A85329:94
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.
Min. The reason is, because the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, being not the Sacrament of Regeneration, but of sustentation and nourishment, Christ did not institute and ordain it for the regenerating or converting of any man, nor for the breeding of grace in him, but for the strengthening of the regenerate man that is borne again, and ⟨p. 27⟩for the nourishment of grace already bred and begun in him, so that indeed the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is children's bread, even the bread of Gods children, that are borne again, not of corruptible 1seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever; and therefore it is not to be given unto dogs; yea, it is spiritual food, ordained for spiritually living men; and therefore it is not to be put into the mouths of spiritually dead men, but into the souls of spiritually living men; and a man is made a son of ⟨p. 28⟩God only by faith in Christ, as it is written, Joh. 1. 12. To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his Name. And so Gal. 3. 16. Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; yea, & it is faith that quickens a man and makes him spiritually alive according to that of the Apostle, Gal. 2. 20. I live by the faith of the Son of God. Furthermore, the Sacrament is the Seal of a Covenant, Rom. 4. 11. and Covenants essentially include conditions, and the condition on our part is Faith, so that where there ⟨p. 29⟩is no Faith there is no Covenant, and where there is no Covenant there is no Seal, and then consequently no Sacrament; so that you being an unbeliever, you are an unconverted un-regenerate man, no child of God, no spiritually living man, neither are you under the Covenant of Grace; and therefore assure your self the sacrament of the Lords Supper was not instituted and ordained for you.