Christ whether he will or no but to lay the chaine of succession of truth this way namely through the Popedome of Rome as all such must doe that hold a personall succession or a Church and ordinances to consist in the same from the Apostles untill now what will such doe and where will their succession of truth lie when the same comes to the woman Pope of whom the Papists themselves are ashamed for when we speake of personall succession of truth as in reference to Church and Church ordinances I looke upon this in the power and authoritie that beares the same and to hold a Church to be true and the ordinances there administred the true ordinances of God and to leave this and set up a way of worship apart from it and deny communion with it is in my darke understanding a meere schisme and the overthrow of all order in Religion so far as I have learned Christ men are to stand in their place and use all means to reforme and reclaime or disclaime by the word of truth and all being done and of necessitie I must by the word of God leave off communion with them I think by the same rule I must disclaime them and so separate away from them if they doe not repent and not to leave a true Church and true ordinances and goe apart and erect another Church ordinances and worship of our selves apart from it in opposition to it this in my judgement is as farre from any Rule in the Gospel of Christ as for a man to baptize himselfe neither of which doe I approve of Yet a word by the way because of such an error that some make and how far off from any rule or example for a man to baptize himselfe or to baptize others and himselfe unbaptized so thinking hereby to shut up the ordinance of God in such a strait that none can come by it but through the authoritie of the Popedome of Rome But for the opening of this cloud that seems so to darken the skie let the Reader consider who baptized John the Baptist before he baptized others and if no man did then whether he did not baptize others he himselfe being unbadtized if he was baptized whether it were not by an unbaptized person and all Scripture being written for our learning and this being one we are taught by this what to doe upon the like occasion And for the continuation of the Church from Christs words The gates of hell shall not prevaile against it c. I confesse the same with this distinction which church is to be considered either with respect to her instituted state as it lies in the Scripture in the Rules of the foundation or in her constitution or constituted forme in her visible order Against the first hell gates shall never prevaile the foundation stands sure but against the last it hath often prevailed for the Church in her outward visible order hath been often scattered through persecution and the like in which sense she is said to be prevailed against as Dan. 7. Rev. 12. Act. 8.1 Otherwise where was their Church before it came from under the defection Againe that which once was in such a way of being and ceaseth for a time and then comes to the same estate againe is and may â—ruely be said to have ever a continuance as Mat. 22.31 32. with Luk. â—0 38 In which sense the Church may truely be said ever to continue for though she be cast downe at one time yet God will raise her up at another so that shee shall never be so prevailed against as to be utterly destroyed And this way I suppose Christ may have injoy ever as good a wife as any can be preserved for him under the defection of Antichrist Though some have so wide mouths open against such as ever wished them well but I leave them to God to whom they shall give account of all their hard words against the Lord those that fear his name out of conscience obey him in that way as some please to call error in a reproachfull manner But men do in these dayes somewhat like to the tyrants in the ten persecutions whose crueltie was such that they exposed the Christians to be devoured of wild beasts and God so overpowred the creatures crueltie that at length they ceased to hurt them and when those bloudy tyrants saw that they put Beares-skins upon them thereby to insence and to stir up the nature of those beasts to fall upon them thus I have heard reported But whether this be true or not sure I am that such men can be little better minded that labour so to cover the godly with such filth as they vomit out of their own-selfe-sicke stomackes but I desire the Lord to passe by all and to give men more love and patience to beare one with another And to conclude I feare men put more in baptisme then is of right due unto it that so preferre it above the Church and all other ordinances besides for they can assume or erect a Church take in and cast out members elect and ordain Officers and administer the Supper and all anew without any looking after succession any further then the Scriptures but as for Baptisme they must have that successively from the Apostles though it comes through the hands of Pope Joane What is the cause of this that men can doe all from the Word but onely baptisme and that must come by man yea and that by the man of sinne But we are to know this that truth depends not upon Churches nor any mortall creature