doing in the time present Baptisme saueth §. 43. What kinde of meanes of grace Baptisme is II. Baptisme is no physicall or naturall meanes of working grace as if the grace which is sealed vp thereby were inherent in the water or in the Ministers act of sprinkling it as in medicines salues hearbs meats and the like there is inherent that vertue which proceedeth from the vse of them and being applied they haue their operation whether a man beleeue it or no but it is only a voluntarie instrument which Christ vseth as it pleaseth him to worke what grace or measure of grace seemeth best to him so as grace is only assistant to it not included in it yet in the right vse thereof Christ by his Spirit worketh that grace which is receiued by it in which respect the Minister is said to baptize with water but Christ with the Holy Ghost and with fire Matth. 3. 11. §. 44. Of the necessitie of Baptisme III. A meanes of working a thing may be said to be necessarie two wayes 1. Absolutely so as the thing cannot possibly be without it Thus are the proper causes of a thing absolutely necessarie as in this case Gods couenant Christs bloud and the operation of the Spirit are absolutely necessarie for attaining any grace 2. By consequence so as according to that course and order which God hath set downe things cannot be without them Baptisme is not absolutely necessarie as a cause for then should it be equall to Gods couenant Christs bloud and the worke of the Spirit Yea then should all that are baptized without any exception be cleansed But it is by consequence necessarie and that in a double respect 1. In regard of Gods ordinance 2. In regard of our need thereof 1. God hauing ordained this a Sacrament to be vsed it is necessarie it should be vsed if for no other end yet for manifestation of our obedience He that carelesly neglecteth or wilfully contemneth any Sacrament which God shall enioyne him to vse his soule shall be cut off 2. Great is the need that we haue thereof in regard of our dulnesse in conceiuing things spirituall and of our weaknesse in beleeuing things inuisible We are carnall and earthly and by things sensible and earthly doe the better conceiue things spirituall and heauenly therefore hath God ordained visible elements to be Sacraments of inuisible graces Againe we are slow to beleeue such things as are promised in the word therefore the more to helpe and strengthen our faith God hath added to his couenant in the word his seale in and by the Sacrament that by two immutable things Gods couenant and Gods seale in which it is impossible for God to lie we might haue strong consolation Besides though in generall we doe beleeue the truth of Gods word yet we are doubtfull to apply it to our selues wherefore for better applying Gods couenant to our owne soule God hath added his Sacrament to his word §. 45. Of the contrarie extremes of Papists and Anabaptists about the necessitie and efficacie of Baptisme There are two extremes contrarie to the forenamed points about baptisme One in the excesse which is of Papists that attribute too much thereunto and make it a plaine Idoll Another in the defect of Anabaptists and Libertines which derogate too much from it and make it an idle ceremonie In two things doe Papists exceed 1. In the necessitie Of Baptisme 2. In the efficacie   They make it so absolutely necessary as if any die vnbaptized he cannot be saued which doome they passe against infants though they be depriued thereof without any fault of their owne yea or of their parents being still borne A mercilesse sentence without any warrant of Gods word yea against his word against the order which he hath prescribed He hath established his couenant promised to be the God of the faithfull of their seed on which ground S. Peter saith The promise is vnto you vnto your children S. Paul saith your children are holy Shall all these priuiledges be made void by an ineuitable want of baptisme if so would God haue enioyned circumcision which to the Iewes was as baptisme is to Christians to be put off to the eighth day before which day many infants died or would Moses haue suffered it to be forborne all the time that the Israelites were in the wildernesse If it be said that baptisme is more necessarie then circumcision I answer the Scripture layeth no more necessitie vpon it If it were so necessarie as they make it then the vertue of Christs death were lesse effectuall since he was actually exhibited then before For before it was effectuall for infants without a Sacrament but belike not now Had the ancient Churches conceiued so of the absolute necessitie of baptisme they would not haue had set times for the administring thereof nor suffered it to be put off so long as they did Some Churches appointed it to be administred only at Easter Some at Easter and Whitsuntide And though many who gaue euidence of their true faith died before they were baptized yet they did not thereupon iudge them to be