admitted Proselytes into their Religion by this Rite or Ceremony of Baptizing besides that of Circumcision as hath been observed unto us by men well verst in Rabbinical Writings and the Rituals of all ages as Ainsworth on Gen. 17.12 Heins. his Exâ—râ— on Act. 18.3 Lud de Dieu his Append on Matth. 23.15 and more fully and copiously Doctor Hammond in his fourth Quaere But indeed the Jewish and the Christian Baptisms had different purposes and designations by the one the Proselytes were baptised into Moses that is the Mosaic Law and Oâ—conomie by the other into Christ that is into his Faith Rule and Discipline And it is farther observed by the forementioned Writers that of the Jewish proselytes not onely men of years were baptized but their young Children were also baptized with them and received into the bosome of that Church to be instructed in their Law when they should come to years Which usage was taken up by John the Baptist and afterwards by Christ and his Apostles and continued in the reformed Common wealth though to another purpose and design as we touched before and this Ceremony was thought sufficient to be retained for that end when Circumcision was abolished If the issue of the Question touching Infants-baptism lay upon this Whether the Apostles of Christ did baptize Infants The Scripture by its own light doth not clear the doubt it tells us they baptized whole housholds which testimonies do of themselves make it but probable that they baptized the children of those housholds but if Catholic tradition and the voice of the Church he allowed so much civility and credit with us as to be believed for a matter of fact and story then the business would soon be put beyond all pretensions of scruple and made as secure and firm to our sense as any Article of our Creed As upon the testimony of Travellers and credible men I might be induced to believe firmly and undoubtedly that there is such a City as Constantinople though I neither saw it nor doth the Scripture make any mention of it APHOR. 6. Where it may not be had desire supplies the defect THis must be understood of the adulti or men in years that have not participated of the holy mysteries but do earnestly desire and long for them but by some impediment and invincible necessity cannot obtain them If the fault be not on their side there is no danger but the internal benefit of the Sacrament is communicated to them without the external symbols The penitent Thief on the cross went to heaven without Baptism when Simon Magus went to hell with it the children of Bethlehem that were baptized in their own blood were qualified for heaven by that Baptism without the Baptism of water and Martyrdom in any other doth entitle them to a crown even a crown of glory though unbaptized When the Emperour Valentinian died without Baptism but had determined to receive it but that he was prevented by death St. Ambrose doth state his case thus Quem regeneraturus eram amisi sed ille noâ— amisit gratiam quam poposcit I lost him saith he whom I was about to regenerate or baptise but he hath not lost the grace oâ— fruit of that Ordinance which he desired In such cases Baptismus flaminis supplet baptismum fluminis the Baptism of the Spirit doth supply the want of water-baptism and the Spirit himself doth officiate for the Minister sometimes From hence we may infer that the case of children dying without Baptism is not forlorne and disperate we may not be such Rhadamanths as to passe damnatory sentences upon them for want of that which was not in their power to compass God doth not tye any to those ordinary Laws and methods whereby he saves man but such as may have them and are capable to use them If the Parents be wanting to their child in this duty the sin sure lyes at their door and not the child's and God will require it at their hands as he did at the hands of Moses In like manner the Church of England hath declared her judgement touching the want of the Eucharist if there be no more than the bare defect If any person by extreme sickness or any other just impediment do not receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper if he truly repent him of his sins and stedfastly believe that Christ died for him he doth eat and drink the body and blood of Christ profitably to his souls health though he do not eat the Sacrament with his mouth So the Rubric for the communion of the sick A Prayer occasionally conceived upon the entring into a ruinous Church where no Prayers or Sermons had been in many years before O Eternal Holinesse and immense Goodness how sad and desolate is this place which was lately frequented by a people called by thy name to call upon thy name to seek thy face and to find thee here in thine own appointments and holy dispensations how forlorne is it now become being made a Court of Owls and a place for Satyrs to dance in I acknowledge the hand-writing upon the walls and the charactets of thy just displeasure who