but onely upon the immortall God who by his Word and Spirit reveales the same when and to whom he pleases And for succession of truth it comes now by the promise of God faith of his people whom he as aforesaid hath taken out of the world unto himselfe in the fellowship of the Gospel to whom the ordinances of Christ stand onely by succession of faith and not of persons for the same power and authoritie the Apostles had in their time for direction in godlinesse the Scriptures have now in the hand of Christ as the head of his Church which make up but one body 1 Cor. 12.12.27 Eph. 1.22 23. Eph. 4.15 16. So that what the Church and the Apostles together might doe then the same may the head and body together with the Scriptures doe now the Scriptures having the same authoritie in the Church now as the Apostles had then the same Spirit being present now to reveale them as then to write them 1 Cor. 5.4 5. 2 Tim. 3.15 16. The Scriptures remaining in the place of the Apostles for us to have recourse unto and serve as the mouth of Christ to all beleevers 〈…〉 as the Apostles did before they were written Mat. 28.20 2 Pet. 1.19 20 21. Rom. 10.6 7 8. And as the people of old conferred with the Prophets and Apostles about their great affaires so have
them what will such doe when more light comes they will then yeeld or else appeare to be wilfull opposers of the truth The Lord give them hearts to consider and to put their cause to the tryall of the holy and pure Word of God and to bring all his people into one unitie of faith and uniforme order of truth that God may have glory the Gospel honour the Saints comfort The subject of the former discourse hath been about the right subject of Baptisme and that the word of God hath discovered to be a beleever onely in the proving of which truth there in also disproved two sorts of persons and they are either beleevers Infants or such that received their Baptisme of Antichrist and yet all in their infancy both which are by the Scriptures disapproved the one being uncapable and so without any Rule from God for the same and the other also unlawfull and so directly against the word of God which disclaimes all communion with the man of sinne in any of his divine ordinances who receives nothing of the Lord and therefore all that he can administer unto any is both of himselfe from himselfe and for himselfe and so not to be justified nor retained as the Lords ordinance And this falling out so it followes that we are now to seeke for the Lords true Baptisme and for a case so difficult as some would make it two things in speciall are to be inquired into first how or where to finde it secondly how it may be obtained being found for the first if any ordinance of God should be so deceased in its constitution as that we doe not know where it is afoot in Gods way in the world so as to come by it with a good conscience A people in such a case being convicted of the truth and he necessitie of their obedience to God in the same and yet know not the way or manner how to accomplish their holy desires in the finding obtaining the same They are to goe as of old to Christ and his Apostles as the godly then did that is to the holy Scriptures which are the lively Oracles of God the Spirit speaking in them unto a beleeving heart so they stand in the place of Christ and his Apostles with the same abilitie authoritie to furnish a man of faith with all truth as these Scriptures compared together sufficiently prove 2 Tim. 3.15 16 17. 2 Pet. 1.19 20. Rom. 16.25 26. Job 5.39 Mat. 22.29 Luk. 24.25.27.44 45 46. 1 Cor. 15.3 4. By all which we see that all things are contained in the Scriptures unto which the holy Ghost leads men to prove and finde all things concerning faith and obedience to God and man which are the Propheticall mouth of Christ that all must have recourse unto that will have any thing to do with him Act. 3.22 23. And the Rule by which all must be tryed though an Angel from heaven and the Apostles themselves as Gal. 1.8 9. So that the holy Scripture is the onely place where any ordinance of God in the case aforesaid is to be found they being the fountain-head containing all the instituted Rules both of Church and ordinances so that where or wheresoever any of these are wanting in their constitution and cannot be found in their outward orderly forme wee are to go directly unto its institution and recover the same againe from thence as Cant. 1.7 Isa 8.19 20. Rom. 10.6 7 8. And thus having found the place or subject wherein baptisme ever subsists as an ordinance of God we are in the next place to know how such as want it may come orderly by it for though that God hath joyned his word and ordinances together yet he hath also ordained an orderly way for his people to come to enjoy them which orderly way I conceive to be only in the Church of God wherein is the power of Christ to set afoot his ordinances as when God shall please to take a people to himselfe and by the power of his truth unite them to his Son and so into an orderly body among themselves now such a people so constituted have right unto all such priviledges ordained and appointed by God for their mutuall comfort and well-being as