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A75468
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An antidote against foure dangerous quæries, pretended to be propounded to the reverend Assemblie of Divines, touching suspension from the Sacrament.
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1645
(1645)
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Wing A3493; Thomason E265_3; ESTC R212428
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8,985
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8
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unworthy This is that which they require Let sinners thus humble themselves and the Controversie is ended Obj. 7 That Objection of not breaking the bruised reed nor quenching the smoaking flaxe is a palpable mistaking and wresting of Gods Word For the meaning of the words is That poor dejected souls whose hearts are bruised for their sins and they have but a weak faith like a little spark which makes only a smoak in flaxe are not to be broken with threatnings and terror but to be comforted confirmed and strengthened by the gracious promises of mercy in Christ and preaching the doctrine of Gods free grace and Christs meritorious satisfaction and mediation This iâ— as contrary to the encouraging of scandalous impenitent sinners in their evil wayes by admitting them for good and true Christians to Communion with the Saints which is the Controversie in hand as darknesse is to light The one is that which all Gods faithfull Ministers take delight in and do in the holy practice thereof follow Christ The other is hatefull to God if it be done wittingly and willingly and all Gods Ministers abhor it as a thing most detestable Now therefore let the Objecter see how he hath wrested Gods Word commanding an holy duty to justifie profaine iniquity and so hath confounded and mingled Heaven and Hell together Obj. 8 As the danger and hurt which comes to many by hearing the Word unprofitably doth not restraine Ministers from preaching to all men so the hurt which comes to unworthy receivers even eating damnation to themselves ought not to deterre and restrain them from giving the Sacrament to all This Objection is most profane for it tends to prove that the Heathen Infidels and Excommunicated persons may be admitted to the Lords Supperâ— for the Word is preached to them all But my answer to it is this That in preaching the Word to them who are hardened by it the Ministers of Christ seek and hope to do good and by accident it turns to hurt But in giving the Sacrament to scandalous and impenitent sinners they know they give that which will certainly bring judgement because in that case they cannot cat but unworthily So 〈…〉 the comparison holds not Also in giving the holy Sacrament to such they do wittingly profane holy things and do lye desperatly in saying This is the Body and Bloâ—d of Christ broken and shed for thee when they know him to be in such a case that iâ— he continue in it to death he shall be certainly damned and is one who never had interest in Christ. The Conclusion of the Adversary is most absurd and irrationall and contrary to manifest truth For what seeking of unlimited Ecclesiastical power is this when Christs Ministers desire that scandalous unworthy receavers may not profainly intrude and come boldly to the Lords holy Table And that they may not be compelled to do that which famous Calvin professed he would not doe though he were pressed to it with threatning of death and did fersake his charge and flocke and did suffer banishment untill Gods vengeance oâ—â—â—â—cke his persecutors for refusing to yeeld in that case against his conscience The power of judging who are scandalous is not â—â—bitrary nor in the lust of Ministers and Elders but is limited to the rule of Gods â—â—presse word It is not a power to put back all whom they please but such as the whole Consistory do see to be scandalous and unworthy Their power is not indâ—â—â—ndent but may be controlled by a superiour Presbytery This power also is a spâ—â—â—all part of the exercise of the keyes which Christ gave to the Apostles Pastors and Teachers and which they exercised in the primitive times and Churches as is before proved by this means kept Gods holy ordinances from profanation made scandalous sinner â—â—shamed of their evill wayes and others affraid to walke in 〈◊〉 Wherefore I will conclude my answer to these foure Quâ—â—ies with this Antiquaeree Whether it be not Antichristian pride and exorbitant transcendent unlimited power usurped and dangerous opposition and contradiction of Gods holy word truth That this inquisitor should control Christs holy CoÌ„mandements call it tyranny and oppression of mens consciences to restraine them from profaining of Christ holy Ordinance from eating their owne damnation murthering wilfully their owne soules troubling the consciences of Christian communicants driving them from the Lords Table and causing them to separate from our congregations And that he should charge a whole Assembly of godly grave and learned Pastours and Ministers of Christ true Church with the ambitious seeking of such unlimited Ecclesiasticall power as Lordly Prelate never durst to clame When they most humbly desire by way of Petition that they may not against their own consciences guided by the word of God cast holy things to dogs nor be tyrannized over by open scandalous impenitent sinners permitted to intrude themselves boldly to the Lords table and to take out of their hands the bread of Gods Children which is proper to such Christians as come Professing true repentance and faith in Christ FINIS LONDON Printed according to Order For Nathaniell Webb 1645.
