Believer full of Doubts and Fears with a respect to their spiritual State and puts them upon questioning all the Work of God upon their Soul. This carnally-mindedness respects a Child of God in a spiritual State but in a carnal frame of Heart and a carnal Mind respects a carnal dead Sinner in a state of Sin and Misery for it is said The carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not subject to the Will of God neither indeed can be There may be and too often there is an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table and that by two sorts of Persons First There is many times an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table by Believers themselves Secondly There is always an eating and drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table by carnal prophane Hypocrites as often as they do partake of that Ordinance whether Ecclesiastical or Civil for so we must distinguish now it seems for they have made it to have a double end Spiritual and Carnal There must ever be two things to make a Man a meet or worthy Partaker of this holy Ordinance because it is a Spiritual Feast as much now as it was under the Mosaical Law for they ate and drank Christ under the Law as well as we do now under the Gospel if you will believe the Apostle Paul who saith Moreover Brethren I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all Baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ 1 Cor. 10. First There must be a spiritual State all the Subjects of this Ordinance must be born again they must be born of Water and of the Spirit or else they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven here below which is the Church-Militant and if they be not so born they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven above namely the Church-Triumphant in Glory John 3. for until then they be spiritually dead And what shall a dead stinking rotten-hearted Hypocrite do at the King of Kings Table For Gods Eye is upon all his Guest his Eye is upon their very Heart for God sees not as Man seeth he can spy out any one Soul that comes to his Table without the Wedding-Garment God sees what every ones end and aim is in partaking of that Ordinance He seeth them that come to eat and drink themselves into the Government or into a good fat place of Profit and Trust and sees them that come to eat and drink at that Ordinance to sell Ale by vertue of it or to bear Arms in the Train'd-Bands And God saw them that were more guilty than they namely those that gave it unto them for all men by Nature are dead in Sins and Trespasses and all Children of Wrath Eph. 2. And therefore it may be said of every carnal Sinner as it is said of the carnal lewd Woman in the 1 Tim. 5.6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth Now such as these be can have no Right nor Worthiness at all in them to partake of the Lord's Supper no nor to administer it unto them neither for they are none of Christ's Shepherds that doth thus John 10.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. Matth. 15.14 Isai 9.16 Now all such as do exhibit this blessed Ordinance and those to whom it is exhibited that are not born of God can be but a Congregation of Hypocrites at the best Job 15.34 35. and are as loathsome as a dead stinking Corps would be to be placed at a Kings Table when he made a Royal Banquet for all his Nobles and far more loathsome too And therefore all such as these eateth and drinketh Damnation to themselves not discerning the Lord's Body And pray what can a dead Man discern And therefore all these do but make a Chain of that Ordinance for Satan to bind them faster to himself under the guilt of all their Sins instead of receiving any good or benefit by it whereas a Child of God that cometh in a right manner and to a right end goeth away from that Ordinance with all his Sins pardoned afresh and his Covenant renewed with the Lord and ratified and sealed in the Blood of Christ the others they go away with all the guilt of their Sins faster bound and his Covenant with Death and his Agreement with Hell renewed and ratified afresh and sealed Isai 28.15 And is not this a dreadful thing think ye The Lord awaken all that are thus guilty to unfeigned Repentance But Secondly There must not only be a spiritual State but there must be a spiritual frame of Heart also and this latter cannot be obtained before nor without the former There must be a spiritual State before ever there can be a spiritual frame of Heart therefore every one that does not come to the Table of the Lord thus spiritually qualified do come and eat and drink to themselves Damnation or Condemnation aye though he be a Child of God and in a spiritual State Nevertheless it is true he doth not eat and drink eternal Condemnation to himself and that because he is in Christ yet he may eat and drink the Merit of it vertually he may eat and drink temporal Condemnation to himself which may bring great temporal Judgments and Punishments upon him or them that thus do even corporal Sicknesses and Death Psal 89 30 31 32 33 34. If his Children that is Christ's Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments if they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments then will I visit their Transgressions with the Rod and their Iniquity with Stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my Lips. God my punish unworthy Receivers now though in a spiritual State as he did those unworthy Corinthians heretofore with Sickness and Death for their prophanation of the Lord's Supper when he may spare his Enemies in this Life to punish them in the World to come Thus I have shewed you briefly in part what the blessed End and Design of this holy Ordinance is and also the Nature and Tendency of it and you may observe that it is one of the great Tests that belongeth to the truly constituted Churches of Jesus Christ which was made and provided in the Great Charter of Heaven and lodged in the Church for all them and them only that belong to the spiritual Government of Heaven namely the true Members of Christs mystical Body the Church whereof he is the Supream Head and Governour namely the Universal Catholick Church And I have in the second place shewed what the Subjects of this
with them should Abolish and for ever Destroy all these Snares and Snakes that are apparently so and make better Laws for the Security of our Christian Liberty in the Room of them Eighthly and Lastly I Exhort all you of the Church of England that have been at the Sacrament formerly or latterly to Examine your selves what you went to the Lord's Table for Or if you please give me leave to ask you a few Questions 1. What was your Business at the Lord's Table 2. Pray What Condition did you go unto this Holy Ordinance in 3. Who did you expect to meet with there 4. And lastly What Benefit did you receive or expect to receive at this Holy Ordinance First What Business had you at the Sacrament Did you go there for fear of Displeasing the Parson Or Did you go there because your Neighbours should have a better Esteem of you that they should think you are a good Christian Or Did you go to satisfie the Laws of Men that binds ye so to do Or Did you go there to qualifie your selves to come into the Government Or Did you go there to satisfie and quiet a Natural Conscience What was your End and Aim in going there and partaking of that Sacred Ordinance Was it in Obedience to Christ's Command Pray do you give the Answer unto God and your own Consciences Secondly In what condition did you go unto the Lord's