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hand_n	bring_v	lord_n	right_a	5,328	5	6.9323	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82010	A persuasive to full communion, with the churches of Christ in all Gospel-ordinances and priviledges Containing an essay for the conviction and reformation of such adult, or grown persons who live in the sinful neglect of baptism and the supper of the Lord. Together with an account of the manner of the transition of church-members from their infant to their adult-state, and regular admission to full communion. Written, for the help of such as need instruction in these spiritual concerns, 1 Cor. 12. 13. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. By the late reverend Mr. George Day, minister of the gospel in London-street in Ratcliff / 1697.	Day, George, d. 1697.	1698 (1698)	Wing D461; ESTC R232085	42,081	116

of which Persons under the Christian Name are guilty in this Age and for which God hath a Controversie with us at this Day The neglect of those Sacred Ordinances of Christ Baptism and the Lord's Supper is one and not the least it being notoriously evident that many of Twenty or Thirty Years Old and some more have never been Baptized and these with Thousands more of Adult or grown Persons live also in the neglect of the Lord's Supper The Cause of which neglect in some is the Ignorance and Error of their Parents who if they were Quaker's wholly reject these Ordinances as useless Ceremonies and Dispute against them or if Anabaptist's neglect to bring their Children to Baptism in their Infancy and many of them being bred up in Ignorance are careless of their own Souls concerns and so Live and Dye without the Participation of these Ordinances Now though I dare not Judge such as to their Eternal State for to their own Master they stand or fall I freely acknowledge the Grace of God is not bound to external Ordinances and God doth nothing by them but what he can do without them if he please yet I know we are bound to the Use of Ordinances when we may have them by the express Command of God because they are his Institutions by which he doth usually work Grace in us And to neglect known Duties yea or to live in Ignorance of Duties under the means of Knowledge are Soul-damning Sins which I earnestly desire all that are thus guilty seriously to consider Upon the Observation of these sinful Omissions I cannot but conclude it to be the unquestionable Duty of all the Ministers of Christ that would be found faithful to him and to the precious Souls of Men not only to observe mourn over and reprove these Sins but to do their utmost also in their proper Stations and Relations for Reformation in this Particular The Sense of this Duty hath been so deeply impressed on my Spirit as to put me upon this well-meant though mean endeavour to contribute something toward this needful and desirable Work I am too Conscious of my own weakness to dictate to my Reverend Brethren acknowledging that I rather need and therefore desire their Light and Help herein yet hope I may without giveing Just Cause of Offence to any take leave to Confess that many of us have been very defective in our Duties herein and in this Confession I cast the first Stone at my Self The Good Lord Pardon us that we have manifested no greater concern of Spirit for the Holy Institutions of our Lord-Redeemer and help us that while we Reprehend our People for their sinful Omissions we may be duly humbled for our own and make it more visible in our Practice that we teach our Selves as well as Others A PERSUASIVE TO FULL Communion OF Baptizing Adult or Grown Persons I Shall then first apply my Self to such Adult or grown Persons who though they go under the Christian Name yet were never Baptized If this Paper comes to the Hands of any such I would propose some Considerations to convince you of your Sin and if the Lord shall bless them bring you to Repentance and then give you some Councels or Directions for a right performance of your Duty In Order to your Conviction be perswaded seriously to consider these seven Things First Consider That Baptism is as much an Ordinance of Christ as Preaching the Gospel is and to continue in use in the Christian Church as long as that as appears by Christ's own Command Mat. 28.18 19. viz. to the End of the World and so it is as much the Duty of all professed Christians to receive the Ordinance of Baptism as to attend on the Ordinance of Preaching For the same Authority that enjoyns the one enjoyns the other Therefore the neglect of it must be sinful And how dare you Live in any known Sin Secondly Consider That it is both the Duty of Christian Parents to bring their Children unto Christ and the Right and Priviledge of such Children to be so brought to receive his Blessing Mark 10.13 14 15 16. And this Seal of the Covenant of Grace under which they are as well as their Parents Gen. 17.7 And so must have a Gospel-right to this Ordinance as have been sufficiently proved by many Judicious Pens to which I must refer you for more Light in this Point if you need it because of my intended Brevity And if so it must be the Sin of your Parents that they brought you not to this Ordinance in your Infancy and by Consequence