doest proportion punishments to the offences and makest the one legible in the analogy and suitablenesse of the other Lord if my sins have drawn thâ—se lines of confusion and of stones emptiness if by any remisness or perfunctoriness in holy Ministeries if by want of zeal for thy glory or any other way I have awaked thy justice lo here in all humility I prostrate my self before thee imploring mercy and pardon and confessing to thy glory that thou art just in all that is come upon us And if the sins of the Congregation that used to meet here have contributed to this judgement and turned away thy presence from this place either by sleighting the Mysteries that were here dispensed or the Dispensers of them we must say again that righteous art thou O Lord and true are thy judgements Thou hast been just in shutting up the doors of thy House against them that did shut their ears and hearts against thee and in taking away that food from before them which they loathed or lightly regarded Yet O Lord be mercifull both to Priest and People and turn not away thy face utterly in displeasure from them as we confesse thy justice so we implore thy mercy Lift up the light of thy countenance upon thy Sanctuary that is desolate and cause thy face to shine upon it Turn thee unto us O Lord and renew our dayes as of old Have mercy upon a distressed Church and a distracted â—tate Behold thy Ministers that are smitâ—en into Corners and their respective Congregations that wander like sheep without a shepherd that travel to and fro â—o seek the word of the Lord and cannot â—ind it Gather them O thou Shepherd of Israel â—nd do thou guide and lead them forth â—nd let thy rod and staff comfort
The three first 1. Hallowed be thy name 〈…〉 2. Thy Kingdom come 〈…〉 3. Thy will be done 〈…〉 The other three 1. Give us this day c. Do concern man 2. Forgive us our Trespasses Do concern man 3. Lead us not into c. Do concern man XI TO pray in some language not understood by the Congregation is unlawfull because it is unfruitfull to edification (a) To pray with an unprepared heart and unpremeditated words delivering rude and crude and undigested thoughts doth not consist with that (b) reverence that is due to the Majesty of God when we make our addresses unto him XII HE that composed this prayer did also impose it and command it to be used and therefore it is not warrantable to lay it quite aside though we be qualified to make prayers of our own for as this doth not exclude other prayers 3. so neither must other â—â—â—yers exclude this But it may be use◠〈◊〉 at the beginning of our devotion or at the close of it as the antient Church indifferently used it THE PRAYER MOst glorious Lord God whose Essence is infinite and whose Majesty is incomprehensible how little do we know of thee (a) at this distance from thee we cannot order our speech unto thee by reason of darkness we are weak and feeble creatures full of wants and we are vain things full of vain imaginations and fond desires and therefore are often frustrated in our requests unto thee and expectations from thee we (b) ask and have not because we ask amiss our very prayers being often offensive because they are mingled with folly and vanity Thou hast therefore in great mercy and kindness towards thy servants given us a form of wholsome words to direct us how to speak unto thee to teach us what is necessary for us to ask and fit for thee to grant Gracious Lord as thou hast put thy words (c) into our mouths so put thy Spirit into our hearts that we may â—â—â—y in the power and demonstration of the Spirit that we may lift up clean hands and pure hearts unto thee and put on reverence and godly fear in all our approaches unto thee supported with this assurance that thou art our father though we be not worthy to be called thy sons (d) and that we have an Advocate with the father (e) who hath taught us to pray and say our Father c. OF THE SACRAMENTS I. THe New Testament Sacraments are certain visible signs and seals ordained by our Saviour Christ relating to some invisible grace represented by them and conveighed in them to the meet and worthy Partakers II. THe Sacraments are ordained in corporeal and visible elements or symbols in regard of mans weakness and frailty whose understanding must be instructed in heavenly mysteries and whose affections must be excited or stirred up to religious duties by the help of visible forms representations and objects III. THe Sacraments do not work grace of themselves by some inherent vertue in them But in regard of the strict (a) union and relation between the sign and the thing signified and the spirit and power of Christ concurring (b) with his own Ordinances who doth not delude men with mock-shews much benefit is derived in them and by them where the partakers do not put a bar or obstacle by their own unworthâ—ness IV. THere are but two Sacraments that are properly so called and which are necessary for all persons unto salvation