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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	bring_v	good_a	work_n	2,437	5	5.8344	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78132	A defence of the lavvfulnesse of baptizing infants. As also of the present baptisme, as it hath continued in the severall ages of the world, from John Baptist the first beginner thereof. In way of answer to something written by Iohn Spilsberie against the same.	Barbon, Praisegod, 1596?-1679.	1645 (1645)	Wing B749; Thomason E270_12; ESTC R212355	60,304	74

A DEFENCE OF THE LAVVFVLNESSE OF Baptizing Infants As also of the present Baptisme as it hath continued in the severall ages of the world from John Baptist the first beginner thereof In way of Answer to something written by IOHN SPILSBERIE against the same 1 Thes 5. 12. Try all things hold fast that which is good Psal 105. 8. He hath remembred his Covenant for ever the word which he commanded to a thousand generations Deut. 30. 6. And the Lord thy God will circumcize thy heart and the heart of thy seed c. LONDON Printed by M. Bell for Benjamin Allen and are to be sold at his shop in Popes head Alley at the signe of the Crowne 1645. To the Reader THe holy Scriptures do inform us of two severall persecutions raised by Satan against that innocent part of the Church to wit Infants beside the persecutions which inclusively they at severall times have suffered with the rest of the Church The first was by Pharaoh that sore oppressour of Israel that held them in such cruell bondage The second was by bloody Herod Our Lord himselfe in this latter was personally concerned he then being an Infant and Rachels Infants suffering for him In both which it is considerable the time when In the first it was when the Israelites were neere deliverance from Egypts bondage The second was when the Deliverer was come to Sion and deliverance it was neere at hand In like kinde now in this last age now God is delivering of his Church from the long and sore bondage of spirituall Babylon called Sodom and Egypt he returning to her as in the dayes of old There is even now also a sore persecution against this innocent part of the Church which is so much the more sad and grievous in these three respects First in that it is raised and carried on by such as pretend to be friends and lovers of Sion the Church of God if it were by open and professed enemies it were more easie to be borne Secondly in that they pretend to the glory of God this their persecuting and casting out a part of his heritage as did of old those that cast out their brethren and said Let the Lord be glorified Esay 66. by which meanes many are deceived Thirdly in that their opposition is against them in a spirituall regard it being against their relation to God to his Church to his gracious Covenant or Covenant of grace from all which they seclude them driving them out of Gods heritage that they may goe serve other gods spoiling them of all their externall rights and priviledges and so leaving them among the dead to wit in trespasses and sinnes Pharaoh endeavoured to destroy and Herod killed a part of this part of the Church But these in a spirituall sense have destroyed all this part of the Church not one left alive in way of relation to God or interessed externally in Jesus Christ But this hard and injurious dealing Jehovah that is mighty and Jesus Christ that is gracious who manifested much tender respect unto these will plead their cause and right their wrong against such as rise up against them as he did of old for he taketh it as done against himselfe Courteous Reader in the behalfe of these innocent Saints to whom the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is most free they having nothing to bring unto him no not so much as good words I doe make defence in their cause as touching their right in the Covenant of grace and part in the Church of God to whom they having relation as to a father and are therein blessed as such are whose God is the Lord. Now I have thought good to offer it to thy view in regard that a great part of what I have said for them and against their opposers runneth in another line something different from what is usually pleaded in their behalfe that it might be considered of together with an answer to some things controvertable in that way about the raising of Baptisme pretended to be lost but indeed continued by the power of God under the defilements of Antichrist The exceptions against the said continuance I have made answer unto as also some other particulars handled all which I have referred to thy judgement forbearing such confident expressions of proofe and full proofe as is to be found not in a few of this way and others also that in the judgement of the Reader have made proofe of nothing at all Indeed such confident praising of a mans own work is a certaine signe of the weaknesse of it Use thy rightfull liberty good Reader in the consideration of what is said and be impartiall seeing thou art free Now for my particular Opponent I professe as much respect and tender of love to him as to any of that way and therefore desire that nothing may be misconstrued in regard of the manner of any proceed nor of any phrases wherein I intend no hurt but to quicken the Reader and to make the matter more plausible to some that are dull If any aske why I answer only a part and not the whole book published by my opposite I answer first that a great part of it was an answer to some others to whom I leave it to make reply if they please Secondly in regard that some other part of the Booke is in way of opposall of their opinion that hold not alike the truth of the Church and Baptisme in the defection but hold the truth of Baptisme only I might doe them wrong for want of ability to manage and make out the matter therefore I have forborn and left it to themselves if they please to make defence In regard some part of this Contest is of personall Reformation and proceed from corrupt wayes to serve God purely the maine worke of this present age I shall take the boldnesse to forewarne in love and sobriety all persons to take heed to their setting out at the first for want whereof this and other errours have been fallen into by not a few A person missing his way at the first setting out the further he goeth the further out and to seeke even so it is in this one errour begetteth another and another and there is no end till men sit down in darknesse That person that cast away the truth of his relation to God to Christ externally because of defilements will never be able to make out his relation in a way of purity Other foundation can none lay then that which is laid already no not ingard of outward Religion and the service of God It is safest keeping to this lest men make their ease like those that comming from captivity sought their discent and could not finde it and so might not be admitted to speciall Ordinances but by Vrim c. Esra 2. 62. 63. Their labour is to be pitied that know not the way to the City how shall such be ever stayed in their course or setled in their way

