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A73323 A fit guest for the Lords table. Or, a treatise declaring the true vse of the Lords Supper Profitable for all communicants, as a preseruatiue against all profanesse and sundry nouell opinions. Tuke, Thomas, d. 1657. 1609 (1609) STC 24308; ESTC S125561 48,877 192

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malice take vp the spirit of meekenes mercy gētlenes loue Obi. Then it seemes a man may not receiue the sacrament if he be at law with his neighbour Ans Yes if he go to law as he ought to do without hatred of his neighbours person and onely to defend his iust cause to try the truth or to maintaine it neither suing his neighbour for trifles and toies nor vsing the law when a remedie may be had without it nor intending to beggar his poore neighbour by holding him in suite Obi. If I may not come to the Lords Table vnles I forgiue and forget iniuries and purpose to let passe all reuenge I will absteine from comming Ans If thou dost not come because thou wilt not leaue thy grudge thou offendest God for thou must rather forsake thy mallice then forbeare to come because thou wouldst be malicious And secondly the longer thou reteinest thy malice the more vnfit thou makest thy selfe to repent of it and to forsake it the longer it tarrieth the deeper roote it taketh Thirdly so long as it lasteth Sath á leapeth thy flesh reioyceth thy grace is foiled and thou makest thy selfe vnfit to performe any duety in any acceptable manner Lastly death is * Nilcertius morte h●● a mortis nil incertius Barnard certaine the comming of death is vncertaine now iudge what a dangerous thing it were to be taken away by death in thy malice How canst thou expect Gods mercy that woldst not forsake thine own malice How cāst thou look for pardon of him who wouldst not pardon thy brother How canst thou hope that he will forget thy many-fold and grieuous offences committed against him if thou wilt not forget one it may be a small offence admitted against thee Or how darest thou desire him that he would not beare the least ill will to thee or withdraw the light of his countenāce from thee though but for a moment if thou wilt not striue with all thy strength against thy venemous reuengefull spirit but wilt retein and foster it Let all men therfore as they tender Gods glory or as they respect either his grace or their owne peace welfare relinquish with speede abandon all hatred malice and spite and withall imbrace and cherish the spirit of concord loue patience and humanity This shall suffice for the third generall point to wit for the things whereof we ought to examine our selues CHAP. 15. THe fourth concerneth the manner how this examination should be made For the manner of working doth helpe much to the making or the marring of the worke God requires that all our worke should be both good and Bonae Baenc well wrought An action good in it selfe may be euill in the agent indeed is vnles it be well acted A good worke ill wrought a good deede ill done a good word ill vttered a good speach ill spoken is no better at the bestthen Splendidum peccatum a beautifull sin like a tree without pith like a bone without marow a body without a soule First therefore this examination must be made in faith for whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne Ro. 14. 23 But we haue warrant sufficient out of the word for this examination so that in performing of it we conteine our selues within the compasse of the worde and take direction from thence for right performance of it Moreouer we ought to belieue assuredly that God will for the sake of Christ accept of our examination and will winke at the imperfection of it Or at least we ought to belieue that God can pardon our weakenes in the doing of it and to desire with all our hearts that the weakenes may be pardoned and the worke approoued Secondly we ought to examine our selues in conscience of Gods commaundment euen because God would haue vs to do it Obedience is better then Sacrifice and to 1. Sam. 15 22 hearken is better then the fat of Rams Now the best obedience is when the person that obeies performes the worke commaunded in the way of obedience that is with an intent and purpose to obey the person that doth commaund it Thirdly our examination must be made in truth truely not feinedly or in shew onely Our minde must be vpon it we should haue a heart to examine our selues Sincerity is as Salt to season an action and to make it sauory it is the ax-tree whereon it turneth and the wheele whereon it runneth A worke wrought without sincerity is like a scul without braines or to a painted Sepulchre faire without but foule within There is none more vilde thē an hypocrite his heart is false his punishment horrible and his hypocrisie most abhominable His cōscience accuseth him God doth accurse him and man doth abhorre him Let vs therefore in all our actions beware of hypocrisie Peter would haue all the faithfull to lay downe all deceit 1. Pete 2. 1 and hypocrisies Fourthly our examination must be made in loue to God and in feare of his dreadfull name The childe worketh vpon his fathers commaundment because he loueth his father and feareth to displease him So we that professe our selues to be the children of God must do this duety heere inioyned because we loue God and because he sheweth his loue to vs and because we are afraid to offend him by our disobedience heerein as being vnwilling to loose his loue or loue-tokens or to venture his displeasure and so to kindle the coales of his wrath against vs. Fiftly we must proue ourselues throughly our tryall must be strict and our search narrow we must so proue as that we may approue our selues which cannot be by partiall and superficiall examination The heart is deceiptfull and wicked abóue Ieri 17. 9 all things who can know it Sin is so smooth our flesh is so false Sathan is so subtill and we so simple and so silly that vnlesse we search our selues to the quicke examine narowly we shall neuer truely discerne our estates Mettal lyeth in the bowels of the earth sin in the bowels of the soule a man must dig deep that meanes to finde it out We must be wise as Mat. 10. 16 Serpents but it is a maine poynt of wisedome to try throughly before we trust to prooue well and warily before we do approoue we must turne throughly from all our sinnes we must turne out of all our sinful waies it is therefore necessary that we should examin our selues throughly we must keepe Prou. 4. 23 our hearts with all dilligence so we must examine them with all dilligence Iob saith that when he knew not the cause he sought it out dilligently Iob 29. 16 So that we may see our case and know our selues let vs examine our selues dilligently with all care and conscience When a Magistrate examines any matter or any man loosely and but superficially it is by reason of ignorance negligence or partiality so we shall bewray one of those euils