Rom. 8.17 1 Cor. 3.21 22 23. By vertue of this union they have with their head Christ the body thus joyntly considered hath the power authoritie of Christ within her selfe to chuse and make use of any one or more of her members as occasion offers and authorises his or them to administer baptisme upon the whole body and so upon themselves in the first place as apart of the same Such may be truly said to be sent and authorized by Christ as of old by Christ in his humane body even so now by him in his divine and spirituall body for wheresoever a Church doth rise in her true constitution there are her ordinances and also power to administer the same and where a thing is wanting there must be of necessitie a beginning to reduce that thing againe into beeing And thus briefly I have shewed my judgement in case baptisme should be wanting where we should finde it and that is in the holy Scriptures of God Secondly How from thence to be obtained and that is by Gods calling a people into an holy fellowship with Christ from whom they have power to assume as a Church so the ordinance of Baptisme upon themselves I shall yet further cleare up this truth by shewing the manner of the foresaid constitution in the causes of it But before I can doe this I must give answer to two sorts of persons that oppose the aforesaid truth first such as stand for a personall succession secondly such as will have no Church before Baptisme and so make Baptisme the forme of the Church As for the first that hold Baptisme by personall succession they have received a sufficient answer in proving of that Baptisme administred by Antichrist to be none of Gods ordinance onely a word or two to such as hold a succession in the defection of Antichrist as they call it if they meane by defection the outward forme of worship and government Ecclesiasticall a I thinke they doe then all the power and authoritie that ever hath carried out any administration or constituted ordinance hath taken its beeing thence and depends upon the same and if so then the power and ordainer and the ordinance so ordained must be both of one and the same stamp as I have already proved if the one be Antichrists the other must be also Antichristian and to dreame of any approved Church by the word of God in or under this defection and yet a part of the same is to look for a man in the Moone and to suppose a Church to consist in such matter that is destructive to the forme and therein to hold a succession of truth is against the very light of nature and to keep the Pope upon the throne of
thereof which cannot be untill a man be borne from above and such as are spirituall alive are the onely subjects of Baptisme This will be further cleared in the constitution of the Church which now follows which constitution is the orderly collection conjoyning of persons into the new covenant or visible union with Christ their head and so consequently into an orderly body among themselves wherein the Saints are the matter and the covenant the forme from which two concurring the Church ariseth and is by them constituted as Ezek. 16.8 Jer. 31.33 Heb. 8.10 Gal. 3.18.29 Heb. 6.17 Zech. 13.9 with Deut. 26.16 to 19 Deut. 29.12 13. Rom. 9.8 with Gal 4.28 By which it appeares that it is the promise or the covenant of grace that produceth a Christian and gives him a beeing in such an estate of grace as in Church-fellowship and so consequently the Church it selfe for that which is true in a part is the same in the whole Now for the constituting causes by which God ordinarily useth to effect this worke are these First the word of God which is to fit and prepare the matter for the forme Secondly the confession of faith which is to declare the fitnesse of the matter for the forme Thirdly the free and mutuall consent and agreement of the particular persons upon the practise of the same truth beleeved and confessed as aforesaid And lastly the Spirit of Christ uniting and knitting up their hearts together in and by the same truth and of each of these a word First of the Word of God sitting and preparing of the matter and this appeares in the ministery of John thâ—â— Baptist who was to goe before Christ in the spirit and power of Elias for to turne the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient unto the wisdome of the just and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord as Luk. 1.17 Compare with this Luk. 3.4 5 6. where he is said to prepare the way of the Lord and to make his paths straight And now the manner how this is to be done is to fill up every valley and to bring down every mountain and hill and to make the crooked straight and the rough wayes smooth And so verse 6. by the valleys is to be understood of such as whose hearts were possessed with fear either of Gods displeasure against them for sin or fear of the dangers straits and difficulties that attends the Gospel of Christ in the true profession of the same From both which the hearts of such are to be freed that are fit to follow Christ and prepared subjects for his Kingdome Luk. 14.26 In which sense the Gospel is a preparative meanes to fill up such valleys by powring in the great abundance of Gods rich grace and