Table Were you born of God For this is the Children's Bread and for none else Or Did you go and rush upon this Blessed Ordinance in your Sins Were you Regenerated and born of God before ever you came there For the same Graces that fits a Person for Eternal Salvation in Glory fits him for a Right Worthy Receiving of this Holy Ordinance of the Lord's Supper therefore those do run a desperate Hazzard that do drive off Repentance and the getting all other Graces of the Spirit until they come to lye on their Death-bed when pale Death looks them grimly in the Face and is ready to launch them out into the Ocean of Eternity And then to expect that this Ordinance of the Lord's Supper shall bring all these Graces along with it to fit them for Heaven and Eternal Glory whenas they must have the same Graces to fit them for this Holy Ordinance which is lodged in the Kingdom of Heaven below as is to fit them for the Kingdom of Heaven above this being no Converting Ordinance For the Text in 1 Cor. 11.29 tells us plainly That he that Eateth and Drinketh Vnworthily Eateth and Drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body Therefore I beseech ye all in the Spirit of Meekness and in the fear of the Lord that are of this Opinion to consider seriously of it because Consideration is a good Hand-Maid unto Reformation for this Ordinance does not bring one dram of Grace along with it unto any Soul but unto such as have Grace in their Hearts before receiving this Ordinance It is like the pouring of Water into a Pump that standeth in a Well that hath Water in it to fetch the Water But the giving this Ordinance to any Person that hath no Grace is like the pouring of Water into a Pump that standeth in a Well that hath no Water in it It is as Water spilt upon the Ground nay it is infinitely worse But then did you ever feel the powerful Operation of the Holy Ghost dart spiritual Light into your Souls whereby you come to see that which you never see before and feel that in your selves which you never see nor felt before Have your Souls been raised out of the Grave of Unbelief Out of a carnal corrupt dead State by the mighty Power of the Spirit And has it infuled Spiritual Life into you Hath that Almighty Power that raised a dead Saviour raised thee that was a poor dead Sinner Have you ever found and felt Sin to be an intollerable Burthen unto your Souls so as you have apprehended your selves to be in a lost and undone Condition Have you ever been made sensible of the want of Christ who calleth the Burthened Weary and Heavy laden Sinner unto him for Ease and Relief And has it made you forsake all your Sins and Lusts and all other things that come in Competition with Christ to follow him fully Have you been throughly convinced that nothing could Redeem you from Wrath and Hell and Attone you to God and Purchase Eternal Life and Salvation for you but Christ and that by and through his Righteousness and Merits alone Did you cry to God and say Lord give me Christ or I die and shall be Damned and never enjoy God nor have any Benefits by his Death and Blessed All-sufficient-Merits and Copious Righteousness Had you the Kingdom of God within ye before you came into that which you apprehend to be the Kingdom of God without ye namely the Church Did you know what you were to take it for before you came to the Lord's Table And Pray What frame of Heart did you go to the Sacrament in Were your Graces in a lively Exercise Did all those sparkling Jewels that adorn the Soul of the Believer shine forth in their Vigour and Lustre which is the Trimming that belongeth to the Wedding Garment And did you see him whom your Soul loved and longed for And did you discern the Lord's Body by an Eye of Faith through the Elements And receive him by a Hand of Faith and feed upon him with the Mouth of Faith Did you go to the Table of the Lord even sick of Love to Christ And could nothing satisfie your Hungring Thirsty Soul but Communion with Christ in that Ordinance And did you Exercise saving Faith and Spiritual Light and Knowledge and godly Sorrow for your Sins which was the Cause of Christ suffering and dying And did you receive him with Praise and Thanksgiving and with a Holy Vehement Desire Thirdly Who did you expect to meet withal at the Lord's Table Did you expect to meet with a Crucified Saviour there and to have Communion with him in that Blessed Ordinance Or Did you go only to meet with the Parson and others of your Neighbours there Did you see him by an Eye of Faith that should be your Redeemer and the beloved of your Soul Or Are you wholly ignorant of what Communion with God in that Ordinance meaneth Fourthly What did you expect to receive at the Lord's Table Did you expect to receive the Bread and Wine only and to feed upon that Or Did you expect to receive Christ which is the spiritual Bread and Drink of your Souls into your Hearts and so to receive a fresh Pardon sealed unto you for all your Sins Did you go away thence with God's Broad Seal Impressed afresh upon your Souls And your Covenant-Interest with God Ratified and Confirmed unto you in the Blood of the Lamb And your Eternal Salvation made sure unto you But if on the contrary you went to that Ordinance
Ordinance or spiritual Government must be and how they must be qualified And thirdly and lastly I have shewed ye the danger that all those are in that rush upon this Ordinance without being dutly qualified and prepared for it both of Believers in a carnal frame of Heart and Hypocrites that are in a carnal dead state of Nature But it may be queried Whether this sacred Ordinance of the Lord's Supper may not be made a Civil Test also to accommodate Civil Government for the Admittance of Members thereunto and for their Confirmation therein and for a License to sell Ale by and other secular things in this nature as well as to be a Test for all them that belong to this spiritual Government Unto this I will answer in the Negative That it is not for not one Soul that ever did or that ever shall Receive this Holy and Blessed Ordinance out of such a base secular prophane end and design to qualifie them to come into the Government or to sell Ale or any such thing but what does highly provoke God in prophaning that sacred Ordinance not discerning the Lord's Body And so they make themselves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord which is to Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame They do eat and drink themselves into the very same Spirit with the unbelieving Jews which they had in them when they did literally and actually and maliciously Crucifie our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that according to this Testeering Law there must not one Soul come into the Government but what must first go and Crucifie to himself the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame God hath commanded People to Crucifie their Lusts before they can be meet or worthy to come into this spiritual Government and partake of the Lord's Supper and all other Church-Priviledges thereunto belonging But these Penal Laws or Test commands Men to go and Crucifie their Lord and Master before ever they can be permitted to partake of the Civil Government or any of the Priviledges thereunto belonging And is not this a dreadful Law think ye and such a mystery of Iniquity as is not to be parallel'd in all its Circumstances Would it not be a dreadful thing think ye if there was a Law made That no Man should come into the Government unless he would eat so much Rats-bane as would fetch off