Mr. STUBS'S SERMON OF Publick Baptism BEFORE THE LORD MAYOR c. Fleet Major Martis vj. Die Decembris 1692. Annoque Regis Reginae Willielmi Mariae Angl ' c. Quarto THis Court doth desire Mr. Stubs to Print his Sermon Preached at Guild-Hall-Chapel on Sunday the 20th Day of November last before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City GOODFELLOW Imprimatur Decembr 9. 1692. Guil. Lancaster R. P. D. Henrico Episc Lond. a sacris Domesticis OF Publick Baptism A SERMON Preached before the Right Honourable THE LORD MAYOR AND THE Court of Aldermen AT Guild-Hall-Chapel Sunday Nov. 20. 1692. By PHILIP STVBS A. M. Fellow of Wadham-College Oxon. And Chaplain to the Right Reverend Father in God ROBERT Lord Bishop of CHICHESTER LONDON Printed for Henry Bonwicke at the Red Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCIII TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir JOHN FLEET Kt. LORD MAYOR Of the CITY of LONDON And to the Court of Aldermen Right Honourable THE unexpected Success this plain Discourse by the Blessing of God met with from a kind Auditory in this City for whose private Benefit 't was not long since I must confess but too hastily drawn up as it prompted me at first to offer it before the most publick Assembly therein at Guild-Hall-Chapel so the Hopes of its farther Vsefulness makes me now readily comply with Your Honour's Commands for its Publication in order thereunto That it may have it s design'd Effect in contributing though never so little to the Retrieving so Ancient so Vniversal so Religious I may say so necessary a Practice as is the subject Matter of it and by Consequence to the farther Promoting of God's Glory in the greater Good of his Church in general and the Welfare of particular Christians is the Hearty Desire of Right Honourable Your most Humble Most Obedient Servant PHIL. STVBS A SERMON Before the LORD MAYOR c. St. MATTH xxviij 19. Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost THE Text is a full Commission deliver'd out by our Saviour to his Apostles when he had just finish'd the glorious work of our Redemption and was now Ascending up again unto his Father whereby he impowers them to extend the benefits of his Passion by Baptism as far as he design'd they should reach even to the utmost parts of the Earth For as he himself had spent his whole time in Judea and the Regions thereabout amongst the Jews God's peculiar People so he commands them whom he had fully instructed in every Particular of his Doctrine to communicate it to the Gentiles Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost From which Words I may take Occasion to speak of these Five Heads I. Of the Nature of Baptism in general II. Of the Persons here authoriz'd to Baptize III. Of the Persons to be Baptiz'd IV. Of the Form of Baptism And Lastly Of the Time and Place when and where this Sacrament ought to be administred Of the Four first there being no difference about them either as to Principle or Practice amongst those of our Communion I shall say little more at present than what may serve by way of Introduction as it were to the last Particular which I have design'd for the main Subject of my ensuing Discourse Wherein I shall with all the Brevity and Plainness I can endeavour to demonstrate the Unreasonableness of continuing that corrupt Custom crept in among us and which of late Years has prevail'd more especially in this City of Baptizing Children in Private Houses contrary to the earnest pious Desires and Endeavours of our Clergy the declared Sense and Usage of the Catholick Church all along the express Orders and Constitutions of that sound Part of it whereof we boast our selves Members and the very Reason and Design of the Institution it self to the no small Dishonour of God Almighty in hindring the greater Promotion of his Glory and the Edification of many Religious well-dispos'd Christians But before I enter professedly upon this Argument I am to speak a Word or two briefly on the four just mention'd Heads And I. Of the Nature of Baptism in general Now Baptism signifies properly an Immersion Dipping or Washing the whole Body in Water and was a Ceremony used among the Heathens as well as the Jews upon the Admission of any new Converts to their Religion By which Washing was signified the Cleansing of the Persons so baptized from their former Pollutions and their Resolution of continuing Pure and Unspotted for the future This Ceremony being very innocent and very significant the Holy Jesus was willing to continue it in his Church leaving out the other of Circumcision which signified but the same thing and was more injurious to Men's Health and to their Modesty I say Baptism signifies properly an Immersion Dipping or Washing the whole Body in Water And so it was practis'd in the Primitive Times after the manner of John's Baptism who chose the River Jordan and such Places where there was much Water for the Convenience of such an Immersion For so it is expresly said