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<DATE>2014-08-13</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140614.apex.</ITEM>
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<VID>185079</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="document">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>Several Plain and Weighty REASONS for removing The Sacramental Te&s;t, Humbly Propo&s;ed to Con&s;ideration.</HEAD>
<LICENSE LANG="eng">
<P>Licen&s;ed and Entred according to Order.</P>
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<P N="1"><LABEL><HI>Rea&s;on</HI> I. </LABEL> ALL Laws which do not agree with the Divine Law, ought to be re|pealed. It is true, that the Supream Law|giver has left humane Societies, at Liberty to E&s;tabli&s;h &s;uch Laws, as They in Pru|dence, &s;hall judge will mo&s;t conduce to their External welfare, or Political well being: Provided always, That they Exact nothing that is repugnant, to <HI>THE DI|VINE LAW.</HI> But let it be con&s;idered, whether the Sacramental Te&s;t is not &s;o. For, the <HI>Holy Sacrament</HI> was not appoint|ed by the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to be u&s;ed as a Qualification for Civil Offices, but for other Sacred Ends and Purpo&s;es. And therefore to u&s;e it as a Te&s;t for Civil Employments, is to Pervert and Corrupt an Holy Ordinance of God, and con&s;e|quently to Tran&s;gre&s;s the Divine Law.</P>
<P N="2"><LABEL><HI>Rea&s;on</HI> II.</LABEL> The Impleaded Te&s;t is not con&s;onant with the Doctrine of the Church of <HI>England.</HI> For our Church has Taught (as the Scriptures do) that Un|worthy Receivers ought not to be ad|mitted to the Lord's Table, In our Li|turgy it is declared, That <HI>&s;o many as intend to be Partakers of the Holy Communion, &s;hall &s;ignifie their Names,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And if any of them be an Open and Notorious evil Liver, the Curate having knowledge thereof, &s;hall adverti&s;e him, that in any wi&s;e He pre&s;ume not to Come to the Lord's Table, until He has openly declared him&s;elf to have repented and amended his former naughty life.</HI> And the Prie&s;t is by our Liturgy required to Say to the Communicants, <HI>That They are to Examine their Lives and Conver&s;ations by the rule of God's Commandments, and that They must be ready to make re&s;titution to tho&s;e whom They have wronged: For other|wi&s;e the Receiving of the Holy Communion does nothing el&s;e but increa&s;e their Damnation. Therefore if any of you be a Bla&s;phemer of God, an Hinderer and Slanderer of His Word, an Adulterer, or in Malice, or in Envy, or in any other grievous Crime, Repent you of your Sins, or el&s;e come not to that Holy Table, lest after the taking of the Sacrament, the Devil enter into you as he entered into</HI> Judas, <HI>and fill you full of all Iniquities, and bring you to De&s;truction both of Body and Soul.</HI> The&s;e words are in the Common-Prayer Book. It is moreover therein truly a&s;&s;erted, <HI>That in the Primitive Church there was a Godly Di&s;cipline whereby &s;uch Per&s;ons as &s;tood con|victed of notorious Sin were put to &s;hame, and that it is much to be wi&s;hed that the &s;aid Di&s;cipline may be re&s;tored again.</HI> But how is it po&s;&s;ible for the Godly Di&s;ci|pline of the Primitive Church to be re&s;tored again as long as the <HI>Sacramental-Te&s;t</HI> is in force? It is pretended that by means hereof the Church of <HI>England</HI> is E&s;tabli&s;hed: But if we go about to E&s;ta|bli&s;h our Church by a Practice or by a Law which is contrary to the &s;ound Do|ctrine therein profe&s;&s;ed, I am afraid that we &s;hall thereby, rather occa&s;ion our own Ruin than any thing el&s;e.</P>
<P N="3"><LABEL><HI>Rea&s;on</HI> III.</LABEL> The Sacramental Te&s;t has been a Cau&s;e of very much Sin. For it hath cau&s;ed a Sacred In&s;titution of Chri&s;t to be polluted, and the Blood of the Son of God to be prophan'd by Multitudes. It is certainly a great Sin to Admini&s;ter the Sacrament to any that are known to be unmeet Subjects thereof. <HI>Calvin</HI> was a Presbyterian, and therefore I omit to mention that He and &s;everal other Pro|te&s;tant Divines were Bani&s;hed from <HI>Ge|neva,</HI> becau&s;e They refu&s;ed to give the Sacrament to &s;ome very Scandalous Per|&s;ons there. But methinks old St. <HI>Chry|&s;o&s;tom</HI>'s