all his hair off of his head and face and fetch off all the nails from off of his fingers and toes and lay him under a declining wasting lingring Distemper so that his Life would be but a burden unto him Why I will be bold to say That infinitely worse is this Law of encouraging Persons to eat and drink Damnation to themselves to qualifie them to come into the Government For as the blessed Ordinance of the Lord's Supper is spiritual Food and also wholesome Physick for the worthy Receivers for in the former it feeds and strengthens the new Man viz. all the Graces of the Spirit that is in him and by the latter all his Sins are subdued and mortified and his Soul purged and so kept in spiritual health And thus it becomes both Food and Physick to the true Believers this is a branch of the Tree of Life the Leaves whereof are for the healing of the Nations And so on the other hand it becomes strong Poyson to spiritual Vermine namely Hypocrites It is the worst Poyson that ever can be thought on to them As it is the greatest Mercy on the one hand unto them that Receive it worthily because then they are as sure to go to Heaven as if they were there already whether they do know it or not know it themselves so on the other hand it is the greatest Judgment under Heaven for a Person to Receive it unworthily in a carnal unconverted state because he eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body This that is the greatest Mercy to a Child of God is turned into the greatest Judgment to a carnal Hypocrite that dare be so bold as to partake of this blessed Ordinance out of any other end and design than what the Holy God in his Infinite Wisdom has appointed it unto O dear Souls Do you that have been Test-Makers and Test-Takers and Test-Givers in this sinful way and manner tremble to think what will become of your precious Souls unless you do speedily vomit up again this deadly Poyson by unfeigned Repentance and thorow Reformation God hath said by his Servant St. Paul Let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup That is he must try himself whether God by his Holy Spirit hath made him meet and worthy to partake of this holy Ordinance that he may know in himself whether he be one of the Guest that is invited unto this blessed Feast where they are not only to feast with the Lord but upon the Lord by Faith John 6.47 48 50 63. 1 Cor. 10.1 2 3 4. And thereby are made worthy to take this spiritual Test of the Lord 's own appointment in his own way and manner and so to come into the spiritual heavenly Government and be made Members thereof For whosoever eateth and drinketh this Cup of the Lord unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body Here it is said Whosoever that is High or Low Rich or Poor Priest or People Lord or Commoner this is the unalterable Law and Magna Charta of Heaven God is no Respecter of Persons therefore look to it you that are great Ones And Death is no Respecter of Persons also for when he cometh with his Sythe he outs down a Lord as soon as a Beggar Well thus you do hear what the Law of Heaven saith unto all these things and now let us hear what the Laws of Men saith unto it also Why the Laws of the Church of England saith quite another thing for they say tacitly and consequentially Let them be examined whether they have eat and drank their own Damnation and Crucified unto themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame and so let them come into the Government both of Church and State For whosoever whether he be a Lord or Commoner that shall come into the Government without being thus sinfully qualified does incur to himself and Family the Danger or Condemnation of 500 l. damage not discerning or taking notice that the Law of the Church of E is against him and that they shall pay it every groat on 't when she hath the Whip in her hand again and the Nation under her feet Hence we may observe That if any Persons will come into the Government duly qualified according to the Law in that case made and provided they must enter in at Hells Gate they must pawn or even deposit their very Souls that precious Jewel that is more worth
is an old trick of the Devil And thirdly and lastly binding over Persons for Worshipping God is a very ancient thing also A Persecutor is one that must abandon all moral Honesty he must do as he would not be done by he must sacrifiee his Conscience and pawn his Soul in the Hands of the Devil for he must persecute Christ Acts 9.4 5. and fight against God Acts 5.38 39. A Persecuter is one that bids Defiance to Heaven and is in open Hostility and Rebellion against the Almighty and he is striking at the Apple of God's Eye Zech. 2.8 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts after the Glory hath he sent me unto the Nations which spoised you do you hear you persecuting Spoilers of the Nation for he that toucheth you toucheth the Apple of his Eye that is of God's Eye Again A Persecuter is worse than the Devil in some Respects for the Devil cannot force a man to sin he can but tempt and suggest to Sin but the Persecutor does both he tempts them to conform to a Religion or Worship that they are convinc'd in their Consciences is not right because it has none of the Sanction of God's Authority upon it and if they refuse then he does what he can to force them by Indictments and Fines and Excommunications and Plundering and Imprisoning them and the like Now this the Devil cannot do himself personally therefore they are worse then the Devil Again Fourthly A Persecutor or one that hath this Cain-like Spirit in him every time he saith the Lord's Prayer he speaks Blasphemy for he does blaspheme the Name of God the Father the first Person in order in the Blessed and Glorious Trinity for he begins it in Blasphemy for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven And the holy Word of God saith That no man can call God Father but by his Spirit for let him that taketh the Name of the Lord in his Mouth Depart from Iniquity and the Apostle saith Know ye not that the Spirit of Christ is in ye except ye be Reprobate And our Lord Jesus Christ told the old Sect of Scribes and Pharisees that were Persecuters as our New-Gospel-Sect of the same Leven are in John 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Lusts of your Father ye will do He was a Murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth Why So all his Children departs from the Truth when they turn Persecuters they do not do as they would be done by they depart from that Truth which the very light of Nature doth teach us as well as the Word of God. Now can it ever be possible that a Child of the Devil can call God Father without being guilty of Blasphemy at the same time for he saith Our Father which art in Heaven when as his Father is the Devil so that by his Lye he does tacitly and consequentially pull God out of his Throne of Mercy and place his Father the Devil in his room upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven and puts up his Petition to the Devil instead of Praying unto God his Maker And is not this a dreadful Case Nay further in the fifth place for I have not done with ye yet When a Persecuter doth say the Lord's-Prayer he doth say Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven And no Persons are so great Opposers of Christ's Gospel-Kingdom coming as the Persecuters are and none does oppose the doing of God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven like them of a persecuting Spirit for in Heaven there God's Will is done uninterruptedly