A85329:238
London's gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office…Londons gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office…
London's gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office aright, in discovering and shutting out the ignorant, profane, and mere civill honest man : in suspending the suspected formal, legal, and antinomisticall professor, and in drawing in the weakest humble believing soul. In a dialogue between a minister of the Gospel. Alexander an ignorant profane man. Simon a proud professor. And Matthias an humble penitent. Imprimatur Edmund Calamy.Londons gate to the Lords Table. Where the eldership doth sit doing their office aright, in discovering and shutting out the ignorant, prophane, and meere civill honest man : in suspending the suspected formall, legall, and antinomisticall professor, and in drawing in the weakest humble beleeving soule. In a dialogue betweene a minister of the Gospell. Alexander an ignorant prophane man. Simon a proud professor. And Matthias an humble penitent. Imprimatur Edmund Calamy.
London: printed for John Wright, 1646London: printed for Iohn Wright, 1646
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Sim. Then I do assure you this is another sign that you have rested and put confidence in your own performances, for till a man see, and take notice of his wandering and worldly thoughts, and of ⟨p. 143⟩his drowsiness and heaviness, if not sleepiness in Prayer, and hearing the Word, and such like exercises; and till he see, and take notice of his self ends in doing good actions he will rest, and put confidence in them, and be thereby kept from Christ; and believe it neighbour Simon, before that a man do take up his rest in Christ, the Lord doth discover unto him so much imperfections in his own performances, that he cries out within himself, I see now what a vile undone wretch I am, I can do nothing well; all that I am is vile, ⟨p. 144⟩and all that I do is vile; I see now that I am indeed poor, and blind, and naked; and hereupon he is quite tired out, and sits down weary, not seeing any hopes of healing the breach between God and himself, and this saith a godly Writer I take to be the meaning of Mat. 11. 28. Yea that labour, 1you that are weary in your own way, in seeking rest to your souls by your own hard labour, or works, as the word signifies, and are tired out therein, and so are now laden indeed with sin, and the heavy pressure of that finding no ease by all ⟨p. 145⟩that you do, Come to me, saith Christ, & you shall then find rest unto your souls. Again, I pray you let me ask you one question more, and that is this; Have you not prized the bare performances of duties wonderfully; that is, Have you not thought when you have prayed so many times in a day, and heard so many Sermons in a week, and turned to all the places of Scripture that the Minister hath coted, and folded down the leaf in your Bible, or else writ their Sermons after them, and made some repetition thereof to others, and the like; I ⟨p. 146⟩say, have you not in so doing rested satisfied, without looking for a return of your Prayers, or what good you have gained to your own soul by your hearing, and so whether you have met with God in Christ, in all these ways and means, I pray you answer me truly from your heart.