your Sin and loss to neglect it ever since you came to Years of Discretion and a Capacity to Covenant with God and present your selves to Baptism Thirdly Consider That your Parents sinful neglect of their Duty is no just Plea or Excuse for your neglect of this Ordinance since you came to Years of Understanding for then it became your Duty both to acquaint your selves with the Covenant of Grace and give your own Understanding and Hearty Consent to it and to testifie the same by receiving this Ordinance For Jews or Heathens when instructed in the Christian Religion if they make a serious Profession of Faith in Christ and Obedience to him ought to be Baptized much more may the Adult Children of Christians when they make the like Profession Acts 8.36 c. 4. Consider That it looks as if you were ashamed to own Christ and Christianity that you do not so much as wear the visible Badge of his Disciples and Followers i. e. Baptism For by this Ordinance Christians are distinguished from all the rest of Mankind and whilest you want this mark of Distinction and yet profess Christianity you deserve to be called Heathen-Christians or Christian Heathens owning only the Name of Christs Followers but seeming ashamed of his Livery And if you are indeed ashamed to own Christ or his Ordinances here before Men he will be ashamed to own you before his Father and the Angels hereafter Mat. 8.35 And how sad will their Condition be whom Christ will not own in the great Day Are you not loath to be found amongst such at last Fifthly Consider That though the neglect of Baptism may seem a small fault if any to ignorant and inconsiderate Persons yet it is indeed a great and hainous Sin being down-right disobedience to the Command of Christ and a virtual slighting and practical refusing of the Covenant of Grace of which this is the visible Sign and Seal therefore it must be very provoking in the Eyes of God We find God threatned that Parent who did not Circumcise his Son to cut him off from his People that is either to exclude him from the Church of God and all the Priviledges Promises and Blessings belonging to it or to cut him off by an untimely and violent Death for so the Learned understand that Text Gen. 17.14 Compared with Exod. 31.14 So that Moses himself was like to have

this Day 't is not so much out of a dislike of or a Malignity against the work it self in many as for want of Ability to perform it and this Impediment can be no ways removed but by the Blessing of God on a diligent use of due Means for the obtaining such an Ability Therefore if you are indeed too Ignorant of the Will of God be ashamed of your Ignorance and Sloth but not ashamed to Learn though Late yet better late then never Secondly Having got a competent Measure of Knowledge your selves begin your Work of Teaching your Children betimes be dropping and instilling some of the plainest easiest and most necessary Truths into them as soon as you find them capable to Learn and to remember Be frequent at it to Impress them the more firmly on their Memories when they can Read put Catechisms into their Hands and require them to Learn them to Read the Holy Scriptures daily Hear Sermons and take Account of them what they Remember and Discourse with them about the Truths heard to help them to a clearer Understanding of them and labour to affect their Hearts with those Truths that chiefly concern them and Charge them especially to commit such to their Memories encouraging the Diligent by your Commendations and Rewards and quickening the Negligent by Reproofs and moderate Corrections Thirdly Be much in Prayer to God both for and with your Children begging a Blessing on your Instructions Pray your selves and teach them to Pray that God would second your endeavours and succeed all the Means used for their Instructions by the Inward and Effectual Teaching of his Holy Spirit to open their Understanding strengthen and sanctifie their Memories Write his Law in their Hearts and put his Truth into their Inward Parts that they may understand spiritual Truths spiritually and be made wise to Salvation Fourthly Set before your Children a good Example of Sobriety Righteousness and Holiness in your own Lives second your Godly Instructions with a Godly Conversation let them see by your own Obedience to the Will of God that you believe the Truths which you teach them and press no other Duties on them than what you make Conscience to perform your selves Then will your Instructions be most like to prove Effectual for your Children are naturally prone to imitate you in their Practice more apt to be led by the Eye then by the Ear and more inclinable to do as you do than as you say or Command Could you be perswaded to follow these plain and necessary Counsels your Children would have the Benefit you would have the Comfort the Church would be Enlarged and God would be Glorified And what should you not be willing to do within your Power for such desirable Ends as these But if any Christian Parents remain yet unperswadable by these Arguments to set about this Duty their sinful neglect will become the more inexcusable and themselves the more unworthy of that Honourable Name by which they are called Blessed be God there are yet some