by Angels and all other Glorified Spirits there they Praise God in perfect Peace Love and Union there is no Persecuter there nor none to disturb nor make them afraid for there they are all of one Heart and of one Mind But so it cannot be done in Earth by the Persecuters who cannot sleep unless they do Mischief and they do hinder others from doing the Will of God in Earth as it is done in Heaven therefore a Persecuter cannot be sincere and in good earnest when he saith Thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Therefore all they of a persecuting Spirit do but dissemble and mock God and tell him a parcel of Lies to his very Face for they do say in Words that God's Will must be done in Earth as it is in Heaven but in Works they do utterly deny it for they Dethrone the Almighty who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords as much as in them lyes And the proud Persecuters do mount God's Throne here on Earth namely the Souls and Consciences of men and say to their Souls Bow down that we may go over They do rob God of his Sovereignty and become spiritual Legislators to make Laws and give Laws unto their Fellow-creatures to Worship God by as they pretend and so do wrest the Government out of God's Hand over the Souls and Consciences of men which is peculiarly belonging to the Great and Dread Sovereign Majesty of Heaven and Earth which is to do their Father the Devil's will on Earth as it is done in Hell And not to do God's Will in Earth as it is in Heaven Again Sixthly A Persecuter as often as he saith the Lord's Prayer does in Effect Pray that God would not forgive him his Sins for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us Now a Persecuter cannot say this heartily and sincerely because that instead of praying to God he does imprecate the forest of Judgments upon himself for he saith Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them their Trespasses against us and the Persecuter did not nor yet does not forgive the Dissenters though but pretended Trespasses against them when some Persons have fallen into their hands by their Nonconformity in the matter of Worshipping of God when they have desired them to be favourable unto them and have told them if they did proceed to the Rigour of their Law they would ruine them and their Wife and Children they would not hearken unto them unless they would bow down their Soul unto them that they might go over namely to Conform so that they must Trespass against God or else they would not forgive them their pretended Trespasses against them which made the Remedy infinitely worse than the Disease and so they chose rather to lay their Bodies with the Ground and as the Street for them to go over then that they would sin against God by conforming which was passive Obedience of the right kind therefore the Persecuters do Pray that God would not forgive them their Sins for Christ hath said But if ye forgive not men their Trespasset neither will your Father forgive you your Trespasses Mat. 6.15 Now if the Persecuters did run their Hatred and Malice to the very uttermost Extent of the Persecuting Laws and further too and are now contending to keep the
Riches and he shall vomit them up again God shall cast them out of his Belly That which he laboured for shall he Restore that is they laboured for it in a wrong illegal way as we use to say Prank more labour than Thank who required it at their Hands according to his Substance shall the Restitution be and he shall not rejoice therein It may be you will say You had a Law on your side Why So the old Gang of Scribes and Pharisees could boast of a Law they had on their side by which they did literally and wickedly Crucifie our Lord and Saviour We have a Law and by our Law this Man ought to die And here is a Law of the very same Complection of yours if not Prophetically spoken of the same in Isa 10.1 2. With a Wo pronounced against the Legislators thereof Wo unto them that Decree Vnrighteous Decrees and that write Grievousness which they have Prescribed To turn aside the needy from Judgment and to take away the Right from the poor of my People that Widows may be their Prey and that they may Rob the Fatherless Here you see a Law made against God's People And those that make such Laws as these are are Persons that have no Communion or Fellowship with God Psal 94.20 23. Shall the Throne of Iniquity have Fellowship with thee which frameth Mischief by a Law Pray mark What will be the End of such And he shall bring upon them their own Iniquity and shall cut them off in their own Wickedness Yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Psal 7.15 16. He made a Pit and digged it and is fallen into the Ditch which he made His Mischief shall return upon his own Head and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own Pate That is God does bring it down upon them which is a fulfilling the Words of our Saviour who hath said That the same Measure ye make shall be made unto you again O Sirs I beseech ye to take shame to your selves before the Lord for all your Abominations that you may not be put to shame by the Lord Eye the just Hand of God in all these Great Providences Humble your selves in Dust and Ashes Acknowledge and Confess all your Sins and break off from Sin by Righteousness and cry mightily to God for pardoning Mercy in the Blood and Merits of Jesus Christ But it may be or I hope at least-wise that some of ye will say I am guilty of all these Abominations and of Multitudes more I have been a sierce Persecuter a Blasphemer and an Injurious Person I have been a Whoremonger a Drunkard and a Lier and I have often Crucified the Son of God and made his Wounds bleed afresh and put him to an open Shame by Eating and Drinking unworthily at the Lord's Table and I have had a hand in Imprisoning and Impoverishing the Saints and Servants of God by which means some of them have perished in stinking nasty Goals and is there any Hopes of pardoning Mercy for such a horrible Sinner as I am Yes I tell thee in the Name of God who is a God that delighteth in Mercy if thou dost ask this Question in good earnest I tell thee from God's own Word that there is hopes of Mercy for thee Dear Soul if thou do from the bottom of thy Heart confess and forsake thy Sins and turn to God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Kiss the Son least he be angry with ye and ye perish from the Way when his Wrath is kindled but a little And Pray for your Encouragement Read and Consider well of the 1st of Isa 16 17 18 19 20. And Isa 55.6 7 8.9 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found call ye upon him while he is near Let the Wicked forsake his way and the Vnrighteout Man his Thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have Mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon For my Thoughts are not your Thoughts neither are your Ways my Ways saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth so are my Ways higher than your Ways and my Thoughts than your Thoughts With Reverence be it spoken What can the Lord say more unto you for your Encouragement to cast your selves upon his pardoning Mercy and Free Grace For there is more Vertue and Merit in the least drop of Christ's Blood to pardon and save you then there is Malignity in all your Sins to damn and destroy you if you will but believe in Christ and come unto him and resign up the Government and Conduct of your Souls unto him for he calls the weary and heavy-laden Sinners unto him and promises to give them Rest Matth. 