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A85020
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The infants advocate of circumcision on Jewish and baptisme on Christian children. By Thomas Fuller, B.D.
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Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.
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1653
(1653)
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Wing F2447; Thomason E1431_1; ESTC R202071
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87,089
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272
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THE INFANTS Advocate Of Circumcision and Baptisme on Jewish Christian Children DEUT. 29. 11 12. Your little ones shall enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God Origen lib. 5. ad Rom. c. 6. Ecclesia ab Apostolis traditionem accepit parvulis dare Baptismum quia essent in omnibus genuinae sordes peccati By THOMAS FULLER B. D. LONDON Printed by R. Norton for J. Williams at the Crown in S. Pauls Church-yard M.DC.LIII To the Right Honourable JAMES EARL of CARLILE my most Bountiful Patron AND To the Right Honourable LIONEL EARL of MIDLESEX my Noble Parishioner I Shall be censured for a Solecisme in Dedicating this my Infants Advocate unto your Honours not only for the meannesse of the Present but because the one of you being hitherto Childless and the other not as yet Married seem not so proper persons to be presented with such a subject But give me leave to acquaint your Honours that this my Treatise Janus-like looks backwards and forwards backwards to vindicate and assert the lawfulnesse of their Baptism which now arrived at Maturity were in their Infancy Baptized and in this capacity your Honours have an equal concernment in this subject with any others Forwards to justifie and avouch the acts of those Parents who hereafter shall fix the Sacrament on their Infant Children Your Honors in Gods due time may for the future be interested herein a favour the more fervently to be desired from Heaven both of you being the sole surviving Males of your Families and the single threds whereon all the hopes of your Noble houses do depend Give me Leave therefore who here am the Advocate to plead for the Baptizing of others to be also the Orator to pray for the Birth of your Children till which time may the blessings of the right and left hand plentifully fall and peaceably rest on you both which is the daily desire of Your Honours most obliged and humble servant THO. FULLER To the Right Worshipfull Edward Palmer Henry Wollaston and Matthew Gilly Esquires John Vavasor Francis Bointon Gent. with all the rest of my Loving Parishioners in Waltham Holy-Cross WHen I consider the many worthy works which had their first being within the bounds of this our Parish I may justly be ashamed that my weak endeavours should be borne in the same place For first the book of Mr. Cranmer afterwards Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and Martyr containing the Reasons against King Henry the 8 th his Marriage with Queen Katharine Dowager was compiled in our Parish whilest the said Cranmer retired hither in the time of a Plague at Cambridge to teach his Pupils Thus did Waltham give Rome the first deadly blow in England occasioning the Popes primacy to totter therein till it tumbled down at last The large and learned works of the no lesse Religious then Industrious Mr. Fox in his book of Martyrs was penned here leaving his posterity a considerable estate at this day possessed by them in this Parish What shall I speak of the no lesse pleasant then profitable pains of Reverend Bishop Hall predecessor in my place the main body of whose Books bears date from Waltham And shall my unworthy pamphlet presume to follow such able works from the same place However seeing my publike promise is solemnly past to you to Print the same hoping some profit may thence arise to you and others let it as a Page at due distance wait upon the works of those most eminent Authors Some will say this your Infants Advocate hath almost been as long in the breeding and birth as Infants use to lye in their Mothers womb so many moneths hath past betwixt the promise and performance thereof But let none grudge the time if it appear at last in its perfect shape coming forth soon enough for those who will reap benefit thereby Too soon for such who will take causless offence thereat Some perchance will take exception at the plainness thereof which by me was purposely affected herein It is a good leslon which may be learned from the mouth of a bad master even Rayling Rabshakeh not to deliver a message of publick concernment in a language which a few Courtiers only do understand but in a tongue whereby all the people on the wall may partake thereof And seeing the generality of our opposers are unlearned I conceived it my duty to decline all difficult words and phrases that all might more easily and perfectly perceive the truth therin Some perchance might expect a confutation of their practice which are Re-baptized a task needless for me to perform For such repetition of Baptism will follow of course to be vain if not wicked unneedful if not unlawful where the lawfulness and needfulness of Infants Baptism hath formerly been proved Baptism once wel done on Infants I may say is twice done which twice done is once ill done namely when it is iterated the second time without any just reason for the same What remains dear Parishioners but that I pray that my weak Preaching may be powerful and profitable unto you that you may do and suffer cheerfully according to the will of God Remember the addition of the name of your Parish HOLY CROSSE It matters not though Crosse be the sur-name if Holy be the Christian name of our sufferings whilest that God who sendeth them sanctifieth them unto us which is the daily prayer of Your unworthy Pastor in Jesus Christ THO. FULLER TO THE CHRISTIAN READER AMongst the many Lying Miracles reported by impudent believed by ignorant Papists in their Leaden Golden Legend it is not the last and least what they tell of one Rumball Son to an English King whose Saint-ship in those dark days was superstitiously adored at Brackley in Northampton shire Of him they report that he spake as soon as ever he was born and professing himself to be a Christian already in his heart requested or rather required that he might be Baptized which done he instantly ended his life I know not whether to call this a Childs fable from the subject or in the Apostles language an old wives fable from the inventors thereof Otherwise were this true and all children like him this our Infants Advocate were utterly useless and our pains for the present altogether superfluous which now we believe and hope may be profitable for those who cannot plead for themselves For though I cannot with Job be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame that is relieve their poverty out of a plentiful estate yet I will endeavour to be a tongue to the dumb and plead as well as I may in their behalf True it is I must confesse with that good Prophet not in respect of my age being past the vertical point thereof but of my other infirmities behold I cannot speak for I am a child and if a child be advocate for children the cause is likely to be poorly pleaded However I will endeavour to supply in integrity what I want