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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43469	Some plain letters in the defence of infant baptism and of the mode of baptizing (now generally used in the Church of England), which may serve, for a confutation of a small treatise entituled The reason why not infant-sprinkling, but believers-baptism ought to be approved, &c.	Hewerdine, Thomas, 1659 or 60-1738?	1699 (1699)	Wing H1630; ESTC R5896	62,852	138

Lord has told us That that which is born of the Flesh is Flesh sinful Flesh of sinful Flesh John 3.6 and there he also teaches us that what is only so born cannot see the Kingdom of God for says he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 except one be born again that is born again of Water and of the Spirit he cannot see the Kingdom of God And this therefore would be another hard saying for our Children if they were not capable of being born again of the Spirit And further If Children are Holy they must be made so by the Holy Ghost For it is that Holy Spirit which Sanctifies or makes Holy and therefore must the Children needs be so Sanctified who are said to be Holy 1 Cor. 7.14 And indeed unless they are so tho' their Angels may behold the Face of God yet how shall they themselves ever come to see that Blessed Sight Since we are expresly told that without Holiness no one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Original word and signifies no one be it who it will Man or Child Without Holiness no one shall see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Thirdly Dr. Fuller has observed That the great cause of Men's mistakes in this matter is this They make the Body the Standard of the Soul and are apt to think that the Soul grows bigger as the Body does even as if our Souls were very little things when we are Infants in comparison of what they are when we become Men Which is a very gross mistake indeed for our Souls are not capable of any such growth but as to that are the very same when first infused into our Bodies that they are ever after the same in our Infancy that they are in our Old Age and therefore why our Souls which as to their Substance are the same in every period of our Life why they should at any time be incapable of receiving the Holy Ghost or of being Sanctified thereby Let them give you a Reason who can find out a Reason to give for I can find none But some there are who will not yet believe the Spirit of Sanctification to be in Infants no not in Baptized Infants because they can see no Sign or Expression of it To which I farther Answer with the admir'd Bishop Taylor That it is no good Argument to say Here is no Seed in the bowels of the Earth because there is nothing green upon the face of it Nor is it a good Argument to say That an Heir so long as he is a Child is no Heir because so long as he is a Child he differeth nothing from a Servant or we see no sign of his being Heir and Lord of all as the Apostle speaks Nay and further When a Branch is Engrafted into the good Olive-Tree it receives from it a kind of new Life and Nourishment tho' we do not immediately see any fruits of its doing so Even so when Infants are grafted into Christ by Baptism and made Members of that True Vine as he calls himself John 15.1 they are thereby made Partakers of a new Spiritual Life and Nourishment tho' we do not presently see the good fruits of their being so Again Christ's Body is his Church and the Soul of that Body is the Holy Spirit and when Infants are Baptized and Incorporated into that Body they are thereby put under the Communications and Influences of the Spirit as every the least Part or Cubit added to our Statures is thereby put under the Influences of our Souls For thus Baptism says Dr. Sherlock is our Regeneration or New Birth the Beginnings of a New Life because it Incorporates us into Christ's Mystical Body which puts us under the Influences and Communications of his Life and Spirit as when a Branch is Engrafted into a Stock it receives nourishment and life from it Discourse concerning the Nature of Vnity c. p. 24. And says Dr. Scott another of your justly Admired Authors It is by his Blessed Spirit that Christ hath promised to be with us to the end of the World Mat. 28.20 And Christ himself hath assur'd us that upon his Ascension into Heaven He would pray his Father and he should give us another Comforter meaning this Holy Ghost that he might abide with us for ever Joh. 14.16 And accordingly the Holy Ghost is vitally united to the Church of Christ even as Souls are united to their Bodies For as there is one Body or Church so there is one Spirit which animates that Body Eph. 4.4 So that when by Baptism we are once Incorporated into this Body we are Entituled to and do at least de Jure participate of the vital Influence of the Holy Ghost who is the Soul of it Christian Life Part 2. Vol. 2. Chap. 7. p. 76 77. Indeed we know not how every particle of Flesh that grows to our Bodies is immediately