfull men and carried them whether they would not but now blessed be God they have a blessed liberty to Gird themselves in the All-might of their God according to His Glorious power to walke whether they would in all pleasing This we desire to leave upon your serious thoughts what use and improvement is made of this liberty or whether not abused as an occasion to the flesh by men of Mr H s perswasion And yet Sir we must make bold to tell you your proofe is naught and proves nothing Quâ—d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nâ—n 〈◊〉 haeresis est etiam vâ—â—us consuciuâ—â—o Jeâ—â—â— Christ is â—â—y Antiquity That He did and that He â—pake said Ignaâ—ius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tâ—ll not me it was â—â—stomaâ—ily so done but tell me what ought to be done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. so an old Philosopher reproved his friend A. Geâ— lib. 10. c. 19. What have we to doe with th' examples and wants of our Fathers they are no rules of our faith or for our walking It is not what was done but what ought to be done If such a proofe may be warranted what evill may not be approved good and be justified Here the Heretique Eutiches sic à progenitoribus accipiens credidi c. This faith have I received from my Ancestours in this faith I was borne and Baptised and in the same I desire to dye and yet the same faith was an errour and no faith Full-up to the same words said another as very an Heretique as the former Quemadmodum ab insantiâ edoctus sum itâ— Credidi Credo As I have been taught from my Childhood so I have beleived and so I beleive still And the Idolatrous Jewes say much the same So we have done and our Fathers before us our Kings and our Princes and so we will doe But Sir we speake to you in our Jewells words We sit not in Judgement to Condemne our Fathers God onely is their Judge and He knoweth how to deliver His owne He was able to preserve the Bush in the midst of the flame and Daniell in the Cave in the mids of the Lyons And the three Chrildren in the midst of the furnace of flaming fire and His people Israell in the midst of the red Sea even so was He able to preserve His owne in the midst of that deadly time of darknesse Ignosci potuit simpliciter erranti post inspirationem veri c. He that erreth of simplicity as our Fathers did may be pardoned The times of that ignorance God might winke at But after that once God hath inspired the heart and revealed His truth whosoever continueth in his errour offendeth without pardon of ignorance for he is over-borne with presumption and willfullnesse These we have heard are the words of Cyprian and this shall serve for Answer to what our Fathers did their doeings are no prescriptions for us The word of our God is the Rule of our practise in all things And we humbly conceive it lyeth open before us as to this particular as our Cynosure or Starre to direct us whereof anon SECT II. WE have heard it said to beare you out in your doings That learâ—ed and Godly men doe as you doe at this day in point of admission to the Lords Table We oppose not here nor gaine-say what is said of their Learning and Godlinesse But this we say That your proofe is naught still and proves nothing There were learned
they are admitted in their Parents right to Baptisme begotten as is notoriously knowne in Vid Ames de Const cap. 27. l. 7. adultery and the Parents not so much as professing repentance for the sin And so giving some satisfaction to the Congregation thereby Sir The Lord will require this at these Parents hands for so we may call them so also at his hands who so presumptuously baptizeth their Infants Nor shall it helpe him or them That though the Child was begot in Adulterie yet it was borne in wedlocke So have they plaistered over that horrible sin for which the Minister must be as responsible we meane for marrying them as he shall be for Baptizing their Infant before an acknowledgement was made openly before the Congregation for so openly had they sinned But the Lord lookes upon this and tells us with a voyce as loud as thunder that sith man doth not He Himselfe will be the avenger of these things And if the people Levit. 20. 4. of the Land c. for we would leave it upon your thoughts that if you or any brother in office with you have been or are faulty in this matter ye may heare and feare and doe no more presumptuously In the shutting up of this we humbly remind you of your owne Principles every head of a family being by our â—nf Bap. 61. principles an Abraham to his family But how if he be an Ishmaell worse than an Infidell to his family how then in point of admission of his Children to Baptisme or himselfe to the Lords Table must he having blasphemed the one Sacrament be priviledged thereby to blaspheme the other or having denied and renounced his Baptisme as the manner of some is by his workes making full proofe he hath very ill husbanded that pretious Talent must he be priviledged thereby to deale so with the other Yes say you and accordingly you deale-out unto him But did your Lord Christ deale so with His Talents Math. 25. 