11.28 29 30. Nothing but Unbelief and Despair can with-hold God's Merciful Hard from Extending Pardoning Grace unto you It is not the Greatness nor the Hainousness nor the Multitudes of your Sins that can hinder Pardoning Mercy from you if your own Unbelief do not And I will not speak without Book but I will give you several Instances of as Vile Persons as ever you have been if not Viler that have been Pardoned and Saved that are left upon Record in the holy Scripture as Monuments of Gods Infinite Mercy and Free Grace But let me give you this Precaution that you do not presume upon Gods Mercy to go on any longer and further into Sin You must not continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid that ever you should make such an evil use of it to turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness but it is that you may not despair and pine away in your own Iniquity nor go any further on this Black Score And the first Person that I shall Instance in shall be Manasseh who was a Cruel Bloody Idolater as you may read 2 Kings 21. and yet notwithstanding all that Manasseh Repented and was Pardoned and Saved 2 Chron. 33.12 13. And when he was in affliction he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his Fathers and prayed unto him and he was intreated of him and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his Kingdom then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. He never knew God until he was Converted no nor no other Sinner does neither let him have what Notional Knowledge he will in his Head if he have not Sanctifying Saving Grace in his Heart It is said That Manasseb made the Streets of Jerusalem to run with Blood as Water and caused his own Children to pass through the Fire and was guilty of Witchcraft and Idolatry and other Hainous Sins his Sins reached as high as Heaven yet Gods Mercy being higher than the Heavens that overlooked all his Sins and God cast them behind his Back and blotted them out of his Book and drowned all his Spiritual Aegyptians in the Red-Sea of Christ's Blood and did pardon and save him What dost thou
think now Dear Soul Hast thou any room left to despair of the Mercies of God A second Instance is that of Persecuting Saul whom God in Infinite Mercy Pardoned and made a Preaching and Praying Apostle Paul afterward Acts 9.3 4 5 11. 1 Tim. 1.13.14 14 15. There Paul acknowledged the free Grace of God in Pardoning of him who was before a Blasphemer and a Persecuter and an Injurious Person Acts 22.4 There he confessed himself a Bloody Persecutor yet as Vile as he was all his Sins were pardoned in the Blood of Christ A third Instance of Gods free Grace and Pardoning Mercy in the Blood of Christ was that of the Cruel sturdy Jaylor Acts 16. And a fourth Instance of Gods Pardoning of most notorious Vile Sinners that was found Guilty of that filthy notorious Bed-Roll of the Sin of Sodomy and Idolatry and Whoredom and Drunkenness and Theft is in the 1 Cor. 6.9 10 11. And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And there was Mary Magdalen a very hainous Sinner yet she was washed in the Blood of the Lamb of God that taketh away Sin and she was made a precious Saint And there was some of them very Persons that had their Hands Imbrued in Christ's Blood we read on in the Acts of the Apostles yet they were washed in Christs Blood and pardoned in his Merits and saved by his Grace Thus you see here is encouragement enough for the Vilest of Men that have been Sacramental Mystical Crucifiers of Christ and Persecuters and Whoremongers and Drunkards and Thieves and Idolaters to come unto Christ for Pardoning-Grace and Mercy And whosoever doth so come to Christ while he is upon the Mercy-Seat He hath said that He will in no wise cast out Secondly I Exuort all you that were Test Makers and Test Givers and Test Takers in this Sacramental way and manner not to flatter your selves with the hopes of ever getting that Predominating Persecuting Power again But be contented with your share and proportion of the Government with all other free Dennisons of England that have every whit as much and just Right unto it as your selves remember Covetouseess is the Root of all Evil God will not trust you with the sole Management of the Government of the Nation any longer to be a Scourge to your honest peaceable Neighbours Nahum 1.7 8 9. The Lord is good a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him But with an overflowing flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof and Darkness shall pursue his Enemies What do ye imagine against the Lord He will make an utter end affliction shall not rise up the second time God is speaking this unto us at this time as I Humbly conceive by his Anointed Servant the Kings Majesty for he saith That he is resolved to make an utter end of all Persecuting Penal Laws and Tests whatsoever and that they shall not rise up a second time to afflict his Subjects any more And God is a pursuing his Persecuting Enemies at this time in this dark Providence and Dispensation to them by the Just Proceedings of his Gracious Majesty in calling them to an account for all the Moneys and Goods which they have taken from the Dissenters of all sorts of late years and he is giving them a Purge and a Vomit too which God hath prepared in his Word for all them that have this foul Stomach O! Sirs do not strive to be Rampant and Exalt your selves above your Neighbours and to get the Whip in your hands again for God will not trust such Unjust Stewards as you have been with so great a Betrustment But God is a calling you to an Account for your Stewardship for you may no longer be Stewards for now your Stewardship is ended as to Persecution your Account for Plundering beginneth the Robbery of the Wicked shall destroy them because they refuse to do Judgment O! Sirs do not Delude your selves for it is the Just Lord that loveth Righteousness and that hateth Robbery for Burnt-Offering that does all these things Do you not see that God is calling you to an Account for your Violence done to himself for as he that Persecutes Christ's Flock Persecutes Christ himself so also they that Rob God's People Robs God himself Mal. 3.9 Ye are Cursed with a Curse for ye have Robbed me even this whole Nation This was spoken to the Jews for he that toucheth Gods People by Violence doth touch the Apple of Gods Eye by Wickedness Zech. 2.8 And God hath sent his Servant unto you that spoiled his People to call you to an Account for it O! Friends I beseech ye to Eye the Just Hand of God in all this for until then you cannot make a right Improvement of these great Providences as you ought to do and Justifie God and Condemn your selves and do not entertain hard Thoughts of his Servant which is the Instrument in his Hand by which he doth it for it is God that does all these things it is he that putteth down one and seueth up another These great things does not come by luck or chance Affliction it self does not rise up out of the Dust for if a Sparrow that is but of half a Farthing Price cannot fall to the Ground without Gods Providence Mat. 10.29 30 Much less can such wonderful great Providences and Dispensations as we have seen and yet shall further see come without the Hand of our Heavenly Fathers putting it into the King his Servants Heart to do it among us Psal 75.6 7 8 9 10. For Promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South But God is the Judge he putteth down one and setteth up another for in the Hand of the Lord there is a Cup and the Wine is Red and full of Mixture and he poureth out of the same but the Dregs thereof all the Wicked of the Earth shall wring them out and Drink them But I will dealare for ever I will Sing Praises to the God of Jacob all the Horns of the Wicked also will I cut off That is All their Persecuting Power and Strength But the People of God viz. That is all them that truly feareth God and worketh Righteousness their Horn shall be Exalted O Sirs Do not you that are of a persecuting Spirit imagine that God will ever permit you to get up unto your Old Trade of Plundering and Spoiling and making Havock of the Churches again after so great a Rebuke from Heaven for those many Heaven-daring Abominations that you are and have been Guilty of do but consider well what you have been doing For you have been Plowing Iniquity and sowing Wickedness and therefore now you must Reap Shame and Contempt For the Hand of the Lord is lifted up against the Spirit of Persecution and is falling upon