enliven'd by our Souls and yet so it is And just so tho' we know not how every Member that 's added to the Body of Christ is quickned by that Holy Spirit which as the Soul of that Body Communicates all its Spiritual Life to it And Lastly That the Holy Spirit may be where we see no signs or expressions of it is plainly taught by our Saviour himself The wind bloweth where it lifteth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth so is every one that is born of the Spirit John 3.8 And so is every Infant that is born of the Spirit The Spirit comes upon it though thou canst not tell how nor whence And all this I hope is very sufficient Proof that even Infants and Children are capable of receiving the Holy Spirit and then according to St. Peter's Argument who can forbid Water that they should not be Baptized who can receive the Holy Ghost as well as we Act. 10 47. And in short Our Adversaries great Objection is this when St. Peter said Be baptized every one of you and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost he plainly taught that none are to be Baptized but such as are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost But of this say they little Children are not capable and therefore are not to be Baptized To which I will now Answer That when St. Peter said Be Baptized every one of you and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost he plainly taught that all are to be Baptized who are capable of receiving the Holy Ghost But of this I have now prov'd little Children to be capable and therefore they are to be Baptized And thus I am perswaded that the Baptism of Children is most certainly taught by St. Peter in this very Text Repent and be Baptized every one of you for the Remission of Sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the Promise is to you and to your Children The plain sense of which Text is this The promise of the Holy Ghost is to you and to your

SOME PLAIN LETTERS In the DEFENCE of Infant Baptism And of the Mode of Baptizing Now generally used in the Church of England By Sprinkling or Pouring on Water Which may serve For ●●●TUTATION of a small Treatise INTITULED The Reason why not Infant-Sprinkling but Believers-Baptism ought to be Approved c. When you bring your Children to be Baptized see that you do most sincerely give them up to God and devote them to his Service with firm Resolutions to bring them up in his Fear if God spare your Lives and theirs and earnestly pray for his Grace to be given into their Souls Christian Monitor Pag. 37. LONDON Printed for R. Wilkin at the King's Head in St. Paul's Church-yard 1699. TO THE JOINT-PARISHIONERS OF March Doddington Wimblington and Benwick IT will not my Brethren it will not concern you to know the particular occasion of these Letters nor am I Licens'd to Publish his Name who gave the occasion but this I will say That he did very Fairly and very Ingenuously and as it became a wise Man and a good Christian to do For he did not as some have indiscreetly and loosely done listen with both his Ears to the Objections against Infant-Baptism and so rashly condemn it without any more a-do No but he was very Concernedly desirous and forward to hear what could be said in the Defence of it too As I remember I have read of that fam'd Conqueror Alexander the Great that when a Friend of his was Complain'd of to him he stopt one of his Ears he lent but one Ear to the Complaint that was made against his Friend and kept the other to hear what his Friend cou'd Reply in Answer to it And thus should we constantly do in the Case of Religion when ever any Point or Doctrine of our Religion is call'd in Question we should always reserve one Ear to hear what may be said in its Vindication and Defence And indeed the greatest and plainest Truths are liable to be spoken against and even Jesuits Socinians Antinomians and the other Adversaries of our Faith will raise such Objections against the clearest Articles of it as are not to be Answer'd by every one amongst us at the first hearing It was a Witty Fiction of Old that once upon a time Truth came down to this Earth from Heaven but here among the Sons of Men being but coldly received and finding no very welcome entertainment she e'en took wing and was flying to Heaven again but in her flight she chanc'd to drop down her Mantle which Error immediately finding took up and put on and has worn it ever since This is the Fable and the Moral of it is That no Error does ever appear in the World but 't is clad in Truth 's Mantle and the disguise is not always so thin or so easily and readily to be seen through as never to escape a discovery No But indeed my Brethren you ought to think more Modestly than to think every Objection unanswerable which you cannot Answer it is not expected from you that you should be able to Defend every point of your Religion against all Gain-sayers But then Will you presently Condemn what you cannot Defend Or immediately let go a Truth because of