like manner as for Example Cornelius and his family having a personal union with the Lord and communion with him before Peter preached to him and he not being an obstinate professed enemy against any Law of Christ but contrarywise saying to Peter We are here to hear what soever is commanded thee of God Therefore the Spirit of God falling down upon them they spake with new tongues and glorified God and Peter and the six baptized Brethren being with them no question did join in Spirit and heart in that present Spiritual service which Cornelius and his family did perform to God they none of them at that interim of time being baptized nor convinced that baptism was an Ordinance of God For till Peter had consulted with the Brethren he did not press baptism upon them And therefore we find that he did instruct them after a consultation which he had with the Brethren saying How should we forbid water that these should not be baptized that have received the Holy Ghost as well as we And Paul in like manner between the time that Christ had converted him and his comming to Annanias prayed and we find God owns a personal Communion with him in that prayer for Christ speaking to Annanias saith That Paul was a chosen Vessel for behold he now prayeth manifesting that he owned Paul in that service Now he being in a teachable godly frame though ignorant of baptism in prayer God had Communion with him In like manner I judge from these Scripture examples it is lawful for a baptized person to have fellowship in prayer or speaking with any such soul which he is perswaded of to be godly and that is not a professed enemy to any command of God But God hath not as we find ever had any Church-union or Communion with any Soul that was unbaptized and it is clear that the Ordinance of the Supper is committed to a Church yea to a Ministerial Assembly gathered according to Christs Commission Mat. 28.19 20. where I understand the order there binding is this First the Ministers should teach the Nations or make them disciples by teaching and then the command is Baptizing them what them such that are made disciples by teaching Thirdly the Command is to teach them to observe whatsoever Christ hath commanded what them is here meant but such as are made disciples and baptized teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you and I will be with you to the end of the world that is he will be with a people first converted secondly baptized thirdly walking in the practical observation of all other administrations of Gods house as these eleven did and those they converted I say this his promise is to be with his people to the end of the World And this order is binding that as a Minister is commanded to baptize one made a Disciple and not any other so he is commanded to put them upon the practical observation of all his Laws and they only and till they are baptized they are not nor cannot be admitted into a visible Church to partake of the Supper of the Lord. And that this is the true meaning of Christ in the Commission appears by his Apostles Ministry and practice who by the infallible gifts of the holy Ghost were guided unfailingly thus to preach and practice as in Acts 2.37 38. with 41 and 42. verses First he teacheth them the Doctrine of Jesus Christ they hearing that were pricked at the heart and inquiring of Peter and the rest of the Apostles what they should do he saith Repent and be baptized every one of you See how he presseth the same order here as Christ doth in the Commission and afterwards in the 41. verse it is said So many as gladly received the word of God were baptized and the same day there was added to the Church about three thousand souls by Faith and Baptism and they continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship in breaking of Bread and prayer Therefore the way that Christ hath ordained is That souls should be joined or added to the Church by Faith and Baptism according to that word in 1 Cor. 12.13 We are all baptized by one Spirit into one body Now though the Spirit as the inward thing signified be here spoken of yet the outward sign is also included as might be by other Scriptures cleared Thus Cornelius his Family were converted then baptized before they were constituted a Church So the Gaolers and Lydia's and the Church of Samaria in Acts 8. were all gathered by faith and dipping And for a Minister to gather a Church any other way is to go not only in an untroden path but cross and point-blank contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Apostles therby slighting the Rules of Christ in the Commission by which the Apostles Doctrine and practice was guided and which all the Ministers of the Gospel ought to be guided by Why the Ordinance of Baptism is administred but once the Ordinance of the Lords Supper often But yet further the Ordinance of baptism is to confirm our Regeneration New birth and Union with Christ in his death burial and resurrection Rom. 6.3 4 5. with Col. 2.12 Tit. 3.5 and therfore is to be received but once as a man is to be regenerated but once and born but once and changed from death to life but once but that ordinance of God viz. the Supper is for Christians growth and increase