28. But wee referre it to the sixt Treatise 2. Now as to admission to the Passeover which you are pleased to say was free to all which pleads for the like free admission to the Lords Table That spoken before might serve here But to let that passe we verily beleive there was not such free admission to the Passeover as you would seeme to hold-out or take for granted And this our beleife wee ground on the Scriptures of God as we ought and you expect we should and indeed Commanded us which needed not for God commands us so to doe We humbly conceive there is much in this Scripture we reade When your Children shall say unto you what meane Exod. 12. 26 27. you by this service That ye shall say it is the sacrifice of the Lords Passeover Wee Collect from hence That the persons were to be knowing and understanding persons in the matters of their God the great Concernments of their soules and so knowing and understanding as that they must be able to instruct and Catechise their Children in those High points Now if you finde the Parents such knowing and understanding persons you may finde reason and warrant enough to admit them to the Lords Table But if very ignorant yea Brutishly ignorant for such they are whom you have admitted then seeke your warrant elsewhere for your admission to the Lords Table for wee are verily perswaded you will not finde it from the Passeover The free admission they had to that Sir be well aware what you say and as well aware what you doe Take heed of admitting we advise you in worthy Hildersam's wordâ— such as are knowne to the Congregation to be ignorant malicious uncleane unjust persons drunkards Blasphemers Make not the house of God as a Common Inne that receives Guests of all sorts and entertaines all alike The Gates of Gods house are called the Gates Psal 118. 19 20. of Righteousnesse None should presume to enter into them at least you should suffer none but such as in profession and endeavour are righteous men But to your Alligation from their free admission to the Passeover To our seeming it was not so free as yours is to the Lords Table For first some were to be Cut-off as we read Numb 15. 30 31. The soule that doth ought presumptuously whether he be borne in the Land or a stranger the same reproacheth the Lord and that soule shall be Cut-off from among his people because he hath despised the word of the Lord and hath broken His Commandement that soule shall be Cut-off his iniquity shall be upon him Add to this how deep the Lord Chargeth His Priests Ezek. 44. 7 8. Yee have not kept the Charge of mine holy things In that ye have brought into my Sanctuary Children of a Stanger uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh Then at the 9th verse Thus saith the Lord God No Stranger uncircumcised in heart nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my Sanctuary which was a type or figure of the Spirituall Sanctuary the Church of the living God in Gospell times Whence it may be cleared we think That if some were to be Cut-off for their wickednesse and others to be kept off from the Sanctuary as well for legall and rather for morall uncleannesses scandalous sinnes then also were they kept off from the Passeover Yet we thinke the example of Good Rulers as to this mâ—tter cleares this further They had under the Law by Gods appointment at the time of their solemne assemblyes certaine Levites that were porters set by the Gates 2 Chro. â—3 â—5 of the house of the Lord that none that was unclean in any thing should enter-in And it Commands our marke what diligence was enjoyned them in their office The porters waited at every Gate 2 Châ— 5 15. and might not depart from their service And hath the Lord Christ lesse Care of His service under the Gospell than He had under the Law Judge you And take this also along with you if please you that you may make righteous Judgement None that had any legall uncleannesse upon them might eate the Passeover Numb 9. 6. And may they be admitted to eate at the Lords Table who have reall uncleannesse upon them Give your judgement here also but looke up to God and into His Scriptures before you judge And if it please you let the Scriptures be 2 Chron 30. 5. 7. They had not done it a long time in such sort as it was written They had not done it as their first fathers did it who had the pure truth Committed to them and so worshipped the Lord God purely But they had done it as their immediateforefathers who were corrupt in their worship and so in their practise as these had done it so did they Bee you not like your Fathers and like your Brethren which trespassed against the Lord God of their Fathers who therefore Gave them up to desolation as you see vers 7. This was good