namely (a) Bâ—ptism and the Lords Supper (b) Whereof the one is a Sacrament of our initiation or entrance into the visible Church The other of our continuation in it V. THe Word and Sacraments are essential characters of Gods Church or tokens to know it by where these are rightly dispensed there is a true Church (a) and where these are wanting though there may be a convention or assembly of men yet it is not properly a Church of God VI BAptism is not onely a sign of the new Covenant (a) made â—o Christ or a distinguishing ordinance between believers and unbelievers Bâ—t also a b seal to ratifie consign and make over as it were under seal the promises of God made in Christ unto every true Believer VII THe sleighting or neglecting of the Baptism of water where it may be had or any other Ordinance of Divine institution is a soul endangering sin and imports a contempt of the Author and a rejecting of the counsel of God (a) Gods anger was highly incensed against Moses (b) for not Circumcising his child in due time according to the command (c) VII THe young children of believing Parents are capable of Baptism as the children (a) of the Israelites being but eight daies old were of Circumcision And where but one of the Parents is a believer the children are admitted unto those favours and privileges of the Church that do belong unto that Parent as a believer (b) IX THe Lords Supper was instituted by Christ not onely for a memorial of his death (a) but also for a means of applying his merits to the partakers (b) for the increasing of love and amity among the faithfull and for the strengthening of their faith and love towards God by these outward tokens and pledges of his love to them (c) X. FOr the due receiving of this Sacrament it is necessary that a man (a) examine himself but not so expedient that he should examine others whether they be worthy or unworthy No man is partaker of another mans sins except he be accessary thereunto either by counsel (b) or consent (c) or approbation or some such way XI THe frequent use of the Lords Supper in due manner besides other benefits serves much to the advancement of piety and a holy life For thereby we are called to a re-inforcing of our watch to descend to that most usefull and necessary duty of self-examination (a) or searching our own (b) bosoms to purge out (c) the old leaven and all impurity that is there contracted and lastly to a renewing of our vows and promises made in baptism of serving God with more circumspection and vigilance XII THe Sacraments are not temporary Rites but standing appointments in the Kingdom of Christ and of perpetual use in his Church until his second coming (a) None can arrive at such (b) perfection in this life as to be above Ordinances or not to stand in need of them for the uses before mentioned for which purposes all sober and humble Christians have found them usefull and efficacious XIII ONely those that are law 〈…〉 to Ecclesiastical Ministeries 〈◊〉 (a) lawfully Administrators of the Sacraments They are the Keepers of the Seals and are entrusted to apply and dispense them to such persons as desire them and are meetly qualified for them THE
of Baptism There is no danger in the bare want of it where it may not be had but in the neglect or contempt of it where it may be had this is a soul-endangering sin and imports a contempt of the Author and a rejecting of the counsel of God Gods anger was highly inceâ—sed against Moses for not Circumcising his child in due time according to the command Are young children capable of Baptism Yea the children of believing Parents are as the children of the Israelites being but eight daies old were of Circumcision And where but one of the Parents is a believer the children are admitted unto those favouâ—â— and privileges of the Church that do belong unto that Parent as a believer Wherefore was the Lord Supper instituted It was instituted by Christ not onely for a memorial of his own death but also for a means of applying his merits to the partakers for the increasing of love and amity among the faithfull and for the improving and strengthening of their faith and love towards God by these outward tokens and pledges of his love to them What is necessary for the due receiving of the Lords Supper It is expedient that a man examine himself but not so necessary that he should examine others whether they be worthy or unworthy for no man is partaker of another mans sins except he be accessâ—ry thereunto either by counsel or consent or approbation or some such way Is it expedient that a man be a frequent partaker of the Lords Supper Yea for often approaching to the Lords Table in due mannâ—r besides other benefits conduceth much to the advancement of piety and a holy life for thereby we are called to a re-inforcing of our watch to descend to that most usefull duty of self-examination or searching our own bosoms to purge out the old leaven and all impurity that is there