of grace and of constant use to shew forth Christs death till he come and therefore to be received often Now it must needs be a profâ—nation of this ordinance of God to divert and cross the order and so the special intendment of God in them and that is to admit persons to that Ordinance which is principally for Christian growth before you have admitted them to that Ordinance which is for planting them into Christ signifying the confirmation or washing of Regeneration and the new birth and Union with Christ the true stock and root from whence all spiritual growth is to be expected Therefore Baptism must be the first Ordinance dispensed or administred after conversion before the Supper So that it would be a profanation of the Ordinances of God to divert their proper order end and use to which our holy and jealous God hath appointed them and it is a tender point for those that profess themselves friends to Christ the Bridegroom to be venturing to take his peculiar privilege or prerogative out of his hands as to order and dispose of his own order in his solemn worship contrary to his Commission I do judge such a man that hath not a tender conscience in such cases is in that much unlike Christ and shewes much carnality because as you have heard God will have the honor to direct his people both for the matter and manner of their worship and order of his house But again as you have heard before in Ephes 4.3 What things are essential
as with safety the party as to the manner may be drowned again and again See the instance of Naaman who dipped himself seven times in Jordan 2 Kings 5.14 To this sense of the word at least in this place both the Greek Latine and English Churches agree as is affirmed by able Authors Thirdly In that the phrase in which there is mention made of such an appointment of Christ is affirmed doth necessarily import such a thing and therefore when mention is made of baptizing which is commonly translated in or into suits with Dipping and not that Preposition which signifies with and so suits with Sprinkling And therefore it may be as well rendred I baptize you in Water and he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit Mark 1.8 So it is rendred John did baptize in the Wilderness and in the River of Jordan ver 4 5. or that John was in the Spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1.10 And they were baptized in the Cloud and in the Sea 1 Corinth 10. and â— It may as well be rendred I baptize you or dip you into Water as it is rendred they were casting a Net into the Sea Mark 1.16 for which the words are affirmed to be the same and it would be too improper a Speech to say John did baptize with the Wilderness and they were casting a net with the Sea Fourthly That this appointment of Christ is by way of Dipping and not sprinkling appears In that for the resemblance and likeness hereunto the Israelites passing under the Cloud and in the Sea where the Egyptians that were their Lords and Commanders their Pursuers and Enemies that sought their destruction were drowned left behind and seen no more is by the Holy Spirit called a Baptism 1 Cor. 10.2 They were baptized in the Cloud Where observe It is not here rendred with the Cloud and with the Sea as in the other place Mark 1.8 with Water because it sutes with sprinkling although the word be the same But in the Cloud and in the Sea which sutes with Dipping or Over-whelming and so with the appointment of Christ they passing through the midst of the Red or bloody Sea on dry land which stood on both sides as a Wall and being under the Cloud as men in a carnal eye overwhelmed and drowned and yet truly saved and safe from their Enemies Fifthly That this appointment of Christ was not by sprinkling but by dipping or putting the person into or under Water appears by Philips baptizing the Eunuch It is said They went both down into the Water both Philip the baptizer and the Eunuch that was the person to be baptized and being there in the water Philip baptized or dipped him in that water as John did Jesus in the River of Jordan And it is said They descended or went down into the water so they ascended or went straight way up or out of the water see for this Acts 8.38 39. Mat. 3.16 Mark the expression And Jesus when he was baptized went up straightway out of the Water therefore he had been down in the water Sixthly That this appointment of Christ was not by sprinkling but by dipping or as it were a drowning appears in that John the Baptizer his work being to baptize remains in the Wilderness by the River of Jordan and afterwards in Enon near Salem and the reason that is rendred by the Spirit of the Lord why he abode there was because there was much water which need not have been if that appointment could have been performed by sprinkling and not by dipping See Luke 3.2 3. John 3. 23. Seventhly That this appointment of Christ was not to be performed by sprinkling but by dipping appears from the nature of the Ordinance it self for it is such an Ordinance as whereby the person that submitteth thereto doth visibly put on Christ Jesus the Lord and is hereby visibly planted into his Death holding forth therein a lively similitude and likeness unto his Death whereby only through faith he now professeth he hath escaped death and is in hopes to obtain life everlasting and so to have fellowship with him in his Death and to reckon himself dead with him to sin Sathan the Law and the Curse See Gal. 3.27 Rom. 6.2 3 5 7. 