licet ibid. sect 14. I hold that it is sufficient that wee acknowledge they shall be saued for as much as they by election and praedestination belong to Gods peculiar flock that they are endowed with the spirit who is the roote of faith hope loue and all other graces which spirit afterwards doth manifest and declare himselfe in the sonnes of God when they come to years Musculus of Baptisme giues this description b Defiâ—iemus baptismum esse sacramentum regenerationis purgationis initiationis sanctificationis obsignationis incorporationis in Christum seruatorem Haec enim omni no per spiritum Christi fiunt in electu fidelibus quorum sacramentum est baptismus vt rectè in illo profici dicatur quod per spiritum Christi reipsa spiritualiter perficitur Muscul de Bapt quest 1. Sect. 8 Loc. Com. Wee define baptisme to be the sacrament of regeneration purgation initiation sanctification obsignation and incorporation into Christ our Saviour For all these are effected in the elect and faithfull by the spirit of Christ of all which graces baptisme is the sacrament so as in it this may rightly be said to be done because truly and spiritually it is effected by the spirit of Christ If any thinke to obiect against me that Musculus speakes this of the faithfull and so vnderstands it not of infants I answere out of Musculus himselfe c Omnes Christianorum infantes ad Christum pertinentes deque numero fidelium existentes recte dicuntur esse in fide Christi fideles credentes licet nondum sint imbuti fide Musc in Mat. 18 All infants belonging to Christ borne of Christian parents and being of the number of the faithfull are rightly said to be in the faith of Christ to be faithfull and beleeuers although as yet they be not endewed with actuall faith Besides he that saith Christians being elect are by the Holy Ghost ingraffed into Christ in baptisme must not exclude elect infants for as much as none but infants are now vsually baptized in the Church Therefore hee must be vnderstood of what baptisme doth ordinarily effect vpon infants or else his definition is very improper yea false being applied to children beside whom there are none vnlesse in some rare cases of proselites baptized in these latter times Francis Iunius in his Theses of Paedobapt speakes as fully to this point as any of the rest d Si enim in Christi corpus baptizandi omnes electi si omnes christum induere debent infantes non secus ac adulti eos a christi corpore separare Christo non inserere nefandum esset Thes 4. If saith he all the elect are to be baptized into the body of Christ if moreouer all of them as well infants as persons of yeares ought to put on Christ then to separate theÌ„ from the body of Christ and not to engraffe them into Christ were a most wicked thing And againe a little after e Cum baptizantur infantes deus offert confert omnia bona faederis stipulatur ibid. Thes 10. When infants What infants he meanes he had sufficiently expressed before viz. elect infants are baptized God doth both offer and conferre all the good things of the Couenant and engageth himselfe vnto it In another place thus f Baptismus est actio sacra Dei lauantis suos intus lotione spiritus foris lotione aquae Mat. 3. Ioh. 1. passim Haec igitur relata sunt aqua spiritus lotio aquae lotio spiritu Relatio vt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est iâ—â—s illa siue applicatio vntus ad alteram secundum naturam relâ—torum formam constituexs sacramenti Quemadmodum igitur homo in actionibus humanis anima corpore actionem internam externam agit vnica operatione in qua sicut anima est forma corporis ita actio interna formalis quodam modo externa vero materialis est in cundum modum Deus spiritu suo aqua agit actionem internam externam vnica operatione in qua lotio interna a spiritu formalis est in â—terialis externa prâ— vt dicebat Ioannes ego baptizo vos aqua c. Iun. in Exam. Gratian. Prosp Par. 3. Baptisme is a sacred action of God washing those that be he his owne inwardly with the washing of the spirit outwardly with the washing of water Mat 3. Iohn 1. and elsewhere These two therefore the water and the spirit the washing of water and the washing of the spirit are relatiues And the relation it selfe is that application or vnion of these one to another according to the nature of relatiues which constitutes the forme of the sacrament Wherefore as a man in humane actions doth with his soule and body produce both an inward and an outward action in one and the same operation in which as the soule is said to be the forme of the body so is the inward action after a sort the formall and the externall the materiall part of the action euen so after the same manner God by his spirit and by water doth performe both an internall and an externall action in one and the same operation in which the inward washing by the spirit is the formall part and the externall washing with water