perillous times when the Rulers set themselves against the Lords Christ There were those and not a few who in the power of His might sett themselves in the Gap for Him beareing up against all the power of the Adversarie despising it and laughing it to scorne And Luther was one of these in former times not to mention any more nor the Worthies of the Lord in our late perillous times In regard of my person said he I 'le fall downe before any But in regard of the Truths of Christ which I administer I looke on the Kings of th' Earth as Nitts or Crumbles of dust so he wrote to our Henry the 8th For a Minister that is faithfull in the execution of his office as said our holy Shepheard what ever humane weaknesse there is in him what ever power there is in others yet he is therein above Churches Kings or Angells But Blessed be God at this day the powers on Farth are for you ye may be as holy as ye will as to the performing the whole service of your Ministery Your Lord hath given you power all-sufficient And He instruct you to sound discretion how to make a Blessed advantâ—ge thereof to His Glory and His Churches good Amen Yet we cannot come off from this common plea which is pleaded by all the herd that have M Hs for their Leader Wee have no power to keepe any how wicked soever from the Lords Table say they we would entreat these men to call to remembrance what the Lord saith touching the sanctifying Himselfe upon horriâ—le sinners in case the Rulers did not We apply it to this in hand Levit. 20. 4. If men to whom the Lord hath given Authority to reprove censure and excommunicate wicked men from communicating at His Table at the least eyther dare not or will not doe it I le take the matter into My own Hand I le doe it saith the Lord. And hath not He with whom is terrible Majesty hath He not don it hath He not executed terrible wrath upon these unworthy Receivers at His Table One fals from an house breaks his bones perhap his neck A second from a tree or horse A third is hurled into the Waters A fourth is suffered to run his own way and so to cut-off himselfe in the midst of his dayes A sift is his own executioner A sixt and he is many these are laâ—d in the lap of their own lusts and now being past feeling give themselves over to lasciviousnesse to work all uncleannesse with greedinesse joyned to their Idols and let alone And hath the Lord dealt lesse severely with the Stewards of His house who have dealt so unbecoming stewards there Some He hath thrust-out And those that through favour hold-in for a time Is not a visible sword upon their arme their power is broken and upon their right eye their understanding is darkend The unfaithfuâ—l Steward the Idol-Shepheard shall be like an Idol having eyes but seâ—ing not He was before a blind Sâ—er sinfully and â—ow he is a blind Seâ—r judicially O the dreadfull wayes the Lord takes in the exercise of excommunication He that inwardly excommunicates His own dear children as their sins may deserve and casts them out of His presence to use the words of that excellent Divine Dr Goodwin Child of Light p. 137. will He spare these who dare out-face him at His own Table prepared for His own people followers of Him as deare Children rushing-in thether to receive that with their hands which they blaspheme with their tongues and trample under with their feete and would deale as despightfully with His blessed person now in Glory as once their forefathers did deale with Him when He â—abernacled in our flesh and was on earth amongst them will He spare these or those Ministers Stewards in His house that suffer a brutish sottish people so to doe alledging for themselves but will their allegation be accepted their Lord put a key into their hands but they found neyther hand nor heart to use it because the Ruler forsooth did not Commission them so to doe Commission them A Ruler as wee suppose exceeds the bounds of his Commission for which he will have no thankes from his God if he shall Commission the Stewards in Gods house how to manage Gods matters there Wee are taught from the Scriptures of God and from them that hold thetherto That in these cases which relate to Gods house and those sacred administrations there The Minister rather prescribeth the Magistrate than he the Minister He the Minister of Christ rather gives orders to him than receives orders from him Therefore to proceed to a close of this Will the Lord spare these Stewards in the day when they must give an account of their Stewardship who knew not the extent of their power and therefore cannot know their duty to doe it their power and their duty being of equal length We will conclude in Davids words My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements SECT VIII IN the next place we have heard that much if not most of all the evills of these times is