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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41783	The Pædo-baptists apology for the baptized churches shewing the invalidity of the strongest grounds for infant baptism out of the works of the learned assertors of that tenent, and that the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins is a duty incumbent upon all sinners who come orderly to the profession of Christianity : also the promise of the Spirit [b]eing the substance of a sermon on I Cor. 12, I, to which is added a post-script out of the works of Dr. Jer. Taylor in defence of imposition of hands as a never failing ministery / by Tho. Grantham.	Grantham, Thomas, 1634-1692.; Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.	1671 (1671)	Wing G1541; ESTC R39521	38,200	120

designs prevented and though perhaps charity for some time hath born with such in hope of the best yet this is no other thing then ought to be as may be seen by the carriage of our Lord toward Judas and his Apostles towards fome others The gifts of Doctrine and praising our God with a Psalme is not yet removed our Teachers as taught of God remaining in every Church where also are some that are skillfull in praisiing the Lord to the edification of the Church As for Revelations there might perhaps sometimes be strange or hidden things made known by some speciall gift of God and why may not God do such things now However it is not unsafe to understand the Revellations here ment by Chap. 14. 30. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by let the first hold his peace c. which cannot so well be understood af a new Oracle as of some further subject or more full explication of the matter treated on by him that spake first according to which interpr●tation we may say the Church hath yet the gift of Revellations And thus far we seem to be got safe not any thing so materiall intervening as to conclude against the continuance of these spirituall gifts in the Church to this day so that the present repairers of the House or City of God may comfort themselves by the consideration of the words of the Prophet Hagg. 2. 5. According to the word which I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt so my SPIRIT REMAINETH amo●g you fear ye not But now the g●ft of Tongues and interpretation of Tongues these where shall we find them Doubtless these gifts are rarely if at all found in these days and in this Nation so as to sute with those who frequently in some Churches at first received those gifts the reasons are many but none such as conclude the Church from under the promise of these gifts as first these gifts differ much from the rest chiefly in this that they may be supply'd another way for the conversion of persons of all Languages or such as can speak other Languages and interpret the same to others doth supply the absence of those gifts 2. The Churche in this and I suppose other Nations have very little need of these gifts and therefore considering that they are not so necessary as the rest the Apostle leaves these with a forbid them not whilst the rest he wills us to c●v●t earnestly But 3 one great cause as I conceive why these g●fts are so much absent and the other no more received i● because we either ask them not at all or else we ask them amiss For many have been so ●ar from a king these gifts of the spirit that in truth they have been arguing that these gifts are not attainable and then t is no wonder they have not been received Again where there hath been some understanding of the interest we have in those gifts there faith in asking hath been and is very low and atended perhaps with great wavering and then little can be expected at the hand of the Almighty Jam. 1. And here let me premonish you of one thing which by my little reading I perceive to have been a great provocation to the Lord to wi●hdraw his gifts in times p●st and I fear it again And that was ●and and I doubt is an over curious performance of that which God gave spirituall gifts for to wit the ministering of the word when the Churches grew populous and great personages came to her communion the unwary pastours let go the simplicity of th● Gospell enclining so much to curiosities that some Counsells decreed tha● a B●shop should not read Heathen Authors and Gra●ian is said to have this passag● viz. Doth not he seem to wa●k in vanit● and da●kness of mind who vexing himself day a●d night in the studies of Logick in the persuite of physicall specula●ion one while elevates himself above the highest Heavens and afterward throws himself below the nethermost part of the Earth True the use that may be made o● reading is one thing and the abuse another however let the least gift o● God be preferred in the ministry o● the word above the greatest of human Arts otherwise we are in danger to incur the guilt of despising Prophysyings Lastly the truth in hand appeareth from the silence of Scriptures touching th● privation of any of the gifts of the spi●it till that which is perfect become 1. ●or 13. 8. 9. Charity never faileth but whether there be prophesies they shall fail whether there be tongues they shall cease whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away for we know in part and we prophe●●e in part But when that which is perfect is come THEN that which is in part sha'l be done away Hence observe a finall determination of the matter in question If any ask when the gifts of prophysie knowledge and tongues c. Shall cease The Apostles answer is even THEN when that which is perfect is come or when we come to see face to face or as we are seen So then seeing the gifts of the spirit do yet remain to the Church and every of them as her need requires are attainable it remains that we humbly consider our wants and desire spirituall gifts you ●ove● earnestly the best gifts From these considerations I conclude that howsoever it is too true that the gifts received by the present Churches are but low and truly so are her graces yet thence we may not we ought not to infer that the gifts promised are ceased or that the Church hath now no interest therein But contrarywise as the promise of gifts as well as graces pertains to us as we are the called of God we ought to ●tir one another up to seek with all dilligence and full assurance for the spirit of promise which being received will abundantly supply our wants help our infirmities convince the contrary minded by its powerfull evidence and demonstration in the ministry of the word and prayer There be two things objected against that which is said the first Ob If the promise of the spirit do thus belong to the Church then this will follow that the doctrines delivered by such gifted men must pass for Oracles of God being the effects ●f the spirit of truth whose propertie it 〈◊〉 to lead into all truth And hence ●ome have conceived the decrees ●f their Counsells to be infallible and ●thers have given out of their private ●tters or books that they were as in●allibly the word of God as the Scrip●ure c. Ans 1. Those gifts do not argue ●he infallibillity of him that hath them ●or then all the gifted brethren at Co●inth had been infallible which yet they ●ere not witness their great want of Wisdom how to use their gifts to edi●ication as also the Apostles refer●ing what they delivered to Tryal telling ●s of gifted person in general and as ●uch not