is the materiall part of that his action according to that of Iohn the Baptist I indeed baptize you with water c. but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost c. This passage passing from that learned man in a scholasticall confutation of a subtile aduersary is perhaps more abstruse then it can be fully vnderstood of an ordinary reader yet all that are iudicious cannot see lesse in it than this viz that in the iudgment of Iunius that is not held for Baptisme of the elect wherein God doth not ordinarily accompany the outward administration of that sacrament with some inward worke of the spirit inwardly washing the soule as well as the water outwardly washeth the body in the Lauer of Regeneration But what manner of worke that is which is ordinarily performed by the spirit in the matter of Regeneration the same Author also describeth in the place first cited where he thus distinguisheth of regeneration and then explaines himselfe in what sense he affirmeth infants elect to be regenerated in baptisme g De regeneratio â—e aliter consideratur in fâ—â— lâ—â—ne to id est in Christo habitu aliter in nobis actu Pâ—imâ— regeneratio qâ—â—e dici potest transplantatio a vetere Id mo in novum tanqâ—am causa eâ—â— aâ—tera tanquam fructus sequituâ— De prima inquitur Christus Iohn 3. Apostolus vtramque coniungit Rom. 6. Hac regenerantur infantes electi cum Christo inferuntu huius obsignatio sit iâ—s duâ—â— baptizantuâ— De Paed. bap châ—â— 7 Touching regeneration it is one way to be considered in the foundation that is to say in Christ the habit thereof
only of persons of yeares For hauing in page 265. shewed the efficacy of baptisme vpon infants at the foote of that page he makes a transition of his speech from infants and comes on to declare the efficacy it hath vpon others also His words are these And as the children of the faithfull by right ought to be baptized so such others also as were borne of vnbeleeuing parents and were aliens from the common wealth of Israel and were strangers from the couenant of promise and had no hope if they acknowledge the error in which they liued and seeke the forgiuenesse of their former sins may well receiue this sacrament of their regeneration So when they which heard Peter were pricked in their hearts and said to Peter and the other Apostles Men and brethren what shall we doe Peter said vnto them Amend your liues and be baptized euery one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sins They were buried with Christ by baptisme into his death made partakers of his blood and continued in the Apostles Doctrine and fellowship Then he goes on with his discourse of these in the words before cited out of the 266 page Now in all this there is not one word of infants of whom he had spoken before and so that passage cannot be taken as a deny all of the efficacy of Baptisme in any without faith saue only in persons of years And if this were not thus to be vnderstood he should directly contradict all that he had before spoken of the regeneration of infants in whom there is no actuall faith by his owne confession in his defence against Harding as I haue shewed before And to make this yet more cleare that he did certainly beleeue that infants in baptisme receiued some principle of regeneration although not actuall renovation of the whole man see what he saith afterwards in the same Treatise of the sacraments touching the state of infants baptized and of the care of parents in their education n Page 282. God saith your children are my children They are the sonnes of God They are borne anew and well shapen in beautifull proportion make them not monsters He is a monster whosoeuer knoweth not God By you they are borne into the world be carefull also that by your means they may be begotten vnto God you are carfull to traine them vp in nature and comely behauiour of the body seeke also to fashion their mindes vnto Godlinesse You haue brought them to the fountaine of baptisme to receiue the marke of Christ bring them vp in knowledge and watch ouer them that they be not lost So shall they be confirmed and will keepe the promise they haue made will grow vp vnto perfect age in Christ He saith they are borne anew and yet bids parents be carefull that they may be begotten vnto God Therefore he well discerned the distinction of initiall and actuall regeneration This is our first answere and this is abundantly sufficient Howbeit secondly I pray marke in those words of his that are found in page 266 that euen they that haue faith if they be such as were baptized in infancy are not then said to receiue the grace of baptisme when they haue faith as if that were the first time of their reception of grace but only then they come to be assured and confirmed sensibly and euidently in that which before in their baptisme they did receiue for so he speaketh in expresse termes OVR FAITH which are baptized and our continuance in the profession which we haue made ESTABLISHETH in vs this grace which we RECEIVE And so in his Reply to Harding Artic. 