9. 1 Cor. 15.29 But the planting of a person into the likenesse of death is no way resembled by sprinkling but by dipping it is lively set forth and demonstrated Eighthly This appointment of Christs baptism is an Ordinance whereby the person that submitteth thereto doth hereby visibly and clearly resemble the burial of Christ and his being buried in respect of the old man the former Lusts and Corruptions like the Egyptians to be taken away and seen no more See Rom. 6.4 6. Col. 2.12 But sprinkling doth no way lively resemble the Burial of Christ or the person being buried with him as Dipping doth Ninthly This appointment of Christs baptism is an Ordinance whereby the person that submitteth thereto doth visibly and lively hold forth herein the Resurrection of Christ declares him whose life was taken away from the earth to be alive again who although he dyed and was buried yet was not left in the grave to see corruption but was raised again and behold he liveth for evermore And as hereby he holds forth the Resurrection of Christ so doth he also his own being planted in the likeness thereof so as to reckon himself to be in Soul and Spirit quickned and risen with Christ from henceforth to live unto God the Fountain of Life and Christ Jesus the Lord who dyed for him and rose again and so to walk in newness of life in this present world being also begot into a lively hope that in the world to come he shall be raised and quickned both in soul and body to a life everlasting See Rom. 6.4 5 8 11. Acts 8.33 35 36. Col. 2.12 1 Cor. 15.29 1 Pet. 1.3 But sprinkling doth no way lively resemble the resurrection of Christ or the Soul or bodies rising or being raised by him as the way of dipping doth Therefore this appointment of Christ was and still is to be performed by way of dipping or putting the person into or under the water and not by sprinkling Tenthly Dipping doth hold forth a conformity to Christ in his sufferings and afflictions as Christ saith I have a Baptism and how am I streightned until it be accomplished meaning his sufferings Now one end of Baptism is to represent Christs Sufferings and our Sufferings with him which is in a lively manner set out by dipping into water and therefore when the Saints do express their afflictions they do set them forth by being in the depths or in the deep waters as David in Psalm 130. Out of the depths have I cryed unto the Lord meaning deep afflictions and God saith in Isaiah 43.2 When thou passest through the Waters they shall not overflow thee meaning affliction and therefore a believer is to be dipped and plunged all
Cain and his offering being not in faith God accepted not for all the thoughts of such a man are only evil and that continually till they believe as Gen. â— 5 and 8.21 All the imaginations of all believers till converted are evil and only evil continually Secondly their words are evil Matth. 12.34 O Generation of Vipers how can you being evil speak good word for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh an evil man out of the evil Treasure of his heart brings forth evil things and as their thoughts and words are evil so in like manner their actions are all evil natural actions as eating Job 20.23 When he is eating to fill his belly God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him while he is eating thus you see natural actions are evil such as eating and drinking for satisfying his hunger and also civil actions are evil as Prov. 21.4 an high look and a proud heart and the ploughing of the wicked is sin if plowing then all his civil actions and also his best duties of worship as his sacrifice is an abomination to God Prov. â—8 9 15.8 Isaiah 1. with 66.4 Upon this ground it must needs be that the Covenant of Grace and eternal life cannot belong to any such persons that do not believe for it is impossible to be in a covenant of Grace and yet not to have persons nor any of their best actions accepted Yea further all mankind are compared to beasts till they believe Job 11.11 Vain man would fain be wise but man is born like a wild Asses Colt with Jeremy 2.23 24. Yea the Lord saith in Revel 21.8 That the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all Lyars shall have their portion in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death Beloved therefore if any have been so deluded as to believe such a notorious error as this is to think that any ever hath been in the Covenant of life but such as are in Christ by faith I desire God may give you repentance for maintaining such a fundamental error as this is And now in the fourth place Answers to such Scriptures as are alleged to prove the baptism of infants I shall endeavour to answer such Scripture allegations and those especially brought in from the New Testament to countenance this error wherein I shall endeavour to take off those false and corrupt Glosses that are usually put upon them wherein men pretend to prove the