Pious Parents left among us who have a Sense of their Duty and endeavour to bring up their Children in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord and I hope the late unanimous Labours of the Ministers of Christ in and about this City pressing their respective Congregations to the Revival of Family-worship have been signally Blessed for the Increase of the Number of such and that this is one good presage of Gods continuing his Candlestick in the midst of us For Religious Families are the Seed-Plots of Piety and the Nurseries of the Church so that if these flourish which God grant the Church will from them be supplied and enlarged There are also some Adult Persons whom though their Parents wretchedly neglected their Souls in their Minority yet God is pleased to awaken and Inlighten Convince and Convert by the Publick Ministry and so are brought into Christ and joyn themselves for full Communion with the Particular Churches of Christ Though alas the Number of Converts in our Days is small in Comparison with what hath been in former Ages as Gospel-Ministers generally observe to their Grief and this proves us to be upon the decaying Hand And though it be the certain Duty of all Adult Persons that make a serious Profession of Christianity to joyn themselves to some Particular Church in Order to a Participation of all Gospel-Ordinances and Church-Priviledges yet the far greater Number live in the shameful neglect hereof some to thirty forty yea fifty Years of Age and yet never received the Lords-Supper These may properly be call'd Christians at large or loose Professors if not for the Looseness and Immoralities of their Lives yet for sitting so loose from the stricter Rules of Religion and for their backwardness to come wholly under the Yoke of Jesus Christ though it be really a far easier Yoke than that of Sin To such as these I would in the next Place make an Address attempting to Convince them of and dissuade them from their Sin and to instruct them in and persuade them to their Duty For your Conviction I offer you these following Considerations First Consider until you are Joyned to some Particular Church of Christ you come not under the special Care Guidance and Oversight of any Pastor and so lose the Spiritual Benefit of that Relation which may be a greater Dammage to your Souls then you are aware of for in divers Cases you will need their special help by Way of Councel Instruction Support or Comfort to Answer your Doubts Encourage you against your Fears Succour you under Temptations c. The want of a skilful and faithful Soul-friend in such Cases would be greatly Prejudicial to you Secondly Consider until you are thus Joyned you neglect one of the Holy Ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ his Supper the last that he Instituted left as a standing Monument of his Matchless Love to his Church in Dying for it and as a means to Perpetuate the Memory thereof in all Future Ages and as another Sign and Seal of the Covenant of Grace An Ordinance wherein he proposeth himself as the spiritual Food of Believers to refresh and satisfie their Souls increase their Grace and nourish them to Life Eternal so that by the neglect of this Ordinance 1. You Contract the guilt of great Sin upon your Souls for it is a direct Disobedience to the express Command of Christ who saith Take Eat c. Drink ye all of it and Do this in Remembrance of me Therefore to neglect it is practically to forget Christ and if you forget him how can you Hope he will remember you 2. You lose the Spiritual Benefit and Comfort of this Ordinance the nourishment and strengthening of your Souls in Grace which you need as well as others and hereby give God just Cause to withhold his Blessing from other Ordinances And is this a loss that you can easily bear Is it much at one with you whether you Profit by the

unworthiness that you deserve it not this should not keep you from it for all that are Partakers of it are thus unworthy We are all unworthy of our common Food for our Bodies much more unworthy of this Holy Food for our Souls and the deeper Sense you have of this unworthiness the more Worthy you are in Gods account 2. If you have a Gospel-right to this Ordinance and a Gospel-sitness or Preparedness for it you are worthy in a Gospel-sense to be Partakers of it See then that you are thus qualified and come Obj. 2. But we fear we are not fitted or prepared enough to approach this Holy Table and this keeps us off Ans 1. It may be you do not rightly understand what that Fitness or Preparedness is that you ought to have and so your Ignorance may occasion your fears If so your next Duty is to get the Knowledge thereof and then Examine your selves whether you have it or no. The Sacramental Catechism will instruct you herein 2. Your Unfitness and Unpreparedness is your Sin because you ought to be fit and have sufficient means to make you so therefore to Plead this for your forbearance of this Ordinance is to excuse one Sin by another which is a Plea that God will not allow of 3. It may be some that make this Objection are better prepared then they take themselves to be For there are many sincere Christians who being naturally of a Melancholly Temper or of a Timerous Spirit