1. Divis 13. pag. 27. to like effect he speaks of persons of yeares that their coniunction and incorporation into Christ is first begun and wrought by faith and then the same incorporation is assured vnto them and increased in baptisme But yet well knowing that it is otherwise with vs that were baptized in our infancy hee presently remembreth a place of Saint Augustine touching the baptisme of infants August de baptismo parvul Ad hoc baptisma valet c. To this availeth baptisme that men being baptised may be incorporated into Christ and made his members Now this must needs be meant of such as are baptized in infancy or else it were directly contrary to his owne assertion immediatly preceding wherein he saith that some are incorporated by faith and that incorporation is assured them afterwards in baptisme and then produceth this of Austin which affirmes vs by baptisme to be incorporated into Iesus Christ Therefore he goes on to shew of what vse the other holy mysteries are vnto vs that were baptized in infancy on this manner And for that wee are very imperfect of our selues and therefore must daily proceed forward that wee may grow into a perfect man in Christ therefore hath God appointed that the same incorporation should be often renewed and confirmed in vs by the vses of the holy mysteries which câ—nnot be meant of baptisme for that may not be repeated Wherein must be considered that the said holy mysteries doe not begin but rather continue and confirme this incorporation All this which he speakes of the vse of the holy mysteries after incorporation hee speakes not of baptisme as if either wee were ordinarily by meanes first made members and then baptized or yet were not members although baptized till by faith wee actually apprehend Christ on our parts for then woe to all infants that dye in infancy but he speakes directly of the Lords supper when he saith those mysteries doe not beginne but rather continue and confirme this incorporation And this is cleare by the very next clause following First of all wee our selues must be the body of Christ and afterwards we must receiue the sacrament of Christs body as it is well noted by St Augustine * â—nfâ—mâ— ad infames eâ—atur a Pedu in 1. Coâ— 10. Corpus Christi si vis intelligere c. If thou wilt vnderstand the body of Christ he are what S. Paul saith to the faithfull ye are the body and the members of Christ Your mystery is set on the Lords Table see receiue the mystery of the Lord. To conclude then the summe of all is but thus much It is not the bare receiuing of the Lords supper as * M. Harding pleaded that wee are made one body with Christ in the sacrament of the Lords supper as appeares in the place cited This Iewel denies saying that some are engrassed first by sa th otâ—â—s by bapt but none by the Lords supper for they must iust be of his body before they can partake of that sacrament M. Harding dreamed that makes vs members of Christ but all that partake of that ordinance were first made members of Christ by faith if they were such as were not baptized in their infancy but conuerted first by the word from gentilisme and then baptized for vnto
such baptisme also is a confirmation of their incorporation But vnto all others baptisme is the first ordinary meanes that initiateth vs into Christ and we from that time grow vp vnto more and more perfection in his body then we partake of the mystery of the Lords supper wherein and whereby we are yet further nourished and confirmed in the body of Christ so as M. Harding shot beside the marke when he contendeth that the sacrament of the Lords supper doth first vnite vs vnto Christ And this is all that the Bishop aimed at in all these words D. Whitaker In the next place come wee to D. Whitaker whom none but a corrupt Barowist or Tompsonian will refuse to honour among men of greatest parts and highest worth He in that learned Treatise of the Sacraments howeuer he denyeth all manner of efficacy to be in the sacraments ex opere operato by virtue of the meere externall administration of the sacrament yet he euery where disclaimes as an intollerable calumny that which Bellarmine the rest of that rout cease not to lay to our charge viz. that wee make the sacraments and particularly Baptisme to be without all efficacy at the time of administration or that a De Sacram. Controv. de Baptis quaest 4. cap. 1. Calumniatur ergo Bellarminus sic etiam Patres Tridentini qui aiunt nos dicere peccatum tantum radi in baptismo non tolli quod olim Augustino Pelagiani obiiccrunt quorum ille calumniam diluit Non enim peccatum in baptismo tanquam novacula resecatur sic vt radex haereat starim renascatur quemadmodum isti insulsi nos sentire putant sed nos in Baptismo dupâ—tcem gratiam consequimur