giveth being to all Order and Ordinances It doth give being of direction and warrant declaring what is good and lawfull and what not It acts nothing God requireth an orderly way and that is by the Church Now courteous Reader do but seriously consider how J. S. hath cleared the way of raising and beginning again Baptisme lost and fallen out of the world as he beleeveth and how he hath removed the difficulties in the way which he ealleth clouds that darken the skie See if thou do not yet finde it very dark and cloudy as ever and never the clearer for all the labour and pains he hath taken and whether his labour and travell herein hath been to any more purpose then the washing of the Blackmoore For first of all Whereas he referreth thee to the Scriptures as the Successours of the Apostles in his opinion First Thou seest the Scriptures were before the Apostles and the Apostles themselves were guided by them Secondly That the Scriptures are onely directive and act nothing at all neither can they and beside they do not direct to any such course as the constituting an unbaptized Church or authorizing unbaptized persons to baptize Thirdly Thou seest what great cause of doubt and question there is according to his opinion whether these Scriptures be the Scriptures of God and whether they have not lost their being having been so long in Babylon and in the hands of Antichristians especially if it be minded that they were by Antichristians translated into our native Tongue their translating must needs make them Antichristian and to be rejected as false as well as their Baptisme Where will J. S. be then do thou but think for the raising a new his Church and Baptisme which I would wish him and those of his way to consider of well But then in the second place God being to be sought as he holdeth in an orderly way according to what he hath declared as his judgement and this orderly way being by the Church rightly gathered and constituted to whom Christ hath committed the power Consider good Reader in the first place that if the Scriptures be not Antichristian as his opinion inforceth that they have in them no ground or warrant by any example or precept for such an unbaptized Church neither can such a supposed Church be orderly constituted or the proceed thereof orderly the Scripture being wholly silent concerning any such thing This conceit of so making Christs Church and so making Baptisme being a meer Popish Tenent and the proceed therin like unto theirs in such like cases So as this Ordinance of Christs Baptisme being according to his opinion destroyed in Babylon and there being no orderly Church of Christ in earth to be found as he holdeth nor no Christ Moses Eliah or Prophet from heaven appearing nor yet any that by Signes and Miracles can prove the truth of their Mission I conceive it necessarily followeth and I willingly leave all men free to judge of it That J. S. is yet for all his clearing in a great straight and under a dark cloud out of and from under which he will not be able to get unlesse he do as Saul did make bold to do that which is unwarrantable and so running before he be sent and doing that which God never spake any word about the which he shall do well to take further knowledge of CHAP. III. Containing a defence of the judgement of such as hold that Baptisme hath continued Gods Ordinance in the Apostacie of Antichrist notwithstanding the corruptions attending of it in way of Answer to the Cavils and Exceptions of J. S. against the same BEfore that J. S. could finish the matter in the former Chapter and clear it as he pretended to do he found some Tenents in his way as opposite to that pretended truth but indeed errour which he endeavoured to maintain the which he setteth down thus First such as stand for a personall succession Again thus A word or two to such as hold succession in the defection of Antichrist Again Such as hold Baptisme by personall succession as in pag. 39. may be seen To which I answer First That sure J. S. mistaketh himself being never able to make it appear that any person or persons do so hold So I might let him alone to contest with his own fancie But in as much as he may happily have met with some that hold the continuation of Baptisme as Gods Ordinance in that defection not in way of succession that being no way proper to an Ordinance returning home unto himself his phrase of succession as darkening the truth I shall apply my self to take knowledge of his scope and purpose First he saith Such have received a sufficient Answer that hold so in what he had writ before To which I answer Indeed if he might be his own Judge in his own cause it might be so It were much better that others should have said so and praised him then he thus his own work But what was it that he had proved before in his conceit That all the world are unbaptized onely he and those of his way Is he not a mighty Champion thus to nullifie and make void the Christianity of all Christians in the world It is more then Turks could ever do by all the force and power they had He hath yet a word or two more to say to such as hold contrary to his erroneous conclusion that Baptisme hath continued and doth continue Gods Ordinance c. And first he begins by way of Querie thus If they mean by defection the outward form of worship and Government Ecclesiasticall as he thinketh they do Answ Is defection of so hard and doubtfull sense with J. S. as he should querie thus and go by thinking he may know that defection or defilement pollution or corruption are of one nature and that there is a reall difference betwixt corruption and the thing corrupted between defilement and the thing defiled betwixt Religion and Gods Ordinances and mens additions to and detractions from the same They mean that the Ordinances and in particular Baptisme hath continued from the Apostles downward thorow all the apostacie and defilements that have attended Religion and it to this day Just as Circumeision of old did continue Gods Ordinance in the apostacie and defilements of the ten Tribes under Jeroboam and likewise in the time of Manasses in Judah This is their meaning and what then Then saith he all the power and authority that ever carried out any Administration or constituted Ordinance depends on the same Just as Circumcision depended on the Calves in Jeroboams apostacie And if so saith he then the Ordainer and Ordinance ordained are both of one nature Yea they are both of one nature God is the Author he is spirituall and Baptisme the thing ordained so also If one be saith he Antichristian the other is also Antichristian Strong lines without proof What if neither be Antichristian neither the Authour nor