righteousness of Faith Which whe●her it did any such thing to an● s●ve to ●braham only ●n m●ch doubten so by vertue of i●'s 〈…〉 and remanem●y in their fl●sh it did that work when the 〈◊〉 came to age But in Christian Infants t●e case is otherwise for the new Covenant being estab●ished upon better promises is not only to be●ter purposes but also in a distinct manner to be understood when their spirits are as receptive of a spiri●ual act or impress as the bodies of jewish children were of the sign of circumcision then it is to be consign'd but the business is quickly at an end by saying that God hath done no less for ours then for their children for he will do the mercies of a Father and Creator to them and he did no more to the other but he hath done more to ours for he hath made a Covenant with them and built it upon promises of the greatest concernment And note further we have as much ground of comfort concerning our dying Infants as the faithful had for the first two thousand years during all which time the Covenant of grace reached to Infants though there was no external ceremony to consign it to Infants For the insinuation of the precept of Baptizing all Nation of which children are a part does as little advantage as any of the rest because other parallel expressions of the Scri●ture do determine and expound themselves to a sence that includes not all persons absolutely but of a capable condition as ado●ate ●um omnes gentes persallirae Deo omnes Nationes terra And Nation shall rise against Nation where Infants are excluded and divers more But Erasmus hath well expounded this text where he restrains the baptizing to such as are repentant of their former life As for the Conjecture concerning the Family of Stephan●s at the best it is but a conjecture and besides that it is not prov'd that there were children in the Family yet if that were granted it follows not that they were baptized because by whole Families in Scripture is ment all Persons of reason and age within the Familie for it is said of the Ruler at Capernaum that he beleived a●d all his house Now you may also suppose that in his house were little babes that is like enough and you may suppose that they did beleive too before they could understand but that 's not so likely and then the argument from baptizing Stephen's Family may be allowed just as probable but this is unmanlike to build upon such slight and airy conjectures But tradition by all means must supply the place of Scripture and there is pretended a Tradition apostolical that Infants were baptized but at this we are not much moved for we who rely upon the written word of God as sufficient to establish all true Religion do not value the allegations of Traditions and however the World goes none of the reformed Churches can pretend this argument against this opinion because they who reject T●adition when 't is against them must not pre●end it at al● for them But if we should allow the Topick to be good yet how will it be verified for so far as it can yet appear it relies wholly upon the Testimony of Origen for from him Austin had it Now a Tradition apostolical if it be not consign'd with a fuller testimony then of one person whom all after ages have condemn'd of many errours will obtain so little reputation among those that kn●w that thing have upon greater authority pretended to derive from the Apostles and yet f●sly that it will be a great argument that he is credulous and weak that shall be de●ermined by so weak probation in matters of so great concernment And the truth of the business is as there was no command of Scripture to obliedge children to the susception of it so necessity of ●ae●o-baptism was not determined in the Church till the eight age after Christ but in the year 418. in the Mileritan cou●cel a principal of A●r●ca there was a Cannon made for Paedo Bapt never till then I grant it was practised in Africa before that time and they or some of them thought well of it and though that be no Argument for us to think so yet none of them did ever before pretend it to be necessary none to have been a precept of the Gospel St. Austin was the first that ever preach'd it to be abso●utely necessary and it was in his heat and anger against Pelag●us who had warm'd and chafed him so in that question that it made him innovate in other doctrines possibly of greater concernment then th●s And that although this was practic'd antiently in Africa yet that it was without an opinion of necessity and not often there nor at all in other places we have the testimony of a learned Paedo Baptist Ludovicus Vives who in his annotations upon Augustin De Civit. Dei l. 1. c. 27. afirms Neminem nisi adultum antiquitus sol●re baptizari And because th●s Testimony is of great import I will set down the very words of Augustine and Ludovicus Vives as I find them in the English Edition of the said book of the City of God cap. 26. Where Augustine puts forth this question What is the reason then that we do spend so much time in our exhortations endeavouring to annimate th●se whom we have bapt●zed ei●her unto Virginity or c●●st widdow-●ood or honest and honourable marriage Now upon these words ●hose whom we have baptiz●d Vives comments t●us Least any man should mistake this place understand tha● in times of old no man was brought unto baptism but he was of s●fficient years to know what that mistical water meant and to require his baptism and that sundry times I hear that in some Cityes of Italy they do for the most part observe the antient Custome as yet And it is to be observed that in the Margent are two Notes the 1. is that this is the old manner of baptizing The 2 That all this is left out in the Paris Edition whence we may note how the writings of the Antients are abused and how ingeniously it is confessed Paedo-Baptism is not the old manner of baptizing And here we will insert some other testimonies from the learned Paedo-Baptists touching the Novelty of Infant baptism The first is out of Robertus Fabianus his Chron. 4. part in fol. 107. where he brings in Augustine the Monk speaking thus to the Brittain Bishops Since ye will not assent to my H●sts generally assent ye to me specially in three things the first is that ye keep Easter-day in due form and time as it is ordained The second THAT YE GIVE CHRIS●ENDOM TO CHILDREN c. But THEY WOULD NOT THEREOF This was about the fifth Age after Christ whence its remarkable that Infant bap●ism was then opposed by ●he joynt consent of the Brita●n Bish●ps which were sent to the Assembly to consul● the affairs of Religion at