damned This practise and iudgement of the ancients hath made many Papists somewhat to mitigate that absolute necessitie and to say that In this case God which hath not bound his grace in respect of his owne freedome to any Sacrament may and doth accept them as baptized which either are martyred before they could be baptized on else depart this life with vow and desire to haue that Sacrament but by some remedilesse necessitie could not obtaine it If remedilesse necessitie can helpe the matter what necessitie so remedilesse as for a childe to be still borne Againe they adde such efficacie to baptisme as it giueth grace of the worke it selfe wherein they equall it to the verie bloud of Christ and take away the peculiar worke of the Spirit and the vse of faith repentance and such like graces What can there be more in the water of baptisme then was in the bloud of such beasts as were offered vp for sacrifices But it is not possible that the bloud of Buls and Goats should take away sin They themselues attribute no such efficacie to the word preached and yet they cannot shew where the holy Ghost hath giuen more vertue to baptisme then to the word This text ioyneth them both together that he might cleanse it with the washing of water through the word What can be more said of a meanes then that which is said of the word It pleased God by preaching to saue them that beleeue The Gospell is the power of God to saluation c. On the other side Anabaptists and such like Libertines too lightly esteeme this holy and necessary ordinance of God in that they make it only a badge of our profession a note of difference betwixt the
childe he gaue in charge to the Parent so to name him saying to him Thou shalt call his name thus and thus It is also euident that the time of Baptisme is the fittest time for giuing the name Vnder the Law childrens names were giuen at their Circumcision and so vnder the Gospell it hath in all ages beene vsed and that for these reasons 1. That their names may be a testimonie of their baptisme 2. That so oft as they heare their names they may be put in minde of their baptisme 3. That they might know how by name they are giuen to Christ to be his souldiers and therefore there must be no starting from him 4. That they may also be assured that being baptized with water and the spirit by name they are registred in heauen Now because names are so solemnly giuen and of so good vse most meet it is that fit names should be giuen to children And for proofe hereof let the names which in Scripture are recorded to be giuen by God himselfe and by such holy men and women as were guided by his spirit be obserued and we shall finde them to be holy sober and fit names For direction to parents in this dutie I will set downe some sorts and kinds of names as be fit and beseeming Christians 1. Names which haue some good signification and among them such as are warranted by the Scripture as Iohn the grace of God Ionathan the gift of God Andrew manly Clement meeke Simeon obedient Hannah gratious Prudens wise and such like that thus their name may stirre them vp to labour after the vertue signified thereby 2. Names which haue in times before vs beene giuen to persons of good note whose life is worthy our imitation as Isaak Dauid Peter Marie Elizabeth and such like that the names may moue them to imitate those worthies 3. Names of our owne ancestors and predecessors to preserue a memorie of the familie which appeareth to haue beene an ancient practise euen among Gods people in that the friends would haue had Zachariahs sonne named Zachariah and when the mother had iust cause to name him Iohn they answer none of thy kindred is called by this name 4. Vsuall names of the country which custome hath made familiar as Henry Edward Robert William and such like among vs. §. 21. Of Parents care in bringing their children to be baptized in due season Though Christians are not so strictly tied to a set day as the Iewes were to the eight day yet from that strict direction giuen to the Iewes we may well gather that it is not meet for Christians to defer the baptizing of their children beyond eight dayes for a young childe of that age may with more ease and lesse danger be baptized then circumcised The most seasonable time I take to be the day whereon Gods people vse in the place where the childe is borne publikely to assemble together to worship God next after the birth of the child if at least it fall not out within two or three dayes after which is somewhat with the soonest both for mother and childe Whether we respect the honour of God the riches of whose mercy is liuely set forth in the sacrament of baptisme or the good of our childe which in that sacrament receiueth a pledge and seale of that rich mercy of God Baptisme is of great consequence and therefore the first season of performing it to be taken For parents by their diligence and due speed therein giue euidence both of their zeale to Gods glory and also of their earnest desire of the childs spirituall good §. 