An humble inquiry into the rules of the Word of God, concerning the qualifications…

OBJECT. III. Those in Israel, who made no Profession of Piety of Heart, did according to divine Institution partake of the Passover; a Jewish Sacrament, representing the same Things, and a Seal of the very same Covenant of Grace with the Lord's Supper; and particularly, it would be unreasonable to suppose, that all made a Profession of Godliness whom God commanded to keep that first Passover in Egypt, which the whole Congregation were required to keep, and there is no Shadow of any such Thing as their all first making a solemn public Profession of those Things wherein true Piety consists: & so the People in general partook of the Passover, from to Generation to Generation; but it would be hard to suppose, that they all professed a supreme Regard to God in their Hearts.

OBJECT. III. Those in Israel, who made no Profession of Piety of Heart, did according to divine Institution partake of the Passover; a Jewish Sacrament, representing the same Things, and a Seal of the very same Covenant of Grace with the Lord's Supper; and particularly, it would be unreasonable to suppose, that all made a Profession of Godliness whom God commanded to keep that first Passover in Egypt, which the whole Congregation were required to keep, and there is no Shadow of any such Thing as their all first making a solemn publick Profession of those Things wherein true Piety consists: & so the People in general partook of the Passover, from to Generation to Generation; but it would be hard to suppose, that they all profess'd a supream Regard to God in their Hearts.

ANSW. 1. The Affair of the Israelites Participation of the Passover, and particularly that first Passover in Egypt, is attended with altogether as much Difficulty in Regard to the Qualifications which the Objectors themselves suppose requisite in Communicants at the Lord's Table, as with Regard to those which I insist upon; and if there be any Argument in the Case, it is fully as strong an Argument against their Scheme, as mine. One Thing they insist upon as a requisite Qualification for the Lord's Supper, is a public Profession of Religion as to the essential Doctrines of it: But there is no more Shadow of a public Profession of this Kind, preceding that Passover in Egypt, than of a Profession of Godliness. Here not to insist on the great Doctrines of the Fall of Man, of our undone State by Nature, of the Trinity, of our Dependence in the free Grace of God for Justification &c. let us take only those two Doctrines of a future State of Rewards and Punishments, and the Doctrine of the Messiah to come, that Messiah who was represented in the Passover: Is there any more Appearance, in sacred Story, of the People's making a public Profession in Egypt of these Doctrines before they partook of the Passover, than of their making Profession of the Love of God? And is there any more Probability of the former, than of the latter? Another Thing which they on the other Side suppose necessary to a due Attendance on the Lord's Supper, is, that when any have openly been guilty of gross Sins, they should before they come to this Sacrament, openly confess and bumble themselves for their Faults. Now 'tis evident by