of him That John was baptizing in Enon S. Joh. 3.23 near to Salim because there was much Water there After this manner the Eunuch in Acts 8. was baptized by S. Philip Acts 8.38 for 't is said They went down both into the Water both Philip and the Eunuch and he baptized him And indeed this Dipping all over in Water is thought by some more significant than any other sort of Baptism for hereby is denoted the Cleansing the whole Man from Sin the being buried with Christ in Baptism which is signified by the Immersion or Dipping in Water and the Rising to a Newness of Life which is signified by the Emersion or Rising out of it again But yet it is not so necessary but it may be omitted in favour of the Weakness of the Person to be baptiz'd and the Pouring or Sprinkling of Water us'd instead of it as has been the Practice of these Northern Countries in the Baptism of Children whose tender Bodies cannot endure a total Immersion and of the first Ages of the Church in favour of Sick and Bed-rid Persons who desir'd to become Christians For as God Almighty is tender of our Souls so he takes care of our Bodies too and his Laws are so far from injuring our Healths that they highly improve them Upon which Account it is not to be imagin'd that the Ceremony of Admission into the Christian Religion should be more difficult than that into the Jewish Covenant or that Children should be oblig'd to become Martyrs as soon as they are made Proselytes But here it may be started That admitting this Washing Dipping or Sprinkling to be the Ceremony of my Admission into Covenant with Christ How doth it hence appear that Christ thereby enters into Covenant
late Councils Conc. Colon. Decr. 15. Conc. Mogunt Can. XVI Conc. Mediol 5 tum cap. Quae ad Baptismum pertinent even by the Corrupt Church of Rome we should quickly find the Thoughts of most People which are now wholly bent upon Dress Shew and the Pomp of the Business turn'd a contrary way and the chief Solemnity of Christnings would then lie in having the Religious Part of them perform'd more decently with respect to Time Place c. than generally now it is But 3. The Main Topping Argument from both Sorts is That such or such Great Men have not scrupl'd to Christen in Private Why therefore should others refuse it who are not nigh so much Dignify'd nor Distinguish'd To this I answer Lastly When those Eminent Persons declin'd their Rule they did it with Reason or without If without Then their Example ought no more to be a Guide to others than the unwarrantable Actions of a Superior Magistrate in any Corporation should be propos'd to the Imitation of an Inferior one for however they may both by the Connivance of the Higher Powers or any other way escape the Punishment due to them for the Breach of the Laws of their Country yet there is a Court of Conscience in each of their Breasts that will not acquit them here and a Sentence to be awarded them by the highest Tribunal hereafter If they did it with Reason Then it must be presum'd 't was for the same that made Moses counive at some Irregularities in the Jews viz. the Hardness of their Hearts in hopes to bring them by this Means at length to an entire Conformity For to that deplorable Condition are we arriv'd through a complicated Degeneracy of Principles and Manners peculiar to this Age that unless a Clergy-man will now and then submit to undue Compliances of this nature some proud peevish Persons there are who shall make it their whole Study and Endeavour by spreading about malicious Innuendo's and palpable Vntruths with other indirect Methods to render his Preaching Prayers Administration of the other Sacrament his whole Ministry ineffectual But God be thanked this is but the Case of a few the rest of the Laity generally standing out upon no other Ground than the Strength of that bad Custom to the contrary which many wish heartily were broke but only are shy each of them of first attempting it Far be it therefore from me to apply to the Present State of our Church with relation to this Affair what was said by one of the * Conc. Colon. Anno 1549. V. Inter Censuras decreta tata pro abusuum vitiorum ad Synodi judicium perlatorum emendatione Decr. 15. Councils last mention'd of the Clergy and Laity in the Diocess of Cologne where Private Baptism began to make Head Detestanda est non minus Laicorum superbia quam Pastorum eis obsequentium adulatio qui contemptâ Ecclesiâ proles suas volunt in domibus suis baptizari eo Baptismi aquam deferri No it is not owing to the base Easiness of our Clergy in making Concessions of this nature nor to the Pride of most of our Laity Private Baptism c. is since become a Mark of Vanity and a piece of Affected State Burnet's Hist Reform Abridged Lib. 2. pag. 63. though some must be thought to make it a Piece of State that they have had a long while and still have in too many places their Children generally Christn'd at Home but to the great difficulty of breaking a Custom which as it began in a very ill