An Antidote against foure dangerous Quaeries pretended to be propounded to the Reverend Assemblie of Divines touching suspension from the Sacrament THe exercise of Excommunication and suspension of persons notably scandalous from the holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper is a thing so expresly warranted in the holy Scripture yea so commanded and commended to the true Church that the establishing of it by publike authority â—ath no difficulty in it nor any matter of doubtfulnesse at all Cain the first unclean and unholy Sacrificer was rejected by God himself who had no respect either to his person or offering And when he went on in his impenitency and by his obstinacy became notoriously scandalous God cast him out from his presence Gen. 4.16 that is from all Communion with the godly in his Worship and in his Church the place of his speciall presence which then was only in his Fathers House and Family Also in the times of the Law Ge 17.14 Exod. 12.48 and old Testament all they who remained wilfully uncircumcised were cut off from Israel by which was signified that al persons who openly profess uncircuÌ„cision of heart by are the Word of God to be cut off from the Church of Christ Communion with the Saints And in the dayes of our Saviour Ioh. 9.22.34 vers 12.42 16.2 Act. 8.21 Excommunication out of the Synagogue continued among the Jews and our Saviour did not abrogate it for the abuse of it by the Priests Scribes and Pharisees but his Apostles under the Gospel did exercise it against Simon Magus when by professed sacriledge he declared himself to be in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of imquity And Paul passed the sentence of Excommunication against the incestuous person in the Church of Corinth in the name and by the power of the Lord Jesuâ— Christ 1 Cor. 5.4 And he exercised it against Hymeneâ—s and Alexander 1 Tim. 1.20 And he gives a Warrant to the Churches of Christ to exercise it against Schismatiks Gal. 5.12 and Hereticks Tit. 3.10 and such as do not love the Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 16.22 but preach another Gospel Gal. 1.8 9. As for the words oâ— our Saviour Matt. 18.17 They are in the judgement of the generality of the Orthodox Ministers of the reformed Churches whose judgement no modest Christian will reject without expresse Warrant from Gods Word or convincing reason a most clear commandement of Christ for the exercise of Excommunication in the Christian Church For they are plain that he who sinnes against his Brother though privatly whether by wrong done to his person in back-biting and slandering him or by committing some scandalous sin which might be to him a stumbling block or in going about to corrupt and seduce the weak it is not much to the purpose the more private it is at the first the more severe in the instance of our Saviour is the course of proceeding to Excommunication for it yet if he scorn private admonition and when it is brought to the Church he refuseth to hear the Church then he offends publikely and becomes openly scandalous by his obstinacy and impenitency and is to be esteemed in the state of an Heathen man and a publican in the judgement of every particular Christian he is as one now out of the Church which must be by Excommunication by which men are ouâ—ed and cast out of the Church For any man to account any Brother as an Heathen when the Church doth not cast him out is a great sin If one particular man hath Warrant and is bound by Christs Commandement to esteem another man as an Heathen all other Christian even the whole Church which knoweth his contumacy are bound so to esteem him also That these Scriptures do fully prove Excommunication of contumacious sinners out of the Church I hoâ—e every sober Christian will easily graunt when he hath well weighed them though Aridus Aretius should hold the contrary And whereas our Saviour bids us forgive a Brother though he fins against us seventy times seven times if he professeth that it repents him Luke 17. this doth no whit crosse his Commandement of excommunicating such as are impenitent and obstinately refuse to hear the Church Let this suffice for Excommunication that it is an Ordâ—nance of God commended by Christ to be exercised in all Christian Churches In the next place That suspension of scandalous sinners after admonition and conviction from the holy Communion is necessary to every Church I do demonstrate clearly from the Scriptures before named and Num. 12.14 and Dent. 23.1.23 For those do prove Excommunication to be an Ordinance of God in the Church as is confessed by the Adversaries of suspension which Excommunication is an exclusion of corrupt and infectious Members out of the Church by which they are deprived from Communion in the Sacraments and all publike Ordinances as the Adversarie doth here go about to prove by the Testimonies of Tertullian the Canonistes Schâ—le-men and Aretius whence I thus argue The Scriptures which prove Excommunication and an exclusion of scandalous impenitent and contumacious sinners from Communion with the Church in the Sacraments and all publike Ordinances and divine Offices they do necessarily prove all the steps and degrees which are required in an orderly and Christian proceeding to Excommunication and casting such sinners out of the Church But the Scriptures before named as the Adversaries confesse prove Excommunication to be the Ordinance of God and of Christ in his Church Therefore they prove the necessary steps and degrees which are required in orderly proceeding to it as reproof sharp rebuke the first and second admonition suspending for a time from the holy Communion or Lords Supper I hope no sober Adversary will hold it fit to excommunicate any sinners except in capitall crimes of Idolatry cruell murders blasphemy and the like before reproof admonition and suspension from the Sacrament which last especially done with discretion gravity and much Christian compassion may bring scandalous offenders to be ashamed and to repent and so prevent Excommunication and cutting off from the Church It is a very weak it not perverse kinde â—â—arguing to say That such and such Scriptures do prove Excommunication and therefore are erroncously produced to prove suspension for this latter is necessarily implyed and included in proceeding to the former and is as necessary a step and degree to it as reproof and admonition Unlesse men will dream of Popish and late Prelaticall Excommunications which were Brâ—ta fulminâ— sent out against men without any orderly proceeding before they were convicted or did plead for themselves Presbyteries established according to Gods Word and godly Pastors Ministers and Elders if the Church be well reformed will be far from proceeding as in the Papacy and Prelacy with indiscret over severe ambitious passionate and revengefull hands He who nourisheth such most unchristian and uncharitable thoughts and suspicions in his heart of Ecclesiasticall Rulers and Judicatures this yeer