covenant of grace among the Gentiles to run in the flesh and line of believing parents under the Gospel which I am sure was never yet since the world began nor never shall be with any neither parents nor children but such individual persons that particularly believed in Christ with their own hearts And first let me speak to that in Acts 2.39 An answer to that text Act. 2 39. which is usually pretended to be a proof of the covenant in the flesh the words are these The promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call Now I pray you take notice how evident this Text makes against this error For this Text affirms only the promises to belong to so many even as God shall call and that is a fundamental truth if by promise you understand the gift of the Holy Ghost or remission of sins or both to be promised in this text It is most true that so many as God shall call have an interest both to Christ and all the promises in him and only they for saith the Text Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost So that remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost it is safe to understand here to be meant that promise that is said to belong to them to their children and to those afar off even so many of them and their children and of those afar off as the Lord our God should call agreeable to the words thus understood is Rom. 8.30 moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified So that justification or remission of sins is here given only to called persons with these agreeth that of Heb. 9.15 For this cause he is the Mediator of the New Testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgression that were under the first Testament they which are called might receive the promise of the eternal Inheritance So here you see that those that are predestinated to have a covenant of life and the blessing given in that covenant are first called as 1 Pet. 2.9 He hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light Now this text is plain to prove that those Jews and Proselytes that then heard him and their children and also the ten Tribes new afar off and also the Gentiles the promises did belong to so many of all these as God should call and except Souls be given up to a Spirit of Delusion will any dare to affirm that the promises of the Spirit remission of sins and eternal life do belong to any other Will any be so ignorant as to judge that those promises did belong to the Generation of the Jews whether they were called or not though they continued in unbelief and hardness of heart and impenitency Is not such a corrupt interpretation against Christs words to that very people John 8.24 Except you believe that I am he you shall dy in your sins speaking to these very Jews and doth not John the Baptist say to these John 3. last He that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him directing this speech indeffinitely to the generation of the Jews the seed of Abraham such as were in the covenant of Circumcision But if by the children you understand so many of them as God should call whether then at that time or afterwards to the end of the world it is most true that to such of their children the promise of grace did belong But Beloved the Scripture is in nothing more full than in this that the promise of grace belonged not to any of those Iews seed but such as were called for God shuts them under unbelief and because of unbelief they were broken off Rom. 11. if unbelief excluded them from that external relation which before Christs death they then had in the Covenant intailed on the flesh and Christ coming in the flesh and fully exhibiting and putting an end to that covenant no other covenant standing in force in the Church of God but what Christ was the Mediator of these unbelieving Iews of necessity were broken off The promise of remission of sins was so far from running upon the
the Priests looked upon him and behold he was leprous in his fore-head and they thrust him out from thence yea himself hasted to go out because the Lord had smitten him And Uzziah the King was a Leper to the day of his death and dwelt in a several house for he was out off from the house of the Lord. Thus you see the sad curse of God executed against such like inventions in the service of God that men set up in the room of Gods commands thereby justling out his Commands as the Scripture saith This is for a man to set up his Posts by Gods Posts and in a sense setting up himself in the place and room of God and flowes from abundance of Pride as here it is said of King Vzziah preceding this his sin his heart was lifted up to his own destruction Now most certain it is That man Moses was faithful in all Gods house as a servant in giving the Church then exact and perfect rules how they should serve God unto which they must not ad and from which they must not detract nor take away Diut 4.2 so Christ is every way as faithful over his house as a Lord Heb. 3.4 5 6. and rightly to this purpose is applyed that in Col. 2.8 with 20 21 22. For men to imbrace any worship to their God that they have not a rule for it is in that chapter condemned as will-worship and traditions of men and warily consider that it