free love in Christ towards all such as beleeve and his all-sufficiency to preserve such as suffer for his Names lake And for laying low the mountains and hills that is to humble and to bring downe the proud heart of man that exalts himselfe and cannot submit unto the simplicitie of the Gospel and to that low and meane condition of Christ upon his Crosse as Isa 2 11-22 with 2 Cor. 10.4 5 6. And for the crooked to be made straight that is the crooked and Serpent like nature wayes and evill dispositions of men these shall be changed and made conformable to Christ And so for the making of the tough smooth that is the hard and rough turbulent spirits of men that will admit of no rule order or peaceable societie at all shall by the word of God be made soft smooth and of such a meek temper of spirit as that all such shall live together in love innocent and harmlesse with unitie peace and uniformitie to Christ in all things as Isa 11.6 7 8 9. All which Christ himselfe often affirmed that except a man deny himselfe he cannot be his disciple All which change thus upon the hearts of men is by the power of the Word of God by which they as matter are sitted and prepared for the forme The second constituting cause is the confession of faith which declares the fitnes of the matter for the forme which confession of faith is produced by the power of the Gospel shining into the heart of man and drawes away the same after that which is by the Gospel revealed Which truth is of such a working nature that will not be kept in but like unto leaven which so seasons and sweetens the whole man that as fire at length it breaks forth and discovers it selfe or rather such as have it not onely so but it brings them together by which they come now to conferre about the same so that at length they come to be of one and the same minde and judgement in it and withall convicted of their obedience thereunto And upon this here follows a third constituting cause which is their free mutuall consent and agreement upon the practise of that truth so by God revealed and by faith received as his will in their obedience thereunto which agreement is between God and them in his truth who by his power subjects them to himselfe by the same and where this is in truth Now comes the cause in the last place which 〈…〉 and concludes the whole work and that is the Spirit of grace and power going forth in their hearts by faith uniting knitting them up together in one for the manifestation of their obedience to God in their practie all subjection to Christ in the said truth by them received and agreed upon as aforesaid and this is the Covenant that formes the Church which ever goes in order before the externall administration of any other ordinance then the matters joyning together for orderly practise for persons must be informed of the truth in judgement and bound by the same in conscience and agree upon the practise before the same can orderly be put into execution which foresaid union is the holy Ghosts conjoyning and uniting the said persons together in one and the same truth and so consequently into an orderly body among themselves immediately under Christ their head Which conjunction is called in Scripture the unitie of the Spirit Eph. 4.3 and the gracious covenant by which God becomes their God and they his approved people in such a visible relation Gen. 17. as Deut. 29.12 13. with Deut. 26.17 18. Ezek. 16.8 Ier. 31.3 This is called also joyning to the Lord as Ier. 50.5 They shall aske the way to Sion with their faces thitherward saying Come and let us joyne our selves unto the Lord in a perpetuall covenant that shall not be forgotten And the sonne of the stranger that joyns himselfe to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and to be his servant c. Isa 56.6 And bâ— that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 And of the rest durst no man joyne himselfe unto them Act. 5.13 And when Paul
the same And to affirme this to be Gods way to brings persons to the faith by working so upon them by his Spirit in their infancy argues some ignorance of the true nature and worke of grace as the Gospell holds it forth And to be capable of the grace of the Covenant which must be understood of the promise containing the blessings and priviledges thereof in the holy dispensations of the same We shall finde in the Scriptures of God all the sweet promises of Grace under the New Testament holding forth their blessings and blessed priviledges onely to such as beleeve And that to the Elect themselves as they are considered in Christ and appeare so by some effect of grace declaring their faith and they to be such as God approves of in his Sonne and so to have visible right to those priviledges they are visibly justified by and possessed in as such that have a visible right unto the same Which can come to us Gentiles no other way then by Christ and faith in his Name And if any shall object from the testimony of John the Baptist Obj. that he is said to be filled with the holy Ghost from his Mothers wombe Luk. 1.15 c. and hence conclude that Infants may have faith To this I answer in a word Ans first what Infants may have is one thing and what Infants can from this Scripture be proved to have is another For if any thing from this Text can be proved for Infants it will be that they are filled with the holy Ghost from the Mothers wombe as John is said to be which is another thing then to beleeve as Act. 6 5. 