Time and has more unhappily prevail'd ever since so it will be most dismal in its Consequences if the Observation of a great Doctor in our Church holds good Dr. Sherlock's Relig. Assemb Part 2. ch 4. pag. 293. That there is not a more ready way to root out Christianity it self among us than thus to destroy the Solemnities of God's Worship However therefore some Men when press'd with Arguments of this kind from the Pulpit or otherwise are apt to stifle or shuffle them off with crying out in general of a Ho-Life a Holy Life as the only Stable Support of Christianity Sure I am though what they say is true yet they are never like to be any great Pillars of it who are deaf to all Informations about and consequently neglect all the Means of Practice amongst which a due Administration of God's Holy Sacraments has still been reckon'd none of the least The Application from all what has been said is this in short That since there is no Shadow of Reason for Private Baptism and no Bar against bringing this Ancient this Catholick this Religious this almost necessary Practice of Baptizing in Publick into a greater Esteem amongst us than the pitiful Plea of a prevailing Custom to the contrary which might be easily overthrown by the Encouragement and especially the Example of Rich Men whom their Meaner Neighbours would as readily follow in â—…ous Vsages as in Civil Fashions I say since there is no other Bar against Publick Baptism but this pitiful Plea it may be worth while for all Persons of Character and Station to consider whether as God has bestow'd on them more distinguishing Marks of his Favour than on others round about them they ought not were it only by way of Gratitude to signalize themselves more especially and become forwarder Instances in promoting his Glory all the ways imaginable A fair Opportunity of doing which in no small measure they have in the Matter before us which tends so much as we have seen to the Good of his Church in the Edification of particular Christians and which is little thought on the Welfare of their own Souls too For See the Prayer for Christ's Church Militant in the Communion-Service Whereas they beseech God every Lord's-Day and Holy-Day that he would give his Grace to all Bishops and Curates that they Rightly and Duly Administer his Holy Sacraments if in this as well as other Petitions their Hearts go along with their Lips and their Endeavours with both if they do not frustrate this his Grace here by discouraging his Ministers in a faithful Discharge of their Office they may then expect to be at length Partakers with him in Everlasting Glory hereafter Now Consider we what has been said and God Almighty give every one of us a right Judgment in this Particular as wellas in all other Matters That as he hath left in his Church but two Sacraments Church-Catechism as Outward and Visible Signs of his Inward and Spiritual Grace we may none of us in the great Day of Visitation be found among those who have either scandalously neglected the one or huddl'd up the other in a Corner Now to the Individual and Ever-blessed Trinity Three Persons but One Glorious Almighty Lord God be ascribed as is most due by us and his People every where all possible Adoration Honour and Glory As it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be World without End Amen FINIS
by Sprinkling them with Water according to the Usage of our Country and not by Dipping them all over in it should they not be baptiz'd by a Lawfully Ordain'd Minister of the Church of England and that too in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost V. But now as to the Circumstances of Time and Place when and where this Sacrament ought to be Administred which is my Fifth Particular and comes now to be consider'd more at large Rubr. 1. before the Office for Publick Baptism Rubr. 2. before the Office for Private Baptism Most are so prejudic'd against them by a prevailing Custom to the contrary that notwithstanding our Rule tells us It ought not to be done but upon Sundays or Holy-days nor Out of the Church unless in Cases of great Necessity They think these Matters of no such Importance but that they may safely pass them by and Christen their Children at Home when there is no Cause for it without the least Contravention to my Text or any other place of Scripture To Persons of which Complexion I answer First That although this Text is not strictly producible for Publick Baptism as it means Baptism at the Font according to the particular Constitution of our Church which provides Can. Const Eccles Can. 81. That there shall be a Font of Stone in every Church or Chapel where Baptism is to be Administred and there in that Font only the Minister shall Baptize publickly Yet with their Leaves it may be urg'd for it as far as the Design of the Institution it self will warrant us and the early and constant Custom of the Church of Christ which is the best Expositor of such a Design Now that Baptism even from the Church's Infancy