<PB N="2" REF="2"> words are of weight&punc; who profe&s;|&s;eth&punc; That <HI>He would &s;ooner have his right Hand cut off, than He would give the Body and Blood of Chri&s;t to a known wicked Man.</HI> But the Sacramental-Te&s;t-Law, puts the Mini&s;ters of our Church on great Temp|tation to do thus. It has al&s;o cau&s;ed many who&s;e Con&s;ciences a&s;&s;ure Them, that if They partake at the Lord's Table, They &s;hall Eat and Drink Damnation to Them|&s;elves, yet to venture. The too true Relation of a Prophane man, who that &s;o he might not by means of the Sacramental Te&s;t, be deprived of his Livelyhood, re|&s;olved to pre&s;ent him&s;elf at the Lord's Table but there declared to &s;ome that &s;at by Him, He would Eat that Bread, and Drink that Wine only as Common Bread, and Wine, is much talked of. Yea, and this Sacramental Te&s;t hath har|dened the <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> and cau&s;ed Them to Bla&s;pheme the <HI>Prote&s;tant Religion,</HI> and in a peculiar manner&punc; our Church of <HI>England.</HI> I remember a <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> did in my Hearing prote&s;t He was re&s;olved to Pub|li&s;h in Print a Pa&s;&s;age relating to this Sub|ject, which Him&s;elf (he &s;aid) knew to be true. It was this: A Gentleman (who&s;e Name and all the Circum&s;tances of Time and Place&punc; he mentioned) becau&s;e of the Law, pre&s;ented him&s;elf at the Sacrament. But the Night before He made him&s;elf Horribly Drunk: And when He came the next Day to receive the Cup of the Lord, with a fearful Oath in his Mouth, He de|manded of the Curate, Why He did not get better Wine for them than that was? The Curate replied&punc; It was the be&s;t He could procure. The Gentleman rejoyned with horrid Execrations (which I abhor to mention) that if He had &s;ent to Him, He would have given him better. The <HI>Papi&s;t</HI> did from this in my hearing take occa&s;ion to revile <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> but e&s;pecial|ly us who are of the Church of <HI>England.</HI></P>
<Q><L>&mdash;<HI>Pudet haec opprobria Nobis</HI></L>
<L><HI>Haec dici potui&s;&s;e, &amp; non potui&s;&s;e refelli.</HI></L></Q>
<P N="4"><LABEL><HI>Rea&s;on</HI> IV.</LABEL> If there be not a Refor|mation as to this particular, we have cau&s;e to fear that &s;ome Publick National Judg|ment will fall upon us, as a Te&s;timony of God's righteous Di&s;plea&s;ure. For as long as this Te&s;t is E&s;tabli&s;hed by Law, it be|comes a National Evil. If a Nation be guilty of Prophaning or Perverting any Ordinance of Chri&s;t, that infers a Natio|nal guilt. The famous Church of <HI>Corinth</HI> was expo&s;ed to an heavy Judgment from Heaven on this account. And why may not the Church&punc; of <HI>England</HI> fear le&s;t it &s;hould be &s;o with Them. It was a cele|brated Saying of the Learned <HI>Paraeus, I wonder not that God has&punc; vi&s;ited</HI> Germany <HI>with the Sword, when I Con&s;ider how the Sa|crament of the Lord's Supper has been Pro|phaned.</HI> I pray, that the Holy God may not be provoked to pour out the Blood of our Nation, becau&s;e &s;o many therein have prophaned the Blood of his Son&punc;</P>
<P N="5"><LABEL><HI>Rea&s;on</HI> V.</LABEL> It is for the King's Intere&s;t That the <HI>Sacramental-Te&s;t</HI> &s;hould be taken away. For by means thereof, many wor|thy Per&s;ons and good <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> who are every way Qualified for Publick Employ|ments, are made uncapable of Serving His Maje&s;ty, the Engli&s;h Nation, or the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Intere&s;t: Had this Te&s;t been impo&s;ed on the <HI>London-Derry</HI> or <HI>Iniskilling</HI> Men a few Months ago, all <HI>Ireland</HI> had been lo&s;t before this day. And had this Te&s;t been in&s;i&s;ted on among the <HI>Scots,</HI> His pre&s;ent Maje&s;ty would probably have lo&s;t that Kingdom al&s;o. Many Good and Wi&s;e Men are of Opinion that this (more than any thing el&s;e) has been the Cau&s;e of the un&s;ucce&s;sfulne&s;s of our Armies and Navies, and that nothing can be thought of, which at this Juncture will more Effe|ctually promote the Intere&s;t of the <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> than to continue a Te&s;t which does &s;o un|happily divide <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> one from ano|ther, making them Unable to afford their Joynt-a&s;&s;i&s;tance again&s;t the Common Ene|my. We that are of the Church of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> acknowledge that Receiving the Sacrament, ju&s;t after our Mode is only an Eccle&s;ia&s;tical, and not a Divine In&s;titution. Shall we for a Ceremony which may law|fully be removed, hazard the Ruin of the Nation! and the whole <HI>Prote&s;tant Intere&s;t</HI> in the World al&s;o? No doubt but that our wi&s;e Senators will &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider of the&s;e things before it be too late.</P>
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<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed and are to be Sold by <HI>Richard Baldwin,</HI> next Door to the <HI>Black Bull</HI> in the <HI>Old-Bailey.</HI> 1689.</P>
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