22. Of Parents faults in neglecting their childrens Baptisme Contrary to the forenamed dutie of Parents about well baptizing their children are many aberrations as 1. The corrupt opinion of Anabaptists who denie the lawfulnesse of baptizing children The arguments before noted are sufficient to stop their mouthes 2. The practise of Separatists comming too neere to Anabaptisme who excepting against the ministerie and orders of our Church doe what they can to keepe their children from that Sacrament And to that end carry their wiues ready to be deliuered vnto a strange place where they are not knowne and anon after they are deliuered priuily conuey wife childe and all away that so the Magistrate may not against their will cause their childe to be baptized and hauing no ministerie of their owne nor meanes to conuey the childe ouer sea keepe it many yeeres vnbaptized Where is the euidence of their faith in Gods promise of their respect to Gods ordinance and of their desire of their childs spirituall good Though it be a great wrong to children to be kept from baptisme yet the sinne lieth on such parents as procure not baptisme for their children especially at that age when their children cannot gainsay it 3. The peruerse opinion and practise of certaine ancient heretikes who in stead of baptizing children with water had them branded with an hot iron They grounded their error on a false interpretation of this phrase he shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire Answ 1. They erre in taking this word fire literally and properly which was meant mystically and metaphorically 2. They erre in applying that to the outward action of a Minister which was meant of the inward operation of Christ By this their misinterpretation they thwart the maine scope of him who first vsed that phrase which was to manifest the difference betwixt all other Ministers and Christ Iesus 4. The opinion and practise of those who vse other formes of Baptisme besides this In the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy Ghost Their opinion and practise is grounded on certaine concise phrases vsed by the Apostles such as these Baptized in the name of Iesus Christ In the name of the Lord In the name of the Lord Iesus c. Answ Those phrases rather set forth the very substance and inward matter of Baptisme then the forme thereof 5. Their opinion and practise who care not by whom their children are baptized whether heretiques idolaters laicks or women Little doe they regard the comfort of conscience and strength of faith that ariseth from this that a lawfull Minister in Gods roome and name as Gods ambassador putteth the seale of God to his couenant 6. The practise of those as I know not vpon what nicenesse or state must haue their children baptized at home in their priuate house This manner of baptising taketh away much from the honour of that high ordinance which ought to be done with all the seemly solemnitie that may be 7. Their practise who bring their childe to Church to be baptised accompanied only with the Midwife and three witnesses It were almost as good be baptised in a priuate house for it is not the walls of the Church but the assembly of Saints that addeth to the honour of the Sacrament and is most of all
of life Contrary is their course who obserue no course or order in drawing on their seruants to doe their dutie but begin with that which should be last nay only vse that remedy which should not be vsed vnlesse no remedy will serue the turne which is to turne their seruants out of doores for euery small occasion No instruction perswasion admonition rebuke threatning is vsed by many when their seruants haue offended but this thunderbolt cast at them be gone get you out of doores If this were taken notice of as a fault longer might seruants tarry in an house then ordinarily they doe and more good might master and seruant reape one from another yea and the secrets of an house be better kept for the oft chopping and changing of seruants is it that maketh all things done priuatly in houses to be blazed vp and downe §. 41. Of paying seruants their wages A third thing required of masters in respect of the estate of their seruants is to giue them their iust wages euen this is included vnder that generall precept render to all their dues and more particularly expressed in the example of that master who hired labourers into his vineyard and at the end of their worke gaue them euery one their wages yea there is an expresse law to this purpose Obiect These places concerne labourers hired by the day Answ Seruants are in the same ranke and the ground for both is the same for both worke for wages Yea the argument will more strongly follow from the lesse to the greater thus If a labourer and seruant for a day must haue his wages iustly paid much rather a seruant and labourer for a yeere and yeeres 1. A masters couenant