an Objection which you cannot Answer Will any one among you part with an Acre of Land upon the same account Namely because he is not himself able to Defend his Title to it And shall we not hold the profession of our Faith as fast as we do a clod of Earth shall we not take advice and counsel before we be perswaded to quit any part of our Religion as well as we shall be sure to do before we be perswaded to quit our Interest in the least parcel of an Estate But how then will they answer it to God and to their Consciences who in the great and weighty Cause of Religion have taken the Advice only of her Adversaries And without any further Examination or Tryal have forthwith condemn'd whatsoever it has pleased these Adversaries to pass their Sentence upon Was this fair Dealing Was it to judge righteous Judgment Or does it look like Sincerity or any real concern for Religion when the bare accusation of an Enemy has been taken for good proof against her My Brethren I doubt not but our Adversaries have told you that the Baptism which you receiv'd in your Infancy was no Baptism because Baby-Sprinkling as they vainly term it is no Baptism but pray be so just to your selves as to enquire of them whether any Person who has been twice Baptiz'd be not a perfect Anabaptist Nay be plain be plain and ask them if you have not Sinn'd by your second Baptism if it be prov'd that your Infant-Baptism was a right Baptism if they dare to confess the Truth they must tell you that you have and that you ought to Repent of that Sin of that second Baptism if your first Baptism was rightly administer'd Well but then certainly you ought to have been very sure that your Infant-Baptism was no Baptism before you had run the hazard of Sinning by Anabaptism or by your being Baptized a second time I have some hopes and earnest desires that if you will give these following Letters a fair reading you may Consider what you have done and what you ought to have done and what you ought now to do But I forbear because I would not here be thought to reflect too much upon any Person or Persons among us no more than I have done in the following Letters God is my Witness that I bear ill-will to none of their Persons whose opinions I have here oppos'd to confess the Truth I have no cause Nay but I will take this opportunity publickly to acknowledge that I have found very great respect and civilities from the most and the best of them that I know Besides I always endeavour to bear in mind the Apologue of the Sun and the Wind contending for the Travellers Cloak The Wind made a great bluster and would have forc'd it from him But this mad way of contending was so notoriously in vain that the stronger the Wind blew it made the Man but hold his Garment the faster But then the Sun shone forth and Saluted him with a chearful Ray and warm'd him with a gentle Gleam and so indeed was the Man prevail'd upon to suffer his Garment to fall from him And thus the Sun did by fair means what the Wind with all it's Bustle and Rage could not The meaning is That Men will sooner be perswaded out of their Mistakes and Errors by Candidness and fair Respects than hector'd out of them with Noise and Roughness I have not I hope been Guilty of any such Roughness or Clamour or Bitterness or Evil-speaking in these Papers I have been careful not to give any such offence And let me add that I have studi'd to speak plain too Yea I will not be ashamed to confess that it is for their plainness

Children and therefore be Baptized every one of you you and your Children that you may receive it And thus I have finished the Task which you set me and I hope you need not be remember'd that I have thus far been Answering your Grand Objection That you no where find in Scripture either that any Infants were Baptized or Commanded to be Baptized And therefore it must be consider'd that I could not fairly insist upon any other Arguments in the Defence of the poor Childrens Right to Baptism but such as fell in the way wherein your Objection has been my Guide to lead me and yet I have some hopes that notwithstanding our Adversaries great pretences to Scripture I have said enough to satisfie you that there is not one Syllable in the Texts which they alledge against Infant-Baptism but a great deal for it But now then Sir I should hugely wrong the Cause should I not here admonish you that there are Twenty and Twenty more Arguments still for the Baptism of Infants which I have not so much as once touch'd or hinted at for they came not within the Compass of my undertaking So that if you 'd be furnish'd with all the Plentiful variety of Arguments in this Case you must consult the many excellent Writers upon this Subject and particularly those very Learned Authors mention'd in my Fourth Letter I am not willing to take their Arguments out of their hands for I am not so vain as to think my self able to mend them And therefore I will here conclude unless it may please you to lay some further Command upon Sir July 22. 