in a Carnal Unconverted Dead State you came away with the Guilt of all your Sins faster bound and sealed up than they were before you came there and instead of diminishing and weakning your Sins you went away with your Sins increased and strengthened Now Pray Examine your selves Do you know what these things meaneth Or Are you wholly ignorant of them as old Nicodemus was when our Blessed Saviour Preached unto him the Mysterious Doctrine of Regeneration when he thought he must Re-enter into his Mothers Womb and be born again Joh. 3.4 Are all these things Riddles and Fancies unto ye Do you know nothing of this Matter Are you a stranger to it And are you wholly ignorant of it If you are I tell you plainly that you are no fit Subjects of this Blessed Ordinance but you did come unto it and partake of it unworthily therefore I will refer you to the Apostle Paul's Censure in this Case 1 Cor. 11. If you had not your Mind savingly Enlightned nor your Will Renewed and Changed nor your Affection Rectified and set upon right Objects viz. upon God in Christ And if you had not sanctifying saving Faith fixt upon Christ the only Mediator and Redeemer of Mankind 1 Tim. 2.5 And if you did not come with your Hearts broken for Sin and from Sin and behold a Crucified Saviour with all your Sins Crucified not one spared or Indulged And if you did not come there with a New Spiritual Understanding nor the whole Man sanctified throughout in Body Soul and Spirit But if you came to the Lord's Table ignorant of all this and in all your Sins then instead of receiving any Benefit by or from this Ordinance you do Eat and Drink Judgment or Condemnation to your selves not discerning the Lord's Body But it may be some will be so bold and hardy as to say This is very severe harsh Doctrine Why this is nothing but what I looked for and expected for it is what carnal Hypocrites and proud Persecuters do always judge of God's Holy Word and Righteous Laws and Pure Ordinances Institutions and Worship They judge that to be too strict and his Holy People to be too precise But if you will quarrel at the Severity and Strictness of this Doctrine you must quarrel with the Apostle Paul and the rest of the Apostles and Prophets Nay let me tell ye if you will quarrel with this Doctrine you must dispute the Cause with our Saviour Christ himself if you dare What dare not they do that dare to Crucifie their Maker that should be their Redeemer For the Apostle Paul delivered nothing of this severe harsh Doctrine but what he received first from the Lord 1 Cor. 11.23 There is his Mission and the Prophets spake as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 For the Prophecy came not in Old time by the Will of Man But Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost You do find fault with the Severity of God's Laws against Sinners but you do not find fault with the Severity of your own Laws against his Saints and Servants and against your selves also For there the Severity of it will center at last for you have Laws in being which you are now contending for to have continued with us which are to force men to break and violate all these severe Laws of God as you count them and thereby to incur all the Penalties of them And who is severest the God of Mercy or you that are Men of this Cruelty There are very severe Laws made against any that should even dare to Counterfeit the King's Broad-Seal or to fix the Impress of it unto any thing which they have not His Majesty's Command and Authority for so doing it is punishable with Death by the Law for it is High Treason or if they should fix it to Blank Papers whereby Enemies might write what they please and so abuse and betray the King's Authority Why This Ordinance of the Lord's Supper is the Broad-Seal of Heaven it belongeth to the King of Kings and must not be affixed to or impressed upon any thing but what they have God's Authority for so doing Now for any Persons to take this Sacred Broad-Seal of Heaven and make it a common Seal namely to affix it to the civil State to Seal Men Commissions and Warrants for Places and Offices in the Government Civil Military and Ecclesiastical this is to make this Blessed Ordinance a common Seal 2. It is a making this Sacred Broad-Seal of Heaven a common Seal when they Seal a Licence to sell Ale with it by And Thirdly and Lastly They make this Blessed Ordinance of the Lord's Supper which is the Broad-Seal of Heaven a common Seal when at Festival Times as Christmas and Easter when whole Showles of poor ignorant Creatures comes to the Lord's Table that know not their Right-Hand from their Left in spiritual Things and have no saving Work of God wrought in their Souls by the powerful Operation of his Holy Spirit but are all it may be as ignorant as the very Parson that Exhibits it unto them These are all Blanks so they impress the Broad-Seal of Heaven upon Multitudes of Blanks so that the Evil One may come and write what he pleases after them O sad deplorable Condition for any poor Souls to be in And although you count this Doctrine severe and harsh yet no man can be ignorant of it because it is written in the Great Charter of Heaven 1 Cor. 11. He that Eateth and Drinketh unworthily Eateth and Drinketh Condemnation or Judgment to himself God hath threatned to execute severe Judgments and Punishments upon all Prophaners and Abusers of this Holy Ordinance And God hath Four Gracious Ends in threatning these Transgressions 1. It is to Deter and and Affright Sinners from violating these severe Laws as they call them that Persons should not be ignorant of them 2. God threatens because that Sinners might repent and prevent the Execution of those severe Laws 3. God threatens because he will leave the Sinner wholly without Excuse or Plea Every Mouth shall be stop'd And 4. and Lastly God threatens because the Glory of his Attribute of Justice shall appear to all the World when he Executes his Threatning upon the Guilty Impenitent Sinner every Mouth will be stop'd and all shall justifie God and say Righteous art thou O Lord and Just and Holy in all thy Ways Thus you see what a dangerous thing it is for poor ignorant carnal unconverted dead Sinners to rush upon this Ordinance Hand over Head without due Consideration of what they are going about to do But Secondly My Second and last Exhortation and Counsel shall be unto all sober Protestants both of Dissenters and others that are still hankering after the Onions and Garlick and Flesh-Pots of Egypt that are yet staying upon them that smote us And my first Exhortation unto all you shall be this namely Be not afraid to part with