requireth as much if there were no other bond yet that bond whereby he voluntarily bindeth himselfe tyeth him in conscienc thereto Among the fruits of the Spirit S. Paul reckoneth Faith meaning thereby fidelitie in keeping promise and couenant 2. Common equitie and iustice requireth as much for wages is as due for labour as money for wares Christ taketh it for an vndeniable principle that the labourer is worthy of his hire so also doth the Apostle This dutie is to be performed to such as are hired for wages of them that are found all things by their master I spake before In giuing seruants their wages these three things are to be obserued 1. That there be a sufficient competency of wages allowed euen so much at least as may serue to prouide such necessaries as are fit for a seruant for there is great reason that he that worketh should liue of his worke 2. That it be giuen in due season God would not haue the labourers hire be vnpaid one night after it was due The time couenanted by a seruant for his wages is the seasonable time then he expecteth it to that time he putteth his occasions of vsing it at that time therefore it ought to be giuen him 3. That it be paid to the full according to the couenant the masters promise and the seruants need require as much §. 42. Of masters iniustice about their seruants wages Iniustice contrary to the forenamed dutie of due paying their seruants wages is many waies committed 1. When masters doe altogether detaine their seruants wages this is a crying sinne which entreth into the eares of God 2. When they make their seruants aske for their wages againe and againe euen till they be ashamed yea to stay and wait for it till they be forced to sigh vnto God or else to filch and steale to supply their necessities though these masters haue not a purpose vtterly to defraud their seruants of their due yet the putting them off and delaying to pay it putteth seruants that for the most part haue but from hand to mouth vnto great straits which the Lord well knew and therefore expresly forbad the detaining of a seruants hire one night This therefore is a point not only of vnkindnesse but also of iniustice 3. When masters alter and change the couenanted wages and seeke to diminish it as hard-hearted Laban did they shew thereby that they repine at their seruants welfare and seeke only themselues §. 43. Of suffering seruants to prouide for themselues A fourth thing required of masters in regard of their seruants estate is that after sufficient seruice done they suffer their seruants to prouide for themselues This Iaakob required of Laban as a most equall and reasonable matter saying when shall I prouide for mine owne house also as was before noted in the generall This hath respect especially vnto such seruants as haue beene a long time with masters as apprentises and spent their time labour and paines only and wholly for their masters good Gods law tooke expresse order for such that after certaine yeeres seruice they should goe free So doe also the lawes of our land especially the orders of London Herein lyeth a maine difference betwixt seruants who are vnder subiection and held to worke for their owne good and beasts which are only for mans seruice and good They therefore who are of a contrary minde keeping seruants as long as possibly they can euen all their life long vnto hard labour and vnder seruitude deserue to be serued with beasts rather then men and women This kinde of masters rigour to their seruants is in particular noted to be one of the causes of that great indignation of God against the Iewes whereby he was prouoked to giue them ouer as captiues to their enemies §. 44. Of kindnesse to be shewed to good seruants As masters must giue that which is iust to all seruants so that which is equall to them that deserue it that is they must be of an answerable minde and disposition to good honest louing kinde faithfull seruants who stand not so much vpon that which is exacted as vpon that which they are able to doe for their masters and in that respect as they see occasion doe oft times much more then is exacted or expected Goodnesse requireth goodnesse good will good will and this is to doe the same things This kinde of Equitie consisteth in these and such like particulars 1. Masters must well esteeme of such good seruants and haue them in high account Abram accounted his old good faithfull seruant as his childe and till he had a childe thought of making him his heire Great was that esteeme which Potiphar had of Ioseph when of a bondslaue he made him ouerseer ouer his house Gen. 39. 4. Why is the title Father giuen to masters 2. King 5. 13. and the title Sonnes to seruants Ios 7. 19. 1 Sam. 24. 16. but to shew that seruants should beare a child-like affection to their masters and that masters should beare a fatherlike affection to such seruants 2. Masters must take notice of the goodnesse and kindnesse of such seruants and manifest as much both by