contracted and lastly to a renewing of our vows and promises made in baptism of serving God with more circumspection and vigilance Are these Sacraments to continue for some certain time onely or for ever They are not temporary â—iâ—es but standing appointments in the Kingdom of Christ and of perpetual use in his Church until his second coming None can arrive at such perfection in this life at to be above Ordinances or not to stand in need of them for the uses before mentioned for which purposes all sober and humble Christians have alwaies founâ— them usefull and efficacious Who are lawfull Administrators and Dispensers of the Sacraments Onely such as are lawfully called to Ecclesiasticall Ministeries are lawfull Administrators of the Sacraments They are the Keepers of the Seals and are entrusted to apply and dispense them to such persons as desire them and are meetly qualified for them and none other FINIS A review of the precedent Aphorisms Wherein some of the most material points and passages that have been most liable to mistakes in these times are farther illustrated and verified 1. OF Fundamentals 2. Of the Authors and authority of the Creed 3. Of the fullness and sufficiency of it 4. Of the Patriarchs Creed 5. Of believing the Catholic Church 6. Of the Nicen and Athanasian Creeds 7. Gloria patri a short Creed 1. OF the obligation of the Moral Law under the Gospel 2. Of the perfection of the Moral at the first enacting of it 3. How this Law is possible to be performed 1. OF mens ignorance in the duty of prayer 2. That the Lords Prayer is a prayer 3. It is the Rule and Law of all prayers 4. Surpâ—sseth all other Compositions 5. Of set forms of Prayer 6. The Lords Prayer may not be laid aside 1. SAcraments why instituted 2. Their virtue and efficacy from the Author 3. They are Seals as well as Signs 4. Absolutely necessary where they may be had 5. Infant-Baptism more antient than Christ and his Apostles 6. Where the Sacraments may not be had desire supplies the defect APHOR. 1. Of the four fundamentals of Religion MOst men do divide this Sovereign Science of Theology into four parts Dr. Nowel in his Catechism calls those four by the names of Faith Obedience Invocation and Sacraments which amounts to the same with this division which we here follow for faith is summed up in the Creed obedience in the Decalogue Invocation in the Lords Prayer and the Sacraments make the fourth part Mr. Perkins calls these four Hâ—â—ds the grounds and Catholic principles of the Catechism and Dr. Dâ—avenam that â—d Jewel of Salisbury calls them the Fundamentals of Christian religion By Fundamentals he understands such things as are absolutely necessary to salvation and as such to be embraced of all men when they are sufficiently proposed unto them And such are saith he not onely mysteries of faith comprized in thâ—Creed but also the dictates of the Divine Law contain'd in the Decalogue which he calls Symbolum Agendorum as the other is Symbolum Credendorum A Speculative knowledg of Divine Mâ—stâ—ries will not carry us one step forward towards heaven without the practical knowledge of Divine Mandates and it is no less damnable to erâ— in moral principles than in speculative that is it is as great a Heresie dogmatically to impâ—gn one of the Commandments as one of the Articles of the Creed For he that affirms that God is not to be worshipped or that Parents are not to be honoured or teacheth that theft and murther are no sins is an absolute Heretick for every practical dictate of the moral law is a fundamental truth and ought as firmly to be believed as any article of the Creed for it is implicitly contained in it There are some general verities and propositions also in the doctrine of prayer and Sacraments which are no less fundamental than the other and which to dâ—ny or oppose would be both impious and heretical Those Churches that are built upon these fundamentals and do firmly retain them have that which may suffice them to salvation they have a foundation sufficient to bear that super-structure which they are intended for even mans eternal salvation And if men indeavour to live according to these principles thâ—y are to be deemed members of Gods Church and such to whom all Christians should give the right hand of fellowship and not sâ—parate from though they might be guilty of sundry failings otherwise This is the substance of some chapters of that pious mans Irenicon or exhortation to peace directed to the Proâ—estant Churches of Germany which are divided into Lutherans and Calvinists APHOR. 2. Of the Authors and authority of the Apostles Creed MAgno certè verterum consensu c. surely by a general vote suffrage of the antient Fathers this Creed is ascribed unto the Apostles saith Mr. Calvin ab ultimâ memoriâ Sacro-sanctae inter pios omnes authoritatis â—uit as he goes on and it was esteemed of sacred authority among all Gods servants from the first spring of Christianity Ireneus one of the