the very Cause or present state of Suffering for fear of future Sufferings for the Cause is worse than the Effects of Suffering For while the Cause is in being the Effects may soon be produced again For to be afraid of future Suffering is to remain under present Sin. What Sin you will say Why Christ is still Crucifying upon the Cross of the Sacramental Test and ever will be until that Law be Abolished and Destroyed O Sirs I beseech ye do not deal by your Blessed Saviour as Pharaoh's Butler did by Joseph when he had gotten his own Elargement and was at Ease himself he soon forgot the Afflictions of Joseph whom he promised to remember when he came before the King. O! Do not you deal so unkindly by our Saviour Christ now you have gotten your Liberty and are at Ease your selves Do not forget that Christ our Blessed Jesus is in Sufferings still he is still upon the Cross of the Sacramental Test for if you do you may provoke God to bring you into greater Sufferings than ever you have been yet in and that from the immediate Hand of God for though the Lord B s have discharged all their Artillery against ye yet God may discharge his against ye and you cannot shift nor shun that as perhaps most of you of this Leven formerly have done In time of actual Persecution and Sufferings you could go to the Outward-Court-Worship one part of the Lord's Day and to a private Meeting to Worship at Night which was grievous Hypocrisie and down-right mocking of God and a Halting between two Opinions If the Lord be God follow him if Baal then follow him The Lord give Repentance unto all that were thus guilty for now it is a special time for all men to be serious Secondly Study your present Duty and do it let it be what it will follow God in the Footsteps of his Providence and be not afraid to lay your Hand on the Cockatrice Den to destroy it namely the Penal Laws and Tests for fear of an uncertain Snake in the Grass Let this legal Old House which the Plaister and Stones and the very Timber of it is infected with this fretting Leprosie be pulled down and utterly destroyed or else this Plague of Persecution which is the worst of Plagues will never be stop'd Do not think of Preserving this Stone or that piece of Timber but down with it all raze the very Foundation of it and build a better House in the room of it For the very End and Design of these Laws was but to strengthen the Hands of Evil doers And shall any sober man of any Perswasion even dare to be for the continuance of them And should consequentially choose rather that Christ the Son of God should remain Crucified and bleeding under them than to part with them for fear of the Snake in the Grass It is a sign of but little Love to Christ they love their own present Ease and prefer that before the Sufferings of Christ Thirdly Let not any Sober Man be afraid to come into the Government nor let not them be Uneasy that are in it whom God by his Majesty hath or shall call into it because they have not nor cannot take the Sop of Qualification which is a very great Sin in them that have thus Sinfully qualified themselves they that have not thus Unworthily complyed will have the most Peace and Comfort Shall any man be afraid to do good for fear of evil coming on it For these Insnaring Laws are against the Great Charter of Heaven and therefore it is that Persecuters are so much for them and so ready to Obey them and to Comply with them and therefore good Men all along have refused to yield Obedience unto them but have chosen rather to Suffer and be Ruined by them then Sinfully to Comply with them because that Wicked Persecuting Men and Good Men are of two contrary Principles Prov. 29.27 An Vnjust man is an Abomination to the Just And he that is Vpright in the way is an Abomination to the Wicked O my Beloved As you do value the Honour and Glory of God and his Majesty's Kindness and the Peace and Tranquility of your Country and the Good of your Posterity come into the Government and put your Hand to this Plow of God and do not look back but follow God in his Footsteps of Providence hear what that Gospel Prophet saith which seems to be very apposite to this purpose Isa 26.20 Come my People enter thou into thy Chambers and shut thy Doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment until the Indignation be overpast I take this to be the same with the Great Voice that came from Heaven which brought us our Christian Liberty that said Come up hither Rev. 11.12 That is Come into your Chambers Meet publickly for all the Glorious Attributes of God are engaged for your Safety which are the Chambers of Heaven Well but what is these Doors and the shutting of that Why I humbly conceive these Doors to be something which exposeth us to danger while it stands open these Doors that are open upon us may be meant of the Penal Laws and Tests which all the Persecuting Thieves and Robbers who are the Enemies of Christian Liberty do always enter in at and Rob and Rape and Spoil all that are not of their Party that their Law or Lusts can reach Therefore as God by his Gracious Majesty's Declaration hath called ye up into Heaven into your Chambers so God by his Majesty is now further calling upon ye to shut the Doors about ye to keep out the Thieves and Robbers that they may not come in to Rob and Spoil ye for until that be done you are not safe neither can you for though we have this Christian Liberty Blessed be God for it yet the Doors stand open upon us and the Thieves may come in again But Secondly What is this making fast of these Doors round about us Why here is two things to be done I humbly conceive The First is You must destroy and take away all the Keys or rather Legal Pick-Locks which these Legal Thieves have with which they can open your Doors at their pleasure and come in and Rob you of your Substance and of your Christian Liberty Ay and they Robbed some Men of their Consciences also And these Legal Pick-Locks that let them in was the Penal Laws and Tests And Secondly You must make fast these Doors of Christian Liberty by making Just and Righteous Legal Locks and Keys and Bolts and Bars unto them even as his Majesties most Generous Gracious Unshaken Resolution is for having this Christian Liberty made into a perpetual Magna Charta that may be more Unalterable then those Laws of the Medes and Persians were And this is to shut the Doors round about us to secure our Christian Liberty unto us And pray Observe how well the Text and his Majesty's Resolutions for these Doors being