prima est remissio peccatorum secunda regeneratio Remissio est pâ—riecta regeneratio inchoaâ—a propter peccati reliquias propter originale peccatum quod in nobis perpetuo quoad suam substantiam remanet we will haue sinne to be only pared and not wholy taken away in baptisme in respect of the guilt of it For sinne is not only shauen or clipt as some young thing newly sprout vp which though it be cut yet the roote still staies behind and will presently spring vp afresh againe may be said to be as those absurd obiectors imagine vs to hold but we obtaine a double benefit in baptisme the first is remission of sinnes the second is regeneration Remission of sinnes is perfect regeneration in respect of the remainders of sinne and of originall sinne that for substance still abideth in vs is then only inchoate or but in the beginning Nor doth he speake this only of persons of yeares that can haue neither of these without actuall faith to apprehend them as hee proues strongly and at large in the first part of that b De sacram in genere quaest 4 cap. 3. Tractate but he affirmes it also of infants that some of them viz. the elect are partakers of these graces in their baptisme as may be seene in sundry passages of his booke collated for marke when Bellarmine obiecteth that c Ibid de sacr in genera quest 4. multotus some reape benefit by the sacraments without actuall faith and particularly infants in their baptisme it is Doctor Whitakers constant answere not simply to deny that proposition but to deny it in two respects only viz. 1 If the proposition be vnderstood of all infants because all are not saued that be baptized 2 If it be meant that they partake of these graces meerely by virtue of the outward worke done or that the outward element should be thought to containe in it any efficacy to convey these graces vnto any infant at all then also he reiecteth it as false but otherwise he admits it to be true So doth he receiue the d Ibid cap. 2. p g. 72. counsell of Nice so the Mileuitane counsel e Ibid câ—â— 2. pag. 73. Terâ—â—â—â—n testimoniuÌ„ suruiâ—ur ex CoÌ„â—â—lio Milovitano Parvuli qui nihil peccatorum in semetipsis adhuc committere potuerunt ideo in remissioneÌ„ peccatorum veraciter baptizantur vt in cis regeneratione mundetur quod generatione traxâ—runt Respondâ—o Baâ—tismum esse sacramentum regenerâ—tionis etâ—â—â— in parvulis non negamus sed non ex opere operato Deas operatuâ— libere eiâ— iâ— bâ—â—tisâ—o sadiâ—â— at quos â—â—iâ—lt c. which speaks expresly of infants thus Litle children who yet cannot commit any actuall sinnes of their owne are therefore truly baptized for the remission of sinnes that so that filth which they haue contracted by generation might be purged out by regeneration True saith he wee deny not Baptisme to be the sacrament of regeneration euen to infants but not by vertue of the externall worke done Yea but you will say he denies this to be done in all infants True and so doe I. But of what sort are they that he admitteth to partake of the efficacy of Baptisme Surely none but the Elect. For thus He e Deus in baptismo ut significat remissionem peccatotum salutem ita re operatur veritas cum signo coniuncta est in electis De sacram in genere quaest 4. cap. 2. Jn baptisme as God doth signifie the remission of sinnes and salvation so indeed he workes the same and the truth of the things is iâ—ined together with the signe in the ELECT Againe f Ibid. quaest 1. cap 3. pag. 15. Quare falsum est quod ait Bellarm. baptizari apud nos infantesea solum de causa vt sint membra Ecclesia externae quemadmod◠〈◊〉 circiicisi eli n infantes Iudeorum sum illa tantum de causa sed vt illis signum diuini soederis imprimatur quod etsi non venatiâ— praedestinatis nal p edest tanun electis predest co modo quo Dâ—us novâ—t Nam infantes clectâ—s moâ—teâ—ies antequom adoleverint Deus virtute sp ritus sui renovat si vero vitun longius pâ—opagare illis contigerit comacis ad studium renouationis accenduntur quod eius tessâ—ram se infantes accepâ—â—e scâ—â—t Ergo etsi infantes baptizantur tamen non semper infantes count sed tandem si vita 〈◊〉 longiuâ— contedatur vim eius Baptismisentient quem infantes susciperunt Wherefore it is false that Bellarmine affirmes that Infants with vs are baptized only that they might become members of the visible Church for neither were the Infants of the Jewes circumcised only for that reason but that the signe of Gods covenant might bee stamped on them which although it profit not such as are neither regenerated nor predestinated notwithstanding it is availeable in the Elect in such manner as is well knowne to God For such Infants as being elected doe die in infancy God renueth by the power of his spirit but if it happen that they liue they are thereby the more incited to the study of renovation the badge whereof they then come to know that they received in Infancy Therefore although they be