has been all along as publickly celebrated as the present State of that did permit may be fairly gather'd from the following Words of a great Searcher into the Records of the Primitive Times which shall serve instead of many Quotations that might be brought for the Proof of the Assertion Dr. Cave in his Prim. Christ part 1. c. 10. The Place where this solemn Action was perform'd was at first unlimited any Place where there was Water Ap. 2. p. 93. as Justin Martyr tells us In Ponds or Lakes in Springs or Rivers De Bap. adv Quintill cap 4. as Tertullian speaks But always as near as might be to the place of the Publick Assemblies for it was seldom done without the Presence of the Congregation And then Secondly I answer farther That though the Text before us should not be sufficient of it self to satisfie all the beweldring Doubts of the Scrupulous or Perverse but notwithstanding its Evidence they will think themselves still at liberty to baptize either in publick or private yet in Consort with some others that may be alledg'd it ought certainly to be thought of such Force as to conclude them without more a-do and immediately determine their Choice Such are these 3 Cor. 14.40 and the like Apostolical Canons Let all things be done decently 26. and in order Let all things be done to edifying From which and several other Places of Scripture of the same Nature Hor. Confess varias Aug. Sc. Helv. Basil Bohem Belg. Sax. c. it is on all Hands acknowledg'd among Protestants That hereby is given to the Church Power to make Decrees about such Matters as this and others design'd there where St. Paul tells the Corinthians That the rest he will set in order when he comes 1 Cor. 11.34 And we of this Church expresly assert Art 20. That she has Power to decree Rites and Ceremonies not repugnant to the Word of God And that the Bringing of Persons to be solemnly baptiz'd in God's House for the general Good of Christians there present has no such Contrariety must still be presum'd till better Topicks for Conviction be found out than what have hitherto been offer'd Now this Power being granted as lodg'd in the Church it will hence follow That what our Mother doth lawfully enjoin we are with Readiness and Submission to assent to lest by standing out against her obstinately we sin as much against Heaven who gave her this Commission as we do against the Authority of the Church it self However therefore some may stile themselves her Children and seem mightily pleas'd with the specious Appellation of True Sons of the Church of England whilst they are guilty of such an Irregularity as Private Baptism has been always reckon'd in it especially when required to the contrary they must pardon others who cannot but think them highly unworthy to be call'd so since by such stubborn undutiful Carriage were all Men as positive in their Refusals as they her Being must inevitably be destroy'd as a Church whence every one of us derive our own as Christians But to be more methodical and to press this Matter with greater Application let me crave your Patience whilst I tender to you the Four following Particulars 1. The express Orders of our Church with Relation to Publick Baptism and the Care she has taken in the Contrivance of her Form for it so that there can be no Intrenchment upon it without a great deal of Absurdity as well as Disobedience on their side 1 Cor. 11.22 who become Despisers of the Church of God by acting contrary to her Injunctions 2. That the Obedience of her Genuine Sons in this Affair may not be Nick-nam'd or term'd Implicit I shall shew that she hath done nothing herein but upon very extraordinary Motives in that her Constitutions about it do not only bear a sweet Harmony to the Practice of the Eastern and all the Western Churches But 3. That the Practice of all these Churches is grounded upon the earliest Antiquity And 4. That that Antiquity has no less solid a Basis than the firmest Reasons to support it But of each of these as briefly as possible And 1. Then As to the Orders of our Church besides the Canon just now mention'd Can. 81. where there is a Font enjoin'd to be set up in every Church or Chapel where Baptism is to be Administer'd and that in the Font only the Minister shall Baptize publickly Rubrick 1st of that Office the Office for Publick Baptism saith in one place That the People are to be admonish'd that it is most convenient that Baptism should not be Administer'd but upon Sundays and Holy-days when the most number of People come together Rubrick 2d In another place it enjoins That when there are Children to be baptiz'd the Parents shall give notice thereof over Night or in the Morning before the Beginning of Morning-Prayer to the Curate And then the Godfathers and Godmothers and the People with the Children must be ready at the Font either immediately after the Last Lesson at Morning-Prayer or else immediately after the Last Lesson at Evening-Prayer as the Curate by his Discretion shall appoint Again