to go out of their own Native Countrey also I say they had a far better Plea against him to all outward Appearance than any sort of Men can have now against me for I advise ye to go OVT of Captivity from all these Penal Laws and Tests which is as bad Captivity as that of Babilon and to go into Christian Liberty into a firm Magna Charta Tenthly My Tenth Reason for this my Proceeding is Because God hath given me a Wise and Six Children and I would not willingly leave them with these Yokes about their Necks and Shackles about their Legs that we are all in Bondage too if I can help it for by the Laws that are now in being they are Obliged to Receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper at Sixteen Years of Age whether they have true Grace or no Grace Maturity of Years is made the ground of Communion with Christ by this Law and not True Sanctifying Saving Grace in the Heart according to the word of God. So that these Poor Souls according to this Law are Tacitly and Consequentially bound to Eat and Drink their own Damnation and to Crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open Shame betimes even in their Youth So that instead of Examining themselves to see whether they have true Grace to qualifie them for this Holy Ordinance They must Examine themselves to see how old they are whether they be Sixteen Years Old but these are such Iron Yokes and Intolerable Burdens that we nor our Children are able to bear And therefore if my poor Mire will contribute any Service to his Gracious Majesty to destroy them I shall offer it willingly when he has been pleased under God to offer it upon such generous frank terms and to have it secured unto us upon such lasting Foundations I believe if the Families of the Nation were divided into a Hundred Parts at least there would not be the Hundredth Family that had as many or more Children then I have which I value more then the Riches and Honour of the World for the former makes themselves wings and fly away and the latter will be laid in the dust And the Apostle Paul saith He that provideth not for his Family is worse than an Infidel And I think no better Provision can be made for our Children than to leave them this Christian Liberty well secured unto them planted in Peace and Tranquillity which his Majesty the Father of the whole Family namely the whole Nation under God is endeavouring to settle upon all his Children which are his Subjects Eleventhly and lastly My reason for this my proceeding is this viz. Because I came of a very Ancient Family for Adam was my great Grandfather and Job and I had one Mother and his Sisters are mine Job 17.13 14. The Grave is mine house I have said to Corruption Thou art my Father to the Worm Thou art my Mother and my Sister And is not this an Ancient Family think ye to value my self upon And therefore why should any body carp so much at the Meanness of this Author And I pray who is of an Ancienter Family than this is Who is Why the Persecuter is as ancient if not ancienter for fallen Angels was before fallen Man Pray what Family is he of Why our Saviour tells us John 8. That they are of their Father the Devil and the Lusts of their Father they will do And this makes his persecuting Children so full of Lyes as they are at this time Their Father stirs them up and instigates them unto it because he seeth his Kingdom of Darkness going to be destroyed and himself to be chained God will sweep away the Refuge of Lyes Isai 28.15 17. Because ye have said We have made a Covenant with Death and with Hell are we at Agreement When the overflowing scourge shall pass through it shall not come unto us for we have made Lyes our Refuge and under falshood have we hid our selves Judgment also will I lay to the Line and Righteousness to the Plummet and the hail shall sweep away the Refuge if Lyes and the Waters shall overflow the hiding-place and your Covenant with Death shall be disanulled and your Agreement with Hell shall not stand when the overflowing Scourge shall pass through then you shall be trodden down by it Now when the Penal Laws and Tests shall be utterly destroyed and the Refuge of Lyes all swept away then as the Persecuter will be left without an opportunity to persecute so will all sorts of Persons be left without any occasion in the least to Plot For what does make any Man Plot but the want of something which is his Right which he hath no hopes of coming at any other way or by using any other means Withdraw but the Fuel of Persecution and Oppression and the Fire of Plotting and Rebellion will go out Why when every Man hath his Rights and Priviledges Spiritual and Temporal there will be no room left for Plotting and if any one Party should attempt to infringe any other single Party of their Liberty such must make themselves the common Enemy of all the rest of the Nation And what can any one single Party do against all the rest of the Nation that will then be united as one Man and will value their Christian Liberty above their Lives Such presumption would pull an old House about their Ears the Law of Nature would then be made use of if they had no other Relief to have recourse unto But there is more in all these Fears and Jealousies of the Persecuters than that of Popery as they pretend but I would advise them to be quiet and to be willing to come into this Christian Liberty and take their share in it peaceably and do not give any just Provocation For the Wrath of a King is as the Roaring of a Lyon and where the Word of a King is there is Power And cease to cast dirt upon the new Regulation for it is of God and it will stand maugre all the Powers of Hell that shall oppose it And the old way and path of Government that hath its Ground and Foundation and is Built upon Mens Souls and Consciences is of the Devil and must all pass away and fall O that we might all be Wise and Unite and Love as Brethren and English-Men what though we be not all of one Opinion The World never was so happy yet But let us all be of one Mind and of one Heart as to this viz. To love and like this Christian Liberty and contribute our Assistance thereunto which is our Duty to His Majesty in the Confirmation thereof And I do not doubt but that when once the Nation hath tasted this New Wine of Peace and Tranquility which the Establishment of this Liberty will bring along with it but a little while they will not desire to drink of the Old they will never thirst more to be in the Old Captive State and Condition again of Penal Laws and Tests and it will soon be a means to make us the most Potent Nation in Christendom Therefore let us all joyn Heart and Hand with His Gracious Majesty in this good work of setting up the New Heavens and the New Earth wherein shall dwell Righteousness and not to consult with Flesh and Blood. But let us trust in the Lord and be of good Courage let no man's Heart fail him but let us all fix our Hands to the Plow and not look back for he that does makes himself unfit and unworthy of so great a Mercy as Christian Liberty O dear Hearts Shut the Doors round about ye secure your Christian Liberty as firm as you can make Brasen Walls unto it I am not against that but my great aim with respect to you is to cure you of your slavish Fears and Jealousies But you will say Why do you mix and complicate Religious and Civil Things together Why my Answer is Because it is a mix'd Complicated Disease it is a Distemper that is made up of Religious and Civil Compounds And therefore the Remedy must be a mix'd Complicated Remedy it must be proper and suitable to the Disease for the Disease is an old intermix'd Disease and therefore the Dose must be suitable thereunto Thus I have done with you my Dear Countrey-men all and I shall conclude like a Poor Scholar with a piece of the Liturgy viz. From the Tyranny and Oppression of all inhumane Penal Laws and Vngodly Tests Libera nos Domine And let every honest English-Man say Amen to it Reader THere are some literal faults Escaped the Press which thou art desired to correct but the most material is in Page 21. line 9. where for Nineteen Articles read Nineteenth Article FINIS ADVERTISEMENT THere is lately Published by the same Author A Book Entituled A New TEST in lieu of the Old One By way of Supposition Or A Satisfactory Answer to that Great and Common Question viz. If the Penal Laws and Tests should be abolished how shall the Protestant Religion and Interest be secured The Second Edition with Considerable Additions and an Answer to several Objections Printed and Sold by George Larkin at the Two Swans without Bishopsgate Price 6d