Charged upon the non-admission to the sealing ordinance And your selfe have not been silent this way This Charge is most unworthy a Minister of Christ for the contrary thereunto is most true God is disquieting of us now He is visiting upon us the horrid Contempts offered to His word The horrible prophanations of His day The abhominations He hath found committed in His house as to those sacred administrations there And these are as we have just cause to feare but the beginning of our sorrowes The first drops of wrath comming The Lord God will be prodigall of our blood because we have been so prodigall of His Son's blood giving it to or rather casting it away upon those who cannot but like swine trample it under-foot Prov 27. 7. These you know are Calvin's words Son of man Seest thou what abhominations are Committed in My house I have sworne by the excellency of Jacob by Himselfe saith the Lord for you read it every where Indeed that Bellua multorum capitum we beast-like people we say as much with those rebellious and stubborne ones or much after their manner Jer 44. 17. It was never better with us then when we had our Service-booke our Easter Communions c. But should not you answer us even as Jeremy did Did not the Lord remember these things and Came they not into His minde So that the Lord could no longer beare because of the evill of their doings and because of the abhominations which they had Committed But with your patience Sir Give us leave to aske you Concerning the place where you were borne and whereunto you wish so well and the Good of those soules is the Travell of yours how find you the people there If they be as bad as who are worst then it is not because they are barred from the Font or the
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
Baptisme being abhominable and to every good worke reprobate What though Admit him to the Lords Table notwithstanding Wee will close with this and so come to the next Till the Word hath prevailed with us nothing can till that hath done us good nothing shall While the word of Christ is trod under-foote in the hearing place so is the sacred Blood represented at His Table We cannot reject Him at one place and receive Him at another our soules are as full here as there and therefore cannot but loath trample-upon Christ that honey-combe Prov. 27. 7. there as here as at th' one place of hearing so at th' other of Receiving Therefore 3. Be not you carefull about this whether we will heare or whether we will forbeare Preach the word be instant in season 2 Tim. 4. 2. out of season reprove rebuâ—e exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine This is your Charge from the Lord And be you assured you shall never make us attend with the eare giving all Diligence till you have bored the eare And to bore the eare you have no other meanes for it but to preach the word thereby to make us obedient in word and in deed Doe not Entertaine such a thought as this but shew your selves men 1 That we can be brought into Love with the Gospell or to receive the Gospell in love by giving us admittance to receive at the Lords Table What can we receive there more than at our owne Table unlesse it be a Curse having not received Christ in the Gospell first 2 That we can be brought over to Christ by any other wayes or meanes but what are of His owne appointing for His blessing accompanies those meanes as doth His Curse those presumers who thinke to compasse their Ends by meanes they have shaped without the least shape of reason according to their owne understanding most contrary to Gods word and an abhorring to His Spirit Therefore if you have the least hope to prevaile with men prevaile with God first by prayer That you may take the way He Himselfe hath by His Word and Spirit paved forth before you for be you well assured He will not goe out of His owne rode way to meete with you or your people in your by-pathes In the last place 4. And to reply a word from the Lord to those stout words mentioned at the beginning They will drive away the Word from them and the Preachers of the Word if they will not suffer them to receive at the Lords Table Heare we what the Lord saith to these I will cast them away as Rubbish filth and dirt is cast away So He saith by His Prophet My God will cast them away because they did not hearken Hosea 9. 17. unto Him such as will not hearken to the word of God God Read Mr. Caâ—yl upon Job 8. 20. p. 124. Psal 50. 