fosters men in a sinfull neglect of that holy and solemn Ordinance of Dipping believers Do not all our Protestant Authors in all their Disputations against the Papists defend that Faith and Repentance precede Baptism thereby confuting the Papists that Baptism is not to convey grace where it is not but to confirm Grace and strengthen it where it is and in that Catechism imbraced generally by all Protestants in the Common Liturgy in England this question being demanded What is required of them that are to be baptized The answer is Faith and Repentance which doth plainly manifest that it was the judgement of all those that were Protestants owning that Liturgy that none ought to be baptized but such as repent and believe not only so but that do confess faith and repentance because in Baptism there is as Peter saith The answer of a good conscience 1 Pet. 3.19 compared with Philip and the Eunuch Acts 8.38 If thou believest with all thy heart thou mayest Saith the Eunuch I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God So in Acts 19. it is said They came to the Apostle confessing their deads Now consider that this doctrine in all those times was defended that faith and repentance must needs precede baptism why because they concluded it a seal of the new Covenant and therefore where persons were not in a Covenant by Faith did in apposition to the Papists defend they had no interest in baptism Now let any soul that is not blinded with the subtilty of Satan and by means of the stumbling block of iniquity set up in his own heart as saith the Lord in Ezekiel 14.4 Let such I say judge how cross to this Doctrine they do practice that do baptize visible graceless and Christless children so far as any man is able to judge Object But some will say I grant this baptizing of children is a meer tradition and that not to be practised by Christians and I do believe in the primitive time Believers only had this Ordinance dispenesd upon them but I do conceive saith the Soul I have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost therefore I need not that Ordinance of Baptism by Water and the rather because I think that was Johns baptism and the baptism of the Holy Ghost being come hath put an end to that Baptism of water Answer Then you deny in Judgement any Ordinance of Baptism at all to stand in force which is be sure an upstart opinion exceeding cross to the Doctrine of Christ in his Gospel but let me as warily as I can answer this question First you do think it was Johns baptism it is true that John baptized or dipped into Water those that came to him confessing their sins and professing faith in him that should come after him But though it is true Johns baptism in this respect pointing out Christ to come is done away yet it is as true that the Lord hath afresh since his death and resurrection intituled this ordinance of dipping believers into Christ already come and fully exhibited in the flesh Matth. 28.19 20. with Mar. 16.16 and Peter after the Holy ghost was in that extraordinary manner powred down upon him according to Johns Prophesie to wit with cloven fiery tongues he doth after this by the direction of the infallible Spirit command all his converts that were prickt in the heart Acts 2.38 to repent and be baptized every one of them for the remission of sins and they should receive the gift of the Holy ghost Where you may see that this was baptism of Water that he commanded all that repent to submit to because the Holy Ghost as those extraordinary gifts was to follow to wit those gifts that Joel prophesied of And so in Acts 10. When Cornelius and his house had heard the word of God the Holy Ghost fell upon them and as an effect thereof they spake with new tongues and magnified God And then saith Peter to them of the Circumcision How should we forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we So that this great Apostle was so far from this opinion that he urgeth the contrary that because they had received the Holy Ghost and that in the extraordinary gifts thereof which John foretold Christ should baptize them with saith he How shall we forbid water plainly holding forth that it is baptism by water that he here is speaking of and in which verse 48. he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus because they received the Holy Ghost therefore they must not be denyed that Ordinance of baptism by Water clearly holding forth that the enjoying the Holy Ghost was so far from being an argument why souls should not be baptized with water that it is an argument that they ought to be baptized more especially and this appears in Paul after his conversion which I understand was wrought by Christ immediately For saith he to Annanias Behold he is a chosen vessel to me for he now prayeth therefore say I he was now converted as to the inward work of faith changing his heart But when Annanias came to him he laid his hands upon him and there were two effects of this his laying on of his hands He received his sight and was filled with the Holy Ghost and he arose forthwith and was baptized that is to say after he was filled with the Holy Ghost he arose and was baptized in water Acts 9.17 18. compared with Acts 22.16