4 31. Secondly All such so testified of by God as he did of John I shall acknowledge as much as is here meant to be in him to be also in them so testified of by the holy Ghost But to affirme because God so testified of John the Baptist in the wombe therefore the same holds true upon all other Infants likewise This is indeed weaker then infancy so to affirme Job 31.18 and grosser then ignorance for any to beleeve Job is said to be a Guide to the distressed from his Mothers wombe Shall it be concluded thence that he was a Guide to such when he was an Infant or if he were so must it needs follow that all Infants are capable Guides because it is said so of him And lastly I am not against any that have faith but absolutely for all that beleeve whether Infants or others so that their faith appeares by such effects as the Word of God approves of Otherwise what have I or any man to doe to meddle with the secret and unrevealed things of God either to justifie or condemne And whereas in the former Proposition there seemes a restraint made of the worke of grace in an Infant over there is in other persons by saying onely so farre as is necessary to union with Christ and justification to life thereby Now for answer to this we shall first consider what in this sense is to be understood by Christ and secondly what by union with Christ so as to be justified thereby By Christ here I understand him so as the Gospel holds him forth in the work of mans Redemption in reference to his death resurrection and the onely righteousnesse that commends such to God as beleeve in the same And so Christ thus considered is the onely subject of life to every soule that shall be united unto him by faith To which union with Christ these three things must be minded as essentiall to the same First Gods revealing tendering of Christ as the alsufficient onely way to life Secondly A heart fitly disposed by faith to apprehend and receive Christ so tendered And lastly The Spirit of grace uniting and knitting of the heart and Christ togegether as aforesaid And this I understand to be that effectuall and substantiall union with Christ to justification of life which the Word of God approves of that most decide all differences in matters of Religion For justification to life ever presupposeth apprehension of Christ as the subject of life and a true application of the same by faith as aforesaid The Gospel holds forth no other justification to salvation but what is or faith and faith ever presupposes the parties knowledge of the thing beleeved Rom. 10.14 Heb. 11.6 Now let this be well examined by the rule of truth then let the Reader judge how capable Infants are of union with Christ and justification to life thereby Now for to darken and obscure this truth there are these evill consequences as absurdities brought in as to follow upon the same First If Infants should not be capable of those graces aforesaid then they were not elected Obj. Secondly Then their bodies should not be raised againe to life And lastly We have not infallible judgement but may be mistaken as in the case of Simon Magus c. To this in a word and first I would know of such Ans whether Infants with referrence to their non-age were the subjects of Gods Election Secondly If Infants so considered are capable subjects of glory And if not as I suppose none will affirme then why any more in Grace then in Glory And for any to appoint God a way how to save Infants or to draw out to themselves a way how the holy Spirit of Grace must sanctifie them to salvation above what is written I thinke it is somewhat too much boldnesse God will have his creature to keepe onely to his Word as the Rule by which man must judge all things and the Word of God shews that he hath elected persons to the meanes as well as to the end being the way unto the same And that was the Adoption of Sonnes and to be called and justified by beleeving in Jesus Christ as Ephes 1.4 5. Rom. 8.29 30. 1 Pet. 1.2 2 Thes 2.13 14. And therefore the ground of Gods calling us and our beleeving is attributed unto out Election Act. 2.47 Act. 13.48 Rom. 8.28 Rom. 11.7 And to the glory of God as the cause of all by the dispensation of his grace upon his chosen in Christ and their free obedience unto him againe as Rom 9.23 24. Ephes 1.6.12 These things God hath revealed in his Word and further I dare not goe but leaving the secret things to God who gives not account of all his wayes And for the raising of Infants bodies doth none rise but such as are in visible union with Christ as for invisible things we meddle not with It is the power of God that raiseth the dead and not union with Christ 1 Thes 4.16 And when any of Gods Elect can by the Scriptures be shewed to die in their infancy then it will be granted that their bodies are raised to life eternall onely as they are Infants Nor that I hold all that dye in their infancy to be damned but being a secret thing I leave the