16. will cast away why They cast God away when they cast the word of God away They cast the Covenant behind their backes while they hate Instruction No wonder God casteth them behind His backe a dreadfull place for our persons but a glorious place for our sins For the wickednesse of their Doings I will drive them out of My house They that drive shall be driven with the Tempest of the Lord as the Thistle-downe dried stubble parched leaves or chaffe before the whirle-wind God will drive them out of doores when they drive His Truth out of their hearts for they would drive it out of His house And the God of Truth out of the world What they cannot possibly doe they will endeavour what possibly they can to doe A good Minister will drive these from the Lords Table too they shall not come neare that till it can be made to appeare The word of Gods Grace hath come neare to them and set them in their right mind So we have Concluded from Scripture premises and so proceed SECT X. 10 IN the last place we crave leave to tell you our Jelousie as to these matters and we entreate you to account it a godly jealousie which is this That there is somewhat more prevailes with you to give such free Admission as aforesaid than all those nine Reasons you have given us before and this is it to tell you our Jealousie when it pleased God to reveale His Son in you such is our hope that you might preach Him among the 〈…〉 Heathen truely we meane for we must be plaine in these matters we call a spade a spade your Beleivers Disciples and Saints heathen they are as you heard and worse till your preaching is come unto them in power have not you with your Brethren conferred at least with flesh and blood what way you are to take with your people in point of Admission to the Font and Lords Table You must Answer this to God sith you are Stewards in His house and should know how to behave your selves there with regard enough to that holy guile which is allowed you for certainly to Him you must make Answer We humbly in the feare of our Lord tell you our Jealousie For this we know we are flesh and blood too persecution is a very sore thing to the flesh and therefore all its care desire and endeavour is how to Escape it Now there is no way for a man that will live godly in 2 Tim 3. 12. Christ Jesus to escape it if he will avoid it he must as to that perticular Cease to be Godly and so he Conferres with flesh and blood and taking that for the man of his Counsell he must choose â—ob 26. 21 iniquity rather than affliction It is our Godly Jealousie that you and your Godly Brethren in the same way with you have Conferred too much with flesh and blood about those sacred administrations and so to avoid persecution have done as ye doe given free admission as aforesaid If you did not as you doe you should anger the best men in your Parish as they are in account among us now adayes and so you should have their purses shut and their mouthes wide open against you like Cannons mounted This is sore to flesh and blood and therefore Consulting with it it will direct you another way to save it selfe from persecution give their Children Baptisme and themselves the Lords Supper and all shall â—e well their purses shall be opened and their mouths shutt unlesse open to blesse and pray for you dealing so kindly with them but take heed of their blessing you and your blessing your selfe in such a way with them and you may remember this with it That some mens Cursing are as good as their blessings and you shall prosper better under them To put a close to this This is our perswasion from what we see and heare should the Gospell come to us like an Angell with a sword in his hand and with fire in its mouth to kill our lusts and consume them utterly yet we should never
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
good roote or rather the roote him he is planted in Him he beares upon Him Come when all is said this must stand Let a man beleive truely and truth of beliefe will bring forth truth of holinesse A true faith a true hope true love true obedience all in Truth when faith is in Truth that is truely set and fixed upon its chiefe and proper object Christ Jesus the Lord. O how doth man boast himselfe to be some body when he is nothing nay worse than nothing but knowes it not A Beleiver when he is worse than an Infidell And how secure doth he lye he is many under the shadow of a false faith more secure such is his presumption he is very Confident than a true beleiver such is his infirmity lyes under the shadow of a true faith You may heare these speake like Saints and see them if you narrowly marke them live like Devills so that if their wordâ— doe not bewray them their workes quickly will outside Christians iâ—side Heathens O it is good and but your duty Sir to observe men and search them narrowly before you admit them to the Lords Table for all men have not faith no not they many of them that 1 Thes 3. 