and having mean Thoughts of themselves are full of Jealousies and Fears concerning their own Sincerity and afraid of being found Hypocrites at last Whereas this is one good Sign of their Sincerity that they are Self-suspicious and such though they come Trembling to this Ordinance are more fit and worthy and so like to be more Welcome Guests at the Lords-Table than many of those who approach it with great Confidence but over-looking or not clearly discerning the Grace of God in themselves they want the Comfort and so give not God the Glory of his Grace Now such as these should not rest satisfied in their own Judgment of the State of their Souls but seek to some Judicious Minister for spiritual Counsel and help herein 4. If you are not yet fit when will you be so Hath not God given you many Years to prepare for this Ordinance And are you not still as unfit as ever Yea more unfit now then you have formerly been Whereas in a few Days well improved you might have gotten a Gospel-fitness 5. If you are not prepared for this Ordinance doubtless you are not prepared for Death and how dare you live unprepared for that one Day or Hour seeing you know you must Dye e're long and you may dye soon even this Day or Hour and should you dye in an unprepared State must you not be miserable for ever O let the serious Consideration of this Danger quicken you to prepare for Death and then you will be prepared for this Ordinance also 6. What hath hitherto hindred your Preparation Hath it not been want of a Sense of your Duty to wait on God in the Use of this as well as of other Ordinances And of your need of it for spiritual Ends Your worldly Cares and Incumbrances your Love to some Sin or other and loathness to leave it or your Sloath and Carelessness about your Souls Concerns Doubtless these have been the Obstructions that have kept you back from your Duty and these are Sins and must be repented of and turned from if ever you be saved Therefore set upon this Work presently Obj. 3. But others say some Ministers will not admit us to this Ordinance without a strict Examination of us they require we should have a great deal of Knowledge and we fear they will ask us such Questions as we shall not be able to Answer and then we shall be turned away with Shame Ans 1 The Ministers or Pastors of Churches are under Christ your spiritual Guides and Overseers and solemnly Charged to take heed both to Themselves and to their Respective Flocks as Acts 20.28 And Heb. 13.17 They are entrusted by Christ the Chief-shepherd with the Care of your Souls and must give an account to him of them in the Great Day He hath Empower'd them to teach and Rule his Church under him and by his Laws and will you not allow them to do their Duty And inquire into the State of your Souls and take heed whom they admit to meddle with these Holy Things Would it not be great unfaithfulness both to your Souls and their own too if they neglect their Duty 2. No Prudent Minister will ask you any Questions but such as you should be able to Answer If you are Adult or grown Persons and Educated under the Ministry of the Gospel and such as relate to Things necessary to be known to make you Wise unto Salvation They only inquire whether you understand in some Competent Measure the Religion you profess and Soul-saving Truth desiring to know what need you have of their Help by Way of Instruction and have you any Reason to be against this Surely did you well understand your own Interest and Wants you would beseech the Ministers of Christ to give you their Assistance in your Souls-concerns and thankfully accept it when offered to you 3 Inquire of those that have been with Ministers on this Occasion and have been Examined and Instructed by them and so admitted when duly qualified and hear what they say concerning this Matter and whether they Repent of their Applications to them and Converses with them Or whether they have found spiritual Benefit thereby If so let that encourage you to go and do likewise and suffer not Ministers to be Misrepresented and your Selves abused and prejudiced against them by flying and false Reports or your own evil Surmises 4. Suppose the worst that Ministers upon Conversing with you should not find you duly qualified for this Ordinance will it do you any hurt to be brought to a better Knowledge of the State of your own Souls and to be counselled and directed by those that are wiser than your Selves what to do that you may get due Qualifications And this is the worst Treatment you are like to find at Ministers Hands 5. Consider this seriously if any Prophane or Unworthy Persons should be admitted to this Holy Ordinance thro' the neglect of Ministers their Prophanation of it would be justly chargeable on such Ministers and therefore Love to their own Souls as well as to the Souls of others should make them careful in this Matter This made Holy Calvin that Blessed Instrument of the Reformation deny the Lords-Supper to one Bartherius and other Servetians who were most unworthy of it tho some called Protestants rose up against him for it so that he was ready if not altogether forced to leave Geneva for a Time yet bearing up his Christian Courage he said I like Chrysostome will rather suffer Death