1698. Your real and humble Servant T. H. LETTER IX SIR I Am very willing to take that One step more which you speak of and at your request to set before you so far as I am able a true Notion of Baptism as to the Necessity of it which as you truly imagine may give considerable Light to some difficulties relating to this Sacrament And here I will lay down this as a Fundamental Rule Namely That when we have done all we are unprofitable Servants we can never merit at the hands of God the least of all his Mercies but from whence then are all our hopes of his greatest but from his own gracious promises Well But 't is every where plain in Scripture that all his Promises are Conditional made to us by way of Covenant or Contract upon Condition that we do so and so as he commands and requires us to do in his Holy Word And thus the New Testement which teaches us our whole Christian Duty is called in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the New Covenant that is 'T is the Writing which contains the Sum of all God's Promises to us and of our Engagements to him which we are obliged to perform that we may obtain those Promises And so his Promises on the one hand and our Engagements on the other make up that New Covenant which is the Sum and Substance of our Christian Religion And 't is this New Covenant which gives us our great hopes of Salvation of Heaven and Eternal Happiness For tho' we can do nothing to Merit or Deserve such infinite Blessings yet as God has been pleased to Promise them upon such and such Conditions our performance of these Conditions may give us a good Claim and Title to them For thus Sir should you Contract and Covenant with me to let me have and hold your Estate upon this Condition That I shall yearly Pay you for it one Pepper-Corn tho' such a Payment would come vastly short of the worth of your Estate yet by Virtue of the said Contract and Covenant it would give me a just Claim and Title to it In like manner God contracts and covenants with us to give us Heaven and Happiness upon the Terms of our Faith and Repentance and so tho' our Faith and Repentance come infinitely more short of the worth of Heaven and Happiness than a Pepper-corn does of your Estate yet by Virtue of the Covenant which God makes with us to give us Heaven and Happiness upon these conditions of Faith and Repentance Our performance of these Conditions gives us a good title to all That Heaven and Happiness which are so graciously promis'd to us upon these Terms In short we cannot by our Faith and Repentance deserve and merit Salvation no more than I could pretend to merit your Estate by paying a Pepper-Corn for it No but as all the title which my Punctual payment of a Pepper-Corn could give me to your Estate would be but a Covenant-Title so 't is no other but alike Covenant-Title which our Faith and Repentance give us to Salvation that is to say they entitle us to Salvation only as they are the Terms and Conditions upon which God in the New Covenant has promised to save us And now Sir You very well know that no Covenant is of any force or Binding till it is first sign'd and and Seal'd till that Solemnity be first over we have no legal Title to the things Covenanted for No but be the contract never so advantageous it must be first Seal'd and Sign'd before we can claim the Benefit of it And thus has it pleas'd God after the manner of Men to ratifie his Covenants with Mankind as it were with Sign and Seal for so was Circumcision a Sign whereby the Covenant between God and the Jews was Seal'd and Confirm'd Rom. 4.11 and till the Covenant was so Sign'd and Seal'd it was of no force there was no benefit to be claim'd by it No but the uncircumcis'd Man-Child was to be cut off from God's People that is He was not to be reckon'd with those People who were in Covenant with God Gen. 17.14 And as Circumcision was Then So is Baptism Now viz. A Visible Sign whereby the New Covenant between God and Us is Seal'd and Confirm'd and consequently till we are first Baptiz'd we are no more in Covenant with God than was the Uncircumcis'd Man-Child And now Sir I hope you see the Necessity of Baptism as it is the Sign and Seal of that New Covenant which gives us all our hopes of Salvation For As Faith and Repentance are necessary to our Salvation as the Conditions of the New Covenant So is Baptism necessary as the Sign and Seal of that Covenant to make it of force and to give us a legal claim to the Blessings promised on God's part upon our performance of the Conditions promised on ours And thus it is that to obtain Remission of Sins and Salvation we are exhorted in the New Testament as well to Seal the Covenant by being Baptized as to perform the Conditions of it by Believing and Repenting for so He who Believeth and is Baptized shall be saved says our Saviour Mark 16.16 And repent and be Baptized for the remission of Sins says St. Peter Acts 2.38 But it may be ask'd Will not the Conditions save us without the Seal Or will