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A47203
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Truths plea for infants, or, Infants right vindicated in a reply to Jeremiah Ives, chees-munger concerning the baptisme of infants. By Alexander Kellie.
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Kellie, Alexander.
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1656
(1656)
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Wing K238A; ESTC R216626
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26,367
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49
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TRUTHS PLEA FOR INFANTS OR INFANTS RIGHT VINDICATED In a Reply to Jeremiah Ives Chees-munger concerning the Baptisme of INFANTS By ALEXANDER KELLIE Rom. 16.17 Now I beseech you Brethren mark them which cause Divisions and Offences contrary to the Doctrine which you have learned and avoid them Phil. 4.9 These things which yee have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the God of peace shall be with you Prov. 9.13 The Light of the Righteous rejoyceth but the Candle of the wicked shall be put out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LONDON Printed by T. R. and are to be sold by Nath. Brooks at the Angel in Cornhill 1656. To the READER THe Apostle Paul 2 Cor. 11.13.14 15. hath set forth to the life our Adversaries with whom we have to do saying That such are false Apostles deceitfull Workers transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ and no marvell for Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of Light Therefore it is no great thing if his Ministers also be transformed as the Ministers of Righteousness whose end shall be according to their works God hath seldome or never had in any Age his Truth pleaded by his servants without the contradiction of his Adversaries as 2 â—im 3.8 Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so our Anabaptists resist the Truth men of corrupt mindes false accusers despisers of those that are good heady heigh-minded having a forme of godliness but denying the power thereof but we hope their folly shall shortly be made manifest to all men that they shall proceed no further They are much like the false Prophet Zedekiah In the first Book of the Kings the last Chapter ver 24. who smote Miicaiah the true Prophet and said Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee all the dirt of foule aspertions which mine Adversaries hath cast upon the Truth vvhich I have delivered have not so defaced it but that it can sufficiently plead for it selfe without any further reply and therefore if I should make no more answer then David did Shimei or Ezekiah and the men upon the Walls of Jerusalem to the railings of Rabshakeh the Lord quickly would appeare and plead his own Cause with a witness against his enemies yet nevertheless lest mine enemies should be too proud and bragge too much where they have little reason and that my friends should not be led away with the errors of the vvicked falling from their stedfastness and losing those things vvhich vve have already vvrought vvherein there is not one vvord to my remembrance that ever I spoke in publike severall years against the Anabaptists that ever I mind to recall but if neede be to confirme to the end And therfore I have once more undertaken to contend for the Truth which I have not only lately made known here in LONDON amongst them that heard me but hath also from Abrahams time to Ours been delivered to the Saints I vvould not have my Hearers like many of the Anabaptists to cast away the Helve after the Hatchet making shipwrack of faith and a good conscience some become Quakers some Ranters some denying God some Christ the Lord against Family duties morning and evening before and after Meate slighting Word and Sacraments from such the Lord deliver us Finally Gentle Reader whereas some sentences in this my Book seeme to follow impertinently to what went before blame not me but my Adversary whom I am to pursue as a theefe and to ride out of the road way now and then after him vvith Hue and Cry over ditch and hedge vvhereas othervvise I might have been a great deale more cleare and full and methodicall From my House in Giles Criplegate Your Friend in Christ Alexander Kellie An Answer to the Epistle YE are not like the men of Berea but like the Hereticks in all ages that pretended Scripture for all they said and there be none more contradictious then you Anabaptists both to all the godly learned in the world and likewise to one another some for the Glass-House some for Pauls some for Beechlane some for Arminians some against them and many that frequent one of your places think it abomination to go to another of them and many of you are turned Ranters and Quakers Sure therefore ye are not like Solomons Wise men Prov. 14.15 That looke well to their goings and where you cast dirt upon the Fathers you do not shew us in what places to finde their errours and if it â—â—re true you say of them yet therein you are more like cursed Ham that made knowne his fathers nakedness then like blessed Shem and Japhet who hid their faces from it and covered it And whereas you look upon us as such who have only the name of Religion and of Christians c. with us 1 Cor. 4.3 it is a very small thing that we should be judged of you who like proud Pharisees despise us as sinfull Publicans and yet I hope we shall go away justified rather then you You wickedly slander godly learned men as men minding their profits and credit more then the Truth whereas there have been and are and still will be many hundred thousand for Infants Baptisme who never had any worldly profits by it and where you speak of credit you say true for a man shall have no credit but shame before God and man to follow you Next you bring in your Excentriks and Epicycles and Phenomina sure Sir by your high termes you would make some simple Reader believe that you are some great Professour of the Mathematicks but your Phenomina spoiles all wherein your ignorance of Orthography appears and shews plainly that you know no more what an Eccentricke Epicycle or Phaenomenon is then the heele of an old Cheese Ne sut or ultra crepidam .. And thus let the unpartiall Reader Judge justly between you and me And so I have done with your Epistle and I come to your Gospel A Reply to JEREMIAH IVES Cheese-mungers Answer concerning THE BAPTISME OF INFANTS FIRST you say Where our Saviour commanded all Nations to be baptized he meant not any Infants for four reasons 1. Because they are not then capable of teaching 2. All Nations many times do not include Children in Scripture 3. Because Infidels Turks and Children of Unbelievers are a great part of all Nations 4. Because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is referred to Disciples To the first I answer three things 1. It is no absurdity to preach the Gospel to an Infant Luke 1.70 and so on 2. The Apostles were to teach all that was commanded and that could not be done in short time but afterward by degrees as the party baptized was able to receive 3. The Apostles teaching can no more keep back Infants from baptisme then Abrahams teaching Gen. 18. v. 19. could keep back the Infants from Circumcision Gen. 17 v. 12. To the second I answer yee cite some Scriptures of all Nations but therin you are no