2. make a profession and a shew of it You may meete with not a few sottish and brutishly ignorant and then not so meete to sit at the Lords Table as a swine properly so called is to sit â—t yours You may meete with some also that have a pearle of knowledge in their heads their hearts as full of poyson and deadly hatred against the Gospell of the Kingdome and true heires thereof in Christ true Gospellers as the most venomous Serpents are Protestants in doctrine Recusants in lives having a tongue professing for the Truth and a life professing against it faire outsides but within as noysome as a dunghill or an open Sepulchre which yet savoureth with them as a Garden of Spices or bed of Roses something resembling an Heaven in shew when they have an Hell with-in the heart we meane so you may say have the excellent of the Earth too but to them it is an Hell as their dunghill smells like a dunghill but to those their hell is their heaven here as their dunghill smells with them as aforesaid a most certaine Character of a polluted wretch We would not be mistaken here we censure no man we judge him not we dwell at home and our selves must we judge But upon due search thus you 'le finde it to be even as we have said and ye may have found it so by experience we may put downe this for a Conclusion If faith bring Christ the fountaine of Grace into the heart of a man he can no more walke in darknesse of sin and ignorance there is a darknesse of Spirit of sorrow wherein a Childe of light may walke and you have an excellent booke of it but no more walke in darknesse than he can doe that could Isaiah 50. carry the Sun in his hand and he may as well carry fire in his bosome and not feele it burne as carry true Grace in his heart and not cleanse his life But Counterfeits in Grace and contented to continue such and to hold sin the least sin-fast shall become Saints when an Ape comes to be a man and Copper becomes Gold which is never rejected but when it would looke like Gold Beleive it you doe a beleiver can no more be without Holinesse than can a godly man be without godlinesse or a true Christian without Christ or than can the Sunne be darke or the fire Cold. We shall crave leave to speake further to you about these three grave matters The feast of the Gospel The Covenant And Faith but we shall deferre it till the Last and therewith close-up this Treatise We proceed now in our argueing against this free admission to the Lords Supper In the fourth place SECT IV. IT is not according to the practise of Christ He gave it to Disciples onely it is not possible we conceive to make it out That He gave it to Judas yet if it could be made out we have enough to say were this a place for it He gave it to Disciples onely Judas himselfe if there looked like a Disciple being very like one and by so doing he prescribes his Ministers what they are to doe so we conceive as to those administrations to Ea quae perspiâ—ua sunt difficilia sunt â—â—â—â—ticis Mark 14. 23. the worlds end And here we are not bold to say that Mr H s your Champion doth fearefully pervert Scripture wrest and Crooke His blessed Lords practise to the Countenancing of his owne cursed and crooked doings and they all dranke of it Well what then his inference now hold your Nose if you cannot endure the deadly stinke of the Dragons excrements Therefore let all Come that will Come to the Lords Table Good Sir Give us leave to pause a little while we take these things into our thoughts is there not a Cause we should so doe When we heare this Reasonable Creature we call a man a schollar and a Minister too as he calls himselfe and would be called speake thus unreasonably as if he was as much wanting of Reason as he is of Grace unreasonably said wee Is it not too slight a word doth not he speake blasphemy doth he not blaspheme the Blessed practise of our Lord and Saviour which He hath set as a patterne for all His people to practise after And they all dranke of it So may ye all ye drunkards and yee all ye uncleane persons and you all you worse than Infidells and you all despisers of the Gospell and yee all that never thought of any other Covenant but that which ye have made with sin death and hell And ye all that have faith though it have no more life than a polished Stone hewen timber or a doore-naile no-matter how dead it be 't is a faith that will serve the turne to entitle them to these holy things drinke ye all of this as we read those Disciples did and they all dranke of it But Sir is not this Blasphemy Wee are willing to make you Judge here because you judge so well of the man Come in here all ye of the world for whome that sacred person John 17. 9. never opned His mouth and prayed Come in hither ye knowne enemies of the Crosse of Christ ye belly-servers ye that minde Earthly things drinke ye all of this ye that Crucifie to your selves the Son of God afresh and put Him as they doe by their Heb. 6. vile usage and abhominable Conversation to an open shame drinke ye all of this and ye all who have trodden under-foote as they can The Son of God and have counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith they professed themselves sanctified an unholy Heb. 10. thing and have done little lesse than despight to the Spirit of Grace All ye