our cause and shal not see our case Therefore especially take heede of these three that followe trye not your selues by them neither in their sentence nor example The first is within thee but not of thee neither ouer thee if thou be Christes and if Christ bee in thee and that is thy Flesh thy Concupisence thy Corruption This seekes for shelter in thy soule and for harbour in thine heart and therfore cannot indure that thou shouldest search thy selfe least finding of her out and perceiuing her noy somnes thou shouldest either turne her out as a saucie guest or seeke to kill her as a secret foe Secondly Paul saith Rom. 8. 1. that those which are in Christ Iesus as we al professe our selues to be doe not walke after the flesh but after the spirit like men that are absolued by the Iudge and haue discharged what the lawe requireth who do now no more walke in the prison but in the open ayre and are no longer ruled by the Iaylor but liue at liberty yet perhapps sauouring of the Dungeon and carrying the prints of their Bolts and fetters and not wholye stripped of their prison garments Now if we be in Christ as we say and if wee either doe or at least ought to walke after the spirit and not after the flesh or corruption of our hearts what reason haue wee to make her our Iudge in the tryall of our states Thirdly wee promised God in our Baptisme that wee would forsake and detest the flesh but if wee make her our Iudge wee shewe that we doe not forsake her but fauour her and that we doe not hate her but rather harbour and hearten her Fourthly the wisdome euen the best part of the flesh is death Ro. 8. 6. and therfore her sentence can in no wise be iust and good Who would meddle with that which is the cause of death and make it his Iudge and if the wisdome of the flesh be folly with the Lord as sure it is then is the flesh a verie foole and makes those foolish that are ruled by her therefore wicked men are tearmed fooles in the Scripture Now who would bee iudged or examined by a foole whose wisedome is folly yea and death working death and destruction to those that subscribe vnto it and will not renounce it Fiftly Saint Paul saith Rom. 8. 5 That they that are after the flesh doe sauour the things of the flesh but they that are after the spirit the thinges of the spirit But if wee will needes be tryed by the flesh and wil be content with her determination we plainely demonstrate that we sauour not the thinges of the spirit but that we are bewitched with the flesh and therefore that we are not guided by the holy Ghost but gouerned of the flesh Sixtly the very wisedome of the flesh is not onely an enemie but enmity against God Rom. 8. 7. wherefore doubtlesse if the flesh be our iudge her sentence will be against God not for him but most odious in his sight Furthermore it is no childe-like affection nor property of a gracious sonne to rest in her who is a flat fierce and irr●●onciliable eenemie to his father But such is our flesh to God yea and he also that in will and worke doth with a full resolution subscribe vnto it cannot but bee an enemy vnto him Seauenthly the wisedome of the flesh is not subiect to the law of God neither indeede can it be Rom. 8. 7. Now such is the tree as are the fruites the vvisedome of the flesh is an vtter and most desperat rebel against the law therefore also the flesh it selfe For for what any thing is thus or thus that thing for which the thing is so is it selfe much more so Now if the flesh rebell against the law and cannot be ruled by it vve must needes confesse that it is an vncompetent Iudge for vs for it will not condemne it selfe nor speake wel for the law it vvill not discouer her ovvne vvorkes vvhich are bastard plants set by sathan in the seminary of our soules and fructifiing in our liues no nor let vs see the vvorkes of God vvithin vs if any be nor commend them to our loue Eightly they that are in the flesh cannot please God Rom. 8. 8. But he that makes his flesh his Iudge or the Touchstone to try himself withall and doth with full consent of heart subscribe vnto her iudgement and liue acording vnto her lust this man is in the flesh therefore he cannot please God Now what true pleasure can any man take when God the fountaine of all true pleasures is not nay can not be pleased what pleasure cā Man take to liue in that estate wherin God the Lord of life cannot be pleased what peace can please or what ioy can any man enioy while he hath no peace with God while the wel-spring of all constant ioyes is grieued displeased with him If thou wouldest not be in the ranke and roll of those that can not please God and doe not serue him then make not thy flesh thy Iudge subscribe not to her sentence and liue not as she lusteth Ninthly the flesh makes vs doe that we wold not leaue vndon that we neither wold nor should omit Paul calleth it a body of death and cryeth out O wretched man that I am I who shall deliuer mee Ro. 7 24 from the body of this death It is the bane of the soule and the poyson of the sinner It is like the worme that eates the wood wherein it was bred Pliny writeth that the Leontophone breedeth in no countrie but where there bee Lyons Plin. Naet Hist 8. 38. sin among all corporal creatures is ingēdered in none but in man And as that little creature is so venemous that the Lyon king of beastes dieth presently if he taste neuer so little of his venome so our flesh the corruption of our natures is so corrupt and deadly that as so one as man the chiefest of creatures is polluted with it hee becomes obnoxious vnto death both temporall and aeternall Therefore as the Lyon dooth abhorre that beaste and crusheth him with his pawes so soone as he doth espye him so ought wee to detest and hate this Sinne abhor this Flesh accurse this corruption and labour to crush and kil● it so farre we ought to be from electing her to bee our iudge This were not to hate the flesh but to honour it and not to figh● against it but to foster it Moreouer Paul accounted himself wretched because he was turmoyled with his flesh as with a yoake about his necke a chaine about his legge and a burthen vpon his backe wished to bee deliuered from it as the tyred Oxe dooth from his yoke the prisoner from his fetters and as men wearied doe from their burthens which they beare It is therefore against reason right all religion for any man to giue consent vnto his flesh or to trye his