Noble Beraean as you would make men believe in the beginning of your Epistle for you give us not one place set down where to find the Scriptures Secondly You bring us Scriptures for what Infants cannot to prove that they should not have that which according to Scripture they can have And wheras you say Infants cannot blesse why is it then said in the 8. Psalme Out of the mouthes of Babes and Sucklings thou wilt perfect praise and in the â—48 Ps Praise him all people old men and babes Thirdly J will bring you places of Scripture where Children are to be reckoned amongst all Nations which bring them into Baptisme more then your Scriptures of all Nations can keep them out As â—en 12. v. 13. Where the Lord promiseth to blesse all the Families of the Earth and their Children are included and this promise of the blessing brings them into Baptisme more then your Scriptures can hold them out and withall this place pronounceth a curse against you Anabaptists for they that curse Abrahams Gospel way in setting the token of Gods Gospel-Covenant of grace upon Infants they curse Abraham and God hath threatned to curse such so yee Anabaptists are a Generation lying under the wrath and curse and vengeance of God The other places of Scripture comprehending Infants amongst all men and Nations are Heb. 2. v. 9. Where it is said Christ tasted death for every one and consquently for Infants and 1 John 2. v. 2. Where Christ is a propitiation for the whole World Infants are understood and Rom. 5 18. Which place you grant to be meant of Infants where it is said That the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life and yet yee will not admit Infants into the Ordinance of their first entry into any grace Thirdly Where you say Turks Insidels and their Children may as well be baptized as Professors Children it is false for the Infants of Believers are the blessed of the Lord Isa 65. v. 23. They are Gods Children from the Womb Ezek. 16. v. 20 21. They are in Covenant with God Gen 17. And to them belongs the Kingdome of Heaven This is never said of Turks and Infidels and the Infants of Gods people were by God admitted unto the possession of the like Ordinance to Baptisme which God calls the Token of his Covenant Gen. 17. Paul calls it the Seal of the Righteousnesse of faith Rom. 4. and much profitable every way Rom. 3. and Infants continued in the possession hereof for many hundred years and the Lord never put them aside from this long possession no more then he did the aged and therfore of necessity when he commands all Nations to be baptized he commands Infants to be baptized Lastly in Matth. 28. you say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be referred to Disciples Sometimes you speak of Children eight daies old in the Cradle you can no more then one of them find me in the Greek Text a Substantive of the Maseuline Gender to agree with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but what do J talk of the Greek Text when you shew your ignorance so grosse as if you had never learned your Accidents putting a Nominative Casein the Singular Number for the Accusative in the Plurall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and a Noune of your owne devising that was never heard of for a Verb as many times sequitor for sequitur and somtimes a Verb for a Noun as Baptizo for baptasmus or a Noun again for a Verb as Aspersia for aspergo Secondly J proved Infants were Disciples from Isa 54. v. 13. Where the Lord promises that Infants shall be taught of God you answer that they are not Disciples who do not learn if they were taught Herein you and Mr. Tombs and the rest are â—earfully out for John 6. v 60.66 it iâ— said many Disciples said of Christs Doctrine This is a hard saying who can heare it And they went away from him and would walk no more with him Here then be Disciples and yet they did not learn you would fain make simple people believe that the Moon is made of green Cheese but the Cheese munger hath never a Taster to make us find it so Then you bring in Jerem. 32 v. 33. Where it is said â—od taught â—heâ— but they refused to receive instruction But had not both they and their Infants the Token of Gods Covenant And did ever any of the Prophets speak against it as a sin And is there not most gracious promises made to the same people in the same Chapter As that he would never depart from them to do them good and that he would put his fear in their hearts that they should never depart from him and that he would plant them assuredly with his whole heart and with his whole Soul and yet them you bring in as no Disciples In your sixth page you say Infanâ—â— in the Cradle are not taught of men therfore not of God As if Gods power sailed in inward teaching when mans faile in outward Secondly You say if they were all taught of God then they should be all saved Answ So you confesse with me that they are saved if they dye in their Infancy but if after their Infancy they should live and prove bad yet in the time of their Infancy we are to judge charitably and so you are fain to do with them whom yee dip who afterward prove stark naught Therfore where the Lord promiseth that all shall be taught Infants must be understood otherwise yee shall leave out a great many of all the Children for many dye in their Infancy and are never afterward taught therfore their teaching must be in their Infancy or else never and if so how shall the promise be true All shall be taught But say you in the seventh Page Why do you teach them to be converted when they come to age We answer The work of Conversion is the work of a mans whole life After Peter had been converted Christ said to him When thou art hereafter converted strengthen thy Brethren Turn your selves and live is a Text that may be preached to the best Convert so long as he lives but then if men become naught say you After they have been taught of God There will be a falling a way from Grace We answer When we say Infants are taught of God we mean the elect Infants who are all taught of God sooner or latter but because we cannot search into God secrets absolutely to determine who are elect and who not we are charitably to judge the best of all the Infants of Gods people and if any afterward prove bad it is but a mistake in our Judgment and no change in Gods Election and yet according to that outward judgment we are to proceed for when in John 15. v. 2. our Saviour saith Every branch in him that bringeth not forth good fruit is out down and cast in the sire He speaks of Branches that